Apple is accused of tampering with Samsung Galaxy Tab photos

FRUIT THEMED company Apple might have misled the judge in a Düsseldorf court when it filed an inaccurate picture depicting the similarity between the Ipad 2 and Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1.

An investigation by Dutch IDG publication Webwereld found that at least one of the photos of Samsung's Galaxy Tab submitted by Apple was inaccurate or had been tampered with.

The photographic evidence submitted by the maker of shiny toys showed two pictures of the Ipad 2 and an alleged Galaxy Tab 10.1, where Apple claimed that the "overall appearance" of the two products was "practically identical".

However, Webwereld's investigation discovered that in fact, Apple's picture was inaccurate and doesn't match the Galaxy Tab 10.1, as the latter is in real life taller and more oblong than the Ipad 2.

It could be that Apple cropped the Galaxy Tab picture and distorted its aspect ratio. According to Samsung, the Galaxy Tab measures 256.7x175.3mm, an aspect ratio of 1.46. Meanwhile, the Galaxy Tab pictured in the complaint photo has an aspect ratio of 1.36 and the bottom is about 8 per cent wider than the actual device.

As a result, the aspect ratio of the purported Galaxy Tab appears closer to the aspect ratio of the Ipad 2, which is 1.30.

Some experts doubt that Apple's lawyers purposely attempted to mislead the court, saying Apple's picture could be of a pre-release prototype. We think it wouldn't be a huge surprise.

Webwereld has briefed Apple and its German counsel, Matthias Koch of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, on the results of the investigation, and submitted questions to confirm or refute the conclusions and clarify the matter. µ