Hasta La Gadget!

As the world’s attention turns from netbooks to smartbooks, Psion and Intel have ceased battle over use of the former term. Remember, this ridiculous case escalated to the point of Psion claiming $1.2 billion (billion!) in damages suffered as a result of infringement on its netbook trademark for a product few have heard of outside of the highly specialized supply chain logistics area. The “amicable” agreement reached with Intel has Psion voluntarily withdrawing its trademark. What wasn’t said in the press release is how much money was extorted from the industry or the net effect on Psion sales from all the free publicity. Regardless, we’re sure it’s been a profitable exercise for Psion Teklogix. Now, could the obscure owner of the “smartbook” trademark please step forward to collect your prize?

[Via Slashgear]

Filed under: Laptops

Psion relents: ‘netbook’ ok to describe chubby cheap laptops lacking power originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 01 Jun 2009 04:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We knew AMD would be celebrating its victory over Intel and its record $1.45 billion fine doled out by EU over violation of antitrust rules, but we figured that just meant a very fancy cake and maybe a trip to the local zoo. Nay, we were mistaken, as the chip maker has gone all out in creating an entire website dedicated to its victory. “AMD Break Free” is pretty amazing in its thoroughness, and you’ll find all kinds of court documents, press releases, explanations of antitrust laws, and even a news feed to follow further developments. Of course, Intel’s appeal is a sure sign this case will be drag on for a very long time, possibly even become overturned, and none of this apparent gloating is gonna help one bit in getting the company back into the top ten rankings for chip manufacturers.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

AMD ‘breaks free’, creates site dedicated to Intel’s antitrust ruling originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 18 May 2009 21:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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There are many tried and true methods for beating your competition in the free-market. Product innovation seems to work as does a proprietary ecosystem of peripherals, media, and services that keep customers locked-in for life. Or you can take Intel’s approach: pay computer makers and retailers “to postpone or cancel” products containing CPUs from AMD, Intel’s chief rival. That’s the allegation it faces in the EU which, according to Reuters, has completed its antitrust investigation and is preparing to announce its decision on Wednesday. According to Reuters’ sources, the European Commission will fine Intel for the violations discovered over the last eight years and order changes to Intel’s business practices. It remains to be seen if the related fine exceeds the $655 million levied against Microsoft in 2004. But given the EU’s distaste for anti-competitive practices, we’re not expecting Intel to get off easy — self-proclaimed “rock star” status or not.

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

EU expected to rule against Intel in AMD antitrust case: Microsoft points, afraid to laugh originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 11 May 2009 03:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The relationship between Apple and Google has always been pretty cozy — Mac OS X and the iPhone tie into a variety of Google services, Google’s developed rule-breaking iPhone apps, we’ve heard endless whispers of Apple meddling in the development of the G1, and on and on. In fact, the relationship between the two companies is so tight they actually share board members: Google CEO Eric Schmidt and former Genentech CEO Arthur Levinson take meetings in both Cupertino and Mountain View. That’s apparently raised some hackles at the Federal Trade Commission, which has reportedly informed both companies they’re being investigated for violating a rarely-enforced section of the Clayton Antitrust Act prohibiting “interlocking directorates” when it reduces competition. That sounds like someone at the FTC just noticed that Apple makes the iPhone and Google’s responsible for Android, but nothing’s set in stone yet — and we’ve got a feeling Android’s open-source codebase could throw a monkey wrench into an already-complex legal analysis. We’ll obviously be tracking this one closely, keep an eye out.

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Apple / Google relationship being investigated for antitrust violations originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 04 May 2009 23:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Two years after we thought it was all over, it sounds like the saga of Sony, Immersion, and the rumblin’ DualShock has yet another chapter: a New Jersey electrical engineer named Craig Thorner is now suing Sony and its attorneys, claiming that he was more or less duped out of one of his patents in a shady deal designed to help Sony and PDP/Electrosource beat Immersion’s cases against them. Oh yeah, it’s a tangled mess — Thorner first signed over his patent to Immersion, hoping to score a little slice of royalty pie when the lawsuit settled, but then took it back when he decided Immersion wasn’t pursuing it hard enough and signed it over to PDP/Electrosource, who promised him $150,000. So where does Sony come in? Thorner says PDP and Sony were teamed up to beat Immersion, and that Sony was secretly the one licensing the patent but trying to remain out of the picture to keep the price down — and he’s got proof, in the form of a $150,000 wire transfer between the two companies. Not only that, but Sony’s attorneys apparently promised Thorner that they could “wear two hats” during negotiations and represent both him and Sony, which is ten kinds of shady. You can guess what happened next: Sony lost, PDP settled, and Immersion sued Thorner for breaking his agreement — and Sony’s attorneys didn’t help him defend the lawsuit. Did we say ten kinds of shady? Eleven kinds. Of course, it’s doubtful that Thorner is totally innocent here, so it’ll be interesting to see how Sony responds, but at this point we’re treating the DualShock 3 as a miracle of nature and leaving it at that.

[Via Joystiq]

Read – GamePolitics article (with PDF of the complaint)
Read – Law.com article

Filed under: Gaming

Sony sued for cheating man out of rumble patents originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 24 Apr 2009 13:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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