Tech Roundup: Oct 13, 2012
Appeals Court reverses ban on Galaxy Nexus:
It may be worth remembering that Judge Lucy Koh of the US District Court granted a sales ban on the Google nexus phone months back for violating Apple's Universal Search patent. But now, the US Federal Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has overturned the US ban on the Samsung Galaxy Nexus stating Apple failed to furnish adequate evidence to grant an injunction. Not only that, the Appeals court has admonished the District Court in California for abusing its discretion. Bad times for Apple?
Apple gets OK to use Swiss clockface design on its iPad clock app:
When iOS 6 update was rolled out last month, the newly added clock app for iPad drew surprise attacks of plagiarism after extensive similarities with the iconic Swiss national railway aka SBB's clock design was discovered. SBB and Apple have now reached a licensing agreement by which the tech giant can continue using the design for an undisclosed compensation.
Apple iPad Mini on October 23, according to AllThingsD:
Days leading to the launch of iPhone 5 were full of leaks about the device and things continue to leak in the same fashion with the much rumored and awaited iPad Mini. Is Apple doubling down on secrecy? I wonder. Anyway according to latest rumor mills, the 7.85-inch iPad will be launched at an event on October 23 and will sport the new lightning dock connector. Whatever be the case, it is clear that Apple is playing catch up once again in a market which Jobs thought was dead on arrival. Similar things come to one's mind when Apple previously stated the 3.5-inch screen on the iPhone was the perfect size for a handheld device and later gave in to the market sentiment by finally announcing a 4-inch iPhone 5 previous month.
Next Nexus smartphone from LG on October 29:
It's just not the iPad Mini, the next Google Nexus smartphone is also making news for its rumored announcement this month. Manufactured by LG and modeled on its Optimus G flagship (How I detest the word flagship!), it is supposed to be running on Android 4.2. Updated Jelly Bean or Key Lime Pie? We will know in some time.
HTC Q3 financials down 79% YoY:
Android and Windows Phone handset maker HTC reported another disappointing quarter with a net profit of $133.2 million on total revenues of $2.4 billion, down massively from last year's $636.5 million net profit on $4.64 billion revenue, reports The Verge. The fact remains that its One X and One S, despite winning critical acclaim, failed to turn its tide and hopes its upcoming Windows Phone 8X, 8S and One X+ will help reverse its problems.
Apple vs. Android - the defining platform contest for Schmidt:
Former CEO of Google, Eric Schmidt, has remarked that in the ecosystem wars, the fight between Apple and Android is the most definitive and has gone on record to say that the open-sourced operating system was emerging the winner in terms of market share. He also added the intensification of the platform war can only benefit the customer and considered the larger battle to be between the 'gang of four' - Facebook, Amazon, Apple and Google while deliberately dismissing Microsoft stating the Redmond had not brought any state-of-the-art products to the market.
Google's solution to solve its anti-trust violations:
Search behemoth Google has been under the scrutiny of European Commission for abusing its market dominance to push its own products in the search results page while awarding lower page ranks for its competitors. As a step forward, the company has offered to label its own services, predominantly maps, stock quotes and flight details, in the results page.
Microsoft vs. Motorola err... Google in patent fight:
There is no denying the fact that Microsoft is making quite a lot of money by striking patent-licensing deals with Android handset manufacturers like Samsung, HTC, LG, Barnes & Noble and several others for using an operating system that infringes on a number of its patents. In its latest move to bring Motorola or rather Google under its toe, the Windows maker has sued Motorola for violating a patent concerning maps while naming Google as a defendant. "It became necessary to add Google to this particular case because Motorola maintains that it lacks sufficient information about actions occurring on Google's servers," said a Microsoft spokesperson in an e-mailed statement on Friday. Google has said it defend itself and that '(w)e want to focus on innovation, not litigation'. Now is that a jibe at Apple?
