A theory about Samsung and Apple

[AIP5]

Hey guys,
I was at dinner tonight with an old friend, when he put his phone on the table. Without my glasses, it looked like an iPhone 4, but when I put on my glasses later, I realized it was actually a different phone. It was the Samsung Eternity 1 (from 2008). I was quite taken back at the similarity in design between the Eternity and the iPhone 4.

The design is basically like the iPhone 4: flat front, flat back, and a pseudo-metal band wrapped around the edges of the phone. Front is plastic/glass, and back is black plastic. Camera on the back left (no flash), volume slider keys on the left near where the iPhone's are. The phone did feel cheap/plastic-y, however. But the remarkable similarity in design has me wondering. I have attached a few pictures for a comparison.

Could Samsung be involved in some deep corporate espionage with Apple? I know that Samsung Eternity was released in 2008, and iPhone 4 in 2010. But the similarities are a bit too great for me to dismiss this as coincidence, just personally speaking. It's stretching it a bit, but my personal thinking is that Samsung might have "stumbled" upon a very early iPhone 4 sketch (1 year early), and adopted the design before Apple had a chance to.

This might also be the case with Samsung Galaxy S2: a copy of the iPhone 5 design, before Apple revealed it. Perhaps this is why Apple is going so aggressively after Samsung: for copying quite literally every iPhone design.

Worst case scenario (and I certainly don't think this is the case) is that Apple copied Samsung Eternity with the iPhone 4. But that doesn't really sound right 😉

What do you guys think? Is the Samsung Eternity (2008) based on early sketches of the iPhone 4 (2010)? And might Samsung have copied the iPhone 5 design yet again with GS2? All I can say now is that, I can now see why Apple is going after Samsung so aggressively now.

 

[neko girl]

I think this thread will go quite wonderfully.

 

[Agent-P]

I completely understand how you could've mixed these up without your glasses. Without my contacts in they do indeed look very similar. However I feel as though people are gonna flame you in this thread OP, so just be ready for that.

 

[AIP5]

Hmm, I certainly hope that the people are nice here 🙂

I'm just not sure what to think at this point. The two phones look so similar in my view...

 

[boss.king]

Hey guys,
I was at dinner tonight with an old friend, when he put his phone on the table. Without my glasses, it looked like an iPhone 4, but when I put on my glasses later, I realized it was actually a different phone. It was the Samsung Eternity 1 (from 2008). I was quite taken back at the similarity in design between the Eternity and the iPhone 4.

The design is basically like the iPhone 4: flat front, flat back, and a pseudo-metal band wrapped around the edges of the phone. Front is plastic/glass, and back is black plastic. Camera on the back left (no flash), volume slider keys on the left near where the iPhone's are. Of course, the quality is typical of Samsung: it feels cheap. But the remarkable similarity in design has me wondering. I have attached a few pictures for a comparison.

They look quite distinctive, but they do have similarities.

Could Samsung be involved in some deep corporate espionage with Apple? I know that Samsung Eternity was released in 2008, and iPhone 4 in 2010. But the similarities are a bit too great for me to dismiss this as coincidence, just personally speaking. It's stretching it a bit, but my personal thinking is that Samsung might have "stumbled" upon a very early iPhone 4 sketch (1 year early), and adopted the design before Apple had a chance to.

Or maybe Apple copied Samsung. Or neither of the above, since there are only a limited number of ways in which people can combine design elements to create a touchscreen phone before they start to look similar.

This might also be the case with Samsung Galaxy S2: a copy of the iPhone 5 design, before Apple revealed it. Perhaps this is why Apple is going so aggressively after Samsung: for copying quite literally every iPhone design.

Wait, you're serious? So Samsung went into the future to copy Apples product, then released it in the past before the iPhone 5 was announced? Because that's what you're implying. Just think before you post things like this.

Worst case scenario (and I certainly don't think this is the case) is that Apple copied Samsung Eternity with the iPhone 4. But that doesn't really sound right 😉

What do you guys think? Is the Samsung Eternity (2008) based on early sketches of the iPhone 4 (2010)? And might Samsung have copied the iPhone 5 design yet again with GS2? All I can say now is that, I can now see why Apple is going after Samsung so aggressively now.

