I will spend my last dying breath if I need to, and I will spend every penny of Apple’s $40 billion in the bank, to right this wrong. I’m going to destroy Android, because it’s a stolen product. I’m willing to go thermonuclear war on this. – Steve Jobs
“You’ve undoubtedly heard this infamous quote by now from the late Apple co-founder, which was included in his official biography that was published shortly after his death in 2011. Steve Jobs’ loathing for Google Android was perfectly captured in this quote,” Evan Niu writes for The Motley Fool via TIME. “Over the years, this ‘thermonuclear war’ has raged on, with Apple primarily targeting rival Android OEMs as opposed to Google itself. Naturally, the highest profile case was against Samsung, but Apple has also conducted its patent warfare through The Rockstar Consortium, a joint venture owned by 5 prominent tech companies. Apple and Microsoft are two of the main backers.”
“That portfolio included important intellectual property surrounding Wi-Fi networking and cellular connectivity, among many other areas related to mobile technology. Rockstar proceeded to sue Google and numerous Android OEMs like Samsung and HTC with said patents a little over a year ago,” Niu writes. “Well, Rockstar and Google just settled their differences, which could signal that Apple’s ‘thermonuclear war’ is over.”
Read more in the full article here.
It over??
And how did google pay for this theft at the end? .
With their soul
And credibility. Like Samsung this Emperor has proven to have no clothes.
And respect. Google became the worlds biggest laughingstock after the global glasshole fiasco.
All right looks like the original article if from Forbes and I hope everyone interested sorts it out and I’m sure MDN will have the proper link up soon.
This is an interesting tidbit from the article. “However, the fact still stands that Apple has little effective recourse to stop companies like Xiaomi or Samsung.”
That’s really a major point in my opinion. The justice system as it stands lacks the dynamics required to bring justice to those who copy the works of others.
Bureaucracy, it’s stifling the world.
Apple 86% of all cellphone profits
I think that will do as far as “recourse.”
I like it, forget the justice system, as long as karma still works.
Excellent point Synth. I think Apple need to chill and not get it’s panties tied up in a knot when Google, Microsoft, Samsung copies their innovative products.
Of course Apple needs to be aware that maybe, maybe someday their process and attitude will be copied. When that happens Apple should smile, along with the rest of the world.
For now, Synth. But the situation could change if the rest of the world continues to believe that it can feed off of Apple’s IP without fear of reprisal.
Even though the GTA fiasco ended badly, it’s a sign that Apple is using innovation and supply chain together to attack competitors.
What a load of rubbish. Did apple invent the touch screen did they? Did they invent wifi did they? Apple and its claims are just rubbish. If they were to invent either of the above the have an argument. But they didn’t. You don’t see the Australian Government bitch, moaning and sueing Apple for the way they use their wifi technology. Maybe Australia should, and then their 4g tech as well. Thank god for Samsung and google.
“Give in to your hate, my young apprentice, and your journey to the darkside will be complete.”
Or, you might like to read what is actually taking place: The consortium purchased the patents, and the consortium is claiming that companies are using those patents without permission.
In other words, “Apple” isn’t claiming to have invented any of the technology covered by these patents.
What a load of rubbish. Is the touch screen somebody’s IP? Is “wi-fi” somebody’s IP?
For your rant to have any value at all, please show us:
– either that Apple is suing others for something that is not their IP
– or that they have stolen somebody else’s IP.
It is better to remain silent and thought a fool than to open ones mouth and leave no doubt.
one of my favorite quotes!
So from you point of view, you really don’t see the iPhone as having done anything really significant or different compared to the smart phones that came before it, like the ones from Palm Treo, Windows Mobile, or Blackberry? Yikes. That takes a very special kind of cluelessness. Best of luck with that.
Really, the Sony PSP was the first smart device when you think about it.
It didn’t have a touch screen. Nor was it a phone. But it played videos, had expandable storage, could load applications and games, had wifi internet, and an internet browser,
Apple basically just took that and added a touch screen and a cell phone.
Really, the Empty Box was the first smart device when you think about it.
It didn’t have a touch screen, nor was it a phone. it didn’t play videos or have expandable storage. it didn’t play games or have wifi internet. it didn’t have an internet browser.
Sony basically just took an empty box and added some stuff to it.
Huh? If there even was a first “smart” device that title would go to the Apple Newton, released ten years prior to the Sony PSP.
