The Munich Regional Court has found Motorola to be in violation of Microsoft's text-messaging patent involving "communicating multi-part messages between cellular devices using a standardized interface." The judgement follows an International Trade Commission-ordered import ban against Android-based Motorola devices that infringe on a different Microsoft patent for event scheduling.
The Microsoft Xbox 360 S is to be banned from sale in the US following an International Trade Commission ruling. In a court document released on Monday, ITC Judge David Shaw recommended the sale of both 4GB and 250GB versions of the console be blocked. His recommendation related to a ruling made last month that Microsoft was infringing on four patents owned by Motorola relating to the H.264 video format.
Google has announced that its proposed acquisition of Motorola Mobility has been closed, following necessary approvals from the US Department of Justice, European Union and other international agencies. Current Motorola Mobility CEO Sanjay Jha will continue to help complete the transition, however he will step down as chief executive as Google veteran Dennis Woodside takes the leadership role.
Following a delay of nearly a week after repeated denial of service attacks, low-cost Sprint reseller Voyager Mobile has launched in 22 states. Voyager provides Sprint's 3G and WiMAX network for $39 a month, contract free. Alternatively, a $19/month unlimited-talk plan is available.
Apple CEO Tim Cook was the highest-paid CEO of 2011, according to a study released by the Hay Group and the Wall Street Journal. Cook's package for the year was valued at $378 million, although most of it is locked up in the form of stock grants issued after he took control from Steve Jobs in August. The first half of the shares will vest in 2016; the remainder will follow in 2021, contingent on Cook staying with Apple.
Following its publication of an updated list of devices that will get an Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) update, Motorola has moved to explain its decision to omit certain devices. Many users were disappointed to learn that popular devices including the Droid X2 and Droid will not be getting an update the latest version of the Android OS. Instead, they will be left running Android 2.3 (Gingerbread), which was released in December, 2010.
Microsoft has won an International Trade Commission ruling that may result in an import ban on several Motorola devices. The companies are involved in several separate intellectual-property disputes, though the latest ITC ruling focuses on a lawsuit filed by Microsoft over patented Exchange ActiveSync technology.
RIM and Motorola have submitted a new, compromise nano-SIM design based on a concept from Apple, reports say. The new design has the same outline and contacts as Apple's proposal, but with a notch on one side making space for what RIM calls a "push-push" mechanism; pushing in the card once secures it, pushing it in again pops it out. Apple's idea may have been less practical, requiring a tray to hold a card steady.
Apple has won a scheduling victory over Motorola and HTC in the latest round of the giants' patent battles in Florida today. An exasperated judge consolidated the disparate trials, which consist of of patent infringement claims by Apple against both companies and counter-claims from them, in part because of a lack of cooperation between the parties. The new combined trial will take place in April 2014.
Motorola's patent demands and conduct were condemned by a judge overseeing a preliminary ITC ruling against Microsoft. Administrative Law Judge David Shaw wrote an initial determination, entering public records in a redacted state last week, stating that assurances on reasonable licensing of standards-essential patents "were misleading."
Verizon has reduced the price of the Droid Razr MAXX smartphone by a third, lopping off $100. Now set at $200 with a two-year contract, which is the same as the original, thinner but shorter-lasting Droid Razr cost not so long ago. The Droid Razr is currently priced at $100 at Verizon.
The crew over at GSMarena have got their hands on Samsung's Galaxy S III smartphone and tested its battery performance. They came away impressed, comparing it to the performance of 31 other handsets in the process. The 2,100mAh battery managed to provide 10 hours and 20 minutes of 3G talk time on a single charge, placing fourth and behind the Motorola Droid Razr MAXX and Samsung's own Galaxy Note and Wave 3 S8600, in that order.
On April 20, Microsoft fired the most recent shot in its legal skirmish with Motorola in German court in regards to a series of patent enforcement suits preventing Microsoft (amongst others) from using push notifications. In response to the new MS filing, on Friday morning Mannheim Regional Court Judge Andreas Voss said that his court is not prepared to rule on Motorola's complaint versus Microsoft in regards to push notifications from the Hotmail service. A new trial is expected.
