Apple looks to have landed itself in legal hot water in Australia, with the Government moving to take action over claims the firm's iPad advertising is misleading consumers.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has taken issue with promos pushing the new iPad's WiFi + 4G model, specifically in relation to its claims that it can connect to a 4G network. 

The device is, of course, only able to access 4G through AT&T and Verizon in the US, leading to confusion when the model is marketed overseas.

Trouble down under

An application is expected to be filed tomorrow at Melbourne Federal Court seeking "urgent interlocutory relief to ensure consumers are made aware of the correct technical capabilities of this device."

The application will seek injunctions, penalties, corrective advertising, and refunds for misled customers.

In response, many  operators outside of North America have already moved away from advertising the WiFi + 4G model at all for fear of angering consumers.

Australian operators Telstra and Optus have reportedly scaled back their branding of the SKU, with Telstra claiming it is currently "making it clear to our customers that new iPad does not run on 4G LTE networks in Australia."

Retailers and operators alike are naturally also keen to point out that the 4G-enabled iPad is able to connect to 3G networks worldwide.

[source: TheNextWeb]