What’s in a name? That which we call a new iPad Wi-Fi +4G. By any other name it would still be as desirable...or would it? Apple doesn’t seem to think so, since the latest in the Apple vs. the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) saga sees the two sides failing to strike a deal this week before the end of the mediation process.

According to The Sydney Morning Herald, the sticking point for both sides is the ACCC’s insistence that the Cupertino-based iPhone maker change the name of the Wi-Fi + 4G versions of the new iPad.

The background

The ACCC announced at the end of last month that it was making an application to the Federal Court in Melbourne to get court orders against Apple, for alleged contraventions of the Australian Consumer Law (ACL).

According to the ACCC, Apple’s promotion of its third generation “iPad with Wi-Fi + 4G” is misleading, due to the fact that the campaign informs Australian consumers that this tablet can be used with a micro-SIM card, to connect to a 4G mobile data network in Australia.

The commission says that this is not the case, because the new iPad’s 4G utilises 700 MHz or 2100 MHz frequency bands for 4G, whilst Australia’s 4G (LTE) network is provided by Telstra and uses a different (1800 MHz) frequency band.

Apple had previously offered to contact Australian buyers of the new iPad via email and provide them with a refund if they felt misled. It also agreed to alter its point of sale marketing, to make it clear that Australian users will not be able to access Telstra’s next-generation 4G network.

The saga will now continue this week in the Federal Court in Melbourne with the case being presided over by Justice Mordecai Bromberg.

In related news, Apple recently revealed that local users will be free to experience the third generation iPad tablet on 27 April, when the new iPad finally arrives in South Africa just in time for Freedom Day. And no, it won’t support 4G here either (in case you were wondering).