Samsung infiltrates Australia iPhone 4S launch

By Molly McHugh October 12, 2011

Checkmate — Image used with permission by copyright holder

These two are back at it again. Samsung and Apple have been at each other’s throats recently, with product injunctions and patent litigation being thrown around for months now. And the battle is far from over.

Samsung upped the ante last night by giving Apple’s iPhone 4S launch in Australia some good old-fashioned competition in the form of $2 Galaxy S II phones. The latest handset in the lineup has received ample praise and is easily one of the few smartphones out there that will challenge the iPhone. It’s also part of the Galaxy family, which Apple alleges directly ripped off its own product.

Despite the ongoing war between these two, a Samsung pop-up shop posted up two doors down from the Sydney, Australia Apple Store with its iPhone 4S fanboy line, and it soon became no secret that the Galaxy S II was selling for a pocket change. The catch being, of course, that only the first 10 people in the store each day will get the ridiculously low price. Which, as Samsung hoped, has resulted in customers lining up for the phone. The Sydney Morning Herald reports the iPhone rival was even able to attract a longer line. Apple, consider a modicum of your thunder stolen.

Of course, consider the fact that the Galaxy S II has already been reviewed (and reviewed well) and is now tempting customers with a massive price cut. The iPhone 4S, however, has barely made its way off the factory floor, has scarcely been reviewed, and people are still lining up to pay full price.

Given the ongoing tension between these companies—especially in Australia, where the Galaxy Tab 10.1 has been blocked and Samsung is attempting to hit the iPhone and iPad with an injunction—we still say it’s a bold move from Samsung.

[Photo via Sydney Morning Herald]

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