This afternoon Samsung Won-Pyo Hong took the stage at AsiaD, and while he dodged a number of Walt Mossberg's questions he did answer one of ours regarding Samsung's reaction to the current litigation it faces from Apple. When we asked if Samsung has specifically began to tweak hardware and software in response to Apple legal action, he said "the short answer is yes." Of course, we have already known some of that — it has changed the photo app in the Netherlands — but it's one of the first public admissions we've heard of Samsung's plans to adjust both software and actual devices. Hong added that "our legal department is taking all possible options. As the head of a product portfolio, we have multiple different designs — hardware and UX — so we can immediately provide other solutions." On that note, when Walt asked if the Galaxy Nexus was designed specifically to avoid the threat of litigation from Apple, Hong said that was absolutely just a rumor and the phone was designed before this was even an issue on the table. Also, when we asked Hong about the next version of TouchWiz, he confirmed that the next iteration -- presumably TouchWiz 5.0 -- will come in 2012 and that it will likely help in regards to its legal battle with Apple.

Editor's Note: This article was updated with original quotes.