If you found yourself longing for the minor tweaks Samsung made to the Galaxy Tab 10.1in Germany earlier this year, you may be in luck: Apple’s filed for a preliminary injunction against the slate stateside. It isn’t the first one, either, Cupertino filed something similar back in February, though it didn’t quite pass legal muster. After gaining some headway earlier this week, Cook’s crew is in for round two, according to FOSS Patents, asking for Judge Koh to rule in their favor without a new hearing. Concerned consumers, however, can sidestep the whole mess by simply opting for an injunction-exempt Galaxy Tab 2. Details and speculation can be found at the source link below, just in case you aren’t already sick to death of the whole Samsung / Apple spat.
There’s been hints of it coming as early as February, but we now have a smoking gun at the FCC: the Galaxy S III is coming to T-Mobile. A Samsung SGH-T999 has popped up at the agency sporting newly added 1,700MHz AWS support that’s the telltale sign of a T-Mobile device, along with the T999 name itself (the T989 is the network’s Galaxy S II). It also totes 850MHz and 1,900MHz WCDMA bands being used for HSPA+ data rather than just voice, a clue that the phone is ready for refarmed GSM spectrum. Just in case there was any remaining doubt, we’ve further spotted a related T999V entry at the Bluetooth SIG with a rather familiar-looking image as well as a Samsung-hosted T999 user agent profile on the web that matches what we know about the Android 4.0 hardware. We have yet to get a look at whether or not the T-Mobile version is any different on the outside, but with the FCC’s help, there’s not much left to know before the expected summer US launch.
Samsung’s shares took a massive hit when a Digitimes rumor claimed that Apple would be moving 50% of memory capacity to Elpida for DRAM memory chips. Samsung was reportedly set to announce its new 20nm DRAM chips on Monday, but has moved up the announcement to today in order to quell fears with investors and shareholders. Samsung denies the Digitimes rumor, saying that its chips will still be used in Apple products going forward.
Digitimes reported that Apple would shift part of its supply chain to “troubled” chip manufacturer Elpida, which saw Samsung shares tumble by as much as 2.2% last week. Samsung has moved up its 20nm chip announcement as a result, saying that the new chips are ultra slim and more power efficient. Samsung currently provides DRAM to Apple for many of its products.
The Korea Times spoke to a Samsung executive regarding the Digitimes rumor, who said the following: “The report from Taiwan is exaggerated. Apple is always looking to diversify its part-sourcing channels. In flat screens and chips, Apple is sourcing parts from various clients that include Samsung, however, that doesn’t mean we are losing our edge as Apple’s top-tier client.”
With so many people writing about Apple, finding the best stories and reports isn’t easy. Here’s our daily pick of stories about the company from around the Web that you shouldn’t miss:
Apple is cranking the up the drama in its legal war with Samsung. Network World uncovered a recent legal motion in which Apple accuses Samsung of destroying “vast quantities” of evidence the company was supposed to turn over to Apple’s lawyers.
Wonder why so many TV and movie characters carry MacBooks, iPhones and iPads? BusinessWeek reports on how Apple came to be the most sought-after product placement source for gadgets in Hollywood.
Starting on Wednesday, the U.S. Postal Service will no longer deliver international shipments of gadgets with lithium-ion batteries — like iPads, Kindles, iPhones — to any recipients, including U.S. troops stationed overseas. Fast Company explains the USPS’s new rule.
China Daily says CEO of Foxconn Terry Gou told reporters that his company is “making preparations” for an Apple television. It’s not a direct quote, and if you read closely it doesn’t indicate there’s been an order from Apple, merely that his factories would be ready to build them. Either way, another bit of tantalizing fuel for the Apple television rumor fire.
Mildly amusing: Ask Siri what the best smartphone is and its automatic answer is not “iPhone 4S,” as The Next Web discovered.
It’s time to take a look at what the Samsung Galaxy S III has to offer the world with Samsung’s official selection of accessories, everything from the S3 C-Pen to the Wifi Display Hub to their brand new Flip Cover. These accessories have been behind glass thus far or not visible to us at all in most cases, here appearing from Samsung just days after CTIA 2012 and a week after the first introduction the whole world has had to the Galaxy S III in London. We’re expecting that each of these accessories will be released at or near the real release of the international edition of the Galaxy S III in Europe.
The C-Pen is first, it coming in at a bit more thick a size than the much tinier S-Pen that came with the Galaxy Note. Here it doesn’t have to fit inside the casing of the device, so a bit more hand-form-fitting size is to be expected. Next the Wifi display hub will have you projecting your content to it and out via a full-sized HDMI port, this ability working with anything you’ve got on your screen but made especially for photos and video.
