Hasta La Gadget!

Marketing agency Razorfish has taken the idea of a regular gumball machine and transformed it into an NFC-enabled prototype that takes quarters and spits out digital content for smartphones instead of gum. Once you’ve inserted the coins and twist the handle, you can hold your smartphone where the gumball chute is supposed to be to have that digital content delivered to your device.

Apps, movies, songs, ebooks and location-based coupons are offered from the prototype, which is probably a whole lot better than gum that loses its flavor after about 5 seconds of chewing it. The prototype uses a Galaxy tab for a display with two Arduino microcontrollers and an NFC reader that has been embedded in the front of an original gum machine metal base.

Razorfish technical director Heiko Schweickhardt said the machine brings “the best of both worlds together” between physical and digital content. While it only took about two days to create, it’s definitely a great little idea that gets us excited about all the possibilities of how NFC technology can be used.

[via Verge]

NFC gumball machine sells digital content instead of candy is written by Elise Moreau & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

The UK judge that ruled that Samsung didn’t copy the iPad because the Galaxy tab was “not as cool” as the iPad has now ordered Apple to take back its accusations against Samsung by publicly saying Samsung did not copy the iPad’s design on the Apple website and various magazines and newspapers. More »

Samsung and SugarSync are already cozy with each other, having struck a deal to put SugarSync’s cloud file sharing on Samsung’s AllShare Play-equipped TVs. That relationship just got a lot closer: SugarSync will now be a mainstay for Samsung’s rather successful mobile devices. Starting with the Galaxy S III, any Samsung phone or tablet that supports AllShare Play will have SugarSync built-in, whether it’s for looking at files and media from back home or just to upload the phone’s own photos and videos for sharing later on. The service still offers a free 5GB of storage as a baseline and will scale up to 500GB if you’re willing to fork over up to $40 a month. Between this and a Dropbox deal for most carriers, Samsung has the cloud largely sewn up on its handhelds — if you can’t access it, it probably doesn’t exist.

Continue reading SugarSync to ship with many Samsung mobile devices, make Galaxy S III a home away from home

Filed under: Cellphones, Tablet PCs, Internet

SugarSync to ship with many Samsung mobile devices, make Galaxy S III a home away from home originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 11 Jul 2012 09:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung mustn’t know whether to celebrate or not. A UK judge has ruled that the Galaxy Tab doesn’t infringe Apple’s registered design, in large part because it’s “not as cool” as the iPad. Ouch. More »

Various legal battles rage across the world for tech companies, but it looks like Apple isn’t having much luck in the UK. Last week, HTC was found not to infringe on Apple’s patents, with three being found invalid. Now Samsung has been given the all-clear by the High Court of England and Wales. The court found that the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7, Galaxy Tab 10.1 and Galaxy Tab 8.9 all have recognizable differences between Apple’s iPad, and as a result will remain on sale in the UK.

Samsung has given a full statement to Pocket-Lint, detailing how all three tablets have recognizable differences from the iPad. Apple’s points of contention included “slightly rounded corners,” “a flat transparent surface without any ornamentation,” and “a thin profile.” The court, however, didn’t see the merit of the company’s arguments. They referred to 50 pieces of prior art as well as products that were introduced before 2004, going as far to say that Apple’s own design lacked originality.

The court also ruled that the differences between Samsung and Apple’s tablets could be seen with the naked eye, citing the front panel differences plus the side profiles of the machines. The biggest differences came from the back panels, and that Samsung differentiated its tablets with “visible detailing.” Apple, meanwhile, has yet to comment on the ruling.

Samsung tablets no iPad copycats decides UK court is written by Ben Kersey & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.