My Enemy is My Enemy is My Frienemy

Yea, about Apple and Samsung hating each other.  They do, but only on even days.  From The Register:

According to a research note by NPD DisplaySearch, Apple bought more 9.7 inch screen panels from Samsung than it did from LG Display in April and June of this year. These are critical components used to manufacture the iPad 4.

The rival firms have spent much of the past year locked in patent disputes, but that didn’t stop Apple from snapping up 2.3 million units from Samsung in the first quarter of this year. This then jumped up to more than 4.1 million in the second quarter, according to the researchers.

This is not a shock to anyone working in the tech industry, of course.  The supply chain and the competitive list are so intertwined, it’s keeping lawyers and sales tied up for the normal 50+ hour tech weeks.  Even if Apple is losing share to Samsung on a regular basis, and even if Samsung is posting commercials picking on Apple dweebs, it’s all hugs and kisses when it comes to adding to the balance sheet.  Well, but watch that knife in the off hand.

If you want other examples of how this works, go look at IBM, who regularly sources product from pretty much everyone in the tech industry so that they can compete against everyone in the tech industry for service revenue.  Oh, and then they try to sell IBM hardware, because nobody else can figure out how to service that.

Let’s not even get into memory vendors and where they supply… anyway, I often see the energy companies working jointly on the same patches of new exploration territory even while they elbow the competition to get ahead.  It’s not that everyone has to work together, it’s that working together just makes it easier to be specific about the things at which you’re good.

But it’s still fun to watch up close.