Court scrutinizes email from Steve Jobs

SAN JOSE – Samsung’s attorneys suggested the late Steve Jobs saw an idea that could be useful for the iPhone in a Samsung design in the trial where Apple is seeking $2.5 billion from Samsung for infringing its patents.

For its part, Apple showed more Samsung documents that made detailed comparisons between Samsung and Apple handsets, recommending the Samsung products adopt iPhone techniques.

Testimony Friday focused briefly on an October 5, 2005, email thread among several Apple senior executives including Jobs involved in the iPhone design. The email discussed a feature of the Samsung SGH-E910 phone.

“This may be our answer -- we could put the number pad around the click wheel,” Jobs wrote as part of an October 5, 2005, email thread.

“I’m not sure how to read this one,” said Scott Forstall, Apple’s senior vice president of its iOS software and one of the executives on the email thread, speaking in testimony under cross-examination by Samsung Friday.

Under re-direct question, Apple lead attorney Harold McElhinny indicated Jobs went on in the email to suggested changes to the Samsung approach that apparently refers to an iPod-like controller. Samsung “really screwed this up in that respect,” Jobs wrote.

“Do you see this as a direction to copy?” asked McElhinny.

“I see this as a direction not to copy, he said they really screwed this up,” said Forstall.

By contrast, Apple attorneys showed copies of Samsung reports that made detailed comparisons of Samsung handsets and iPhones, recommending Samsung adopt iPhone techniques For example, a report from a Samsung software verification team dated March 2, 2010, suggested improvements to the Samsung S1 that would make the appearance of on-screen icons and double-click features more like those of the iPhone.

“This is just a comparison,” said Justin Denison, chief strategy officer for Samsung Telecommunications America, in testimony here.