Sure, Apple wins and Samsung loses. But does Nokia win, too?
(Read article summary)Samsung has been ordered to pay Apple $1 billion in damages. But the Cupertino company might not be the only one to benefit from the verdict.
On Friday, the long courtroom battle between Samsung and Apple finally wound to a close. Apple came out on top. The Cupertino company was awarded approximately $1 billion in damages from Samsung, and Apple reps are currently seeking injunctions against a range of Samsung handsets, including the Galaxy S2 and the Droid Charge, both of which were found to violate patents established by Apple.
Samsung, for its part, has vowed to fight on. But how will the verdict affect the rest of the smartphone industry? Well, many analysts believe that Microsoft and Nokia in particular stand to benefit from a weakened Samsung presence in the marketplace. In February of last year, of course, Microsoft and Nokia announced they would partner to release a line of handsets running Microsoft's Windows Phone operating system.
Among the products of that partnership is the Lumia smartphone; in September, Nokia is widely expected to introduce a line of handsets running Windows Phone 8, the upcoming version of the Windows Phone OS.
