By When you typically look at patent filings and infringement lawsuits its a lot of paperwork and suits, but in the case of Apple vs. HTC – which many believe equates to Apple vs. Google/Android – the battle is personal. In an amazingly interesting New York Times piece by Brad Stone and Miguel Helft, they completely recount the events that have led to the current standoff, even providing some behind the scenes looks we haven’t yet heard:
As Google’s plans took shape, Apple and Google executives either met in person or spoke on the phone on multiple occasions about Apple’s concern about Android, executives on both sides say.
Many of those meetings turned confrontational, according to people familiar with the discussions, with Mr. Jobs often accusing Google of stealing iPhone features. Google executives said that Android’s features were based on longstanding ideas already circulating in the industry and that some Android prototypes predated the iPhone.
At one particularly heated meeting in 2008 on Google’s campus, Mr. Jobs angrily told Google executives that if they deployed a version of multitouch — the popular iPhone feature that allows users to control their devices with flicks of their fingers — he would sue. Two people briefed on the meeting described it as “fierce” and “heated.”
Boy would I have loved to overhear those arguments. I’d hate to have been there, though, as I’m sure either exec could have melted me with a stone cold stare that would make Cyclops jealous.
When the Apple/Admob deal fell through and Google snapped them up? More trouble:
Three days after the no-shop provision expired, Google agreed to buy AdMob — putting a whopping $750 million price tag on a four-year-old company with modest revenue. Jilted and angry, Mr. Jobs speculated that AdMob might have violated its legal obligations, with help from Google, according to two people briefed on the fallout from the negotiations.
Those are just blips on a radar soon to be filled with competitive criticism and angry quips between the two companies. The NY Times article is a bit lengthy but DEFINITELY worth the read.
cyclops’s eye beams are concussive, not heat-based. they don’t melt but they feel like a freight train hitting you. totally off topic, i know, but the comic nerd within me raged.
Apple & Google really dont like each other.
It will be interesting to see what happens with the HTC lawsuit and to see what they will both do next.
wow, Phoenix, nerd alert
i know! i admitted it. :(
@phoenix..
.
Is that why the two beams are parallel instead of converging? I assume that a parallel beam would be concussive and converging beams would be heat based, hence concentrating on one spot.
I’ve always loved Apple. They’re products are great! But when it comes to choosing between Apple and Google, I’m sorry Apple, but I’m going to have to side with Google.
Thier*
Google, as perceived by consumers is what Apple would like to be (“do no harm”, and all for the consumer’s interests)
@phoenix – your comment wins this entire article. everyone else can cease commenting. game over lol.
I think fierce business rivalry is good, but companies need to learn to compete within the marketplace and let consumers decide which product to buy.
The iPhone did wonders for the smart phone industry, and it will continue to be a very sought after device for years, however as with all previous devices that dominate the market, from day one it’s days as king were numbered.
HTC has been making touch screen phones long before Apple entered the game, and other companies were to. Imagine if the first company had patented “Touchscreen Phone” (something I wouldn’t put past Apple for trying). These nonsense vague patents are pointless attempts to bully the competition.
Apple does make some decent products, but their business practices suck, you would think they would have learned from the MAC vs Windows days that “open” is the way to go seeing how that age old battle turned out in their favor… NOT.
Seems like Google isnt afraid of Apple. This is not good news for Apple, i cant wait to see how this turns out. Will Google win over Apple in the end? I think Google has the best chance out of any company that has tried to stand up to Apple.
I’m with Yousif here, I own many and love Apple products, but Google is the one I’d stand by in this case. To me it seems like Apple has been less innovative lately
@Yousif…
It’s actually *THEIR* (SMILE)
@phoenix, then why do the X-men movies show him cutting or blowing up things with his eye beam? Deviation from the comic?
I guess not a lot of people know about X-men thru the comics.
Adapted for screenplay. People relate to explosions. Concussive force beams are way to hard for the average movie goer to understand.
I sure would love palm to weigh in on the touchscreen thing. Maybe they are waiting to see how this goes. If Apple wins and sets a precedent, that leaves a big wide door open for Palm to cash in.
I’d love to see Palm, Moto and others unleash their patent lawsuit ammo on Apple, of which I’m sure they have on standby. All of these companies have multiple patents and have lawsuits ready to fire like nukes waiting in silos should they need to do so. And they’re all well aware of one anothers patents and generally use each other’s patent nukes as mutual deterrence. But every once in awhile, some ginormous d-bag comes along and wants to show the world just how massive his ego can inflate (must have a micro-penis).
