“We will continue to make every effort to provide the most powerful, well-designed and productive mobile device to customers,” Executive Vice President Lee Don-Joo is quoted by Yonhap as saying.

A Samsung spokesman told the outlet the release plan for the Android-based Galaxy Tab 10.1 has not been affected, but declined to say when the device will ship.

Those without short-term memory problems will remember that there was also some kerfuffle regarding translated comments out of Korea about how well the original Galaxy Tab was selling to consumers, with initial reports quoting Samsung as saying the sell-out had been slow and later reports contradicting that. (That didn’t stop Apple CEO Steve Jobs from using the original quote in his slideshow at this week’s iPad 2 event, however.)

Of course, no matter what Samsung says, Apple has certainly made life more difficult for all rivals, including Samsung. Apple has made its device super thin, even according to Samsung and, of course, it has managed to keep prices the same. So, while Samsung may be going ahead with plans to release the 10.1-inch Galaxy Tab as scheduled, it may well have to rethink just how it will price the device.

Samsung certainly isn’t giving up on tablets. Indeed, the company hinted on Friday that it will soon add another member to the Galaxy Tab family, which already includes the 7-inch model that has been on sale since last year. An invitation to journalists for an event at the CTIA show in Orlando later this month suggests that an 8.9-inch model is also on its way. The invite makes several references to “78910″ and since Samsung has 7-inch and 10-inch models, it seems logical the “89″ part refers to an 8.9-inch model. A Samsung representative declined to comment on that interpretation of the invite.

Like most other big media companies, digital is much more important strategically than it is financially for Disney (DIS), so the shortfall didn’t have an impact on its earnings report yesterday. And Disney has much bigger problems to worry about, like the fact that people are much less willing to book trips to Orlando than they were earlier in year.

Still, it’s worth noting that Staggs blames the shortfall on Web advertising softness, and he makes an interesting point in passing–Disney started seeing a problem with Web ads earlier than most big media companies have publicly acknowledged so far. From Staci Kramer’s interview:

Asked about online advertising in that context, Staggs said: ‘Online advertising actually started to soften a little bit earlier than some of the other media outlets; not quite as early as local but not long thereafter. … It hasn’t necessarily softened as deeply but there’s the same sort of trend you’re seeing in other advertising areas.’ He attributes it to some advertisers questioning the efficacy of online advertising.”

Depending on whom you listen to, the local advertising market started falling off in late winter/early spring. So let’s say, for argument’s sake, that Disney noticed the softness in, say May or June. Again, the online ad market isn’t material to Disney’s business, so it wouldn’t be required to flag investors about that. But it would have been nice for the rest of us who follow the market.

While we’re at it, we’d love to know more about these advertisers who are “questioning the efficacy of online advertising.” Tom? Anyone?

With Yahoo’s stock trading at a 52-week low of $11.37, how could Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer fail to comment on the discrepancy between the company’s current share price and the spurned $33-a-share bid Microsoft made for Yahoo earlier this year?

Speaking at the Gartner ITXpo in Orlando, Fla., this morning, Ballmer said that a Microsoft (MSFT) acquisition of Yahoo (YHOO) or its search business would still “make sense economically” for shareholders at both companies. “We offered 33 bucks [for Yahoo] and it’s at $11 today,” Ballmer said. “It’s clear Yahoo didn’t want to sell. They probably still think it’s worth more than $33 a share. … Perhaps there will continue to remain opportunities to partner around search. We are not in any discussions with them. We’ll see. They want to remain independent. There are probably still opportunities around search. I think it would still make sense economically for their shareholders and ours.”

That remark spiked Yahoo’s shares as much as 17 percent, though there are no talks between the two companies at the moment and Microsoft CFO Chris Liddell recently described Yahoo as a “declining asset” and the chances of Microsoft acquiring it outright as “negligible.”

Said Microsoft spokesperson Frank Shaw, “Our position hasn’t changed. Microsoft has no interest in acquiring Yahoo; there are no discussions between the companies.”

With Yahoo’s stock trading at a 52-week low of $11.37, how could Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer fail to comment on the discrepancy between the company’s current share price and the spurned $33-a-share bid Microsoft made for Yahoo earlier this year?

Speaking at the Gartner ITXpo in Orlando, Fla., this morning, Ballmer said that a Microsoft (MSFT) acquisition of Yahoo (YHOO) or its search business would still “make sense economically” for shareholders at both companies. “We offered 33 bucks [for Yahoo] and it’s at $11 today,” Ballmer said. “It’s clear Yahoo didn’t want to sell. They probably still think it’s worth more than $33 a share. … Perhaps there will continue to remain opportunities to partner around search. We are not in any discussions with them. We’ll see. They want to remain independent. There are probably still opportunities around search. I think it would still make sense economically for their shareholders and ours.”

That remark spiked Yahoo’s shares as much as 17 percent, though there are no talks between the two companies at the moment and Microsoft CFO Chris Liddell recently described Yahoo as a “declining asset” and the chances of Microsoft acquiring it outright as “negligible.”

Said Microsoft spokesperson Frank Shaw, “Our position hasn’t changed. Microsoft has no interest in acquiring Yahoo; there are no discussions between the companies.”