Tab 10.1 may be making an appearance in Australia after all – in the guise of Tab 10.1N.
German site Mobifilip.de, uncovered the rejigged 10.1N, which now includes a redesigned bezel or metal frame around the Honeycomb Tab, which appears to have been pulled back from the screen front. The Tab 10.1N is now on sale in Germany (online), where Tab 10.1 is also banned, similar to here.
 Click to enlarge |
| Galaxy Tab 10.1 (top) and Galaxy Tab 10.1N (below) Image: Mobifilip.de |
From the images (right), this appears to be one of the main cosmetic changes to Samsung Tab 10.1, which Apple has banned from sale in Australia and Germany, claiming it infringes on at least three patents pertaining to swipe and touch technology and is a carbon copy of the iPad 2.
According to patents expert Florian Meuller, “Samsung has designed and slightly renamed the product (it’s now called Galaxy Tab 10.1N), apparently in an attempt to steer clear of infringement of Apple’s asserted Community design, a design-related intellectual property right.”
The Tab 10.1, hailed as ‘thinner, faster’ Android alternative to rival iPad 2, is currently banned from sale in Australia, since Judge Annabelle Bennett granted Apple an interim injunction pending a full hearing on October 13, which is to kick off next week, November 25, in Sydney’s Federal Court.
However, Meuller is still “unsure” as to whether the redesign avoids the legal ban currently in place in both Germany and Australia.
A spokesperson from Samsung Australia told SmartHouse they “haven’t heard anything about that [from Samsung],” so it is still unclear whether the Tab 10.1N will make an appearance here, but the Koreans could be biding their time until the outcome of the tablet case with Apple case next week.
Apple also succeeded in getting Samsung to abandon plans to launch its Tab 7.7 at IFA in July, by applying for a second injunction blocking the new device so it will be interesting to see how Apple will respond to this latest attempt to get Tab 10.1 back on the shelves, in particular to grab customers during the Christmas electronics boom.
“But without a doubt, Samsung has upped the ante for Apple and its lawyers in case they wish to request a new injunction,” Meueller added.
And this isn’t the first time the Korean giant has altered a device to sidestep a legal ban. It also performed a swift rejig of its Galaxy S, S II and Ace smartphones for the Dutch market, changing the way users scroll through phone images in order to get around software patents under contention with Apple.
