Dear Apple: Please Sue HP RIGHT NOW
As much bullying and patent finger pointing as Apple does, it’s not often that you see me saying that Apple should sue someone. But this particular case is an exception. In this case, I not only want Apple to sue the “P” out of “HP”, but I would like to see them completely ban the product and pick up about 10 billion dollars in willful design infringement damages. You think I’m joking about this? I’m dead serious. But why should Apple do this? Dear readers...Please have a look at the images below, and then let us as a unified community facepalm the hell out of the idiotic stunt that HP just pulled...
Are you ready for this? Have a look at this beautiful new computer called the Spectre One that HP just released (courtesy of Android Authority):
Does this beautiful looking computer in any way bare a striking resemblance to another popular home computer? Possibly...oh I don’t know....this one?:
If you’re thinking “OMG are they f**king crazy???”, you aren’t alone. To say that HP was “inspired” by the iMacs design simply isn’t fair in this case. This is damn near an exact copy of Apple’s iMac, and even the smallest of details seem to have been copied. Like that cool mousepad/touchpad in the HP Spectre One picture? Remind you of anything? Possibly of the trackpad (which is Apples's Magic Trackpad) shown in this photo?:
Again, a damn near EXACT copy. Now here’s the thing...the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, which was can find Samsung guilty of willful design infringement for those products, SURELY they can do the same with a product that is clearly a copy of the iMac? (I mean common...look closely at the keyboard and the trackpad..they are literally identical). Still don't think they look that much alike? Let's have one last side by side comparison to really drive the point home:
I badly need to see Apple sue HP for this. I need to know that they aren’t ONLY suing OEMs that they see as a threat (ala Samsung), and that anyone who WILLFULLY copies their designs will have to pay the piper. I give credit where credit is due, and the iMac is a damn sexy looking piece of hardware. The only reason that HP’s device looks so amazing is because of the fact that they mimicked an Apple product. This isn’t innovation or “borrowing”. It’s straight up copying, and if Android phones are going to get bullied for remotely resembling Apple products, direct copies coming from huge AMERICAN COMPANIES like Hewlett-Packard damn well better get bullied too. In this case, I honestly feel that HP sincerely deserves it.
That being said...I'm off to buy a Spectre One. This thing looks AMAZING (reportedly selling for 1300 US dollars starting in November).
(joking...or am I?)
P.S - Don't get me wrong. I LOVE the look of this computer. The problem is that "the look" isn't from HP.
Picture credits: Android Authority, CNet, Mac Daily News, and Yourlogocollection.com (edited by myself)
Source: Android Authority
@Dvoraak - Boah! Nice find man. Thanks for sharing that!
So they are more or less admitting that Apple has schooled them. Man oh man!
I found the explanation for this clone this morning. I tried to read the original article from the Wall Street Journal but could only find a piece of it. Here's the copy and paste from Yahoo.
Do you currently own an HP laptop? Sure, they get the job done, but they're utilitarian "bricks," made without much attention to design and form. But that term didn't come from us here at Tecca, it came from Hewlett Packard CEO Meg Whitman in a recent interview she had with The Wall Street Journal.
In an unusual moment of frank talk, Whitman conceded that computer maker Apple was far ahead of HP in terms of giving consumers what they want. They "taught us design really matters," Whitman said. That focus on design has led, in part, to Apple growing to become the largest publicly held company in the world. Hewlett Packard, meanwhile, laid off 27,000 employees earlier this year in a major cost-cutting effort.
Is HP finally turning the corner? That's yet to be seen, but the company is certainly getting much more design conscious with its most recent efforts. Notably, the new HP SpectreONE computer the company is releasing in November is virtually indistinguishable from an Apple computer. We'll have to wait to see if imitation is indeed a route to success.
@CJ - Exactly. no threat = no lawsuit when it comes to how Apple ticks.
@Stan - Very fair point! I think its the complete product package as a whole (on first glance especially) that makes this look very copied, but I for one would LOVE to see monitor in the shape of a bag of Apples!
So. What else is a monitor going to look like? Oval? Same with a keyboard. And the stand... Gee my Samsung monitor stand on something similar. Perhaps it should be a tripod...our maybe a sack of potatoes...our a bag of Apple's.
YIKES ! If HP was actually considered competition for APPLE, I could see them taking this to Court (this looks like a docked iPad2 with APPLE Accessories (lol) ...
Only time will tell (in the end? Consumers get punished by less innovation, even though I will admit that it sure looks like HP just borrowed too much from APPLE for me to call them "innovative") ...
One has to ask, will there be a cheaper COMPAQ knock off? (lol)
C J
@SimonC: What you just said is EXACTLY the point of the article I just wrote:
http://www.androidpit.com/design-patents-innovation-apple-samsung
So Apple own the 'brushed aluminium look' now do they?
Its time Apple got over its love affair with thinking only 'they' can make such nice looking products.
LOL! If I could I would :-D
Glad I could help but I'd rather get Samsung credits toward my next purchase ;)
That is exactly what this all boils down to Dvoraak. I think you just gave me an idea for an article. I will credit you for the inspiration when I write it today :-D
It raises the question..... how much copying is too much when getting inspiration from another product? HP obviously went to an extreme here, but is that how much it takes to justify a suit? In starting the patent war, Apple wasn't wrong. They were just short-sighted.
And that Anna is exactly my point. If your going to "defend" your property, do it across the board. Samsung wasn't ever bold enough to pull such a stunt, yet they get punished.
Really unfair. The patent system is SOOOO broken.
You're right; HP's "new" PC is a blatant copy. Unfortunately I have a hunch Apple won't be suing HP... At least not in the near future. Why? Because, as you put it, Apple only sues other companies when they feel threatened by them. HP is not a threat (yet?) so if they do sue them, they'll probably do it in 2-3 years (as they did with the Galaxy S).
@Martin - The great thing about Macs: You can still dual boot Windows :-D
Best of both worlds!
But the most important feature is missing: Mac OS X.
Gizmodo reports that it will cost 1300 US dollars. I will update the thread with that information.
And that's a good point you make about power Dvoraak. Compeitors doing this demonstrate just how much Apple can and does influence the market.
So what's the price on it? Funny how more and more products are following in Apple's footsteps. Priced Ultrabooks lately? Comparable hardware to the Macbook Air and comparably priced as well (one or two even cost MORE). Notice more Androids coming without SD slots? Some have figured out how much Apple profits from the storage tiers. Bash Apple all you like (I've been doing some lately myself) but the evidence of their true power lies in what their competitors do.
I don't get why you're butt-hurted about it!
I get your point, and this is no doubt a very nice computer. But what are the chances that HP would have came up with this product design on their own? On the one hand, you 're completely right..how different can they be? But on the other hand, a damn near exact copy? I mean I can let the look of the screen and dock slide, but the magic trackpad is CLEARLY all Apple, and the keyboard design they used is also dangerously close.
For me, it's more about knowing that not only Android OEMs can be subject Apple's design infringement claims. If they DONT sue HP, it very clearly means that they have only sued Samsung out of pure fear.
That being said, I really love the look of the new HP PC :-D
well maybe they both slim and sexy. but it's keyboard and mouse. how different they can be. if technology inside is new it's all good. all apple must do is patent rectangle :)))