I think you really need to rethink your theory a little. It's full of holes and flawed assumptions.

EDIT: OK, on a second reading I may have been a bit harsh, but I honestly think your theory is completely wrong. Take that how you will.

 

[Aldaris]

Interesting. The question on my mind is how well each could do with out the other.

I for one enjoy samsung (parts). My MacBook Pro is upgraded with RAM and hard drive made by samsung, all the televisions in my home are samsung too. I however will always sport an iPhone over anything else, and an iPad above all else.

Back to the phones though: IMHO I think the touch design really limits the overall design choices one could make. Noticeably absent from the samsung model in question is e lack of a hold button, but then again that is Apples deal. The various slots and charging points seem more apparent and (fanboy could be seeping through) cluttered. The glaring camera lens unit on the back too. I'll agree there are similarities but not enough to warrant a conspiracy in my mind.

One last thing is the curves on the samsung... Just something about them. Can't put my finger on it.

 

[AIP5]

Interesting. The question on my mind is how well each could do with out the other.

I for one enjoy samsung (parts). My MacBook Pro is upgraded with RAM and hard drive made by samsung, all the televisions in my home are samsung too. I however will always sport an iPhone over anything else, and an iPad above all else.

I actually also have Samsung TV's in my home. Samsung overall is a great company, and make excellent electronic products (lovely TV's). Even their phones are pretty good. It's just that I personally think they copied Apple with Samsung GS1, and their Galaxy Tablet. But I suppose that's for the courts to decide...

They look quite distinctive, but they do have similarities.
Or maybe Apple copied Samsung. Or neither of the above, since there are only a limited number of ways in which people can combine design elements to create a touchscreen phone before they start to look similar.
Wait, you're serious? So Samsung went into the future to copy Apples product, then released it in the past before the iPhone 5 was announced? Because that's what you're implying. Just think before you post things like this.

You are quite right. I am probably over thinking this. But, what I meant was that Samsung might have obtained information of the iPhone (prototype) design from elsewhere, just like how case makers somehow obtain the design of future Apple products. Not quite time travel, but something involving a little snooping around.

I'm definitely over thinking this, and did have a bit to drink, so please do forgive me if this seems outlandish. 🙂

 

[autigerMark]

I don't really have opinion on who copied who, but I would like to chime in and say I currently own the Samsung eternity and you are right it is cheap. The exterior band you are talking about is actually plastic painted to look like metal.

I bought this phone in October 2009 because at the time I was too cheap to pony up for the iphone 3gs. I almost instantly regretted that decision, and eventually canceled my data plan because browsing the internet was such a pain (non-responsive touch screen).

Been upgrade eligible since April 2011, and after using this thing like a feature phone for the last year and a half, the iphone 5 can't come soon enough for me!

 

[cyks]

I bought my Samsung Eternity back in November '08 and am eagerly waiting for the next iPhone update so I can upgrade.

While it's not an iPhone substitute, it does have it's pluses. Most notably, for me at least, is that it has full web browsing capabilities (either through it's own MEdia Net browser or Opera Mini) even though it's not technically a smartphone... this means that it still qualifies for their unlimited text plan without question. Considering I often use well over 2GB a month and occasionally over 4, that's the one thing I'll miss when I upgrade next month (or, most likely, the reason I finally switch off AT&T).

As for looks, yes, there's a similarity... which is the reason I originally named and frequently call my Eternity my iPhoney.

 

[trims]

As for looks, yes, there's a similarity... which is the reason I originally named and frequently call my Eternity my iPhoney.

But does it shatter / explode if you drop it from a couple of feet like a proper iPhone? 😉

 

[cyks]

But does it shatter / explode if you drop it from a couple of feet like a proper iPhone? 😉

Thankfully, no. The faceplate is scratched to hell with most of the coating long gone, but this phone has been surprisingly extremely durable considering how much abuse it endures.

I am fairly convinced that it's part Slinky since anytime I toss it, need it be onto the couch, my bed or the top stair, it will find a way to make it to the floor.

 

[bruinsrme]

Just curioius how bad is your eye sight.

 

[Tarzanman]

Is this some kind of joke topic?

