Samsung pays for Apple gaffe
p2p news / p2pnet: In April, Samsung was supposedly well in with Apple. But, says EE Times, that’s no longer the case.
In fact, Apple has reportedly ‘punished’ the South Korean company for saying too much too soon, the story has an industry expert saying.
"Despite signs that Samsung was taking over the iPod chip business, struggling SigmaTel has managed to hold on to its key chip design within Apple’s current – and new – iPod Shuffle MP3 line, said Craig Berger, an analyst with Wedbush Morgan Securities Inc. (Los Angeles)."
Apple uses SigmaTel’s media processor chip for its iPod Shuffle, and PortalPlayer’s media processor chip for the current iPod Nano, says the story, going on:
"Last month, an executive from South Korea’s Samsung (Seoul) said the company had won the MP3 media processor business for Apple’s next-generation iPods."
Now, "We have increased confidence that SigmaTel will continue supplying the MP3 processor into the Apple Shuffle in 2H ’06, after a Samsung executive commented publicly that Samsung supplanted PortalPlayer in the next-generation iPod Nano," EE Times has Berger saying.
"It is not surprising that Apple would ‘punish’ Samsung for commenting publicly about its position within the iPod Nano follow-on, and we believe that SigmaTel is likely to be the resulting beneficiary of the Samsung executive’s gaffe."
Apple has just lost a landmark court case involving online journalists who’d leaked information before Apple wanted it released.
Also See:
well in – Is Apple playing musical chairs?, April 27, 2006
EE Times – Apple punishes Samsung for iPod ‘gaffe’, May 30, 2006
court case – Massive win for online journalists, May 26, 2007
