Samsung officially postpones Australian Galaxy Tab 10.1 launch

Samsung originally planned to host a media event on August 11 for the Australian launch of its Galaxy Tab 10.1, but it has now officially been postponed, according to TechCrunch. Over the past couple of days, Samsung's story has changed multiple times. First it said the Galaxy Tab would launch in Australia despite Apple's patent-related complaints to Australia's Federal Court. Then, Samsung said it had no plans to launch the Galaxy Tab in Australia in the first place, and its decision had nothing to do with Apple's complaint.

The latest update on the matter seems to be a combination of all the previous takes. Samsung chooses not to classify the situation aswithdrawing the Galaxy Tab from sale since the launch hasn't happened yet. The company also states that the decision to postpone the Australian launch is directly tied to the current legal situation with Apple. Samsung appears to be trying to work around the patent battle by producing a specialized Australian variant of the Galaxy Tab, but the unit is still in production with no ETA for a launch, and TechCrunch speculates that launching a variant of the same product may violate the spirit of the agreement.

Samsung isn't characterizing this as an injunction against the Galaxy Tab's launch, but rather a mutual agreement between it and Apple as part of the ongoing "look and feel" patent dispute between the two companies. Another hearing on the matter is scheduled for August 29, but a final resolution to the case may take years. Meanwhile, in the United States the ITC has agreed to review the case, and the Commission has the power to impose an injunction against US imports of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 if it agrees with Apple's position.