Samsung gives in to Apple, delays Australian tablet launch | Apple blocks rival's tablet from entering Australia

Samsung has bowed to pressure from rival Apple to delay the launch of its Galaxy tablet in Australia, suggesting that the legal battle between the two is going badly for the company.

The 10.1in version of the Galaxy Tab will not be sold in Australia at this time, according to Reuters, due to an agreement between Samsung and Apple.

The agreement appears to have followed an application by Apple to the Federal Court in Sydney to ban the importation, promotion or sale of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Austrlia without either Apple's or the court's permission.

Apple also requested that all samples of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 be sent to it so that they could be destroyed, according to court documents. It's not yet clear if Samsung has agreed to do this. We imagine that this would be a point of some contention between the two companies.

The tablet was supposed to launch on 11 August. It's not clear when, if ever, it will eventually launch in Australia, but Samsung was keen to point out that it will launch at some stage in the future when "certain conditions are met", and that this latest setback is merely a delay.

The move suggests that Samsung is not confident that the multiple lawsuits Apple has launched against it in Australia, the US and other territories will go in its favour. Apple claims that Samsung "slavishly" copied the designs of its Iphone and Ipad devices. Samsung has countersued.

Samsung attempted to reassure customers that this decision "does not affect any other Samsung smartphone or tablet available in the Australian market or other countries", but many will be wondering if the company will be forced to shelve new product launches across the globe if they might potentially infringe some of Apple's patents.

Australia is a very small market for tablets, with a market share of only 2.4 per cent, according to IDC figures. If the delay is limited to this region Samsung can probably continue relatively unscatched.

The problem is that since it has blinked there, it might also be willing to give in to Apple in other more important geographies where Apple has sued it, including the huge US market and Samsung's home territory, South Korea. µ



Samsung gives in to Apple, delays Australian tablet launch | Apple blocks rival's tablet from entering Australia