Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics appear, involved in a contentious battle in the courtroom and in the mobile devices market, will be engaged in another showdown: mini tablets.

This month, one launched a smartphone that boasts of a bigger screen, a facial recognition system, and the latest mobile operating system from Google. Apple launched a phone that recycled the design of the fourth generation iPhone but has improved specs and a voice-recognition system.

On Nov. 13, Samsung will launch in the U.S the Galaxy Tab 7.0.

The tablet has a 7-inch screen, runs on the Honeycomb operating system, has a 1.2 GHz dual core processor and 1 GB of RAM.

Unconfirmed reports say Apple will release the new iPad mini along with the third generation 9.7-inch iPad in early 2012. The iPad mini will have a 7.85-inch screen.

Tablet War

Apple has sold more than 40 million iPad units since April 2010. The iPad, which starts at $499 (for 16 GB iPad 2), has 70% of the market despite the wide array of tablets provided by competition.

Apple sold 11.2 million iPads in the quarter ended Sept. 24, 2011.

Amazon has launched a 7-inch tablet that's available for a mind-blowing $199. The new tablet is seen as a vulnerable alternative or threat to the iPad given it's 60% cheaper than the iPad and it's backed by Amazon's cloud infrastructure and deep array of digital content.

Samsung is ready to market test its 7-inch Galaxy Tab 7.0 in the U.S., with the $399.99 entry-level version ready for pre-orders Oct. 23. The tablet weighs just about 345 grams, has a depth of 9.9 mm, and sports a four-way rotation 1024 x 600p WSVGA TFT touchscreen. Storage comes at 16 GB or 32 GB plus there's an expandable memory of 32 GB. Along with Honeycomb 3.2, Samsung's tablet ahs a TouchWiz user interface to offer an intuitive and interactive experience with Live Panel, Mini Apps, and Clipboard. Unlike Apple's Safari, the Android browser is also supported by Adobe Flash technology. The Galaxy Tab 7.0 is loaded with the Peel Smart Remote app, which enables users to find and watch their favorite TV shows and discover new shows based on their preferences.

At a conference last year, Jobs said Apple is not producing a smaller iPad, saying a 7-inch screen size is too small to effectively serve the functions of the device. "The reason we [won't] make a 7-inch tablet isn't because we don't want to hit that price point, it's because we think the screen is too small to express the software," Jobs said. "As a software driven company we think about the software strategies first."

But Android tablets are gaining ground. Android-powered tablet computers accounted for 27 percent of global sales during the three-month period, jumping from 23 percent a year earlier, Strategy Analytics said in a statement. The iPad's share fell to 67 percent from 96 percent.

And Cook-led Apple appears to be changing course, if the unconfirmed reports materialize. Chinese news outlet UDN reports that Apple has taken delivery on sample 7.85-inch LCD panels from LG Display and AU Optronics (both are known display suppliers for Apple). The iPad Mini, which will have the same 1024 x 768-pixel resolution as the iPad 2, is expected to be released in 2012.

"There's a healthy consumer appetite for Apple tablets, and I think Apple will test that appetite with variations on its original theme, the same way the iPod spawned a bevy of model types during its rise to prominence," says GIGAOM's Darrell Etherington.

"An iPad with a smaller display size, last generation chip and stripped of some unneeded extras like dual-camera support could open up a brand new audience of people who would love to gain access to the iOS app store but don't want to fork over $500 for the privilege of doing so," says About.com's Daniel Nations.

"In addition to being cheaper due to smaller display panel size, it will be a much more portable device, easier to carry around, which could make it attractive to a whole new set of customers," Unwired View's Staska says.

Brian White of Ticonderoga, suggests that the "mini" may be referring to the price tag, Boy Genius Report noted, which he said could be in the "mid-to-high $200 range.

Facial Recognition vs. Siri

Although Samsung is only second to Nokia in the entire mobile phone market, Apple leads the market for high-end phones.

Apple sold 4 million units of the iPhone 4S in the first three days of release. Samsung's best-selling phone to date, the Galaxy S 2, sold 3 million units in the first 55 days.

But Samsung hopes to gain further ground against the Cupertino, California-based company with a new smartphone co-created with search giant Google Inc. Samsung's Galaxy Nexus counts on facial-recognition security and a host of unique features provided by Ice Cream Sandwich to challenge Apple's iPhone 4S.

Samsung and Google will start selling in November the Galaxy Nexus, which features a 4.65-inch 1,280×720-pixel Super AMOLED HD with curved glass, a dual-core 1.2 GHz Ti OMAP 4460 processor, 1 GB of RAM, a 1.75 mAh battery, 1.3 MP front camera and 5 MP rear camera capable of 1080p video, 4G, Wi-Fi a/b/g/n, Bluetooth, GPS, Barometer, and NFC support for mobile payments. Nexus Prime runs on Ice Cream Sandwich, which, among many unique features, gives users complete control over the amount of mobile data they use, and a state-of-the-art facial recognition technology to unlock your phone with nothing more than a smile. Ice Cream Sandwich also features 'talk-to-type' technology, image-editing tools, and off-line search for e-mails.

Apple on Oct. 12 finally released the iPhone 4S, which sports a 3.5-inch screen; an 8-megapixel, 1080p high-definition camera; an A5 dual-core chip processor that is seven times faster than the graphics processor in the iPhone 4; 512 MB of RAM; two antennae to transmit and receive data; CDMA and GSM connectivity; 8 hours of 3G talk-time; and new applications like Siri and Find My Friends. Siri is a voice-recognition system that turns the device into a hands-free personal assistant.

Patent Disputes

Already engaged in stiff competition, Apple and Samsung are involved in expensive courtroom battles across three continents. Apple has sued Samsung on claims that the Galaxy devices are "slavishly" imitating the design and functionality of the iPad and iPhone. Courts in Australia, the Netherlands, and Germany have issued injunctions against the release of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 and/or Galaxy S smartphones. In September, Samsung said it will no longer allow Apple and others to have a "free ride" of its technology. Samsung early this month countered with a lawsuit seeking a ban on the sales of iPhone 4S in Italy and France on grounds that it violates Samsung's wireless patents.

Last week, a judge in federal court in California granted Samsung's request to dismiss certain antitrust claims by Apple. The judge didn't grant Apple on its request to block Samsung from selling its Galaxy line of mobile devices in the U.S.

Aside from Samsung, Apple has also pursued claims against Android device makers HTC and Motorola.

"I'm going to destroy Android, because it's a stolen product," Jobs's biographer quoted him as saying early last year.

"I'm willing to go thermonuclear war on this," Jobs said, according to biographer Walter Isaacson. "I don't want your money. If you offer me $5 billion, I won't want it. I've got plenty of money. I want you to stop using our ideas in Android, that's all I want."

Samsung hopes to end further litigation with Apple by designing the Galaxy Nexus to be Apple-proof.

Samsung's mobile chief Shin Jong-kyun stated that the Galaxy Nexus was designed to avoid any potential patent disputes with Apple.

"Now we will avoid everything we can and take patents very seriously," he was quoted as saying. He also said, "We will see if (the Galaxy Nexus) will be 100 percent free (from Apple-fueled litigation)".