A U.S. judge has rejected Apple's request for a preliminary injunction that would have temporarily banned Samsung from selling its devices in the United States. U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh allowed Samsung to continue selling the Galaxy S 4G, Infuse 4G, Droid Charge and Galaxy Tab 10.1 while the lawsuit filed by Apple is pending. The lawsuit, which goes on trial July 30, 2012, claims that Samsung has slavishly copied the design and functionality of the iPhone and iPad.

"We are confident that we can demonstrate the distinctiveness of Samsung's mobile devices when the case goes to trial next year," Samsung said in a statement.

Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics are engaged in cutthroat competition and are embroiled in an all-out-war in courtrooms across a dozen countries. In its counterclaims against Apple, Samsung has sought a ban on the iPhone 4S on claims that the latest iPhone is infringing on Samsung's wireless patents. No court though has issued a ban on the fifth generation iPhone. Samsung, on the other hand, has been forced to pull the Galaxy Tab 10.1, 8.9 and 7.7 in Germany. In the Netherlands, a court has enjoined the sale of the Galaxy S 2 and Galaxy Ace until a final decision is entered. An Australian court has issued a preliminary injunction on the Galaxy Tab 10.1 although the ban is expected to be lifted later this week. With the exception of these three countries, Samsung's best-selling mobile devices are still available everywhere.

Here's a list of top mobile devices of the world's largest smartphone vendor and second largest tablet seller:

Samsung Galaxy S II

The Galaxy S 2 is Samsung's best-selling smartphone to date. Although it has lost the "thinnest smartphone" prestige to the Motorola Droid RAZR (8.49 mm compared to the RAZR's 7.1 mm), it is still one of the most powerful and gorgeous phones in the market.

The Galaxy S 2 has a 1.2 GHz dual-core "Exynos" processor with 1 GB of RAM, a super-slim chassis and feather-light innards. The phone sports a 4.3 inch WVGA Super AMOLED Advanced display, covered in a Gorilla glass screen and a Kevlar back plate. It has an 8 megapixel rear facing camera that can record 1080p HD video and a 2 MP front camera for video calling, which is better than the newly released Nexus's 5.0 MP and 1.3 MP cameras. The battery gives up to 10 hours of heavy usage or two days of light usage.

See this ad for the Samsung Galaxy S II poking fun at Apple fans joining long queues for the new iPhone, which Samsung criticized for its lack of 4G and its battery issues.

The Galaxy S II gave Samsung record sales. The Galaxy S III coming in June 2012 should cement Samsung's status as top smartphone vendor.

Galaxy Tab 10.1

The Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 is a distant second to the iPad in the highly competitive tablet market. Dubbed as one of the best tablets to hit shelves, the Galaxy Tab 10.1 is lighter and thinner than Apple's iPad 2. The Galaxy Tab 10.1 sports a 1 GHz dual-core Nvidia Tegra 2 processor with 1 GB of RAM, promising faster browsing, smoother gaming and graphics, and better overall performance. The device features a 10.1-inch Super PLS HD display with 1280 x 800 resolution. With its 149 pixel density (ppi) compared to the iPad 2's 132 ppi, the Galaxy Tab 10.1 offers better picture quality and clarity. Galaxy Tab 10.1 has a 2 MP front camera plus 3 MP rear camera for 1080p HD video recording, with LED flash and autofocus. Samsung started releasing the device in June this year. The US$499 for Wi-Fi only, 16 GB model is available for $499, and variants with 3G are priced higher.

Apple's lawsuit against Samsung is giving the Galaxy Tab 10.1 publicity. The Korean company is now the second largest tablet seller.

Galaxy Nexus

The Galaxy Nexus could be the finest Android handset to date. Co-developed by Samsung and Google, the Galaxy Nexus is the first device to run Google's just-released Android 4.0, a.k.a. Ice Cream Sandwich and an HD ready display. The latest Android update gives users complete control over the amount of mobile data used and offers state-of-the-art facial recognition technology to unlock the device. Several existing Android devices from HTC and Motorola will receive free software updates so that they, too, can run this OS.

