Politicians and technology…..the two should never be used in the same sentence. Why? Because typically, politicians are completely oblivious to things in the technology world. Now, President Obama is known for being a technological president (he carried a Blackberry) and I salute him for that. However, taking a court win from Samsung to let Apple get suing companies behooves me.
Essentially, the president vetoed an import ban that was given to Samsung regarding a few Apple devices (iPhone 4S, iPad1 and iPad2). This win for Samsung has came after Apple began the patent war on anything that is non-Apple.
Is this a loss to Android? No. Samsung? No. But, due to this turnaround the tech giant lost $1 billion of it’s worth in market value.
Bottom line: Politicians….please stick to making laws and making the country better. This isn’t your lane.
What happens when you don’t sell as many iPhones as Apple would like for you to? You could owe the Cupertino company some money! Or at least that is true when it comes to the top wireless carrier in the United States. I understand that contracts exist between entities of all types from car manufacturers and car lots from PC manufacturers and retailers — they are unavoidable. Apparently, Verizon “agreed a deal to sell at least US$23.5 billion worth of iPhones in 2013” [Source: http://www.cellular-news.com/story/60982.php ].
Is it particularly Verizon’s fault that it did not sell as many devices as it would have liked? Yes and no. Perhaps marketing was not on their side; better yet, maybe iPhones just aren’t selling as well as they used to? Let’s examine the statistics here, when Apple first released it’s famed iPhone everybody wanted it. Some left their current carrier to join AT&T because that is the only service that offered the device. Then, Verizon followed suit and agreed to sell the iPhone 4 — millions were sold. However, let us take a look at the marketshare for iOS devices and Android devices:
As it is quite easy to tell (perhaps after enlarging the picture) Android is in the lead and isn’t relinquishing hold. There simply are not enough iPhones in the market. The gift of Android is that there is simply a device for everyone.
Bottom line: Contracts sometimes are harsh, word of advice to Verizon look at the market before signing another deal with Apple.
Apple is losing grip. In addition, to the stock price of the company going down, orders for iPhone LCD screens and other parts are also down. So, with Apple potentially producing less iPhones to sell that means that other manufacturers could be able to capture more marketshare. Who could step up to the plate?
For starters, Samsung has already proven itself as a worthy adversary as the now leading smartphone maker in threw world. Why? Samsung is truly innovate, Apple took a winning recipe and tried to copy and paste it too much. At this point, the iPhone is looking old and tired in a market that is full of phones that differentiate themselves from the competition. Samsung has released potentially the best smartphone of 2012, the Samsung Galaxy S III, packing unbelievable specs, a fantastic display and running the finest mobile operating system, Android. In addition, let us not forget about the phone that made it OK to carry a huge device in your pocket, the Samsung Galaxy Note.
Other manufacturers are releasing compelling devices by the droves making Apple iPhone look simpler by the day.
Bottom line: The market wants innovate products that have not looked the same since 2007 — Apple’s tried and true is apparently telling a fib.
This is probably the most pathetic thing I have ever heard, Apple has been granted a patent on the iPad’s original design – a rectangle with rounded corners. To think that any sane person would consider this worthy of a patent is absolutely scary. How about the guys inside of Cupertino’s lab patent the buttons on the thing as well?
The sheer audacity of this company is just disgusting and these are things that the great Steve Jobs preached? Why? If you are so confident that your products are superior in every way (marketshare says otherwise) to the army of competing tablets out there; why would you patent something so trivial and design essential? Patent D670,286 will finally give some leverage to what Apple has wanted all along; yet, with tablets getting thinner and bezels becoming more curved does this design patent even still matter?
To some this is a win for Apple; however, since Apple decided to wage war on the technological world they have been feeling their own fair share of karma lately. The California company was just ordered to pay $368 million in damages [Source:PCMag] over FaceTime patents to VirnetX; the patent in question involves using DNS to setup a VPN. In addition, there are more cases that they have been losing around the world, one of which forced them to place an apology on their website. In fact, their first attempt had a snide remark in it so they were forced to re-post, seen below:
Bottom line: All of this fighting simply has to stop; when will Apple learn that you cannot sue everyone without getting hit with the same tactics and losing. My suggestion to you, Apple, start innovating and stop crying.
Apple you’ve done it again. You have created a device which in turn, has been already been garnered as being a major success. Congratulations is surely in order for a mobile device selling 2 million units in a timespan of 24 hours; however, is this device worth your money if you already have an Apple iPhone 4, 4S, or even an Android device?
This is certainly where things get tricky, the iPhone 5 does feature a larger rich display however, does this larger display feel awkward in the users hand? This update also features panoramic photo capture, more powerful battery specs, LTE, better social networking integration, an improved Siri, and a few new minor updates (Apple is quoted at saying there are 200 improvements, which I believe is a lie).
In addition, let’s not forget Apple’s new mapping app which outed Google Maps as the default navigation for the OS, which has been a major thorn in their side. This one app alone has caused a major backlash in the iOS user community. Personally, I do have not had to use an Apple product since I had an iPad, but this switch by Apple even brothers me; so, I can only guess how a true Apple fan could feel when a half-baked app such as this sees light a little too early. Apple even had the audacity to state that Maps will get better over time. First and foremost, you should not include an application that is a “work in progress” and just expect your end users to just “deal with it”. Google Maps is potentially the most robust mapping software on the planet, it certainly beats out the in house solution within iOS, which is already known for getting people lost and making others miss meetings.
When it comes to build quality iPhones are second to none; yet, with this release that same statement cannot be made. Every iteration of this device has felt very solid in the hand, however when this one is being held it almost feels too light or even cheap. On a lighter note, the brushings on the exterior of the device are virtually seamless and look fantastic.
View a hand-on demo here [Source: The Verge]
Bottom line: If you are engulfed in Apple’s ecosystem is this a worthy upgrade? That is a loaded question. For some people, every iteration is a vast improvement. However, this release has been surprisingly underwhelming in many aspects, one in particular is the fact that Apple has done nothing more than play catch up to industry standards and no real innovation was done.
Tech for the masses, meant to empower, educate and inform by Dexter Johnson.
Essentially, the president vetoed an import ban that was given to Samsung regarding a few Apple devices (iPhone 4S, iPad1 and iPad2). This win for Samsung has came after Apple began the patent war on anything that is non-Apple.
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