Apple's Opening Court Statement Focuses on Samsung's Radical Shift in Phone Design

[wedouglas]

Enjoy your Samsung refrigerator. Er, microwave. Uh, washer/dryer? I forget what faceless Korean product we're talking about.

LOL. Thanks to companies like Apple you'll be able to browse the web while you enjoy the manual labor of hand washing your smelly clothes after eating your non-perishable lunch which you'll cook over a fire that you'll have to kindle yourself.

Samsung makes products infinitely more necessary and useful than Apple ever has. Don't pretend like there is shame in designing modern appliances.

 

[Winni]

i never realised this, but there is a big diference int he design change after the iphone was released! damn

also interesting is that windows phones seemed to be an important OS pre-iphone, look at all the samsung phones from 2006 using windows mobile 5!
the world has indeed changed after the iphone introduction!

The world also had indeed changed after the introduction of the Apple Macintosh... Or was it the Xerox Star, which Apple copied with the Mac, that changed the industry?

Anyway. After those machines were sold, all computers had graphical user interfaces and mice -- and Microsoft Windows became the standard for that. Apple sued Microsoft like crazy and almost killed their own company over it.

I also wonder if Apple actually believe that they invented that user interface design that they used in iOS. EVERY Point-of-sale touch screen computer looks like that since the 1980s, it's just the form factor that is different. And talking about the form factor, LG is the company that introduced the first smart phone with a capacitive touch screen. And the IBM Simon was the first real smartphone - and it also had a touch screen. And Simon was introduced in 1993.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_Simon

Apple is a crybaby standing on the shoulders of giants.

 

[iMikeT]

You said based on that image alone - for you the trial would be over. I don't know more than what's published. But I have been on a few juries. If a juror is going to make their decision up with opening statements or based on what the prosecution presents in one diagram vs listening to ALL of the testimony and then rendering their decision then they are not only denying the purpose of the trial in the first place and also diminishing the experience for themselves.

Have you read the actual court documents being released? I'd venture not. I've only skimmed them and I can already say that this so-called "court of opinion" on this forum is based more on pride and loyalty than it is on facts.

The fact is that Apple has been working on iOS devices as we know them today long before they were publicly released, the court documents showing the prototypes prove that. Apple announced and released the iPhone in 2007. Samsung and other handset manufacturers produce devices that are obviously a ripoff of the iPhone after 2007. No need for blind boyfanism here, just going on facts.

Honestly, I hope never to serve on a jury. I would want to see all the evidence before making a decision in any case that is very grey to begin with. However, much of has been going on between Apple and Samsung has been public and keen eyed tech observers, like many of us here on MacRumors, know that the iPhone and iPad have been products that countless manufacturers copy. It doesn't take a genius to know that much of this would be an open and shut case in Apple's favor. Again, I'm not going on boyfanism, just the facts.

 

[Oletros]

The fact is that Apple has been working on iOS devices as we know them today long before they were publicly released, the court documents showing the prototypes prove that. Apple announced and released the iPhone in 2007. Samsung and other handset manufacturers produce devices that are obviously a ripoff of the iPhone after 2007. No need for blind boyfanism here, just going on facts.

Honestly, I hope never to serve on a jury. I would want to see all the evidence before making a decision in any case that is very grey to begin with. However, much of has been going on between Apple and Samsung has been public and keen eyed tech observers, like many of us here on MacRumors, know that the iPhone and iPad have been products that countless manufacturers copy. It doesn't take a genius to know that much of this would be an open and shut case in Apple's favor. Again, I'm not going on boyfanism, just the facts.

Just the facts? I don't think so, if it was so clear that countless manufacturers have copied Apple and if it were and obvious ripp off we didn't need such complicated trials.

And, please, don't say that you need to see all the evidence when you clerarly have decided who is guilty when the trial has only started and we haven't seen any evidence

 

[wedouglas]

I don't understand people who think this lawsuit is unjustified.

Apple is not stifling competition, it's forcing it. Saying there is no other way to design a phone shows lack of imagination. What people are really saying is there is no other way to design an iPhone and they've already accepted iPhones as the way it should be.

