Hasta La Gadget!

There’s been gnashing of teeth between Apple and Samsung in courts across the globe for a while now, but Australia’s temporary injunction against the sale of a Samsung tablet is a huge win for Apple, and could be very bad for the Android platform.

A court in Australia ruled today that the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 cannot be sold in the country because it infringes on two patents held by Apple relating to multitouch. Because the patents are so broad, other Android device makers could find themselves mired in similar litigation, FOSS Patents’ Florian Mueller said.

The two patents in question describe a “multipoint touchscreen” and a “touch screen device, method, and graphical user interface for determining commands by applying heuristics.” (Steve Jobs is listed as an inventor of the latter.) The preliminary injunction could have drastic effects for Samsung, leaving the tablet “commercially dead” in Australia and causing the company to miss out on lucrative holiday sales.

Samsung commented in a written statement, “We are disappointed with this ruling and Samsung will be seeking legal advice on its options.” Apple did not respond to a request for comment for Wired.com.

Apple began battling Samsung in court over design-related patents in April. In that lawsuit, Apple claimed that similarities between Samsung’s products and Apple’s iPhone and iPad were so similar it was “beyond the realm of coincidence.” Apple has continued to sue Samsung in courts across the world, including Germany, The Netherlands and Australia. The launch of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 was initially delayed in Australia, but today’s injunction makes it even more likely that the tablet may never reach Australian consumers.

There are currently more than 20 lawsuits in litigation between Apple and Samsung.

Mueller stated in a blog post, “I believe no company in the industry may be able to launch any new Android-based touchscreen product in Australia anytime soon without incurring a high risk of another interim injunction.”

In previous rulings — for example, when Apple beat Samsung in a Netherlands’ court battle regarding a page-turning patent — Samsung was able to simply re-engineer a function and issue an update (often barely noticeable to the average smartphone user), and skirt the issue. But today’s ruling is different, because it concerns a patent for key, intrinsic, product-defining features.

“Today’s ruling is the broadest win that Apple has got so far,” Mueller said in an interview with Wired.com. There’s not much Samsung can do but countersue, and Mueller feels, “It’s really unimpressive what Samsung brings to the tablet against Apple.” Samsung has yet to score any wins against Apple.

Apple is already in litigation with three major Android device makers: Samsung, HTC and Motorola. Mueller believes Motorola could soon overtake Samsung as Apple’s main target, given Google’s acquisition of Motorola Mobility.

As for non-Android devices — such as Windows Phone, webOS and BlackBerry models — they don’t have as much to worry about.

“Apple is careful to exclude Windows Phone; they own far too many patents,” Mueller says. And as long as HP owns webOS, it may be in a stronger position than Google as far as patent challenges. And BlackBerry, well, it’s likely that Apple doesn’t feel threatened by RIM as it’s on the decline. It would be a far more efficient approach, Mueller says, to just erode RIM’s market via retail sales of iPhones and iPads.

Mueller says that unlike Microsoft, which uses its vast trove of patents as leverage to raise cash, Apple uses patents as they were originally intended: to create a monopoly. “Apple really seeks and optimizes its products for differentiation. Apple takes a more exclusionary approach to patent enforcement,” Mueller said. Microsoft, by comparison, has established licensing deals with a number of manufacturers in order to score a cut of retail sales revenue. The latest example is PC manufacturer Quanta, the ninth OEM to pay Microsoft royalties for Android products.

Android makers are especially susceptible to litigation because they are late entrants to the market, and don’t have licensing deals or extensive patent holdings in place yet.

Microsoft’s crossed yet another name off its patent licensing hit list, and this time the big red target lands squarely on Quanta. Under the undisclosed terms of the agreement, Android and Chrome-based devices manufactured by the Taiwanese OEM will be protected by Redmond’s vast patent portfolio. Of course, this means MS’ll receive royalties for granting access to its treasure trove of related IPs — of which it has no dearth of at the moment. In other news, Google continues to hope it’s all just a case of “opposite day.” Official PR in all its vagueness after the break.

