Samsung produced an internal email from Apple as evidence in court to strengthen its counterclaim’s position in the lawsuit. Apple had filed that Samsung infringed upon its patents, in particular referring to the designs of the iPhone and the iPad and Samsung counter sued on the same grounds. Now, the email that was produced which was between top executives of Apple and Samsung, tried to show that Apple keeps an eye on the competition as well and makes decisions accordingly. In fact, the email puts Apple’s late founder Steve Jobs’ statements down about a smaller version of the iPad.
The email was sent by Eddy Cue to current CEO Tim Cook, Scott Forstall and Phil Schiller, who testified recently about the iPhone and the company’s philosophy. The email states that Cue used the the 7” version of the Galaxy Tab from Samsung and that he was comfortable in using it for email, Facebook and other things. He noted that web browsing was not comfortable but that they should really consider a product to the tune of a 7” tab. It appears that the email was prompted by an article that surfaced which said that the iPad was too big to carry around and people would prefer a smaller tablet.
The critical point in the email is that Cue says that Steve Jobs was receptive to the idea of a smaller iPad despite having publicly denounced the possibility of a smaller tablet. In October 2010, Jobs had said that a small tablet would not be good for applications and that Apple had tested extensively with a smaller device and found the experience not up to the mark. The email comes three months after Jobs’ comments and that could indicate a change in Jobs’ attitude towards a smaller iPad. Jobs had also made sharp comments against Android and RIM around the same time and went on to say that if a 7” tablet can fit into a pocket, it cannibalizes on the sales of smartphones.
The main reason Samsung is going after this is that it solidifies its claim against Apple that the California giant is open to “inspiration” from competitors. In other words, Samsung is going to say that Apple considers other products when designing its own. This is pretty big news outside the trial as it could mean the release of smaller iPad, which according to analysts will be very popular but will have to compete with Google’s budget tablet, Nexus 7.