Why is that a bad thing? If that's what people like and it is accepted as the way it should be, why would your pursue something else? It's like saying that you should innovate for the sake of innovating. That makes no sense, especially as a business. Some designs just got it right, and perhaps the iPhones form factor was one of them.

Both companies had device designs before the iPhone launch that had similar form factor -- touch screen, rectangular, buttons. If the trend is that people like silver bezels and a single button, why is that suddenly stealing? Tons of products follow design trends for finishes and materials.

Think about TVs. If everyone wants flat screen with a thin gloss black bezel and inputs on the bottom, and that's what everyone is used to, what am I supposed to do as a manufacturer other than give people what they want? Both those design cues have existed in some form or another. I think a lot of people would be unable to differentiate one generic TV from another.

I think we can agree that a smartphone right now has to feel good to hold and screens should be rectangular. The general form is thus predetermined by these things, leaving you to designing the case and software. The Samsung device has a different shaped button, says Samsung right on it, has a different operating system (though something people are still used to,) and completely different hardware.

People happened to like the minimalist Apple design, so why not just go that route? The internal electronics, implementations, and software is entirely different, thus I really don't see it as a big deal.

Just my two cents. Perhaps it doesn't hold up legally, but then again, laws are often written by professional politicians who have no experience in anything remotely practical or grounded in logic.

 

[dbrewster]

I can still see familiar posts from familiar people.

If Apple really isn't innovative, show me a phone that looks like an iPhone, before the iPhone was released, which had the same impact on how phones were designed & on technology as a whole.

Android is a good mobile OS, & Samsung is a good OEM, but to claim they didn't copy Apple is total BS.

 

[wikus]

samsung are pathetic.it is normal in korean Copycat culture to leach of others for profit.

Is this a serious comparison? Youre showing a samsung TABLET next to a apple PHONE? Why do you even show the app drawer from the samsung phone implying that it is its homescreen? Have you ever even USED an android phone?

You don't also think those icons are similar, do you?

Also, that comment about koreas culture..... no, thats not insulting at all, is it? Where the friggin hell are macrumors moderators when you need them? Its ok to break the rules when it favours apple, but NOT when it favours another company?

 

[bazinga!!]

I am a huge Apple fan, but I won't support everything they say. I agree that Samsung copied the dock connector, tablet box, a lot of icons etc... but the Samsung phones are made in a rectangular shape with a center button, just like other HTC and Nokia phones.

 

[Ochyandkaren]

: The cheap-we-want mentality of the USA citizen will be the downfall of the USA economy. Samsung knows that.

Why not argue against patent in the pharma industry?

- Those patents actually save lives.

----------

I am a huge Apple fan, but I won't support everything they say. I agree that Samsung copied the dock connector, tablet box, a lot of icons etc... but the Samsung phones are made in a rectangular shape with a center button, just like other HTC and Nokia phones.

: Who say IT IS about the shape?
: Samsung wanted to emulate the Apple experience to lure consumers. Do you know how Windows vendors and Android vendors sell to the ignorant consumers using phony IT technicians ( it is a sea apple cannot enter, because it is not FREE )?

 

[4D4M]

I'd love to see Samsung pull the component rug out from under Apple. Let Apple scramble to replace Samsung for several quarters if they can.

I've often wondered about this, but I have a hard time believing Mr Cook, the king of supply chains, doesn't have a contingency plan in place for an obvious threat like this.

 

[KnightWRX]

Too bad Samsung ripped off the iphone's design for their F700.

In 1 month ? Samsung has very impressive engineers.

----------

: Who say IT IS about the shape?

Apple does. In their complaint. Which this lawsuit is based on.

Any other questions ? Do you know the facts being discussed here ? And about the smilie spam starting each line : annoying.

 

[Oletros]

Do you know how Windows vendors and Android vendors sell to the ignorant consumers using phony IT technicians ( it is a sea apple cannot enter, because it is not FREE )?

Since when Windows is free?

 

[Ochyandkaren]

----------

[/COLOR]

Apple does. In their complaint. Which this lawsuit is based on.

Any other questions ? Do you know the facts being discussed here ? And about the smilie spam starting each line : annoying.[/QUOTE]


: Denial, it is sexy!

In 1 month ? Samsung has very impressive engineers.


: Indeed! For decades they have been making phones, copying others.
you know Einstein was not the most intelligent man, he did just think different.

