Yeah, I have a feeling this is going to be worse for Apple than it is for Samsung.
Like you said, Samsung's tablets aren't really selling that well (more were returned last month than sold, I heard), so it's not going to be a significant blow to them, financially.
Now Samsung's failure in the tablet space is going to be big bad Apple's bullying fault, and Samsung will play the role of the martyr. Samsung were failing anyways, but now it's Apple's fault.
The only way Apple wins here is if this prevents other players from imitating them.
I don't believe that will be the case. People are mostly oblivious about these lawsuits and will continue to buy Apple products.
Isn't the Apple brand worth 154bn or so?
If you think about it: That is the total premium that people are willing to pay beyond the actual "value" (i.e. an equivalent product of a competitor) just because they are buying an Apple product.
It's not that simple. In the tablet space, for example, there is no such thing as an equivalent product of a competitor. The "value" of a product is more than it's technical specification, consumers have figured that out.
Apple also wins because business may now avoid the legally-challeged or legally-risky Android devices. Better safe than sorry. Esp. when the iPad is not being sold at a much higher price.
Like you said, Samsung's tablets aren't really selling that well (more were returned last month than sold, I heard), so it's not going to be a significant blow to them, financially.
Now Samsung's failure in the tablet space is going to be big bad Apple's bullying fault, and Samsung will play the role of the martyr. Samsung were failing anyways, but now it's Apple's fault.
The only way Apple wins here is if this prevents other players from imitating them.