Hasta La Gadget!

In HTC and Nokia’s ongoing patent litigation, one patent infringement claim against HTC was dismissed today by the District Court of Mannheim, Germany. The patent in question — regarding “a communication network terminal for accessing internet” — describes a “terminal” that can access the internet.

As FOSS Patents points out, today’s dismissal was part of an ongoing collaboration between Google and Android phone makers who’ve been targeted by Nokia over claims against the Google Play store. “Nokia had alleged that Android’s app architecture centered around the Google Play store infringes the ‘016 patent because of the way it allows third-party app developers to provide data to the end-user devices on which their programs run via a Google-operated server,” the site notes. In that regard, today’s dismissal marked a victory for Google beyond HTC — though HTC issued a statement this afternoon exclaiming its “delight” over the court’s ruling. Nokia has yet to return our request for comment.

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds, Software, Mobile, HTC, Nokia, Google

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Source: FOSS Patents

Tired of accidentally downloading apps to your Android tablet that look best on a smartphone? If so, it appears that Google has heard your cries. The company recently updated its developer console to accept app screenshots that are specific to 7-inch and 10-inch tablets. While it’s not the most monumental change, once developers fulfill their end of the bargain, you’ll be treated to UI images that best suit your device. Until then, you’ll still have to endure a few more games of app roulette.

Filed under: Google

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Source: Android Developers Blog

Chat heads, a virtual carousel of full screen (Instagram) images and enough status updates to let you keep close stalkerly tabs on your nearest and dearest — that’s what Facebook’s got in Home. And as of today, it’s breaking free from AT&T’s exclusive HTC First and heading to a choice few Android flagships in the US. Now owners of the Samsung Galaxy S III, Galaxy Note II as well as the HTC One X+ can rush on over to Google Play or Facebook’s site to download the free screen-stealing app / launcher. And when HTC’s One and Samsung’s GS 4 make their eventual way to the US market, Facebook heads will also have the privilege of setting up Home on those two flagships, just as Zuck promised. Home: it’s where privacy and your free time go to die.

Filed under: Cellphones, Software, Mobile, Google, Facebook

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Source: Facebook, Google Play

Google has been on something of a tear spreading its Google Play media services around the world; don’t look now, but it’s picking up the pace. The search giant is expanding Google Play Music today to cover Australia, Austria, Belgium, Ireland, Luxembourg, New Zealand and Portugal. That small deluge of new countries can now shop for their favorite tunes as well as store up to 20,000 of them online for streaming, either on the web or on Android devices. Large swaths of the world remain uncovered by the service — ahem, Canada — but we’ll still welcome a big step toward cloud music for everyone.

[Thanks, Chris]

Filed under: Cellphones, Internet, Mobile, Google

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Source: Google Play (Google+)

Google I/O may still be a solid month away, but folks on Mountain View’s social network are already stumbling across leaks and notifications hinting at what might be in store. Google Play’s 4.0 redesign, for instance, briefly appeared on a YouTube employee’s profile before being deleted, matching the holo-themed leak we saw last month. The update shows a landing page we didn’t see in the previous walkthrough, and includes a message introducing the redesign that promises to make it “easier to browse and discover new favorites.” Google’s rumored Babel chat rebranding is making the rounds too, apparently surfacing in Gmail when certain messages are moved to trash. Neither are surefire announcements for I/O, but the timing is about right. Skip on past the break for a screen grab of the Babel notification.

Filed under: Mobile, Google

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Source: Droid Life, Google+