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.