There is a big difference between being inspired by a design, and blatantly ripping it off.
Indeed. Apple is now famous for both (Inspiration: LE1 speaker->iMac; Ripoff: Swiss Railway clock->iPhone clock). If the iPod design is "inspired by" the T3 radio design, and not a blatant ripoff, then current Samsung phones are definitely not ripoffs of the iPhone design.
This whole deal is about design patents (or registered designs, depending on jurisdiction), basically the look of the box that the electronics are housed in; the content ot the box is immaterial in this respect.
Osmium made the claim (which I quoted) that Apple's rise to power marks a dividing line in history, with consumer electronics from before and after that line recognizably different. My reference to two decades-old products that look far more similar to Apple hardware than a Samsung phone does to an iPhone is meant to address that specific claim.
Also, seconding what pbhjpbhj said, design is all that matters in the context of a design patent/registered design.
So the Braun T3 radio[0] and LE1 speaker[1] are definitely post Apple, right?
[0] https://barryborsboom.files.wordpress.com/2008/10/172_721-ra...
[1] https://barryborsboom.files.wordpress.com/2008/10/mac-speake...