Hasta La Gadget!

Is that a great white one?

(Credit: KTLA-TV Screenshot by Chris Matyszczyk/CNET)

You’re at the beach with your 12-year-old and his friend.

Everyone’s having a lovely time, so you take out your phone or some other device and snap a picture of the happy moment.

When you look at it later, you see there’s something in the background. Yes, that long thing in the water.

Is that a fish? Wait, is that a baby great white shark?

This seems to have been the sequence of events described by mom June Emerson of her oceanside visit to Manhattan Beach, Calif.

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Tablets kickstarted the “post-PC” revolution and now they are one of the most preferred methods of on the go computing. Its safe to say that the netbook category has been wiped out by tablets, which aimed to bring portable computing at a relatively low price as opposed to traditional notebooks. A wide variety of OEMs manufacture tablets, though Apple’s the only one making tablets that run on iOS. According to Digitimes research, ASUS and Apple are currently the top two tablet vendors in Japan.

As far as operating system is concerned, Android and iOS dominate the market share in the Land of The Rising Sun. Digitimes research reveals that during January-October 2013, over 94.4 percent was accounted for by Android and iOS in Japan. If there ever was a duopoly, it would certainly look like this. Particularly for Apple, Japan is a very lucrative market, its actually the company’s fastest growing market with margins being 15 percent higher than anywhere else in the world. Figures revealed earlier this year showed Apple dominating 37 percent and 50 percent of the smartphone and tablet market in the country, respectively. During the past fiscal year alone Apple’s sales in Japan surged 30 percent. Moreover in October, the iPhones accounted for 76 percent of all smartphone sales in the country.

Apple And ASUS Top Two Tablet Vendors In Japan [Research] original content from Ubergizmo.

Nokia has been taking on HTC for patent infringement in a number of countries. It was able to get an injunction against the Taiwanese manufacturer in the UK and even went after the company in France as well as Germany. Last week it won an injunction against HTC in Germany which covers all Android devices that use USB ports for connecting to a PC, though HTC had the option to appeal. A similar country-wide injunction has been handed down today which also includes all Android devices made by HTC.

The Munich I Regional Court found that the company’s Android devices infringe on Nokia’s EP1148681 patent titled “method for transferring resource information,” as the devices let users connect two HTC devices over Bluetooth or NFC and transfer resource information, such as a URL. If Nokia wants to enforce this injunction it has to post a $550 million bond, which would mean that HTC devices will be taken off the shelves in Germany and recalled from commercial users. The court requires that the bond be submitted before the injunction is enforced so that in case HTC appeals and wins in the appeals court and then demands compensation for wrongful enforcement, the money already resides with the court.

German Court Hands Down Patent Injunction Against All HTC Android Devices original content from Ubergizmo.

You know how it feels to squint at a pixelated video. Now imagine if being able to tell what you’re looking at were a matter of life or death. According to a searing first-hand account in The Guardian, that’s a situation drone operators face all the time.

Read more…

U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota has today taken up the battle cry of numerous legislators before her, calling for wireless carriers to enable new anti-theft technology on handsets.

According to the Senator, one-third of robberies involve cell phone theft, resulting in an estimated $30 billion in lost or stolen phones.

That said, Klobuchar has written a letter to the heads of the major wireless carriers, including Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and U.S. Cellular.

In the letter, she requests an explanation as to why “the most advanced security features” haven’t been provided to consumers.

This comes on the heels of Apple’s iOS 7 launch, which included an Activation Lock feature inside Find My iPhone. This essentially worked as a kill switch, requiring the owners passcode to reactive an account, wipe the device, turn off Find My iPhone, or sign out of iCloud.

The NYT reported last month that Samsung was trying to bring a similar technology to handsets but that it was rejected by carriers.

After all, the carriers make a pretty penny from insurance policies protecting against lost or stolen phones, which has become a huge issue in major cities. Cops have even lovingly given iPhone theft a name: Apple picking.

Meanwhile, carriers have made light of phone theft with stupid commercials. All this while people get hurt.

Here’s the full text of Senator Amy Klobuchar’s letter:

Dear Messrs. McAdam, Stephenson, Hesse, Legere, and Meyers:

I am writing to express my concern regarding the increase in crimes involving the theft of mobile devices across the country. As a member of the Senate Commerce Committee and the Senate Judiciary Committee, I understand that consumers are utilizing more mobile technology and this is spurring growth in our economy. Unfortunately, more and more consumers are also at risk of being targeted by criminals looking to steal cell phones and other devices for illegal resale. I appreciate the work the industry has done in creating a database to keep stolen phones from being reactivated, but more action is needed.

According to the Federal Communications Commission, almost one-in-three robberies involve phone theft and the cost to consumers of lost or stolen phones is more than $30 billion each year. I’ve heard from local law enforcement officials about the continued call for the wireless industry to engage with them further and to adopt “kill switch” technologies on devices. Additionally, state Attorneys General have suggested that wireless carriers have not taken adequate steps to fight cell phone theft.

As Chairman of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights, I expect wireless carriers to compete against one another to ensure consumers are offered the most advanced security features and offerings. Your five companies are the nation’s leading wireless carriers, collectively serving more than 90 percent of the nation’s wireless subscribers. With that market share comes an obligation to do all you can to utilize technologies available to protect consumers.

While I understand your companies are continuing to work with law enforcement on the stolen cell phone database, it is clear that consumers want and deserve a comprehensive strategy to prevent mobile device thefts. That is why I respectfully request that each of your companies provides my Judiciary Subcommittee detailed information on the following issues by January 9, 2014:

· Information explaining whether you have had offers by handset manufacturers to install “kill switch” technology, and, if so, why your company has or has not adopted such technology.

· Information about whether you have considered including this solution on handsets made by manufacturers now competing with Apple’s activation lock technology that operates as a “kill switch” on iPhones. If not, please describe your reasoning behind the decision made by your company.

· How your company will include such technology options at no cost to consumers in the future and how your phone security offerings differ from your competitors.

Identifying ways to curb mobile device theft is a top priority of mine and I will continue to advocate for the American wireless consumer. I also believe additional action to protect wireless consumers is necessary and that’s why I am asking you for this information. The status quo is not acceptable.

Sincerely,

Amy Klobuchar