If Windows Phone 8 is successful, how long until the competition goes to the DOJ?

[brmiller1976]

With all the litigiousness by Apple and Google, how long do you think it will take them to turn to the courts if Microsoft is successful with WP8?

What should Microsoft's strategy be if superior WP products start winning share and the competition goes to the courts to beg for protection from superior product, yet again?

 

[emergenic]

Microsoft has DEEP POCKETS, I don't think Apple, Google or any one else wants to go to war against them.

Think about this, MS owns Enterprise Technology and apple/google want to claim the mobile market share formally dominated by RIM.

I would tread lightly before taking on MS, if they don't want to get cutoff from the business mobile sector.


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[AngryNil]

Microsoft isn't going to gain monopolistic market share in mobile any time soon, if ever.

 

[gzlesk]

1. Apple and Microsoft cant sue eachother, they have an agreement, it just wont happen
2. I dont think any OEM except motorola for obvious reasons, will go after a company running WP8 because somewhere in the lineup they make a Microsoft product. They dont want to risk that.
So WP8 is the safest OS their is for manufacturers

 

[stevethenerd]

What would the sue for? there's nothing directly or indirectly copied...

 

[peestandingup]

MS & Apple settled a LOOOONG patent dispute back in the mid 90s (after Jobs came back). It was the stuff of legend & went on for years. The argument was that basically MS stole Apple's "look & feel" after they released Windows (this was well after the Apple Lisa & original Macintosh, the first mainstream computers to use a graphical user interface). Gates worked on the Macintosh & released software for it. Jobs felt that he stole a lot of the elements that went into it & released it as his own OS (Windows). Sound familiar??

Anyways, fast forward to the mid 90s. This was when Apple was almost dead, so MS helped them out by buying some stock & giving them a jump start. They also promised to develop Office for Mac. In return, Apple agreed to cross license patents & a bunch of stuff with MS, drop the lawsuits, etc. Thats why they don't sue each other & never will.

Watch this: Macworld Boston 1997-The Microsoft Deal - YouTube

 

[Winterfang]

Windows Phone lives and dies with Windows 8.

I myself am only interest in it, because is the ecosystem with the most promise. Me owing an Xbox and soon having Windows 8 on my PC. Smartglass and other things will make my life so much better.

IOS and Android had the cool devices and applications that make my mouth water.

 

[pjs37]

I doubt the DOJ can go after MS especially due to WP8. Its just not even close to a Monopoly and MS is probably going to be more open then some other company in the mobile space. Plus MS has not been exerting its Monopoly control over the mobile market place to get what it wants. Far from it. Apple on the other hand...

 

[crystal_planet]

MS & Apple settled a LOOOONG patent dispute back in the mid 90s (after Jobs came back). It was the stuff of legend & went on for years. The argument was that basically MS stole Apple's "look & feel" after they released Windows (this was well after the Apple Lisa & original Macintosh, the first mainstream computers to use a graphical user interface). Gates worked on the Macintosh & released software for it. Jobs felt that he stole a lot of the elements that went into it & released it as his own OS (Windows). Sound familiar??

Anyways, fast forward to the mid 90s. This was when Apple was almost dead, so MS helped them out by buying some stock & giving them a jump start. They also promised to develop Office for Mac. In return, Apple agreed to cross license patents & a bunch of stuff with MS, drop the lawsuits, etc. Thats why they don't sue each other & never will.

Watch this: Macworld Boston 1997-The Microsoft Deal - YouTube

I know that story and is one of my favorites. The thought of Jobs approaching Gates with hat in hand always brings a smile to my face.

 

[1jaxstate1]

MS and Apple have some type of cross licensing agreement. Won't happen. I was reading on the details of the agreement a few weeks back on BGR.

 

[Heron_Kusanagi]

Players going to DOJ will only happen if MS somehow gets a monopoly on the phone OS market. It will take some time for that to happen if at all possible.

 

[jmshub]

Yep, what people seem to think about the cross license agreement is that Microsoft is licensing technology from Apple. This is true. But Apple is also licensing from Microsoft. It would benefit neither company to get the lawyers involved.

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[brmiller1976]

I was thinking less about MS getting majority share in mobile, and more about Apple's traditional complaint that "Microsoft is extending its desktop OS monopoly to build share in phones."

 

[peestandingup]

I know that story and is one of my favorites. The thought of Jobs approaching Gates with hat in hand always brings a smile to my face.

I guess. But just remember, if it weren't for the iPhone we probably wouldn't have Windows Phone, Android, etc. We might have eventually, but it wouldn't have been nearly as fast. And MS would have just kept on making sh*t products for as long as they could. And XP & Windows Mobile were def sh*t.

