Apple: Never Say Never
The folks at Cupertino believed that the average customer does not know what he wants. You create something new, establish a standard, create marketing hype and rake in the moolah. This worked well for several years - the iPod, iPhone, iPad all successfully created generations of iFans. Steve Jobs even said that there would never be a smaller iPad - thats what the iPhone was for. Want a tablet with a stylus? What the hell is a stylus? And the iPhone would never have a screen larger than 3.5" - it was impossible to use a device with a larger screen single handedly. They took it to the extent of openly criticizing the larger size of the Samsung Galaxy S(II) when it launched. Today the world has changed and the customer has spoken - Samsung has sold millions of units of the stylus sporting, 5.3" sized Galaxy Note. Google's Nexus 7 tablet is sold out for months! Now the iDesigners are slowly chalking out plans for a smaller iPad and the iPhone 5 is rumoured to have atleast a 4" screen. Steve Jobs might be turning in his grave. Only time will tell if the new iDevices will be a success story for Apple or dilute their product positioning. But it is clear that there are no hard and fast rules or stances taken in business.
Samsung lawyers don the design mantle
Anybody who isn't living under a rock would know that Apple and Samsung are embroiled in a catfight over copyright infringement. Apple alleges that Samsung copied their iPhone and iPad design and should be penalized. While the verdict still hangs and the Judges yawn, Samsung doesn't want to take any chances with the newer devices they design. The result is that you have phones and tablets that look like they were designed by a lawyer - anything that remotely resembles an iDevice is thrown out of the window. What we end up with is the array of new flagship devices - The Galaxy S(III), Galaxy Note(II) and Galaxy Note 10.1 that are built out of putty like plastic, rounded out and made to be buck ugly! (Ok, the S3 is not really that ugly, but the other two sure look that way from the leaks that are doing the rounds!) What is the world coming to? Build your own original looking device that is functional and beautiful Samsung. Else, I'll have to look elsewhere for my next device phone or tablet.
What is interesting to note in this Apple-Samsung controvery is that the latter is a key component supplier to the former. The relationship seems to be taking a hit now as LG is rumoured to be making the displays for the iPhone 5.
The folks at Cupertino believed that the average customer does not know what he wants. You create something new, establish a standard, create marketing hype and rake in the moolah. This worked well for several years - the iPod, iPhone, iPad all successfully created generations of iFans. Steve Jobs even said that there would never be a smaller iPad - thats what the iPhone was for. Want a tablet with a stylus? What the hell is a stylus? And the iPhone would never have a screen larger than 3.5" - it was impossible to use a device with a larger screen single handedly. They took it to the extent of openly criticizing the larger size of the Samsung Galaxy S(II) when it launched. Today the world has changed and the customer has spoken - Samsung has sold millions of units of the stylus sporting, 5.3" sized Galaxy Note. Google's Nexus 7 tablet is sold out for months! Now the iDesigners are slowly chalking out plans for a smaller iPad and the iPhone 5 is rumoured to have atleast a 4" screen. Steve Jobs might be turning in his grave. Only time will tell if the new iDevices will be a success story for Apple or dilute their product positioning. But it is clear that there are no hard and fast rules or stances taken in business.
Samsung lawyers don the design mantle
Anybody who isn't living under a rock would know that Apple and Samsung are embroiled in a catfight over copyright infringement. Apple alleges that Samsung copied their iPhone and iPad design and should be penalized. While the verdict still hangs and the Judges yawn, Samsung doesn't want to take any chances with the newer devices they design. The result is that you have phones and tablets that look like they were designed by a lawyer - anything that remotely resembles an iDevice is thrown out of the window. What we end up with is the array of new flagship devices - The Galaxy S(III), Galaxy Note(II) and Galaxy Note 10.1 that are built out of putty like plastic, rounded out and made to be buck ugly! (Ok, the S3 is not really that ugly, but the other two sure look that way from the leaks that are doing the rounds!) What is the world coming to? Build your own original looking device that is functional and beautiful Samsung. Else, I'll have to look elsewhere for my next device phone or tablet.
What is interesting to note in this Apple-Samsung controvery is that the latter is a key component supplier to the former. The relationship seems to be taking a hit now as LG is rumoured to be making the displays for the iPhone 5.
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