12
Oct
4g-speed1

Bill In US Senate Wants To Force Carriers To Say Just How Fast And Expansive Their "4G" Is, Carriers Respond Predictably

Posted by in 4G, News

4G. The acronym is probably the most abused term in tech industry since "HD." And if you spend as much time reading up on mobile phone news as us (we hope you don't, that's what we're for!), you probably have come to the same conclusion: it's almost without meaning, constantly misrepresented, and defined on a completely subjective basis. We don't like any of this.

Neither do some of the members of congress, apparently. Today, a bill was introduced in the U.S. Senate that would require carriers to disclose the following information to consumers about their supposed "4G" services:

  • 4G Minimum data speed
  • 4G Network reliability
  • 4G Coverage area maps
  • 4G Pricing
  • 4G Network tech used
  • Conditions which may affect network speed

It's kind of a lot.

01
Oct
samsung-logo

Court Accepts Verizon And T-Mobile Briefs Supporting Samsung, Denies Apple's Request To Respond

Posted by in Android OS, Legal, News, Samsung, T-Mobile, Verizon Wireless

When Verizon and T-Mobile filed amicus curiae briefs in favor of Samsung in the company's ongoing patent litigation against Apple in the Federal Court for the Northern District of California, we cheered inside a little. It's always nice to see Android and its handset partners have friends in high places.

However, the question of how the court would respond to these briefs remained - as the decision is an entirely discretionary one. Yesterday, the judge hearing the case accepted both Verizon and T-Mobile's briefs, in full, into consideration regarding Apple's proposed preliminary injunction which would seek to ban the import of certain Samsung Android handsets.

29
Sep
Android-Money

Editorial: Is Samsung's Patent Licensing Deal With Microsoft The End Of Royalty-Free Android?

Posted by in Android OS, Editorials, HTC, LG, Motorola, News, Samsung

It certainly seems like it. Yesterday, Microsoft announced via blog that it had concluded negotiations with Samsung and reached a licensing deal for the same seven patents it previously licensed to HTC for Android (along with other, smaller Android manufacturers). There were rumblings about just what royalty rate Samsung is paying, but the guess is anywhere from $5 to $15 per handset (it's likely on a percentage-of-MSRP basis - so think about 1-3% per $500 MSRP phone).

When it comes to royalty agreements, rates are usually internally fixed regarding certain categories of IP to avoid confusion about damages in lawsuits, but when there are allegations of continued infringement, the game changes.

28
Sep
222-logo-t-mobile_logo1

T-Mobile Follows Verizon's Lead, Tells Court Not To Allow Apple To Ban Import Of Samsung Android Devices

Posted by in 4G, Android OS, News, Samsung, T-Mobile, Verizon Wireless

Everyone's getting on the peace train, it seems. T-Mobile, in concert with Verizon's filing last week, submitted an amicus curiae ("friend of the court") brief to the Federal Court for the Northern District of California this morning in regard to the ongoing patent and trademark suit between Samsung and Apple. Its contents? Basically the same thing Verizon's said - that denying Americans their 4G Samsung devices just for some silly little patent infringement will hurt 4G deployment in the US and decrease access to high-speed mobile broadband. T-Mobile actually refers to Verizon's brief in their own document, basically saying "Yeah, whatever he said, too."

tmo

After T-Mobile's statement regarding the fact that it still doesn't have the iPhone earlier this week (as though customers needed a reminder), this brief is a pretty logical step for the company to take.

28
Sep
motorola-red-logo

Department Of Justice Taking A Second Look At Google-Moto Deal, Probably No Cause For Alarm

Posted by in Android OS, Motorola, News

Over at Google's Public Policy Blog (yes, that really exists) today, Senior VP Dennis Woodside issued a statement that the U.S. Department of Justice was taking a "second look" at certain potential antitrust issues in the Google-Motorola deal. What's it mean?

A $12.5 billion acquisition of a major US company that has been independent for over 30 years is always going to invite scrutiny from Uncle Sam, and let's face it, it's probably not a bad sign that the government is batting a second eye at these kinds of purchases.

Google, according to the post as shown below, remains confident that the deal will go through, and is cooperating fully with the DoJ during this evaluation, one Google has undergone before.

24
Sep
verizonwirelesslogo

Verizon To Apple: Banning The Import Of Samsung Android Devices Is Not Something We're OK With

Posted by in News, Samsung, Verizon Wireless

Well, this is certainly an interesting turn of events. In Samsung and Apple's ongoing attempts to sue the pants off one another in every court conceivable, an unlikely player has stepped into the arena as a voice of reason (sort of).

Verizon Wireless, the US's largest wireless carrier, has requested permission to file a brief in the Federal Court for the Northern District of California on the part of Samsung in one of the many lawsuits it is involved in with Apple. Apple filed a motion previously for a preliminary injunction, asking the court, in light of Samsung's alleged patent infringement, to ban the import of four Samsung Android devices (the Infuse 4G, the DROID Charge, the Galaxy S 4G, and the Galaxy Tab 10.1).

16
Sep
billl1

America Invents Act Now Law, Brings Biggest Changes To US Patent Law In Over 50 Years

Posted by in News, Off-Topic

If you've watched or read any of the major American news outlets today, you might have heard a solid 15 second mention about a little piece of legislation known as the America Invents Act. You probably heard that it brings the most sweeping changes to American patent law in the last half-century, and that it should ease the burden of patent filing for both inventors and the USPTO (United States Patent and Trademark Office).

You also know patent litigation is a major part of life as an Android fan, so your interest was probably at least piqued by the passage of this bill.

14
Sep
motorola-red-logo

Editorial: Was Google's Purchase Of Motorola More About Damage Control Than Patent Woes?

Posted by in Android OS, Editorials, Motorola

If you head over to FOSSPatents this morning, you'll find a rather lengthy article about Google's acquisition of Motorola that ends with the following conclusion:

Google bought MMI to prevent the worst for Google's strategy, not to make things better for everyone else.

In a way, the $12.5 billion price represents protection money. But not in the way most people seem to think.

FOSSPatents

This statement is obviously contrary to the heaps of coverage the Motorola-Google deal received from  major news outlets, blogs, and Android enthusiasts. Us included. This deal was to protect Android from the evils of Apple and Microsoft, with patents.

01
Sep
evil apple

Irony Alert: Apple Says Samsung And Motorola Are "Anticompetitive" Because Of Their Patents

Posted by in Editorials, News, Off-Topic

Apple has a long history of being ironic, and not in the positive sense of the word. Their latest bout of ironic shenanigans: accusing Samsung and Motorola of being "anticompetitive." Frankly, this is such an outrageous accusation that I just don't know where to start with it.

  1. First off, a little history: as Daily Tech points out, Steve Jobs famously said "We have always been shameless about stealing great ideas." What changed? Well... I don't like to get into the politics of Android vs. Apple, as I think Apple truly makes some great products, and have occasionally recommended them over alternate products.

13
Aug
hades

Google Takes First Baby Steps In The Fight Against Lodsys

Posted by in News

Lately, it seems like news about patent lawsuits and bullying is worse than most Hollywood gossip. Frankly, most of the suits are about as justified as Hollywood gossip, if not less. Nevertheless, there are bright spots - such as when the big dogs step up alongside developers to help fight back the patent trolls. Such happened yesterday, when it was revealed that Google has joined Apple in the fight against patent troll Lodsys' claims against developers.

hades

Artist's rendering of Lodsys.

For the uninitiated, Lodsys is a company that does nothing but hold patents for the purpose of licensing them. They produce no goods and offer no real services, and their patents are purchased from others - meaning they contribute nothing to the process.

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