Apple not so cool any more?

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After Apple successfully winning their court case in California judged by a jury that seems to be dominated by a jury foreman in the group, Apple is back at it again suing Samsung for more patent infringements.

This latest new salvo is aimed at a ban on more Samsung’s products including the Samsung Galaxy S III and Samsung Galaxy Note, two of Samsung’s important best sellers. And now in a few more days, September 12 according to people in the know, the highly anticipated iPhone 5 is going be making its debut to the world. However there is growing concerns that the iPhone 5 will not impress the world like past showings because it may have lost its cool.

Instead of continuing to bring exciting products to market at a faster cycle Apple has decided that litigation is the best way to keep their market dominance and although it worked well in the United States so far, they have not fared so well in other countries including the United Kingdom, Japan, South Korea and possibly Europe is next, but still undecided.

As the smartphone has become so ubiquitous, and with so many competitors Apple has to really come up with something truly magical, but it’s hard to compete when Samsung, at the latest IFA trade show in Berlin, Germany, fired the opening shot with not one, but a few devices that not only look impressive, but have consumers salivating to get their hands on them. Their new Galaxy Note 2 and Windows 8 smartphones have created quit a buzz in the tech world with beefed up hardware and gamut of software innovations. Samsung’s flagship smartphone the Galaxy S III sold over 10 million units in less than three months, this is something that normally would be associated with the Apple’s iPhone, but it’s Samsung doing this.

Now that the bar has been set so high, whatever Apple does on September 12 with their own launch would have to eclipse Samsung, but that is proving harder and harder. Apple was seen before as the cool kid in the schoolyard, but now has been relegated to the status of a bully. What Apple is failing to realize is that the consumers all over the world are watching closely at what it is doing and they don’t like it — well except for the diehard Apple fanboys and fangirls.

As we all know that the tablet was invented by Microsoft in 2002 before Apple made it cool, but we don’t hear about Microsoft coming after Apple and asking for billions and billions of dollars for a “stolen idea”.

Microsoft tablet PC 2002

Bill-Gates-tablet-pcInstead of making bold statements about what the consumers want and don’t want like the size of the screen, when the late Steve Jobs famously said that smaller screen size tablets were dead on arrival, he should have kept Apple’s options open, but instead painted them in the corner. If the rumors are true about them introducing the 7 inch tablet, then it really shows that fear has set in and the heat is really on.

To sue their competitors out of business is not seen as cool in the “sense of the cool world”, by ignoring what others are doing and coming up with “cooler stuff” is what make “cool cool” Try to digest what we just said.

But all is not lost for Apple, they will have to take decisive actions now instead of resting on their laurels and continue to innovate with faster release cycle and more diversified offerings. With over $120 billion in the bank, this is highly possible, but squandering their image by being excessively petty with lawsuits could prove to be their Achilles’ heel. Apple has to only look at Blackberry, who ironically was dismissive of Apple and once hailed as the “crackberry”, now struggling to survive.