Samsung copies Apple's iPhone with forthcoming white Galaxy S II

Apple could slap bitter rival Samsung with yet another lawsuit after the Korean manufacturer unveiled plans to ship a white version of its Galaxy S II smartphone.



Apple is already suing Samsung for "slavishly copying" the designs of the iPhone 4 and iPad 2, and Steve Jobs is unlikely to be impressed with the latest strategy.

The reasoning behind Samsung's decision appears completely innocent. "[Following] the success of the original Galaxy S II released in May, the popular handset will now be available in white in the UK," the firm said.

However, no-one actually knows the exact sales figures for the Galaxy S II, and Samsung has yet to confirm the figure of five million shipments to Mac Inspector.

Apple may feel that Samsung is trying to ride the success of the white iPhone 4. After all, the white model did whip fan boys into a frenzy and drive sales of the ageing smartphone.



With Apple always looking to claim ownership of everything that has ever been successful, such as the term 'app store', the firm's lawyers will no doubt argue that the white iPhone was original and that no-one else should be allowed to even think about using the same colour, let alone ship such a device.

The white Galaxy S II has a proposed release date of 1 September, and patent expert Florian Mueller believes that Apple is unlikely to be able to stop it.

"A white Galaxy S II would certainly add to Apple's aggravation. However, Apple will hardly have a patent on the colour white in connection with smartphones," he told V3.