I don't imagine Apple is "scared" of Android at all. I do think they were taken by surprise at how quickly it's grabbed hold of market share, but Apple still has the better overall product.
IMHO, I think Apple is simply trying to slow Android by whatever means necessary. I have no doubt they recognize there's no way for them to keep up with hardware innovations when new phones from multiple suppliers are cropping up seemingly every few days. To try and level the playing field they HAVE turned to the courts aggressively the past few months. I doubt any regulars here would deny that. And they've particularly targeted the most serious competitors.
+1
And I think Apple wouldn't mind too much if Android is just not an iPhone clone. If they're being successful by looking like BB I don't think Apple would mind that at all.
That said I don't have problem with Android in general. It has its place. What I have problem with is a company like Google who claimed to "be no evil.." yet...
So what is it he did behind Apple's back? Serious question.
Serious answer, he was privy to all sorts of high level privileged info as both a board member and business partner during most of the years that Apple was developing the iPhone. He was able to jumpstart a skunkworks in Google and feed Andy Rubin Apples touchscreen MO and other design/business plans. All in secret, in violation of his non-disclosure.
Criminal action, cut and dried.
But the damage has been done & instead of going after the perp, the sensible thing is go after the fabbers. Plus, Google and Apple still have business agreements of their own. Not sure what the remedy will be or should be, but given that it has already started to create confusion and uncertainty for Android fabbers, its off to a good start. Google is trying to shore up a bevy of freaked fabbers. Why they would have Eric lay down this screed is a mystery and it has obviously unleashed a tsunami of venom. His crime was done with a lot of witnesses, he doesn't have any credibility whatsoever.
For the record, Eric still smarts from when Jobs ripped him a new one.
Um Monsanto produces products that hurt people. Apple is not in that bag. Further Monsanto is in the business of copywriting genetics, allowing their seeds to cross pollinate and then suing farmers that harvested their own seeds; in some cases despite thousands of years of agricultural history.
I understand the analogy, but "heirloom" farmers didn't willfully cross pollinate their crops with Monsanto's seeds because they were better and then accuse Monsanto of "litigating innovation".
Google on the other hand did willfully infuse iOS "genes" into Andriod.
It's just my opinion. We'll all see where the courts stand as time progresses, but we already have some evidence from the ITC on where they stand.
Sad to read such embarrasing garbage from Schmidt. I lost some respect for Google today. He knows Apple is by far the most innovative company in smart phone business. And he knows his company copied Apple's work instead of innovating.
No one in this thread attacked him personal, only his moronic statement and his despicable behavior as a member of the board of directors at Apple.
Nothing personal so far? I'd disagree. To wit:
Quote:
Originally Posted by ParkerEng
Schmidt = Schmuck
Quote:
Originally Posted by island hermit
I think that photo of Schmidt is creepy.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jensonb
Wow, Eric Schmidt doesn't know what innovation means? He must be an idiot. If I knew it was that easy to be a successful CEO in Silicon Valley I'd have gone there and done it myself.
Quote:
Originally Posted by spliff monkey
Too bad morally bankrupt doesn't effect the vicissitude of one's bank account.
Quote:
Originally Posted by quinney
I am getting very violent feelings. I feel the urge to stuff him into a locker.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ipodguy.1804
This schmidt guy is funny lol. Total fail, he cheated by being an apple board of directors moved to google and implement the whole thing then say apple is not innovating. This guy is an ***.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Quadra 610
Is Eric T. Mole flapping his gums again?
Still insist nothing personal has been written here?
No one here knows exactly what happened. It's all hearsay. We do know, however, that Schmidt left the Apple board meetings on specific occasions to avoid conflict of interest. We also know that Schmidt only left the Apple board (either voluntarily or not) in 2009 and not earlier. Surely, if Apple felt so strongly about Schmidt acting unethically, they would have been rather dumb to keep him as a director for two years after the launch of the iPhone, particularly since Google acquired Android a few years earlier. In fact, the evidence suggests that Apple was not particularly smart in keeping Schmidt on. If indeed Google learned a few tricks via this relationship, shouldn't Apple shoulder the blame at least in part for missing the obvious? To repeat, Google bought Android in 2005!!!
There is always more to a story than meets the eye, even if you're personally engaged in the situation. Since we are all sidelines spectators here, I just don't see justification for the venomous passion. Instead, I worry about some of you. Are you unemployed? Do you have anger management issues? Sadly, there is no app for that.
