Apple's imitators

Whoever said imitation is the highest form of flattery must have worked for Apple.

The release of Amazon’s Fire TV is just another example of an original Apple concept that has been ripped off. It has been slightly redesigned and advertised in an attempt for other companies to be competitive.

There will be competition in any industry. Apple products wouldn’t be as revolutionary without the motivational drive of competitive performance.However, companies such as Samsung, Amazon and Microsoft wait for Apple to create a new product, then they imitate it as closely as possible and sell it under some sort of advertisement heading like low cost or a newer version.

Whether or not it works, I can’t understand the strategy these companies are OK with using.

Yeah, it’s about making money, but when companies are using their competitor’s ideas, I wouldn’t be satisfied with the apathetic creativity and mediocrity.

My problem doesn’t lie with Amazon creating a competitive spin off a product that’s popular with consumers. That’s just the nature of the market. I just don’t understand how or why Amazon would design the device to look identical to Apple’s.With the exception of size, the products are exact down to the color, shape and home screen. Even the little remote control is similar.

As a consumer, there is no chance I would buy a spin-off Apple product if it looks exactly the same. Steve Jobs created Apple by imitating an already created product, true enough.

However, what Jobs did differently, and what still sets Apple apart from the competitors, are creative elements and designs each Apple model applies and
defies.

After copying most of Apple’s original ideas and selling them for profit, it seems Microsoft, Samsung and Amazon are OK with the fact that it’s Apple’s technological world, and they’re just living in it.

cnmcelwa@indiana.edu
@clairemc_IDS