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Another week, another round of bruising patent lawsuits between Apple and Samsung. And while Microsoft continues to play mind games with its OEMs, a whole new front of the smartphone war has opened up as companies scramble to produce screens with ludicrous pixel density. Get all that and more right here in today’s touch news roundup

Apple v Samsung Back From the Dead: Samsung Claims Jury Foreman Misconduct

You just can’t keep a good billion-dollar lawsuit down. Today, Samsung alleged that jury foreman Velvin Hogan failed to disclose what appears to be a seven-degrees-of-Kevin-Bacon relationship to the case. The specific claim, filed in federal court in San Jose on Tuesday, is that Hogan did not reveal that he had been sued in 1993 by Seagate Technology Inc., and that he eventually had to declare bankruptcy. Things get Kevin Bacon-y when, as reported by Bloomberg, “the lawyer who filed the complaint against Hogan is married to an attorney who works for the firm that represented Samsung in the trial against Apple.” Coupled with Samsung’s “substantial relationship” with Seagate, Samsung is attempting to get the verdict thrown out. In other lawsuit news, Samsung has also sued Apple over (you guessed it) patent infringements in the iPhone 5. (Bloomberg, CNET)

Goodbye Retina: Hello True 1080p, 443 PPI Smartphone Displays

Apple may have fired the first shop of the smartphone display arms-race with its branded Retina display, but Sharp is truly bringing out the big guns. The company announced that is manufacturing 5-inch displays that will bring smartphone users the same resolution they now only get from full-sized HD TVs and computer monitors. It’s difficult to say if smartphone users will be able to really detect a measurable difference between current screens and Sharp’s HD ones, but for perspective Sharp’s screens have a pixel-denisity of 443 PPI. By comparison, the iPhone 5 has a pixel density of 326 PPI. (Ars Technica)

Microsoft Not Done Undercutting OEMs, Plans to Release Own W8 Phone

Multiple sources on the net are saying that Microsoft is planning to release its own Windows 8 phone, despite high profile deals with Nokia, Samsung and HTC to make their own Windows 8 phones. BGR cited sources who told them that that Microsoft is looking to use a similar tactic as its Surface tablet — manufacturing its own device to compete on the high end of the industry against Apple’s iPhone 5 and Samsung’s Galaxy S III. According to BGR’s source, Microsoft will probably wait until after the first round of Windows 8 phone releases this Fall before rolling out its own phone. WPCentral, apparently with a different source than BGR, reported that the phone already exists and is in testing, writing: “The only thing we do know is when compared to current WP8 hardware it’s something unique.” (BGR, WPCentral)

Steve Wozniak: “The App Store Has Changed Our Lives”

On the occasion of Slashdot’s 15th birthday, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak was invited by the venerable site to field questions from its comment board. While touching on a variety of topics, one of the most interesting comments Wozniak made was that Apple may have left the door open to its competition when it went with a relatively small screen for its iPhone. Writing on the success of Apple’s products, Wozniak commented that “The App Store has changed our lives,” but suggested that we think constructively, cautioning against “trying to throw darts and insults” at other platforms. (Slashdot)