Aside from software, the Galaxy Nexus has a bold new design -- it has no physical buttons on the front, and instead features on-screen soft keys embedded into the system software. The Galaxy Nexus has an LED notification indicator, promptly alerting you of any activity.

The Galaxy Nexus measures 2.67 inches (135 mm) x 5.3 inches (135 mm) x 0.35 inches (8.94MM), thanks to its jumbo-sized 4.65-in. display. But despite those figures, the phone is still sleek, thin and light -- weighing in at just 4.8 ounces. Size aside, the Galaxy Nexus looks similar to the Galaxy S II, although the Nexus has more rounded edges and a contoured display.

The Samsung Galaxy Nexus is stylish, with its 4.65 inch display and svelte profile. The screen is a 4.65-inch Super AMOLED one with a 1280 x 720 pixel resolution. The Nexus has considerably higher screen resolution than the iPhone 4S 3.5-inch screen's 640 x 960 image resolution. The iPhone 4S though offers higher pixel density at 326 ppi, compared to the Nexus' 313 ppi.

The Galaxy Nexus has dual core chipset clocked at 1.2GHz, and 1GB of RAM. The Nexus has a faster CPU clock speed at 1.2 GHz, compared to the iPhone 4S's 0.8 GHz. The Nexus also has twice the RAM memory. The Galaxy Nexus has a 1,750 mAh battery, compared to the iPhone 4S's 1,418 mAh battery. While the newest Apple device has been in the headlines for its battery life issues, the Nexus has been praised for its outstanding battery life. The Galaxy Nexus' rear- and front-facing cameras capture 5- and 1.3-megapixel images, respectively, and it records video in full 1080p HD quality. The 8 megapixel sensor of the iPhone 4S has 60 percent more pixels than the iPhone 4. The Galaxy Nexus's 1.3 MP front facing camera is the first device to shoot in 720p, compared to iPhone 4S's FFC camera shoots a 640 x 480 resolution at best.

In the UK, the Galaxy Nexus is available contract-free for GBP515 at Clove technology for GBP515, compared to GBP499 for the iPhone 4S. In Australia, a contract-free Nexus is already being sold by online retailers Mobicity and Kogan. See the ad "copied" from Apple's playbook here

Ice Cream Sandwich, no buttons, co-developed by Google and Samsung, great battery life, bigger screen. Could this beat the iPhone 4S?

Galaxy Note

Samsung Electronics Co. is expected to cement its dominance in the mobile devices with its Galaxy Note, which straddles the line between tablet and smartphone.

With a 5.3-inch touch-screen, the Galaxy Note offers the largest screen estate among current high-end phones, but is more compact and portable than Apple Inc.'s 9.7-inch iPad, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 and other tablets. According to the Korean electronics giant, Galaxy Note sports the Super AMOLED Plus screen that provides the Galaxy S2 with unmatched brightness and colorful display, but this time supporting an eye-popping WXGA 1280 x 800 pixel, 285 ppi resolution. In contrast, rival Apple's newest offering, the iPhone 4S sports a puny 3.5-inch screen, although it has a 960 x 640 326 ppi resolution.

While it would be the smallest tablet, it's among the most powerful. Although not as powerful as the recently Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime, which has a 1.4 GHz quad-core processor, it offers the same multitasking and Web experience provided by the iPad 2. The iPad 2, which has 67 percent of the tablet market, sports a 1 G Hz dual-core A5 processor, 512 MB of RAM, and poor 0.3 MP and 0.7 MP cameras.

At 178 grams, the Galaxy Note is close to the 140-gram iPhone 4S and 130-gram Galaxy S2. In contrast, the 7-inch BlackBerry PlayBook weighs 425 grams and the iPad 2 comes at 600 grams.

As to pricing, while the Samsung Galaxy Note carries a hefty price tag (C$849.99 carrier free at Expansys Canada), it's worth the price since it functions as a smartphone and tablet. The unlocked version of the iPhone 4S is priced at $649 and the entry level tablet comes at $499.

A five-inch screen. Too large for a smartphone?

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