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I've replaced a few touchscreens on my roughly handled devices and found that tablet and phone construction both rely on the same basic concepts.

This is how to approach it.

First, get familiar with the makeup of your device. The construction is loosely the same across devices and generally includes a back cover, motherboard-containing frame, LCD-containing chassis, LCD, front frame or bezel, and the touch-sensitive glass sandwich -- which is called a digitizer.

Tools that you'll need include miscellaneous small screwdrivers, a heat gun, scissors, double-sided adhesive tape, canned air, work gloves and two dinner-table bowls to keep screws from getting lost.

Replacement digitizers can be obtained from auction sites like eBay.

Step 1: Remove the device's back cover and pull the main battery.

Step 2: Loosen any stuck-on cabling that is now exposed, like the camera cable, for example. Then remove cables if the clasps are exposed. These cables simply slide out of any exposed sockets after clasps are released.

Tip: The tape-style cables are often held onto the frame and parts by adhesive, so tug gently to release.

Step 3: Unscrew the Phillips or Torx screws that hold the motherboard-containing back frame to the LCD-containing chassis and place the screws in a bowl for safe-keeping.

Tip: There can be lots of screws here -- my Toshiba tablet has 14.

Step 4: Separate the back frame from the chassis by gently and carefully pulling the two apart.

Tip: Perform a visual check for any hidden, unremoved screws if you detect resistance. Look for any hidden cables that connect the glass to the LCD-containing chassis and remove if necessary.

Step 5: Remove any further cable assemblies that have become exposed by the separation of parts.

Tip: Maintain visual cues as to which cable to reattach where. For example, place them on the work surface face-up in the order of removal.

Step 6: Remove the LCD-containing chassis from the front frame or bezel and glass assembly by unscrewing a second batch of screws.

Store the second set of screws in a second bowl. Remove any further parts such as the camera.

Tip: Don't touch the LCD face.

Step 7: Separate the existing, damaged glass from the bezel or front frame by waving the heat gun over the adhesive join and pulling apart. Wear gloves here because you will further break the glass.

Tip: Be patient while the heat gun loosens the adhesive and be careful not to break the bezel or front frame while removing the glass -- you will need the bezel intact.

Step 1: Attach fresh two-sided tape to areas of the bezel that have lost their stickiness. Use the existing adhesive where possible. Don't allow tape to overlap the visual part of the glass.

Step 2: Look for any foam padding or seals and reattach.

Step 3: Thread the digitizer cable and remount the new digitizer glass to the bezel by firmly pressing it into place. Then remove any dust from the LCD and glass with canned air.

Tip: Do not touch the inside of the glass -- you won't be able to get rid of the fingerprints after assembly.

Reattach any parts, like the camera. Then reassemble chassis, frame and so on, in order.

You may have to assemble and disassemble a couple of times because the two sets of screws use similar holes. It's easy to insert the initial set of screws into the wrong holes. You'll only know you've done that when the second set won't fit because you've already used the hole.

Tip: Look for solid connections when attaching cables. Ensure that the clasps are open first. Usually the up position is open.

In general, firm snaps indicate a good assembly. Always reapply any existing metallic tape. Count the screws. If you have any left over, backtrack.

Samsung argues that the judge who ordered its Galaxy Tab 10.1 to be banned from sale in Australia “misunderstood and misapplied” basic requirements of the law and elements of her reasoning were “grossly unjust”.

The appeal in the patent infringement case is being heard by the full bench including Justice Dowsett, Justice Foster and Justice Yates - who haven't made a decision yet but appeared to support a number of Samsung's arguments

Apple was successful in October in winning a temporary injunction banning sales of Samsung's tablet in Australia until a final hearing could take place next year. Despite the injunction, several online sellers have made a mockery of the ruling by importing the Galaxy Tab 10.1 from overseas and offering it to Australians.

“We contend that the primary judge made a series of fundamental errors in her disposition of the interlocutory application. They were all errors of principle,” Samsung's lawyer told the court.

“Her honour misunderstood and misapplied the basic requirements concerning interlocutory injunctions as laid down in [previous cases]."

