Android Authority |
- Apple, HTC sign 10-year patent cross-licensing deal: mutually beneficial?
- How Orca’s failure may have cost Mitt Romney thousands of votes
- Chinese government blocks Google services during start of Communist Party Congress
- 16GB Nexus 7 buyers getting $50 refund from Google, certain conditions apply
- Apple apology to Samsung punished with fine, iPhone maker has to pay Samsung legal fees
- Leaked Office Depot Black Friday ad lists $229 $32GB Nexus 7, other Android goodies
- Facebook integrates desktop and mobile teams to unify experience
- Official Predators game lands in the Google Play Store
- Updated Google Currents may be arriving soon
- Sprint spent $200 million in Q3 to bolster its 3G CDMA network. Why?
| Apple, HTC sign 10-year patent cross-licensing deal: mutually beneficial? Posted: 11 Nov 2012 01:53 AM PST
Not all court litigation ends in costly legal fees and court-determined payment of damages. Some choose to end it early on and just settle out-of-court. While Apple has won a whopping billion dollars in its landmark patent infringement case against Samsung, it’s not the same case for other mobile manufacturers. For one, even as Apple has sued HTC for infringing some of is software patents, the two companies have now agreed to a cross-licensing deal that is viewed as potentially mutually beneficial. With the cross-licensing deal, HTC will now be allowed to use the following technologies and UI elements on smartphones during the term, among others:
The terms of the cross-licensing deal are still confidential, although given the companies’ joint press release, the deal is a “global settlement” that will dismiss “all current lawsuits” and a “ten-year licensing agreement.” The cross-licensing deal also extends to future patents that either company may hold. But while the press release does not indicate any amount, we believe that at least some money will exchange hands. For one, HTC representative Jeff Gordon says HTC “does not expect this license agreement to have any adverse material impact on the financials of the company,” in a statement to The Verge, indicative that the deal does involve some payments on HTC’s part. Digging deeper into the Apple-HTC cross-patent licensing deal, some analysis may put better light into the decision to settle rather than pursue litigation full-on. HTC is not Samsung. Apple’s victory over Samsung may have set a precedent, but it does not mean that Apple will necessarily use this as a gauge of how to deal with other companies. For one, Samsung is a bigger competitor, and Apple was able to adequately present evidence in court, including (1) internal communication that Samsung intended to copy Apple designs, and (2) Samsung products that had visual similarities with Apple’s. Moreover, the large volume of Samsung sales has assured Apple of a hefty fee. With lower sales volumes by HTC, Apple may not expect a big enough fee to be worth pursuing a protracted court case. HTC is small fry. Well, maybe not exactly, but it’s smaller than Samsung, at least. As such, Apple may have thought it better to just deal with HTC lightly rather than go into “thermonuclear war” like what it has done with Samsung. Similarly, HTC has better priorities and may have decided it would have better use of its resources into innovating rather than paying costly lawyer’s fees. HTC is Samsung’s competition. Given Samsung’s performance in terms of volume and market share, the Korean company is Apple’s prime competition at this point. HTC is also struggling to compete with Samsung in both Android and Windows Phone marketplaces, and it might be better for Apple to help HTC eat into Samsung’s market share. Windows Phone 8 may have been a factor. HTC has a long history with Microsoft, having manufactured the first ever Windows Mobile handsets (including as ODM for the HP iPAQ). With the launch of Windows Phone 8, and HTC’s Windows Phone 8 branded smartphones, the Taiwanese firm may have replaced Nokia as Microsoft’s prime smartphone manufacturer (although the rumored Microsoft-developed smartphone may change that in the future). Given Apple’s disdain for all things Android, it might have helped that HTC’s renewed partnership with Microsoft means it might take some of its resources away from Android development. Apple and Microsoft actually have a healthy business relationship, including cross-licensing agreements, and of course a colorful history since the dawn of the PC age. These are mostly speculation and analysis, though. Given the confidential nature of the deal, what may be more important at this point is to expect better innovation from both Apple and HTC — and for the latter, both in Android and Windows Phone. With this settlement, Apple has so far had cross-licensing deals with Nokia and HTC, and has pursued full litigation with Samsung. The only big competitor left in litigation is Motorola Mobility — effectively a proxy for Google. Will this settlement deal mean Apple is gearing up to focus its resources in litigation against Motorola/Google? HTC and Apple Settle Patent Dispute All Patent Litigation Between the Companies Dismissed TAIPEI, Taiwan and CUPERTINO, California—November 10, 2012—HTC and Apple® have reached a global settlement that includes the dismissal of all current lawsuits and a ten-year license agreement. The license extends to current and future patents held by both parties. The terms of the settlement are confidential. "HTC is pleased to have resolved its dispute with Apple, so HTC can focus on innovation instead of litigation," said Peter Chou, CEO of HTC. "We are glad to have reached a settlement with HTC," said Tim Cook, CEO of Apple. "We will continue to stay laser focused on product innovation." Related Posts |
