I can't make this stuff up

Even if this is a true story, it isn't the lawsuit that made people think this. What makes people think that Apple products and Samsung products are the same is the fact that Samsung intentionally ripped them off to get exactly that. Apple did not do this. Samsung did and the lawsuit was so they could stop it. If this story is true, which it kind of sounds like it isn't, then the only reason people are being vocal about it is because of the news. They're now comparing the two side by side and saying "hey, they look the same so they must be like the same thing". Up until about two months ago I was dirt poor (as in I only ate once a day, if that) and my experience with Apple products has been then you definitely get what you pay for in a good way which is why I have bought so many despite my door poor-ness. Samsung making their products look like Apple's was meant so people like me (minus the tech savviness) would buy them thinking they'll get the same thing. You really don't.<p>But I digress. This post has it wrong. What he supposedly overheard in a Starbucks wasn't caused by the Apple v. Samsung ruling but was a direct result of what Samsung had been trying to do all along.

I am skeptical that this is actually a true story and not a parable. The alleged regular people consumer statements do not ring true.

This man is clearly lying. So awkward and artificial that is clearly fabricated, like a geek joke prepared and rationalized but void and dead of humor.<p>Imagine a teenage that could not differentiate between and iPod and some other thing "that is the same".<p>Yeah, because normal people know how to install a VM, do a grep and an ssh....but they could not differentiate from a computer witch battery last 3 hours instead of 8, or weights double, or is made in real aluminum(and not plastic with metallic paint) or it is actually cheaper than the competence.<p>This man is wet dreaming.

Here's what's going to happen. These people will buy a Samsung device. And they will <i>hate</i> it. And then they will learn to never buy anything but Apple. Apple has, for a short bump in near term revenue, earned themselves a lot of lifetime customers.

This is a perfect example of judging a book by the cover. So these folks look at the device and think that the hardware is what makes it. Problem is, either you realize that it's about the software and you care what iOS and the Apple ecosystem gives you, or you're just an average Joe PC user who can't tell the difference between a good coffee and Starbucks, I mean between Windows and Mac. Regular people, with very little ability to discern the average from the good, the half finished from the polished, won't care. But maybe they do. Maybe once they experience a iPad or iPhone and then switch to Android, maybe they will realized there is a difference. I think this is what Apple is betting on. But then again, some wont. And some Samsung/Android fanatics are going to revel in these cases, just like the PC fanatics revel in talking about how amazing Windows is, and how much software they have access to. I still can't understand how these people think, and how they judge quality, I think for some people, mediocre is good enough. Obviously, I have my own particular way of judging things, and I wouldn't confuse an iPad with a Samsung device.

A Pro-Google Android Zealot writes a story on Google Plus about people switching from Apple to Samsung due to a patent lawsuit and you all believe it? I guess there really is a sucker born every minute.<p>Check Apple's earnings later to see who was right.

I am extremely skeptical that a lawsuit that few people are even aware of will have any effect on either company's brand image. A lot of Apple's products could be called "iconic" - people with little interest in technology differentiate between an iPhone 3GS and an iPhone 4. I'd be surprised if anyone could tell a Samsung from an HTC. A lawsuit isn't going to change that.

A few commenters here are not sure if this is real or not. I thought it was quite plainly put out as a tongue-in-cheek commentary in the form of an anecdote on the ridiculousness (according to the author) of this whole patent situation. "If Samsung copied Apple, why would we buy Apple? Just buy the cheap knock-off" is what he's angling at.

So a while ago, I had this thought: "It's pretty obvious that the casual user will buy iPhones and not Galaxies. After all, Apple works very hard to make iPhones <i>perfect</i> for the casual user, and all of the goodiness that comes from having a more open phone is meaningless for the casual user".<p>A little later, as more and more people I knew gravitated towards the Galaxies, I realized the flaw in this thinking - the average user <i>doesn't know</i> that the iPhone is geared towards him/her, and is a much better fit for someone who doesn't want to tinker with their phone. Only techies know this.<p>The average user wants to buy a phone that they can put apps on. As far as they're concerned, the iPhone and the Galaxy is the <i>same product</i>, only with a vastly different price structure.

Everything about the story reads like it was fabricated.

What perfect PR for Samsung. It reminds me of the story where a company hired actors for a PR stunt where they used pre-launch devices in public to create buzz for the product. Who was that?<p>EDIT: Maybe it <i>was</i> Samsung I'm thinking of. Evidently they have done stuff like that before (<a href="http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110325/12360313633/samsung-hires-actors-to-pretend-to-be-happy-galaxy-tab-testers.shtml" rel="nofollow">http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110325/12360313633/samsun...</a>). Netflix has done this too (<a href="http://www.avclub.com/articles/netflix-apologizes-for-hiring-actors-to-pretend-to,45507/" rel="nofollow">http://www.avclub.com/articles/netflix-apologizes-for-hiring...</a>).

A more probable headline - Apple consumers are wondering what they are paying for.<p>Not really news, and I doubt its going to affect sales for now. Eventually they'll have to reinvent themselves if they want to stay cool, though. (Like Sony Walkman failed to do so as a brand)

Costumers are people in charge of costumes, right? I can't imagine Apple would have that many.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 costs $100 less than the latest iPad, and the same as the iPad 2. May I assume that "Samsung's iPad" in this case was actually a seven inch model, and a blatantly unfair comparison?<p>edit: not to mention that the value of OS X is part of tw cost of MacBooks; running it in a VM on another OS is common, but unfair to portray to random people as a legitimate action as evidence that Apple is ripping peons off.

