HTC drags on the patent war, files yet another complaint against Apple

HTC vs. AppleSweet jumping jehosaphat, the patent suit madness just won’t end. Only a month after the ITC sided with Apple and HTC offered a standard-issue plea for cooperation, the Taiwanese company has filed its own infringement complaint against the Cupertino crew. This isn’t the first suit brought by HTC against Apple, and we’re sure it won’t be the last. In fact, the two have a long history of engaging in the most common form of competition for smartphone makers. (Why let your products do the talking when you have high-priced lawyers on retainer?) The three patents at the heart of the complaint cover not just the iPhone and iPad, but also the company’s computer line — in particular WiFi networking features and the combination of PDA and cellphone functionality. You can check out the patents in question at the more coverage links and you’ll find PR right after the break.

Continue reading HTC drags on the patent war, files yet another complaint against Apple

HTC drags on the patent war, files yet another complaint against Apple originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 16 Aug 2011 17:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lion 10.7.1 lands, packs plenty of bug fixes

OS X 10.7.1

While you wait for 10.7.2 to deliver iCloud compatibility to your Mac, you can at least enjoy a few bug fixes, courtesy of today’s surprise Lion update. 10.7.1 doesn’t boast any new features, but it does solve a few major issues, including missing admin accounts and freezes when playing back video in Safari. If you haven’t gotten an alert yet, you can fire up Software Update to download the first set of tweaks to the young OS, and check out the slightly more complete changelog after the break.

Continue reading Lion 10.7.1 lands, packs plenty of bug fixes

Lion 10.7.1 lands, packs plenty of bug fixes originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 16 Aug 2011 17:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Why is LTE equipment being installed in an Apple Store?

Well, this is certainly interesting. While rumors of an LTE-enabled iPhone had died down for a little while, they sprung back to life yesterday with a report that just such a device was being tested by carriers. Now we’ve received an image the image you see above, which shows some 4G LTE equipment that was recently installed in a major Apple store — by AT&T, according to our source. Making things somewhat more interesting is the equipment itself, one piece of which supports only the 700MHz and AWS bands — both of which AT&T plans to use for its LTE network if the T-Mobile acquisition goes through.

We’re also told that the Apple Store in question, and all those in the region, are now trying to increase staffing on the sales floor by about 30 percent, which is apparently not related to the usual hiring in the lead up to the holidays (that will apparently still happen later). Of course, this could simply be the result of some long-term planning rather than evidence of the next iPhone, but the timing is a bit curious to say the least.

Update: We’ve removed the pic for now at the request of our tipster.

[Thanks, Anonymous]

Why is LTE equipment being installed in an Apple Store? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 16 Aug 2011 13:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The US Patent System Is Killing Innovation

HTC sued Apple over mobile patents today. Again. Pretty soon Apple will likely sue them back. Again. Shrug. Throw it on the pile. And while the patent Cold War continues to heat up, weep for the real casualty: innovation. More »

Apple Campus 2 will accommodate 13,000 employees, have its own power plant

Steve Jobs went in front of the of the Cupertino city council back in June with a proposal that would allow Apple to expand its campus by building a new one that would hold 12,000 employees. The 150 acres of land previously belonged to Hewlett-Packard, which Apple bought from the company when it started to […]

German court lifts ban on some European Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 sales


A Dusseldorf, Germany regional court has partly lifted a preliminary injunction issued last week banning Samsung from selling the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Europe, the day after Webwereld noticed inconsistencies in Apple’s injunction filing. Now Europeans (save those living in Germany) won’t need to trek to the Netherlands to get their Tab fix — at least until a verdict is issued after Samsung’s August 25th appeal hearing. Sales of the device were originally banned following an Apple lawsuit alleging patent infringement, but were permitted to resume after a realization that a German court may not have the authority to halt sales of a South Korean company’s device outside of Germany. Since the judgement didn’t affect devices that had already been distributed to retailers, it’s unknown whether or not the week-long ban has had any effect on sales.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

German court lifts ban on some European Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 sales originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 16 Aug 2011 10:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple’s OS X Lion USB sticks now available online, for $69

After more than a week’s worth of rumors and speculation, Apple has finally released its OS X Lion USB thumb drive, available now at its online store. This little stick offers a physical media alternative to Cupertino’s otherwise App Store-centric distribution model, providing access to OS X Lion for $69. One caveat, however, is that users who download the software via thumb drive won’t be able to re-install it using the recently released Lion Recovery Disk Assistant, but will have to rely upon the USB stick, instead. The other caveat, of course, is price, as just $29 will get you the exact same OS, via the App Store. To grab one for yourself, hit up the source link, below.

