Samsung just got pounded to the tune of $1 billion for copying Apple’s designs. Generally, you would think that a company would tend to avoid making the same mistake that just cost them a fat stack of cash. Not Samsung, however – they’ve once again chosen to copy Apple, this time ripping off the OS X Dock (via Gizmodo)!
Samsung’s Windows 8 computers will launch with a cool new feature called the “S Launcher,” that helps users quickly access the Start Menu, as well as apps and documents that they frequently use. The end result functions a lot like the OS X Dock. OK, exactly like the OS X Dock.
Yahoo! describes the functionality of the dock:
…simply drag apps or files to it for easy access, tossing them off when you don’t want them anymore. Nothing groundbreaking in that, but it doesn’t hurt, either, and the icons are bigger than in the Windows taskbar.
That should sound familiar to users of any recent version of OS X. But the similarities don’t end with the functionality of the “S Launcher,” Samsung has copied the appearance of the OS X dock as well. It even includes the same 3D tray, complete with a glass-like reflection of app icons!
The idea of a dock is a pretty basic one – and I can’t fault Samsung for wanting to use a dock-like concept – but they should have stopped short making it look and feel exactly like the OS X Dock. They could have easily changed its appearance or modified it to create their own designs.
I’m beginning to wonder whether Samsung’s designers are even actually capable of coming up with their own designs…
Hey Apple – I hear the courtroom is still warm from Friday – maybe you should call Samsung back, just for old time’s sake?
