Chill lounge

[Northern-dj]

Totally agree they have put more effort into there laptops but that is not there core consumer

There not leistering to what there customers are wanting 

if the Iphone 4s had a 4" screen then they would have a bigger market share 

Even there new phone might not even have this 

yet they would spend a fortune on the design of there laptops 

yes they might of been inspirational in the past but 

why have they never tried to win back the customers they have lost 

there still plugging a Beta App Siri 

That was never included on there Ipad three 

The fear is now Steve has gone apple will end up in the same mess when Steve left the company, This time there will be no bail out 

If the Iphone five does not give what there users want it will flop 

the Ipad 3 has no exactly lit the world up as most Ipad 2 users have not upgraded 

So to Hide all this they do other stuff 

I agree they need to sort them self out and so does the US Government 

There fed up with this constant Bickering 

So they have called a meeting with all the Manufacture Apple included 

Apple will have no choice but to Attend

One key point is If its a US Patent then it has to be dealt in a US Court on both sides 

and not in a Easy Country for one company to win in 

There also looking at How this all started as there was device out well before the first court case 

There also looking at if this is something that the Legal profession is pushing for there own gain 

This is a Good thing as Hopefully they will get there heads banged togeather 

[jeffkinn]

If you think the Apple juggernaut shows any sign of slowing down you are very mistaken. Apple is getting more valuable and not less and it is stlll the number one brand worldwide

http://www.macobserver.com/tmo/article/apples_brand_value_grows_19_remains_worlds_top_brand/

Even if the next iPhone disappoints in some quarters it will not be a flop or even close to a flop - it will be a huge success.

[dcarmi]

I don't dispute that Apple has a well thought of brand which is on the up in a significant way. The article states that the Apple brand is considered to be worth about a third of the market value of the company. If true then Apple have a fairly large problem should opinion of their product line change to be less positive than it is at the moment, as I indicated earlier.

Its market value is what it would effectively cost to buy the company based on its share price. Obviously there is a link between market and brand values but measurement of latter is more creative than the other.

If you want to see what happens to brand value when a company under performs with its product line, then you only have to look at Nokia and RIM (Blackberry). You can then see the knock on effect of market value when the brand value falls. Nokia went from 5th in brand value in 2009 to not even in the top 100 this year.

I am not saying Apple will fail. I don't expect Apple to fail. I do expect Apple will have difficulty sustaining their business at the current level and need to figure out how to use their vast cash reserves to diversify, without damaging the Apple brand. Otherwise they will likely end up spending their reserves trying to prop up their share price, which they seem to have started to do by paying a dividend for the first time in 15 years.

I'd also point out that in the article you linked to, it states that Apple came behind Google in "Earned Buzz". The score implying that Apple lose out to Google in the conciousness of whatever groups the thing is supposed to be measuring. I am guessing that if there is one company Apple don't want to be third to, it would be Google.

Personally I hope the next iPhone is a stunning and revolutionary device. That would only help to drive the competition to produce better stuff! 

[jeffkinn]

I pretty much agree with all of that and as I have said before I am not a fan of Apple in the sense of being a fanboi - far from it in fact.

I think the whole tech sector is going to have enormous issues in the short term following the debacle of the Facebook IPO in exactly the same way as happened 10 years ago when the first dot.com bubble burst. At the time I was a venture capitalist specialising in investing in early stage tech companies and Edison could not have raised money to invent the light bulb. I am very worried we will go the same way and tech stocks such as Apple will suffer, as will lots of US based companies. By comparison Far East companies will not have the same stock market pressures.

RIM is a good example and I have mentioned this before along with Palm. Microsoft is equally fascinating for me and is a better comparison to Apple than RIM or Nokia despite the fact it is a software company rather than a hardware business.

I think it is unlikely that the next iPhone will be revolutionary - or perhaps not revolutionary enough to justify the enormous hype that already surrounds its release. We will see - it is an interesting debate.

[jeffkinn]

http://www.intomobile.com/2012/05/21/carriers-resigned-accept-high-iphone-subsidies/

Another interesting article about the power of Apple and the iPhone, to their benefit of course.

