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Apple-Samsung relationship gets more awkward, but supply chain rules

By | August 11, 2011, 6:55am PDT

Summary: Apple reportedly had to call Samsung for iPad 2 panels because LG couldn’t deliver volume and quality at the same time.

Apple and Samsung have lawsuits galore, but when the iPad 2 needs displays because of LG quality issues the two sides start talking.

DigiTimes is reporting that LG Display lost some iPad 2 panel orders to Samsung and Chimei Innolux following quality issues. DigiTimes noted that the quality issues were so bad at LG that Apple moved to call Samsung. CNET noted that iPad 2 demand far out-paced LG’s ability to manufacture screens.

Talk about an awkward conversation.

If this were a personal relationship Samsung would likely tell Apple to take a hike and maybe even drop an F-bomb or two. But when there are billions of dollars at stake and a supply chain to keep running companies will talk. Even so, the ability for Samsung and Apple to compartmentalize is nothing short of amazing.

Related: Apple injunctions against similar-looking tablets just beginning

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Topics

Supply Chain, Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., Apple Inc., DigiTimes, Supply Chain Management (SCM), Enterprise Software, Software, Larry Dignan

Larry Dignan is Editor in Chief of ZDNet and SmartPlanet as well as Editorial Director of ZDNet's sister site TechRepublic.

Disclosure

Larry Dignan

Larry Dignan has nothing to disclose. He doesn’t hold investments in the technology companies he covers.

Biography

Larry Dignan

Larry Dignan is Editor in Chief of ZDNet and SmartPlanet as well as Editorial Director of ZDNet's sister site TechRepublic. He was most recently Executive Editor of News and Blogs at ZDNet. Prior to that he was executive news editor at eWeek and news editor at Baseline. He also served as the East Coast news editor and finance editor at CNET News.com. Larry has covered the technology and financial services industry since 1995, publishing articles in WallStreetWeek.com, Inter@ctive Week, The New York Times, and Financial Planning magazine. He's a graduate of the Columbia School of Journalism and the University of Delaware.

For daily updates, follow Larry on Twitter.

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RE: Apple-Samsung relationship gets more awkward, but supply chain rules
non-biased 18th Aug
@trm1945 Not sure that would be any better. Just take a look around here at the posts from many of these engineers and technicians. So many are blind fanboys or haters on any given topic that they couldn't give an unbiased ruling if their life depended on it.
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RE: Apple-Samsung relationship gets more awkward, but supply chain rules
Samic 11th Aug
Does it mean Apple is now technically funding the lawsuits against themselves?

I would love to see how Apple fans spin that.
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RE: Apple-Samsung relationship gets more awkward, but supply chain rules
Hasam1991 11th Aug
@Samic
No this means the iPad still selling like crazy and Apple will only stash more cash, remember they already have 76,000,000,000 in cash, 10,000,000 to fight lawsuit to them is like pocket change to us.

I personally will be buying another iPad, iPhone 5 and a MacBook Air over the next few months so that's another 3,000 towards Apple...
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Message has been deleted.
JoeHTH Updated - 11th Aug
  • Flagged
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RE: Apple-Samsung relationship gets more awkward, but supply chain rules
Snowsong 11th Aug
See, with my Android stuff I don't have to upgrade it every year.
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RE: Apple-Samsung relationship gets more awkward, but supply chain rules
Fletchguy 11th Aug
@Hasam1991
After you buy those then all you have to do is go out and buy things that work right like a notebook, android phone,Galaxy tablet and only spend $900 total for working devices that you can do with as you please and won't look like a dorky rich kid using them lol
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No Point to Upgrading Android
jbelkin 11th Aug
@Hasam1991

Since Google can no longer see what Apple is working on 2-5 years down the line, Android is pretty much at a standstill so rest assured - like the Blackberry, you never have to worry about an upgrade as you've reached the technology peak of Android.
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RE: Apple-Samsung relationship gets more awkward, but supply chain rules
omdguy 11th Aug
@Hasam1991

And you could get better technology that allows you to do more for half that price, which makes you an idiot.
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RE: Apple-Samsung relationship gets more awkward, but supply chain rules
cymru999 11th Aug
@Hasam1991 aren't you lucky to have that kind of money to blow on unnecessary toys - you could instead "make do with your ipad 1, your mac book etc and give that money to support kids that are starving in places like Somalia. While they are at it Apple and Samsung should declare an end to all and any law suits no matter who copies who's and use the money saved to provide technology to poor kids - like the lawyers need any more money!!
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Kinda like going to your ex .....
kd5auq 16th Aug
@Samic
....Honey, that bimbo I dumped you for threw me out. Can I stay here for a few?
lol
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RE: Apple-Samsung relationship gets more awkward, but supply chain rules
non-biased Updated - 18th Aug
@Samic No need to spin it. A devision of Samsung is in a legal battle with Apple while another devision of Samsung is very happy to get Apple's business. Not really sure why this is so hard to understand.

