18 
In the legal battle between Apple and Samsung, the latter’s fate rests on how much it can claim it never needed or wanted to plagiarise. But after reading memos like these, that’s going to be very, very hard to buy.
AllThingsD relays some highly humiliating internal documents recently squeezed out of Samsung in court—and they are an absolute nightmare for the company. Publicly, Samsung says it never copied the iPhone. But from one exec to another?
I hear things like this: Let’s make something like the iPhone.
When everybody (both consumers and the industry) talk about UX, they weigh it against the iPhone. The iPhone has become the standard. That’s how things are already.
Do you know how difficult the Omnia is to use? When you compare the 2007 version of the iPhone with our current Omnia, can you honestly say the Omnia is better? If you compare the UX with the iPhone, it’s a difference between Heaven and Earth.
Influential figures outside the company come across the iPhone, and they point out that “Samsung is dozing off.”It’s a crisis of design.
The world is changing, and the flow of change isn’t something that you can have come back again by going
against the flow.
Emphasis added.
A crisis of design remedied, it would seem, by copying off the exact product that triggered that crisis to begin with. I have no idea how Samsung crawls its way out of this one—an explicit admission that the company envied the iPhone and coveted its design. Good luck, highly paid legal team. You can read the memo in its entirety below. [AllThingsD]
iPhone 5 Scrolling "Glitch" Exposed by Flailing Fingers
Siri's Default Settings Leave Your iPhone 4S Exposed
Google's Latitude Leaderboards Is a Blatant Foursquare Rip-Off
I always thought that UX/UI was more about software than the hardware? Although I could be completely wrong..
suit isn’t just about HW, it’s also SW and trade dress
Sure, but isn’t the SW just Android with a skirt on? Why not go after Google or everyone else then?
I believe that Samsung uses their own skin on top, and that’s the main problem here. I don’t know, I’ve seen and always liked only Vanilla Android.
Samsung TouchWiz isn’t that far removed from HTC Sense
IMHO, Samsung come closer to aping the iPhone than any other major manufacturer, both in HW and SW terms. It’s less obvious with their more recent handsets, but the Galaxy S in particular was a bit too close for comfort.
That large central home button, the rolled metallic edges of the device, its rounded-off corners, those square high-contrast icons. In isolation each of these ‘visual cues’ is a minor affair, but to find so many similarities in a single device? Not a coincidence.
I think Apple’s argument against Samsung is that by making their device visually similar to the iPhone, potential buyers will associate it with the iPhone. Then they’ll start saying stuff like ‘It’s not an iPhone, but it’s Samsung’s version of an iPhone, and it’s £50 cheaper’, and then before you know it Samsung have a similar perception to Apple in the public’s eyes – and partly off the back of Apple’s efforts.
C’mon, some objective reporting once in a while would be nice Giz…
To be fair in this article, it’s quite a clear bit of evidence to suggest that Samsung wanted that design.
It goes against their entire legal argument and therefore is newsworthy.
As it goes so clearly against what they’ve previously said, it’s hard to be objective.
All it shows is that a successful product will be the subject of scrutiny from rival businesses.
i agree with The Doctor.
all they are saying is:
the iphone is awesome
lets do something awesome, our current one is a bit shite
Except they aren’t saying ‘lets do something awesome’ they are saying ‘lets do something like the iPhone’.
And it’s the fact that their phones are so much LIKE iPhones that caused this legal case to come about in the first place.
Kat herself suggested that the Before/After image that leads the article was for a laugh as Giz were VERY selective in displaying Samsung phones previous to the the iPhone.
Anyway, “jealousy” is one subjective interpretation of the text (with added emphasis to boot). Myself, I would describe it as admiration. Furthermore, I would not call it “humiliating” to identify your own faults. Now, I know Giz isn’t just a news reporting site and is perfectly entitled to its opinion pieces, but considering this is perhaps one of the biggest cases in the history of mobile technology and will have massive repercussions on the future of mobile tech, some balanced reporting once in a while wouldn’t go amiss
Holy fucking shit, can they cut this out already? I don’t see Obama suing that Mexican dude because he LOOKS like him. Of course it’s going to look like an iPhone, how else on god’s earth do they expect people to form a widescreen touch screen device?
