With the trial stage just completed last Friday, Apple wasted no time filing a notice with the court identifying which Samsung products it will now seek to have banned in the US. Despite having received a finding of infringement from the jury on most of the 28 products in play in the case, it looks like Apple is only going after an injunction on eight of them — all smartphones. That’s not terribly surprising given the fact that many of the products in the case are no longer available in the US. The eight Samsung devices are:

• Galaxy S 4G
• Galaxy S2 (ATT)
• Galaxy S2 (Skyrocket)
• Galaxy S2 (T-Mobile)
• Galaxy S2 Epic 4G
• Galaxy S Showcase
• Droid Charge
• Galaxy Prevail

Apple will still have to prove irreparable harm based on these eight smartphones

Apple’s filing specifically associates the devices with the patents each was found to infringe according to the jury. You can see from the chart below that, save the Galaxy Prevail, each of the identified devices was found to infringe on Apple’s design-related intellectual property (design patents and trade dress). The Galaxy S2 Skyrocket, Galaxy S2 Epic 4G and the Galaxy S Showcase are the only ones listed that escaped infringement of Apple’s more technical utility patents. With infringement already established, and assuming Judge Koh doesn’t disrupt the jury verdict, Apple must convince the court that it will be irreparably harmed if these handsets are not banned in the country. It’s easier to make this argument after a positive jury verdict, but an injunction is by no means a foregone conclusion. However, Apple did apparently appreciate the benefits of picking its battles here, rather than just going after each and every product found to infringe. It’s easier for Apple to establish irreparable harm when the focus of the injunction is on products it may actually compete against in the market.

You’ll remember that there’s already a preliminary injunction on the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in place, and Samsung has now asked the court to lift that ban based on the fact that the jury didn’t find that its tablets infringed Apple’s design patents. Apple is opposing Samsung’s request and, according to Bloomberg, even wants to extend the ban to the cellular version of the Tab 10.1 — which wasn’t included in the jury’s verdict form. You can see that Judge Koh will have a lot to work through at the injunction hearing currently scheduled for September 20th.

Update: Samsung issued the following statement on the matter: “We will take all necessary measures to ensure the availability of our products in the U.S. market.”

We’re almost a year on from the iPhone 4S’ launch, and the world seems to agree that the time is right for a successor. We’ve been tracking some of the rumors about what many have dubbed the ‘iPhone 5,’ but we don’t blame you if you feel a little overwhelmed — there’s a lot out there and it’s hard to know who to trust. With that in mind, we thought we’d sift through the most compelling rumors and let you know how we think Apple’s next phone will shape up.

design

This time last year the internet was abuzz with rumors about a radical redesign for the iPhone 4′s successor, which turned out to be for nothing when the near-identical 4S was eventually revealed. Things are a little different this time around, though — after more than two years it’s almost certain that we’ll see a genuinely new iPhone case design, and after an avalanche of leaks from various sources it seems likely that we’ve already seen it. Despite Apple CEO Tim Cook’s claims that the company would “double down” on security, there’s been a steady flow of credible-sounding information on the next iPhone ever since he made the remarks. It’s not been quite as bad as a lost prototype iPhone 4 in a bar, but it’s close.

If these are to be believed, the next iPhone will be taller and thinner than the iPhone 4 and 4S and use a unibody aluminum chassis. The back of the phone will no longer use the fragile glass plate of before, instead switching to a metal panel with “windows” at the top and bottom to aid reception. These could be glass, plastic, or ceramic, but it’s hard to tell from the photos or videos. Whatever they’re made of, they contribute to the device’s most striking visual feature — its two-tone design. It looks like there will be black and white models, but while the white unit pairs its top and bottom windows with a light brushed metal back, the black version opts for a gunmetal gray finish. This chassis design was described and mocked up by iLounge a few weeks before the supposedly real thing found its way online.

There are a few changes to the device’s layout; the headphone jack has moved to the bottom, for example, and the front-facing camera is now above the speaker grille. The change that may make the biggest difference to the device’s usability, however, is the shrunken dock connector — most recently backed up by the alleged leak of a new USB cable (below). We’ve heard variously that this will feature eight, nine, or 19 pins, but sources seem to agree that it’s smaller and double-sided. Of course, this would break compatibility with the vast ecosystem of first- and third-party accessories that work with the previous 30-pin dock connector, so we have to imagine that Apple has an adapter solution in place. If not, you might have trouble finding a decent iPhone 5 speaker dock for a while.

