Apple I- Phone

The ongoing spat between Apple and Samsung shows no signs of letting up, with Apple having just filed a motion for preliminary injunction against the Korean LCD specialist’s Galaxy Nexus in the US.

Interestingly enough, though, the four counts of infringement cited in the complaint point to software issues – something which has nothing to do with Samsung, rather Google’s Android Mobile OS. It is thought the suit is more of an indirect swoop at the Big G, dragging Samsung along for another date in the Patent Infringement World Tour as a supporting act.

The Galaxy Nexus, which took quite a while to finally retail Stateside, runs a stock version of Android 4.0, or Ice Cream Sandwich. Samsung doesn’t add anything else to the table except the device alone, meaning any software element – infringing or otherwise – rests solely on the shoulders of Google.

Filed Thursday, the motion points to four patents – all of which could seriously hinder Google’s business if they were found to breach the fruit company’s intellectual property. The first is a ‘data tapping’ patent, which makes up part of Siri’s search functionality. Next comes the iconic slide-to-unlock, something the guys at Cupertino have had a bee in their bonnets about for a few weeks now; as well as a patent regarding the mannerisms of automatically completed words when text is tapped into the device.

The ‘data tapping’ patent has already forged success against Android devices in the past, with Apple having already won a request to block the import of HTC devices – a ban which will come into effect in two months’ time. Apple goes on to describe Samsung as: "a compulsive and unrepentant infringer on Apple’s patents" – strong, yet unsurprising words which Steve Jobs would most certainly have advocated.

Apple has been on the offensive on the home front recently, with Motorola – a yet to be Google-owned company – also in the firing line. There’s an ongoing rift between the two over in Germany, and just yesterday, Apple filed a complaint in the US against Motorola for its abuse of patent licensing on fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory (FRAND) terms.

Stay tuned, folks, this could get very, very messy interesting, and we’ll be keeping more than a close eye on proceedings.

(via TNW)

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Apple asks for US preliminary injunction of Samsung's Android 4.0 Galaxy Nexus

By Daniel Eran Dilger

Published: 05:54 PM EST (02:54 PM PST)

Apple is leveraging four recently granted patents to seek a preliminary injunction against sales of Samsung's Galaxy Nexus smartphone, Google's Android 4.0 flagship device, as part of a new federal lawsuit that also involves other patent claims.

General details of the new suit were published yesterday, but according to a report by Florian Mueller of FOSS Patents, Apple's latest suit targets the Galaxy Nexus, parallel to a separate complaint last fall, but differing in several key respects.

Case two: All guns blazing

Mueller notes that in this new case, Apple has filed for a preliminary injunction at the same time as its ongoing suit alleging patent infringement. In the prior case, Apple filed the case first and then added a request for a preliminary injunction. As a result, Samsung argued that Apple's filings indicated a lack of urgency or necessity in getting an injunction in place.

Apple is also outlining the actual costs and damages it suffers through the availability of Samsung's infringing products.

The complaint is also based on patents that were recently issued, so as Mueller notes, "there's no more argument over Apple having tolerated infringement for a long time before bringing a complaint." Apple also portrays Samsung as "as an unrepentant, 'recidivist' infringer whom the courts must finally stop," Mueller points out.

The patents in question also related to specific, technical features rather than "software design related rights."

The four patents

The four patents Apple is asserting against the Galaxy Nexus include the Data Detectors patent Apple successfully used to win an ITC injunction against HTC: U.S. Patent No. 5,946,647 "System and Method for Performing an Action on a Structure in Computer-Generated Data."

Google's decision to keep Data Detectors in Android 4.0 even after the ITC ruled it as infringement in the HTC case, Muller wrote, "is unfair vis-?-vis HTC (whose products are weaker because they have to respect the decision), snubs Apple, and shows disregard for intellectual property in general and the ITC in particular. This is a case of willful, extremely reckless infringement."

Secondly, U.S. Patent No. 8,086,604 "Universal Interface for Retrieval of Information in a Computer System" is a "new patent related to Siri and unified search," which Mueller notes, "must be of huge concern to Google with a view to its core business."

The third, U.S. Patent No. 8,046,721 "Unlocking a Device by Performing Gestures on an Unlock Image" is the slide to unlock patent that Apple has previous asserted in other cases, including a German suit against the Galaxy Nexus. The government in Taiwan expressed concern about the patent after it was granted last fall.

The fourth, U.S. Patent No. 8,074,172 "Method, System, and Graphical User Interface for Providing Word Recommendations," Mueller described as "a word completion patent that provides major speed improvements for touchscreen text entry."

