Apple will have to wait until December 6 to see whether it can get sales bans imposed on a number of Samsung devices.

A US court will decide on December 6 whether Apple has justifiable grounds for a ban to be imposed on sales of eight Samsung handsets following the Cupertino company’s big win in the courts last week.

The devices, all smartphones, are:

- Galaxy S 4G

- Galaxy S2 AT&T

- Galaxy S2

- Galaxy S2 T-Mobile

- Galaxy S2 Epic 4G

- Galaxy S Showcase

- Droid Charge

- Galaxy Prevail

At the same hearing, Samsung will argue for the jury’s decision to be set aside, AllThingsD reports.

“Having considered the scope of Apple’s preliminary injunction request, the additional post-trial motions that the parties have already filed and will file, and the substantial overlap between the analysis required for Apple’s preliminary injunction motion and the parties’ various other post-trial motions, the Court believes consolidation of the briefing and hearing on the post-trial motions is appropriate,” Koh said in a written order released on Tuesday.

Last week Samsung was ordered to pay Apple $1.05 billion in damages after a nine-person California jury ruled unanimously that the Korean firm had willfully infringed on a number of Apple’s patents.

The decision came at the end of a trial that lasted almost a month, with both sides accusing each other of patent violation. Unfortunately for Samsung, the jury ruled that Apple had not violated any of its patents.

Following the conclusion of the case, Apple CEO Tim Cook issued a memo to his employees in which he said that the jury’s verdict sent a “loud and clear message that stealing isn’t right.” Samsung, meanwhile, called the verdict “a loss for the American consumer.”

Before the December 6 hearing, the two sides will face each other in court again on September 20 as Samsung attempts to have a US-based preliminary sales ban lifted on its Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet, a product which was found in the recent trial not to have infringed on any of Apple’s design patents.

For an overview on what last week’s trial verdict might mean for Android users, head over to here for a piece by DT’s mobile expert Jeffrey Van Camp.

Tinkerers can finally embrace the all-in-one with Maingear’s Solo 21, which leaves room for essential upgrades down the line.

All-in-one computers are sleek, but they often use unique and unusual internal configurations that are difficult to upgrade. Maingear is looking to fix that problem with its redesigned Solo 21, a 21.5-inch 1080p all-in-one that’s meant for hardware enthusiasts.

The base model comes configured with an Intel DH61 motherboard and a second-generation Core i3 processor, which will set you back $999. Users who desire more power and versatility can upgrade to a Q77 motherboard and a third-generation Intel Core processor, all of which is packed into a depth of just 2.25 inches.

These components are tailored towards a slim frame but, unlike the competition, don’t prevent future upgrades. The standard mini-ITX motherboard allows the user to upgrade the processor, RAM and hard drive. No one will be upgrading graphics, however, because the Solo 21 is only available with the Intel integrated platform. The motherboards should have a PCIe slot open, but video cards are too wide to fit in a system this slim.

Other features include support for USB 3.0, SATA 6G, solid-state drive options, an optional Blu-ray drive, Gigabit Ethernet and integrated Wi-Fi. Its fastest configuration can pack a Core i7 quad, 16GB of RAM and a 256GB Crucial M4 solid state drive. This would make it competitive with the fastest products on offer from competitors, though premium all-in-ones from Dell and Lenovo often have larger displays.

The redesigned SOLO 21 is available now.

Smartphones are going to make up more than half of the global cellphone market for the first time next year, two years ahead of schedule, according to a new report released today.

Chances are, you’re reading this on a smartphone. And if you are, you’re not alone.

A new report from analytics firm iHS iSuppli reveals that smartphones are expected to make up 54 percent of global cellphone sales in next year, a shift in the cellphone market that will see smartphones becoming the dominant force two years earlier than had been originally predicted.