Continue reading Microsoft and Quanta ink patent licensing agreement, Android continues to print money for its rival

Microsoft and Quanta ink patent licensing agreement, Android continues to print money for its rival originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 13 Oct 2011 14:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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SAN DIEGO — There’s no way around it: Banking sucks. And if you’re broke like me, opening up your browser to your online banking site only to continually find a zero balance sucks even more. Aside from getting a higher-paying job, there’s not much out there to boost your balance. But an interface makeover from a small software company could make the experience a little less painful.

Lithuanian software outfit Etronika created a new Kinect-based, motion-activated user interface for the company’s banking software, letting users manipulate and manage their accounts with a literal wave of the hand. Clapping your hands together selects an icon and brings up the appropriate screen selection, while swiping back and forth navigates the carousel of icons.

“A lot of banking software apps are filled with boring crap,” said Etronika CEO Kestutis Gardziulis in what may be the biggest understatement I’ve ever heard. “With our software, you could be on the couch at home, having a beer, all while dealing with your bank account and kicking back.”

In June, Microsoft released its Kinect software developer kit free for download, allowing third party developers to create Windows-based applications that interact with the low-cost Kinect hardware. Since the release (and even prior to it), thousands of hackers have created all sorts of applications that take advantage of Kinect’s camera and microphone-based input. We’ve seen dancing apps to fighting games and now, with Etronika’s entry, banking software.

And it won’t stop at motion interaction, apparently. “We’re digging into voice, facial recognition — all the possibilities that come with the SDK,” Gardziulis said. “Why not use this popular gaming UI for banking, too?”

However superfluous, it’s a fun hack for an otherwise mundane (and often depressing) practice. Check out the video here for a quick demo of the software.

You can unpack your suitcase and drop that custody suit, because Microsoft has heard your Windows 8 complaints, and it’s willing to change its ways. Yesterday, in a lengthy post on its Building Windows 8 blog, the company acknowledged that it’s received plenty of feedback since unleashing a developer preview of the OS last month, and pledged to respond with a number changes. For starters, apps displayed within the Windows 8 App Screen can now be organized into groups, rather than alphabetical arrangements (see image above). Apps will also be displayed at a higher density, thereby cramming more content within the same space. Enterprise users, meanwhile, will be able to customize their companies’ Start screens and unify them across networks, though there’s still no word on whether administrators will be able to opt out of the software’s tiled interface in favor of the more Windows 7-esque Desktop app — one of the most highly requested features. These are just two of many, relatively granular changes that Microsoft is implementing to help users maximize the efficiency of its new Start screen, and they likely won’t be the last. To dig into the nitty gritty, check out the full post, at the source link below.

Microsoft responds to disgruntled users, unveils changes to Windows 8 UI originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 13 Oct 2011 06:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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So, get this. We were cruising through the halls of Pepcom’s Mobile Focus with a horrible fever and on the brink of delirium. Unsure how much longer we could keep composure, we came upon Navigon’s booth. In addition to displaying its brand new Windows Phone application, the company was also showing off its upcoming releases of MobileNavigator for Android and iOS. Fortunately, Navigon’s Public Relations Manager, Johan-Till Broer, was kind enough to give us a demo of each app. Among the new features, users will be able to select individual states for local map storage, which goes a long way toward freeing up space. Additionally, there’s also a driving mode called Cockpit, which allows leadfoots to check their speed and acceleration over the last 30 minutes. The app updates will be free to all existing users, although if you want to load up new maps, that’ll be a one-time fee. We’re told to expect these latest gems in a couple of months. As for the Windows Phone version, it sells for $50, although is currently available for $30 — at special introductory pricing. A demo video and full PR is just after the break. Be sure to check it out.

Continue reading Navigon demos upcoming MobileNavigator for iOS and Android, latest Windows Phone app (video)

Navigon demos upcoming MobileNavigator for iOS and Android, latest Windows Phone app (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 Oct 2011 21:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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