Today’s mobile news roundup: Galaxy Nexus ban overturned; Sony to debut a Windows 8 on October 26; and Apple to launch iPad Mini on October 23.

Galaxy Nexus ban overturned

The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit overturned an earlier ruling by the District Court of California in banning the Samsung Galaxy Nexus back in June.  According to the Court of Appeals, the district court “abused its discretion in entering an injunction.”

Samsung was pleased with the decision stating that it “confirms that the role of patent law is to protect innovation and not to unreasonably stifle competition and restrict consumer choice.”

“We will continue to take all appropriate measures to ensure the availability of our innovative products,” the South Korean manufacturer added..

This is the second win for Samsung, though they lost the $1 billion case against Apple.  Earlier this month, the ban on the Galaxy Tab 10.1 was also lifted after the power to lift the ban was returned to Judge Lucy Koh.

In other Samsung news, their chief system architect Jim Mergard, left the company to be part of Apple’s team.  Mergard served as AMD’s vice president and chief engineer before joining Samsung last June.  Apple uses Samsung’s technology in their devices and it looks like they’re beefing up their talent to reduce their dependence on other companies as well.

Lastly, Samsung just launched Galaxy SIII Mini, already available for pre-order in the UK via Phones 4U ahead of its November 2 release.  The S3 Mini has a 4-inch screen and features a dual-core processor and is thicker than the original version.

Sony to debut Windows 8 hybrid on October 26

Microsoft will be officially unveiling its newest operating system, the Windows 8 platform, on October 26.  A lot of companies will be joining Microsoft at launch to show off their new line of Windows 8 devices.

Sony will be launching the Vaio Duo 11, which is an Ultrabook that converts to a 11.6-inch tablet.  The screen slides up to reveal a full keyboard, but it can also be detached from the base to act as a stand alone tablet.  The Duo 11 features an HD touchscreen LCD, backlit keyboard, Intel Core processor (Core i3 to Core i7), a battery sheet to extend battery life, has NFC to share contents quickly, and comes with a pressure-sensitive digitizer pen that lets you write on the touchscreen.

Apple to launch iPad Mini on October 23

Previous rumors stated that Apple was to send invites last October 10 for an event on October 17, and then make the iPad Mini available for purchase by November 2.  But it’s already the 12th of October and no one has yet received an invitation from Apple.

Apple’s silence was interpreted as they’ve abandoned their plan of launching the iPad Mini but according to sources, the launch event is set for the 23rd of October so we can expect Apple invites by next week.  There’s a possibility that the event will be held at Apple’s Town Hall Auditorium, as it would most likely be an intimate event.  Plus, a lot of important Apple products were launched at their Town Hall Auditorium so the venue is not an issue.