We don’t think there’s much doubt that these parts have come from an Apple supplier, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they’ll make their way into the iPhone 5 itself. The company will build several prototypes for any product as important as this, and it’s even possible that this one model has been leaked deliberately. That said, even if this particular device isn’t showing us the true iPhone 5′s industrial design, it certainly makes sense considering the specifications that we’re a lot more sure about. For example, the display.

display

An increase in screen size for the iPhone is long overdue, but the first solid word that Apple was considering a switch came back in May. Reuters and the Wall Street Journal both published reports within a day of each other claiming that the next iPhone’s screen would be at least four inches from corner to corner and identifying Sharp, LG, and the newly-formed Japan Display as the manufacturers responsible.

Apple would essentially be adding 176 vertical lines to the iPhone 4′s display

It also seems clear that the iPhone 5 will shift to a 16:9 aspect ratio with a resolution of 1136 x 640. This would mean that horizontal resolution and pixel density remain unchanged; Apple would essentially be adding 176 vertical lines to the iPhone 4′s display. 9 to 5 Mac reported this from its sources back in May, and corroborating evidence came from an emulator of the iOS 6 beta that is able to be run in 1136 x 640. The screen part and digitizer assembly has even shown up online for purchase.

We actually heard something similar on the Vergecast back in March with a caller using the same logic to suggest a 1152 x 640 resolution, and this idea was later elaborated upon in our forums. Whether these were excellent guesses or something more is unclear — Daring Fireball‘s well-connected John Gruber believed that our Vergecast caller “wasn’t merely guessing or idly speculating” — but the 4-inch-or-thereabouts screen certainly seems a lock by now.

Everyone seems agreed on the dimensions, but the precise nature of the display itself is less clear. It seems likely, however, that the iPhone 5 will be one of the first products to employ a screen with in-cell touch display technology. This integrates the touch sensor into the display itself, allowing for a significantly thinner profile. While the rumor hasn’t been as well-substantiated as the screen size itself, things do seem to line up; the Wall Street Journal reported that Sharp, LG, and Japan Display were all producing the in-cell screens for Apple in July, and while only Sharp has owned up to working on the iPhone display, LG has confirmed that it’s started on in-cell manufacture.

internals

Details on the iPhone 5′s internals haven’t been as forthcoming as the device’s outside. We’ve heard vague rumblings that it’ll use an A5X processor, for instance, following the same pattern of an iPad release providing the SoC for the iPhone later in the year, but the current 45nm A5X is a large, power-hungry chip that’s unlikely to work well in a phone. It was developed for the new iPad’s Retina display and needed a major increase in battery power to back it up, but the next iPhone is unlikely to require a similar leap. We think the new 32nm A5 chip used in the 2012 runs of Apple TV and iPad 2 would make more sense, and Apple would likely be able to clock it higher to maintain performance parity with the 4S and its slightly lower-resolution screen — that, or simply use the more efficient chip to improve battery life.

We’d be shocked if LTE didn’t happen

The other main point of speculation is whether or not this will be the first iPhone with LTE. We’ll just come out and say it: we’d be shocked if it didn’t happen. It’s seemed a lock ever since the announcement of the LTE-equipped iPad in March, and between strings of tell-tale code in iOS and various comments let slip by carrier executives, we don’t see any reason for that to change. At least in the US, it’s at the point now where not offering LTE would put Apple at a major marketing disadvantage — ATT’s misleading “4G” claims notwithstanding. Anandtech believes that the iPhone 5 will use Qualcomm’s MDM9x15 platform which has previously been employed in tandem with phones running Snapdragon S4 SoCs.

Anandtech also argues that TD-SCDMA 3G compatibility is “requisite for any further growth in China,” and believes it will be included to allow for an iPhone on China Mobile, the world’s largest carrier. A TD-LTE-compatible iPhone, meanwhile, is an outside bet which would give Apple future 4G access to China Mobile. SoftBank, the primary carrier of the iPhone in Japan, could also benefit from this having just launched a TD-LTE-compatible 4G network. It seems unlikely that Apple would do this so early, however, given the delay in licensing TD-LTE in China.

