Its no surprise that Apple is setting the standards when it comes to design and innovation of smartphones and tablets, whilst rivals continue to imitate!
Ok, so it’s not exactly revelation, and Apple is fully aware that rivals are out to mimic its immensely-popular product range. But a little comparison thrown up by Daring Fireball does give an amusing insight to the blatantness of the trend.
Here is what a concept Android device from the big G looked like before the iPhone came into existence:
As you can see, it bears striking similarities to the RIM devices which at the time dominated the market. With Blackberry fast losing relevance, Apple is now setting the pace, and influencing designs. Look at the modern-day devices running Android software, and you can see the pattern emerging. Take the HTC Incredible for instance:
Incredible is one word to describe the striking similarities between this device and Apple’s current flagship smartphone. While the Apple juggernaut is hard to stop just now, it makes sense to try and match what’s hot on the market.
The Cupertino company only delved into the tablet market last year, but that hasn’t stopped the innovation brought with it’s iPad devices from rubbing off on the releases of rivals. Variations of tablet devices have been around for years, and there has always been a relatively decent range available allowing music, movie playback, storage and internet browsing for that niche between phone and computer.
Apple didn’t bring anything fundamentally new when iPad device was launched, and yet the reception was unprecedented. The marketing and design are the Cupertino’s two main assets, and whether you love or hate seeing Jobs talking about products as if they bring features never before seen, you cannot deny that Apple has a knack for marketing and talking-up products like no other company in the world – to the point whereby many believe some of the “changing everything, again” claims.
To put things further into perspective, take a look at the image below. It depicts those old tablet devices which some may not even remember due to the relatively small tablet market before the iPad turned it on its head. It also shows a selection of the current tablets from other manufacturers on the market running Google’s Android OS.
For the time being, it seems to be Apple’s game to lose. The general buzz around new product release dates is far greater than when other companies announce new products, and it doesn’t look like recessing any time soon.
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