Edible Apple

Daniel Eran Dilger of RoughlyDrafted has an interesting article up arguing that Tim Cook did not, in fact, make a thinly veiled threat against Palm.  While most other tech sites are already up in arms predicting litigation between the two tech companies (and showing no knowledge of the patent system in the process), Dilger takes a different point of view and argues that the Palm Pre actually helps Apple.

On first glance, it might seem a bit absurd, but Dilger raises some compelling arguments.  First, Dilger points out that if we take a look at the past, Apple taking companies to court to protect its patents rarely works in its favor.  Second, Dilger argues that more competition in the smartphone market is a good thing for Apple to the extent that it will serve to fragment the market share of its competitors.  While everyone is already familiar with an iPhone and what it can do, consumers might soon be bombarded and confused with an array of smartphone choices that they wont be able to distinguish from one another.

The Palm Pre isn’t really a strong, direct competitor to the iPhone in that it lacks the same media features and high performance apps (including console-style gaming) that distinguish the iPhone. It is a strong competitor to the variety of forgettable phones from LG, Samsung, Motorola, and other makers that Verizon is shipping with Windows Mobile, which like Palm’s existing Palm OS and Windows Mobile phones, can’t run significant games or provide strong media features either…

By allowing competitive platforms to flourish without legal threats, Apple will be able to contrast its technology against rivals on a level playing field. The company is much more comfortable in that position rather than taking on a single monopolist such as Microsoft, or a coalition of big industry partners such as Symbian or Android.

The article is worth a read and can be found over here.