https://futurumresearch.com/apple-case-against-qualcomm/
9 replies (most recent on top)
-2zjz Yep. That’s our position. Nailed it. ;)
Personally I want Q to fail and die because they have become Evil Corp since SM and GW infested the executive suite. I worked there for 10+ years (not in an engineering role) and I was exposed to plenty of the shady politics and soul crushing atmosphere. It used to be a fun place to work, but culture trickles down from the top. In SM and GW’s case, it oozes and slithers down. I watched it become a culture driven by fear and politics where managers rise to the level of their incompetence and “brilliant aholes” are rewarded at the expense of good people.
Even though Q occupies a large chunk of my resume, I still root against them. They had no idea who I really was when I was there, and they f-ed me over one too many times before I left. It would be accurate to say they created an enemy.
Let me rephrase @2kpz's position and the position of most people on this board:
"Qcom is the culprit, is not doing anything right, they are 100% at fault, Qcom held every mobile company hostage (how do you manage to develop business relations behaving this way?), and Apple was screwed over because of $7.50. Because of their excessive licensing fees, Apple, and other companies have had to increase their cell phone price by $200. We consumers have been screwed over by Qcom tremendously. Apple's employees are just hardworking people trying to do their best everyday and Qcom is getting in the way of their innovation. This despite them having inferior SW of any FAANG, and probably other second tier companies."
Allow me to rephrase -2idy’s position:
“Qualcomm is just a small town company filled with low paid, hard working, salt of the Earth people trying to make their way in this hard world and put juice in their Teslas. Qualcomm is a family business - which is why we hired the children of Chinese politicians. The evil government is attacking us for NO reason other than 100% political reasons. We’ve given a lot of money to both political parties, so it’s very unfair, and they can expect a little bit less bribery money next election cycle. Qualcomm broke NO laws, ever, not even jaywalking, but if we did break any laws, everyone else is doing it and Apple agreed to our illegal terms so it’s all cool. Also 5G.”
If $7.50 isn't FRAND, I don't know what is. This is for the most important component of an iPhone. Without it, you'd rather have a feature phone. Apple, unashamedly, truly believes the modem is worth $1.50. What happens in foreign countries is irrelevant to the U.S. court, which is likely political.
The government has never been for the little guy. They'd rather wrongly convict/indict someone for the sake of a larger issue. There have been countless cases of DA wrongly convicting someone just to get his jollies--they know nothing will happen to them.
-1emi. You do not understand to FTCs case. Lets hope the judge is equally confused. Not likely but we can hope
-1emi I find it hilarious that you downplay the FTC case as “about $7.50”. That’s like claiming the buzz about the Holocaust was about “the death of a Jew”. Also, you want us to believe you are concerned about the consumer? Hahaha if Q cared about the consumer, they would charge FRAND. But the MOST hilarious part of your post is that you believe (or want us to believe) that this poor little company named Qualcomm is a victim! Selected at random by the big, bad government! Why can’t they just let the little guy make a buck, amirite? They MUST be in cahoots with China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan and the EU, since all those big bad people also found Q guilty of anticompetitive business practices. BWAHHAHAHHAHA! What a maroon. Keep drinking that Q koolaid. It’s over pal, move on. If you’re lucky, you’ll get a job at XCom.
Here's another article: https://www.forbes.com/sites/patrickmoorhead/2019/01/16/if-the-ftc-case-against-qualcomm-seems-like-a-clown-show-right-now-its-because-it-started-that-way/#4aff2e9e66aa
FTC complaint about Qcom is over $7.50. They claim this is why iPhones cost so much. The modem is what distinguishes an iPhone from iPod touch, a device 1/3 the price. Never mind that Apple takes 30% of app store fees and doesn't allow other stores on their devices.
This is what I guess happened: someone in the FTC had a yearly goal to find some hot case. They surveyed the field, and Apple came to them. This was a high profile case, and the FTC decided to take it up. The government doesn't care if it screws people over. It doesn't matter to DAs if they find people guilty with evidence, make them go through a protracted trial, etc. This is how they get their jollies. The people at the top of the FTC got the funding they needed to make case go to court despite questionable evidence.
FTC is just Apple's low end enforcer.
The author is missing the FTCs complaint. He has simply written an entertaining PR piece. He seems focused on Apple rather then the FTC. I share his disdain for Apple. But it's the FTC we need to worry about and their complaint is far greater than the author addressed.