| How Orca’s failure may have cost Mitt Romney thousands of votes Posted: 10 Nov 2012 10:30 PM PST
For those who don’t know, Orca was an application developed by the Mitt Romney campaign to help volunteers. Essentially, it let them check off who had already voted and who hadn’t. This allowed for things like projections and volunteers know who they needed to call to get more votes in. Granted, there aren’t a whole lot of people out there who respond to being constantly called by campaign volunteers. However, if done on the right day, like election day, it might have bolstered a small percentage of people to get up and go vote. So what happened with Mitt Romney’s Project Orca?If it is any indication, a trademark quote from those involved was, “Orca is lying on the beach with a harpoon in it.” If that gives you any indication of how well it actually went. According to The Verge, the app was a monumental disaster. There were just a myriad of issues. People trying to log into the app were having their pins rejected. Orca actually crashed on election day for half an hour during the heat of the voting day. It eventually crashed altogether. According to the Huffington Post there were duplicates checklist items and FAQ answers that didn’t match the questions. It was a total mess. The big question is whether or not Orca affected Mitt Romney’s chances of success. It’s very likely that it didn’t affect the overall outcome of the election. However, every vote counts and you just never know when even a a few thousand votes will matter. Do you think projects like Orca will play a more major roll in future elections? Let us know your thoughts. Related Posts |
| Chinese government blocks Google services during start of Communist Party Congress Posted: 10 Nov 2012 05:19 PM PST
We know how the Chinese government can be restrictive when it comes to online access to information. Google isn’t exactly welcome in China, after an issue involving Google’s accusation that Chinese government hackers have attacked the site. China has since denied access to the Chinese version of Google, and instead redirects users to its Hong Kong servers. As such, this has had serious repercussions in the mobile industry. Android smartphones in China — or Android derivatives like the Xiaomi phones — don’t have access to Google content, but instead access apps and services through their own brands. This actually has a good offshoot, with several local companies rising up to the challenge, in terms of offering services. With almost a billion mobile users, and more than half a billion Internet users, this is a huge market. A big part of China’s Internet population go online from mobile devices. Without access to Twitter, Facebook, Gmail Google+ and other such services, local alternatives abound. There are “Weibo” services that are popular microblogging platforms here. In China, Baidu is the dominant search engine, with over 80% of market share. In contrast, Google’s market share in the country is a paltry 16% or so. While Google has had problems within the so-called Great Firewall of China, the search giant does have services in the country, mostly accessed through VPNs and through its local presence Hong Kong. But during the period in which the Chinese government is changing hands, Google seems to have be totally banned from within the mainland. A few highlights
The said blockage seems to have coincided with the 18th Party Congress, during which China’s government has been expected to do its once-a-decade leadership change. Google is not alone in this shakedown, though. The Chinese government has been clamping down on other possible sources of dissent. The New York Times notes that government has gone as far as replace books in bookstores and even ban balloons because these could carry protest messages. China has since lifted the ban, although the nature of DNS poisoning would mean that services will be fully restored within a three-day period during which ISPs refresh their DNS caches. Users can also manually flush their computer’s DNS cache. Why this is importantAs earlier mentioned, China is a big mobile and Internet market. But with severe restrictions on content and access, this can be a particularly difficult market to breach, especially for western firms offering social networking services. More importantly, these blocks are severely limiting to Internet users in the country, who are subject to censorship, and who are even at risk of summary legal proceedings for online dissent. China has also required microblogging service users to register using their real names, a move that was aimed at banning anonymous posts, and therefore a clampdown on dissent. This arbitrary blockage also indicates that the Chinese government can again arbitrarily block any website or web service if it deems these potentially dangerous to be accessed within its constituency. While the current ban on Google services seems to have been done as a precaution during the current party congress, similar blockages have also been done before, likewise coinciding with events that were potentially politically-charged, such as the Arab Spring. There is also the question of whether the Chinese government has done this as a test. The ban on Google is currently lifted, but there’s no knowing of whether regulators will enforce a DNS poisoning attack again, or even other methods of blocking. I’m not sure how many readers we have from China, but if you’re undergoing similar Google downtimes, please share your experiences. Related Posts |