Shooting down Nexus

That Apple is taking direct aim at the Galaxy Nexus is interesting in that the model represents the latest version of Android 4.0 software, as well as being the latest official Google-led design using a stock install of Android, as opposed to devices marketed by Motorola, Samsung or HTC with layers of vendor-specific, differentiating software on them.

This takes Apple's infringement case directly to Google's Android, while focusing the damages upon the most successful Android licensee with the deepest pockets: Samsung.

The rollout of Android 4.0 is occurring very slowly, making the Galaxy Nexus the primary vehicle for Google's latest version of its mobile operating system. The 4.0 release aims at bringing a variety of enhancements and technologies originally created to enable Android to power tablets systems in last year's Android 3.0 Honeycomb release. It's also required to install Google's latest Chrome browser.

While Android 4.0 currently only represents 1 percent of the installed base of Android devices, the Galaxy Nexus also represents the more profitable higher end of the Android product range, making it more effective for Apple to target than the large volume of virtually profitless basic feature phones that also use Android.

Disrupting its feature set and forcing the removal infringing features from Android 4.0 will likely blunt the deployment of other Android licensee's high end products, making it even more difficult to earn profits on the platform.

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View the original article here

Samsung Galaxy 10.1N cleared for sale in Germany

By Mikey Campbell

Published: 06:36 PM EST (03:36 PM PST)

One week after denying Apple an injunction against the Galaxy Tab 10.1N, a German court on Thursday officially cleared the reworked Samsung tablet for sale after the original was banned for copying the "look and feel" of the iPad.

The legal battle is over for the Galaxy Tab 10.1N in Germany as the state court in Dusseldorf handed down a ruling that states there are "clear differences" between the Samsung tablet and Apple's iPad, reports Reuters.

Apple initially won a permanent sales ban against the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in September, 2011, which forced Samsung to create the 10.1N, a device meant to bypass the injunction by changing certain aesthetic features shared with the iPad.

The "new" tablet was released in November and effectively skirts the injunction, which was upheld in January.

Samsung's Android-based tablet is seen as a direct competitor to the ubiquitous iPad, and today's German win adds to Apple's recent court losses to ban the device in the U.S., the Netherlands and Australia.

The two companies are ensnarled in a worldwide patent dispute that includes suits in the U.S., Australia, Japan, Korea and Europe after the Cupertino, Calif., company first attacked in April, alleging that a number of Samsung's mobile phones and tablets infringed on intellectual property rights.

Samsung has filed counter-suits against Apple in Germany regarding cellular technology patents, though the Galaxy maker has already lost two cases with a third scheduled for decision in March.

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Apple co-founder Steve Jobs did serve on White House council in '90s
Swiss company seeks iPhone, Apple TV ban over alleged patent infringement
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Apple now offers basic 13-in. $999 MacBook Air to education buyers
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FOSS Patents reports that Apple has filed a motion for preliminary injunction in the U.S. to ban sales of Samsung Galaxy Nexus for infringing four patents last week.

Apple is suing Samsung for the following four patents:

the "data tapping" patent based on which the ITC ordered an import ban against HTCa patent related to Siri and unified search, which must be of huge concern to Google with a view to its core businessa new slide-to-unlock patent that even had the head of the Taiwanese government profoundly worrieda word completion patent that provides major speed improvements for touchscreen text entryFOSS Patents' Florian Mueller terms these four patents as the "Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse".Since all the four patents are software patents, it looks like Apple is going after Google's Android indirectly. Samsung Galaxy Nexus is also the first flagship device running the stock version of Ice Cream Sandwich (Android 4.0).It will be interesting to see how Samsung and by proxy Google responds to these patent infringement claims. According to Mueller, Google has the following options:Theoretically, Google could remove the functionality protected by any of these patents in order to keep the product on sale, but if it changes the program code of a lead device, this would make it particularly clear to everyone else in the market that there's an infringement issue.

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Phone or Tablet ? Samsung themselves have been unable to decide how to promote the Galaxy Note. With a massive 5.3? screen , active digitizer, the Galaxy Note is also the perfect note taking device. How does it cope up as a phone ? Read the FoneArena Galaxy Note review to find out.

For starters lets give you an  idea about the size of the Note, thats the device next to the iPhone 4S.

And here is  Note next to the Galaxy Nexus and the Galaxy S2

Hardware

One look at the Galaxy Note and all you can notice is the screen. Massive , bright , gorgeous. The screen is the highlight of the device which is essentially a giant sized Galaxy S2. Much heavier than the S2 , the Note weighs in at 173gms compared to the light 116gms of the S2.

The build quality is above average and the patterned back actually feels quite nice in hand.