Smartphone shipments have been continually building faster than anticipated, with 2012′s percentage expected to hit around 46 percent, and 2010′s reaching 35 percent. If next year’s smartphone shipments meet the latest expectations, it will mark the first time that the smartphone will make up more than half of all available cellphone shipments. Predictions for the smartphone’s performance in 2016, the limit of iHS’ predictions at this point, point to smartphones having an impressive 67.4 percent marketshare within four years time.

According to the iHS report, the rise of smartphones is coming at the cost of the feature phone market. The line between the two is often blurry, but iHS defines feature phones as “a grade above the most basic, low-cost entry-level phones but lack the sophisticated engineering and abundant functionality of smartphones.” Feature phones had command of the 2011 cellphone market, with 46 percent of all shipments, but that figure is expected to fall to 2012 by the end of this year, and to 28 percent by the end of the 2016 prediction window.

(iHS defines a third cellphone type in its report; “the entry-level and ultra-low-cost handset,” which has long been the bottom-tier option. For 2012, it will have 14 percent marketshare, with that figure expected to plummet to just 4.2 percent share by 2016.)

The dominance of the smartphone means, of course, that we should begin to expect that definition to fracture soon to allow for more precise analytical analysis. Already, iHS is reporting on two separate segments of the smartphone market, which it calls “the midrange to high-end smartphone on one hand, and l0w-end smartphones on the other,” noting that low-end smartphones make up the most common entry-point for new users, and that those low-end users will make up 43 percent of the total smartphone market by 2016.

Growth in the high-end and midrange smartphone area comes mostly from developed countries or the more industrialized areas of some developing nations, with more than 700 million users expected to exist four years from now.

Apple and Google – makers of the iPhone and Droid smartphones, respectively, are anticipated to be the big winners in this space, with iHS predicting that “victory in the marketplace “will now… rely on many other important factors” including “software capability, a sleek and intuitive user interface, the variety of available applications, strong support from the developer community, and the strength and seamlessness of vertical integration.” Every other tech company that isn’t Apple or Google: You have four years to create something that will change everything. Use your time wisely.

The Sunday before Thanksgiving is allegedly the day Nintendo Wii U hits the US according to an accessory company that leaked the date.

Odds are good that the Nintendo Wii U will be out on November 18^th, 2012. Nintendo’s promised all along that the new console would be out in time for the holidays in the United States, and the date just makes sense, both from a marketing perspective and based on Nintendo’s habits. Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 ships on Nov. 13, the Tuesday before. Nintendo traditionally releases new hardware on Sundays. The Wii, the 3DS XL, the 3DS, the DSi—Nintendo always does Sunday, and the 18^th is the last Sunday in November free of major one in an uncontested marketing week but still before Thanksgiving.

A representative of gaming accessory company PDP also gave up the date during the GameStop Manager’s Conference on Monday.

According to a source that spoke with Kotaku, a PDP representative showing off its fall line up of goods said that everything would be available just before Wii U’s Nov. 18 release. A poster at NeoGAF reconfirmed the rep’s statement.

When asked for comment, Nintendo offered up the usual, “We have nothing to announce at this time.” Naturally. Nintendo is saving its announcement for Sept. 13 at a New York City event.

PDP meanwhile went into damage control mode swiftly. The company’s community manager told Kotaku shortly after the story first went online that “we can’t confirm Nintendo’s dates and we don’t know exactly what was hear, but we simply do not know at this point.” Shortly after PDP’s senior vice president of sales and marketing said the company “has no knowledge whatsoever of the official Wii U release date, and thus it is not possible for PDP to have ‘leaked’ this information.”

The original source reconfirmed that PDP definitively said Wii U will be out on November 18^th.

It’s an unfortunate slip of the tongue for PDP. Nintendo is an especially secretive company, severe in its public relations practices to the point of obsession. It’s partners know the plan for big releases though. They have to. PDP’s marketing staff can protest all it likes, but there’s no way that Nintendo has prepared an official licensee for getting product to market.