| 16GB Nexus 7 buyers getting $50 refund from Google, certain conditions apply Posted: 10 Nov 2012 03:44 PM PST
Just the other day, we told you that Asus is ready to offer €30 vouchers to Nexus 7 buyers that purchased the tablet before October 29. That's when Google introduced the new 32GB Nexus 7 versions and that's also when the company announced the new pricing structure of the Nexus 7 tablets. The 8GB version was discontinued and the 16GB took its place to be sold for $199 a pop. The 32GB models will sell at $249 (Wi-Fi version) and $299 (3G model). Considering all this, Asus decided to give money back to Nexus 7 buyers. But the refund program is only available in Europe and it only applies to Nexus 7 units purchased either from Asus or Google. Now we learn that Google is also ready to refund money to Nexus 7 buyers that got one before Nexus 7. By "before," Google means 15 days of the price reduction on Google Play. So if you purchased one on October 13, well, then you're out of luck:
As for 8GB models that were purchased in the same period, well, you're out of luck again. Related Posts |
| Apple apology to Samsung punished with fine, iPhone maker has to pay Samsung legal fees Posted: 10 Nov 2012 03:21 PM PST
While not comparable with Apple's U.S. $1.05 billion win – which isn’t satisfying to either party by the way, for different reasons, obviously – the fact that Apple has to pay Samsung's UK legal fees has to mean something for South Korean giant and the public. When did that happen? Well, in case you missed it, earlier this year the Galaxy Tab 10.1 was declared to be not as cool as the iPad, and therefore it was found to be not infringing on Apple patents. The UK court decided that Apple should apologize to Samsung publicly, on its local website as well as in print. The ruling was appealed by Apple and the company lost. Which brings us to this fall, when Apple started apologizing to Samsung. It first posted a lengthy message on its website in which it acknowledged the decision but also made sure the reader was informed on other rulings in other similar cases between the two companies, rulings that were favorable to Apple. That apology wasn't good for the court, and Apple was ordered to reword it. That's what the company did, but it apparently changed the code on its website, to make the modified apology visible only if the user scrolled the webpage downwards. The wording was indeed changed, although the word "sorry" or any synonym of it wasn't found in it. The same goes for the print apology, which went live sometime between the two online versions. Which brings us to today, when we find out via The Verge that Apple will have to pay Samsung its legal fees, as UK judges did not find Apple's apology shenanigans funny and decided to award Samsung a little bonus:
How much will Apple pay? We may never find out but patent lawyers are very expensive. Related Posts |
| Leaked Office Depot Black Friday ad lists $229 $32GB Nexus 7, other Android goodies Posted: 10 Nov 2012 02:37 PM PST
With just two weeks to go until Black Friday 2012, things are hitting up in the leaked ads department. We've seen various leaks this week, from a variety electronic retailers, and we've seen plenty of Android deals in those flyers. But there's always room for more, therefore we're now looking at the leaked Office Depot Black Friday ad that has plenty of interesting offers. One of the most exciting one is the 32GB Nexus 7 (Wi-Fi model) that will sell for $229.99, which is $20 less than what everyone is selling it for, even on Black Friday. And then there's also an interesting Samsung bundle that includes a laptop and an Android tablet. In what follows, we're going to share with you all the Android products listed in the flyer: Android Tablets
Android Smartphones
Accessories
Did you see anything that you'd like to buy from Office Depot this Black Friday? Related Posts |
| Facebook integrates desktop and mobile teams to unify experience Posted: 10 Nov 2012 12:53 PM PST
In the latest Facebook “Under the Hood” blog post, engineer Michael Eyal Sharon mentions that by better integrating its teams, Facebook hopes it will become more of a whole experience rather than several disparate experiences. One of the more interesting tidbits Sharon touches upon in the blog post is that, in the beginning, the Facebook iOS app was developed by a single person, before moving on to a small team of developers. For some time, the teams developing the Facebook web app and its mobile app were completely separate. While this worked in the short term, it was clear that this method wouldn’t scale well. While there are still separate teams, they work much more closely now, and according to the post, the teams “have taken ownership of their product experiences across both desktop and our mobile apps.” The standalone Messanger and Camera apps were born out of this new method of operation.