Urrrggghhh, APPPLLLEEEE!!!
The same way almost every other manufacturer managed it?
You know, that concept called Innovation or Originality?
What on earth is that email supposed to prove? I imagine you could find similar messages discussing rival products from every single company in the world.
RIM should have had those emails too. Things might have been different now.
Since Stephen Elop encouraged Nokia’s staff to use iOS and Android phones to get to know their competition all their phones are clearly derivative infringements on Apple’s IP too…
You. I like you.
RIM probably do have those e-mails as I bet they were sent using Blackberrys!
I remember reading something, my memory is a bit vague, RIM’s CEO dismissed the iPhone as a real competition when it first came out.
Ballmer certainly did, of course it’s part of a ceo’s job to say “our stuff is the best and we aren’t worried about the opposition”, but the time bother RIM and Microsoft wasted on developing a viable competitor means they are both facing a huge struggle for market and mind share.
Both not bother
Samsung Exposes Its Blatant iPhone Jealousy – More like Sam Biddle exposes His Blatant iPhone Fanboyism. I Know that certain writers at Giz.com aren’t exactly smart (reposting an article from a satirical site as fact Mr Diaz, nice fact checking
) but saying a company realising that the phone market had changed reveals anything other than the fact they were not as stupid ans RIM and Microsoft is utter bollocks.
Can you imagine if Jesus ever entered the UK comments? Every reply would be: “Fuck you, Diaz.”
I almost feel sorry for him.
Almost.
Imagine there are a number of us here who wouldn’t join the Jesus Diaz Fan club even if it was giving out free beer. Kat says he’s actually a nice guy, which begs the question, why has he chosen to be a professional dick?
So what is actually wrong with the picture/article? I can understand that you don’t like some of the sensationalism but that is on almost every article and often enough do they pick on Apple too and when they do that it’s ok right?
Both the picture and article are selective of what parts they highlight, there are several Pre iPhone Samsung Phones that look a lot more like the iPhone than the ones shown and Samsung was still making feature phones after the iPhone. The use of emphasis was designed to enhance the points the writer wanted to make whereas if you read the whole text it is far less clear that the point is valid.
Just to be clear. You will get no arguement from me on the point that Samsungs Android phones are far more iPhone like than any other Android phones and I believe that they have a case to answer on many of the trade dress points. However the picture above and the manipulated reading of the e-mail is clearly biased
Really good level headed reply. What have you done with the real Darrell Jones?
It’s early, I haven’t reached my rage inducing caffeine level yet.
Seriously, I have no idea where people get this impression of me from.
To be fair, one in every three comment on this site is yours (rough guestimate, but I can’t be far wrong) so a handful are bound to be snarky.
i stopped caring about this really, the iPhone was/is a great invention, people are going to copy it, Samsung just went a bit far. nevermind, time to change it enough thats all. its like all smartphones are pretty much the same these days is it!
Disappointed that Giz didn’t post Samsung’s version of the story too.
http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/61866000/jpg/_61866826_designs.jpg
Having worked for a company in a very tight market with significant and relentless competition – I would be very surprised if companies weren’t checking out their competition. In automotive, companies regularly tear-down competitor cars to see how they do things, which suppliers they are using, and how designs work. They then work to formulate their products to at least compete with if not exceed their competitors cars.
All these emails show is that Samsung were checking on their competition to understand how to improve their products. I don’t understand how anyone can come to any other conclusion, and certainly not the huge leap made by Biddle who, once again, seems intent on showing a lack of knowledge on how industry actually works.
I dont really think that means any thing relevant apart from acknowledging the obvious that iphone had the best user experience. with the sensitivity of apple vs samsung this come across as very misleading. To mean this dont mean anything apart from identifying who your competing with and why the are at the top.
Apple didnt exactly invent any of its looks neither they had to work from somewhere and from what i remember most their stuff looked like Braun products.