I'm mystified that an anecdote that's very likely fabricated and is filled with misinformation is one of the highest rated pieces here.<p>I'd say people who upvote before they read are part of the problem but I'm more concerned that many people did read and still upvoted it.

What Apple has done is essentially throw all the hard work of its own marketing department out the window. Marketing works hard so consumers will pay more for what they perceive is a better product. Even if it's not.<p>Now Apple has called attention to how similar Samsung products are and people ARE going to make this connection no matter what.<p>Even if Apple gets an injunction, do you think customers will still be willing to pay that premium over Apple products? They will at least start questioning their choices.<p>In this consumerist society we might as well see riots and protests so Apple lowers the prices or the govt cancels the injunctions.

Well, all this story tells me is that the folks who frequent Starbucks aren't the sharpest tools in the shed.

I take back the comment here <a href="http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4432744" rel="nofollow">http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4432744</a>,<p>apparently this is exactly what Gigaom was referring to earlier today. I didn't think people would care, but apparently they do, don't understand, and Apple is paying the price.<p>What would have happened had Samsung won??

&#62; <i>Samsung's iPad is the same as Apple's iPad, and I paid how much for the Apple one? Honey, I told you they were a ripoff"</i><p>Maybe now, but if Samsung has to pay a billion-dollar fine, the prices will be more comparable -- assuming that Samsung isn't also ordered to stop building machines so much like Apple's.<p>The sense of the article is that the lawsuit outcome favors Samsung -- that Apple is outing Samsung's units as being similar to Apple's but less money. This only works if Samsung's business isn't crippled by fines and cease-and-desist orders.

I think the author make this stuff up.<p>Also after a few months it tricks me into G+ again, nope, still no value for me.

Sounds like a case of assumed "difference regret", where people (esp those who don't know much about the products they are choosing from) think they didn't get the best deal.

Sure. They buy a Samsung notebook and try to install Mac OS X on it. That will be fun!

I find this (apparently fake) story interesting for the reaction that it created. I found it surprising (disturbing?) that anyone (even a fictional character) would equate losing a lawsuit for patent infringement with having an identical product. I was even for surprised reading through to comments on g+ to see how many were simply along the lines of "haha stoopid iPeons". As if they are dumb for having purchased an iProduct in the first place instead of the obviously identical but cheaper product from Samsung. Wat? I don't doubt the authors conjecture that some customers may have this odd reaction to the lawsuit, but why do so many people seem to think that it is a natural reaction to have?

Google+ asks for my Google account password. Is there an alternate URL for this text?

Tim Cook specifically stated the reason they took action is in alignment with Apple's values, with innovation being the big one. Looking at the products Apple cranks out I don't think anyone can deny they value innovation (even if it means stealing along the way). They used the existing system in the best way they could in alignment with their core values, despite the fact it might confuse the customer, they lose sales etc, etc. Good for Apple.

Why do I have a strong feeling that this is anti-Apple blogspam? If people confuse Apple products with Samsung products, it's because Samsung wants that confusion to exist. Apple's innovations weren't "obvious" until Apple put them into their products. Please consider the criticism iPhone received for not having a keyboard or buttons back in 2007.

If we accept the message behind this apparent parable (Samsung tablets have higher visibility now because of the lawsuit) is this not a great opportunity for WinRT based tablets?<p>Trusted brand, cheaper than iPad (I'm assuming for the WinRT ones) range of styles from different manufacturers, a (possibly limited) version of Office...

One more thing about the lawsuit: the battle startet long before it was taken to court, with all of Apple's ads suggesting that they invented stuff they did not really invent. And now a jury got to decide, that was of course also raised/brainwashed with Apple advertisements.

This story reminds me of that recent Mac genius ad with the sketchy computer salesman.

Nope, I will now only ever consider Samsung capable of bad ripoffs and plagiarism.

Good one, nonsense.

Self-fulfilling prophecies are a bitch.

I'm sorry for my honest comment but this just proves what some people over the world thinks: Americans are dumb! =X

FUD

Sweet ironic justice.

Beautiful.<p>For Apple, it's all about controlling the minds of consumers. And controlling their access to information about the devices.<p>For Samsung, it's less about that and more about plain old lack of interoperability: proprietary plugs, crappy Windows proprietary "install" software that was written hastily, and other little annoyances, stuff that will only work with Samsung. Like every other Asian manufacturer for as long as I can remember. (But at least companies like Samsung make SSD's and other components that can be used in any device. They keep companies like Apple afloat. Can Apple make its own components? Not as cost-effectively as Samsung.)<p>The result is always the same: the consumer overpays for these cheap electronics and gets next to zero customer service. It's "take it or leave it".<p>Showing a random Starbucks customer OSX in a virtual machine? Priceless.<p>If they only knew what their iPhones, iPads, "iOS" and "OSX" were really made of. They might never care. But they do care about overpaying.

If you cannot tell the difference between an iPhone and a Samsung, you should better buy yourself a Huawei.