Apple has LTE patent war chest prepped for Samsung's iPhone 5 threat

Apple has pulled together 434 LTE patents in order to counter a legal threat from Samsung, according to reports on Tuesday.

Samsung has vowed to sue the bejesus out of Apple if, as expected, if unveils an LTE-enabled iPhone 5 during the launch event now confirmed for September 12.

Anticipating this, Apple has been acquiring and developing enough LTE patents to combat the legal challenge, according to the Chosun Ilbo website.

The company had no such patents last year, but now owns 318, according to the site, 44 of which it developed itself.

Patent enforcers

Apple also owns a majority stake in the 'patent enforcement firm' Rockstar Bidco, which has another 116 at its disposal. That brings Apple's total to 434.

Samsung, on the other hand, has a whopping 819 LTE patents and we're pretty sure the company's lawyers are sharpening their claws as we speak, following last month's legal mauling.

Are y'all ready for the next round of Apple vs. Samsung? Coming to a courtroom near California. 

In techradar

Case manufacturers building iPad 3 cases, sans specs

in Cnet

Rumors are a funny thing.

In one instance they create a whole culture of fodder for bloggers and their readers. In another, they cause whole factories to produce cases for products that neither exist, nor have official specifications. Such was the story before the iPhone 4S release and has now returned as the rumored iPad 3 launch looms.

The iPhone 4S launch should have proven to be a great lesson learned as several case manufacturers rushed to create case solutions for the rumored iPhone 5, which turned out to be pure fiction.

So now, according to 9to5Mac, instead of simply waiting for Apple's official announcement for the iPad 3 (or 2S as many believe it may be called), Chinese manufacturer Chinee is trying to get a jump on the competition by producing cases that take into account the most popular rumors about the next generation iPad's design--namely that it will be nearly identical to the iPad 2, but slightly thicker to accommodate some of the rumored internal upgrades.

Of course, Chinee claims it has a source inside Apple who has confirmed the 1mm difference in thickness, but I have to remain skeptical. The teardrop design for the iPhone 5 that never came to be was all but confirmed as well.

The only detail that may make this manufacturing switch legit is that next-gen iPad production has begun and it is very likely that documentation on the specs have been shared. Still, if it's my money, I'm waiting for those official numbers from Apple.

Would you start building cases for Apple products based on rumors? Let me know your thoughts in the comments!

Read more: http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-31747_7-57362247-243/case-manufacturers-building-ipad-3-cases-sans-specs/#ixzz1jwjy8m6D

Sony Tablet S price cut by $100

In Techradar

Sony has become the latest manufacturer to slash the price of its tablet, after the Japanese giant knocked $100 off the cost of its Tablet S.

The 16GB Android Honeycomb device is now permanently down to $399.99, while the larger 32GB model has also been cut to $499.99.

Sony is also sweetening the deal by throwing in some great free content for those who take advantage of the new lower pricepoint.

Buyers will receive ten free PlayStation Classic games, a 180 day subscription to the Music Unlimited streaming service, five free movie rentals and an $8 voucher to purchase more.

Another Sony failure?

The uniquely shaped Tablet S, along with its twin touchscreen sibling the Tablet P, was only launched in September.

A permanent price drop at such an early point in its lifespan suggests that the Tablet S has struggled to capture the imagination of tablet buyers.

It also follows the launch, and runaway success of the the $199 Amazon Kindle Fire and massive price cuts to tablets like the BlackBerry PlayBook, Motorola Xoom and HP TouchPad tablets.

Samsung Galaxy Ace Plus launches

In Techradar

Why bother with a new name?

Mobile phones News

By Kate Solomon

New year, new phone, old name – Samsung has unleashed the Galaxy Ace Plus which comes with all the features of the original Galaxy Ace with just a little more oomph.

So where the Galaxy Ace offered Android 2.2, a 3.5-inch screen and an 800MHz processor, the Galaxy Ace Plus comes with Gingerbread (Android 2.3), a 3.65-inch screen and a 1GHz processor - and the resolution of the screen has stayed the same at HVGA (320 x 480) meaning a slight drop in screen clarity.

Other goodies include a 5MP autofocus camera complete with LED flash, Bluetooth 3.0, 512MB RAM and 3GB of memory with microSD support to boot.

Touch Wizadora

It also comes with Samsung's TouchWiz overlay, with all the social, music and ChatOn goodness that brings.

Like the Galaxy Ace before it, the Plus is intended for 'trendy and sociable young professionals', says Samsung - so if you're sartorially-challenged, a recluse, old or unemployed then move along, nothing to see here.

Continuing the elitist theme, Samsung has also added the ability to black-list text messages and calls from contacts you're not too keen on – those that are sartorially-challenged, recluses, old or unemployed, presumably.

The Samsung Galaxy Ace Plus release date is set for Russia this month and hitting the rest of Europe, Latin America, parts of Asia, the Middle East, Africa and China throughout the rest of the year.

