No Galaxy S II for Verizon, but expect a similar Samsung phone

Verizon Wireless won’t be joining the release party for Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy S II smartphone, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Samsung plans to announce its long-awaited US Galaxy S II models at a New York City event on August 29, and the company is expected to bring versions of the phone to all major US carriers like it did last year. The Galaxy S II will still be announced for AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint next week, but now Samsung will be missing out on the biggest US wireless carrier.

But don’t fret Verizon users, the carrier apparently has a “very similar” Samsung Android smartphone on the horizon, according to the mobile site Boy Genius Report. The mystery device will sport specifications nearly identical to the Galaxy S II, which means it will have at least a 4.3-inch Super AMOLED screen, Samsung dual-core processor and improved 8-megapixel camera. It could be branded as a successor to the Droid Charge on Verizon, which is built by Samsung.

It’s worth noting that Apple is expected to announce the iPhone 5 within a few weeks, so Verizon could conceivably want to avoid the Galaxy S II launch so that it doesn’t distract consumers from the new iPhone.

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Tags: Android, Galaxy S II, smartphones

Companies: Samsung, Verizon Wireless

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Apple yet again pushes for EU ban of Samsung Galaxy tablets, phones

After a German court granted that Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1 could be sold in most of Europe, Apple this week brought the case to the Netherlands to push for the ban of Samsung’s entire Galaxy line of smartphones and tablets.

Apple and Samsung did not immediately provide official comments on the matter.

The complaint against Samsung in The Hague district court, which was first pointed out by Dutch publication Webwereld, is not simply a ban on sales. It also includes a demand for recalling the entire stock of Samsung’s gear. Apple wants Samsung to send a letter to companies that distribute its products to request all stock be returned to Samsung within 14 days.

The ban would immediately stop the sale of Galaxy Ace, Galaxy S, and Galaxy S II smartphones, as well as the Galaxy Tab 10.1 and original Galaxy Tab tablets. A complete EU block of the Galaxy line would be catastrophic for Samsung, which is trying to establish its Android-based smartphones and tablets as some of the best alternatives to Apple’s iPhone and iPad.

Last week, Samsung said it was “disappointed” when a German court blocked the sale of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in the EU (except the Netherlands) on the grounds that the Tab imitated the iPad so closely it infringed on Apple’s intellectual property rights. Samsung could have faced fines up to $350,000 per unit sold under the German court ban. But the ban was lifted when the Duesseldorf regional court lifted the injunction, saying it was questionable whether it had the authority to bar the sale of a Korean product outside of Germany.

The news is another continuation of Apple’s legal squabbles with Samsung, which started in April with a lawsuit in the U.S. concerning the company’s Galaxy Android smartphones and Galaxy Tab. Apple argued that Samsung’s devices considerably imitated the iPhone and iPad. Samsung filed a counter-suit against Apple, but the battle also extended to the U.S. International Trade Commission, which can block the importation of devices into the U.S.

Now that battle is being played out in courts all over the world.

What do you think of the ongoing battle between Apple and Samsung?

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Tags: Android, EU, Europe, Galaxy S II, Galaxy Tab 10.1, iPad, iPhone, smartphones, tablets

Companies: Apple, Samsung

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