Hasta La Gadget!

Dear Internet: These handles do NOT light up, and we never said that they do. Where on earth did you get that idea?

To promote the new Star Wars “The Complete Saga” Blu-ray DVD boxset release that went on sale from Sept 16th in Japan, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment Japan are running a very cool campaign on Tokyo’s trains. For a period the train’s railings have been transformed into life size lightsabers.

It is the first time that the hand rails have been used in an advertising campaign in Japan, and is a fantastic use of promotional real estate. The effect is very well thought out and was generating a bit of chatter on the train amongst those riding. Whole trains are often taken over for large campaigns where captive audiences can be targeted during their commute, and can cost up to ¥10 million.

It is rumored that George Lucas himself was shown the campaign images and loved the idea…well if it drives sales of his products why wouldn’t he! With so much of advertising going digital and hi-tech these days, it is nice to see new and imaginitive ways where simple design can also generate as much return as those more costly campaigns.

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Woo, boy. We’ve been bursting at the seams to share this one, and it’s finally time — Engadget is teaming up with the one and only eBoy (read our introduction here) in order to open up our very own t-shirt shop! We’ve worked with eBoy over the years, and we’ve never been let down by their mind-blowing work. Every so often, we’ve offered up a stash of shirts for our dear readers to snap up, and every time, they were gone before sundown. That’s just not right. To remedy said quandary, we’ve worked up a beautiful arrangement that’ll have one of our favorite artists whipping out t-shirt designs for us, and they’ll be handling the orders and logistics as they’ve been doing for years. Pre-orders are live worldwide right now, and initial shipments should start flowing around mid-October. Our first five designs are showcased in the gallery below, and if you’re interested, surf on down to the source link below to grab one (or two!). They’re priced at $24 (US / Canada), or €20 elsewhere, and if you’re curious about sizing, have a look at American Apparel’s size chart right here.

We hope you love ’em as much as we do, and we’ll be giving 50 percent of the proceeds received to Child’s Play Charity, which provides games, books and cash for sick kids in children’s hospitals across North America and the world.

The Engadget / eBoy t-shirt shop is officially open, pre-orders start today! originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 16 Sep 2011 14:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  eBoy / Engadget Shop (US and Canada), (Rest of the World)  | Email this | Comments

On September 11, 2001, the World Trade Center transformed from a pair of gleaming towers into a carcinogenic pile of smoldering rubble that’s still killing people. Currently rising out of that rubble, though, is a skyscraper with the most environmentally advanced technologies ever attempted at the scale. More »

Modern humans make the simple task of drinking a hot morning beverage a challenge for industrial designers. More »

A judge in The Hague just issued a ruling in Apple’s patent infringement case against Samsung, prohibiting “the marketing of Samsung smartphones Galaxy S, S II and Ace for violation of Apple Inc. EP 2,059,868.” In an official press release, the court explains that The Hague judge ruled to “ban trading of Samsung smartphones Galaxy S, S II and Ace,” adding that Samsung also violated other did not violate Apple patents with its Galaxy Tab 10.1 and 10.1v. The judge determined that Samsung violated patent 2,059,868, which deals with “method of scrolling,” but did not infringe 2,098,948 for “recording a flag in connection with multiple screen taps,” or 1,964,022, which relates to dragging a slider to unlock the phone. We haven’t been able to confirm, but from an online translation it appears that The ban will remain in effect through begin on October 13th. Hit up the source link for the full 65-page verdict (in Dutch).

Update: A dutch IP attorney has pointed out that the judge has ruled patent 1,964,022 to be null and void, meaning Apple can no longer make claims in the Netherlands based on this patent. The judge also found that Samsung did not infringe on patent 2,098,948. The infringement of 2,059,868 does not affect the Galaxy Tab 10.1. (Correction: the main patent in question is 2,059,868 not 2,058,868.)

Update 2: According to Tweakers.net, Samsung says that it will replace the software that infringes on Apple’s patent (the Gallery application, specifically), which should allow it to continue to sell the phones. Notably, that Gallery application is the standard Android one used in Android 2.3, which also explains why the Galaxy Tab 10.1 is not affected by this ruling. Less clear is what the ruling means for other Android phones that use the same application.

Update 3: Samsung Mobile’s Kim Titus released the following statement:

Today’s ruling is an affirmation that the GALAXY range of products is innovative and distinctive. With regard to the single infringement cited in the ruling, we will take all possible measures including legal action to ensure that there is no disruption in the availability of our GALAXY smartphones to Dutch consumers. This ruling is not expected to affect sales in other European markets. Samsung has a proud history of innovation in the mobile industry. We will continue our plans to introduce new products and technologies that meet and exceed consumer expectations. And we will defend our intellectual property rights through the ongoing legal proceedings around the world.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Netherlands judge rules that Samsung Galaxy S, S II violate Apple patents, bans sales (updated) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Aug 2011 09:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Rechtspraak (Translated), Ruling (Dutch PDF)  | Email this | Comments