Samsung introduced its Galaxy Tab 10.1 recently, and already it has Apple’s knickers in a twist, much to the chagrin of Australian Android fans. The South Korean manufacturer cannot distribute the new entrant to the tablet market until either it receives court permission to do so, or Apple and Samsung resolve their latest patent differences. Will Samsung cut their losses before they’re cut out of this e-generation’s market share?

Apple has filed suit against Samsung for 10 alleged patent infringements in the Android device, including the touchscreen technology on iPad, the “look and feel” of the device.

Pardon, but how can “look and feel” be patented? Sorry…Back to the story:

Apple’s attorneys will seek injunctions preventing distribution of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in other, unspecified countries as well.

The dispute isn’t brand new. Apple sued Samsung in the United States for “slavishly imitating” the iPhone and iPad design and technologies. Samsung retaliated with “Well, MY dad…” suits against Apple in Germany, Japan, South Korea and the United States.

Meanwhile, because the prior US injunction could not and did not include distribution and sales in Australia, Samsung initiated their pre-launch advertising on July 20th. Samsung had agreed to provide Apple with three samples of the Australian version seven days prior to its launch there.

The injunction is based on the US lawsuit, although the Australian version is a bit different from the Australian version.

With Blackberry’s PlayBook entering the tablet market, Samsung will have an even tougher fight to gain a reasonable market share, especially with the interest in the iPad 2.

The Blackberry PlayBook and Samsung’s Galaxy Tab look a lot alike. They’re about the same size and thickness. They both have fair battery life, but neither duration will knock anyone’s socks off.

PlayBook as a horizontal orientation while Galaxy Tab has a vertical one. They each have an LCD screen with either 1024 x 600 or 600 x 1024 pixel resolution, but Galaxy Tab has a narrower contrast ratio and peak brightness threshold.

Blackberry’s PlayBook is at a distinct disadvantage in its Internet technology. Its proprietary software doesn’t allow as much content as Android does in the Samsung device. That, alone, will cause a lag in sales behind not just the Galaxy Tab 10.1 but also any Android device.

Apple’s iPad 2 is also vertically-oriented and is slightly smaller than either the PlayBook or the Galaxy Tab. Internal memories of the iPad 2 and PlayBook match at 16.0 GB. PlayBook’s screen allows slightly easier reading than iPad does, but iPad’s battery lasts a fraction longer in audio, e-book reading and video play, but since neither battery is anything spectacular, that’s not exactly major bragging points.

Direct comparison of the iPad 2 and the Galaxy Tab 10.1 shows that the iPad is both longer and wider than Samsung’s model. The Galaxy Tab offers a memory card for data transfer and storage, whereas, the iPad 2 does not. Both devices use an LCD screen, but iPad 2 does edge out the Galaxy Tab in brightness, which shows distinct advantage when reading or watching videos on them.

Internet capabilities are fairly evenly matched in overall email capabilities and web browsers. The iPad 2, however, as a member of the Apple iPad family, does have a wider selection of apps available than the Galaxy Tab 10.1.

With those side-by-side comparisons, will Samsung have a decent chance to catch up to iPad 2 in demand, or will the Blackberry PlayBook sneak further up the user’s preference list?

The author of this article is Holly Adams from Coupon Croc, the best resource for Littlewoods discount codes to save on all the hottest electronics.