Samsung v. Apple Trial Documents Reveal Early iPhone and iPad Prototypes

[Saladinos]

clearly you are not aware of the design process. the "obvious" is the purest and simplest solution. it may sound very simple if you reduce the design process to draw a rectangle with tapered edges and that's it. but thats just silly. to achieve the essence of a product, you could take months or years of R&D, and you may never get there. designing a good product is about focusing on what is crucial, making compromises, testing and, eventually, you'll end up with an "obvious" solution.
but trust me, it's only obvious when you get there!

Pure and simple solutions are only obvious after they're thought of.

 

[Thex1138]

BSG iPhone

Would have been very interesting...

Don't be surprised if other companies garnish some design from these prototypes in the next year or two... ;-)

 

[Rogifan]

Can someone explain why all this stuff being released is good for Apple? Is this suit really worth all these prototypes being made public?

 

[HangmanSwingset]

The one on the right looks like the new Nokia...

Er I guess the new Nokia looks like the old iPod Mini.

Never noticed that before.

Honestly when I saw the Lumia 800 I compared it to the 6th gen iPod nano.

 

[Rogifan]

So even when Apple blatantly copies Sony, that is all fine and dandy, but when Sammy was apparently "inspired" by Apple, a court case is immediately started... Ok, then....

What Sony device Apple blatantly copy?

 

[HangmanSwingset]

Waiting to see if Sony sues Apple for using their logo!

So even when Apple blatantly copies Sony, that is all fine and dandy, but when Sammy was apparently "inspired" by Apple, a court case is immediately started... Ok, then....

That doesn't even make sense. They didn't put it on the commercial product. And on top of that it doesn't even resemble any type of Sony product of the time.
Any company could very well have a male reproductive organ stamped on early prototypes that never see the light of day if they wanted to. Doesn't make the finished product inappropriate.

 

[Thex1138]

These Prototypes

Are pre-iPhone 2G
So there are definitely designs that were explored after the 2G was released which explore iPhone design refinement further.

 

[Rogifan]

Image

So this is Apple designed, but has Sony on it, and looks almost entirely like an iPhone 4.

If Apple "drew inspiration" from Sony for this, so when people say Sony copied the iPhone 4's design with the Vita, Sony can say that they basically just "drew inspiration" from Sony's own devices.

There's a difference between drawing inspiration and copying. Has Samsung ever said the original Galaxy S was inspired by Apple? All I've seen are alleged internal communications at Samsung where they did worry that the design might too closely resemble Apple's.

 

[Swordylove]

The one with the previous-gen-iPod-nano-like design looks pretty sweet.

 

[arjaosx]

Lest we forget...

Sony has always been looked up to by Apple in terms of design. I saw a keynote of the aluminium Macbook before where SJ even said, "We love Sony" and the story about Apple running OSX on a vaio laptop when they transitione to Intel.

I have reason to believe that Apple and Sony have a good relationship. Samsung is rather different.

 

[kalsta]

Remember all those threads where people defended the cheaper glass back on the iPhone, saying if you accidentally drop your phone you must just be a careless idiot who doesn't look after their belongings? Looks like those careless idiots at Apple have been playing with iPad prototypes again…

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Sony has always been looked up to by Apple in terms of design. I saw a keynote of the aluminium Macbook before where SJ even said, "We love Sony" and the story about Apple running OSX on a vaio laptop when they transitione to Intel.

I have reason to believe that Apple and Sony have a good relationship. Samsung is rather different.

Jobs admired Sony. Then Apple killed the Walkman. I'm not so sure Sony enjoys the relationship.

 

[G51989]

[url=http://cdn.macrumors.com/im/macrumorsthreadlogodarkd.png]Image[/url]


The plethora of court cases between Apple and other companies over trademarks, design decisions, and patents have only occasionally offered anything of interest to the average observer. Today, however, The Verge has dug up a treasure trove of images of early iPhone and iPad prototypes.

Image


Early designs include an eight-sided iPhone with diagonal corners, early Sony-inspired designs, and another model that has the same aluminum-based design as the old iPod Mini.
Image


One Sony-inspired design from 2006, which bears a "JONY" logo in honor of Apple chief designer Jonathan Ive, looks strikingly similar to the iPhone 4 that debuted years later.

The Verge has a number of other images scattered across two different posts. They're worth a look.

Article Link: Samsung v. Apple Trial Documents Reveal Early iPhone and iPad Prototypes

I love that iPod mini phone, that thing is much better than the 4, looks wise anyway

 

[Savor]

Sony has always been looked up to by Apple in terms of design. I saw a keynote of the aluminium Macbook before where SJ even said, "We love Sony" and the story about Apple running OSX on a vaio laptop when they transitione to Intel.

I have reason to believe that Apple and Sony have a good relationship. Samsung is rather different.

It feels bittersweet to watch Sony fallen off and lost their way. For pretty much from the 1980's and 1990's, Sony was what Apple and Samsung are today. People easily forget the innovation Sony brought to this world. Even Steve Jobs wore turtlenecks which drew inspiration from Sony's company-wide uniforms. Or how fascinated SJ was when he saw the first Walkman.

But until July 1, 1979, the day the Walkman went on sale in Japan, people had no concept of portable music--not the kind that Sony offered. Until that day, portable music mostly meant holding a transistor radio up to your ear.

The Walkman dazzled.

Count Steve Jobs among the most impressed, according to John Sculley, Apple's former CEO.

