Samsung ordered to pay Apple $1.05B in patent case

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — After a year of scorched-earth litigation, a jury decided Friday that Samsung ripped off the innovative technology used by Apple to create its revolutionary iPhone and iPad. The jury ordered Samsung to pay Apple $1.05 billion in the latest skirmish of a global legal battle between the two tech giants. An appeal is expected. Apple Inc. filed its patent infringement lawsuit in April 2011 and engaged legions of the country's highest-paid patent lawyers to demand $2.5 billion from its top smartphone competitor. Samsung Electronics Co. fired back with its own lawsuit seeking $399 million.

The verdict, however, belonged to Apple, as the jury rejected all Samsung's claims against Apple. Jurors also decided against some of Apple's claims involving the two dozen Samsung devices at issue, declining to award the full $2.5 billion Apple demanded. However, the jury found that several Samsung products illegally used such Apple creations as the "bounce-back" feature when a user scrolls to an end image, and the ability to zoom text with a tap of a finger.

As part of its lawsuit, Apple also demanded that Samsung pull its most popular cellphones and computer tablets from the U.S. market. A judge was expected to make that ruling at a later time.

The outcome of the case is likely to have ripple effects in the smartphone market. After seeing Samsung's legal defeat, other device makers relying on Android may become more reluctant to use the software and risk getting dragged into court.

What is NFC?

Also known as Near Field Communications, this technology allows a smartphone to communicate with other devices or smart tags via radio waves. Used as a tap-and-go payment system through Google Wallet and for exchanging information between phones. NFC is integrated into such devices as the Samsung Nexus S and the Samsung Galaxy Nexus. Unfortunately, users can’t do much with the feature yet. But they will be using it soon. Baked into Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, Google’s Beam feature uses NFC to let users do some nifty tricks, such as transferring videos, pictures, contacts, and websites by touching two Android phones together. For example, a YouTube video shared via Beam will pick up on another device exactly where it was last played. The technology does pose some security concerns, but those are being addressed. For instance, to prevent others from using your Android phone as a wallet, Google Wallet uses a PIN number that you must enter at timed intervals. Under Settings you can set the PIN timer to 1 minute, 5 minutes, 15 minutes, or 30 minutes. Technews Daily

Your Smartphone Is Spying on You

An Android developer recently discovered a clandestine application called Carrier IQ built into most smartphones that doesn't just track your location; it secretly records your keystrokes, and there's nothing you can do about it. Is it time to put on a tinfoil hat? That depends on how you feel about privacy. The reason for this invasive Android app seems reasonable enough at face value. Even though it's on most Android, BlackBerry and Nokia devices, most users would never know that Carrier IQ is running in the background, and that's sort of the point. Described on the company's website as software to gain "unprecedented insight into their customers' mobile experience," Carrier IQ is ostensibly supposed to help mobile carriers and device manufacturers gather data in order to improve their products. 

Security-conscious Android developer Trevor Eckhart realized, however, Carrier IQ does not give you this option, and unless you were code-savvy and looking for it, you'd never know it was there. And based on how aggressive the company has been in trying to keep Eckhart quiet about his discovery, it seems like Carrier IQ doesn't want you to know it's there either. This week, Eckhart fired back with a 17-minute long video showing in painstaking detail how much data CarrierIQ collects, effectively undercutting the company's denial. It was even logging contents of text messages! Wired posted the video on Tuesday night and cemented its status "as one of nine reasons to wear a tinfoil hat." The magazine explains how CarrierIQ even undercuts other companies' security measures. CarrierIQ and the carriers have yet to respond to the latest claims -- we're doing our best to chase them down -- but if past smartphone tracking scandals are any precedent, they could end up answering to Congress. Atlantic Wire

A Police Scanner App For Android

Remember your buddy who had the police scanner at home? Now you can recapture the feeling of listening in, and do so on an Android phone with the Scanner Radio app.

Similar apps exist for iPhones as well. In the case of Scanner radio, you get feeds from police scanners all over the world, uploaded to the Internet. Some of the iPhone apps are even free. And it isn’t just for cop beat reporters: at least one reviewer on the iTunes store said they were able to hear how bad the damage was in areas hit by tornadoes this summer. Technews Daily

Google's Music Storage and Movie Rentals

Google Music Beta is Google's answer to the music services Apple, Amazon and other companies have been creating for years. Google Music Beta isn't so much about buying music (though that can be done, too) as it is about hosting the music you already own and making it available anywhere.

