Nokia Taking HTC to Court Over Patent Violations

If you have ever looked at technology patents, they are pretty vague and most of the time describe something that may not even be possible.  Software patents are no different, there are countless vaguely written patents currently filed and owned by various technology companies. Finland based Nokia is the newest company to go after the Taiwanese phone manufacturer HTC for alleged patent violations.

If this sounds like old news, it’s because it is.  This is a tactic used by most all phone companies to make little jabs at the competitors and play a little dirty business.  Apple did the same thing against HTC last year when it was at war with Samsung.

This particular “violation” is in reference to three different patents for a “terminal, method and computer program product for interacting with a signaling tag.”

Clear as mud, right?  So you may ask yourself, what is Nokia trying to gain by pulling HTC into a long drawn out court battle?  Money.  That’s the long and the short of it, it is far more costly for companies to spend years in court fighting than to throw some settlement money at the petitioner.  Nokia is just attempting to boost its books for its stock holders.  Down side is, as everyone knows in business, expenses get passed to consumers.  So these dirty business tactics are only hurting you and me, the buyers.

There are some obvious flaws in the United States and European patent laws, and until those laws get changed, this kind of cheap trickery is going to continue. What do you think of this latest patent lawsuit? Let us know in the comment section below.



Source : mobilemag[dot]com

HTC One Google Edition 'is real' and will launch this summer, report claims

HTC One Google Edition 'is real' and will launch this summer, report claims

HTC to take another stab at a 'Nexus' One?

The hotly-tipped 'pure Android' incarnation of the HTC One handset will arrive this summer, according to a report on Friday night.

CNET claimed to have "confirmed" that the handset, which would dispense with HTC's polarising Sense UI in favour of the stock Android Jelly Bean 4.2 operating system, is definitely on the way.

The claim follows reports earlier on Friday claiming that the handset would be launched within two weeks, although CNET's sources only quoted a "summer" release timeframe.

The clamour for a HTC One model without the Nexus-style version of Android, follows the launch of the Samsung Galaxy S4 Google Edition at the company's Google I/O conference last week.

U-turn?

The launch of a Google-centric HTC One would be somewhat or a surprise given that the company told TechRadar that no such device was in the works.

ff Gordon, senior global online communications manager, telling us: "HTC is not currently planning a 'Nexus Edition' of the HTC One".

Has something happened to change HTC's mind, or was the company simply playing it cool with its denials?


Source : techradar[dot]com

Is the Samsung Galaxy S4's camera really better than the iPhone 5's?

Is the Samsung Galaxy S4's camera really better than the iPhone 5's?

Galaxy S4 or iPhone 5? Which would you rather have snapping your shots?

Apple's iPhone range has long been the standard bearer for smartphone cameras, but it has now been bested by its great rival Samsung, according to new tests.

In photo and video tests DxO Labs, the Samsung Galaxy S4 camera performed higher than the Apple iPhone 5 by an overall score of 75 to 72.

The Galaxy S4 ousted Apple as well as the Nokia Lumia 920 in most of the main categories for photos and videos and was especially good in bright light, according to the tests.

Top of the pile is still the Nokia 808 Pureview handset, although the Symbian OS and the limited availability of the device means its not a mainstream contender.

Comfortably ahead

In its report, DxO labs wrote: "Achieving a DxOMark score of 75 overall puts the rear-facing camera module of the Samsung Galaxy S4 comfortably ahead of the pack.

That's no mean feat as the bunch includes the handset maker's own Galaxy Note II and Galaxy S3 as well as Apple's iPhone 4s and latest iPhone 5, all achieving a very respectable 72 in our DxOMark scores.

The S4 makes good use of its fast efficient AF and robust and reliable auto-exposure systems to maximize image detail from the 13-Mpix sensor and deliver images with fully saturated color.

Are you an S4 user? Have you noticed an improvement in the camera tech over the Galaxy S3? Has it really knocked Apple's advanced tech off its perch? Let us know in the comments below.


Source : techradar[dot]com

Google and Microsoft to co-develop YouTube app for Windows Phone

Google and Microsoft to co-develop YouTube app for Windows Phone

Google and Microsoft put down their handbags

Microsoft and Google have put aside their differences and agreed to work together to finally give Windows Phone users an official YouTube app.

Microsoft had incurred Google's wrath by launching its own YouTube app which did not serve advertisements, leading the search giant to demand its removal.

Microsoft responded by saying it would be happy to work with Google, but cannot add advertisements without the company's technical know-how.

It seems the olive branch was well received at Mountain View and the two sides will now align for a forthcoming, shiny, official YouTube app.

Come together

Microsoft said: "Microsoft and YouTube are working together to update the new YouTube for Windows Phone app to enable compliance with YouTube's API terms of service, including enabling ads, in the coming weeks.

"Microsoft will replace the existing YouTube app in Windows Phone Store with the previous version during this time."

During the dispute Google was also a little stroppy about the option to download videos from within the Windows Phone YouTube app, and Microsoft has since removed that feature.


Source : techradar[dot]com

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