Hasta La Gadget!

In case you somehow missed it, Microsoft lodged a complaint with the ITC on Friday, alleging Motorola’s Android smartphones infringed on nine of its precious patents. You might imagine that’d sting the pride of Moto’s chief exec Sanjay Jha, but nothing could be further from the truth. Describing such turf wars over intellectual property as “part of business,” Sanjay explains that his company is willing to work with Microsoft on developing a handset based around its new OS, so long as the offering is “compelling.” He notes that the first call he received upon becoming co-CEO and handset division chief back in 2008 was from none other than Steve Ballmer, but Microsoft’s failure to deliver a new OS in ’09 is what compelled him to go the Android route (we doubt he regrets doing it, mind you!).

It’s no coincidence to our eyes that Microsoft went after the one top-tier Android phone maker that didn’t sign up to the Windows Phone 7 utopia project. We recall HTC was in hot water with the Redmond team back in April for similar reasons, and its resultant licensing of Microsoft’s patents seems to have been embedded into the WP7 partner agreements — which is why we’re not seeing the likes of ASUS and Samsung being served with similar complaints. So basically, if things get too hot and steamy, Moto could just kick out a token Windows Phone handset, get the accompanying licenses in order, and this whole thing blows over nice and peacefully. Marvelous.

Motorola is ‘open’ to developing Windows Phone 7 devices, but only if the OS proves compelling originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 06 Oct 2010 08:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Wireless companies love suing one another — well, maybe they don’t “love” it, but in an age when it’s virtually impossible to assemble a cellular device without extensive licensing agreements in place, it’s basically an inevitability. Microsoft has hit up the ITC over a total of nine alleged patent infringements by Motorola in its Android devices, specifically relating to “synchronizing email, calendars and contacts, scheduling meetings, and notifying applications of changes in signal strength and battery power.” This should be interesting — will it result in a quick cross-licensing agreement, or a protracted court battle spanning multiple years? Hard to say, but in the meantime, follow the break for Microsoft’s brief press release.

Continue reading Microsoft files ITC complaint against Motorola over alleged Android-related patent infringement

Microsoft files ITC complaint against Motorola over alleged Android-related patent infringement originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 01 Oct 2010 14:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Clearly, introducing one Bluetooth headset in a single day just isn’t enough for Motorola. In addition to the Oasis, the outfit has also let loose the new S10-HD, a wraparound set that is marketed as Bluetooth headphones rather than a BT headset (though it’s fully capable of acting as either / both). As expected, these guys are designed to withstand all sorts of sweat beads, enabling fitness junkies to keep on rockin’ in the free world regardless of how steamy the conditions may be. We’re also told that the speakers are recessed in their housing with a new ear cushion interface and hydrophobic acoustic mesh (fancy!), and silicon seals are in place around all of the electrical components. Should you receive a call while streaming tunes, it’ll gently pause the music until your call is done, and afterwards it’ll resume automatically. The S9-HD‘s proper successor will be landing in Best Buy locations starting October 24th for $79.99.

Continue reading Motorola’s wraparound S10-HD Bluetooth headphones: for the Usain Bolt in all of us

Motorola’s wraparound S10-HD Bluetooth headphones: for the Usain Bolt in all of us originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 28 Sep 2010 06:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you don’t actually want to be able to feel that you’ve got a Bluetooth earbud hanging off the side of your head, you might want to take a look at the Motorola Oasis, a new boom-style headset announced today. Though it lacks the HX1’s so-called “stealth mode” that uses bone conduction to practically eliminate every sound other than your voice, the Oasis is still rated for 12mph of wind resistance and uses dual mics to cancel spurious noise. It’ll be available starting October 3 (as an AT&T store exclusive initially) for $79.99, positioning it toward the upper end of the Bluetooth midrange.

We’ve had a chance to play with the Oasis over the last few days, so follow the break for our impressions!

Continue reading Motorola’s ridiculously comfortable Oasis headset announced: October 3rd for $80

Motorola’s ridiculously comfortable Oasis headset announced: October 3rd for $80 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Sep 2010 09:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Bought a Motorola Milestone XT720, only to find that “up to 720MHz” processor was actually clocked at a paltry 550 million cycles per second? If you live in Germany or the UK, you’re in luck — Motorola’s poised to wash your troubles away with a software update that restores the OMAP3440’s full 720MHz potential, and reportedly adds DLNA connectivity to the device as well. The company released the news on its official Facebook page earlier this week, and it was then reportedly available “today,” so barring accident or injury you should be able to update your device or wait for the OTA. It feels like just yesterday we were discussing how software-updatable silicon felt slimy, but look — it’s not all bad.

Motorola Europe repents, restores Milestone XT720 CPU to 720MHz speed with software update originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 19 Sep 2010 14:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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