Users can upload all their music, up to 20,000 songs (can you hear the sigh of relief from the music lovers?) to Google's cloud services and stream them from anywhere there's an Internet connection. There's also an app for Android phones that not only streams music but remembers the most recent and most played songs in your library and keeps them available offline in case there isn't a data connection available. Google has also taken great strides to make Music Beta a universal experience no matter how many devices you use. Any change made to your Google Music Library will be synced to other devices. And there are even smart playlist features that can analyze your music and instantly create a playlist based on a song that strikes your fancy at the moment.

The other major media announcement from Google I/O is the ability to rent movies from the Android Market, which along with the addition of movie rentals on YouTube firmly cements Google's place as a content provider (and tightens the competition for other streaming and download services from Apple, Amazon, Netflix and more). Technews Daily

99% of Android Phones Leak Personal Data

Evil Droid

Google's Android mobile operating system is again in the hot seat after German researchers found that a security flaw causes nearly 100 percent of Android phones to leak users' secret account credentials. Researchers at the University of Ulm explained that the problem lies in ClientLogin, a Google authentication protocol that verifies communication between Android phones and Google apps such as Google Calendar, Google Contacts and Picasa, as well as third-party Android apps such as Twitter and Facebook.

"This means that the adversary can view, modify or delete any contacts, calendar events or private pictures," the researchers wrote. With your username and password, a hacker could also gain unauthorized access to your online bank accounts and other sensitive information. According to the researchers, 99.7 percent of Android smartphones are vulnerable to this type of attack.


This new exploit casts yet another shadow on Android: between infected apps and a 400 percent increase in malware since last year, Google is having a hard time keeping its increasingly popular smartphone platform safe. In response to the growing incidents of security threats targeting mobile users, AT&T has announced plans to launch a consumer security service for mobile users next year. TechNews Daily

HTC: More Android Tablets, On The Horizon

PARIS (Reuters) - Smartphone maker HTC plans to roll out a range of different tablet computers to gain a foothold in the fast-growing market, a company executive said on Tuesday.

The global market for tablets, started only last year with Apple's iPad, will likely grow to 108 million devices next year, compared with just 17.6 million in 2010, according to research firm Gartner. "I really believe that the tablet market is really going to be a big market in the future and this is just the start," HTC Europe head Florian Seiche told the Reuters Global Technology Summit.

"In five years' time, schools will have tablets probably instead of physical notebooks. I think that's going to be such a massive wave of additional penetration in society... I think we can't even guess the potential." Seiche said HTC's first tablet, the Flyer, had made a good start in terms of sales.

iPhone Will Track You Even After Location Services Are Disabled

Even when location services are not enabled, your iPhone will still collect and store location data, according to a test run by the Wall Street Journal.

The recent revelation that iPhones were collecting precise location data, and storing that data for up to a year in an unencrypted file, has sparked concern among users, as well as from Senator Al Franken and Representative Ed Markey, who have demanded Steve Jobs explain what the data is used for. 

The Wall Street Journal's test showed that the iPhone used cellphone towers and Wi-Fi access to find this location data, though it did not appear to be transmitted back to Apple. The test observed the data recorded by the phone as it moved from place to place, and found that these moves were recorded, using coordinates and time stamps. Google performs a similar operation regarding users' location data on phones using its Android software.Wallstreet Journal

Celebrity tracker 'app' for Android smartphones

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) – Startup Scoopler was inviting owners of Android-powered smartphones to install an application that promises to alert them every time a celebrity is sighted nearby. The free JustSpotted software was available online at the Android Market.

"There is no other application that gives you real-time alerts like this with thousands of spottings on our website every day," Scoopler co-founder AJ Asver told AFP in an email. "If you are in a metropolitan area, you are going to be pleasantly surprised by how close you are to the celebrity world."  JustSpotted.com launched in October with an online map that pinpoints celebrity whereabouts in real time based on public updates from social networking star Facebook and microblogging service Twitter.

Xperia Play (PlayStation Phone)

ORLANDO, Fla. – Gamers are anxiously awaiting the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play smartphone -- also known as the PlayStation phone, the first-ever mobile phone to integrate Playstation games and controls into an Android device. TechNewsDaily tested out the Xperia Play at the CTIA Wireless conference and it was apparent that the device was first and foremost a portable game console and only second, a phone. 


The Xperia Play features a slide-out bottom, but this one is a bit different than others: A game controller is set up underneath the device instead of a QWERTY keyboard. Despite the controls being much more cramped than a standard PlayStation controller, even users with larger hands reported few problems with using the device.
The L and R bumpers appear on the side of the device, so pointer fingers easily rest on them and can still be used to support the device. The other buttons are smaller than usual, but they make a definite click sound so it's easy to tell when they've been pressed.

