Apple Reportedly Pressures Pegatron into Ceasing ASUS Zenbook Production

[Trik]

Here's your comparison for those that say it isn't the same...

http://www.ecoustics.com/electronics/products/articles/697822.html

 

[MacLawyer]

http://www.ecoustics.com/electronics/products/articles/697822.html

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Completely different!

 

[Winni]

Has anyone seen the Dell XPS 13? THAT's a Macbook Air ripoff

http://www.theverge.com/2012/1/10/2690272/dell-xps-13-ultrabook-pricing-release-date

I don't see where, this thing looks more like a Dell Mini than it looks like something from Apple. Dell has already built similar looking notebooks and netbooks BEFORE Apple shipped the MacBook Air.

You guys should stop drinking the Apple Kool Aid. Just because Apple is suing everybody for everything that still doesn't make them the mother of all inventions.

Gosh. I'm glad that I have a Linux partition on my iMac and don't depend on those idiots in Cupertino.

 

[gnasher729]

Of course. Why should Apple tolerate their supplier churning out fake Macbook Airs for someone else?

Apple is now in a position to do this, and more power to them.

This is all "reportedly", with no real evidence. That in mind: This ASUS laptop is not a "fake Macbook Air" until a court says so. This hasn't happened, so today ASUS has every right to build as many of these laptops as they want.

If Apple were to put pressure on a manufacturer to stop building ASUS products, that would be definitely anti-competitive and very troublesome indeed. The situation may be different; Apple may have offered a contract for building so many devices that Pegatron doesn't have the capacity to build some items for other companies.

I don't see them breaking any laws here. Not sure what you mean by "anti-competitive." Apple isn't anti-Asus competition. They've simply asked their supplier to choose. Apart from any contractual agreement Apple has with Pegatron, neither party is bound to the other.

You should really know what "anti-competitive" means, considering how often Apple is accused wrongly of being anti-competitive by some people. An action is anti-competitive if it prevents competition. Competing means building within the law the best product you can and selling it at the best possible price. Trying to be better than competitors is competition. Stopping competitors from doing things outside the law is competition. But preventing competitors from building products is anti-competitive. Creating a situation where the competitor cannot sell, regardless of the quality of their product, that is anti-competitive.

In this case, if Apple prevents ASUS from building computers, then I, as a customer, lose the ability to look at both products and make a decision and buy the one that is better, because one is not for sale. Therefore, no competition. Therefore, anti-competitive.

 

[Cheffy Dave]

Good enough for the copycat rat bastards

 

[miraclehobo]

I don't see where, this thing looks more like a Dell Mini than it looks like something from Apple. Dell has already built similar looking notebooks and netbooks BEFORE Apple shipped the MacBook Air.

You guys should stop drinking the Apple Kool Aid. Just because Apple is suing everybody for everything that still doesn't make them the mother of all inventions.

Gosh. I'm glad that I have a Linux partition on my iMac and don't depend on those idiots in Cupertino.

Well the way I see it. You're just as bad as a fanboy. Every post I see from you is a none stop tirade against Apple to the hilt so its seen you're not following the tide of popularity.

Your anti-Apple bias is just as bad as the pro-Apple fanboys. Colours your view to think like a normal person. Open your mind guys!

 

[idunn]

Yes, it DOES look nice

Note to Apple:

While you may not like the competition of the Asustek Zenbook, that is one nice looking computer. In fact very much the way I wish your MacBook Air and Pro lines looked right now. Please note how attractive the color black can be, and if not the entire computer, then at least (as with the Pro line) how helpful black is on the bezel.

Look into it.

 

[uknowimright]

and in a few weeks Apple will show off the iPad Transformer

 

[gkpm]

http://www.ecoustics.com/electronics/products/articles/697822.html

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OMG so different, the one one the right has

Angular harmony was another highlight of the design process. The ZENBOOK™ had to have a sharp culminating point on one end, and a rounded, smooth curve on the other. They even paid close attention to the underside, which for the first time ever on a notebook gets the same aluminum hairline treatment as the rest of the machine.

