Sunday 26 August 2012

Is (an) Apple the forbidden fruit?


The definition of the apple being a forbidden fruit is probably one of the oldest recorded metaphors and linked to any indulgence or pleasure deemed to be immoral or illegal. That Learning Dude reads with interest and notes that in this instance it wasn't Adam and Eve that pinched and snacked on fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good & Evil but Samsung who have been hit with a fine of just over..........


Now I am not too concerned about the judgement, if Samsung infringed copyright then of course it is right they are punished, but it is more than just the money that is at stake. It is about the battle for space in the gadget pockets of you and I.  Apple demanded $2.75billion in damages but the jury felt this was extraordinarily high, citing that they wanted to give Samsung more than a slap on the wrist and make the fine painful but not unreasonable, but are Apple really that interested in the fine and how handy was it having a foreman of the jury having knowledge of patents in the US given he has one himself......Oooooops cheeky me.

Recent sales figures published in the US, indicate that 64% of mobile devices sold ran on Android versus about 19% on Apple and despite the fact that Apple make far more money on hardware and app sales than anyone else, a ratio of 3 to 1 units must still concern them.

The battle isn't about good versus evil and isn't about Apple versus Samsung, this is about killing off Android   of which Steve Jobs himself said he wanted to destroy and I don't think that's healthy, you see, if you truly want to beat your rivals then innovate by picking up their challenge and going one better. I am not meaning by adding 1, 2 and 3 to your product or indeed 1, 2, 3, 4 and soon rumoured to be 5 as eventually your customer will eventually look beyond the hype and say "this ain't new" 

Now this is going to be a long drawn out affair as it is estimated that there may be as many as 6000 plus different types of Android powered handsets and shutting it all down is probably far from possible but it ever did happen would people instantly switch to IOS? Probably not.

So if you were ever faced with a similar challenge what would you do? Stand and fight as a matter of principal or get on with being as innovative and creative as possible to leave your rivals further behind.

I'd grab a pen and draw every time, and I ain't talking battle lines



@ThatLearningXDude



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