It knew how to organize and categorize what you were writing. It wasn’t called a Personal Digital Assistant for nothing.
Butt hurt IT doofuses are always doomed to repeat the tale of SIDAGTMBTTS
Apple completely changed the cell phone experience. And when I say “completely” I mean totally, utterly, thoroughly and exhaustively.
Think of what should have been the simplest action before iPhone (even with a “dumb” phone)–syncing your contact list between your phone and computer. It was almost impossibly complex or impossible with most phones and/or the carrier wanted to charge you money for the task.
And things like buying/creating/distributing/selling apps or syncing music were abysmal.
The entire cell phone experience before Apple was horrific.
Really.
I don’t think it’s a question of “who” invented “what”, I think it’s a question of who has properly patented and/or licensed something, and who hasn’t.
People say Apple “stole” the mouse and the GUI from Xerox. They did no such thing. They negotiated and paid a license for it.
Trial documents admitted into evidence show that Google knew it needed licenses (from Sun/Oracle, MSFT, AAPL, etc), couldn’t get them, and then stole what it wanted and did a sloppy cover-up of it (maybe I’m over-editorializing on that last point).
The mobile OEMs have been carrying the licensing cost for that, too. As a result, Android has become one of MSFT’s more successful mobile ventures (ironic, and funny, that.)
You obviously haven’t been to Anustralia. They have Chaser’s War on Everything for a Reason.
The Prime Minister, Tony Abbott’s threat to shirtfront Vladimir Putin forced a dictionary definition changes.
The Anustralian culture is on a totally different level of hate and their uniformed uniformed citizens bitch and whine about everything beyond anything I have ever seen. If there is anything that needs to be eradicated from the face of the planet, it’s the Anustralian culture.
Australia would be a great place if it wasn’t full of Australians.
Yup, mind you the aboriginals there, from the outback, are most excellent peace loving people. There sure take a kicking though, there were a few research articles a while back. The life expectancy differences between a Caucasian and North American Native was 5 years. Between a New Zealander Caucasian and a Maori was also 5 years. Between an Australian Caucasian and an Australian aboriginal, 17-20 years. Absolutely staggering.
The wheel existed before the cart. The cart before the wagon. The wagon before the automobile. The fact that each one leveraged very similar wheel technology does not lessen the importance of each of these steps.
Certainly Apple leveraged existing technologies to develop the iPhone. But, in doing so, Apple created a revolutionary and amazingly capable new product. The fact that the rest of the world copied the iPhone is a testament to that fact.
Keep this attitude in mind the next time your house is broken into and your belongings are stolen. You didn’t invent them, so you have no right to complain.
“Thank God for Samsung & Google?” Sheesh, what other moronic thoughts are you harboring?
Your droid has fallen over and it can’t get up…
I don’t have much malice for Android as I see it is probably the perfect OS for people of the poorer nations but my main beef with Android is Wall Street’s love of Android as being some perfectly wonderful platform for everyone because of its high market share. Wall Street was always betting heavily on Android to destroy Apple’s smartphone business.
There has never been any guarantee that the best products are the ones most used on a global basis. Giving Android the nod automatically as being some invincible platform based on market share is pure nonsense. Even as Android is growing market share as we speak, what company exactly is benefiting from it. I don’t think even Xiaomi is making money from it because it’s probably being subsidized by the China government and backing by hopeful investors.
I was always hoping Android would hit the skids mainly because of Wall Street’s greed and investors’ anti-Apple attitude and I hope they’re now taking a beating because of it. Major market share is definitely not the key to making profits. It’s well-run companies with products consumers like that make the profits. Disregarding any company just because it doesn’t have major market share is stupid on so many levels.
My understanding as to why Xiaomi makes money is simply because their phones are cheap passable knockoffs of Apple products. Emphasis on the word “cheap”. You can’t make a huge profit, much less become a dominating, market-leading smartphone manufacturer, when your products’ success is based primarily on the idea that they don’t cost much.
Xiaomi’s margin’s are almost certainly paper thin. They’re like a Chinese, smartphone-making Dell. And just like Dell, they’ll do fine as long as they can sell cheap products in large volumes to less discerning customers. But we saw what happened to Dell when that volume dropped.
——RM
The one key Apple feature that Google can’t steal or copy is privacy.
Consumer has final say …. Boycott the thieves ….
Sammy lost my TV biz!
look at Samsungs recent financial results. the war is over because Apple kicked their arse.