Samsung demands to see future iPad and iPhone in legal brouhaha

Samsung has appealed to a US court to allow it to see the next-generation iPad and iPhone prototypes, as it plays tit-for-tat in an ongoing spat with Apple.

Last week, a judge ruled that Apple's legal team were allowed to see a range of Samsung's products -- including the Galaxy S 2, Galaxy Tab 8.9, Galaxy Tab 10.1, Infuse 4G and Droid Charge -- in order that they be able to build a case against the Korean company.

Samsung is understandably unhappy at this decision, despite the fact that no-one on Apple's design team would have access to Samsung's products. "It would put Samsung at a significant disadvantage in this litigation if the Court allowed Apple access to Samsung's future products... but prevented Samsung from gaining access to Apple's future products so that it could prepare its defence," it said in a statement to Reuters.

Even if a judge rules that Apple must hand over its future designs, the chances of us finding out anything about them is extremely slim. Either company would be in a vast steaming tank of hot water if anything leaks out.

We've already pondered whether the latest breed of touchscreen phones are by nature very similar to one another. Apple's iPhone and iPad started a touchscreen phone and tablet frenzy among other manufacturers, but there's only so much you can do with a mobile device's casing and the current crop of chips. Is all that's really differentiating Apple and Samsung devices their operating systems -- are they just iOS versus Android?

We've already pitted the Galaxy S 2 against the iPhone 4. It's hard to see exactly what these lawsuits are going to achieve, apart from making some lawyers rich. Ultimately it's up to you, the consumer, to decide which phones are best.