Remember that striking
new Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 that was unveiled just a few days ago at the IFA
consumer electronics show in Berlin, Germany? Well, Samsung has already pulled
the promotional material and prototypes off the show floor.
SlashGear first noticed this yesterday, and a spokesman
for Samsung simply stated, "Samsung has removed the Galaxy Tab 7.7 from
our stand at IFA. We cannot make any further comment as we have not received an
official statement from the court.”
Bloomberg confirmed that a Dusseldorf court on
Friday granted Apple's request to add the Galaxy Tab 7.7 to the list of banned
Samsung devices in Germany. As a result, Samsung is forbidden from selling or
marketing the Galaxy Tab 7.7 in that country.
“Samsung respects the court’s decision,” said Samsung
spokesman James Chung to Bloomberg.
He went on to add that Apple's actions in this matter “severely limits consumer
choice in Germany.”
As its name implies, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 features a
7.7" Super AMOLED display with a 1280x800 resolution. The tablet also
packs a 5,100 mAh battery, 1.4GHz dual-core processor, up to 64GB of storage,
microSD slot, 802.11n, Bluetooth 3.0, rear- and front-facing cameras, and
GPS.
A court injunction in early August weighed heavily in
Apple's favor, as it banned
all sales and marketing of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in the European Union. That
ruling was largely scaled back, however, and was limited to just Germany (the
Dusseldorf court did not have the authority to expand it's ban hammer to other
entities in the European Union).
Outside of the European Union, Apple has also succeeded in preventing
the sales and marketing of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Australia. Samsung later
decided to give
up fighting the injunction and will instead wait until a final ruling is
handled down on September 26 regarding its fate in the country.
Apple is on the warpath when it comes to protecting the
sales of its cash
cow iPad. Using rather "diplomatic" language, the Cupertino,
California-based company in
an April lawsuit chided Samsung; "Rather than innovate and develop its
own technology and a unique Samsung style for its smartphone products and
computer tablets, Samsung chose to copy Apple's technology, user interface and
innovative style in these infringing products."
Apple delivered an even more snarky statement to journalist
Ina Fried expressing its frustration with Samsung's "copy machine".
"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. This kind of blatant copying is wrong, and we need to protect
Apple’s intellectual property when companies steal our ideas.”