Are we playing Rorschach evidence? :p
What I see is them saying that they can’t escape having their products compared to the iPhone, and in comparison they look a bit crap, and that they need to step up their game.
The only thing I’ve seen that is actually a bit dodgy is the use of a similar connector/cable. Everything else is kind of “well, sort of, if you blur your eyes, maybe”.
Looooool poor Samsung (Copysung?)
I found these:
http://media.idownloadblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Samsung-design-before-iPhone.jpg
http://media.idownloadblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Samsung-design-before-iPhone.jpg
They look nothing like iPhone and the so called Ireen looks like iPhone.
What you need to take into account is that the iPhone’s prototype was available back in 2002 and it is not that hard that Copysung managed to get its hands on it before iPhone came out.
Copysung is just disgusting!
Pointless biased article =/. Others have already covered my opinion on this.
Samsung Exposes Its Blatant iPhone Jealousy….
Gizmodo Exposes Its Blatant iPhone Jizzfest.
Does this show Samsung tried to emulate iPhone? Yeah, but what’s new? Every company wants to try and better its competitor, and obviously that means taking inspiration from their products. The handsets are similar, but they’re far from the same.
That message is just talking about inviting touchwiz. People are forgetting here that the iPhone was a revolution of a product – purely because it was the 1st smartphone designed to be simple. I recall Jobs talking about trying to set up a conference call on a phone and getting lost, which was him 1st asking the question, can’t someone make this thing easier to use. Not a complexed solution or problem, also an obvious question to ask. At the same time you had Google asking the same questions. Then after that point a bunch of Google, HTC, Sony, Samsung, Apple and others had a bunch of ideas go into a mix and each company adds and subtracts from the hub of those ideas. I did include Apple in that because everyone took something from the mix but the iPhone became the benchmark for a future smartphone ideology. And it was copied and mimicked, and still is in some ways. But the market moved; designs got old, tastes got new, size of screens became more appealing than rez of screens, and so on… Now the android and Samsung market is modern, and that is now the benchmark. Apple has kept that jaded look and feel, tweaked it but I now see iPhone design and UI and I think cheap Chinese copy – like it is parodying itself so many years later. And that is the sweet irony of this patent shite dragging out, if you copied an iPhone today it would look rubbish compared to the rest of this now matured market. So really Apple needs to move and shake into the future and stop lurking in the pass, because they are the only ones wanting to keep that.
Woah! A company acknowledging it had flaws and taking steps to rectify them? That’s pretty damning evidence that doesn’t really prove anything!
how are these emails any different than the ones in the article posted a few days ago about apple making a smaller tablet the same size as the galaxy tab 7? In here, Samsung realises that there is a market for touch screen “smart” phones and wants to capitalise on it (note that they already made phones before this). On the other article Apple realises there is a market for smaller tablets and they want to capitalise on that (note that they already made tablets before this). Apple needs to be told to go and do one when it comes down to all these law suits. if they focus on making good products people who like them will continue to buy them. the real reason as to why samsung smartphones are so popular these days comes down to the big range available that caters to most tastes, and they are brilliant phones that keep getting better each year
LOOK HOW PEUGEOT COPIED THE MODEL T FORD!
You know what, I was going to say it’s a good thing patent trolls didn’t exist back then, but that would be wrong. They did. Engineers have been screwing each other over since the industrial revolution. It’s inevitable that this century’s companies are copying the iPhone, just as last century’s companies have copied the Model T Ford. And this is mostly a good thing.
If Ford had been the only company allowed to manufacture cars with that form factor, they would have probably lost steam after a few decades of monopoly. They didn’t go out of business because of others copying them. 100 years later and we are still driving cars that are inspired by the Model T. And Ford is still a big player in that market.
Apple may well exist in 100 years. And if it does it will most certainly be a major part of whatever technology we have then. But they can’t be the only company allowed to make that technology. I’m not saying they shouldn’t, I mean they literally can’t take the entire market to themselves. Other companies will always find a way. Stopping them now would be like stopping the tide.