The Xperia Play is perfect for those who don't want to carry around a portable game console, such as a PSP, and a separate phone. It integrates the two devices well enough and will be a special treat for fans of the original PlayStation games. TechNewsDaily

HTC Announces Flyer: 7-inch Android Tablet

The HTC Flyer is a 7-inch tablet in the vein of the Samsung Galaxy Tab, but the HTC tablet is much more powerful. For starters, it has a 1.5GHz processor. The processor isn't dual-core like many of the competing tablet processors, but that amount of speed should still be more than sufficient for Android. Furthermore, 1 GB of RAM and 32 GB of storage should help things along nicely.


Other specs include a microSD card slot for storage expansion, 5 megapixel camera in back, 1.3 megapixel camera in front and a 4000mAh battery rated for four hours of continuous video playback, which is actually the least impressive thing about the HTC Flyer. HTC also included a few surprises with the Flyer. First of all, it comes with the OnLive cloud gaming service installed, which makes it possible to play console games without a console over an Internet connection.


HTC said the Flyer will be released in the second quarter of 2011, but did not give a price. TechNews Daily

Motorola Xoom tablet

Motorola Xoom tablet

LAS VEGAS (AFP) – Motorola Mobility's Xoom tablet computer powered by new "Honeycomb" software from Google was crowned the best gadget at the giant Consumer Electronics Show (CES) on Saturday.
Along with being declared the top creation at the dazzling gadget extravaganza, Xoom was also honored as the best of the scores of tablets introduced here as fresh competitors in a market dominated by Apple iPads.
Motorola also scored a victory with its Atrix smartphone designed to work with high-speed 4G wireless networks and which can be used in a dock to power a laptop.

Atrix Smartphone

Atrix won the top spot in a smartphone category at the official Best of CES awards.

Sprint bows HTC Evo Shift 4G QWERTY slider

The widely leaked slider version of the popular HTC Evo 4G finally gets official, along with a revamped MiFi portable hotspot that's compatible with Sprint's 4G WiMax data network. Set for release January 9 at $149 with a two-year Sprint contract, the Evo Shift (which has been popping up all over the Web in the past week or so) is essentially a smaller take on the jumbo-sized Evo 4G from last summer, with the key difference being the Shift's slide-out, four-row QWERTY keypad.

The Shift's 3.6-inch WVGA dispay probably won't inspire the gasps that the Evo 4G's mammoth 4.3-inch display did, while the slider's mid-range, 800 MHz Qualcomm MSM7630 processor won't pack the firepower of the dual-core Tegra 2 smartphones that we're expecting to see at CES later this week. There's also no front-facing camera for video chat, although the rear 5MP lens is capable of 720p-quality video capture.

That said, the Android 2.2-running Shift will connect to Sprint's speedy 4G network, just as the original Evo does, and it will also double as a portable Wi-Fi hotspot for up to eight other Wi-Fi-enabled devices. The handset also arrives with a two-year contract price that's $50 cheaper than the Evo 4G.

Samsung Sells 10 Million Galaxy S Smartphones Since June

Samsung announced on Monday (Jan. 3) that it has sold 10 million of its Android-powered Galaxy S Smartphones in the seven months since the device was launched. The world's second-largest maker of wireless handsets set a lofty goal to meet this number last year as a part of an effort to compete with Apple's iPhone.

The device got off to a strong start right away. Samsung shipped more than one million units in the United States after its first month on the market. Samsung aims to double sales of its smartphones this year.

Trojan Grabs Private Information from Android Devices

A new Trojan is targeting Android devices. Known in security circles as Geinimi, the Trojan is powerful enough to compromise the personal data on a user's smartphone and send it to remote servers. So says Lookout Mobile Security. In fact, the firm said the new Trojan is the most sophisticated Android malware its security researchers have seen to date. What's more, Geinimi is also the first Android malware in the wild that displays botnet-like capabilities. That means once the malware is installed on a user's phone, it has the potential to receive commands from a remote server that allow the owner of that server to control the phone. "Geinimi is effectively being 'grafted' onto repackaged versions of legitimate applications, primarily games, and distributed in third-party Chinese Android app markets," the company wrote in a blog post. "The affected applications request extensive permissions over and above the set that is requested by their legitimate original versions."

Protecting Your Phone
The good news for Android users is Lookout said there is no evidence that Geinimi is distributed through third-party Chinese app stores. To download an app from a third-party app store, Android users need to enable the installation of apps from "unknown sources." Although Geinimi could be packaged into applications for Android phones in other geographic regions, Lookout has not seen any applications compromised by the Geinimi Trojan in the official Google Android Market. There are a number of applications -- typically games -- we have seen repackaged with the Geinimi Trojan and posted in Chinese app stores, including Monkey Jump 2, Sex Positions, President vs Aliens, City Defense, and Baseball Superstars 2010," Lookout said. "It is important to remember that even though there are instances of the games repackaged with the Trojan, the original versions available in the official Google Android Market have not been affected.


