Samsung hasn't had much success in its attempts to launch the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Australia thanks to an injunction against it awarded to Apple last month, but it looks like Samsung's luck may be changing. In a hearing today on Samsung's appeal of the aforementioned injunction, Australian Federal Court Justice Lindsay Foster said that the outcome of the original case "looks terribly fair to Apple and not terribly fair to Samsung." Apple lawyer Stephen Burley claimed that if the Tab 10.1 injunction was lifted and the device was put on sale before the full trial kicks off in March, it could affect sales of iPhones and Macs because customers that buy one device tend to buy other similar products. Justice John Dowsett wasn't totally convinced of Burley's claim, calling it "very speculative." Dowsett said that the judging panel would try to issue a ruling next week on Samsung's request that the injunction be lifted.
Although the judge's statements about Apple's injunction against the Tab 10.1 shouldn't be interpreted as a guarantee that the ban will be lifted, it is some of the more positive news we've heard for Samsung out of the suit so far. Samsung has said that the Tab 10.1 will be "commercially dead" if it's not available in time for the holidays, adding that it may scrap the Australian launch altogether if it can't get the slate in customers' hands during the shopping season. Whether or not Samsung would actually kill the Tab 10.1 in Australia remains to be seen, but this appeal may be one of Sammy's last shots at actually pushing the device onto store shelves for the all-important holiday season. Stay tuned!