The Note is definitely one of the most powerful devices in the market at the moment and comes equipped with a giant list of features which includes :

146.9 x 83 x 9.7 mm, 178g Phone-Tablet hybrid formfactor5.3 Inch 16 Million colors Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen at WXGA resolution of 1280 x 800 pixelsAndroid 2.3.5 Gingerbread with TouchWiz UI1.4 GHz dual core Exynos chipset Cortex A9 CPU (with a Mali-400MP GPU) and 1GB of RAM8 Megapixel auto-focus camera, with single LED Flash, and 1080p video recording capabilities, and 2 Megapixel front-facing camera16GB or 32GB internal memory, expandable thanks to microsD slotQuad band GSM/GPRS/EDGE (21 Mbps HSDPA, 5.76 Mbps HSUPA), Wifi a/b/g/n, Wifi direct, Gyro sensor, ambient light sensor, accelerometer, optional NFC, Assisted GPS, Bluetooth 3.0, microUSB charging2,500mAh batteryAdobe Flash Player 10.3 supportDivX/XviD support and TV-out (adapter required)S Pen Stylus

The back of the phone sports an 8MP camera with an LED.  The speaker grill can be seen at the bottom of the phone.

A stylus is provided which slots neatly into the phone. Removing the stylus takes a bit of effort due to the tight fit.

The front is dominated by the screen. A front camera and ambient light sensor is placed to the top right of the device. The space below the screen has a single home key flanked by two capacitive buttons. The buttons light up on touch but are otherwise fairly invisible.

The right side of the phone sports the power / standby key while the left has a volume adjustment rocker.

The buttons work as expected though could do with a bit more feedback. A camera key would have been definitely appreciated as well.

The micro USB port (which doubles as an MHL port for HDMI output) is at the bottom of device while the 3.5mm audio jack is up top.

We’ll keep this section short as there really isn’t anything to complain about here. The Note is an absolute monster in terms of tech specs !

Display

The device uses a 5.3 inch Samsung SuperAMOLED HD display with a resolution of 1280×720 pixels packing 285 pixels per inch. While it feels a bit odd to use the device for regular phone functions.Its a treat to watch videos and browse the internet on the Note.

More pics of the display below

Software

The Galaxy Note runs Android Gingerbread 2.3.5 with TouchWiz over it. The OS is the same as we’ve seen on millions of Android phones and more specifically Samsung’s Galaxy S line of devices. What is different is the software bundle and the special Note only apps included on the phone. Gestures also feature on the device which makes heavy use of the S-Pen to activate some of these.  The gestures are activated using the small button embedded in the stylus. Swiping upwards with the button on the pen pressed emulates the menu button while swiping from the right emulates the back button. Holding the stylus on the screen creates a screen capture while double tapping opens the notes app.

The notes app dubbed S-Memo in itself makes for the most compelling use of the S-Pen though the included Crayons and Chalk app should entertain you if fancy those writing mediums. The screen includes an active digitizer which makes it capable of detecting pressure and provides a superior inking experience. I’m no designer but using the stylus in itself felt better than on any other phone or tablet.

To test out the capabilities of the digitizer and s-pen combo , i handed over the Note to a professional designer who provided me with a quick sketch. Suffice it to say she was definitely impressed and so was i by the on screen results. Designers looking for a digital medium to sketch ideas while on the go should most definitely take a look at the Samsung Galaxy Note.

Benchmarks

Quadrant Score – 4377

AnTuTu Score – 6316

Smartbench 2011 Productivity- 4200

Smartbench 2011 Gaming – 2341

Linpack (Single Thread) – 64.24

Linpack(Multi Thread)   -  96.16

Browser

The browser on the Note is extremely impressive and is capable of full Flash playback.

Rendering performance is good and with the high resolution display , viewing websites and internet videos is an exceptional experience.

Here is a HTML 5 test of the browser on the Note. It managed to score 182.

Connectivity

Phone calls went through fine but it was bit uneasy to grip for making calls. You should be better off using a wired or bluetooth headset with the note if you intend to make calls. The phone latched on to 3G and HSPA networks where coverage was available and we reached up to 6Mbps download speeds and 1Mbps upload speeds. It can go upto 21Mbps down but it is totally operator dependent.

There is Bluetooth , WiFi and WiFi direct. We could send a large file over WiFi direct to the Galaxy S2 from the Note and vice versa in a short span of time.

Camera

The Samsung Galaxy Note packs the same camera module as the well knows Galaxy S2. The image quality is impressive and keeps noise levels suitably low. Video quality in 1080p , 30FPS is equally impressive. Check out the camera samples below.