I've often thought that Mr. Schmidt bears a remarkable resemblance to that evil Nazi character "Toht" in the Raiders of the Lost Ark film. The eyes are identical.
Google isn't really worried about the legal threats to android, because they don't make any money from android. They make money from ads on android - and other phones - so all they care about is that they have good ad-serving access. They have to at least make the appearance of defending their partners, of course, because being papa GOOG is part of what guarantees them entree, but HTC suffers a huge financial setback it doesn't cost them anything.
They don't want android to crater, of course, because it's a critical source of leverage in mobil advertising, but I'm not sure they really care as long as it remains a player.
So copying someone else's term paper is now a good thing, or to take it to an extreme, if someone steals your car, you're just a whiner if you file a police report when it's so obvious you should just be quiet and go buy another one?
Google would LOVE to see some more innovation without Apple protecting their IP since it would just give them more things to copy.
Cloud Synchronization? Over-the-air updates? Photo sharing? Twitter? Wpw! I bet Apple never thought of all of these before. Thank you Google for shining your light. How can Apple create anything without your guidance.
Every single one of those existed before Android was released on a device.
Serious answer, he was privy to all sorts of high level privileged info as both a board member and business partner during most of the years that Apple was developing the iPhone. He was able to jumpstart a skunkworks in Google and feed Andy Rubin Apples touchscreen MO and other design/business plans. All in secret, in violation of his non-disclosure.
Criminal action, cut and dried.
If Apple had positive proof that Schmidt had violated an NDA they could legally attack him on it personally, even a strong case would allow them a discovery phase where they could investigate his emails etc to try to find proof. The cost to Schmidt if he was found to have violated could be substantial, in principle it can result in criminal prosecution. It seems hard to believe that Apple would choose not to pursue this line if things were as clear cut as you present.
It will be decades before we know what really happened here, if ever.
Comments
I don't imagine Apple is "scared" of Android at all. I do think they were taken by surprise at how quickly it's grabbed hold of market share, but Apple still has the better overall product.
IMHO, I think Apple is simply trying to slow Android by whatever means necessary. I have no doubt they recognize there's no way for them to keep up with hardware innovations when new phones from multiple suppliers are cropping up seemingly every few days. To try and level the playing field they HAVE turned to the courts aggressively the past few months. I doubt any regulars here would deny that. And they've particularly targeted the most serious competitors.
+1
And I think Apple wouldn't mind too much if Android is just not an iPhone clone. If they're being successful by looking like BB I don't think Apple would mind that at all.
That said I don't have problem with Android in general. It has its place. What I have problem with is a company like Google who claimed to "be no evil.." yet...
Remember Fandroids. Android used to look like this BEFORE Google COPIED the iPhone.
So what is it he did behind Apple's back? Serious question.
Serious answer, he was privy to all sorts of high level privileged info as both a board member and business partner during most of the years that Apple was developing the iPhone. He was able to jumpstart a skunkworks in Google and feed Andy Rubin Apples touchscreen MO and other design/business plans. All in secret, in violation of his non-disclosure.
Criminal action, cut and dried.
But the damage has been done & instead of going after the perp, the sensible thing is go after the fabbers. Plus, Google and Apple still have business agreements of their own. Not sure what the remedy will be or should be, but given that it has already started to create confusion and uncertainty for Android fabbers, its off to a good start. Google is trying to shore up a bevy of freaked fabbers. Why they would have Eric lay down this screed is a mystery and it has obviously unleashed a tsunami of venom. His crime was done with a lot of witnesses, he doesn't have any credibility whatsoever.
For the record, Eric still smarts from when Jobs ripped him a new one.
I honestly think that Eric Schmidt's days at Google are numbered.
If Ballmer still has a job, Schmidt will likely also.
(hmm, even Schmidt's acting like a douche is 'stolen' from someone else. lol)
If Google is now defending its partners, where were they when Microsoft got its cut of Android?
Bingo.
Apple, the new Monsanto
Um Monsanto produces products that hurt people. Apple is not in that bag. Further Monsanto is in the business of copywriting genetics, allowing their seeds to cross pollinate and then suing farmers that harvested their own seeds; in some cases despite thousands of years of agricultural history.
I understand the analogy, but "heirloom" farmers didn't willfully cross pollinate their crops with Monsanto's seeds because they were better and then accuse Monsanto of "litigating innovation".
