“The iPhone of Apple Computer is allegedly a clone of a handset made by the Seoul-based LG Electronics, the world’s fifth-largest cell phone manufacturer,” Kim Tae-gyu reports for The Korea Times.
“…If LG sues Apple over patent infingement, it would be the second lawsuit against the iPhone after its long awaited release,” Tae-gyu reports. “As soon as Apple boss Steve Jobs revealed the iPhone last week, U.S. network company Cisco Systems filed a lawsuit against Apple, claiming trademark rights on the iPhone [name].”
Tae-gyu reports, “LG Electronics also thinks the two gadgets are almost identical but the company seems undecided as to whether or not to cry foul against Apple through court action. ‘At first glance, we recognized the iPhone shares many form factors with the Prada phone. We are flattered that other makers follow our design policy,’ LG spokesman Lee Hyoung-kun said. ‘We can’t say at the moment whether or not we will file a lawsuit against Apple regarding this. It’s too early to make remarks on the issues,’ Lee said.”
“Experts predict that if the two phones share functionalities on top of looks, LG might file a complaint,” Tae-gyu reports. “LG has yet to reveal specifications of the Prada phone, which the firm looks to market soon. Yet, its exterior was shown to the public when it won the International Forum Design Product Design Award for 2007.”
Full article here.
LG spokesman Lee Hyoung-kun is correct that it’s too early to make remarks on the issues. One big question is how does the LG’s user interface work? Is the LG multi-touch or just “uni-touch?” An even bigger question would be who actually holds the patents that relate to each phone?
Apple’s iPhone user interface “is the result of years of research and development” and “boy, have we patented it.” – Apple CEO Steve Jobs, January 09, 2007
The Prada is a re-branded LG KE850 phone. A demo of the phone via YouTube (in French):
Apple Inc’s Phil Schiller shows CBS News’ John Blackstone some of the many features of the iPhone:
Didn’t understand the French, but he sure seemed to have difficulty with that phone. Phil, on the other hand, never had a single mis-touch. It works absolutely amazingly… for a pre-release product.
So….
Sue Apple because Prada’s phone looks likes a black 30GB iPod (chrome back) with an Aqua interface?
I laugh.
…
Notice the crappy dialer…no letters on the keypad.
Wonder if Steve Jobs knew about this and decided to put a hold on the iLife 07 demo at MacWorld to show the iPhone six months before they planned to release it?
They say that they’re undecided about court action, but they already know that they won’t, otherwise they would declare that they have filed a suit.
It’s just a quick publicity stunt, LG are trying to bask in Apple’s glory for a day or two.
Way back in 2003, I crapped a turd that looked remarkably like that LG phone. I’m going to sue them for theft and infringement of anal-intellectual property.
The two phones DO look very similar, although from what I’ve read and seen, the iPhone is way ahead in terms of functionality, ease of use, features, etc.
LG and Apple are probably reviewing their patents as I type. My guess is that neither company copied the other but rather as others have pointed out, the design is a “natural” evolution of cell phone fit and form.
June (or sooner!) can not soon enough. My experience with Cingular has been very good. Very few dropped calls and good customer service – immediate resolution to billing issues (occured only while on the border of our calling area). My Moto T120 on the other hand I’m ready to ditch. Looking forward to having 5 hours of talk time compared to 2 with the T120.
Peace.
But seriously, that LG phone looks like something MS would’ve cobbled together as their “answer” to the iPhone. The ZunePhone, no doubt.
Of course iPhone looks better, but man, THAT IS NO COINCIDENCE. They are just WAY TO SIMILAR looking.
Someone got a leak of the others plans. Most likely LG got some inside Apple info, but who knows?
But seriously, that LG phone looks like something MS would’ve cobbled together as their “answer” to the iPhone. The ZunePhone, no doubt.
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Agreed, the strange thing is how LG managed to show off the Prada phone three weeks before iPhone. Someone leaked something. Possibly Cingular, Google, Yahoo?
They haven’t sued Apple yet because they can’t. From Steve Jobs keynote: “We have 200 patents in the iPhone, and we will defend them (meaning the patents).”
Looks to me like LG may be the one getting sued.
If LG has no patents they have a problem.
LG has no case at all against Apple.
The interfaces are totally different.