When leaks like this happen, why don’t companies just come clean? A whole hell of a lot of money is spent on the pomp and circumstance of a product announcement. Think of the sheer expenditure Nintendo goes through to bring its employees to an event like the one in New York, the temps it hires, the food, lodging, and rent for an event space. All that’s in the service of making a big audience aware of something in a short amount of time, and most people don’t hear about dinky little leaks like this one. Only geeks.

Yes, I’m talking to you.

The Droid Razr M 4G LTE is on its way, and despite no official announcement yet, we know just about everything there is to know about the upcoming Droid Razr Maxx successor.

The new Razr M 4G LTE features a dual-core 1.5GHz MSM8960 Snapdragon S4 processor, 8GB internal storage, 1GB of RAM, 8MP rear camera, 3MP front camera, NFC, microSD, WIFI, Bluetooth, GPS and Android 4.0 ICS.
Rumors previously claimed that the Razr M would be called the Droid HD, but in reality this isn’t quite HD after all, with a 4.3-inch qHD 960×540 AMOLED display with Gorilla Glass 2.

While a higher-resolution display would have been nice, overall these are pretty good specs. Sure, this phone isn’t nowhere near as powerful as what LG has up its sleeve, but it’s still an interesting looking handset. What we don’t know for sure about the Razr M is pricing, battery info and specific launch date information. More than likely the upcoming September 5th press event should cover the remaining mysteries behind the new Droid.
What do you think so far? Are you looking forward to the newest Droid?

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“The main design concept was to reflect nature. We wanted a more emotional, and stronger connection with our customers.”

That’s how Samsung engineers and designers describe how they eventually got the final product that we call the Samsung Galaxy S III. The SGS was built around the design framework of “Minimal Organic,” and they say that they wanted the phone to feel like you’re having a pleasant, calming stroll through the woods. It’s also very clear that they borrowed a lot of inspiration from water, as evidenced by the water droplet home screen and the pervasive “liquid” sound effects throughout the TouchWiz UI.

But even in terms of physical design, they say they were inspired by nature. They saw the rocks in the river and then they “spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to capture the flow of water and the reflection of the light into the design of the phone.” If you look at the battery cover on the back, for instance, you’ll notice that it reflects and has these fine grooves in it. “We used three layers of coating on top of the polycarbonate base. And then, a total of five layers of multi-coating were applied to the surface. So even the slightest change in angle creates a reflection that accentuates the graceful design.”

It’s clear that Samsung is very proud of the SGS3 and they should be. They’ve sold over ten million units to date and counting, making it the most successful Samsung smartphone of all-time. Watch the video below to see just how proud they are and how they got to where they got. I wonder if Apple has a patent on these kinds of videos.

More color options are now available for the Samsung Galaxy S3, including Amber Brown and Garnet Red to complement the new season.

Just in time for fall, Samsung has added nature-inspired color options to the Galaxy S3 line for those who prefer a little more vividness than the classic white or blue hardware colors. The four new colors make one of the hottest Androids on the market look more personalized, allowing users to add a hint of persona in their gadget choices. Two of the more significant colors are Amber Brown and Garnet Red, hues that draw from a gem-like origin. It’s an interesting color choice seeing as how most smartphones today go with the classic colors of white, black, or gray. The last time we’ve seen lots of colors on a cellphone body was back in an era before the iPhone came out. Remember Sony Ericsson’s Walkman phones, anyone?

The other two colors are also more on the classic side, adding Titanium Grey and Sapphire Black for those who want a modern, sophisticated look. The available colors will depend on carrier and region so you may have to contact your local provider to inquire.

“By expanding the colour range of of the Galaxy S III we are continuing to evolve the Minimal Organic design theme of the handset,” said Vice President and lead designer of the Galaxy S3 at Samsung Minhyouk Lee.