Apple’s OS X Lion USB sticks now available online, for $69 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 16 Aug 2011 05:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple Reportedly Testing 4G LTE iPhone

Mobile carriers reportedly are testing 4G versions of Apple’s smartphone. But before you get all excited, it may not necessarily be the iPhone 5.

BGR says iPhone carriers are testing models with 4G LTE capability. It discovered evidence of a property list file (.plist) within the firmware, which definitively revealed Apple is developing the technology. Whether it’s for the next generation iPhone, or a generation after that, is yet to be seen.

As we get closer to the anticipated announcement of the next-gen iPhone, rumors are flying. After missing its traditional June launch, rumors pegged the announcement for September. That’s recently been debunked by some in favor of an announcement in October. Whenever it appears, the the iPhone 5 is expected to sport an A5 processor, 8-megapixel camera sensor, “curved” cover glass and a flat metal back.

The Guardian previously reported carriers have been testing iPhone 5 models inside “specially constructed boxes,” with hardware encased in “a dummy body.” This makes it seem it could be the iPhone 5 that is being tested for 4G support.

It looks like Apple is putting in a lot more time testing its next gen iPhone in the wild than it did with its predecessor in order to avoid something like last year’s Antennagate fiasco — which really, in the scheme of things, was not that big of a deal.

Or maybe employees just aren’t being quite as scrupulous about Apple’s closely guarded secrets as they have been in the past.

Photo: Steve Jobs with the iPhone 4 at WWDC 2010. (Jon Snyder/Wired.com)


Carriers testing LTE-enabled 4G iPhone?

Earlier this year, Verizon CEO Dan Mead all but confirmed that an LTE Apple device would be making its way to Verizon. Eventually. And no 2011 Apple rumor spattering would be complete without at least a casual mention of the high-speed 4G network. Now, BGR claims to have received an internal iOS test build from a major carrier, revealing a property list file for LTE. This of course doesn’t guarantee that Apple will be shipping an LTE iPhone flavor later this year, but that it at least remains a possibility. Still, an October iPhone launch would fall nicely in line with recent confirmation that AT&T will be releasing an LTE smartphone in “late 2011,” and 4G compatibility could definitely explain Cupertino’s holdup in announcing the iPhone 4’s successor. So, will you be flying through the wireless web at lightning-fast speed later this year? Hopefully we need not wait much longer to find out.

Carriers testing LTE-enabled 4G iPhone? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 15 Aug 2011 13:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Engadget’s back to school guide 2011: tablets

Welcome to Engadget’s Back to School guide! We know that this time of year can be pretty annoying and stressful for everyone, so we’re here to help out with the heartbreaking process of gadget buying for the school-aged crowd. Today, we’re leaning back with our tablets — and you can head to the Back to School hub to see the rest of the product guides as they’re added throughout the month. Be sure to keep checking back — at the end of the month we’ll be giving away a ton of the gear featured in our guides — and hit up the hub page right here!


There are certain back to school purchases we could never talk you out of. A laptop? Vital. A smartphone? Highly recommended. A printer? Necessary — if you’re the kind of person who finishes papers minutes with minutes to spare, leaving no time to swing by the computer lab on the way to class. But a tablet? We’ll be honest: we can’t think of a good reason why you need one, but we can more than sympathize if you’re dead-set. We’ve picked a few noteworthy choices for each budget, though if you’re really lucky you’ll win one of 15 Samsung Galaxy Tabs and won’t have to pay a dime. Simply leave a comment below to be entered to win, and check out our giveaway page for more details. So wipe off the glasses, grab your clicker, and get ready to jump past the break for this year’s tablet picks for back to school.

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Engadget’s back to school guide 2011: tablets originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 15 Aug 2011 12:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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