The Apple vs. Samsung lawsuit currently ongoing in a San Jose, Calif. Federal courthouse has a little for everybody, taunting, name calling, and a look into the past as the two tech rivals fight it out over the look and feel of Samsung’s smartphones and tablets and if it infringed on Apple’s designs.
The case, which started last week, provided a snapshot of how intertwined the people of Silicon Valley are during jury selection when it appeared that most potential jurors seemed to work for rivals high tech companies, but finally the jury was filled.
Apple opened predictably claiming that Samsung simply found it easier to copy than innovate and Samsung retorted that it was simply developing products along the same lines. Images of product development and prototypes have been submitted to show similarities in both companies’ offerings.
Samsung has leaked evidence that was excluded by the judge and Apple requested that the judge award it victory in the case-its request was denied. The case continues this week.
Microsoft Windows hits OEMs, on Street Oct 26
Microsoft’s tablet OEMs and other now have the final software code of Windows 8 to its hardware OEMs so that they can now start preloading the OS into their next generation products ranging from desktop and notebook computers to tablets.
The hardware OEMs, among which are Dell, Acer, Hewlett-Packard, Samsung and Lenovo are expected to have products available at the official public launch of the operating system that has been pegged as Oct. 26. I expect that for a good deal of the products we will see a lot of ‘unoffical’ leaks prior to that day.
Intel bets on motion sensing as future interface
Intel Capital, along with iSource and GIMV has invested 6.5 million Euros in Movea in a Series C funding round. The company develops motion sensing and data fusion technology that will be incorporated in a wide range of devices ranging from set top boxes, tablets, smartphones and even car infotainment units.
Samsung’s next-gen Galaxy Note due later this month
Samsung has told Reuters that the next generation Galaxy Note, its smartphone with the 5.5-inch display. According to the report the device will be first shown to the public at the company’s Samsung Mobile Unpacked event that is scheduled for August 29th in Berlin. It is interesting to note that the date is about two weeks prior to when Apple is expected to unveil its next smartphone and tablet offerings.
Apple rules the tablet space, market research shows
Market research company International Data Corp. (IDC) has released preliminary data on the the world wide tablet market for the second quarter has found that, to the surprise of no one, Apple continues to dominate this space.
The company found that the overall market shipped 25 million units in the quarter, a 33.6% quarter over quarter increase from the first quarter’s 18.7 million units, and 66.2% over the same period a year before. Of that 25 million Apple shipped 17 million of them, up from 11.8 million the previous quarter.
Its rivals do not compare well to Apple’s numbers. Top foe Samsung managed 2.4 million units, good for a 9.6% market share followed by Amazon with 1.2 million units, good for a 5% share. No other rival broke 1 million units. I will be interested to see how Google’s Nexus 7 does in the next quarters’ results.
Google and Rovi ink deal
Google has signed an agreement with Rovi that will enable Google to use Rovi’s interactive program guide technology for set top boxes, tablets and other mobile products. It is expected that the technology will be used in Google’s rollout of Google Fiber.
Google adds handwriting recognition to search
Speaking of Google, back in its core search business it is adding a new feature for mobile users, handwriting recognition. The technology will first roll out for Android smartphones and tablets and then move over to Apple’s iOS platform as well. It will have support for 27 different languages.
AT&T to shut down 2G-in 5 years
AT&T has said that the end is in sight for its 2G network as the carrier plans to discontinue support for the wireless network in five years. The company will redeploy that spectrum as part of its effort to focus on its 3G and 4G networks, which it said are facing capacity issues due to the increasing popularity of smartphones. Currently 12% of its customers use a 2G network.
Digg is back already
Digg, the once high flying news social news site has already relaunched itself just six weeks after it was sold to Betaworks. The service now has a reworked web site and has refreshed its mobile app for the iPhone. Its main page is broken into three categories: Top stories, popular and upcoming.
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