Samsung Electronics will launch a modified version of its Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Germany next week, after sales of the original were banned by a German court for being too similar to Apple's iPad 2.
The company has not yet decided on the exact launch date for the modified tablet, Samsung spokesman Jose Suh said on Thursday, but the new device, the Galaxy Tab 10.1N, has already appeared for sale on the websites of German retailers. Webs-shop has a 16GB model in white, while EP MediaStore has a 32GB Wi-Fi model in black, and IM Superstore the 64GB Wi-Fi model.
The new versions of the tablet will only go on sale in Germany, said Samsung spokesman Nam Ki Yung. The new version moves the speakers from the side of the device to the front, and modifies the design of the bezel so that silver is visible, he said.
Yung emphasized that the design was made in response to the German legal authorities, and not to Apple's claims of patent infringement.
In September, the district court in Düsseldorf ruled that Samsung must not sell the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Germany because of its similar appearance to Apple's iPad 2, the design of which is registered with the E.U.'s Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market. The Korean electronics giant has appealed the decision.
Samsung is involved in legal battles with Apple in Europe, Asia and North America over patents related to their phones and tablets.
Comments
Matt Egan said: Far be it from me to defend Apple especially in this instance but I believe its contention is that because Samsung makes part for Apple it had access to designs of the iPad and may have taken a short cut by copying part of those designs
Maccyroo said: This a version of political correctness gone madThese cosmetic changes are so small that it seems ridiculous Particularly bearing in mind that the photos that Apple submitted to get the original ban were doctored to make the Tab look more like ipad2 than it actually didThe loser as always will be the consumer as at sometime somewhere Samsung will claw back the money it has had to spend on the modifications from its customers with higher retail prices maybe even on entirely different productsI am all in favour of companies vigorously protecting their intellectual property rights but Apple are pushing things too farALL tablets are basically rectangular with thin bezels and big widescreens and I cannot believe it matters where the speakers are situated This latest round of corporate courtroom chicanery is madness Are Apple going to sue every other manufacturer for using glass in their screens as ipads dispalys are made of glassMaybe the directors of the top tech companies can allsue each other for having their legs and arms in the same place as their fellows Steve Wozniak a co-founder of Apple with Steve Jobs is aroundfive years older than Bill Gates So can he now sue Gates for having his limbs andbody parts in the same place because he was born first It is all ABSURD