Certainly the hardware specs differ, but looking at a Samsung device is like looking like a tween girl trying her best to dress and do her hair like a favorite singer or actress. Touchwiz is the biggest offender here, but the Galaxy hardware looks alot like Apple hardware too. The "Nexus" line certainly differs.
I don't think many would agree with you. Many patents are filed and then squatted on as the company cannot figure out how to implement them in a cost-effective manner and bring them to the consumer. Further, Samsung is far more than a mobile device manufacturer, they produce a much wider range of products than Apple and should have a much broader patent portfolio because of it (so should IBM since they are extremely diverse). Apple is a very focused company comparatively. So sheer volume of patents while one measure of innovation, is not (in my opinion) the end-all and be-all of measurements.
I would love to see the USPTO publish a measure of the number of patents actually implemented in the assignee's products. Since many of these big companies are essentially filing patent applications to stifle innovation of competitors (acting like a patent troll) or to use defensively when sued by other companies.
If you look at Nilay Patel's analysis of Samsung's countersuit with Apple you will see he refers to it as "anti-climatic". Why? Because in that vast war chest of patents that Samsung holds they only managed to find 10 rather poor patents that remotely read on Apple's product.
With patents, and with pretty much everything, "Quality" and "Quantity" can be two very different things.