No word on an official Samsung Galaxy Ace Plus UK price yet, but we wouldn't have thought it'd be too much more than the Galaxy Ace, which is currently available for around £170 SIM-free, or free on a £15 a month contract.

iPhone 5 coming this fall, says analyst

In Cnet

A research note from an investment bank today sees an iPhone 5 coming this fall and sees strong growth for Apple's popular phone in the coming quarter.

The iPhone will comprise roughly 50 percent of Apple's total revenue in the next reported quarter, wrote Tavis McCourt of Morgan Keegan.

"We expect iPhone revenues to represent 47.5% of Apple's total revenues in [the December quarter], up from 38.8% in the Sep. quarter, and up from 39.1% in the year ago period," he wrote.

And he is upping his iPhone shipment estimate for the quarter to 29 million from the previous estimate of 27 million.

The iPhone 5 and Apple TV will be significant growth drivers later in the year. "We expect iPhone 5 in fall 2012 to be a significant revenue and earnings growth driver, and a potential Apple TV as upside to our model if it comes to fruition this year," he wrote.

What else can we expect on the iPhone 5 front? Instead of going through a litany of rumors, suffice to cite one of the most recent rumors about its physical construction. A combination of aluminum on the back and a "rubber or plastic material" along the sides that will bridge the front and back of the device.

Sony Ericsson Nozomi surfaces again

In Techradar

Anyone who's been desperately awaiting further news of the Sony Ericsson Nozomi is in luck – another sneaky double agent has scored some pictures of it and this time they've even managed to turn the handset on.

It's been barely two days since we last caught sight of this upcoming Xperia handset, which looked rather impressive when off, not much more than a massive expanse of black screen area with a slender silver bar running along the base.

Sadly, when switched on, the screen size shrinks down and the dreaded bezel makes itself known – it's not too bad at the sides, but the base of the handset suddenly becomes huge.

Sony phone

Still, the quality of the screen looks good, and the Perspex bar is quite smart (if a little reminiscent of the horrible Pureness) so it's not all bad.

We can also more easily discern the front-facing camera now, and the source who provided the image claims it comes with a dual-core processor and a 720p LCD screen.

Engadget reports that a Hong Kong carrier is already testing the handset so look out for it in the next few months – although we're still expecting a trade show launch, most likely CES 2012.

Hi-res iPad 3 release date now February 2012?

In Techradar

Not just one but 'several' anonymous sources have colluded to come up with the latest in iPad 3 speculation today, pegging the new Apple tablet's release date as February 2012.

Analyst Richard Gardner of Citi has penned a note based on these sources, saying that a new iPad with a higher resolution display is good to go.

"There do not appear to be any significant technical hurdles remaining," he wrote in a note, which should allay any fears of any white paint issues or battery draining bugs.

Theoretically, anyway

His elusive sources reckon the resolution of the iPad 3 will be double the resolution of the iPad 2's.

Past rumours have indicated this super-high-res display has proven problematic, giving Apple headaches over backlighting and potentially even adding a bit of extra bulk to the currently-slim slate.

The timing isn't far off; Apple launched the iPad in January 2010 and the iPad 2 in March 2011, so February 2012 for the iPad 3 seems feasible.

But with not much more to go on than the word of an analyst and his secret sources, we can't rate this rumour any higher than 'it's possible'.

China overtakes US as world's largest smartphone market

In BBC

Smartphone shipments to China rose to a record 24m during the period, compared with 23m for the US, according to research done by Strategy Analytics.

The consultancy said shipments to China were boosted by "a wave of low-cost Android models from local Chinese brands".

This is the first time that China has overtaken the US in smartphone market.

"China's rapid growth has been driven by an increasing availability of smartphones in the retail channels," said Tom Kang, of Strategy Analytics.

The company said that while shipments to China grew by 58% sequentially during the period, those to the US fell by 7%.

'Mobile computing boom'

China is the world's biggest market for mobile phones with almost 952m users, and continues to grow at a fast pace.

At the same time, there has been a push by mobile phone operators to get more users to sign up for 3G services.

Analysts said that as consumers take up these services, the demand for gadgets such as smartphones is likely to rise further.

"China is now at the forefront of the worldwide mobile computing boom," said Neil Mawston, Executive Director of Strategy Analytics.

"China has become a large and growing smartphone market that no hardware vendor, component maker or content developer can afford to ignore," he added.

‘Black Friday’ iTunes credit scam

In The Telegraph

An email claiming to be from Apple’s iTunes store contains a compressed ZIP file, which security experts say could allow hackers to gain access to computers.

The German Eleven security blog suggests that the attack is timed to coincide with the start of the American holiday shopping season, called Black Friday.

The email offers credit for iTunes music, games and video, and is just one of a huge number of scams that try to lure people in with offers that seem plausible in the context of other Black Friday discounts.

The email apparently offers recipients $50 (£32) and claims they need to open an attached file to access their certificate code. In fact the attachment is a file called Mal/BredoZp-B. It opens a security loophole on Windows PCs and allows hackers to remotely capture passwords and other information. It also slows down the computer and hides some files.

Although such malware can be removed with the use of widely available anti-malware tools, damage can be done in the meantime.

Motorola to launch Droid 4 in December?

In Cnet

Less than six months after launching the Droid 3, Motorola is apparently ready to give us its successor.