 

[Oletros]

----------
: Denial, it is sexy!

Yes, you seem to be an expert in denial

 

[boronathan]

Adriod not completely free, Google will charge mobile phone manufacturer of royalty!

No they don't. you can create a device with Android on it for completely free. I can download the Android sdk and compile Android on my device for completely free.

Android 100 percent free for any oem to use.

 

[Ochyandkaren]

Since when Windows is free?

I say windows is FREE?!

I wrote that IT people sells machines ( computers and phones ) for ignorant consumers, anyone who works for any corporation knows this.

It is a fight Apple cannot fight, because Apple gives no commission to those IT phony people. So there is no competition. People do not choose they just are guided by IT guys, which in the END makes money.

Samsung is using this la-la-land emulating Apple experience to make money.

----------

Yes, you seem to be an expert in denial

: I actually read the Apple complaint, it is very plain. You can believe what you want, i am not here to change your ways.

----------

No they don't. you can create a device with Android on it for completely free. I can download the Android sdk and compile Android on my device for completely free.

Android 100 percent free for any oem to use.

Cool, in what that is good for the consumers? no royalties, no luring to the search engine?
gush!, how ignorant can people BE if you throw the word free at them.
: Come to Earth please.

 

[Oletros]

I say windows is FREE?!

I wrote that IT people sells machines ( computers and phones ) for ignorant consumers, anyone who works for any corporation knows this.

It is a fight Apple cannot fight, because Apple gives no commission to those IT phony people. So there is no competition. People do not choose they just are guided by IT guys, which in the END makes money.

If Apple gives no comission is Apple's fault.

And if you're saying that people buy PC's or Android's devuices becuase they are forced and because they are ignorants you can't be more wrong.

I like when people like you insult other people because they don't choose what you like.

: I actually read the Apple complaint, it is very plain. You can believe what you want, i am not here to change your ways.

No, you haven't read it

----------

Cool, in what that is good for the consumers?
: Come to Earth please.

Demonstrating that you haven't followed the conversation.

And please, stop putting those silly icons on every line, It is annoying

 

[Ochyandkaren]

If Apple gives no comission is Apple's fault.

And if you're saying that people buy PC's or Android's devuices becuase they are forced and because they are ignorants you can't be more wrong.

I like when people like you insult other people because they don't choose what you like.



No, you haven't read it

----------




Demonstrating that you haven't followed the conversation.

And please, stop putting those silly icons on every line, It is annoying

???
Really, who is demanding WHO to do what you want. the majority of people who use Android and Windows machines are lured to do so, they have no free will and most are ignorant.

: ignorance is the unwillingness of learning/research.

 

[MacinDoc]

The world also had indeed changed after the introduction of the Apple Macintosh... Or was it the Xerox Star, which Apple copied with the Mac, that changed the industry?

Anyway. After those machines were sold, all computers had graphical user interfaces and mice -- and Microsoft Windows became the standard for that. Apple sued Microsoft like crazy and almost killed their own company over it.

I also wonder if Apple actually believe that they invented that user interface design that they used in iOS. EVERY Point-of-sale touch screen computer looks like that since the 1980s, it's just the form factor that is different. And talking about the form factor, LG is the company that introduced the first smart phone with a capacitive touch screen. And the IBM Simon was the first real smartphone - and it also had a touch screen. And Simon was introduced in 1993.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_Simon

Apple is a crybaby standing on the shoulders of giants.

Yes, and you can argue that many of the features and concepts in the Simon were borrowed from the Apple Newton that appeared in 1987.

BTW, the LG 850 Prada did beat the iPhone to market in 2007, but it was not introduced first (at least not in sufficient detail to know its form factor or functions). Apple's iPhone keynote took place about 1 week before LG's press release detailing the features and showing the first pictures of the Prada. So they were clearly developed simultaneously, and neither could be said to have been copied from the other.

I think the thing that is motivating Apple to go after certain models of Android phones is how many aspects of those phones are remarkably similar to the iPhone: the physical appearance, the arrangement and appearance of icons, the appearance of the charger and dock connector, the use of various multitouch gestures such as swipe to unlock and pinch to zoom, the appearance of various types of eye candy such as bounceback, and even the packaging of the phones. I believe Apple thinks that such phones were attempting to look like iPhones in order to ride on the coattails of its success, and that less informed customers (keep in mind that the average mobile phone purchaser is much less tech savvy than typical posters on this site) may have purchased such phones thinking that they were purchasing iPhones, resulting in lost sales and brand dilution.

