Disruption of smartphones

Is the Samsung-Google alliance heading for a crossroads?

The article describes how Samsung and Google may have cooperation problems in the future. However, let us back pedal a bit.

Apple released the iPhone. Suddenly, the smartphone was at the forefront of the electronics consumer market. Sure, it built of the popularity of the iPod. However, the iPhone was quick to take the market by storm and if you did not have one, you were behind the times.

Sometime after, Google unleashed the Android operating system. It was obviously a competitor to the iOS system, and thus to Apple’s successful iPhone. Apple, who enjoyed a virtual stranglehold on the smartphone market, suddenly was losing market share. The war was on.

Now, Samsung has the option to insert more competition in to the smartphone market. With a new smartphone operating system, they can wean themselves off Google’s Android system and launch their own.

They are disrupting Google and Apple’s dominance.

This, as many people will argue, is a good thing. While Samsung has not innovated software or hardware, they have made great strides in combining the two. Their smartphone OS, named Tizen right now, would reduce their reliance on Android OS and allow them a substantial boost to their bottom line if successful. Google and Apple would have to step up their game.

Apple has shown, in my humble opinion, a lack of creativity. We see less and less innovation from them. Their latest phone sought to throw off Google Maps simply because they wanted to cash in on ad revenue. They failed miserably and their replacement app has become the laughingstock of the tech world. Meanwhile, Google released a replacement that many people quickly downloaded.

Google, on the other hand, is very versatile. They are very familiar with trying new things and cutting what does not work. In their latest “spring cleaning”, they are eliminating Google Reader, simply because it is not working as they want any more. Sure, many people jumped to other services. I myself tried to join Feedly, but I couldn’t right away because of the vast amount of people accessing their servers.

So, if we end up having 3 viable smartphone sources, the only thing that can happen is competition. Innovation. Improvement. These are good things. Not only would Samsung bring a new product that would make the market stronger, but also Google would respond by stepping up their game. Hopefully Apple will react appropriately and bring some new ideas to light. Win for the companies and win for the consumers.

Apple vs. Samsung: Winner is NOBODY!

So the decision is final. Apple "wins". From my point of view, no they didn't really win. It's kind of like a boxing match that goes all the way to the end and a winner gets decided based on points rather than someone getting knocked out.

Apple is starting to act like a stereotypical old man. "Get off my lawn!" The prices show it too. The iPhone 4S prices for $649 or $199 with a two-year wireless contract, even though it's old news. Many of the better Android-based phones are either comparable or cheaper, usually both.

The problem that exists with the iPhone and the iPad is they are starting to be seen as old. Slapping a number or letter after it won't change that anymore. The conceptions I had over each version of the iPhone was:

The first iPhone: "OOOOOOH! ME WANT!"
iPhone 2: "Cool!"
3: "Yay, I guess."
4: "OK..."
4S: "Whatever."

That only reason I wanted one was it was a toy I could play with and not much else. The iPod Touch I had was similar to it. It seemed like an iPhone that couldn't make calls or send texts. And while it had some nice apps, it wasn't anything special.

When I finally did get a smartphone, I shopped around. I read the reviews, talked to friends, compared capabilities, and in the end, I went with the HTC Evo Design 4G. It was offered at a good price and had capabilities that iPhone don't have. The big one being it wasn't Apple. Why was that important? It meant I had more control over my phone. (For the record, I have some Linux experience, so you know what kind of control I'm talking about!)

I think that's the main thing that gets me: Who could say that they could confuse a Samsung made phone for an iPhone? I pick up a phone and I can easily tell the difference from any Apple product. How? Their logo is a dead giveaway. The claim of "rectangles with rounded corners" doesn't belong to Apple. Playing cards have been using them for centuries. The original Game Boy was rectangular with rounded corners. Heck, my old Acer Inspire One is rectangular with rounded corners.

I'm not saying Apple has no case at all. Hardware (not simply design) patents are one thing. If Apple shows that Samsung was using their technology, beat Samsung down with a dirty stick.

Now, feel is trickier. I admit, the first time I saw the "bounce back" feature, it was on my iPod and it was novel, but it didn't register as something major. At first, I actually thought it was a bug; I relied more on the scroll bar. But does it belong solely to Apple? I have to say yes, if they invented it first. Apple does have experience in this matter.

In the end, I think Apple is keeping themselves on life support. They need a new product, and not just a renaming. Right now, all they make are iPhones and iPads. Oh yeah, and those Mac things too. Renaming their phone line to the iBam! is not going to cut it. Siri is cute but nothing new. If they really want to make the claim as the mac daddy of smartphones, they're going to need to be iNnovative.

I do admit, I don't understand every aspect of this case, but if the only things being released are these few bits, then the PR is not doing their jobs. Maybe someone else can explain it better or give a link. Have fun!