Apple Vs Samsung War

In BBC News

Samsung wants iPhone 4S banned in France and Italy Samsung claims Apple failed to license patented technology in the iPhone 4S Continue reading the main story

Samsung is seeking an injunction to get the new iPhone 4S banned from sale in France and Italy.

It claims that Apple has used 3G wireless technology, which Samsung invented, without paying for it.

A patent war between the companies has been rumbling on for months in courts around the world.

Apple has obtained temporary embargoes on its rivals' products in Australia and Germany and is seeking similar rulings in several other countries.

In a statement, Samsung said: "Apple has continued to flagrantly violate our intellectual property rights and free ride on our technology, and we will steadfastly protect our intellectual property."

Patent law blogger Florian Mueller warned that Samsung was putting the cart before the horse by seeking an injunction before negotiating terms.

"Imagine what would happen if every participant in a standard-setting process could later shut down entire telecommunications networks even if the alleged infringers are willing to pay a royalty to be determined, in the event of a commercial disagreement between the parties, by a court of law," wrote Mr Mueller on his Foss Patents site.

Sales bans

Samsung's claim centres around two patents covering Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), part of the iPhone's 3G wireless connectivity.

Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 has also been the subject of patent cases

Because the technology is essential to the functioning of modern phones, Samsung is obliged to license it to other manufacturers under Fair, Reasonable and Non-Discriminatory (FRAND) terms.

Conversely, the patents being enforced by Apple against Samsung in Germany, the Netherlands and Australia relate to specific innovations which it is not obliged to license - primarily around its touchscreen user interface.

It has also successfully argued before the courts that the look and feel of Samsung's Galaxy Tab gave a "clear impression of similarity.

As a consequence of the actions:

The Galaxy Tab 10.1 is currently banned from sale in Germany.

A ban on sales of Samsung smartphones is due to come into effect in the Netherlands in October.

Samsung has postponed its tablet launch plans in Australia while its legal battle there is ongoing.

Many observers believe that Samsung is walking a fine line between standing-up to Apple and avoiding jeopardising valuable contracts with its occasional foe.

Samsung supplies parts for many of Apple's devices, including screens for some of its smartphones and tablets. The two companies are said to have agreed a components deal in February worth $7.8bn (£5bn).

RIP Steve JOBS

The man who made possible mass technology, making the revolution of the interface between man and machine twice (Computer & Smartphone).

Amazon launch a new Tablet, but before optmize their website fot tablet browsing

(In Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc is rolling out a major redesign of its familiar website as it prepares to offer a new $250 tablet device to rival Apple Inc's iPad.

The changes in Amazon's online store "practically scream 'tablet-optimized'," TechCrunch blogger Sarah Perez wrote over the weekend after her site reported seeing a prototype of the company's new device.

The new web pages show a bigger search bar and less clutter to better highlight music, e-books, digital games and applications from the Amazon Appstore using Google's Android operating system, the blog said.

Amazon started rolling out the new design in the last days of August, spokeswoman Sally Fouts said in an email on Sunday.

"We are continuing to roll out the new design to additional customers, but I can't speculate on when the new design will be live for everyone," Fouts wrote.

Amazon, the world's largest online retailer, is introducing the new site and tablet device as the company goes beyond its roots selling through personal computers to reaching customers via the kind of mobile connections they increasingly use.

Getting more mobile devices into the hands of Amazon customers is important, too, because it may enable more impulse buying and increased regular purchases.

The device Amazon is developing sports a back-lit, 7-inch (17.8-cm) screen -- smaller than the iPad's and about the same as Research in Motion's PlayBook, TechCrunch reported earlier. The Amazon tablet is geared toward playing music and movies off the Internet.

TechCrunch, which said it had played with a testing prototype, reported that the plan was for Amazon to offer Amazon Prime -- its $79-a-year Internet streaming service -- for free along with the gadget.

The Internet retailer's first entry in the tablet computing arena -- its Kindle functions more like an electronic-book reader -- has been touted as a strong contender to Apple, whose iPad2 starts at $499, according to the company's website.

Amazon's tablet will be Wi-Fi only and come with a color touchscreen but a limited 6 gigabytes of memory, the tech blog said.

Motorola and Samsung have only chipped away at Apple's three-quarters share of the market, while Hewlett Packard threw in the towel by announcing it would kill off its TouchPad after a final production run.

This past week, Sony Corp leapt into the field with its own poorly reviewed device.

Analysts have been upbeat on Amazon's gadget, particularly if it beats the iPad on price. It may sell as many as 5 million tablets in the fourth quarter, becoming the top rival to Apple, Forrester Research estimates.

Apple sells between 7 million and 9 million tablets a quarter. (Reporting by David Henry, Alistair Barr and Edwin Chan; Editing by Dale Hudson)

iPhone 5 rumor roundup

In Cnet

Editors' note:This roundup was originally published June 24.

As we wait for the official announcement of the nextiPhone, we only can guess about what we're going to see. Apple, after all, always generates a ton of gossip in the absence of real details about upcoming devices. Some of the rumors about the new handset contradict each other--one camp suggests a minor update with an iPhone 4S, while another predicts a big update with aniPhone 5--but disagreement, after all, is often what the rumor mill is all about.

Since all that conflicting information can be hard to track, we offer this handy timeline of iPhone 5 rumors so far in 2011. We'll add to it as we go along, and please let us know if we've left any juicy tidbits out.

August 29

Same size display

Taiwan's DigiTimes rebuts earlier rumors that the iPhone 5 will have a 4-inch display. Instead, DigitTimes says that the new handset will keep the current touch screen size of 3.5 inches or will grow slightly larger to 3.7 inches. Apple will, however, adopt a design with a thinner bezel for the display panel, which would make it appear larger.

August 24

T-Mobile, too

Citing "a contact within T-Mobile," Apple-tracking blog MacTrast says the U.S. carrier will be getting a version of the iPhone 5 that will run on the company's 3G network sometime in "early to mid-October

Read more: http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-19512_7-20073431-233/iphone-5-rumor-roundup/#ixzz1WRXhyD6N

Vodafone Android users are first to pay for apps via their phone bill

In The Telegraph

The move is being seen as an attempt to retain control of the crucial payment relationship operators have with their subscribers, which has been challenged by app stores run by Google and Apple.

Initially only Android phones bought directly from Vodafone online, or from its high street shops, will be eligible for the new payment scheme, but there are plans to extend it to all handsets. Both monthly subscribers and pay-as-you-go users will be offered the chance to pay for apps from Google's Marketplace through Vodafone.

The network is encouraging app developers to use the service by claiming that they will sell more software because some Android users are reticent to provide their credit card details to a third party. Many young pay-as-you-go users may not even have a credit card.

“This evolution in Android app payment greatly improves the user’s purchase experience and consequently their likelihood of completing a sale,” Vodafone said on its developer blog.

“In addition to facilitating the best possible user experience, Vodafone operator billing extends your reach to the large number of app buying customers who are unwilling or unable to use credit cards.