Trial expert testifies 38% of consumers confused Samsung design for Apple products

Posted:
in iPhone edited January 2014
Apple has entered the results a consumer study into evidence which indicates that up to 37 percent of users surveyed confused Samsung's mobile designs with Apple's iconic products.

Kent Van Liere, a survey research expert called as a witness by Apple, testified that in two studies comparing smartphones and tablets, there was significant user confusion between the products Samsung developed and Apple's iPhone and iPad, according to trial report by Josh Lowensohn for CNET.

Van Liere said that 38 percent of respondents associated pictures of Samsung's Galaxy Fascinate (pictured below) with Apple's original designs, while 37 percent confused the Galaxy SII Epic 4G.



In a study of tablets which presented users with videos of both Samsung-branded and unbranded versions of the Galaxy Tab 10.1, 6 percent said the branded version could be confused with Apple, while 19 percent said the same of the model with no branding.

Samsung's attorneys challenged the studies, arguing that they did not ask if respondents would actually purchase the devices, did not put the devices into the hands of users, and did not also compare similar tablet devices from LG or Motorola.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 19
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member


    "But it has the word 'Samsung' right there, so how could they possibly get it confused?"


     


    I want to take a picture of my iPhone (1st gen) at that same angle, but that's how I take pictures… 

  • Reply 2 of 19
    ufwaufwa Posts: 64member


    Not sure why the cnet guy who's there didn't mention this too.


     


    from another live blog. http://www.siliconvalley.com/ci_21275393/live-blog-apple-samsung-patent-trial-experts-take-stand


     


    "Wit sez about 1/3 people surveyed saw vid of samsung tab & thot it was iPad; 24 pct also confused a Nook with iPad"


     


    Really? nearly 1/4 thought a nook was an iPad?

  • Reply 3 of 19


    That's because Americans are generally dumb and uninformed. That's how people like Sarah Palin can find popularity and why we have so many obese people in this country grabbing dinner at McDonald's. Having a brain is discouraged in America, especially in American politics.

  • Reply 4 of 19
    nagrommenagromme Posts: 2,834member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by ufwa View Post


    Not sure why the cnet guy who's there didn't mention this too.


     


    from another live blog. http://www.siliconvalley.com/ci_21275393/live-blog-apple-samsung-patent-trial-experts-take-stand


     


    "Wit sez about 1/3 people surveyed saw vid of samsung tab & thot it was iPad; 24 pct also confused a Nook with iPad"


     


    Really? nearly 1/4 thought a nook was an iPad?



     


    Context is everything:


     


    "24 pct also confused a Nook with iPad when struck firmly in the back of the head with the device in question"

  • Reply 5 of 19
    Looking at a picture or a video and looking at one in a store are two very very different things. That is what should matter because that is when the purchase is made.
  • Reply 6 of 19
    xrcxxrcx Posts: 117member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Samson Corwell View Post



    Looking at a picture or a video and looking at one in a store are two very very different things. That is what should matter because that is when the purchase is made.


    You are assuming that all of those people would actually pick up the phone and play with it before they bought it, it sounds logical to you and me, but its clear that the general consumer is not all that bright.

  • Reply 7 of 19
    mac voyermac voyer Posts: 1,294member
    "But it has the word 'Samsung' right there, so how could they possibly get it confused?"

    If the only difference is that Samsung slapped their logo on their KIRF, then they lose.
  • Reply 8 of 19
    pendergastpendergast Posts: 1,358member
    "But it has the word 'Samsung' right there, so how could they possibly get it confused?"

    "Your honor, as you can clearly see, our's clearly says "ROLLEX" on it. Note the double "Ls". It's not our fault customers got it confused with the real th... err, our competitor's product."
  • Reply 9 of 19


    When researchers asked participants if red M&Ms tasted better then the blue M&Ms, 38% were confused as to which were the Red M&Ms. 56% said the red M&Ms tasted much better. 5% said, "There are blue M&Ms?" Half of those questioned said there were a lot of W&Ws mixed in with the M&Ms. 

  • Reply 10 of 19


    I love AAPL, I do.   But to believe that 37% of the American population is too stupid to read "SAMSUNG" on the front of the screen (or on the packaging) is absurd.  Put both out on a rack, tell people you'll give them $1 if they choose the iPad, and I bet you 99% get it right.  If Samsung were selling north of 37% of the total tablets I might start to believe a statistic, but this is truly ridiculous.

  • Reply 11 of 19
    pendergastpendergast Posts: 1,358member
    moooooser wrote: »
    I love AAPL, I do.   But to believe that 37% of the American population is too stupid to read "SAMSUNG" on the front of the screen (or on the packaging) is absurd.  Put both out on a rack, tell people you'll give them $1 if they choose the iPad, and I bet you 99% get it right.  If Samsung were selling north of 37% of the total tablets I might start to believe a statistic, but this is truly ridiculous.

