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Technology company Samsung announced Sept. 4 it is halting production of its Galaxy Tab tablet in Germany after Apple won an injunction against the company on the grounds of patent infringement. Samsung pulled the device from the IFA trade show in Berlin, a company spokesman confirmed. The device disappeared from Samsung’s booth at the IFA show in Berlin, one of the world’s largest consumer electronics trade shows. “Samsung respects the court’s decision,” Samsung told Bloomberg News, but added it would “severely” limit consumer choice in the country.
“In the court’s view, Apple has a case to keep” the German ban, Bloomberg News reported Presiding Judge Johanna Brueckner-Hofmann saying. “There are a lot of alternative ways to design a tablet device, as the market amply shows. We think Apple’s EU design rights grant a medium range of protection, if not a broad one.”
Samsung had just introduced the Galaxy Tab 7.7, the latest addition to Samsung’s range of tablets, at the start of the convention. The tablet offers a Super AMOLED Plus display with a wider and clearer, ultra-vivid screen and a dual 1.2 GHz processor for fast connectivity and long‐lasting battery. Running the latest Google Android 3.2 “Honeycomb” operating system, Galaxy Tab 7.7 is only .31 inches thick and weighs around three-quarters of a pound.
The Tab 7.7 also runs the Samsung TouchWiz user interface that is proving popular on the Tab 10.1 and Tab 8.9 model. TouchWiz boasts a Live Panel menu to let users add their own digital pictures to the home screen of Tab 7.7 with digital pictures, as well as a “Mini Apps” tray of features such as task manager, calendar and music.
Before hundreds of IFA 2011 attendees at the start of the convention, Boo-Keun Yoon, president of Samsung Electronics’ visual display business, welcomed the crowd following the first of a series of video vignettes entitled “A Smarter Life: A Smarter World” in which Samsung consumers detailed what they need and want from various products. Each product segment was preceded by a similar vignette.
“How does Samsung continue to contribute to a smarter world? We accomplish this by investing $8.1 billion U.S. in research and development,” he said. “We accomplish this by continuing to be one of the world’s top holders of intellectual property patents. And we accomplish this by constantly listening to the voices of our consumers.”
Reinforcing the company’s presence across many product categories during the event, Yoon highlighted Samsung’s entrance into a new era of TV design and its growing product lineups in the digital imaging, IT solutions and mobile categories, including a mobile chat service that reflects Samsung’s platform agnostic approach.
“The year ahead is filled with anticipation,” Yoon said. “We are in a fascinating period of transition as we evolve from our history as a provider of world class hardware products to becoming a leader in software and services. Our leadership in each market can be summed up in a single word – innovation.”