The Galaxy S III holder and battery charger is a unique device in that it’ll hold your Galaxy S III upright, but that you’ll be charging your battery in its back pocket. This allows you to charge an extra battery while you’ve got your Galaxy S III (with another battery) sitting upright in the stand – dual purpose of course. The Galaxy S III Flip Cover is a lovely beast in that it connects to your Galaxy S III by replacing the back cover of the smartphone altogether. Your new back cover then is connected to a flap which sits on top of your device and protects its screen.
Have a peek at the rest of our Galaxy S III coverage in the timeline below, and don’t forget to check out our Galaxy S III hub for all the GSIII action from our entire history of reporting on it!
This one is a doozy even by the standards of the runaway smartphone litigation of the past few years. A New Jersey company claims it owns 3G technology and wants the entire industry to pay up.
In a complaint filed Tuesday in Los Angeles, Golden Bridge Technologies claims that devices like Apple’s iPhone and Barnes & Noble’s Nook violate a patent it received in the year 2000.
US Patent No. 6,075,793 describes a “High efficiency spread spectrum system and method.” It relates to a highly technical process involving chips that share data sequence signals across channels.
In its complaint, Golden Bridge provides a history of cell phone technology and says it contributed to essential features of the emerging 3G standards that began to be developed in the 1990′s.
Owner of a patent that forms part of a standard are typically required to license it to others on reasonable terms.
Other companies named in the suit include Research In Motion, HTC, Sony, Lenovo and Hewlett-Packard.
The Nokia Lumia 900 may have imprinted itself as the “quality Windows Phone handset for budget users,” but Samsung won’t take it lying down. In fact, they might give the Finnish handset a solid run for its money with the Samsung Focus 2, a new affordably-priced Windows Phone device joining the roster of AT&T.
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Chances are you’re no stranger to the Samsung Series 9 — the first generation stood out for its slimness, and the most current version is an impressive 28 percent thinner. If you’re wondering how those notebooks can be so dang skinny, your curiosity will be satisfied by Samsung’s teardown of a 13-inch model. A thinner LCD and a customized main board contribute to the machine’s slight profile, as do a 40 percent slimmer touchpad and a built-in lithium-polymer battery. As is so often the case, the pictures speak much louder than words, so hop over to Samsung’s blog for a gander.
The next Windows Phone on the market will not be the most powerful device on the market, nor will it be the most flashy – instead it will be the Samsung Focus 2 at a mere $50 and LTE right out of the gate. This device runs Windows Phone Mango, has a 5 megapixel camera on the back, and is extremely basic in its functions and form. You’ll notice how similar it looks to the Galaxy S Blaze on T-Mobile, this device also representing the same basic concept – 4G LTE speeds at a super-low cost.
This device is relatively sleek but not nearly the thinnest phone on the market, made of premium materials but not metal or some unheard-of alloy. Instead what you’ve got here is the device the new-to-smartphone user has been looking for. This device is what Windows Phone will be becoming starting very soon this summer, that is extremely inexpensive and ready to take on the middle market.
Notice that this device has many of the same materials that the Samsung Focus (the original) has and that it’s certainly not too far a jump from that device in form. Instead it’s a value proposition primarily. This device feels great to hold, has a physical camera button as all Windows Phones do so you’re ready to shoot, and it’s slick as heck. Check out the rest of our CTIA 2012 coverage in our [CTIA Live portal] all week long!
AT&T has outed the new Samsung Focus 2, a $49.99 Windows Phone packing 4G LTE and a 4-inch Super AMOLED display with a front-facing VGA camera. The latest in Samsung’s Windows Phone 7 devices, the Focus 2 has a 5-megapixel main camera with 720p HD video recording, and will go on sale in the US on May 20 for under fifty bucks with a new, two-year agreement.
That undercuts the Nokia Lumia 900, also running Windows Phone and pairing it with LTE on AT&T’s network, though the ecosystem of devices supporting Microsoft’s OS is hardly saturated right now. The Focus 2 will be available in “pure white” only, and measures 10.98mm thick and tips scales at 4.3oz.
All of the usual Windows Phone functionality is present, such as voice control and Bing integration, and AT&T Is positioning the handset as a cheaper way for new owners to get on the smartphone ladder. Even by opting for a cheaper device, though, they’re not exactly missing out: Microsoft’s stringent specification control around Windows Phone devices mean a budget handset like the Focus 2 isn’t much different from more expensive models running the same OS.
We’ve always been fans of Samsung’s Super AMOLED technology, and the 4-inch form-factor has plenty of fans for its compromise between portability and browsing real-estate. The Samsung Focus 2 will hit AT&T on May 20, priced at $49.99.
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