Windows 8 priced and available for pre-order:
Microsoft is gearing for the next big thing and with its upcoming desktop OS launch less than a fortnight away, it has kicked off the pre-orders for $70 for a DVD pack upgrade. Users can also wait till the launch date October 26 to download the OS to their PCs for $40 (no DVD pack). This offer is expected to expire coming January 2013. Also in queue is a $15 upgrade for those who purchase a Windows PC between June 2, 2012 and January 31, 2013. All computers currently running on Windows XP, Vista and 7 are eligible for the upgrade with certain caveats.
Apple iPhone's camera and build quality woes:
Apple iPhone 5 is a stunner of a phone no doubt. But unfortunately the handset has been found to be very much scratch prone and so in an attempt to improve its build quality, it has asked Foxconn to maintain the usual high production standards people associate Apple's products with. But this quality control measure comes at a cost of a longer production time and can likely affect its supply. The camera on the phone has also come under the scanner after users started complaining about a purplish flare on certain photos. Apple has sought to clarify the issue stating it was perfectly normal and happens when the light source is just outside the field of view. "Moving the camera slightly to change the position at which the bright light is entering the lens, or shielding the lens with your hand, should minimize or eliminate the effect," says the support note put up in the Apple website.
In other news:
It may be worth remembering that Judge Lucy Koh of the US District Court granted a sales ban on the Google nexus phone months back for violating Apple's Universal Search patent. But now, the US Federal Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has overturned the US ban on the Samsung Galaxy Nexus stating Apple failed to furnish adequate evidence to grant an injunction. Not only that, the Appeals court has admonished the District Court in California for abusing its discretion. Bad times for Apple?
Apple gets OK to use Swiss clockface design on its iPad clock app:
When iOS 6 update was rolled out last month, the newly added clock app for iPad drew surprise attacks of plagiarism after extensive similarities with the iconic Swiss national railway aka SBB's clock design was discovered. SBB and Apple have now reached a licensing agreement by which the tech giant can continue using the design for an undisclosed compensation.
Apple iPad Mini on October 23, according to AllThingsD:
Days leading to the launch of iPhone 5 were full of leaks about the device and things continue to leak in the same fashion with the much rumored and awaited iPad Mini. Is Apple doubling down on secrecy? I wonder. Anyway according to latest rumor mills, the 7.85-inch iPad will be launched at an event on October 23 and will sport the new lightning dock connector. Whatever be the case, it is clear that Apple is playing catch up once again in a market which Jobs thought was dead on arrival. Similar things come to one's mind when Apple previously stated the 3.5-inch screen on the iPhone was the perfect size for a handheld device and later gave in to the market sentiment by finally announcing a 4-inch iPhone 5 previous month.
Next Nexus smartphone from LG on October 29:
It's just not the iPad Mini, the next Google Nexus smartphone is also making news for its rumored announcement this month. Manufactured by LG and modeled on its Optimus G flagship (How I detest the word flagship!), it is supposed to be running on Android 4.2. Updated Jelly Bean or Key Lime Pie? We will know in some time.
HTC Q3 financials down 79% YoY:
Android and Windows Phone handset maker HTC reported another disappointing quarter with a net profit of $133.2 million on total revenues of $2.4 billion, down massively from last year's $636.5 million net profit on $4.64 billion revenue, reports The Verge. The fact remains that its One X and One S, despite winning critical acclaim, failed to turn its tide and hopes its upcoming Windows Phone 8X, 8S and One X+ will help reverse its problems.
Apple vs. Android - the defining platform contest for Schmidt:
Former CEO of Google, Eric Schmidt, has remarked that in the ecosystem wars, the fight between Apple and Android is the most definitive and has gone on record to say that the open-sourced operating system was emerging the winner in terms of market share. He also added the intensification of the platform war can only benefit the customer and considered the larger battle to be between the 'gang of four' - Facebook, Amazon, Apple and Google while deliberately dismissing Microsoft stating the Redmond had not brought any state-of-the-art products to the market.