[dcarmi]

The comparison with Microsoft is indeed interesting. Microsoft being a company that habitually misses boats and targets and yet still manages to get there. They fail in virtually all their hardware enterprises, with the odd notable exception. Their software is bloated and almost devoid of style. In some cases key software (Windows and Office) have been released in a totally unfit state.

They haven't manage to crack the phone, they can't seem to get the heads around media stuff, their cloud stuff is largely unnoticed and they completely miss almost all tech developments, such as tablets, internets and portable devices generally. They produce some half-hearted widgets but don't come up with an app store.

Yet they manage to come up with the XBox and Kinect. Even then I'd have though Kinect could be taken a lot further. The fact that Samsung are advertising TVs with motion control is telling.

Skydrive is an obvious example. MS used to allow people 25GB of storage (I think it is 7GB now), compared to the measly 2GB Dropbox offered for free. Dropbox had an interface which allowed integration on practically any system and yet MS "forgot" to provide one even for Windows! Everyone has heard of Dropbox but not so many Skydrive.

They had ereader formats since about 2000 but failed to spot the opportunity before Amazon hit the market with the Kindle and even then did not respond. 

Media Player for twenty odd years but never tried to sell content?

As much as I dislike their platforms (I have a little android tablet, an android phone and a netbook with Linux) I still can't imagine doing quick and complicated stuff without their software and development tools (I used to have to).

Seems to me that a MS product manager would say "We have this really cool thing. Dunno what it is for but lets stick it out in the marketplace and see if people buy it."

An Apple product manager would say "We have this cool thing. Lets choose the colour, give it a nice shape and tasteful packaging and tell people they have to buy it because it's the only one we do."

A Google product manager would say "We have this real cool thing. We'll put it into beta for a few years, let you use it and if you don't like it we'll shut it down and think of something else."

[jeffkinn]

Health warning - this is liable to irritate those with severe Apple phobia. For those, like me, who have no particualar allegiance it is just interesting:

http://www.bloomberg.com/article/2012-05-23/aYBCtmbiXWsw.html

[ZoeandKev]

apple are now suing, and trying to stop the sale of the galaxy s 111 in america because they say samsung have ripped off Siri! OMG when will it end!!!!!!!

[dcarmi]

Hang-on! S-Voice is developed by Vlingo and runs from Vlingo servers for Samsung. Surely the case should be against Vlingo and given Vlingo has been around for yonks (I had it on my old Nokia, pre Siri) then there must be a case for a counter suit? All Siri does (from my naive consumer point of view) is take the Vlingo idea from my Nokia and make it work better. 

A plague on all their houses, is what I say. I am getting very fed up with the constant argy-bargy over who stole what code, design, colour scheme or notion from whom. It seems to me to be more about squeezing customers, keeping prices artificially high and maintaining market share rather than actually providing decent goods and services to us.

We had all this stuff years ago over computers and their software and frankly it was tedious then.

[ZoeandKev]

Apple claims that Samsung’s latest flagship Android phone violates two patents held by the company; one a unified search patent in regards to Siri, and the other a data-tapping patent that is also being used against HTC in a request for an immediate import ban of 29 infringing devices.

[dcarmi]

I am sure there must be hundreed of patents involved in putting together a smartphone. I can see the possibility of some being missed or disputed. However, the process of slapping import bans on offending devices is ludicrous. If there is an offence or a dispute then the case should be legally proved and damages awarded. Failure to meet the damages (or licence) might then cause a stiffer penalty such as an import ban.

Carrying out a penalty before the case is proved seems unjust.

[jeffkinn]

Two articles worth reading

http://www.ubergizmo.com/2012/06/samsung-sues-australian-patent-commissioner-hopes-to-invalidate-app...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-18140864

[jeffkinn]

I thought this was an interesting article - comments anyone?

http://www.cultofmac.com/172428/why-does-apple-inspire-so-much-hate/

[Northern-dj]

Well as most of you tec heads may know Kodak have been in trouble, and are looking to sell some of its patents 

Now engadget reported on the 13th that Kodak was going to sell its patints and Apple tried its Normal way taking them to court to stop them from selling them 

Well Apple Lost that 

So Apple has been making sure who buys there patents will then not sell them to Apple 

