Sloppy slates not iPad envy fueled Samsung refund rush

One of the damning arguments used against Samsung in its trial against Apple was the return rate of the Samsung Galaxy Tab range to Best Buy stores. The high return rates were supposedly attributed to customers mistaking the tablets for iPads, although new survey information from Best Buy conducted by Samsung shows that it might not quite be that simple. Samsung conducted a survey across 30 Best Buy stores across the United States in 2011 that showed the most popular reason for return was a high malfunction rate.

According to the study, which was recently entered into evidence at the Samsung vs. Apple trial, 25% of customers returned Samsung's tablets due to malfunctions or errors with the operating system, such as browser crashes and poor WiFi signals. A further 17% returned the tablets because of short battery life and screen lag issues, and 10% were returned because customers felt Honeycomb, the first tablet oriented version of Android, was too difficult to use.

Apple previously suggested that the similarity between Galaxy Tabs and the iPad was the driving force for returns, but it turns out that 9% returned Samsung's tablets in order to exchange them for iPad 2s. Meanwhile, 8% were frustrated with the lack of quality apps on Android tablets, and 6% felt that the tablets simply weren't fast enough. It's unclear what the remaining 25% of the returns were for.

The new information doesn't exactly shine a positive light on Samsung's range of tablets, but it does indicate that Apple might be exaggerating the available facts. Apple's latest arguments focus on Samsung's internal emails and documentation, detailing how the South Korean company was well aware of the similarity between its own OS icons and the one found on the iPhone.

[via CNET]