I mean, we see how late they were pushing out Windows Phone & a modernized tablet OS. You can bet they would have still been doing the same thing thing they always did (not innovating) if they weren't losing the market & someone was forcing them to.

 

[crystal_planet]

I guess. But just remember, if it weren't for the iPhone we probably wouldn't have Windows Phone, Android, etc. We might have eventually, but it wouldn't have been nearly as fast. And MS would have just kept on making sh*t products for as long as they could. And XP & Windows Mobile were def sh*t.

I mean, we see how late they were pushing out Windows Phone & a modernized tablet OS. You can bet they would have still been doing the same thing thing they always did (not innovating) if they weren't losing the market & someone was forcing them to.

Yes, and if it wasn't for Blackberry we wouldn't have the iPhone. And if it wasn't for Palm we wouldn't have Blackberry etc. The iPhone is not the spiritual father of smartphones. They innovated when they created iTunes (and the ecosystem) and they innovated when an engineer decided it would be a cool idea to add a telephony component to the iPod touch. The iPad was just a case of perfecting an existing technology and marketing to the masses.

MS could walk away from the mobile phone market and carry on as if nothing happened. They could rely on their sacred markets and continue to be profitable.

As far as their initial foray into the mobile market - yeah Windows Mobile was not great but the tech industry is littered with products that fizzled. They're making up for it now and if WP8 fails, it won't be due to lack of innovation.

 

[Laura Knotek]

The iPhone is not the spiritual father of smartphones. They innovated when they created iTunes (and the ecosystem) and they innovated when an engineer decided it would be a cool idea to add a telephony component to the iPod touch.

The original iPhone predates the original iPod Touch.

The iPhone was released in June 2007, but the iPod Touch was not released until September 2007.

 

[crystal_planet]

The original iPhone predates the original iPod Touch.

The iPhone was released in June 2007, but the iPod Touch was not released until September 2007.

Really? My mistake. I thought it was the other way around.

 

[peestandingup]

Yes, and if it wasn't for Blackberry we wouldn't have the iPhone. And if it wasn't for Palm we wouldn't have Blackberry etc. The iPhone is not the spiritual father of smartphones. They innovated when they created iTunes (and the ecosystem) and they innovated when an engineer decided it would be a cool idea to add a telephony component to the iPod touch. The iPad was just a case of perfecting an existing technology and marketing to the masses.

MS could walk away from the mobile phone market and carry on as if nothing happened. They could rely on their sacred markets and continue to be profitable.

As far as their initial foray into the mobile market - yeah Windows Mobile was not great but the tech industry is littered with products that fizzled. They're making up for it now and if WP8 fails, it won't be due to lack of innovation.

They're def the father of the modern smartphone & ecosystems that we know today. Why do you think companies like Palm, RIM, etc died (or are dying)?? Besides, you can say that about anything (this tech led to that, etc). And thats true, but still. Even through I prefer Windows Phone over anything out there, I give credit where credit is due. They lit a fire under everyone's a*s, and thats a good thing.

We wouldn't have Windows Phone, Android, etc & the landscape would still be littered with archaic sh*t from the past market leaders (like BB OS & Windows Mobile), still chugging right along because no one called them on their suckiness.

 

[brmiller1976]

I doubt that things would still be the same without Apple in the market as a disruptor. Someone else would have disrupted the marketplace. Differently, for certain, but it still would have happened.

It's a bit like PCs. What if Microsoft had never gone beyond MS-DOS, and just kept cranking along with DOS 6.X, 7.X, etc.?

Apple wouldn't have dropped Mac pricing and Macs probably would have remained as $5,000+ machines... but someone else would have disrupted the market (perhaps Atari, or Commodore, or Acorn).

Palm was working on webOS concepts and new device ideas since before the iPhone launched... Palm OS would have died regardless and been replaced, regardless. A world where webOS was the dominant paradigm would have still forced everyone else to innovate and change (including MS).

 

[Winterfang]

MS & Apple settled a LOOOONG patent dispute back in the mid 90s (after Jobs came back). It was the stuff of legend & went on for years. The argument was that basically MS stole Apple's "look & feel" after they released Windows (this was well after the Apple Lisa & original Macintosh, the first mainstream computers to use a graphical user interface). Gates worked on the Macintosh & released software for it. Jobs felt that he stole a lot of the elements that went into it & released it as his own OS (Windows). Sound familiar??

Anyways, fast forward to the mid 90s. This was when Apple was almost dead, so MS helped them out by buying some stock & giving them a jump start. They also promised to develop Office for Mac. In return, Apple agreed to cross license patents & a bunch of stuff with MS, drop the lawsuits, etc. Thats why they don't sue each other & never will.

Watch this: Macworld Boston 1997-The Microsoft Deal - YouTube

Fantastic post.