Lookout said Android users can stay safe by only downloading applications from trusted sources, such as reputable application markets, by always checking the permissions an app requests, by being aware of unusual behavior on the phone, and by downloading a mobile security app.

You Stream Music, Pandora Streams Your Info to Advertisers:

Online radio network Pandora provides users with highly curated playlists based on the Music Genome Project, an analysis of more than 400 attributes of a song that make it appealing to your specific ear taste buds. The cost of this pretty incredible service for most folks: nothing at all. Well, nothing at all if you don't consider quietly sharing some of your web habits with advertisers a "cost." 

According to the WSJ's data, Pandora shares age, gender, location, and phone ID information with marketing firms on both its iPhone and Android mobile versions. So while advertsiers won't have your name and email address, they'll get their hands on a lot of info about your mobile phone behavior. 

Is that a fair exchange for hours of free music? Only users who stream more than 40 hours of music a month are billed 99 cents, and Pandora offers a premium paid version for $36 a year that comes with a few perks, like unlimited listening, no ads, and the ability to skip however many songs you want. Pandora does have a Privacy Policy posted on its website, which reveals the service employs cookies to "collect non-personally identifiable information" for tracking and advertising purposes. It doesn't expressly say Pandora will share your phone's unique ID number with advertisers, but it gives you a hint that that music you're enjoying for free does indeed have a cost -- whether or not you're (somewhat) unwittingly becoming an advertising drone is up to you. Wallstreet Journal

Creative Releases 7-inch Android Tablet for $270

Here's another entry into the Android tablet market, although you might not have known this one was coming. Creative just launched the ZiiO Android tablet, which retails for $250. Unlike the majority of Android tablets, the ZiiO uses a ZiiLabs processor, but the rest of the specs are fairly familiar. The display is 7 inches (similar to the Samsung Galaxy Tab) and has a 800 x 400 pixel resolution. Inside is 16GB of storage, WiFi, Bluetooth and front-facing webcam.


The Creative ZiiO runs Android 2.1, which is disappointing because Google is just about to release Android 2.3 Gingerbread. Hopefully Creative plans to help buyers upgrade later.

The most attractive part of the ZiiO is probably the price. At $270, this tablet is pretty cheap compared to other Android tablets. It might not be quite as powerful or feature-filled (no 3G for instance), but it's an alternative for those who don't have $600 to spend on the Galaxy Tab.

HTC Merge Leaked on Verizon Site

Verizon made a little mistake today when it accidentally released images of a phone, the HTC Merge, that hasn't even been officially announced yet.

 

 

Unsurprisingly, Verizon yanked the pictures from the site, but not before plenty of people got a look at them. Android Central has images of the phone preserved for anyone who wants to see more. The HTC Merge has a slide-out keyboard, much like other Droid smartphones Verizon currently offers. The black and silver plating on the back is a little unusual though. Unfortunately, the leaked images came with little other information, including the specs and the all important release date and price. However, the fact that Verizon has prepared a 360-degree view of the phone on the site means that it's likely not far from release.

Major mobile banking app security holes uncovered

You might not want to check your bank account from your phone after all. Mobile apps from USAA, Chase, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, and TD Ameritrade have major security holes, reports research firm viaForensics and WSJ. The bugs center mainly around iPhone and Android versions of the apps, and could potentially allow a hacker to learn your username, password, and some financial information. In other words, this is bad.


The apps currently save sensitive information in the phone’s memory. If the device is stolen, a criminal could hack into the physical phone and extract everything they need to remotely access the bank account. Worse, if the smartphone user is conned into visiting a malicious website, the information could also be extracted. Digital Trends

ViewPad 7, ViewPad 10 Tablets Announced (PHOTOS)

Despite Apple CEO Steve Jobs' opinion that "seven-inch tablets are going to be DOA, Dead on Arrival," the $479 ViewPad 7 will be a 7-inch tablet running Android 2.2. It offers two built-in cameras (one front-facing and one on the rear), 3G capabilities, and, its creators boast, is "one of the only 7" tablet solutions with Android Google Mobile Services (GMS)," which gives users access to some 100,000 apps.

A larger, 10.1-inch tablet, the ViewPad 10, will be landing in the first quarter of 2011. The $629 ViewPad 10 will boot both Windows 7 and the Android 1.5 operating systems. It offers Wi-Fi, comes equipped with a 1.3-megapixel webcam and built-in microphone, and its creators note it is "ideally designed to view Flash-based content and Office programs with Windows." Huffington Post.