California-based technology giant Apple Inc. has rejected an offer from rivals, South Korea-based Samsung Electronics Co., that would have allowed the latter to release its Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet in Australia, according to Appleinsider.

Last week Samsung made a proposal to Apple in order to resolve their patent dispute in Australia concerning touch-screen technology. The proposal from Samsung was an attempt to end the dispute over patent technology in Australia that has restrained it from selling its Galaxy 10.1 tablet in the country.

Apple claims Samsung has infringed patents for its iPhone and iPad in Australia. This is part of a wider battle between the two companies that has come up in court rooms across four continents.

In an earlier development, Samsung had agreed to withdraw two more controversial features from their product, which purportedly violated Apple's patents. As a result of this agreement, their dispute in Australia has been cut down to that over aspects of touch-screen display technology.

Apple and Samsung are quickly becoming serious rivals in the smartphone business, with the former expected to announce the launch of the highly-anticipated iPhone5 on Tuesday.

However, the increasing demand for Samsung-built devices has led Apple to resort to suing Samsung and seeking to stop sales worldwide. Samsung has responded by seeking a ban on the sales of Apple's iPhone5, charging that the iPhones and the iPad 2 are violating the multiple wireless technology patents it holds.

Previously, Samsung announced that it had sold more than 10 million units of the Galaxy S2 smartphone since its launch in April. The sales rate, however, pales in comparison to that for the iPhone4, which hit 1.7 million in three days. Nevertheless, Samsung is certainly Apple's most serious competitior.

Iphone Smartphone Australia Court