With Apple unable to support claims that their sales have been
"seriously damaged" by Samsung imitating and releasing its products, the
Smartphone war has reached a recent stalemate. Although the media has
recently portrayed these two companies as rivals, there are many claims
that reveal these two "opponents" share some similar interests by
partnering up in some respects. Apple's operations Chief explained that
Samsung is a great partner to Apple on the supply side, proven by the $8
billion worth of parts Apple bought from Samsung just last year. (This
relationship dates back to 2005 where Samsung provided the initial
memory chips that allowed the ipod to be manufactured) On the other side
of the relationship, Samsung has immensely benefited from insights
Apple has provided them regarding smartphone and tablet production. Now,
as their legal scuffles have slowed down, it seems as though they even
share common enemies that are threatening their collective market share:
Blackberry and Microsoft. This is also contrasted by the fact that
industry rivalries have changed in nature over the past decade. In the past, companies sued
with the intention of effectively killing their opponents. Nowadays, the
competitive landscape between companies like Apple and Samsung are
multilayered and complex. Yes, there are many instances of litigation
that costs billions of dollars, but on the whole, their relationship is
both friendly and harsh. Apple and Samsung sometimes have scuffles, but
they also pose a dynamic threat to the market where pairing up against
competitors like Nokia, Blackberry, Sony, HTC, and even Google, can help
them both in the long run.
Overall, Apple and Samsung
have different market strategies and ways of appealing to the market.
While it may seem like an all out war is what these companies desire, a
second look at the situation reveals that quiet cooperation could be a
better strategy for the both of them.
http://news.msn.com/science-technology/stalemate-between-apple-samsung-in-smartphone-wars
Very nice article Aviv. I agree with you that both of those ocmpanies are benefitting each other while also suing each other for multi billion dollars. Adam Remba wrote a similar article last week you should check it out but you guys both touched upon the same points.
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