Following Isn't the Answer

Stop and think for a moment. Do you like the phone you have? If you could have any phone you wanted would you get it? Would you stay with the same brand? Do you have brand loyalty?

Companies like Apple and Samsung want you to be a loyal user. They want you to fall in love with their product. According to the article "The Way Forward for Samsung, and Innovation" by Sohrab Vossoughi, "Apple brand tells you that your needs have been considered; repeated interaction tell you that they always will be." While I do not have an iPhone or Android phone, I do use several Apple products. From first hand experience I can say that the pinch-to-zoom feature is very useable and just makes sense. With that said, I don't think that it was necessary for Apple to sue Samsung for copying the pinch-to-zoom feature. I understand their reasoning behind the law suit. However, Apple should have used Samsung's copying as a way to push the envelope further, to be more innovative, to think about ways that pinch-to-zoom can be improved upon. The same goes for Samsung. Instead of following in Apple's footsteps they need to think differently and find different ways to navigate the phone screen. The way to be successful is to come up with new innovative products that are as different from the competitors as possible.

So many products are starting to look virtually the same (for further examples refer to my first blog post). The same goes for Android vs. Apple. Take a look at the Apple website advertising the operating system iO6 and the Samsung website advertising for Jelly Bean. At a glance the websites are very similar. The formatting and design are virtually the same. I compare these two websites to show that they have very similar products. I don't want to point fingers and say one company copied the other, rather my point is that companies should do all in their power to set themselves apart from the competition. They need to be innovative and come up with new, better features, features that will make the consumer loyal to the product.

Both companies dominate the smartphone market. Read more about the stats at http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/how-apple-and-samsung-cornered-all-smartphone-profits/. Both companies are profiting well in the smartphone market. Basically both companies need to offer something that the other company doesn't. Which ever company can appeal to the consumer more will come out on top. Both companies can use competition to be more creative and provide something new that the consumer can't live without.