Apple may be wrong in its perception that other smartphone makers have been copied from its designs. But given that this IS the belief of those who are responsible for making decisions for the company, it is Apple's responsibility to its shareholders to protect its IP, for which the value would otherwise be lost. So Apple may be ill advised, it may be mistaken about its beliefs regarding ownership of various IP, but it is not being a "crybaby". To not pursue this percieved infringement would be irresponsible to Apple's shareholders.

 

[KnightWRX]

I wrote that IT people sells machines ( computers and phones ) for ignorant consumers, anyone who works for any corporation knows this.

It is a fight Apple cannot fight, because Apple gives no commission to those IT phony people. So there is no competition. People do not choose they just are guided by IT guys, which in the END makes money.

What does IT have to do with all of this ? "Phony IT people" ? I don't even understand what you're claiming here.

People who sell Android phones/tablets are the same people who sell iPads/iPhones : carrier salespeople, bestbuy employees, staples employees, etc...

Where does IT even come into play here ?

 

[sennekuyl]

Samsung was planning? Did they? Afraid, not.

If Samsung didn't release products with those designs what are Apple suing over? *scratch* One one hand Samsung is supposed to have copied, but on the other they had the designs prior to the iPhone release.* People are trying to have it both ways. Is it a problem because those designs were selected down to a single design? Wouldn't it seem more likely that upon seeing the competition they reduced the overlapping product lines?

Same with the products that have been released. Certain groups soundly trounce Samsung's products for looking & feeling cheap then in the next denounce Samsung for copying. I've held the "copies" and purchased the iPhone because I thought its design was more appealing & it had better construction. It never occurred to me that they were copies any more than haberdashery products copy each other. No one with a modicum of sense & passion for such matters would seriously consider them copies.

* I know of the LG Prada and have seen several other products that preceded the iPhone having 'similar' design, however it is up to those companies to sue infringers.

 

[KnightWRX]

BTW, the LG 850 Prada did beat the iPhone to market in 2007, but it was not introduced first (at least not in sufficient detail to know its form factor or functions). Apple's iPhone keynote took place about 1 week before LG's press release detailing the features and showing the first pictures of the Prada. So they were clearly developed simultaneously, and neither could be said to have been copied from the other.

That's the whole point people bringing up the Prada want to make! How can it be so hard to understand that people were working on iPhone like form factor phones at the same time as Apple. Apple did not invent the form factor, and thus shouldn't own any rights over "rectangles with glass and rounded corners", much less sue over it like they're doing.

Why is it so easy for some to say "But Apple didn't copy the Prada, they made it simultaneously" and then go on and say "everyone has been copying Apple".

It works. Get this. Both. Ways.

 

[Ochyandkaren]

What does IT have to do with all of this ? "Phony IT people" ? I don't even understand what you're claiming here.

People who sell Android phones/tablets are the same people who sell iPads/iPhones : carrier salespeople, bestbuy employees, staples employees, etc...

Where does IT even come into play here ?

Looks like you cannot read or you are just punking around.
Go back to my original post and remember to contextualize.


The context…
˝How people in an office environment are lured to use non Apple machines is well known. The reason for Samsung to emulate Apple experience.˝

 

[boronathan]

Cool, in what that is good for the consumers? no royalties, no luring to the search engine?
gush!, how ignorant can people BE if you throw the word free at them.
: Come to Earth please.

Seriously, we're having a discussion about whether Android is free? Please link me to the Google page on pricing for Android software, I'm interested in seeing what they're charging for Android nowadays.

 

[Oletros]

???
Really, who is demanding WHO to do what you want. the majority of people who use Android and Windows machines are lured to do so, they have no free will and most are ignorant.

: ignorance is the unwillingness of learning/research.

The one demonstrating a lot of ignorance and unwillingness to learn is you.

Hava a good day, it is a waste of time trying to discuss with someone like you. And not having into account how annoying are those silly icons.