No news here… move on…
I went to Macworld and was watching the iPhone demonstration and the girl who was demonstrating it had a LOT of mis-touches. The iPhone stopped responding and when she tried to turn it off, the phone wouldn’t turn off. She tried to distract us by talking about other things and taking the attention away from the phone. All of the sudden, finally the iPhone obeyed her comands and turned off. I counted about 6 or 7 mis-touches. 🙁
I am a big APPLE fan and I LOVE the iPhone. I just hope Apple gets those bugs out of all iPhones before selling them in June. It was dissapointing to see how nervous she got while trying to work the iPhone.
Just my reply to “coolfactor”.
Uh, MDN, you should report this as “Kim reports” not “Tae-gyu reports.” Use last name, not first.
Thanks!
This is just stupid, stupid. Most of the Window OS OEMed smartphones made by HTC, Dopod and Compal in Taiwan all look the same as the LG and iPhone. All of them are rectangular in design with full and touch sensitive screen (operable with fingers and stylus). How come no one mentioned any lawsuits from LG to those companies? In addition, those phones are out long before the LG or the iPhone, how come no body mentioned any lawsuits from those company to LG? This is just stupid. People see iPhone and know its revolutionary and want to think up a lawsuit just to stop Apple at its track, only because they are afraid that Apple will crush them. iPhone is revolutionary not in its form factor but in its unique multi-touch interface. All phones look the same. You don’t see Motorola suing other phone makers just because the other phones are clam shell in design as well. What’s next? Electronic makers suing each other because what? “their TVs look like our TVs?”
I think Apple should sue LG. When I listen to the LG demo (it’s in French), several times they refer to the ‘Mac OS’.
“Of course iPhone looks better, but man, THAT IS NO COINCIDENCE. They are just WAY TO SIMILAR looking.”
Yeah who would have thought to make a black rectangle with a screen on one side. Insanity. OK so if they revealed their handset in december, Apple rushed out, ripped off the design, and made the fully functioning working copy that steve used during the keynote.
Some of you people have no concept of the lead times on products such as these. Even if Apple had 3 months to copy it, very unlikely they could get a fully functioning prototype done in that amount of time.
OR maybe they have spies inside LG.. .oooooh booogita booogita
Folks..I just watched the French demo of the LG phone. The only thing thats similar sort of, is the keypad. Other than that, the LG is totally bullshit. Not even close to the iPhone’s UI.
Just watch both and see for yourself.
…But seriously, that LG phone looks like something MS would’ve cobbled together as their “answer” to the iPhone. The ZunePhone, no doubt….
In June Microsoft will roll out a rebranded LG Prada as a Zunephone. In brown of course.
iDave, you are right. Those at Apple know what LG and the others are doing, and LG and many others know what Apple is/was up to. Having such similar builds and buttons is no coincidence.
There’s a lot more that goes on behind closed doors than those outside will ever know.
Is it me or does LG’s icon for the mp3 player function look like an iPod? Look around 3:47 +/-
It’s like how many PDAs look alike…b/c it has a touch big screen. Sure the general shap is similar but the stuff on the screen doesn’t even look the same. There’s a bar to scroll up and down on the side of the screen. In phones like these, I think it’s the inside that is the big difference and there is a huge difference b/w the Prada and the iPhone.
Well, yeah, they do look similar. But on the other hand, did, RCA sue Toshiba because the face of their TV was copied by Toshiba? Maye the
Wright brothers should have patented the look of their airplane. Considering that there really aren’t other ways to design a flying machine (copied after birds of course) that would have severely limited the development of flight. Yikes!
I think Apple can prove that it has been working on the iPhone much longer than LG has on its phone. The idea of a device with a big screen that can change the device’s interface based on function came from PDAs. The first PDA with a phone was a Handspring Visor with phone attachment. Maybe Palm (who bought Handspring) should sue Apple. And you can go back and say that the Newton was the first PDA. So maybe Apple should sue itself.
LG has a history of this shit, don’t read too deeply into it. Everytime a handset appears that resembles one of theirs no matter how remote, The Korea Times runs an article about a possible lawsuit with an LG spokesman providing the same “We’re flattered that somebody decided to copy our design/it’s too early to make remarks on the issue.”
See the Motorola KRZR incident in which LG was “thinking” about suing Motorola because it resembled the clamshell version of their Chocolate phone:
http://www.engadgetmobile.com/2006/10/08/lg-gets-pissy-at-motorola-over-krzr-design/
http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/200610/kt2006100816580253460.htm
LG won’t do a damn thing. I can’t wait for these phones to get released so the comparisons can stop. That Prada phone will have none of the functionality of Multi-touch. It has the same dated touchscreen technology as any other handset pre-iPhone.