Hasta La Gadget!

Ready for some hardcore smartphone market share numbers? ComScore’s got ’em for the three-month period ending in May 2012, and you probably won’t be terribly surprised by the outcome. First, let’s tackle smartphone platforms: Apple and Google posted minor increase month-over-month at 0.5 and 0.1 percent, respectively (1.7 and 0.8 over a three-month span). Microsoft (consisting of Windows Phone and Windows Mobile) didn’t budge between April and May, though it nudged up a tenth of a percentage point since February. RIM dropped 0.2 percent over one month, but it already experienced a much more painful sting — 2.0 percent — during the three-month period. Symbian also went through similar concerns, going down 0.2 percent month-over-month and 0.4 percent since February.

As for specific manufacturers, Apple once again comes out on top, adding 1.5 percent to its customer base over the last three months for a total of 15 percent share. Samsung, still leading the pack in total market share at 25.7 percent, only grew by 0.1. Given the OEM’s success in deploying the Galaxy S III to every major US carrier, we suspect that number will spurt up even higher over the next quarter. Among the companies losing share: LG, Motorola and HTC, losing 0.3, 0.8 and 0.2 percent, respectively.

Continue reading ComScore: iOS and Android market share continues to climb, RIM and Motorola continue to fall

ComScore: iOS and Android market share continues to climb, RIM and Motorola continue to fall originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 02 Jul 2012 14:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Things were looking grim for gaming in April, when the International Trade Commission decided that the Xbox 360 violated Motorola patents and the console’s US future was in doubt. The agency hasn’t necessarily reversed its decision, but it just gave Microsoft a significant (and possibly permanent) reprieve. The Commission has remanded Motorola’s case back to the Administrative Law Judge that gave the initial ruling, which very nearly restarts the clock: a new ruling won’t come for months, and the usual review process guarantees even more of a delay even if the decision once more works in Motorola’s favor. Patent suit watcher Florian Mueller is now confident that the Xbox 360 won’t face any real risk of a ban in 2012, at a minimum. If the new decision doesn’t clear Microsoft outright, it still pushes any ruling past a Microsoft lawsuit’s trial in mid-November, when Motorola might be blocked from attempting any ban using its standards-based patents. We’ve rarely seen a majority or total reversal of this kind of ITC patent dispute before it reaches the appeals stage, but there’s a distinct chance of that flip happening here — especially as the ITC is using Apple’s successful dismissal of an S3 Graphics victory as the judge’s new template.

Microsoft catches a break: ITC remands Motorola case, Xbox 360 dodges at least a 2012 ban originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 30 Jun 2012 17:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google has explained why it selected ASUS rather than Motorola Mobility for the Nexus 7 tablet, arguing that the good of the Android ecosystem is more important than giving the US company preferential treatment. ”We acquired Motorola to help the ecosystem in terms of patents and intellectual property” director of Android partner engineering Patrick Brady told CNET, though conceded that he could understand other partners looking on with some skepticism and fear.

“It was important for us when we acquired Motorola to stress to our partners that we weren’t buying Motorola to get in the hardware business and compete directly with them” Brady said. As far back as August 2011, Android chief Andy Rubin was insisting that Motorola would not be a lock-in for the future Nexus products, something that panned out with Samsung keeping the reins for the Galaxy Nexus.

“At first I think our partners weren’t sure whether we really meant what we said about not giving Motorola preferential treatment” Brady admitted. “But they’ve seen us do another Nexus smartphone with Samsung and the Nexus 7 tablet with Asus, so I think they see that Motorola is not getting preferential treatment. It’s all about the ecosystem.”

In fact, Brady is confident that other OEMs have subsequently been quick to recognize the advantages of Google wading into hardware development. “Android is open source, so they understand that by developing these products we’re working with silicon vendors to make sure all the technology works with the software” he points out. “And we’re enhancing the software.”

The Nexus 7 has been particularly lauded for its relatively affordable price tag, starting at $199 for the entry-level 8GB model. That’s down to a combination of cheaper components and different priorities; you can find out full review of the tablet here.

Google: Nexus 7 is proof we won’t give Motorola special treatment is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
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Hmmm, long and drawn out affairs in the court room is definitely not something that companies would want to go through, but Apple and Motorola have had their fair share of legal spats in the past. One of the latest developments see the U.S. International Trade Commission announce that it will review an April ruling which decidedly targeted select Apple products to have infringed upon a Motorola Wi-Fi patent, and this might just result in an import ban on products that make use of this bit of technology. The ITC review is crucial, as it is the next logical step when a company wants to look for a ban against the offending Apple products, among them include the iPhone and iPad.

All Things D noted that the ITC’s review is currently being “powered”, so to speak, by petitions from Motorola and Apple, surrounding claim construction, validity and infringement. Apple intends to invoke FRAND licensing practices within the case by making an argument on whether the patent should even be enforced in the first place or not. What do you think the outcome will be like?

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: German court rules in favor of Motorola in case against Apple, German court grants Motorola injunction against Apple’s iCloud and MobileMe push email service and client devices (Update: Apple to appeal),