Samsung's Executive Vice President of Product Strategy -- Won-Pyo Hong
Is this is an interesting case of "the left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing" or simply a misinterpretation of the facts? Recently, Samsung’s President Shin Jong-Kyun indirectly indicated that the new Galaxy Nexus phone was designed to bypass Apple's patents and avoid more lawsuits. He further elaborated,
He also indicated that he didn't like the lawsuits, even the ones against Apple from his own company. He said, "I think it is just a start and (the lawsuits) will last for a considerable time. I don't think there is much gain (from lawsuits against Apple). What we are losing is the pride in our brand."
Interestingly, one of his own executives, Executive Vice President of Product Strategy Won-Pyo Hong, actually refutes his boss' claim, and suggests that his comments were taken out of context. Here's a quote from the Engadget article,
Later on he did vaguely indicate that TouchWiz is being reworked to keep Apple's Lawyer's at bay, but that's a far cry from designing the device from the ground up to avoid patent disputes.
Source: DroidMatters and Engadget