As two of the most used functions of Facebook’s mobile app, it makes sense to break off the Messanger and Camera aspects into smaller apps that can launch more quickly and be easier to use while still integrating with the main Facebook app. While most of the blog post focuses on Facebook for iOS, we can hope that it will apply to the native Facebook Android app that will supposedly be released soon. Sharon mentions that the Facebook app shares a code base with the standalone Messanger and Camera apps for iOS, and seemingly the Android Facebook Messenger app works similarly. Hopefully when the fully native Android app arrives, utilizing a shared code base, combined with Facebook’s new timed released cycle will lead to faster, more efficient updates. How often do you use Facebook’s mobile apps compared to its web app? Do you think that this unified approach will benefit the new Android app when it is released? Related Posts |
| Official Predators game lands in the Google Play Store Posted: 10 Nov 2012 11:34 AM PST
While it may not be the Alien vs. Predator game that we heard was coming in November, Angry Mob Games and Fox Entertainment have teamed up to release a new Predators game in the Google Play Store. The game sees you playing as a Predator creature who is trying to earn its way into a full membership within the Predators clan. Your goal is to take down the deadliest Killers from Earth, but it’s not only humans you’ll be fighting; you’ll also be fighting other Predators who want to stop you from achieving you goal. Luckily, you will be well equipped to track down and eliminate your prey. Your tools will include your Stealth Generator and Thermal Vision, along with a variety of weapons including your wrist blade, spears, long-range cannons, Smart Disc, Razor Whip and Net Gun. Take a look at the video below for a hint of what the game will look like in action. Predators will cost you $2.99 and is a 105MB download in the Google Play Store. The game is optimized for NVIDIA Tegra and Xperia Play devices. Have you tried the Predators game? Are you excited for an Android Alien vs Predator game?
Related Posts |
| Updated Google Currents may be arriving soon Posted: 10 Nov 2012 09:26 AM PST
Those will keen eyes might notice something in the The Verge’s Nexus announcement video from a while back: an updated version of Google Currents. If you’ve never used it before, Google Currents is essentially Google’s version of Flipboard, a magazine style reader app for mobile devices. The app hasn’t been talked about much since it’s release in December of 2011, but with this new update, that might change. Google Currents hasn’t been updated since June, so it could be due for an update. The new look appears to be inspired by the Google+ Android app. The image below shows what a newly updated Google Currents might look like on the Nexus 10.
No announcement of a new version of Google Currents has been made, but as it comes preinstalled on Nexus devices now, Google may be waiting until the Nexus 4 and Nexus 10 go on sale on Tuesday, November 13. It’s possible that the version of the app seen in the video is just a prototype, but it’s unlikely Google would have allowed it to be recorded if this was the case. Are you a Google Currents user? What features would you like to see if the app does indeed get an update? Related Posts |
| Sprint spent $200 million in Q3 to bolster its 3G CDMA network. Why? Posted: 10 Nov 2012 05:59 AM PST
Sprint is lagging behind other carriers in America with its 4G LTE network expansion, which explains why it has recently announced its goal of bringing LTE to more than 100 new markets in the coming months. Although 4G LTE is the "it" thing in the telecom industry, it's clear that there are still many wireless customers out there who are still stuck on 3G. A recent filing made by Sprint to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) reveals that the carrier spent $200 million on legacy 3G platform equipment in the third quarter of the year to improve the capacity on its CDMA network. It's simply a case of Sprint wanting to make sure that it can handle the increased data usage on its legacy network, while slowly rolling out of the more advanced LTE network. It's not going to be the last one either. Sprint wrote on the filing: "We expect additional capital expenditures of legacy equipment until our network modernization is substantially complete.” Talking to Fierce Wireless, Sprint spokesman Scott Sloat explained that the spending was a necessity, given that the company has to accommodate more users on its platform, particularly smartphone users. Sloat noted that Sprint added more than 900,000 new subscribers in Q3. Sprint said it'll keep encouraging subscribers with 3G devices to make the jump to 4G LTE. So far, the carrier has sold over 1 million 4G LTE-enabled devices to its subscribers, whom we’re sure can’t wait to get 4G LTE signal bar on their devices. We hope some of them won’t mind waiting until the end of 2013 for the LTE roll out to be completed. Related Posts |
| You are subscribed to email updates from Android Authority To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
No comments:
Post a Comment