Google on the other hand did willfully infuse iOS "genes" into Andriod.
It's just my opinion. We'll all see where the courts stand as time progresses, but we already have some evidence from the ITC on where they stand.
Really, it's just competition. Don't be mad...
No one in this thread attacked him personal, only his moronic statement and his despicable behavior as a member of the board of directors at Apple.
Nothing personal so far? I'd disagree. To wit:
Schmidt = Schmuck
I think that photo of Schmidt is creepy.
Wow, Eric Schmidt doesn't know what innovation means? He must be an idiot. If I knew it was that easy to be a successful CEO in Silicon Valley I'd have gone there and done it myself.
Too bad morally bankrupt doesn't effect the vicissitude of one's bank account.
I am getting very violent feelings. I feel the urge to stuff him into a locker.
This schmidt guy is funny lol. Total fail, he cheated by being an apple board of directors moved to google and implement the whole thing then say apple is not innovating. This guy is an ***.
Is Eric T. Mole flapping his gums again?
Still insist nothing personal has been written here?
No one here knows exactly what happened. It's all hearsay. We do know, however, that Schmidt left the Apple board meetings on specific occasions to avoid conflict of interest. We also know that Schmidt only left the Apple board (either voluntarily or not) in 2009 and not earlier. Surely, if Apple felt so strongly about Schmidt acting unethically, they would have been rather dumb to keep him as a director for two years after the launch of the iPhone, particularly since Google acquired Android a few years earlier. In fact, the evidence suggests that Apple was not particularly smart in keeping Schmidt on. If indeed Google learned a few tricks via this relationship, shouldn't Apple shoulder the blame at least in part for missing the obvious? To repeat, Google bought Android in 2005!!!
There is always more to a story than meets the eye, even if you're personally engaged in the situation. Since we are all sidelines spectators here, I just don't see justification for the venomous passion. Instead, I worry about some of you. Are you unemployed? Do you have anger management issues? Sadly, there is no app for that.
Getting insider info by being an Apple director, then stealing that info to make a product - innovative crime imho. Schmidt is a scumbag.
I'm not sure why Apple hasn't taken more direct action against Google. Maybe they need an insiders perspective to more or less spill the beans.
I think that photo of Schmidt is creepy.
I've often thought that Mr. Schmidt bears a remarkable resemblance to that evil Nazi character "Toht" in the Raiders of the Lost Ark film. The eyes are identical.
They don't want android to crater, of course, because it's a critical source of leverage in mobil advertising, but I'm not sure they really care as long as it remains a player.
If Google is now defending its partners, where were they when Microsoft got its cut of Android?
so true
Google would LOVE to see some more innovation without Apple protecting their IP since it would just give them more things to copy.
And what Cochran proved conclusively is that if you repeat that catchy phrase over and over again, people will always come to believe it's true.
It's very shrewd really, even if it's morally bankrupt at the same time.
Cochran's example is just one of countless prior examples throughout human history.
Apparently not:
5 things Apple borrowed from Android for iOS 5
http://www.betanews.com/joewilcox/ar...S-5/1307414477
Google doesn't have any patents on them.
Google has less than 500 patents, including stellar ones like the one on the doodle.
Cloud Synchronization? Over-the-air updates? Photo sharing? Twitter? Wpw! I bet Apple never thought of all of these before. Thank you Google for shining your light. How can Apple create anything without your guidance.
Every single one of those existed before Android was released on a device.
Serious answer, he was privy to all sorts of high level privileged info as both a board member and business partner during most of the years that Apple was developing the iPhone. He was able to jumpstart a skunkworks in Google and feed Andy Rubin Apples touchscreen MO and other design/business plans. All in secret, in violation of his non-disclosure.
Criminal action, cut and dried.
If Apple had positive proof that Schmidt had violated an NDA they could legally attack him on it personally, even a strong case would allow them a discovery phase where they could investigate his emails etc to try to find proof. The cost to Schmidt if he was found to have violated could be substantial, in principle it can result in criminal prosecution. It seems hard to believe that Apple would choose not to pursue this line if things were as clear cut as you present.
It will be decades before we know what really happened here, if ever.
Google doesn't have any patents on them.
Google has less than 500 patents, including stellar ones like the one on the doodle.
Last time I checked USPTO came up with about 700 assigned to them.