Samsung Gets ‘Free Publicity’ from Apple in Australia

All of the hub-bub surrounding Apple’s lawsuit against Samsung in Australia has created a media frenzy that has turned the Galaxy Tab 10.1 into a celebrity. The company’s Australia mobile chief told the Sydney Morning Herald that Apple’s court case was, “almost a blessing in disguise that made the product a household name.”
It appears that Apple has shot its own foot, so to speak, by trying to squelch the sale of Samsung’s tablet in Australia. Samsung Australia’s vice president of communications, Tyler McGee told the Sydney Morning Herald that the coverage garnered by the court case brought free publicity to the tablet that sky-rocketed its awareness among consumers, “compared to probably what it would’ve been based on the investment that we would’ve put into it from a marketing perspective.”
The ban on the Galaxy Tab 10.1 has been lifted in Australia and sales are set to begin this Friday and Samsung is celebrating with a big fat “nanner- nanner” to Apple. Twitter user Martin Aungle posted a picture of an add taken out in the Sun-Herald newspaper that reads, “The Tablet Apple Tried To Stop.”

McGee told the Sydney Morning Herald that the Australian version of the Galaxt Tab was not altered in any way that would make a difference. “If you look at the specs of the device they’re identical to the global device that’s available out there,” he said.
Now that the Galaxy Tab 10.1 has become a “household name” in Australia, will sales of the device out shine those of the iPad? It’s possible that the temporary ban will have caused shoppers to fill their stockings with Apple’s tablet instead, fearing that the Galaxy Tab 10.1 would never make it to store shelves. However, when asked how many units Samsung planned to ship to Australia, McGee said the company was bringing in as many units as possible, but warned, “there will probably be a short supply against the demand.”
[Via: Apple Insider, Engadget]