Samsung Yanks Galaxy Tab 7.7 from Exhibit After Court Order

Now you see it, now you don't: Samsung Electronics erased all traces of the Galaxy Tab 7.7 from its exhibition stand at the Internationale Funkausstellung (IFA) in Berlin on Saturday, just two days after launching the tablet there.

Until Sunday the left most sign advertised the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7. It was replaced after the Galaxy Tab 7.7 disappeared from the company's booth at the IFA consumer electronics show in Berlin. On opening day, a large backlit panel by the stand's entrance named three products: the Wave phone, the Tab tablet and, in the middle, the Note, which is between the two in size. By Sunday, an opaque board promoting the Wave had been stuck over the sign for the Tab, and staff on the stand refused to discuss the device or the changes. "That's confidential," said one.

Samsung's European PR director, Brendon Gore, was a little more forthcoming about the Galaxy Tab 7.7's fate.

"We took it away yesterday. It's not here," he said Sunday. "When we get an official communication from the Dusseldorf court, we can comment. That's all I can say."

Dusseldorf is where Apple is suing Samsung to stop sales of the 7.7's big brother, the Galaxy Tab 10.1.

European intellectual property laws allow companies to protect to the appearance of their products, in addition to the copyright, patent and trademark rights recognized in other jurisdictions. Apple claims the appearance of the larger Galaxy Tab is too similar to that of its iPad 2, the design of which is registered with the European Union's Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market.

A sign previously advertising the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 was replaced with an image of the Galaxy Note, after the tablet vanished from the booth. On August 25, the Dusseldorf court upheld a preliminary injunction ordering Samsung Electronics to stop selling the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Germany. The injunction had initially banned imports of the tablet across the E.U., but the court later reduced its scope to cover only Germany. A final ruling in the case is expected on September 9.

Samsung's lawyers must at least have anticipated the possibility that the court's ruling would apply to the smaller tablet too: The Galaxy Tab 7.7 demonstrated by Samsung staff following its launch on Thursday bore a prominent warning sticker: "Not for sale in Germany."

Dusseldorf is not the only place Apple and Samsung are fighting one another in the courts. On August 24 a Dutch court banned imports of three Samsung smartphones after finding that they breached an Apple patent, while in Australia Samsung has postponed the launch of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 pending the outcome of a lawsuit Apple filed with the Federal Court of Australia.

With additional reporting by Nick Barber of IDG News Service and Daniel Behrens of PC Welt.

Peter Sayer covers open source software, European intellectual property legislation and general technology breaking news for IDG News Service. Send comments and news tips to Peter at peter_sayer@idg.com.

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TouchPad Backlash: Retailers Say 'Sorry' For Order Errors

Barnes & Noble, Amazon.com, and Best Buy are facing a backlash from wannabe HP TouchPad buyers after each of the retailers oversold their supplies of the WebOS-based tablets. B&N is facing the brunt of angry customers with many disgruntled TouchPad bargain hunters taking to social networks to speak their mind.

Troubles began when Amazon.com, B&N, and Best Buy offered the discontinued $99 HP tablet on Monday and sold out their stock in record time. B&N sold all its TouchPad inventory and, inventory it mistakenly believed it had, in under an hour, according to reports. It was then forced to send out e-mails to many of the customers who’d bought a TouchPad and informed them their order hadn’t been processed.

B&N's customer service department explained in a e-mail: "Due to unexpected customer demand for this item, our inventory was depleted prior to your order being processed so we are unable to fulfill this item as requested." B&N continued to explain orders were canceled and that credit cards would not be charged.

It didn't take long before users complained on Twitter about the goof. “Thought I had a deal for HP Touchpad,” said Twitter user mal1981. “Got proof of payment and then cancellation from #barnesandnoble. Should have known! Don't trust them!” Users have even created an online petition to protest B&N.

Best Buy declined to comment on the story and B&N did not return multiple inquiries to discuss the matter.

Best Buy and Amazon (through its Onsale sub-site) were also forced to cancel orders and face similar backlashes from customers. Angry customers also flocked to social networks to share publicly their outrage. Grumpy customers complained bitterly about Best Buy and Amazon giving them the equivalent of a Bronx Cheer online.

Determined TouchPad shoppers were likely ticked-off since by the time most customers were notified their order was cancelled many Web and brick-and-mortar stores were out of stock.

Both B&N, through its e-mail to customers, and Amazon, through a comment on its site, have reiterated they are sorry and that customers will not be charged even if their credit cards may show an authorization for the order.

So customers who missed out can go ahead and try their luck with other retailers. If you still want to grab a touchpad we’ve got a list of 5 great sites to take a look at for last minute TouchPad fire sale deals.

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