Apple now seeks an immediate ban on the sales of Samsung smartphones in the US market. However, if this verdict also rules out against Samsung, the Korean manufacturer will come under some serious pressure. Amidst the legal battle between Apple and Samsung, there is one company that might be secretly smiling in the corner. And yes you guessed it correct. It’s indeed Nokia and Microsoft Corp., both of whom are hoping to increase the sales of their upcoming smartphones in the US market. The federal jury awarded Apple Inc. more than $1 billion, which Samsung has to pay for infringing six out of seven mobile devices patents as claimed by Apple. The request to ban Samsung smartphones in the US will be weighed by Lucy Koh, US District Judge. Samsung is the leading producer of Android phones. And with this ban, it is believed that various Android- equipment makers may look up to other platforms such as Microsoft’s Windows 8 to avoid a similar trip to court. Nokia is expected to announce the launch of first Windows 8 Phone smartphone early September. Nokia partnered with Microsoft last year after abandoning its aging Symbian platform that had failed to keep up with Apple’s iPhone and Android devices. Nokia is right now focusing on expanding the entire Windows Phone system. Last quarter, Nokia could sell only 600,000 handsets in North America, whereas Apple sold 5.9 million iPhones. Apple vs. Samsung has given them a competitive advantage. They can claim their product to be different in a world where Android has copied iOS technology. What happens now to Android will be an interesting ride to watch. Following the Samsung verdict, Nokia shares jumped around 12 percent in Helsinki and traded 8.4 percent higher. Earlier, Nokia stocks saw a drop of 34 percent this year through Aug. 24. Microsoft also saw a climb of 1 percent to $30.87 in New York. Samsung, however, which had increased 21 percent this year before the court ruling, slumped as much as 8 percent in Seoul, which marked the biggest decline the firm saw in more than a year. Apple climbed 2.3 percent to $678.32. The verdict also made BlackBerry maker RIM gain 3.3 percent to $7.17 in New York. As RIM has nothing lined up for release until next year, it will surely miss a chance to benefit from the verdict. Microsoft is believed to gain the most as it has already succeeded in patent disputes with Android user Motorola Mobility, now owned by Google. The firm also won orders to ban imports of few Motorola devices in the US and limit sales of some of products in Germany. However, Google also claimed yesterday that the infringement claims by Apple have nothing to do with the Android software.