1GB of RAM would represent a nice bump over the still-speedy 4S

We also expect a jump to 1GB RAM, if for no other reason than because the iPhone 4S surprisingly had the same 512MB as found in the iPhone 4. Other phones like the Galaxy S III have already started to move to 2GB of memory, but iOS devices have historically competed quite well with their Android contemporaries without matching them on pure hardware grunt. 2GB would likely be overkill, but 1GB would represent a nice bump over the still-speedy 4S while matching the new iPad.

We’re not convinced about NFC

Finally, rumors of NFC support have popped up this week based on hardware shots showing a mysterious square chip near the front-facing camera. Apple has shown an interest in NFC technology via patents before, and iOS 6′s Passbook feature would seem like a good fit. We’re not convinced, though, for reasons of practicality as much as anything else; NFC chips tend to be as large as possible in order to maximize the chance of connection, and the chip seen here is very small. The iPhone 5′s presumed aluminum back panel wouldn’t do much to help this, either, a position backed up by Jim Dalrymple of The Loop. The Wall Street Journal also reported last month that Apple abandoned the idea of NFC due to concerns over battery life and adoption rate.

name

Finally, what will the thing be called? The world has apparently decided to dub it the iPhone 5 ahead of time, but honestly we’d be surprised and a little disappointed if Apple goes that way – after all, it’ll be the sixth iPhone, not the fifth. Other options exist — iPhone 6, iPhone 4G, iPhone 4GS, iPhone LTE — but if we had to guess? Just “iPhone.” The new iPhone.

Next Thursday (Sept. 6th) is looking to be a big day for Amazon.  They’ve been sending out invites to a “special” press conference that will held at an airport hangar in Santa Monica, California.  The content of the invite, of course, doesn’t allude to what Amazon has up its sleeve, they only say “Please join us for an Amazon Press Conference.”  News is out today that Amazon will be delaying the release of the 10 inch Kindle Fire.  So that rules out an announcement for the larger form factor tablet.  It would only make sense then that we’ll seen an update version of the Kindle Fire.  But what does updated mean exactly?

I’d like to believe it means free 3G data.  Yeah, that would be a huge step for Amazon – for any company really – but if you think about, it makes perfect sense.  Amazon’s money maker isn’t in selling hardware (i.e. the Kindle Fire tablet), but in the software and content that’s accessible via the Kindle Fire.  And what better way to open up the flood gates to Amazon’s ocean of content than to offer free 3G?  Free 3G on the Kindle Fire would make it a no brain’er to subscribe to Amazon Prime – Amazon’s subscription based program that offers free unlimited streaming of TV shows, movies, and free 2 day shipping on millions of products.  What do you think?  Is it possible we’ll see free 3G on the next generation Kindle Fire tablet?

What others are reading:

Kindle Fire 2 Release Date Expected September 6Kindle DX 3G, 9.7″ Fire Sale On Amazon While Supplies Last [Only $269, Save 29%]Buy Kindle Fire, Kindle Devices With Free 2 Day Shipping, Here By ChristmasAmazon Kindle Fire, Still #1 on Amazon

There’s no doubt Apple walked out of the San Jose courtroom Friday afternoon the undisputed winner according to the jury in the Apple v. Samsung case, but there are still many details to work out as the trial process wraps up. We’re not even close to appeals yet, although those will absolutely come later. There’s still a lot to do in Judge Koh’s courtroom over the next few weeks.

The post-trial process isn’t pretty, but it can be incredibly important

Today will mark the beginning of a new chapter in the case: a brutal stretch of legal briefings and in-court debates, where both Samsung and Apple will break down and scrutinize a large number of those 700 individual questions tackled by the jury. And we know how much these attorneys like to file papers with the court — there were around 2000 formal objections filed just for the trial stage of the case. Obviously, Samsung will have far more to complain about, but you can rest assured that Apple will lodge several challenges of its own.