So what you're suggesting is that someone working for Samsung is 2007 or 2008 (which is when the iPhone 2G and 3G were out):

1. Finds a sketch for the iPhone4 and gives it to Samsung
2. Samsung then *immediately* stops all their factories and makes plastic/aluminum molds for this stolen design and has them out on the market and distributed to stores all over the world in just a few weeks?

Are you serious? The Eternity went up for sale in 2008. It takes months to manufacture a phone and send it all over the world. Basically, Samsung would have had to have 'stolen' this design in late 2007 in order to have it at market by late 2008..... before the iPhone 3GS came out.

Is this a joke topic?

 

[Agent-P]

Thankfully, no. The faceplate is scratched to hell with most of the coating is long gone, but this phone has been surprisingly extremely durable considering how much abuse it endures.

I am fairly convinced that it's part Slinky since anytime I toss it, need it be onto the couch, my bed or the top stair, it will find a way to make it to the floor.

Haha, part slinky...I used to think that about my old GameBoy Advance SP. No matter how perfectly I threw it on my bed or couch, it always ended up on the floor.

 

[SAD*FACED*CLOWN]

@OP there may be SOME merit to your theory as to why these two companies are involved in such heavy litigation with each other but the example phone from Samsung isn't close enough...most of those Galaxy phones or whatever they're called resemble iPhone 3G's to me

 

[AIP5]

Just curioius how bad is your eye sight.

It's actually quite poor. I've been gathering up the courage to have a laser burn out my cornea to fix my eyesight for years now, but still haven't mustered up. My poor eyesight, coupled with the very low lighting of the restaurant, the unusually long table, (and a few drinks later), I thought it was an iPhone 4 until I put on my glasses towards the end.

@OP there may be SOME merit to your theory as to why these two companies are involved in such heavy litigation with each other but the example phone from Samsung isn't close enough...most of those Galaxy phones or whatever they're called resemble iPhone 3G's to me

I agree with you on the Galaxy phones being closer looking to the iPhone 3G/S. But, what gets me about this Eternity phone is the pseudo-metal band that's wrapped around the iPhone. My knowledge in this area is certainly not adequate, but I don't know of any other phone that has a metal or pseudo-metal band wrapping the edges of the entire phone. There might be a few phones out there, but in my very limited knowledge about phones, I can only think of the iPhone 4.


On a side note, now that I have rested and am far from any type of intoxication, even I think my theory I concocted last night in a different state are a bit stretched and over thought.

So, hopefully you all will forgive a chap for his over thinking (dis)ability and his views. 🙂

 

[LostSoul80]

I think Samsung is getting a lot of advertising thanks to Apple.

 

[fireshot91]

Eh, to be honest, I see the similarities.

The edges, the flat back with the flash.

The bezel. The overall layout.


But they released that a good 2 years prior to Apple even releasing it.
I don't think that prototype sketches were available that early, and even then, I doubt somebody at Samsung would've gotten it. If Samsung had gotten it, they would probably have gotten it in 2007. That's when the FIRST iPhone was released. I highly doubt that Apple was planning the 4th iPhone when the first was released. They were probably only working on the 3G.



So, it seems that Apple probably copied Samsung with this one. Although, I doubt anybody actually 'copied' anybody else. There's a limited number of ways that you can make a slab-phone. It seems they've run out.

 

[iEnvy]

Though the similarities are pretty stunning, the time period between these phones is what makes part of your theory irrelevant. Good thought though

 

[Ricezilla]

Is this some kind of joke topic?

So what you're suggesting is that someone working for Samsung is 2007 or 2008 (which is when the iPhone 2G and 3G were out):

1. Finds a sketch for the iPhone4 and gives it to Samsung
2. Samsung then *immediately* stops all their factories and makes plastic/aluminum molds for this stolen design and has them out on the market and distributed to stores all over the world in just a few weeks?

Are you serious? The Eternity went up for sale in 2008. It takes months to manufacture a phone and send it all over the world. Basically, Samsung would have had to have 'stolen' this design in late 2007 in order to have it at market by late 2008..... before the iPhone 3GS came out.

Is this a joke topic?

This.