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Apple’s original icon designer can’t tell the difference between a Samsung phone and an iPhone

Another day, another witness takes the stand in the Apple vs. Samsung trial. Graphic designer Susan Kare, who once did phenomenal work for Apple in the 1980s, took the stand to testify today and point out similarities between Samsung and Apple’s devices. The Wall Street Journal was present in the courtroom and reported this afternoon that Kare noted that the icons on Samsung devices in many cases infringed on Apple’s patents. We showed you the compelling similarities yesterday and asked if you thought that made Apple’s case.

Kare went on to say that even said she once mistakenly picked up a Samsung device while aiming to pick up an iPhone when meeting with lawyers before the trial. “I think of myself as someone who’s pretty granular about looking at graphics, and I mistook one for the other,” said Kare to the courtroom.

During Samsung’s cross-examination of Kare, the company’s lead attorney, Charles Verhoeven, fired up both a Samsung device and an iPhone to show their startup screens. From there, he concluded that customers should be able to tell the difference between devices due to the logos and sound on Samsung’s Android-branded device (in this instance, specifically). Kare told the court she had “only prepared to compare the look and feel of the two operating systems, and not evaluate their functionality,” noted CNET.

Kare, seasoned designer, developed key icons from 1982 to 1986 throughout OS X, including the Happy Mac logo seen on many Macs through that era. From Apple, she followed the now-late Apple cofounder Steve Jobs to NeXT as a creative director. She later worked for Microsoft to create many of the logos found throughout Windows until Windows XP. So, she knows her stuff.

In similar news, earlier this morning, Samsung objected to a piece of evidence that Apple presented. Apple exhibited a picture of Samsung’s Epic Touch 4G, leaving Samsung to quickly claim the image was altered to look more like an iPhone. Apple responded, according to The Verge“There has been no manipulation.” Judge Koh quickly answered, “I find it not credible that Apple tampered with these phones…I’m not going to have this happen again.” Judge Koh has been very stern with both company’s lawyers on numerous occasions over the last week and a half.

AllThingsD reported last night that an internal Samsung email entered the case as evidence, revealing some shocking comments from Samsung’s execs. The most stunning comments include when Samsung’s head of mobile communications, JK Shin, called the user-experience between Apple and Samsung’s devices “a difference between Heaven and Earth.” He further added, “Let’s make something like the iPhone.”

For those who have not been following, the Samsung vs. Apple trial began last Monday with Apple’s 25 hours of questioning to start. Apple is still using its time, but Samsung is up next. Apple has called some key witnesses to the stand to help make its case, including its very own Phil Schiller and Scott Forstall, to reveal a treasure trove of information that must not sit well with the historically secretive company. Other key witnesses called to the stand included Susan Kare, Peter Bressler, Samsung chief strategy officer Justin Denison, and more. [WSJ, Cnet, The Verge, AllThingsDImage via

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