Samsung's lawyer claimed Justice Bennett did not attempt to properly evaluate the strength of Apple's case for infringement or whether the patents in question were invalid. He said she decided Apple had a prima facie case for patent infringement without conducting the proper tests.

He said that given a temporary ban of the product would effectively render it dead for this market - as it would be overtaken by newer models - “the strength of the prima facie case has to be extremely high to justify relief”.

“It [the Galaxy Tab 10.1] is stopped dead in its tracks, perhaps at a critical time in the development of this market,” he said.

One of the judges appeared to express sympathy with this argument, saying: “If you have a fast moving product which if taken off the market, destroys the opportunities available to the newcomer and preserves the monopoly of the incumbent then you'd have to have a very close look at the strength of the case.”

Samsung's lawyer detailed how his side believed Justice Bennett did not abide by the precedents set out in previous similar cases. He also went through the judgment and the relevant patents in heavy detail, outlining where he believes Justice Bennett erred and why Samsung's product differed from Apple's iPad.

“In summary it is our submission that a review of the judgment, the whole judgment, shows that her honour misunderstood the concept of prima facie case,” Samsung's lawyer said.

“In our submission this court will need to re-exercise the power to determine whether to grant or not grant an interlocutory injunction given the errors that were committed by the primary judge.”

Samsung said Justice Bennett's decision to penalise Samsung in her judgment for failing to agree to an early final hearing of the case was “grossly unjust”.

He said Samsung would have agreed to an early final hearing in March next year but Apple's terms – such as that Samsung be prevented from launching both the Galaxy Tab 10.1 and other tablet products in Australia until the final hearing – were unreasonable.

“Samsung is then punished by her honour because it was unwilling to agree to an unfair hearing,” he said.

One of the judges appeared to agree with this proposition and another was critical of Apple's claim that, had the Samsung tablet been allowed to launch, Apple would suffer huge harm. He sceptically asked Apple's lawyer whether “the whole of Apple's going to come tumbling down” if Samsung had been permitted to sell the tablet until the final hearing.

Apple's lawyers rejected Samsung's arguments and said Justice Bennett had made “no error in principle” and had carefully considered a complex case. He said she would have been keenly aware of the serious consequences of granting Apple the temporary ban on the tablet.

“It was not a case of her honour ticking boxes but rather engaging in a careful and detailed review,” Apple's lawyer said.

Both sides acknowledged there was an element of “game playing” in their court battle.

Separately, Samsung has launched several counter-claims against Apple and in a case running in the Federal Court claims Apple's iPhone models infringe its patents.

The Australian court cases are part of a global war between Apple and Samsung, which was kicked off by Apple after it claimed Samsung “slavishly copied” its iPad.

Now that Microsoft has given us a much more detailed look at Windows 8 and its plans for tablets, the analyses are starting to come in. Gartner Research, for one, predicts Microsoft will capture 10 percent of the tablet market by the end of 2015.

By that time, Apple’s iPad will command the market with a 46 percent share, and tablets running Google Android will reach 36 percent, according to Gartner data. Research in Motion’s QNX operating system will power 8 percent of tablets, Gartner said.

The research firm wasn’t all that optimistic about Microsoft’s chances in the consumer tablet space.

“The current buzz around Windows 8 driven by the demonstrations seen at the Build conference might be short-lived if Microsoft’s push to use the new OS across devices comes at a compromise in usability,” Gartner said in a news release. “Moreover, the late arrival might limit its appeal, especially to consumers, as Apple and Android will be more entrenched by then. Microsoft’s platform will find its biggest opportunities in the enterprise segment, where IT departments could benefit from smoother integration with existing Microsoft software.”

The tablet market itself is expected to grow five-fold in that time, from 63.6 million sales in 2011 to 326.3 million by the end of 2015, Gartner said.

With Windows 8, not expected to widely launch until late next year, is Microsoft a day late and a dollar short?

Visit the Microsoft Blog index for more Microsoft news and technology news, and seattlepi.com for more Seattle news.