 Battery Life

The battery life on the Galaxy Note is very impressive. You’d expect the 2500 mAh battery to last a day of usage but with light to medium usage we were able to get almost two days. It is possible to get a solid 9 hours out of the battery even on stressing it.

Conclusion

The Galaxy Note is not really a phone nor is it a tablet , the device stands at the intersection of the two while adding in nifty additions like the S-Memo. Who will buy this device ? Samsung would have you believe that the Note can be used by any person as a phone but it would take a rather large person to not look funny holding the Note to the head. The are no two ways to it , the Note is a large device. Our recommendation is that you try out the device at your neighborhood showroom before paying as you might be put off by the massive size of the device.

Varun Krish contributed to this review

Dhruv Bhutani is a tech enthusiast who tries to keep a tab on the latest and greatest in the mobile and telecom sector. He is currently using a Nokia N9 , N8 , Lumia 800. Catch him on Twitter @DhruvBhutani , you can also reach out on Facebook and G+

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A few weeks back the Galaxy Nexus users had reported about the device getting  4.0.2 update to their devices, but later we came to know that Google pulled off this update due to internal issues and now people from various countries using the Galaxy Nexus have reported that Android update 4.0.2 is rolling out for the GSM version.

With the 4.0.2 update it solves many bugs present in Android 4.0.1, other than that the face recognition has been improved, special effects when using front facing camera has also been improved, there has also been a visual improvement to the lockscreen. DivX support which is was present earlier has been removed but Google has promised that they will bring back the support in a later update, many other features have been enhanced and bugs have been solved.

With 4.0.3 already rolled out for the Nexus S, I wonder what is keeping Google back from updating the same version to the Galaxy Nexus, the 4.0.2 update was meant to be a month old update which has been rolled out now and they will be taking some more time to roll out the 4.0.3 update, or will they directly go to 4.0.4 without updating it to 4.0.3 and this update is just to make the users happy? Well this is possible.

If you can’t wait for the official update to come OTA on your device then you can download the factory image of the update from below and flash it using your recovery.

Yakju

Android 4.0.2 (ICL53F)

mysid

Android 4.0.2 (ICL53F)

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 Validated by Samsung to Business Insider, the Samsung Galaxy Nexus has been delayed to December 8. Mums the word on the cost revelation, but let’s just say, it’s going to be a very merry Christmas.

Rumor has it that Verizon Wireless desired all the hype they can get for the gadget that may perhaps be obtainable on the most important shopping day of the year as they knew the device wouldn’t see daylight before the Black Friday weekend. Hence, they were unanswerable on a release date for the Android 4.0, Ice Cream Sandwich, and the most awaited device.

Theoretically, all three, Verizon Wireless, Samsung or Google aren’t late, cause no release date has ever been on the record. This precisely what happened to HTC’s Thunderbolt, on Verizon Wireless, as nobody ever quoted an apparent release date.

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We have been hearing about the Galaxy Nexus volume bug from the the day it was launched in U.K. It has been covered by every blog and news portal out there, and the users have been reporting and are unhappy about it. There have also been reports that this bug has something to do with 2G and happens only when 2G is kept on. Many people also thought that this was a hardware bug and the device has to be replaced, but now Google has finally acknowledged and responded to this volume bug.

Google has said that they have been working on a “Fix” for Galaxy Nexus and will be pushing this fix on the devices pretty soon. I am sure all the Galaxy Nexus Owners out there must be very relieved by now knowing that this is not a hardware issue but a minor software bug which can be solved by a system update. What remains to be seen is that when Google will be ready with the update and will it be coming with a Android 4.1 update or will it be a normal downloadable package, etc which is unconfirmed. So stay tuned, we will be reporting more on this as soon as we get more information.

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Now, as we all have witnessed Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich), strutting its stuff on the mobile devices, we still haven’t ported it on a tablet yet. Well the people with Galaxy Tab 10.1s waiting for official Android 4.0 to hit their devices have nothing to worry about as Cyanogen himself has confirmed that he has ported CM9 on the Galaxy Tab through his Google+ account.

What Cyanogen had to say: “ICS on the Galaxy Tab 10.1 is pretty great. Coming soon to a CM mirror near you ”.  I have been trying to port the AOSP ROM to my ASUS Transformer from a long time now but was unsuccessfull to get it working, I am happy about the SM9 being ported to Galaxy Tab 10.1 as it will be easier to port to other 10.1 tablets then, maybe Cyanogen is also working on a version for the transformer. Well we still have to wait to confirm all these details. But soon we will enjoy some Ice cream sandwiches on our tablets. Keep an eye on the site because we will be posting the links to the ROMs as soon as it hits the mirror!

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