One of Apple's defining characteristics as a business has been its unfailing disinterest in market share in and of itself. So why on Earth would anyone assume that an expansion of a legal mess started in the larger markets, into the smaller ones, is driven by a sudden intense concern about market share? Particularly when the larger markets are where Apple sales and growth is strongest? If their legal goal was to protect market share, their strategy is exactly backwards.<p>Now is it more likely that:
A. Apple has suddenly not only change its tune on market share, but is pursuing this new obsession <i>ineptly</i>?
Or, B. that Apple is simply doing what every single large company does in patent concerns: starting in the largest markets and then expanding into the smaller ones?<p>Further, looking at market share without regard to overall market growth is somewhere between innumerate and intellectually dishonest. And the regularity of this oversight in tech reporting makes it difficult to believe it's an honest mistake.
As evidenced by the patent claims already fought and lost, they might prevail on a little but not I don't think it will be much in the end. It's not really some tiny android using brands they need to sink but rather Samsung, HTC and other giants. Even if they prevail in 1 or 2 of the 10 or so claims they are making these guys will be able to eat up the costs (and one or two might be able to force a cross-licencing with their own patents). So in the end, nothing is going to stop the current trajectories where Apple will be relegated to fighting with second place in the market with Microsoft.<p>To my mind this is as it should be. Smartphones can only be a screen 3 to 6 inches in a thin form with a slightly modified desktop metaphor (icons on a background), and are based on a wide infrastructure that is not Apple owned. Free code initially (BSD, Linux and Webkit). SSD research, gorilla glass, AMOLED, camera chip manufacturers and ARM CPUs. Apple is more or less just another PC company, and smartphones are now pretty much just small PCs. Apple has a good music and app market which they can leverage to make sure they have a larger slice of the phone market than on the PC market, but it's not manifest destiny that they should own it. They also have to consider the public relations costs compared to prevailing in a few corner patent cases and looking (rightly so) like sore losers who don't want any competition.<p>Apple should stop whinging and fire 80% of the legal department and use the money to acquire another company like the one that produced Siri. Then again, perhaps the PR department is behind this to create another "stabbed in the back" mythology, like their dubious claims to stratospheric innovation on the desktop.
There doesn't seem to be any evidence for this hypothesis, or for his one that slow growth is lowering market share. But something makes a difference, and English speaking countries seem to be more Apple oriented, could be a factor. France and Germany are stronger open source markets than say the uk, could also influence arly adopters. Would be interesting if there is more data about phone choice.
Are you sure its not driven by Steve jobs and I quote "I'm Going to Destroy Android, Because It's a Stolen Product".... "I'm willing to go thermonuclear war on this."?<p>Seems like analysts are trying to find an economic reason for something that may well be an emotion driven thing.