The 2012 Apple versus Samsung trial in California might be over, but the war is far from ended. Apple has already filed suit against Samsung covering at least 21 newer smartphones, media players, and tablets releases from August 2011 all the way to August 2012.

This new suit not only includes the Galaxy S3, but also the Galaxy Note 10.1. There is even a Google-branded Samsung device on the list- which means that Google might be more actively involved this time around.

The new complaint has Apple stating Samsung has continued to flood the market with cheap clones that infringe on Apple rights. The new patent specifically mentions several utility patents- many of which have to do with Android itself, not Samsung’s own hardware or software modifications.

Here’s a full list of the devices listed:

Galaxy S III, Galaxy S III carried by Verizon, Galaxy Note, Galaxy S II Skyrocket, Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch, Galaxy S II, Galaxy S II carried by T-Mobile, Galaxy S II – AT&T, Galaxy Nexus, Illusion, Captivate Glide, Exhibit II 4G, Stratosphere, Transform Ultra, Admire, Conquer 4G, and Dart smartphones, the Galaxy Player 4.0 and Galaxy Player 5.0 media players; and the Galaxy Note 10.1, Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus, and Galaxy Tab 8.9 tablets.

Most of these devices are no longer sold, but the patent suit isn’t just about potentially banning devices, its about getting money that Apple feels is owed to them from the infringement. The wording of the new suite also makes it clear that they could add new devices as necessary, such as the recently released Galaxy Note 2.

More than likely this is just the beginning of a more direct assault on Android. Taking out Samsung in not one but TWO trials could really destroy vendor confidence in the Android platform, especially if this second lawsuit has to do with patents that all Android devices might be infringing. Scare away the vendors and Android is all-but destroyed.

Will this second suite work out the way the first did? Hard to say, but it’s clear that Apple means war at all costs. Google likely will see this, and more than likely will get involved in a big way this time around. The suite is expected to start in 2013 in California, with Lucy Koh returning as the judge.

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With the Samsung versus Apple lawsuit over, at least until appeals, who truly won the battle? Some are saying that Microsoft is the big winner here. Why? There are a few reasons actually.

The first reason is that Samsung has already started talking about how they wish to reduce their reliance on Android and branch out more to other platforms, like Windows Phone and Windows 8/RT. This doesn’t mean that they are jumping ship from Android, they are just trying to make their mobile efforts less depend on Android.

The second reason is that Google is actually trying to distance itself a bit from Samsung. They aren’t cutting Samsung off from Android, but they’ve made it clear that the infringements that Apple sued over didn’t involve Google technology itself. It’s clear that Google doesn’t want to get caught up in more suites or have its handset partners get cold feet and move to other platforms in fear of lawsuit.

The final reason has to do with consumer opinion. There are many who are angry at Google, Samsung and Android. They feel that its too similar to iOS devices and that has given Google and Samsung both a little bad press. On the other end of things, there are tons of people who also think that Apple has been too bullish and greedy in their patent wars- whether justified with Samsung or not.

In the long run, if MS can properly position themselves with Windows 8, RT and Phone 8, they could finally see a larger acceptance from both vendors and consumers alike.

Only time will tell for sure. What do you think?

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With the Apple-Samsung legal battle behind us, at least until appeals, Apple has now made the request for the banning of eight Samsung devices in the United States.

Here’s the run-down of what they are attempting to ban:

• Galaxy S 4G
• Galaxy S2 AT&T
• Galaxy S2 Skyrocket
• Galaxy S2 T-Mobile
• Galaxy S2 Epic 4G
• Galaxy S Showcase
• Droid Charge
• Galaxy Prevail

As you can see, most of these devices are relatively outdated, but at least the Galaxy S2 models leasted here can still be purchased, others on the ban list aren’t even sold anymore. So why ban the devices if they aren’t really competition anymore?

The bigger picture is about reputation, to be honest. If a consumer hears that Samsung products are being banned, they are more likely to think negatively about Samsung- regardless of whether the banning really matters from a sales point of view. Banning of products also can cause stock prices to dip and breaks down consumer trust in specific brands.

As it stands, Samsung’s stock has already dipped about 7.5%.

What do you think about these devices getting banned? Care or not?

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The massive California Apple versus Samsung trial is finally over, at least until Samsung files an appeal- which is more than likely. Without a doubt, Apple came out on top here, with Samsung not getting a cent from its countersuit against Apple.

Not only did Samsung’s claims of patent infringement by Apple go unheard, the jury is ordering that Samsung pay $1.05 billion in damages. This is a hefty sum no doubt, though it’s still about 1 ½ billion under what Tim Cook and Company were asking for.

Just about every Samsung phone was ruled as infringing on Apple’s design, though it seems that the jury did cut Samsung a little slack with the Galaxy Tab line being found to not violate any patent or infringe on Apple’s design.

Naturally, Apple is calling for a sales ban on devices that were decided to infringe on their rights, which include quite a few models, such as the Galaxy S2 and the Epic 4G Touch. The decision on whether to enforce a ban or not will be made at a later date.

Overall, this was a pretty clear victory for Apple, even if they didn’t get all of the massive $2.5 billion they were asking for. It’s far from over yet though, with a Samsung appeal all-but guaranteed. The only silver lining for Samsung is that they at least won a pretty reasonable victory in it’s home country of South Korea recently.

What do you think of the verdict against Samsung? Justified or not?

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Quite a bit after when we first expected the verdict, the Samsung versus Apple case in South Korea has come to an end. While we still don’t know the outcome of the Californian chapter of the battle, we do now know that both Apple and Samsung didn’t get away without some kind of a minor victory, and minor defeat.

For Apple, the courts decided that the Samsung smartphones and tablets weren’t copied from iPad and iPhone- but they did agree that Samsung violated on one Apple patent. This patent had do with the bounce-back animation seen when a user attempts to scroll past the edge of a webpage. Samsung has to pay ₩40,000,000 for this infringement, which is just about $22,000.

As for Samsung, they won a small victory against Apple since it was decided that two Samsung patents where infringed, coming to a payout of ₩40,000,000 or about $35,200.

Not much money considering the billions at risk in the Apple-Samsung US case, right? While the direct monetary loses were very trivial- that’s not the only problem that awaits the two companies in Korea. Going forward, Samsung can no longer sell its Galaxy Nexus, Galaxy S, or Galaxy S II devices there, although they were allowed to continue selling the S3. The only one of these that negatively will affect Samsung all that much is probably the S2, which is still sold alongside the S3.

For Apple, this means they can sell the iPhone 4S and new iPad, but not the iPhone 4 or iPad. Considering Apple still actively sells the iPad 2, even if it isn’t there newest tablet, this could hurt Apple a little.

While this case isn’t nearly as high-profile as the US chapter, it’s still interesting to see how it played out and might hint at what could happen in California as well. Odds are that when the US trial ends, both sides will end up having to pay out something- it’s just a matter of who has to pay out more.

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