Apple asks ITC to block import of HTC handsets in latest patent complaint

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Comments

  • Reply 21 of 33
    addaboxaddabox Posts: 12,665member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Galbi View Post


    If you cant beat them, sue them.



    Funny, because when the topic was S3 winning a partial decision against Apple you seemed to have a pretty sanguine view of patents and the ITC.



    But being consistent or making sense or contributing to the conversation isn't why you're here, as we all know.
  • Reply 22 of 33
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,153member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by cloudgazer View Post


    I doubt there was a meeting in which Steve Jobs and Steve Ballmer agreed to stick it to Google if that's what you mean.



    While I agree there's probably been no meeting of Jobs and Ballmer, IMO I do suspect there's been some discussions at a lower level, or perhaps strictly between attorneys for both, clarifying what the position is between the two companies. Having a meeting between CEO's would be too big a chance to take. But I am of the opinion that discussions have taken place.
  • Reply 23 of 33
    stelligentstelligent Posts: 2,680member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Gatorguy View Post


    While I agree there's probably been no meeting of Jobs and Ballmer, IMO I do suspect there's been some discussions at a lower level, or perhaps strictly between attorneys for both, clarifying what the position is between the two companies. Having a meeting between CEO's would be too big a chance to take. But I am of the opinion that discussions have taken place.



    Ballmer and Jobs meeting? That's like Jennifer Aniston dating Arnold. Not a good sight. Not a good match.
  • Reply 24 of 33
    d-ranged-range Posts: 396member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by cloudgazer View Post


    I doubt there was a meeting in which Steve Jobs and Steve Ballmer agreed to stick it to Google if that's what you mean. But obviously both of them will be targeting Android for their own reasons while ignoring irrelevant platforms like WebOS and rapidly fading platforms such as Blackberry and Symbian.



    I wouldn't be surprised if Apple and MS *did* agree on a strategy to curb Android. The two haven't been direct competitors for years, especially now that Microsoft is more or less out of the PMP/Music Store business, and WP7 needs everything it can get to gain marketshare. On the desktop Apple knows they can't beat Windows, but they also know they don't have to, to be profitable: they almost give OS X away for free, and make money on hardware sales. Microsoft and Apple have completely different strategies, and there is no market left where they are going head to head, but they do have a common enemy in the form of Google. Microsoft wants Google gone for many reasons, it's their biggest competitor in search, ad services, productivity, Google is frustrating their efforts to regain smartphone marketshare, and they are a threat to Microsofts desktop software business, with their cloud-based OS & app strategy. For Apple, it's mostly about Android of course, which is currently their only credible competitor in the smartphone OS business.



    So if you come to think of it, there are simply so many common interests for Apple & MS to team up and try to extinguish the fire that drives Android: the fact that it is cheap for handset manufacturers. By making Android more expensive for HTC, Samsung, et al, Microsoft might pull them over to WP7, which is anything but unimaginable: both Samsung and HTC used to be almost entirely Windows Mobile shops in the past, and they will both switch to another OS without hesitation if they think it will male them more money.



    I've been predicting patent issues will kill Android from the beginning, because 'cheap' has always been the single differentiating factor for handset manufacturers, if that advantage disappears, Android is toast. It's been a free ride for Google until now, but they simply forgot to innovate anything themselves and patent it, they just copied and followed, and now they are left without any pocket change to fend off patent suits. Which I dislike by the way, just stating my observations.
  • Reply 25 of 33
    cloudgazercloudgazer Posts: 2,161member
    I'd say that if Steve Jobs did conspire with anybody to kill Android it would be with his long time best friend, Larry Ellison.
  • Reply 26 of 33
    nikon133nikon133 Posts: 2,600member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Gatorguy View Post


    So Cloudgazer, would you agree with me that it's currently an Apple/Microsoft gangbang, or is your opinion that it's just simple happenstance that Apple and Microsoft have been in agreement lately on issues that concern Google/Android, no behind the scenes meeting of the mind's involved.



    Gangbang? Try Unholy Coalition...



    http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=22114
  • Reply 27 of 33
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Galbi View Post


    If you cant beat them, sue them.



    Except Apple's already beating HTC.
  • Reply 28 of 33
    nikon133nikon133 Posts: 2,600member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by cloudgazer View Post


    I doubt there was a meeting in which Steve Jobs and Steve Ballmer agreed to stick it to Google if that's what you mean. But obviously both of them will be targeting Android for their own reasons while ignoring irrelevant platforms like WebOS and rapidly fading platforms such as Blackberry and Symbian.



    There's a fundamental difference in their perspectives though, because Apple has at this point no reason to fear that WP7 will be taking over the world any time soon (IDC's crazy predictions not withstanding), and MS very much does have to assume that Android's loss may end up as Apple's gain.



    That's why it makes sense for MS to get royalties for their patent infringements rather than go for injunctions.



    If MS had any weapon to use against Apple in the mobile space I think they'd likely use it, but thanks to that same cross licensing agreement, they don't. So instead they're flogging the same old horse of branding their offering 'windows' and promising some nebulous connection to the desktop system that people seem to have no interest in.



