Last Saturday, US President Barack Obama's administration issued Apple Inc a reprieve. The decision that overturned the import ban on older iPhones and iPads from Apple was expected to help boost its sales.

According to an analyst from ISI Group, Brian Marshall, iPhone 4 which is currently priced lesser than the latest models would sell more quickly. "The Obama administration's decision is a net positive for Apple in the short term," Marshall stated through a phone interview.

Analysts said that the ruling would be Samsung's setback. Samsung won the import ban versus Apple Inc from the US International Trade Commission. Their fight started in June regarding a patent for transmitting information that was widely utilized in the mobile industry.

Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp's trade lawyer in Los Angeles, Susan John Ross, said that the decision would handicap the ability of Samsung to receive better licensing fees from Apple. "If Samsung had been successful in getting the exclusion order, it would put more pressure on Apple," she added.

In the second quarter, Samsung continued to be the world's biggest smartphone manufacturer based on shipments of around 72.4 million units. This accounted for 30.4% of the market share. On the other hand, Apple was able to ship 31.2 million units and obtained 13.2% of the market. The figure was the company's lowest record for three years and down from last year's 16.6%.