Well App;e has already been up to its old tricks again 

so Kodak is Now taking Apple to court why well they have been doing some under handed dealing with companies to Buy the Patents 

Kodak did colabarate back in the 1990 on a camera way back when patents were simple 

see

http://m.engadget.com/2012/06/19/kodak-sues-apple-for-allegedly-interfering-with-patent-sales/

This just shows the dirty tricks Apple will do 

The Best thing is 

If Apple loose this and Kodak win they will be bailing Kodak out 

More Bad news for Apple from  Apple insider forum 

"U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh in San Jose, Calif., ruled this week that Apple's push to block sales of the Galaxy S III in just over a week wouldn't fit on her calendar, according to Reuters. Apple had hoped to win a quick ruling that would push back the launch of Samsung's new flagship Android-based phone.

Koh's ruling came only a few days after Apple suffered another setback in court, when U.S. Circuit Court Judge Richard Posner in Chicago, Ill., deemed that Apple hat not shown enough to prove injury. The case was scheduled to begin this week, but Posner's ruling canceled the trial.

In contrast, Apple's setback against Samsung in attempting to block the launch of the Galaxy S III is not an indication that Apple would lose an eventual court ruling. Instead, the scheduling of the court just wouldn't allow a ruling to be made in the next week.

Apple indicated last week in front of Koh that they were interested in pursuing a restraining order against the Galaxy S III in order to block sales of the device before it reaches U.S. shores. Apple attorney Josh Krevitt told the court that the harm would be "irreparable" once sales of the Android smartphone began."

Apple has argued in court that the Galaxy S III should be included as part of another ongoing preliminary injunction case against the Galaxy Nexus, since Apple sees Samsung's latest smartphone as a successor to the handset created through a partnership of Google and Samsung. In response, Samsung said in a formal opposition that Apple's motion "should not be done on two days' notice, without due process, and with no factual record whatsoever."

Samsung and Apple are engaged in a number of patent infringement suits against one another. They began more than a year ago, when Apple sued Samsung and accused the company of copying the look and feel of the iPhone and iPad, and the cases now span over 10 countries around the world

This will only get worce and i think Apple will come out worce 

The Apple Microsoft Battle may start up again as Microsoft is now making Tablets 

[ZoeandKev]

another loss for apple! lol
http://www.redmondpie.com/dutch-court-rules-in-favor-of-samsung-over-apple-in-3g-patent-dispute/

[Northern-dj]

And a Loss again 

http://www.engadget.com/2012/06/21/apple-fined-2-29-million-4g-ipad-australia/

This time against a Goverment 

Is Apple Run By Solicitors 

This is what happend before to Apple way back in the computer days 

But Microsoft will no bail them out this time 

They have not attended the meating in the uk with the advetiseing comition who are now looking at to weather a court case can be brought forward 

The Australian caourt case will be looked at as its basicly the same 

Apple has no frends in the Tec industry there left now to go it alone 

[jeffkinn]

When you are at the top of the tree you don't expect to have friends - they are the wealthiest and most valuable company on the planet in history. Apple will not be worried about this at all - their products generate a level of interest no one else can match.

The iPhone 5 release date is still the subject of intense speculation and when it eventually comes the queues at Apple stores will be longer than ever. No other company comes close to matching the fervour that Apple generates.

And remember - I am a Samsung owner now!!

[Wazek]

I doesn't seem all that long ago when m$ was the richest most successful company on the planet ever.I wonder if apple will be forced to split the company up as m$ were?

They should at least be forced to divide from the legal division.

[ZoeandKev]

@jeffkin...
If people want to fall for Apples hype over there products, then more fool them! lol..there very good at making the Iphone etc sound like the best thing since sliced bread, but the truth is there phones dont do anymore than anything else out there...remember when the original iphone couldnt even send mms? then a software release enabled MMS and whoooohooo, Apple are so good at finally getting there phone to do something others have been doing for ages!..and if everyone else charged the same as apple do for there over priced products, then i doubt Apple would be the richest..

[jeffkinn]

To some extent you are right but there's no doubt that Apple re-defined the smart phone market. You don't sell hundred of millions of units based on hype. You don't become as hugely successful as Apple by fooling your customers.