"We used to go visit [Sony founder] Akio Morita and he had really the same kind of high-end standards that Steve did and respect for beautiful products," Sculley said in an excellent interview with Leander Kahney of the Cult of Mac blog. "I remember Akio Morita gave Steve and me each one of the first Sony Walkmans. None of us had ever seen anything like that before because there had never been a product like that...Steve was fascinated by it. The first thing he did with his was take it apart and he looked at every single part. How the fit and finish was done, how it was built."

 

[Hetman]

Ah yes, the Battlestar Galactica version of the iPhone.

yeah and the start screen would look a little like this maybe? Starbuck would have had one for sure.

 

[G51989]

It feels bittersweet to watch Sony fallen off and lost their way. For pretty much from the 1980's and 1990's, Sony was what Apple and Samsung are today. People easily forget the innovation Sony brought to this world. Even Steve Jobs wore turtlenecks which drew inspiration from Sony's company-wide uniforms. Or how fascinated SJ was when he saw the first Walkman.

Sony isn't doing to hot right now, but lets be honest. its sony, they'll be back again.

Sony might follow what Happened to Microsoft, Microsoft never saw the massive losses Sony is now, but Microsoft went into a rut in the late 90s/early 00s.

But now look at Microsoft, they make incredible innovative software/OS's/great consoles, and what looks to be an awesome tablet.

I could see Sony making a big comeback.

 

[Fandongo]

I can't believe they wrote "menu" on the button.
I guess "This is the button" didn't fit.

 

[AngerDanger]

Amazing that they basically had the iPhone 4 design in 2006 but decided to release a lesser design for the original iPhone (and 3G/ 3GS) in 2007...

I'm willing to bet that it had a lot to do with hardware limitations. In the keynote demoing the original iPhone, Steve said that it was the thinnest smartphone on the market. It would've been crazy (at the time) if that phone was any thinner.

 

[archurban]

Apple seems to cross the line bit. they even copied Sony to make prototype early. they won't probably admit what they did. that's why Apple had sued for what Samsung did for Galaxy S3 is totally stupid, energy wasting work. what if Sony would try to do counter sue against Apple? then they will just ignore itself? I don't think so. nowadays, their action about law is pretty ridiculous. they need to think over what they have to do for the future. do you think that Apple will continue to grow without any hit? I am pretty sure that they will become the second MS situation after all. there is no number 1. remember.

 

[dba415]

There's a difference between drawing inspiration and copying. Has Samsung ever said the original Galaxy S was inspired by Apple? All I've seen are alleged internal communications at Samsung where they did worry that the design might too closely resemble Apple's.

Here is a Sony Cybershot concept design from 2006 in leaked photos

If I am Sony, I sue apple for copying. The iPhone 4 is almost like this except with a clean back.

The "innovative" design from Apple is nothing more than stealing and copying parts of other company's works. Hypocrites at Apple.

 

[netdoc66]

Galactica/Caprica Phone

I want one of those. So say we all...

 

[fpsBeaTt]

Those look hideous. I'm glad they didn't make the cut otherwise I may not have owned the original one....lol

A-huh, sure you wouldn't have... Furthermore, they're not hideous; stop using hyperbole inappropriately, it's annoying.

 

[Savor]

But it has been known for years that Steve Jobs wanted to be like Sony. The fact is, nobody can really be truly original. Some people get inspiration from others and improve on those ideas. You build upon the shoulders and backs from the ones that came before you. Sony back in the 80's and 90's is what Apple and Samsung is today. They practically invented the consumer electronic market. Apple always looked up to Sony back then. Even the camera on the 4s is manufactured by Sony. It was Sony that helped improve on the back-illuminated sensors. It is only ironic that Sony Pictures now has the rights to the Steve Jobs movie.

I look at Apple and Samsung has the heirs to Sony's throne now that mighty king has fallen. They are basically the offsprings to Sony in the consumer electronics market just like what Apple and Microsoft were to IBM and HP in the computer industry. Youngsters following into their footsteps. What Sony lacks is software. They are a hardware company at heart. But in today's age, it is becoming more software-driven. Nokia and Motorola were the same way. They were the pioneers of telecommunications. They fell from grace too because they are only good at hardware.

”Steve’s point of reference was Sony at the time. He really wanted to be Sony. He didn’t want to be IBM. He didn’t want to be Microsoft. He wanted to be Sony,” Sculley adds.

Read this article -
http://www.sonyrumors.net/2011/10/11/steve-jobs-wanted-apple-sony/

Watch this video of SJ praising Sony -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?nomobile=1&v=_A3qoyVbbho

 

[kirky29]

What's the top green icon? Looks kinda like a video calling icon?

 

[macnerd93]

Apple seems to cross the line bit. they even copied Sony to make prototype early. they won't probably admit what they did. that's why Apple had sued for what Samsung did for Galaxy S3 is totally stupid, energy wasting work. what if Sony would try to do counter sue against Apple? then they will just ignore itself? I don't think so. nowadays, their action about law is pretty ridiculous. they need to think over what they have to do for the future. do you think that Apple will continue to grow without any hit? I am pretty sure that they will become the second MS situation after all. there is no number 1. remember.

LOL some people are just too hilarious. Did you even read the article? The prototype with Sony branding was a research project done by Apple to better understand what a Sony Product could look like from the time 2006, in terms of the materials Sony were already using. The phone was never meant to see the light of day. The sample product was made in-house by Apple and had nothing to do with Sony whatsoever, other than the branding that Apple added themselves. The product by the looks of it, was a non functioning unit and so was just a lump of materials, not actually a phone, hardly a copy.

 

[Macman45]

Glad those designs didn't make the cut!

That square design is pig ugly....Let's hope Apple don't go all retro on us and decide to make the 5 look like that..It's a brick.