For the Android faithful down under in Australia it appears that if you are waiting to purchase the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 for the time being you will be unable to do so as the word is Sammy has halted sales of the Android 3.1 Honeycomb slate until after a lawsuit by Apple that seeks an Australian injunction.
According to an article over on Bloomberg, Apple lawyer Steven Burley has told Sydney Federal Court Justice Annabelle Bennett that the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 infringes ten Apple patents, including the “look and feel” and touch screen of the Apple iPad, and is seeking an Australian injunction to stop Samsung from selling the slate.
Burley also stated that Apple want to stop Samsung from selling the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 in other counties as well but the lawyer didn’t stipulate which countries that would be.
Apparently South Korea based Samsung has agreed to halt selling the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Australia until the lawsuit is resolved or Samsung wins court approval, which is apparently the result of an accord reached between lawyers during a hearing break.
However, if for some reason Apple loses the lawsuit they have agreed to pay Samsung damages although just how much those damaged amount to dollar wise was not disclosed.
Apparently before the agreement was announced, Burley said that the Australian injunction was necessary due to Samsung has had “announcements of an imminent launch of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 device ongoing since July 20.”
Neil Murray, a lawyer for Samsung said that Apple is basing their claim on the US version of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, which is apparently different to the Galaxy tablet offered in Australia, and Samsung has agreed to give Apple 3 samples of the Australian version a minimum of 7-days before they start planning to distribute the tablet.
Justice Annabelle Bennett has scheduled ah August the 29th hearing to review the status of the case and if necessary set a trial date.
Thus if you are in the land of the kangaroo it appears that your waiting to grab the Samsung Galaxy Tab10.1 will continue for some time yet thanks to Apple. So if you are in Australia does this halt in offering the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 make you want to opt for another Android tablet or if are somewhat annoyed that you can’t yet pick up the device feel free to vent said annoyance to our comments area below.