Apple just doesn’t seem to get a break these days. At least when it comes to dealing with companies such as Kodak and Nokia. We already know that Nokia going after Apple’s profits. This time it’s Kodak that is making trouble for Apple and RIM. The company has alleged that Apple and RIM have infringed upon its patents. The International Trade Commission is now investigating both companies, and it could all lead to a sales ban for iPhone in the U.S. While that scenario is not likely at this point, Kodak will push to get royalty for its alleged patent.

If these lawsuits are not bad enough, Apple has to fight hard to keep Google off its turf. In another provocative move, Google has acquired and discontinued one of the best e-mail applications available for iPhone, depriving the iPhone nation from taking advantage of one of the better apps on the market. This war between Google and Apple is going to get even more nasty, but Google is being unusually evil with its approach against the iPhone.

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There is a difference between being at the top and being considered at the top by most people. You’d be surprised what companies get away with marketing and colorful promotions these days. Apple has been very successful with its mobile phone, but Nokia has been the king of smart-phones for a while. Apple has just been playing from behind (though coming strong). The company has finally pulled off what can be considered a mild upset by surpassing Nokia as the most profitable mobile company in the world. Apple has generated $1.6b in profits in comparison to $1.1b profits for Nokia.

Nokia is still the king of smart-phones. But the company is bleeding badly, and it needs to find a way to reverse its fortunes if it wants to keep its status in the mobile market. Nokia phones are not terrible. The company just doesn’t seem to be able to put together a strong effort against the ecosystem that Apple has built around the iPhone. With Apple expected to grow even further in the near future, Nokia has its work cut out for it.  Read the rest of this entry »

We have all heard it before: how no phone on the market can even get close to challenging iPhone in the smart phone market. iPhone is more than just a piece of hardware. The platform that Apple has built around it and the power of the community behind it has made iPhone a tough nut to crack for Palm, Nokia, and other companies that have tried to “kill iPhone.” The problem that many of these iPhone challengers have had is they do not come up with many original, game changing ideas. That makes it extremely difficult to compete against iPhone. Add to that the fact that you are not competing just against the hardware, and you’ve got a mountain to climb. A very steep one.

Google may be the only company that is capable of coming up with a game changing solution for the mobile market, but it is not interested in developing its own phone. Microsoft has been rumored to be interested in taking another shot at Apple, but Microsoft is a follower and not such a good innovator these days. Palm Pre is certainly a capable phone and a worthy challenger, but it falls short as it does not pull everything together as well as iPhone does. So is there any hope for these companies to kill the iPhone?

There is hope, and that hope comes from a partnership that has been the only Achilles’ heel for Apple iPhone. I have always believed that the exclusive partnership with AT&T was a good short-term idea, but not working with other carriers has kept iPhone back a bit. It’s not as if AT&T provides an out-of-this-world service to its customers. And everyday we hear about yet another problem with AT&T service. AT&T has tried to make the iPhone even more tempting by lowering its wireless service prices and make it easier for folks to upgrade to iPhone, but painful shortcomings still remain. Apple may be dedicated to keep innovating, but as long as AT&T is the one and only carrier (in the U.S.), iPhone challengers can dream. It still won’t be easy to topple iPhone.

Nokia has always been among one of the most innovative companies around the world. If you think about it, they have some of the best smart-phones ever made. N95 was certainly a great try, and the soon to be released N97 is another step by Nokia to dethrone the mighty iPhone in the smart phone market. Nokia and Apple may be competitors, but it’s good to see Nokia understand the contributions that Apple has made to the mobile industry:

It’s still disappointing to see Nokia become a market follower instead of a market leader. It has yet to connect with the U.S. audience, and its iPhone killers have not quite got the job done. The problem is a lot of these companies try to compete with iPhone as a device and not a platform. Let’s not forget that imitation does not count as innovation either. Nokia is a great company, and it will continue to contribute to mobile industry with its products and services. But I just don’t see them wrestling the U.S. market away from Apple. The question is whether Nokia can slow down the global growth of iPhone.

Anybody who’s been following the evolution of iPhone from the first generation to the 3G is familiar with Nokia’s struggles to dethrone the mighty phone. Nokia is one of the most innovative companies in the world. It’s just that they don’t seem to be able to out-innovate Apple. Nokia 5800 XpressMusic was Nokia’s latest attempt to put pressure on Apple, but it seems the device is already in trouble after 3G connection failures in the U.S. Nokia phones are extremely popular in Europe, but the U.S. market has been somewhat challenging, and the latest problems with Nokia 5800 is another bad break for Nokia.

I am sure Nokia will do its best to fix the issues and return the phone back to the market. The problem is the phone’s reputation is tarnished at this point. Would you pay $400+ for a phone which may not give you the best 3G experience? Whatever the case, we can bet Nokia will be back with other “iPhone killers.”