Hasta La Gadget!

Apple has been filing more than its fair share of NFC-related patents, but it was just granted what could be one of its more important wins at the USPTO. The design for an “on-the-go shopping list” app would help buyers find and pull the trigger on deals through every tool an iPhone has at its disposal, whether it’s taking a snapshot of goods with the camera, punching in the UPC code by hand or tapping an item for an NFC-based “touch scan.” We’ll admit that we’re a bit disappointed at how NFC is used, however. As with an earlier filing, the very short range wireless is kept largely to price comparisons and adding products to a list for a purchase from a store clerk later on, rather than closing the deal outright as we’ve seen with Google Wallet. The original 2008 filing date will also have seen a lot of water flowing under the bridge; there’s no guarantee that any enthusiasm for NFC from the iPhone 3G era will have transferred to the present day. Accordingly, we would be careful about drawing any connections between iOS 6’s Passbook and Apple’s ideas from four years ago — even if Apple has regularly been a never–say–never sort of company.

Filed under: Cellphones

Apple lands patent for NFC-ready shopping app, could make impulse spending an iPhone tap away originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Aug 2012 12:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The back and forth of Apple and Samsung’s spat can be tiring, it’s true, but the legal debacle has its moments. Cupertino’s Scott Forstall, for instance, took the stand on Friday to give some insights on the beginnings of what Apple called “Project Purple,” and the secrecy that surrounded the first iPhone’s development. “We’re starting another project,” Forstall would tell potential recruits to the project, “It’s so secret I cannot tell you what the project is. You are going to have to give up nights and weekends for a couple years.” These were the words that conscripted much of the team that would eventually build Apple’s first phone. Forstall said that the engineers he recruited weren’t told anything about the project or even who they would report to — eventually, Apple locked down one of its Cupertino buildings, affectionately calling it the “purple dorm” for its vague pizza-like aroma.

When Apple’s attorney questioned the senior vice president of iOS software about how the Project Purple team drove innovation, Forstall went on to describe the challenge of building a touch-centric OS. “Everything we dealt with before was based on mouse and keyboard, and here we were changing the entire user interface to be based around touch. We had to rethink everything about what big controls would be knowing where you are in the document, knowing when you reach the list… Every single part of every device had to be rethought for doing touch.” Samsung’s legal team was more concerned with how Project Purple was inspired by competitor devices; Forstall responded by saying that Apple simply tested Purple’s call performance against other devices, noting that “it’s fine to benchmark for performance reasons, it’s not OK to copy and rip something off.”

The comments are interesting, but they probably won’t weight too heavily on the jury’s final decision. Still, the stories are entertaining, and worth a read for those interested in the iPhone’s origins. Even so, we’ll be glad when the patent wars are finally over.

Filed under: Cellphones, Misc. Gadgets

Apple exec talks about the iPhone’s early days, the secrecy of ‘Project Purple’ originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 04 Aug 2012 10:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’re starting to see a distinct shift in US smartphone market share that leaves Android having to share the spotlight. ComScore’s results for this past June have Google hitting a new high of 51.6 percent share, which still gives it something to crow about — that’s both a small increase over a month earlier and a return to the 51 percent mark. However, Android is still competing with an iOS platform that’s been growing at a healthy rate, reaching 32.4 percent of the American space. The fuel for both sides comes from an all too familiar decline in BlackBerry, Symbian and Windows share. Samsung is still in the top spot as far as manufacturers, although it’s shrinking where Apple and HTC are on the way up. We’ll be looking to see how much the Galaxy S III affects the numbers during the summer, but less patient observers can get the manufacturer results after the break and the full scoop on current market share at the source.

Continue reading ComScore: Android back above 51 percent of US share, iOS still growing briskly

Filed under: Cellphones

ComScore: Android back above 51 percent of US share, iOS still growing briskly originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 01 Aug 2012 12:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google’s Gmail app for iOS has been docked by some potential adopters for feeling like a poor cousin to other native apps. It may be worth revisiting: the 1.3 update has just arrived with a much-requested ability to save common image attachments to an iOS device’s photo collection. Should that not be enough, Google has smoothed out animations and scrolling for iPhone and iPod touch owners. The new version has pushed live for everyone, leaving just a quick download between us and saving our parents’ vacation photos for posterity.

Filed under: Cellphones, Software

Gmail for iOS adds option to save photos, becomes a smoother operator originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 31 Jul 2012 13:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Android is most definitely on the upward march when it comes to the world stage. But you might be surprised at how it’s faring in the US: it’s down, according to Strategy Analytics’ estimates. As of the second quarter, Google’s market share dropped from 60.6 percent a year earlier to 56.3 percent. No one would call it a moment of crisis for Android, but it implies that Apple was drawing in more of the customers jumping ship from other platforms — the iPhone climbed to 33.2 percent while RIM and others lost ground. The real tests of where the market is going, we imagine, will come in the second half of the year. Apple will have to survive an American summer full of Galaxy S III variants, while Samsung and the rest of the Android camp may have to cope with a bigger than usual iPhone update as 2012 heads into the sunset.

Filed under: Cellphones

Strategy Analytics: Android lost US market share in Q2, isn’t losing sleep just yet originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Jul 2012 16:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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