Of course, if you’re one who is indecisive about color options, you can always opt for hardcases that mimic a natural look of the Galaxy S3 while providing added protection. That way, you can always change things up just when a look feels to get a bit old. We recently reviewed the Speck CandyShell Galaxy S3 case and that’s a good option to start. Check out our list of Best Samsung Galaxy S3 Cases as well to see which suits your style best.

OwnFone lets parents create customizable, super simple phones for their kids or good emergency phones for adults

Turns out, it doesn’t matter who won the patent wars because there’s a new (possibly) must-have phone on the market: the OwnFone. Created specifically for those users who couldn’t be bothered with a feature-rich smartphone, the OwnFone is programmed for the sole purpose of calling the people you talk to the most. Numbers aren’t stored on an internal storage device either. Rather, to make the phone as simple as possible, numbers are stored in the cloud and retrieved when needed.

Launched first in the UK, the super simple device allows you to configure up to 12 contacts. The names of each contact will then be printed on a large white button, push the button and it will call that contact. As far as features go, that basically sums it up — though it’s worth mentioning that braille and photo buttons are in the works. And just to be clear, there is no keyboard or screen on the device.

The OwnFone has the dimensions of a credit card, weighs 40 grams, and manages to be a slim 7mm thick. The size is great if you need a back-up device for when your main one drains battery. You can even forward your main number to your OwnFone if you want a fairly-disposable phone to take travelling. The look of the device is left up to you. First, you can choose from 2, 4, 8, or 12 contact layouts. Then you choose from pink, blue, green, orange, red, or black for the main color of your OwnFone. Finally, you can choose to leave it plain or add an image or pattern to customize it further.

Besides catering to smartphone-haters everywhere (they exist, right?), the OwnFone seems like a perfect fit for kids to carry around without having to add another expensive mobile contract to the monthly bills. Alternately, less tech-inclined adults could definitely benefit from a device that does one thing and does it well. Plus, it’s easy on the wallet with a meager price tag of £55. Throw in free replacements and you have a pretty stellar deal.

Unfortunately, if all of this sounds like your cup of tea, the OwnFone is currently limited to the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland. Would you consider ordering an OwnFone? What would you use it for?

Will Apple's patent victories encourage competitors to try harder, or stunt the growth of the industry by closing off avenues for improvement?

Now that a California jury has issued a $1.05 billion verdict in Apple’s patent infringement battle with Samsung, the mobile industry is going to have to adjust to Apple’s newly-fortified high ground in intellectual property wars. Many future battles remain unfought: Samsung will certainly appeal the decision, and other jurisdictions might not find in Apple’s favor at all — after all, just last week a South Korean court found the companies infringed on each others’ patents. But suppose Apple’s victory holds — or at least amounts to more than a temporary ripple in the mobile industry. What might it mean for future mobile products, and how companies attempt to complete?

What’s a utility patent?

Apple’s victory over Samsung was based on infringement of two types of patents: utility patents and design patents.

In United States law, utility patents cover inventions that have some demonstrable benefit and are capable of being used — meaning they have to be operational, practical, and beneficial. Utility patents cannot be granted simply for cool ideas: For instance, the U.S. Patent Office has an outright ban on patent applications for devices like perpetual motion machines.

There is no special class of “software patent,” so most patents covering computer software are utility patents covering the functionality of a particular feature or application. Utility patents do not cover the algorithm behind particular kinds of software; however, they can protect software that performs a particular function based on an algorithm. In other words, if someone comes up with a novel way for (say) analyzing harmonic content of digital audio, that algorithm probably isn’t patentable. But applications that rely on it — like digital tuners, automatic song recognition apps like Shazam, or even melodic transcribers — could be protected by utility patents.

There’s no standard for how minor (or how broad) a utility patent can be: It merely has to demonstrate that it’s useful to someone with normal knowledge and skills in a particular field. Most challenges to utility patents are on the basis that the patented innovation would have been obvious to anyone familiar with the technology and prior art: If an invention doesn’t pass this “obviousness” standard, it isn’t patentable.

