Samsung F700. Does this look like an iPhone?
FORTUNE — Two funny things about the e-mail to the press of excluded evidence that got John Quinn, Samsung’s lead lawyer, in such hot water with the judge — and prompted Apple (AAPL) Wednesday to file for sanctions:
1) Although Quinn, who had literally begged judge Lucy Koh to let him show the jury the evidence, wrote in a filing Wednesday that the leak two hours later was “in response to press inquiries” and not an attempt to violate her order, at least one reporter (Thomson Reuters‘ Alison Frankel) says Samsung sent her the e-mail without her requesting it.
2) The Samsung F700 phone Quinn is so desperate to enter into evidence — which he claims “would have established beyond doubt that Samsung did not copy the iPhone design” — is nothing like the iPhone. In fact, when seen for what it is — a feature phone with a full slide-out QWERTY keyboard — Apple’s lawyers may want to show it to the jury to help make their case.
The Verge‘s Nilay Patel did a pretty effective takedown of the F700 as a precursor to the iPhone back in April. For one thing, the F700 was introduced in February 2007, a month after the iPhone was unveiled. Moreover, the differences between the two devices are greater than the similarities.
“In many ways,” Patel writes, “the F700 does nothing but underline Apple’s overall contention: that there are thousands of ways to design and package a phone interface, but Samsung chose to drop its differentiated interface and instead lift elements of Apple’s style.”
Thanks to Daring Fireball‘s John Gruber for the link to Patel’s April piece.
