Samsung has argued that it was working on tablets even before the first iPad was launched.

The claim is the latest in the ongoing courtroom battle between Samsung and Apple in California.

In a testimony, Samsung chief designer Jin Soo Kim told the court through an interpreter that the design of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 was influenced more by practicality than Apple’s design.

According to Kim, the glass front of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 is flat because it is more practical. The designer said that curved glass would be so much harder to make and not to mention will cost more.

Curved glass will also leave the device more prone to mis-registering touch input.

The designer also said that the bezel of the device, something Apple says Samsung also copied from the iPad, “acts like a bumper on a car, it is to protect the device, so really it’s for the user.”

Kim also said that the Galaxy tab 10.1 has a 10.1-inch screen because it’s the most cost-effective and efficient size for a tablet when taking the glass protecting the screen into consideration.

“We start with a mother glass, and if you were to increase the display size, or glass to be cut by even 0.1 inch, that instead of 50 glasses from the mother glass you’d end up with 30-35 units only,” Kim said through an interpreter.

As for the claim that Samsung was designing tablets before the iPad even came out, Kim presented to the court an e-mail thread predating the iPad launch.

In the thread, there was as sketch of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 which was dated January 6, 2010. The iPad was launched on January 27, 2010 and went on preorder on March 12, 2010.

The iPad finally went on sale on April 3 of that year in the U.S. with other markets soon following suit.

The e-mail thread Kim presented to the court contained messages even before the January 6 sketch of the tablet.

Apple is suing Samsung for the look and feel of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 as well as other devices including more than a dozen smartphones from the South Korean technology giant.

Apple has a design patent covering the iPad. This patent details a tablet with a rectangle shape, a flat glass front and rounded corners.

Samsung has also countersued Apple arguing the iPhone and iPad maker is infringing on standards-essential technology, concerning cellular communication, it owns.

 [scribd id=102997374 key=key-6t4828wn8c2kj8umim2 mode=scroll]

[scribd id=102997370 key=key-2hsiwy22mp0wt06h51yi mode=scroll]

Images from blogeee and samsungtomorrow on Flickr (CC)

About Solon Harmony Dolor

A passion for technology and journalism makes this upcoming writer very interested in social media and technology news. Fresh from finishing an English and Journalism degree from the University of the Philippines Diliman, he aims to bring interesting news to our readers .