Ha! Ok first part is the same, BUT there's no "aluminium hairline treatment" (whatever that is) on the underside of the MacBook Air is there?

Busted.

 

[rmwebs]

Of course. Why should Apple tolerate their supplier churning out fake Macbook Airs for someone else?

Apple is now in a position to do this, and more power to them.

A fake macbook air would be running OS X. This is a Windows machine with a VERY different architecture.

This is just a bully boy tactic. If they had a problem, they should have dug out one of the many patents they hold and force a change to the specific patent, not bully pegatron to stop making it because it looks a bit like a macbook air.

 

[mm1250]

I always had a feeling if Apple ever had any market dominance they would use their power to destroy competition. Reality is Apple is worse than Microsoft with regards to being anti-competitive and it shows big time!

 

[G4DP]

A couple years back, not long after Apple switched to the aluminum unibodies for its laptops, I remember reading an article about a Chinese manufacturer which was working very closely with Apple in obtaining the aluminum machining robots for making these cases. I can't remember if it was Pegasus or Hon Hai or Foxconn or one of the others. Anyway, the implication was that it was Apple that initiated the request to establish these manufacturing facilities and to encourage the investment in the machinery, and that they worked closely with Apple on it. If Pegasus was among those companies, then Apple probably has a right to be miffed if they turned around and used those same processes and or facilities for another competitor. I guess that's also always one of the dangers of using outside contractors to do manufacturing instead of doing it in house.

Which company made the investment in tools and machines? It sure as hell wouldn't of been Apple.

 

[gkpm]

I always had a feeling if Apple ever had any market dominance they would use their power to destroy competition. Reality is Apple is worse than Microsoft with regards to being anti-competitive and it shows big time!

Except Apple doesn't have anything near "market dominance" outside of the iPod and iPad, two niche products.

They do have quite some media dominance though, the media can't stop making up stories about them so you're excused of thinking they own the computer market.

 

[*LTD*]

I always had a feeling if Apple ever had any market dominance they would use their power to destroy competition.

The "competition", frankly, SUCKS. They're unimaginative, uninspiring, and have been riding Apple's coattails for years. There's nothing new or interesting happening outside of Cupertino. Period. Just look at what when on at CES. It's either minor variations on the same tired concepts that aren't making any one any money, or knockoffs of Apple-gear, or proof-of-concept ******** that no one can buy. There is no *real* competition. And let's be straight here: what on earth can one expect from OEMs running a universally-licensed OS? Any REAL competition would come from the vertical integration camp, and currently it's a population of 1.

Apple saved this industry from themselves, and actually pushed the state of consumer tech FORWARD. But a line has to be drawn somewhere. And if it involves Apple flexing a little muscle in the schoolyard, then I'm all for it.

 

[cmwade77]

I think Apple may very well have this one right, they have a legal responsibility to their stockholders to protect their trademarks and designs. If they didn't do stuff like this, the stockholders could end up suing Apple. That being said, I think in many of the other suits Apple has gone too far with many of the other lawsuits (especially the ones against Samsung).

 

[thekev]

Asus isn't forcing Apple to innovate by cloning designs. They are actually doing quite the opposite. They are removing any incentive to innovate from the market and forcing the competition to be about price. When this behavior is rampant all computers looks the same and the only differentiator is price. That is not healthy and does not help the industry at all.

It is a bit tacky, but I highly doubt a large number of people are in debate between a macbook air and an asus. Apple's brand recognition is just completely insane. They close enough in price anyway to where if someone wants a Mac, they're unlikely to be dissuaded. If their budget is that tight, there are cheaper options without buying a terrible notebook.

Since Apple/Jobs/Ives came up with translucent design colors for their iMacs and calling things "iThis" or "iThat", people have been copying them on all fronts. In the early 00s, I could be walking through HOUSEWARES and see translucent colors all over the place... not even Electronics, ... Housewares!

