Samsung tablet to defy iPad in NZ

Samsung's latest tablet computer is still due out in New Zealand this week despite the company's patent war with Apple heading to a European court.

Samsung Electronics will appear in front of a judge in Germany on August 25 to appeal against last week's temporary ban on the tablet's sale.

Although the ban originally applied across the European Union, the court ruled today that it was not enforceable outside of Germany,

"The judges decided to limit the enforceability for now because there are doubts whether a German court has so a wide a jurisdiction over a company based in Korea," a court spokesperson said.

The patent battle in Europe follows Samsung's halt on Australian sales of the tablet computer a fortnight ago after Apple alleged its competitor's tablet infringed 10 Apple patents, including the "look and feel" and touch-screen technology of the iPad.

However, a spokesperson for Samsung New Zealand said the company was shipping the tablet to local retailers this week, and it should be available in the coming days.

The device went on sale in Asia and the United States in June.

Apple and Samsung are waging an escalating legal battle in multiple countries, accusing each other of infringing on technology and design patents as competition in the red-hot mobile-gadgets arena intensifies.

The International Trade Commission in the US has said it would investigate Apple's complaint that Samsung's products violated its intellectual property.

California-based Apple filed a complaint with the ITC on July 5 seeking to block its South Korean foe from importing a number of electronic devices.

That came less than a week after Samsung also sought to stop imports of Apple's popular iPads and iPhones.

The deepening dispute with Apple is undermining Samsung's ability to compete in a surging tablet market that is forecast to grow to US$53 billion ($64 billion) by 2015.

Losing the Europe market could cost Samsung an estimated half a million sales this year.

The Dusseldorf-based court is likely to release its decision on the German ban by early September, a spokesperson for the court said.

As well as hitting Samsung's sales, the intensifying patent dispute also threatens to strain a lucrative supply relationship as last year Apple was Samsung's second-largest customer, accounting for US$5.7 billion ($6.6 billion) of sales.