Samsung Electronics Co. has announced a slight delay in launching their new Nexus Prime smartphone. The company said that it was a gesture of respect on the deceased Apple founder Steve Jobs.

"We decided it was not the right time to announce a new product while the world was expressing tribute to Steve Jobs's passing," announced by a Samsung spokesman. The iconic CEO of Apple died last Oct. 5 due to pancreatic cancer.

Samsung, based in Seoul Korea, is the main competitor of Apple in the smartphone and tablet market. Apple's iPhone and iPad own the top spot for mobile computing devices, followed by Samsung's Galaxy Phone and Galaxy Tab, respectively. The Galaxy line is also the number one device for the Android OS. which is a free OS developed by Google Inc.

This gesture of respect however doesn't mean that they will stop pursuing the patent dispute with Apple. Currently, Samsung is in a legal battle with Apple over patents and seeking to ban the sale of the iPhone 4S in France and Italy in retaliation to the ban for the release of Galaxy Tabs in Germany, Netherlands and Australia. Apple claims that Samsung has deliberately copied the designs and functionality of the iPad and iPhone. Samsung, on the other hand, is holding the patents for 3G technology and is seeking a ban of Apple's iPhone 4S on account of those patents. Samsung is also planning to seek injunctions in other countries.

Last week before Steve Jobs' death, Apple unveiled the iPhone 4S which is basically a hardware upgrade and comes with the Siri application. The phone is said to have artificial intelligence in the form of Siri the personal assistant. Currently, pre-orders for the phone have been sold-out.

The Samsung Nexus' new date and venue for launch will be announced later.