    I have some doubts - and then some - that entity like "Rockstar Bidco" came to life spontaneously. Maybe Steve & Steve didn't sit together themselves, but their representatives and lawyers must have.
  • Reply 29 of 33
    addaboxaddabox Posts: 12,665member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by d-range View Post


    I wouldn't be surprised if Apple and MS *did* agree on a strategy to curb Android. The two haven't been direct competitors for years, especially now that Microsoft is more or less out of the PMP/Music Store business, and WP7 needs everything it can get to gain marketshare. On the desktop Apple knows they can't beat Windows, but they also know they don't have to, to be profitable: they almost give OS X away for free, and make money on hardware sales. Microsoft and Apple have completely different strategies, and there is no market left where they are going head to head, but they do have a common enemy in the form of Google. Microsoft wants Google gone for many reasons, it's their biggest competitor in search, ad services, productivity, Google is frustrating their efforts to regain smartphone marketshare, and they are a threat to Microsofts desktop software business, with their cloud-based OS & app strategy. For Apple, it's mostly about Android of course, which is currently their only credible competitor in the smartphone OS business.



    So if you come to think of it, there are simply so many common interests for Apple & MS to team up and try to extinguish the fire that drives Android: the fact that it is cheap for handset manufacturers. By making Android more expensive for HTC, Samsung, et al, Microsoft might pull them over to WP7, which is anything but unimaginable: both Samsung and HTC used to be almost entirely Windows Mobile shops in the past, and they will both switch to another OS without hesitation if they think it will male them more money.



    I've been predicting patent issues will kill Android from the beginning, because 'cheap' has always been the single differentiating factor for handset manufacturers, if that advantage disappears, Android is toast. It's been a free ride for Google until now, but they simply forgot to innovate anything themselves and patent it, they just copied and followed, and now they are left without any pocket change to fend off patent suits. Which I dislike by the way, just stating my observations.



    I think we'll see shifting short term alliances over the next few years as the big changes moving over the computer landscape continue to disrupt incumbents.



    For instance, Apple may want to play nice with Facebook for the time being as a way of blunting Google's bundling of social services with Android, but that doesn't mean that Apple doesn't have reason to be wary of Facebook's plans to create their own ecosystem of apps and services (of course the same holds true for Facebook's relationship to Apple).



    Apple may see cooperation with MS at this point as particularly useful because they'd be helping out a relatively toothless competitor for the mobile space as a hedge against Android, but if such cooperation actually resulted in MS making real inroads in that market they'd need to quickly shift gears.



    It's interesting that, for competitive purposes, Google has positioned themselves as the new Microsoft with an embrace and extend strategy into seemingly every aspect of web-connected interaction. They want to be Facebook, MS, Apple sans the hardware, Twitter, any and every successful online social software, the repository of all media, the nexus for all transactions and the world's biggest ad agency.



    As such, they're pretty much locked in a death struggle with everybody, all the time, so it's not surprising that most of the potential alliances are looking to thwart them. It's just that most of those players are also looking to thwart one another in one venue or another, so the dance is likely to be pretty elaborate.
  • Reply 30 of 33
    nikon133nikon133 Posts: 2,600member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post


    Except Apple's already beating HTC.



    I've read somewhere that HTC pretty much purchased S3 (and their box of patents) in order to be able to counter-sue Apple and, eventually, end up sharing IP (or at least minimizing licensing fees).



    I haven't seen the timeline of Apple vs. HTC and where would S3 purchase fit in, so I don't know if that is true or not.
  • Reply 31 of 33
    cloudgazercloudgazer Posts: 2,161member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by nikon133 View Post


    I've read somewhere that HTC pretty much purchased S3 (and their box of patents) in order to be able to counter-sue Apple and, eventually, end up sharing IP (or at least minimizing licensing fees).



    I haven't seen the timeline of Apple vs. HTC and where would S3 purchase fit in, so I don't know if that is true or not.



    It took place recently, though HTC has long been a shareholder -



    On July 6, 2011 it was announced that HTC Corporaton would buy VIA Technologies stake in S3 Graphics thus becoming the majority owner of S3 Graphics.

  • Reply 32 of 33
    cloudgazercloudgazer Posts: 2,161member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by addabox View Post


    It's interesting that, for competitive purposes, Google has positioned themselves as the new Microsoft with an embrace and extend strategy into seemingly every aspect of web-connected interaction. They want to be Facebook, MS, Apple sans the hardware, Twitter, any and every successful online social software, the repository of all media, the nexus for all transactions and the world's biggest ad agency.



    Ultimately I see Apple and Google burying the hatchet and carving up the mobile space between themselves. Apple will agree to let Google run the Ads platform, which it has clearly more aptitude at, and they'll agree to let Google use iOS as another platform for its web services. They'll continue to us Google as their search provider. Then Google will lose interest in Android, which will slowly fragment itself to death as the various OEMs try to extend it and demonstrate once again their lack of software prowess.



    At this point it's not in Apple's interests for Android to die too fast, that would just give more space for WP7.



    Ultimately Apple and Google just have too much to offer each other to stay opposed.
  • Reply 33 of 33
    quadra 610quadra 610 Posts: 6,757member
    First came the iPhone, and then everything else.



    There's a reason HTC stock dropped like a rock on this news. Folks sense a sh*tstorm about to happen, and the also-rans are downwind.
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