In the immediate future, both sides will file motions for a “judgement notwithstanding the verdict,” or JNOV. It’s exactly what it sounds like: Samsung will essentially ask Judge Koh to overturn the verdict in its favor on nearly every issue where the jury found in favor of Apple. This will include the jury’s position that Samsung infringed Apple’s intellectual property, that Apple’s patents were held to be valid, that Samsung’s infringement was willful, and the determinations that all of Samsung’s patents were found to not be infringed by Apple. Similarly, Apple will likely file motions to challenge the jury’s finding that some of its trade dress protection on the iPad didn’t exist, and that the Galaxy Tab didn’t infringe its design patent. Moreover, the jury was forced to correct several of its damages calculations after the verdict was read, so we’re sure there will be continued questions about whether the final numbers make sense.

Judge Koh will be reluctant to take either machete or scalpel to the verdict

The scope and appropriateness of such motions can be complicated — for instance, a party filing the motion must have previously raised the issue after the opposing side presented its primary case to the jury — but in reality it’s simply Samsung and Apple’s way of asking Judge Koh to overturn all or a part of the jury’s verdict. Right or wrong, the jury system is a cherished institution in the US, so judges are reluctant to take either machete or scalpel to verdicts. The legal standard for disrupting the verdict is also extremely strict: in order to make changes, Samsung and Apple will have to persuade Judge Koh that “no reasonable jury” could have come to a particular conclusion. That’s a pretty tough threshold to get over.

Apple is also asking the court for injunctions based on the verdict, and that hearing is already set for September 20th. This is often the scariest thing about a patent case for a defendant — the risk that your products will be yanked from the market — but Samsung introduces a lot of new products each quarter, so it may be a little less fearful than most. Apart from the Galaxy S II, most of Samsung’s infringing products aren’t on the market anymore. The Galaxy Nexus and S III aren’t part of this case, so they won’t be affected by this outcome. So even if Apple can prove that it will be irreparably harmed by continued sales of these older devices, Samsung’s newest flagship phones will come out of this battle unscathed.

Judge Koh will decide whether to triple the damages

Mixed in with all of this will be Apple’s inevitable motion to increase the damages based on the jury’s finding that Samsung’s infringement was willful. This is Apple’s most important outstanding issue. The law allows Koh to increase the damages up to three times if the jury finds willful infringement, so Apple’s billion-dollar win could turn into three billion. While significantly increasing damages based solely on a finding of willfulness is not the norm, there are reasons for Samsung to be worried. First, a great deal of evidence was presented in the case showing that Samsung intentionally and methodically copied aspects of the iPhone and iOS. Second, Samsung’s attorneys angered Koh and her magistrate on more than one occasion. All of that can be taken into account by the court in determining whether an increase in damages is warranted — the goal is to encourage settlement, and triple damages are used to disincentivize companies from pushing a bad case through the courts. While outright tripling a jury’s damage award is not very common, we wouldn’t be at all surprised if the court decided to bump that 1.04 billion dollar award up a bit.

And there’s still always the possibility of settlement. Both Apple and Samsung have already risked a great deal in letting a jury of nine people decide their fate, and Samsung paid an enormous price for that gamble. The Korea Times reports that an emergency meeting took place at Samsung headquarters on Sunday in response to the verdict, with one executive apparently saying “it’s absolutely the worst scenario for us.” Samsung’s negotiating leverage isn’t what it was a few days ago, but things can change quickly — especially with all of those other outstanding lawsuits between the companies around the world. Any one of those separate battles can go against either Apple or Samsung, further changing the balance of power. A universal settlement still makes sense for both parties if they can just get past the initial awkwardness of the conversation and decide who will be designated the net winner.

As always, we’ll be following every development closely, so stay tuned.

We haven’t heard a whisper on specs for Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy Note II, a device expected to be unveiled at the company’s Samsung Mobile Unpacked event on August 29th, but if a leak obtained by Seoul Newspaper is correct we’ve now got a better idea of what to expect. A leaked image with Galaxy Note II specs shows that the 5.5-inch handset will feature a 1280 x 720 resolution display, 3G / 4G radios, 16 or 32GB of storage, an 8 megapixel rear camera (not 12 megapixels as previously rumored), a 1.4GHz quad core Exynos 4412 processor, and Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. These specs are all strictly rumored at this point, but we’ll find out for sure in just a couple of days — stay tuned to our IFA 2012 coverage this week for all the details.