Apple - The new bully boy?

[papa_smurf]

Apple have been granted a temporary injunction to prevent Samsung selling their new Galaxy tablet in Europe, stemming from ongoing a patent war.

Now is this a sign of Apple just protecting their IP, or are they using patents to bully other tablet manufacturers not selling tablets that could potentially threaten the iPad?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-14470253

[Sammi79]

Yeah, they just don't want their elitist consumer base to realise that other companies can make the same product that works better, provides for a free-er market and costs 1/3 of what theirs does even while still making 500% profit.

I am biased though.

[Growler]

Lots of people bought iPods, iPads, iPhones. Why? They work, and they present well. Like 'em or not, Apple is probably the largest driving force in today's portable consumer electronics industry, largely due to a loyal fan base, but also due to the fact that they've learned better than anyone else how to present a product to potential new customers, too.
Better than anyone else, I think, Apple knows that, in business, "Image is everything." Apple's image has always been the other half of a binary system that is its products.

I've been a PC user all my life, but I own an iPhone and an iPad. Both were worthwhile investments and have paid for themselves over and over again. I know that when I bought them (separately, at different points in time) that even the packaging seemed pretty robust; certainly better in appearance than a brown cardboard box, a bunch of styrofoam inserts, and plastic bags.

I don't know enough about the Samsung offering to know if Apple's action is justified, but I do know that there are similar products being offered here in the States that weren't blocked by injunctions.

[joea]

Well said Growler. I resent being considered an "elitist" because I use and enjoy an iphone. (Listening to music right now and on coffee break). Hell we have a couple of members who develop for Apple ios (one making a rather ambitious u-boat sim). Anyway the truth is other companies like Google are hardly innocent as they were accused of ripping off Oracle for android:
http://fosspatents.blogspot.com/2011/07/judge-orders-overhaul-of-oracles.html

Also are not as open source as they claim.
http://arstechnica.com/open-source/news/2011/08/study-android-is-least-open-of-open-source-mobile-platforms.ars (http://arstechnica.com/open-source/news/2011/08/study-android-is-least-open-of-open-source-mobile-platforms.ars)


I like Google, and use a win 7 PC (though considered a Mac and still might get one) I just think it's silly to expect these companies to be paragons of virtue. :haha:

[Penguin]

:hmmm: this always seems to happen when companies grow too big and get a quasi-monopoly... Maybey the need a shot across the bow, worked good for Microsoft.

They did the same with my Samsung phone. It has a capacitive touch screen and just because Apple has patented the 2-finger use in the USA - which doesn't mean **** in Europe - they never dared to enable it here.

It was similar with Samsungs smartphone UI, Apple also went on against this.
Looks like they have some vendetta, which is a little odd as Samsung is still a chip purveyor for Apple.

[papa_smurf]

:hmmm: this always seems to happen when companies grow too big and get a quasi-monopoly... Maybey the need a shot across the bow, worked good for Microsoft.

They did the same with my Samsung phone. It has a capacitive touch screen and just because Apple has patented the 2-finger use in the USA - which doesn't mean **** in Europe - they never dared to enable it here.

It was similar with Samsungs smartphone UI, Apple also went on against this.
Looks like they have some vendetta, which is a little odd as Samsung is still a chip purveyor for Apple.

I wouldn't be surprised when the European Commission have a good look at Apple the way they did with Microsoft.