Apple’s case against Samsung was whittled down to three utility patents. Perhaps the most significant is the so-called ’381 patent. It covers overscroll bounce (or rubber-banding) to indicate that a user has reached the end of a scrolling content area, but also common touchscreen actions like dragging documents, pinch-to-zoom, and twist-to-rotate. Another Apple utility patent (’915) covers distinguishing between a single-touch scroll action and a multi-touch pinch-to-zoom gesture, while a third covers double-tapping to enlarge and center onscreen content.

What’s a design patent?

Design patents live in the area between utility patents and protections like trademark and copyright. Design patents cover the distinctive non-functional ornamentation of an otherwise functional item. In the software world, design patents are most often used to cover on-screen icons and other non-functional aspects of an interface.

One of the first U.S. design patents was awarded in the 1840s for a typeface, but one of the best best-known objects protected by design patent was the original Coca-Cola bottle. The particular design and ornamentation of the bottle didn’t mean that nobody else could make bottles — but it did mean if another beverage maker mimicked the design of Coca-Cola bottles for a different product, Coca-Cola could claim patent infringement. Designs can be covered by both design patents and trademark: Coca-Cola’s design patent has long since expired, but since trademarks remain active as long as a product is on the market, it’s still protected by trademark.

While utility patents can be invalidated if they’re found obvious, one irony of design patents is that they can be invalidated if they’re found to be useful. If the Coca-Cola bottle design enabled more-efficient packaging or strengthened the bottle, competitors could have sought to have it invalidated. However, utility patents differ from copyright in that patent holders do not need to show that an alleged infringer copied an original work: Even if someone arrives at the same ornamental design completely independently, they can still be sued under a design patent.

(Another famous design patent covered the Statue of Liberty, although it’s hard to argue what the practical utility of the statue might have been. The patent was mostly issued to protect sales of small versions of the statue, proceeds of which were used to built the full statue.)

Design patents are generally considered weaker than utility patents, because they cover things that are (by definition) useless. They also run for a shorter period of time: Design patents typically last 14 years, while utility patents last for 20. Furthermore, unlike utility patents, design patents are limited to a particular field or industry. For example, if a jewelry designer files for a utility patent covering a particular design and someone can find a kitchen utensil with the same design — guess what? The jeweler is out of luck.

Was Jobs right to focus on style?

Amongst technology companies, Apple has been uniquely concerned with design patents. Of the nearly 360 Apple patents that list Steve Jobs as a co-inventor, more than 300 are design patents. A great deal of these have nothing to do with the iPhone: In fact, two cover the glass staircases in some Apple retail stores. Many others cover the final design of a multitude of Apple products, including iPods, keyboards, mice, notebook power adapters, and even product packaging and lanyards included with some iPods. Jobs was famous for berating companies like Microsoft for having no style and failing to bring taste and sensibility to their products.

Apple’s predilection for design patents no doubt dates back to the early days of its competition with Microsoft over graphical user interfaces. Apple fought a long and bitter court battle with the Redmond software giant, alleging Windows copies key elements of the Macintosh user interface — something that was pretty obvious to anyone who saw before-Mac and after-Mac versions of Windows, in much the same way the iPhone’s impact on smartphone design is obvious when looking at the evolution of smartphones. However, due to a licensing agreement the companies had in place, Microsoft was able to fight the case under contract law rather than copyright law, and Apple lost. Apple learned its lesson, and since Steve Jobs’ return to Apple in the late 1990s, the company focused on using all available legal means to protect its designs, including trademark, copyright, and design patents.

Apple’s victory over Samsung represents a partial vindication for its protection strategy, and the ostensibly weak design patents that go along with it. The jury found that Samsung infringed on three Apple design patents, including the front-face appearance of the iPhone, the general outline of the iPhone (including the infamous round rectangles), and the grid of round square app icons on a black background that serves as the iPhone’s home screen. However, the jury did not find that Samsung infringed on an Apple design patent covering the design of the iPad — which is why Samsung is now requesting a June 26 injunction on U.S. sales of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 be lifted.

