Korean electronics company Samsung gives thanks to Apple for all its free publicity due to the legal battle regarding the Galaxy Tab. According to Samsung Australia’s Telecommunications VP Tyler McGee, Apple inadvertently made its tablet computer a name that all households know. The company believes the legal battle has done more good in advertising than its own marketing sector could have done.
Rather than decreasing the rate of purchase for Samsung and removing its products, Apple generated lots of buzz for Samsung’s devices. Due to high demand in Australia, the Galaxy Tab is making a return to store shelves. In fact, the company shipped a large quantity of tablets to the country for its Dec. 16 release, which is just in time for the Christmas season shopping. Several carriers like Vodafone have accepted pre-orders. However, McGee said demand for the Galaxy Tab is much higher than the supply, which means shortages are expected.
On Friday, Sydney’s court denied Apple’s bid to appeal to the High Court on a previous ruling that reversed the ban on Galaxy Tab sales. In the beginning, Apple was able to get a preliminary injunction, banning the sale of the 10.1 Galaxy Tab in Australia. However, the ban is no longer in effect. Other countries in the world have similar patent lawsuits. McGee did not specify on the amount of sales the company missed out on because of the temporary injunction.
Folks in Australia who want to purchase the Galaxy Tab don’t have to worry with a cut version of the device, which is what many people have feared because of the patent infringement claims Apple made.
McGee said the device’s specifications are similar to the specifications of devices around the world.
Samsung is selling its 16GB Galaxy Tab models between A$579 and A$729, depending on whether or not the user is getting Wi-Fi and 3G or just Wi-Fi. Apple currently sells the 16GB iPad2 for a price of A$579, which makes the Samsung tablet a major competitor in the price category. Samsung has plans to release its 7.7in Galaxy Tab by end of 2011 with an 8.9in tablet coming in the first three months of 2012.