This kind of thing has happened....well forever. You were looking at a design trend there. To call that blatant copying is really silly as companies take design cues from each other all the time, and Apple has nothing to do with housewares. Sometimes these arguments just become too far fetched.

You forgot the part about Apple taking a stand (quite likely legal) against rip-off artists, counsellor. ASUS in this case is no "ordinary" competition. They are another legal target, and for now, Pegatron is enabling ASUS' activities. This is a prelude to a wider campaign by Apple against MBA knock-off artists. Same as Apple's moves against Samsung were the opening salvo of their wider campaign against Google (as we're seeing now with Apple's move against the Galaxy Nexus running stock Android.)

I kind of hope we'll see the Android/Google issue come to a point of closure. At some point you'll see patents invalidated, worked around, or the infringing features removed. I'm wondering what you consider to be an MBA knock off. Is the Dell one even though they've had previous designs with a similar look going back several years? What about the Lenovo? It also looks like a slimmed down version of a couple of their prior designs. Is it all ultrabooks or just a few?

I don't see where, this thing looks more like a Dell Mini than it looks like something from Apple. Dell has already built similar looking notebooks and netbooks BEFORE Apple shipped the MacBook Air.

You guys should stop drinking the Apple Kool Aid. Just because Apple is suing everybody for everything that still doesn't make them the mother of all inventions.

Gosh. I'm glad that I have a Linux partition on my iMac and don't depend on those idiots in Cupertino.

I'd like to use Linux, but it's missing a few things that I require . Some of the people who post on here don't bother to spend a few seconds on google (because of course google is evil ) to see if this really is a drastic design departure from previous models. These pictures don't really make it onto macrumors until Apple ships something that looks similar. Given their size, it's quite difficult to develop everything from scratch in house. Just like every other large (boring) company, they're at a point where they have to branch out via acquisition.

 

[Speedy2]

I always had a feeling if Apple ever had any market dominance they would use their power to destroy competition. Reality is Apple is worse than Microsoft with regards to being anti-competitive and it shows big time!

Conjecture.
Microsoft has been found guilty of abusing their monopoly plenty of times by courts in many countries. I'm still waiting for a similar ruling for Apple.

Microsoft entirely owns the worldwide markets for computer operating systems and office suites, and hell, they are scraping every last penny out of them. While the ASP for computers has fallen dramatically during the last 10-15 years, the ASP for Windows has actually gone up. Which means Microsoft's share of profit per computer sold has risen astronomically over this period, while PC makers are struggling.
Talking about ways to shut out the competition... Microsoft has a long history of it. For instance, they had made deals with all major PC makers that forced them to pay Microsoft for every PC that they sold, no matter if there was Windows on them or not. This way, no one ever thought about putting any other OS on their machines, and it also kept other OSes to gain any traction, because they were only available on noname computers.
And just like any bar can switch from Coke to Pepsi, Pegatron has the choice to switch over to Asus and say goodbye to Apple. Or, alternatively, Asus can have their computers produced somewhere else. There was no such choice for OSes and PC makers at that time.

Oh, but people forget so quickly, and suddenly someone else is 'worse' without even playing the same league of corporate fouls.

----------

In this case, if Apple prevents ASUS from building computers, then I, as a customer, lose the ability to look at both products and make a decision and buy the one that is better, because one is not for sale. Therefore, no competition. Therefore, anti-competitive.

Is that so...
Truth is, Asus can go to any other of the huge manufacturers (Compal, Foxtron), or even build the computers themselves if they really want to.

This is called BUSINESS. Try ordering a Coke in a Pepsi bar. Does it kill Coke? Of course not. But poor little Asus, selling more than twice as many computers, is being bullied by big Apple.

 

[kockgunner]

I don't see where, this thing looks more like a Dell Mini than it looks like something from Apple. Dell has already built similar looking notebooks and netbooks BEFORE Apple shipped the MacBook Air.

You guys should stop drinking the Apple Kool Aid. Just because Apple is suing everybody for everything that still doesn't make them the mother of all inventions.

