Νέα και φήμες για κινητά/tablets

από **Shepard** » 08 Νοέμ 2012, 23:54

Nokia to release Lumia 830 as a follow-up to the 710?

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This is certainly an interesting development. According to a leaked set of images from China’s WPDang, Nokia is set to release a new model, the Lumia 830, sometime in the future. While at first the new phone resembles the 820 in some ways, it is actually slightly narrower than the upcoming follow-up to the Lumia 800. While there is no indication that the 830 will be more powerful than the 820, WPCentral is positing that this could be in fact a successor to the successful (and cheap) Lumia 710.

Keeping in mind that the Lumia 820 has some pretty decent specs — a 1.5Ghz dual-core processor, 1GB RAM, an 8MP camera and a 4.3-inch WVGA display — the Lumia 830 could take those numbers down a notch and appeal to the entry-level market Nokia needs so badly. The Lumia 710 sported the same 1Ghz processor as the Lumia 800 and 900, but fell behind in terms of screen technology and camera. It was also sold for an amazing price here in Canada and around the world, and Nokia stands to benefit from such a variety of products.

I also love that green shade, so let’s hope Nokia starts using that as another colour in its repertoire. One more photo after the break.

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iPad vs. Surface Video: Clever New Parody Shows Microsoft's First Tablet Crushing Apple's Fourth
:lol:

Apple lands a patent for a rectangle with rounded corners (νταξ, τωρα ειναι ΓΕΛΟΙΟΙ)

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Oh my, our broken patent system is at it again. Yesterday Apple was awarded patent D670,286, which is a design patent pertaining to the iPad’s “ornamental” design. In a sense it’s a patent for a rectangle with rounded edges covering a “portable display device.” Before everyone screams foul, it remains to be seen if it will be worth anything to Apple.

Apple already has a design patent D504,889, and they successfully convinced Judge Lucy Koh that the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 should be banned based on it. Of course, in August, a jury didn’t find the Tab 10.1 infringed on that patent. Back then Samsung was quoted as saying it was “unfortunate that patent law can be manipulated to give one company a monopoly over rectangles with rounded corners.” Interestingly enough Apple now has the patent with this new ’286.

The issue is that this ’286 patent is what Apple and Samsung claimed the ’889 was. Furthermore, “This design patent gives Apple no new advantage, because no one is out there trying to market an iPad lookalike,” Lea Shaver, Associate Professor at Indiana University’s McKinney School of Law told Wired.

Also worth mentioning is the ’286 patent included numerous examples of prior art like an early HP tablet PC, the Knight Ridder concept tablet, and others. These were all used by Samsung as prior art references to the ’889 patent, but still the USPTO examiner let it pass with flying colors.

από **Shepard** » 09 Νοέμ 2012, 18:57

Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 13 Review
http://www.digitaltrends.com/tablet-reviews/lenovo-ideapad-yoga-13-review/

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από **Shepard** » 12 Νοέμ 2012, 19:17

Nokia Lumia 920 Review

από **Shepard** » 12 Νοέμ 2012, 20:43

Samsung reportedly hits Apple with 20% price increase for iPhone, iPad chips
Details on the price hike were published on Monday by Chosun Ilbo, via MarketWatch. The details come from an unnamed person allegedly familiar with negotiations between the two companies.

The person indicated that Samsung asked for a "significant price raise" for building chips such as the A6 chip found in the iPhone 5 and the A6X processor that powers the fourth-generation iPad.

Apple apparently balked at the terms of the deal at first, but eventually accepted the 20 percent price hike, as it could not find any other company to build its mobile processor.

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All of Apple's application processors for the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch are made by Samsung. The company produces the chips at its fabrication plant in Austin, Tex.

Samsung is expected to build a total of 200 million chips for Apple this year. The companies have allegedly signed a long-term supply contract through 2014.

Although though Samsung remains the sole supplier of Apple's custom chips found in the iPhone and iPad, the company has long been rumored to be pursuing a chipmaking partnership with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. One report from last month claimed that TSMC could begin building quad-core 20-nanometer chips for Apple as soon as late 2013.

And in October it was said that Apple was getting "serious" about moving chip production away from Samsung. Around the same time, Apple also hired away former Samsung chip designer Jim Mergard, who also designed and developed chips for AMD for 16 years.

Last week, one report claimed that Samsung was expecting to lose a portion of its future chip orders from Apple. It indicated that the Korean electronics company may put off construction of a new fabrication facility because of the expected decrease in orders.

Ελα πείτε το... γουσταρετε τρελα και εσεις!

από **Shepard** » 13 Νοέμ 2012, 18:54

Video: Nokia Lumia 920 Drop Test, Survived Like a Nokia 3310

και για λόγους ευγενούς άμιλλας να θυμηθούμε...

International Nexus 4 and Nexus 10 launch blighted by stock shortage

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Google's Nexus 4 smartphone and Nexus 10 tablet went on sale internationally today, and already both have sold out, some just 20 minutes after the Google Play store opened. The U.S. launch is still to come, and could experience similar problems.

Today sees the release of the new Google Nexus 4 smartphone and the Nexus 10 tablet, both announced at the end of October to considerable excitement, primarily over their competitive pricing and their unusual, in the U.S. at least, method of sale.

Eager buyers in Australia, the UK, Spain, France and Germany should all have access to the Google Play store by now, where they’ll find the new phone and tablet all ready and waiting. At least, that’s the theory, except not everyone is finding Nexus Day a very pleasant experience.

Australia was the first to go live, and according to buyers trying to order from the site, the Nexus 4 had sold out in 20 minutes, and the Nexus 10 soon after. AndroidAustralia.com confirmed with Google that the Nexus 4 was indeed sold out, and was told simply to “stay tuned for updates about availability.

