Nokia loses it.

The infamous lawsuit that's been buzzing the world as of yesterday 22nd October 2009.

If you read on, you'll see that Scott Lindvall aptly summarizes the situation; "They (Nokia) have kind of declared war on the iPhone."

Apple has a reputation of not playing by the books, but filing multiple patent infringements in one lawsuit is what makes this interesting (we all love a bit of drama don't we?). The claims by Nokia are legitimate and the suit comes after months of negotiation ended in futility. (Case-in-point: Product wise, Apple wins the competition hands down. Service and durability wise I'm still undecided. As a Nokia user, however, I admire how sturdy their phones are)

From Nokia's official press release:

The ten patents in suit relate to technologies fundamental to making devices which are compatible with one or more of the GSM, UMTS (3G WCDMA) and wireless LAN standards. The patents cover wireless data, speech coding, security and encryption and are infringed by all Apple iPhone models shipped since the iPhone was introduced in 2007.

Watching this case progress will be interesting. If Nokia wins, they stall Apple's development in the telecommunications industry and pocket a couple of hundred millions (see Economist link above). But if Nokia loses, I think its share in the industry is going to drop further - maybe to 42% or so, and continue doing so for the next couple of years. The timing of the suit makes it more controversial; especially after Apple posted record profits in this quarter and Nokia, acknowledged losses in the industry. As a consumer I'd tell Nokia to focus on the attractiveness of their phones. The iPhone wins hands down because it is sleek, flexible and has plenty of interactive features. Nokia's high end N-series doesn't make the cut - not entirely. Maybe hire a few new designers, or invest more to find out from your consumer base why people are turning to Apple these days. Apple's got this brand status; Nokia doesn't. A lot of people view Nokia as an ordinary man's phone, whereas the iPhone reflects status in layman communities. Or at least that's how it comes across as.

Either way, I can't wait to read what Apple has to say to this pending suit. *excited*