Gosh. I'm glad that I have a Linux partition on my iMac and don't depend on those idiots in Cupertino.

Sure thing buddy. Obvious troll is obvious.

 

[mutantteenager]

Let the market decide. If this product is really that bad, people won't buy it.

Capitalism is driven by competition. If your product doesn't stand up to the market demands, it fails. If this story is true, then Apple clearly see a threat from what most here seem to think is an inferior product. So maybe it's not that inferior after all?

 

[wikus]

I always had a feeling if Apple ever had any market dominance they would use their power to destroy competition. Reality is Apple is worse than Microsoft with regards to being anti-competitive and it shows big time!

It's unfortunate that apple fanboys can't accept that reality.

 

[3282868]

My only issue I am concerned about is the possible lack of future competition in markets that Apple is continuing to dominant almost every quarter. Don't misunderstand, I think it is amazing that AAPL has come so far. However, this may not bode well for consumers as AAPL dominates in a market with less competition. Less competition may equate to higher costs and (possible but not likely) less incentive to innovate. This wasn't good for AAPL as Microsoft dominated the OS sect, especially in the enterprise market. I want to see more competition with AAPL, it's what keeps every company on their toes. There seem to be more and more lawsuits between AAPL and other companies, I don't know the legalities of each case however I would not accept any company strong arming competition with legalities, this goes for Microsoft, Motorola, Google - all of them. With an unsurpassed amount of cash and legal aid, AAPL seems to be more focused on patent infringements that may tow the line a bit. I think they're better than that.

 

[*LTD*]

It's unfortunate that apple fanboys can't accept that reality.

You won't find me complaining, thats for sure. The industry is populated by has-beens and posers.

 

[marksman]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9A334 Safari/7534.48.3)

How is it bullying? It isn't as if Pegatron has a right to make products for Apple, or even that Apple is suing ASUS on a questionable design patent. Pepsi might voice displeasure if a significant supplier signed a big deal with Coke, or vice versa.

Not sure if serious

Using ones weight to force a manufacturing company to quit producing a competitor's product or risk losing theirs is bullying

You don't have a future in business. I hope you are artistic or something.

 

[bitserf]

Before the MacBook Air, none of the laptop manufacturers could get their laptops thinner than a thick slab (Sony excluded, but the Vaio still isn't that close to Air in terms of build quality).

I remember that not a single laptop before the Air used a Unibody construction. Apple did the materials science and worked closely with their manufacturing partners to make this possible.

If, as all the detractors are claiming, its so easy, and it's like Apple is trying to patent the rectangle, why then did no-one, NO-ONE, come up with something looking so much like the Air until it was released? It's the classic argument from those stealing IP, that the person who came up with the original idea just needs to "innovate more" and "compete harder". Yeah, so that the KIRFer can have new things to copy, yeah?

Now, suddenly, the other manufacturers have discovered that's the "natural" way for a ultrabook to look? Success makes everything "obvious", hmm?

These KIRFers had a little help by the fact that Apple invested in their manufacturing partners to get them the machinery required, and Apple's well within their rights to assert that the investment they made in developing this process, as well as the hard research to get things as thin as that, doesn't mean that everyone else can now piggyback off their R&D for free.

Let the other manufacturers try coming up with something better or go back to selling 10 pound craptops they were making before.

Unfortunately for the other manufacturers, they'll have to one up Apple on industrial design and manufacturing processes.

Good luck to them, because the Apple of today has the resources to not take their KIRFing ways lying down.

 

[marksman]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9A334 Safari/7534.48.3)

here we go again ... first the iPad now every alu laptop with black keyboard is a rip off ... sometimes i feel embarrassed for all my apple products

the worst is that its just the VENDOR not the actual product designer, who is apple to tell them who they can and cant produce for. crazy

if apple were the government we'd all WISH we were in china

No computer looked like an air before apple but now it is okay everyone makes the laptops look like an air?

Your logic might work in china but not in the us