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Apple document brags iPhone set the tone for trade show company did not attend

An internal Apple document entered into evidence on Wednesday touts the iPhone's "quiet" presence at the 3GSM Congress Trade Show in 2007, an event at which the company didn't even have a booth.

The document, first reported by CNet, was presented by Samsung at the Apple v. Samsung trial in an effort to show that Apple looked to other company's handsets in making its iPhone design choices.

In the presentation, Apple points out a number of quotes from executives at high-powered companies like Vodafone and Orange, all of which put the iPhone in a good light. For example, the CEO of Vonage was quoted as sayng, "The iPhone launch is embarrassing for the mobile industry as it got more publicity than any handset got in the last 10 years...and it’s not even on the market yet."

Taken from the same slide, titled "iPhone present, but not present…," are bullet points touting the impact the handset had on the convention despite not making an appearance.

From the slide:

  • Although Apple was not present showcasing the iPhone, we were quietly setting the tone and were mentioned in each media, operator and handset vendor discussion
  • Everybody guessing what the iPhone business model or European operator support is
  • All operators giving very positive comments as they do not want to spill their chances of ranging the iPhone
  • GSM Association regrets that Apple didn’t announce the iPhone at the 3GSM World Congress 2007 or even have a presence with a booth
  • 1 in 10 words during the 4 days trade show were either iPhone, Apple or DRM

Among the subsequent pages were wrap-up reports for the various smartphone manufacturers who attended the trade show, including Motorola, RIM and Samsung. Of particular interest was a side-by-side dimensions comparison of the much contested Samsung F700 and the iPhone, although the slide did not draw any conclusions or offer recommendations as to how to make Apple's device more like the Korean company's unit.


Slide from Apple's 3GSM presentation comparing the iPhone with Samsung's F700. | Source: Apple v. Samsung court documents

The Apple presentation is vaguely similar to an internal Samsung document which also showed side-by-side comparisons of the iPhone and the Galaxy S, though that report was a comprehensive 132-page study of the two devices' differences. Many of the slides in the Samsung document offered suggestions to change various UI features to be more like the iPhone, however it does not serve as a smoking gun for Apple's attorneys as they still have to prove willful trade dress infringement.

Apple v. Samsung continues this week with final witness testimony and will go to jury deliberation after closing arguments are heard next Tuesday.