I too have to side with Google, more accurately, HTC. I love my imported GSM HTC Hero (w/chin). It’s the best phone I have ever owned, even if it is only running Cupcake.
It looks like Apple is desperate to suppress HTC. This is probably because they build the best Android phones out today. Not only Android, but cell phones in general. This worries Apple.
But yeah, I love my iPod Touch and my little white macbook, but when it comes to this, iHate iPhone and hope Apple gets put in its place.
I wonder… Would Apple suffer, if Google pulled away from the iPhone? Would Google?
Steve Yobs is out of control. And the US Patent Office is out of control — many of the patents they issue are absurd and should never have been issued — for example, a patent for a slide to lock gesture? Outrageous! I’ll give props to the Europeans on this one — their patent office will not issue patents for absurdities like the US Patent Office.
I hope that Google will really get involved legally and financially in this suit so that HTC doesn’t get buried by the egomaniac bully Jobs,who is freaked out by a little competition.
From my viewpoint, Steve Jobs looks like a real jerk and a scared bully. He could have made the iPhone’s market share so much bigger if he had not continued with AT&T exclusivity for so long. At one point, everybody wanted an iPhone, and they all would have bought one if it had been available on their chosen carrier. There are still many who would but as Android gets more popular and with Windows phone 7 near, Apple’s window of opportunity is getting smaller and smaller. There is nobody to blame for that but themselves. Did they think they were so good that everybody in the world who wanted an iPhone would switch to AT&T just to use one? I sure wasn’t going to, and I’m now thankful they stuck with AT&T because I like Android and my Nexus One much better.
LOL. The article called Steve Jobs a “master marketer and innovator.”
Sorry, but Steve is a terrible marketer. He’s lucky he’s hired solid marketing folks to help him. His idea of solid marketing is using the same adjectives over and over again to describe his products. And innovator? Other than the Newton, Apple has “innovated” anything. They’ve taken other products and improved upon them (the ipod), but rarely innovated.
Yes, Jobs could have made Apples market share so much bigger if he had ended ATT exclusivity after a year, however I think there is, or was, a method to his madness. You see he was using the rest of the market (Verizon, Tmobile, etc.) as “money in the bank” so if times got tough or after he milked the ATT market dry, just move to the next “fresh” market. But,……………..he never saw Android coming….Bam Baby!! Sucker punch while he wasn’t looking! He didn’t think another phone or OS could ever rival his precious crapple device…..
Not that the iPhone is a horrible device, but it’s the exclusivity that made it the must-have smartphone. If Steve Jobs opened it up so every Tom, Dick, and Harry had one it would lose a whole lot of luster. Some of it’s features were nice but seriously, a patent for pointing or gesturing is stupid when pointing and gesturing is something we learn before we even talk.
Apple needs to be reigned in and so does the US patent procedure.
I so can’t wait for the courts to smash all of Apple’s patent’s into legal applesauce. If Jobs thinks he’s got the holier than thou right to use these gestures, I think all the people doing research & invention in the 1980’s & 1990’s will heavily disagree with them. Apple doesn’t get it. My question is, “how can you patent human movement even on a device?” I just have the feeling that these patents will backfire & Apple’s going to be convicted of violating patents from other companies. I just hope the companies with the real patents force Apple for at least 18 months, take out all those features out of their phones & computers. Then maybe Steve Jobs will learn to behave himself.
I think the best way to resolve this dispute is to put OS X on a Nexus One, and Android on an iPad….
hmm, come to think of it, neither of those options sounds appealing :(
this can take years because it doesn’t look like Apple wants to settle anything out of court.
Apple should patent lemons. And then they can suck on it!
Apple = Amazingly innovative.
The iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch look nothing like.
^SARCASM ALERT!
Everyone… IPHONE WAS SHOPPED TO VZW BEFORE CINGULAR/ATT. Jobs wanted complete control and $10 a month from every iPhone inuse. VZW said no. ATT gave it to him for the exclusive. Its just that simple.
@Kristy (and Yousif)…
It’s actually *ITS* (SMILE)
…A company is a singular entity.
i love big dicksss!!!!!!!!!