Google's solution to solve its anti-trust violations:
Search behemoth Google has been under the scrutiny of European Commission for abusing its market dominance to push its own products in the search results page while awarding lower page ranks for its competitors. As a step forward, the company has offered to label its own services, predominantly maps, stock quotes and flight details, in the results page.
Microsoft vs. Motorola err... Google in patent fight:
There is no denying the fact that Microsoft is making quite a lot of money by striking patent-licensing deals with Android handset manufacturers like Samsung, HTC, LG, Barnes & Noble and several others for using an operating system that infringes on a number of its patents. In its latest move to bring Motorola or rather Google under its toe, the Windows maker has sued Motorola for violating a patent concerning maps while naming Google as a defendant. "It became necessary to add Google to this particular case because Motorola maintains that it lacks sufficient information about actions occurring on Google's servers," said a Microsoft spokesperson in an e-mailed statement on Friday. Google has said it defend itself and that '(w)e want to focus on innovation, not litigation'. Now is that a jibe at Apple?
Windows 8 priced and available for pre-order:
Microsoft is gearing for the next big thing and with its upcoming desktop OS launch less than a fortnight away, it has kicked off the pre-orders for $70 for a DVD pack upgrade. Users can also wait till the launch date October 26 to download the OS to their PCs for $40 (no DVD pack). This offer is expected to expire coming January 2013. Also in queue is a $15 upgrade for those who purchase a Windows PC between June 2, 2012 and January 31, 2013. All computers currently running on Windows XP, Vista and 7 are eligible for the upgrade with certain caveats.
Apple iPhone's camera and build quality woes:
Apple iPhone 5 is a stunner of a phone no doubt. But unfortunately the handset has been found to be very much scratch prone and so in an attempt to improve its build quality, it has asked Foxconn to maintain the usual high production standards people associate Apple's products with. But this quality control measure comes at a cost of a longer production time and can likely affect its supply. The camera on the phone has also come under the scanner after users started complaining about a purplish flare on certain photos. Apple has sought to clarify the issue stating it was perfectly normal and happens when the light source is just outside the field of view. "Moving the camera slightly to change the position at which the bright light is entering the lens, or shielding the lens with your hand, should minimize or eliminate the effect," says the support note put up in the Apple website.
In other news:
- Windows 8 desktop apps exceed the 4000 count.
- Firefox 16 taken offline less than a day after its release following a security scare; subsequently patched.
- Apple removes an iPhone game on Foxconn suicides from the App store citing objectionable content.
- Worldwide mobile subscriptions cross 6 billion, according to International Telecom Union.
- Microsoft said to be spending $1 billion for marketing Windows 8.
- Microsoft Office 2013 development complete, available for general public early 2013.
- Samsung announces Galaxy S III Mini with a 4-inch display, 1 GHz dual-core processor, 1 GB RAM and Android Jelly Bean.
- Micro-blogging social network Tumblr announces its standalone photo sharing app Photoset for iOS.
- Google rolls out massive update for Street View; adds 40,000 kms of roads.
- Lenovo beats HP to become the world's top PC maker according to Gartner; HP labels the report as not 'comprehensive'.
- Google launches free SMS service on Gmail for India.
- Online retailer eBay revamps its website, adds personalized discovery feed.
- Google Play to offer free trials for in-app subscriptions.
- Android Jelly Bean 4.1.2 update rolling out for Nexus 7; brings in landscape mode.
- Twitter rumored to be planning its own video hosting service, according to AllThingsD.
- Native Facebook app for Android reported to be in its final stages of testing.
- UK government pumps in $18.6 million to fund 5G network research.
- Indian Railways launches RailRadar, lets you track 6,500 trains real-time via Google Maps.
- HTC announces Android Ice Cream Sandwich running Desire X for Rs. 19,799.
- Apple new iPod Touch now shipping.
- Support for Microsoft Office 97-2003 format in Google Docs extended till Jan 31, 2013.
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