Samsung tweaks Galaxy Tab to beat Apple ban

Samsung has redesigned the Galaxy Tab 10.1 for sale in Germany to beat a court order obtained by Apple on grounds that the original device copied the iPad. 

Apple's iPad 2 (left) and Samsung's Galaxy tablet

 

The new version will be called the Galaxy Tab 10.1N and features cosmetic tweaks including speakers on the front, rather than the sides, and a visible silver bezel.

"We modified the model to reflect Apple's claims," a Samsung spokesman said.

Samsung and Apple have been engaged in some of the most bitter battles of the technolgoy industry's patent wars. Apple has alleged that Samsung's Galaxy-branded tablets and smartphones "slavishly" copy the iPad and iPhone, and has launched legal action in several jurisdictions.

"It's no coincidence that Samsung's latest products look a lot like the iPhone and iPad, from the shape of the hardware to the user interface and even the packaging," Apple said in April.

"This kind of blatant copying is wrong, and we need to protect Apple's intellectual property when companies steal our idea."

The German courts granted Apple an injunction against the Galaxy Tab 10.1, which runs Google's Android operating system, in August, blocking sales in Europe's largest market. The judge said there was a "clear impression of similarity" between it and the iPad.

Samsung has countered Apple's legal attack with attempts to ban sales of the iPhone 4S in Australia, France, Italy and Germany.

The Galaxy Tab 10.1 was launched in Britain on August and received broadly positive reviews. The iPad still dominates tablet computing market, however, accounting for 67 per cent of sales in the third quarter, according to Strategy Analytics.