The Droid 4 will launch December 8, according to purported promotional materials obtained by Droid Life, which reports it has confirmed that employee training is already in progress at some Verizon Wireless stores.

The Droid 4 will reportedly have Droid Razr styling and run on Verizon's 4G LTE network, but like the previous Droids, it will feature a five-row, slide-out keyboard. It will also sport a four-inch touch screen, a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, 1 gigabyte of RAM, a front-facing camera for video chatting, and an 8MP back-facing camera.

There's no indication in the materials which Android version it will run, but if Droid Life's report is accurate, the new smartphone will launch the same day as Samsung's Galaxy Nexus, the new flagship phone for Google's Android 4.0, aka Ice Cream Sandwich.

A Motorola representative declined to comment, and Verizon representatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Apple's Siri 'hacked'

In The Telegraph

Apple's new voice-controlled personal assistant software, Siri, could be adapted to run on Android handsets after developers discovered a way around restrictions designed to limit it to iPhone 4S users.

The hack means that the servers that process the questions users ask Siri could be accessed by devices other than the iPhone 4S.

It was discovered by Applidium, a French mobile software company that reverse-engineered the protocol Siri uses to communicate with its servers. The firm found a way to intercept and decrypt the data by forging security certificates, allowing a detailed examination of the data format.

However, the requests include a unique "key" for each iPhone 4S. To exploit the flaw, each Android device would have to find a way to to impersonate Apple's new smartphone, Applidium said.

So any third party app offering unauthorised access to the Siri server could be quite easily blocked by Apple because all its users would probably have to use the same key.

Apple has restricted Siri to the iPhone 4S. Technical analysis has indicated that older versions are equally capable of running the service, since the hardest computing is carried out by the servers, but it seems Siri is being used to differentiate the latest iPhone.

Taste the future with Windows 8 simulator

In betanews

you’re keen to try out Windows 8 before it officially hits the shops, your craving can be satiated by turning to the Developer Preview. While this is handy, the process of setting up a dual boot system, configuring a virtual machine or setting aside a dedicated computer to run the operating system is enough to put most people off. If you’d prefer not to go to these lengths, Windows 8 Simulator may be just what you have been looking for.

As the name suggests, this is a simulation tool rather than a replacement for your existing operating system, and it can be used without there being any danger of damaging the copy of Windows you work with. Windows 8 Simulator is not even a transformation pack as it runs in its own sandboxed window that cannot affect any other part of your system.

Realistically, this is not a tool that will enable you to explore Windows 8 to its fullest extent, but if you are yet to take a look at the next version of Microsoft’s operating system, it provides a quick and easy way to not only see how things are going to look, but also to get hands on so you can test drive how things are going to work.

For Windows 8 virgins, the simulator gives the opportunity to try out the Metro interface to see how the new desktop is going to look and feel. Restricted to a small, non-resizable window, the simulator is more a curiosity than a serious preview of Windows 8, but it is interesting nonetheless.

You can find out more and download a free copy of the application by paying a visit to the Windows 8 Simulator review page.

Android dock unveiled by Philips

In Techradar

Philips has introduced a new Android dock, using Bluetooth pairing and an app to come up with an elegant speaker solution.

Android docks are a more difficult proposition than iOS devices because the devices do not conform to a standard setup.

Usefully, Philips has come up with a dock that allows you to charge your phone and take advantage of Bluetooth pairing, rather than relying on a line in method.

Launching with three different versions, the flagship £200 Philips Fidelio AS851 boasts a 30-watt output and Philips' proprietary digital sound processing.

Google Music event to reveal MP3 download store?

In Techradar

Google has issued an invite to the media for an event on 16 November, which may see the company finally introduce a Google Music MP3 download store.

The company has channelled legendary British rock band Spinal Tap with a tag-line teasing "These go up to eleven." for the event, which will be streamed live on YouTube.

The reference is, of course, an homage to the guitar amps of Nigel Tufnel that were "one louder" than ten, but aside from a possible Spinal Tap concert at the event, we're not really sure what it means.

Google has been teasing "a twist" from the normal music download stores for a while now, so it's entirely possible that this will be revealed at Wednesday's event.

Primitive

Google Music currently exists in a rather primitive form, with account holders able to upload their music to the cloud and then access it from a range of devices.

It is presently a free service, but uploading music to the platform takes an absolute age, and Apple's $24.99 iTunes Match service looks a better alternative at present.

Whatever happens at Google's event, it's likely that the service will, at least, come out of Beta.

The "These go to eleven" event at 10pm UK time on Wednesday and we'll be on-hand to bring you all of the news. You can also follow the event at YouYube.com/Android

Apple releases iPhone battery drain software fix

In Reuters

Apple Inc on Thursday released a software update for its iOS 5 operating system to fix complaints on the performance of the new iPhone 4S battery.

Apple, after facing a rash of complaints on the new phone's short battery life, had promised earlier to release an update to address the issue.

The software update also addresses some security issues, including a flaw in the operating system that may allow hackers to build apps that secretly install programs to steal data. (Reporting by Poornima Gupta in San Francisco)