Samsung may have won the court battle, but has Apple already won the tablet war?
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It’s finally over. Samsung has trumped Apple’s claims that its 10.1 Tab is a “slavish imitation” and is now legally allowed to sell its tablet in the Australian market.
But is it too late? Isn’t Apple’s months of stalling a victory in itself?
It is believed Samsung’s Galaxy 10.1 Tab was to be launched in August, with a dedicated event being held on the 11th. The event was cancelled after their litigation with Apple become more complex.
Three and-a-bit months ago, the technology harboured inside the super-slim Galaxy 10.1 would make you salivate. Its 8.6mm thin body was host to a dual-core 1GHz Cortex A9 processor, 1GB of RAM, and up to 64GB of internal memory.
Compared to Apple’s iPad 2, it has more RAM, better front and rear facing cameras, more versatile WiFi functionalities (such as Wi-Fi hotspot), a bigger, higher resolution screen with a better pixel density, is thinner and lighter.
The latter two undermine Apple’s iPad 2 moto: ‘Thinner. Lighter. Faster.’
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Although the specs are impressive, they’ve lost their ‘wow’ factor. Worse yet, Motorola is expected to release 2 second generation Xoom tablets with similar performing innards. With other vendors bringing the same gear into the tablet market, Samsung’s Galaxy 10.1 is just not special anymore.
Samsung has also missed out on months of sales revenue in which time Apple’s iPad 2 has thrived, claiming a 73.4 percent stake of worldwide tablet sales according to Gartner research. On Apple’s unflinching tablet dominance, the IT research company said:
“Apple delivers a superior and unified user experience across its hardware, software and services. Unless competitors can respond with a similar approach, challenges to Apple’s position will be minimal.”
Samsung’s Galaxy 10.1 was such a rival, although a few months ago.
Despite their legal victory, Samsung are still well behind in the tablet race. The only solace found is in knowing they were the one company who could produce a product threatening enough to force Apple’s hand.
Let’s hope that notoriety benefits them come Christmas.