    I dislike this argument, as it's basically a straw man. Obviously people can read (well, most can). However, what makes you think they aren't under the impression Samsung makes the iPad? Remember, most people's technological experience is based on a culture of Windows, where you can buy a "Windows PC" from Dell, Acer, HP, etc. and they're all basically the same.

    Other counter arguments include the fact that the majority of people are not technophiles. "iPad" is already becoming a ubiquitous term like "Kleenex" and many people associate it with tablets in general. To make matters worse, Samsung seems to have purposely done everything they can to make their competing device look as much as possible like an iPad: everything from the look of the hardware, the icons, their arrangement, and even the packaging. This can lead a uninformed consumer to feel its the "same" as an iPad (especially with a store sales rep schilling for Android). This eliminates a lot of Apple's differentiation; while this in and of itself is not illegal, if it is done by violating protected intellectual property, it is illegal.
  • Reply 12 of 19
    i-johni-john Posts: 13member


    38% of people asked are morons who are in a constant state of confusion.


     


    These are the same people who can't tell the difference between Sarah Palin and Tina Fey.


     


    They also think the Onion is a good news source.

  • Reply 13 of 19






    Samsung's attorneys challenged the studies, arguing that they did not ask if respondents would actually purchase the devices, did not put the devices into the hands of users, and did not also compare similar tablet devices from LG or Motorola.


    Pardon my ignorance, but why would these things matter in this situation?

  • Reply 14 of 19

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by moooooser View Post


    I love AAPL, I do.   But to believe that 37% of the American population is too stupid to read "SAMSUNG" on the front of the screen (or on the packaging) is absurd.  Put both out on a rack, tell people you'll give them $1 if they choose the iPad, and I bet you 99% get it right.  If Samsung were selling north of 37% of the total tablets I might start to believe a statistic, but this is truly ridiculous.



     


    I love the Cadillac Escalade, I do. But to believe that 37% of the American population is too stupid to see the "V" logo on the front of the grille is absurd:


    image


     


    http://carscoop.blogspot.com/2012/07/china-shanxi-victory-likes-itself-some.html

  • Reply 15 of 19

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Mac Voyer View Post





    If the only difference is that Samsung slapped their logo on their KIRF, then they lose.


     


     


    How about the absence of the home button? or even in the presence of it, a different shaped button, with capacitve ones on the side?


    the only people i see making this mistake are first time buyers who have never had an iPhone before, but even by then they would just as easily know what a Samsung is and an Apple is.


     


    It looks like a doctored study, unless they picked select idiots who really have severe vision problems and can't differentiate.


    I like Apple. Rock their products, but the litigation is getting kind of... too much? I dunno. It's one thing to protect IP, its another to just attack out of pure spite.

     

  • Reply 16 of 19
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,176member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Slang4Art View Post


    Pardon my ignorance, but why would these things matter in this situation?



    The survey respondents were shown videos of the devices rather than the devices themselves, and  the views restricted to front/side. IMO it would have garnered fewer challenge questions if they had used actual devices in the survey rather than pictures of them. I imagine that by using pictures then the scale of those devices are taken out of play as well as avoiding inapplicable rear views, perhaps reasons to avoid showing the real phones themselves. By the way, the control device for the tablet comparisons? A B&N Nook, which was also confused for an iPad by a a quarter of those surveyed.

  • Reply 17 of 19
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,176member

    deleted. Dumb question. . .
  • Reply 18 of 19

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Gatorguy View Post


    The survey respondents were shown videos of the devices rather than the devices themselves, and  the views restricted to front/side. IMO it would have garnered fewer challenge questions if they had used actual devices in the survey rather than pictures of them. I imagine that by using pictures then the scale of those devices are taken out of play as well as avoiding inapplicable rear views, perhaps reasons to avoid showing the real phones themselves. By the way, the control device for the tablet comparisons? A B&N Nook, which was also confused for an iPad by a a quarter of those surveyed.





    Hence the idea that it was doctored to lead people to think what they want them to think. Only by seeing all sides of a story, and argument or a product can you really make an accurate judgement, which is what normal consumers do. They don't look at one picture and say, "here's my money, let me have whatever that is cause it looks cool in this angle."

  • Reply 19 of 19
    jragostajragosta Posts: 10,473member
    Looking at a picture or a video and looking at one in a store are two very very different things. That is what should matter because that is when the purchase is made.

    Of course, since a large number of devices are purchased online, the option to see it in a store is missing.

    Furthermore, as some people pointed out, customers may have thought that Samsung made the iPad.

    Confusion is confusion.
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