Admirer of Truth

In the war between the iPhone and Android, Apple exercised the “nuclear option” today by suing HTC, the maker of the Google Nexus One. After my old blackberry died a couple of months back, I bought an iPhone and never looked back. I think it is the most polished, powerful, and innovative handset out there. It has quite literally change the way I work and play. But Apple’s behavior today leaves me dismayed.

What is the likely outcome of Apple’s lawsuits? To put it simply, customers lose. Google and/or HTC are likely to file a countersuit alleging Apple infringes some of their patents. Given the prolific nature of patenting these days, it’s shouldn’t be hard to find some infringed patents. Eventually, all parties involved will settle with modest cross-licensing fees and not much will change.

But at what interim cost? The lawsuits will just add to the cost of the handsets. And more damagingly, the lawsuits will add a ton of uncertainty to the handset ecosystem. Designers won’t know which features they can and can’t build into their systems. All of this could have a chilling effect on handset innovation, not just at Google and HTC, but also at Apple. That will be bad for all of us.

The most frustrating part of this is that Apple has no need to engage in these heavy-handed tactics. They already enjoy incredible advantages when it comes to protecting their products. Their best-in-class App Store is a marketplace with natural barriers to entry. Their best-in-class brand keeps copycats at bay. And their best-in-class design and engineering continues to attract all of the top talent, enabling them to further their lead.

For the sake of innovation, let’s hope Apple’s lawsuit today is just posturing. By not forcing full litigation, they will serve their customers best.