If the decision stands, Apple will have proven what consumers (and its competitors) have known all along : design matters. Apple is used to being copied: It was the first computer maker to move keyboards back from the front lip of a notebook computer; as soon as the iMac appeared, computer makers around the world started making candy-colored all-in-one computers. Pretty much everybody thought they could make iPod knockoffs, and Apple’s MacBook Air essentially invented a new category of notebook computer. The iPhone and iPad’s impact on the mobile and tablet markets is undeniable.

But where Apple previously mocked copycats with marketing taunts like “Redmond, start your photocopiers,” the company can now come back with a much more forceful response: “See you in court.”

Suppressing innovation?

Apple’s victory over Samsung has drawn out discussion over weaknesses in the existing patent system. Critics have argued that many of the patents at issue in the case are trivial items that shouldn’t be eligible for patent protection, and Samsung itself continues to articulate its dismay that something as seemingly simple as a rectangular phone with rounded rectangles should be eligible for design patent protection. Others have argued that Apple’s utility patents are overly broad: Tectonics creative director Bill Flora (formerly involved with Windows Phone) likened Apple’s ’381 utility patent covering pinch-to-zoom and twist-to-rotate as the equivalent of patenting a car’s steering wheel. (We bet Alfred Vacheron would have patented his steering wheel back in 1894 if automobile tillers hadn’t been all the rage — and plenty of other steering wheel designs have been patented since.)

There is some truth to these concerns. In the existing legal environment, it’s practically impossible for a small company or determined individual to take a great new idea for a phone or tablet, run with it, and have a major impact on the market. The mobile marketplace is only accessible to companies with broad patent portfolios or substantial cash reserves to license other companies’ patent portfolios. Preferably, a company needs both. For now, that means only the big names can compete in the market.

Apple’s victory on design patents might also create a new playing field for patent trolls. Individuals or companies might now start acquiring design patents in hopes of being able to license them (or leverage them) against mobile device makers. In any case, designers of everything from on-screen icons to smartphones to tablets are going to be looking over their shoulders with every move they make, lest their great ideas turn out to be covered by someone else’s design patent. Thanks to the ways design patents work, determining whether they’re in the clear or not will mean much more than an exhaustive search for prior art in the computing or mobile industries: They’ll have to look at everything from furniture and architecture to jewelry and typefaces to be sure they’re in the clear.

However, it’s also easy to argue these concerns are overblown. It’s true that the current patent landscape means small companies are essentially locked out of the mobile device arena — and I would argue that’s a bad thing. However, there are many players with both the patent portfolios and the operating capital to make a go: these include not only successful mobile device makers like Samsung, HTC, Nokia, RIM, Amazon, LG, Google/Motorola, and Asus, but also companies like Microsoft, Sony, Dell, and even HP (if it could ever pull its head together) — and that’s not even considering companies likt ZTE. Apple did not create the patent and licensing landscape that is keeping small, fleet-footed innovators out of the market — it’s just that, right now, they’re among the companies most successfully negotiating it. That breeds a certain amount of resentment.

Are Apple’s utility patents so broad that they prevent others from making competitive mobile products? I have real trouble believing that — particularly if Apple’s competitors are even half as smart as they claim. There’s nothing in Apple’s utility patents that prevents a company from conceiving, building, and marketing a device that consumers will embrace as being superior to the iPhone or iPad, or from creating some new class of mobile device that the market hasn’t imagined yet. The smartphone and tablet market so far has been focused on trying to catch up with the iPhone and the iPad, mainly by appealing to consumers through lower price tags. Smartphones and tablets are the focus of the market right now. If a company wants to innovate, perhaps it should consider skating to where the puck will be, rather than complaining about where Apple was five years ago.

