Apple wins Patent Infringement lawsuit against Samsung

After a swift deliberation of less than 24 hours, the nine-person San Jose jury awarded Apple more than $1 billion dollars in it’s lawsuit against Samsung, and awarded nothing to Samsung in their counter-suit.

Among the counts awarded are Samsung’s willful infringement of 5 of 6 Apple patents, due in no small part to a multitude of documents from Samsung executives that clearly indicated their desire to copy certain design elements of the iPhone when the initial work was being done on their highly popular Galaxy-series of smartphones. Some documents even contained slides where prototypes were put side by side and contained suggestions on how to make the Galaxy more like the iPhone.

For Apple, the verdict was not about the money. It was about the pride and respect of it’s products, it’s innovation, the hard work of it’s designers and employees, and it’s core values as a company.

What remains to be seen is if Samsung acts quickly to change the design of Galaxy, even amidst it’s inevitable fight to overturn the decision. Samsung believes that if this decision stands, it will mean fewer choices for the consumer, and stifled innovation by companies who may be afraid to also get sued by Apple.

Read Full Post »

Keep your client informed when you’re running late – with a TWIST

I just read about this cool new startup – Twist.

So you’re setting up a meeting with a client. With Twist, you enter the meeting start time and your client’s contact information.  Before the meeting, Twist will remind you when to leave to arrive on time. As you approach your meeting time, Twist, with your permission, will keep your contact informed about your estimated arrival time, taking into account things such as current traffic conditions and your actual departure time. It will send text messages to your client in real-time, without you having to take your eyes off the road.

Sadly, it’s only available for the iPhone and iPad at this time. If you have an iPhone and try this app out (or are already using it), it’s love to hear how it works for you.

Read Full Post »

Microsoft Surface – Redmond’s big entry into the competitive tablet market

The New Microsoft tablet platform, named “Surface” is starting to make appearances on the internet. Microsoft contracted with a hardware to come up with an entirely new tablet platform to showcase it’s upcoming tablet operating system, Windows RT.

The specs are fairly decent – 10.6 inch Cleartype HD 16:9 aspect-ratio HD screen with Gorill Glass 2, magnesium body (termed VaporMg) and weighing in at just under 1.3 lbs., an NVIDIA ARM chip, HDMI, microSD and USB 2.0 ports, 32 or 64 gigs of internal storage, dual WiFi antenas (sorry no 3G/4G at launch) and a built in kick-stand. Also unique to this device is the Touch Cover – a pressure sensitive keyboard with full gesturing capabilities full that attaches to the Surface via a magnetic connector and doubles as a cover, available in different colors.

For those wanting more power, Surface for Windows 8 Pro will also be made available (although not on initial launch – you’ll have to wait about 3 months longer). This “turbo-charged” Surface will be more akin to a true laptop or Ultrabook, sporting an Intel Core i5 processor, a FULL HD screen (1080p), USB 3.0, Windows 8 Pro, and 64/128gb storage options. It also weighs 20% more and is almost 50% thicker.

So what’s the difference between Windows RT and Windows 8 Pro on a tablet?

Well, quite a bit. Windows RT is designed for the ARM processor. Regular Windows apps will NOT run on an RT device. Apps need to be ported over to Windows Metro – the tile-centric UI platform Microsoft introduced last year for Windows Mobile. The advantage is that the ARM process will conserve battery life, and allows the device to be thinner and lighter. But if you have a Surface Pro, you should be able to run any Windows 8 app that runs on a desktop. The penalty is in weight and battery life. Never mind the higher cost (which is yet to be announced).

Microsoft promises an excellent user experience in an attempt to make RT function as an extension of the Windows 8 desktop, rather than something complete different. But what this platform already has against it is the tension that may be created between Microsoft and their existing OEM partners such as Acer, HP, Toshiba and Samsung. These companies all make laptops and other portable devices using Microsoft operating systems, and have rarely, if ever, had to c0mpete with them on a hardware level.

Microsoft is taking clear aim at Apple with this new platform. Let’s see if it is a home run for Microsoft, and propels Windows 8 into the mobile arena.

Read Full Post »

The Intel Ultrabook Platform – New Competition for MacBook Air

Apple has had tremendous success with their MacBook Air line of ultra-thin, ultra-light, “take-anywhere” laptops. Over the years, Apple’s competition has struggled to compete in this market segment. Many manufacturers released their own variants of slim, lightweight notebooks, only to see them fail to command any market share.

Well, Intel plans to change all that. Instead of leaving it up to each manufacturer to design an ultra-light notebook around their low-power chips, Intel has released an entire notebook platform, tightly integrated with features designed to attract customers to the new technology. It’s called the Intel Ultrabook Platform.

Rapid Start Technology

One of the nice features of the MacBook Air is it’s ability to start up quickly. Intel has built this technology into the platform to allow devices to start up in seconds. This also saves on battery life, since the system draws very little power when the notebook is in standby mode. Intel claims an average of 5-6 seconds from hibernate to power on. And it can stay in this new hibernation mode for about 30 days.

Smart Response Technology

While the MacBook Air relies solely on a solid-state drive for data storage, Intel has implemented a unique feature to use traditional hard drives for primary storage, and SSD storage for your most frequently accessed files. They call this Smart Response Technology. Everything you use most frequently will be stored on the SSD drive for ultra-fast performance, all seamlessly and transparent to you, the user.