@Snowsong You might not need to upgrade but with a new Android device coming out every couple of weeks you get left behind a lot faster.
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RE: Apple-Samsung relationship gets more awkward, but supply chain rules
Robert Hahn Updated - 11th Aug
Of course these two companies are compartmentalized. They are huge. No human being could wrap his mind around every single thing going on inside either one of them. Somewhere in Samsung is a guy whose job is to make money selling displays. He does not care what the corporate legal department is doing. He cares about how many displays he can sell. If somebody calls wanting to buy displays, he wants to talk. Nobody over him will stop him either, because his comp plan depends on selling displays, and it's not fair to stop him from doing his job.

In the executive suite, they are very much aware that selling things is how you make money. The lawsuits, however necessary the lawyers say they are, are basically aerodynamic drag. People do them anyway because the lawyers always say the sky will fall if you don't.
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RE: Apple-Samsung relationship gets more awkward, but supply chain rules
Snowsong 11th Aug
Oh this makes sense to me. It's one more bargaining chip on the table both sides are going to try to exploit. I want to see Apple try to sue Samsung for using the displays Samsung makes. At that point patent lawyers will officially be classified as a moss.
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RE: Apple-Samsung relationship gets more awkward, but supply chain rules
Fletchguy 11th Aug
@Snowsong
Its all in Samsungs plans as they sell apple the lcds then wait and when the time is right they draw a rectangle on paper and go to court and sue apple for product infringment for using the rectangle lcds that look like the tabs.The moron judge say yup apple used a rectangle so samsung wins.
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RE: Apple-Samsung relationship gets more awkward, but supply chain rules
deepeshsivasankaran@... 12th Aug
@Fletchguy I would have loved to see that happen...But unfortunately Apple is paying Samsung to make these LCD panels...One thing that Samsung could do is to bargain a higher price for the LCD panels...I don't think there are many compaies in the world that can fulfill the demand Supply..especially with the fact that Apple has already tried to get it done by LG and failed...they are dependant on Samsung happy
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RE: Apple-Samsung relationship gets more awkward, but supply chain rules
trm1945 11th Aug
I think we need a patent court made up of engineers and technicians. No Judges or lawyers or other laymen.
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Oh wouldn't that be sweet!!
oncall 11th Aug
@trm1945

An actual knowledgeable system of judging. Sorry, I almost busted up laughing at that one. See, I am in the medical field and yes we have the same lament.
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RE: Apple-Samsung relationship gets more awkward, but supply chain rules
Robert Hahn 11th Aug
@trm1945
Why would we want engineers and technicians deciding whether to award patents for industrial design? Don't we want commercial artists doing that?

Oh, I forget. ZDNet fails to tell anyone that the Apple-Samsung patent dispute is about a design patent, not a utility patent.
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RE: Apple-Samsung relationship gets more awkward, but supply chain rules
trm1945 11th Aug
@Robert Hahn
I still think that a technical knowledge behind a design would be better than none at all in making decisions affecting so many.
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RE: Apple-Samsung relationship gets more awkward, but supply chain rules
non-biased 18th Aug
@trm1945 Not sure that would be any better. Just take a look around here at the posts from many of these engineers and technicians. So many are blind fanboys or haters on any given topic that they couldn't give an unbiased ruling if their life depended on it.
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That DigiTimes is a tabloid/yellow journalism site, which makes up half of
DeRSSS 11th Aug
... their "news".

So this information is not that reliable.
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I am sure the conversation went very smoothly
oncall 11th Aug
Apple exec: Hey Fred (Fred being the Samsung exec), LG hasn't been coming through for us on LCD's. We need more.
Samsung exec: *envisions a big fat year end bonus* How many more you need?
Apple exec: A lot more.
Samsung exec: We got you covered.

This is business, BIG business. The lawsuit or personal feeling have absolutely NOTHING to do with it and the board and CEO of Samsung would be hung out to dry by the shareholders if they let their personal feelings or some rediculous grudge over a lawsuit get in the way of a billion dollar contract.
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RE: Apple-Samsung relationship gets more awkward, but supply chain rules
d_baron@... 12th Aug
Why did Apple not sue Microsoft? Windows was a direct attempt to imitate Apple, though they simple marketed stuff developed by Sun, may its memory be blessed. After a point, GUI, pointing devices (including fingers) become very generic.

If I were in charge of Samsung or LG, I would keep my technology ransom for an end to such lawsuits, including those against HTC. The antitrust administration should also look into this. Android is not a copy of IOS and an icon is an icon is an icon and a finger is a finger ....

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