Hold on to your hats, LG has just revealed the Optimus G and it’s a beauty. This Android flagship is packing an impressive set of specs.

Move over Samsung. Out of the way, Apple. LG has an announcement to make. Introducing the LG Optimus G – an impressively powerful Android smartphone that could blow away the current competition. This release marks a clear assault on the premium end of the Android handset market. Currently dominated by HTC and Samsung, the high-end Android smartphone market has not been a happy hunting ground for LG, but that could change.

The Optimus G appears to be lightning fast. It’s the first phone to feature Qualcomm’s Snapdragon S4 Pro Quad-Core processor and the newest generation Adreno 320 GPU. You can enjoy that smooth frame rate on a 4.7-inch WXGA True HD IPS+ display with a resolution of 1280 x 768 pixels at an impressive 320ppi pixel density.

Drawing on the expertise of its other divisions, the touchscreen uses LG Display technology for better visibility, greater strength, and an extremely slim form factor. (LG Display will probably be supplying the touchscreens for the iPhone 5.) Thanks to LG Chem, the 2,100 mAh battery is designed to take more charges than its rivals.

If you think that’s enough, then be prepared to be even more impressed. The LG Optimus G has a 13-megapixel rear-facing camera, a 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera, 32GB of internal memory, 2GB of RAM, and it supports 4G LTE, Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi, A-GPS, DLNA, NFC, and everything else you would expect in a high-end release — all in a frame that’s only 8.45mm thick, or a bit thinner than the iPhone 4S.

To help it stand out further from the crowd, we have several additional features. Live Zooming offers the ability to zoom in and out while viewing video. Dual Screen Dual Play, means easy screen mirroring on your TV, but also allows you to view one thing on the phone and another on the TV. You can also take photos with a voice command – the oddly named Cheese Shutter. You can jot memos on screenshots thanks to QMemo. Finally, Time Catch Shot allows you to “select and save the best shot among the images taken just before the shutter button is depressed.”

In short, the LG Optimus G looks awesome. There are only two “buts” in this announcement. Firstly, it runs Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) rather than Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean). Secondly, it will be released in South Korea first in September with a worldwide release to follow, but no exact dates or pricing information have been released yet.

Apple has submitted a list of eight Samsung smartphones to the court, with a view to seeing them removed from sale in the USA.

Following Apple’s $1.05 billion win against Samsung in its ongoing patent war, Apple has now submitted a list of Samsung devices that it believes should be withdrawn from sale to the court.

The list contains eight Samsung smartphones: The Galaxy S2 AT&T, Galaxy S2 T-Mobile, Galaxy S2 Skyrocket, Galaxy S2 Epic 4G, Galaxy S 4G, Galaxy S Showcase, Galaxy Prevail and the Droid Charge.

A total of 28 Samsung phones were found to have used Apple patents without permission and to have copied key designs; but many of them are considerably older devices than those listed above, and therefore rarely found on sale anymore.

This is just the first stage in Apple’s efforts to see the offending phones removed from sale in the USA, and it will have to wait until September 20 for the official hearing, but even then it won’t be smooth sailing.

According to The Guardian, Apple’s legal team must prepare for a four-part test to show the court that irreparable injury has been caused by the devices being on sale. It must prove that the $1.05 billion already awarded isn’t compensation enough, and that further action is needed. Even if the team gets that far, it has to show that such a ban doesn’t harm the public interest.

Judge Lucy Koh has already shown she’s not afraid to ban products from sale, having passed an injunction against the Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet and the Galaxy Nexus smartphone in the recent past.

Analysts at Jefferies and Co. told the newspaper that it expects “a two-thirds chance of an injunction against Samsung products.”

In the days following the court’s verdict, Samsung’s stock took a fall, resulting in its largest single-day loss in four years. An injunction against some of its products, no matter how old they may be, can only make things worse. Especially when Apple will shortly be riding the wave of excitement generated by the unveiling of its next-generation iPhone.