Smart Connect

With Smart Connect Technology, your social networks, email and apps are automatically updated, even while the system is in sleep mode. When you open the notebook cover, your email and Facebook feed is already up to date and ready for you to see. The technology actually wakes the system up momentarily to update your apps, then puts it back to sleep, saving on battery life.

Anti-Theft Technology and Identity Protection Technology

More and more people are concerned about personal security and identity theft. As we embrace mobile technology, the risk of loss of private information grows considerable, since we store so much of this information on these devices, whether it’s a cell phone, a tablet, or a notebook. Intel’s data claims that a laptop is stolen every 53 seconds. With the new Intel Anti-Theft technology on your laptop, should it get lost or stolen, it can be remotely disabled so that it will no longer function until you reactivate it. The system becomes completely un-bootable since the technology is built into the processor and is active the moment power is turned on. It’s not a part of the operating system, so it can be bypassed by a hacker. It even detects suspicious behavior such as excessive login attempts and will activate itself automatically. And Intel’s new Identity Protection Technology works hand-in-hand with IPT-enabled websites and a unique key built into your Intel system that uniquely identifies you. When you access an IPT-enabled website such as online banking and shopping sites, the technology instantly recognizes your PC, in addition to requiring you to enter a standard username and password. This is an added defense against identity theft and monetary loss.

Time will tell if this new Intel platform will enable PC manufacturers to gain some market-share in this segment. Will end-users embrace this new technology and see it as a true alternative to the MacBook Air? We welcome your comments!

Read Full Post »

Google Enters the Mobile Handset Business

In a not-so-surprising move, Google announced recently it’s intention to purchase Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion. This gives Google access to Motorola’s treasured handset technology, and more importantly, their patents.

But what does this mean for Samsung, HTC and other handset manufacturers that have invested billions of dollars into their Android handsets? Will they now be competing with Google itself? Will Google have an unfair advantage? It may seem like a straight-forward opportunity for Google to easily enter the hardware business with a well-established base. But some think otherwise.

Patents, galore.

So what’s the most logical reason Google would pay a 63% premium for Motorola Mobility over it’s current stock value. Most says it’s obvious – Motorola Mobility currently holds over 17,000 patents worldwide. This puts Google into a great position to defend itself against the onslaught of patent infringements suits that have been launched against the Android OS by Apple, Oracle and others. If Google gains access to this arsenal, other companies may not be so quick to sue Google if they know Google might turn around and sue them for some infringement. Google’s CEO Larry Page confirms this in his blog post:

Our acquisition of Motorola will increase competition by strengthening Google’s patent portfolio, which will enable us to better protect Android from anti-competitive threats from Microsoft, Apple and other companies.

But, is it backfiring on them? Last week, Apple filed motions claiming that Motorola has effective lost it’s patent rights due to it’s pending acquisition by Google.

The Future

It still remains to be seen how the other Android hardware partners will REALLY react if the deal goes through. Right now, they are supporting Google’s move — and rightly so. They certainly don’t want to bite the hand that feeds them. And according to Larry Page,

This acquisition will not change our commitment to run Android as an open platform. Motorola will remain a licensee of Android and Android will remain open. We will run Motorola as a separate business. Many hardware partners have contributed to Android’s success and we look forward to continuing to work with all of them to deliver outstanding user experiences.

There’s also the thinking that Google will spin-off the handset business to keep it separate from the Google name. Only time will tell if this, and other predictions will come true.

How do you think Google’s acquisition will effect the Android product lines, or mobile handset innovation in general?

Read Full Post »

Android is Now the King of the Smartphones

It seems like it was just yesterday that Apple introduced the iPhone (and it’s accompanying iOS Operating System). It was truly revolutionary and changed the smartphone market forever. And now, just a few short years later, and with the help (and bottomless pockets) of Google, the Android operating system has officially outpaced Apple’s flagship as having the largest share of the US Smartphone market, according to a new report from Nielsen.

The thing to remember about this is that Apple still dominates the actual Smartphone hardware market, since they exclusively make every single iOS-based device on the market. Android, on the other hand, is shared by several manufacturers, most notably HTC, Motorola and Samsung. And of course, there is our old friend, the Blackberry. While we don’t really hear too much buzz from our favorite Canadian phone manufacturer, they still hold 20% of the market, due largely in part to a huge, devoted corporate user base.

Windows who?

Yes, believe it or not, Microsoft DOES make a Smartphone operating system called Windows Mobile 7. While it is somewhat slick and innovative, it just can’t seem to make a big jump to knock out one of the top 3.

The Little HP Engine that could

Before the iPhone, there was a little company called Palm. They were THE smartphone company, with their widely popular Treo. The problem is that they simply didn’t innovate fast enough and got left in the dust. They re-wrote the PalmOS a few years back and launched WebOS, which still didn’t win people over. Recently, HP stepped in and purchased the struggling company, and poured a lot into R&D to come out with some new hardware based on WebOS and improved upon the OS itself. The HP tablet was just released, and while it does have some kinks to work out, it certainly appears to be a very nice device.

What’s your Smartphone of choice? Have you experimented with serveral smarthones over the years? We’d love to hear what your OS of choice is and why you chose it.

Read Full Post »