Samsung: We’re Really Delaying Australia Galaxy Tab Launch

Following a report that Samsung won’t be selling its Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet in Australia, and its insistence that it will, the company is now saying it won’t — at least for now.

In a statement to Gizmodo on Wednesday, Samsung said:

In light of the current legal proceedings by Apple Inc. against Samsung Electronics Australia, Samsung regrets to announce it will be postponing its media launch event, scheduled for 11th August 2011, for the Samsung GALAXY Tab 10.1.

Samsung will announce a new date for the GALAXY Tab 10.1 media launch event as soon as practicable.

Apple and Samsung have been locked in a legal battle over patent infringement claims for several months. Both companies have alleged that the other’s mobile devices use patented technologies without proper licensing, have filed lawsuits against each other in the U.S. and other countries.

Samsung not selling the Galaxy Tab in AustraliaNow Samsung says it isn’t selling the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Australia

Word that Apple and Samsung had reached an agreement that would keep the Galaxy Tab 10.1 from shipping in Australia surfaced on Monday. The deal didn’t involve any court orders, although it was part of the patent lawsuit battle the two are fighting in the country.

As part of the deal, Samsung was said to have agreed to withhold advertising, too. In exchange, Apple agreed to pay Samsung an unspecified amount should it lose its court case, or if Samsung wins a court order allowing it to start selling the tablet in the country.

Samsung followed up on Tuesday by saying that it never had any plans to sell the specific Galaxy Tab model Apple referenced in Australia. In other words, Samsung agreed to not sell a product it never intended to sell.

Today, Samsung seems to be back in step with Monday’s report, and won’t be selling any version of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Australia for the foreseeable future. With two more days in the week, however, there’s still plenty of time for the company to change its mind again.