It’s a similar story in the UK too, with the Nexus 4 altering from “Buy Now” to either “Notify Me,” or simply “Coming Soon” after half-an-hour. The rush to order one of Google’s new toys was so great, many found they couldn’t access the site, then even if they did get in, adding a device to the shopping basket was impossible.

Reports from Spain and France say the same thing: No stock and terrible trouble accessing the store. A Twitter search reveals plenty of annoyed prospective buyers, with one tweet from the UK perfectly summing up the situation: “Received email to say Nexus 4 is now available. Clicked on it. Sold out.”

Google hasn’t made many friends so far today, so it’ll be interesting to see how it does closer to home. Google isn’t telling anyone when it’s going to open the doors in the U.S., however around 9am PST is now rumored after the initial 12.00am PST target was missed.

It’s safe to say that if you want to be among the first to get a Nexus 4 or Nexus 10, you’ll need to stay close to your computer, as it could all be over very quickly.

Apple must pay Samsung’s entire UK legal fees

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When a high-level judge tells you to do something, you should probably do it. That is the kind of common sense that most people would follow — but not Apple. Because of the company’s failure to follow a UK judge’s order in a Samsung patent case, Apple must now pay all of Samsung’s legal fees.

The lawsuit, which probably would not have become such a media spectacle if Apple simply followed the court’s orders, was one of a few cases in which Apple’s patent claims against the Samsung Galaxy Tab were dismissed. It was a rare victory for Samsung. The judge thought the case was so conclusive that he demanded Apple post an apology on its website, informing customers that it was wrong. Instead, the company posted a few sentences about other legal victories it had against Samsung, which was kind of the opposite of the court order. This enraged the judge, who in turn ordered Apple to not only post an apology but also an apology about its botched apology.

The debacle isn’t over yet, though. Now, UK Court of Appeal Judge Robin Jacob has decided that because of Apple’s actions, it must pay all of Samsung’s legal fees.

While the winning party of a case is usually entitled to reclaim at least some of the costs they incurred, it is not always 100%. In the UK, there are two possible rulings for court costs called “standard” and “indemnity.” A standard ruling requires the examination of many factors to determine how much money one side can recoup. With an indemnity ruling, that requirement does not need to be followed.

And so the judge has ordered Apple to pay Samsung’s legal fees on an indemnity basis. From a legal perspective, the argument to be made is that if Apple had complied with all the judge’s orders, there would have already been a quantifiable remedy for Samsung. Because Apple muddied the waters, though, such a justification no longer exists.

Jacob’s full ruling was a scathing attack on Apple, saying the company outright disobeyed orders. In one particularly harsh line, he said Apple demonstrated an entire “lack of integrity” and that he hoped the rest of the company was not the same way.

από **Shepard** » 14 Νοέμ 2012, 20:48

Samsung Not Interested in Settlement with Apple over Patent Issues
With Apple and HTC having announced a settlement in their patent dispute, some observers have wondered whether the move could signal the beginning of a broader effort to resolve such issues throughout the industry. Apple and a number of Android device manufacturers such as HTC have been locked in court battles over their intellectual property for the past several years.

Samsung has rapidly risen to become the dominant Android device manufacturer and Apple's most significant foe in both the courtroom and the marketplace, but AFP reports that Samsung has "no such intention" of settling with Apple.

"We have no such intention," J.K. Shin, the head of Samsung Electronics' mobile unit, told reporters on Wednesday when asked if Samsung would seek a similar settlement.

Yonhap has more on Shin's comments:

"It may be true that HTC may have agreed to pay 300 billion won (US$276 million) to Apple, but we don't intend to (negotiate) at all," Shin Jong-kyun, who heads the South Korean tech giant's mobile and IT division, told reporters. [...]

While the terms of the settlement were undisclosed, market watchers speculate HTC will pay between $6 to $8 per phone, which would amount to $180 million to $280 million a year.

The patent battle between Apple and Samsung is already being played out in courtrooms around the world, with Apple's most significant victory in the series being a $1 billion verdict against Samsung in the United States. Not all of the cases have gone Apple's way, however, with one of the most visible defeats having been in the United Kingdom where Apple was ordered to post public acknowledgements that Samsung had not infringed upon Apple's registered design for the iPad.

Smartphone sales up 47 percent as Android increases its lead
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-57549482-94/smartphone-sales-up-47-percent-as-android-increases-its-lead/

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Surface RT gets performance boost from updates
Microsoft pushed out a firmware update today (Patch Tuesday) for its hybrid laptop/tablet, the Surface RT. The update brings with it a variety of performance improvements, according to preliminary reports from users. There were a total of eight updates released for the device, four of which corrected some issues and improved performance, as well as a firmware update and some security-related downloads.

According to ZDNet, the four updates include an update that addresses “Favorites” not showing up in Internet Explorer 10 and a fix that enables WinRE using the out-of-the-box wizard in Windows 8/Server 2012. Also part of the updates was an update for files containing a digital signature in Windows 8/Server 2012, and a Windows 8/Server 2012 cumulative update. You can download these updates for your Surface via Windows Update.

The first update listed above is self-explanatory, while the second update corrects the problem caused by an issue with the Boot Configuration Data store. The update for files containing a digital signature is due to files expiring prematurely on Windows 8/Server 2012 systems. And finally, the cumulative update enables the ability to customize the lock screen, fixes the problem that can cause Apps to be installed incorrectly, and improves performance upon waking the device and when the device is asleep, which ultimately improves battery life.

Now that the update has been out for a bit, reports are rolling in from users who say their devices are running faster and smoother. Some users say that app transitions seem “snappier” as well, and that Internet Explorer 10 is running better after the update. Have you updated your Surface? Let us know what improvements you’re seeing in the comments!