Verizon will soon begin offering the Droid Razr in a new color: blue. While some stores are already selling the handset in this hue, the handset will arrive online and in all stores on May 17. Verizon already offers the device in white, black, and purple.
Two extensions for the Sony SmartWatch have been released as open source in an attempt to foster app development for the device. The 8 Game extension, a simple game based on sliding tiles to reorganize a picture, shows potential developers how they could create their own titles that can run on the timepiece. The Music extension permits the accessory to control music playback on the linked phone through supported media players, letting existing programming teams add SmartWatch functionality to their software.
Parties interested in developing for the $150 SmartWatch can download the SDK from Sony, with a further request from the electronics giant to suggest other extensions to release as open source.
Motorola has landed a significant blow against Microsoft in Germany after persuading the Mannheim Regional Court to issue an injunction against the sale of the Xbox 360 and Windows 7. Judge Holger Kircher ruled that Microsoft had violated two Motorola patents, one pertaining to H.264 video-compression and the other related to wireless internet connection. However, the bans are subject to appeal and are not likely to be pursued by Motorola initially, the result of several complicating factors according to FOSS Patents.
Motorola Mobility has posted its first-quarter financial disclosures, pointing to an $86 million loss despite a slight uptick in revenue. The numbers compare to a $80 million loss in the previous quarter, and an $81 million loss for the same quarter last year.
Judge Richard Posner, of the US District Court in the Northern District of Illinois, has asked Apple to stop submitting "frivolous filings" in a patent fight with Motorola. "I've had my fill of frivolous filings by Apple," an order by the judge reads. The trigger for the reprimand was an Apple motion to block Motorola from deposing a particular expert. While the expert's identity is still under seal, Posner complained that one half of the motion was "frivolous," and a second "untimely."
Motorola brought one of its 2012 international phones to North America for the first time on Monday. The MOTOLUXE should be reaching Canada through one or more carriers sometime in the spring. Which carriers, and other launch details, were left out for the Android phone.
Apple and Motorola in near-tandem have motioned for summary judgment in Apple's Wisconsin-based lawsuit over alleged Motorola violations of patents. The actions, both filed on Friday, would have Apple try to have some of its patent claims validated while Motorola wanted the majority of Apple's patent arguments ruled invalid. Most of Motorola's objections center around Apple's attempts to find Motorola violating its commitment to FRAND (fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory) patent licensing for 3G and Wi-Fi, effectively shutting down the lawsuit itself.
Google's Android Open Source Project (AOSP) engineer Jean-Baptiste Queru drew flak late Thursday after comments that many have interpreted as giving a pass on slow Android upgrade intervals. He saw Sony's Android 4.0 upgrades having rolled out in a "very reasonable time," five months after 4.0 was available, given the nature of the OS. Sony had even had a head start, since its AOSP code contributions gave it an idea of what to expect for its own upgrades, he said.
A telling leak has uncovered at least tentative dates for Verizon's long-in-waiting Android 4.0 updates. The HTC Rezound would go first, according to an anonymous Reddit user, with a test theoretically active now and wrapping up May 7. Customers would start getting the update over the air two days later, on May 9.
Amazon's Kindle Fire now makes up the absolute majority of the Android tablet platform in the US, comScore found in a fresh study. The e-reader and tablet crossover represented 54.4 percent of all Android tablets sold in the country. At second place, the entire Samsung Galaxy Tab lineup comprised just 15.4 percent of Android slates.
Motorola in a Munich court on Thursday made a partial concession in Apple's lawsuit over touch technology. The RAZR designer's attorney didn't directly contest a view by the presiding judge that Motorola was likely violating a patent for iOS' bounce effect during scrolling. Instead, Motorola hoped to challenge the validity of the patent itself.
The German version of Motorola's RAZR MAXX could be one of the company's first phones to carry Android 4.0. A mention of Android 4.0 in the fact sheet shows the OS by name. No mention is made of any changes to Motorola's own interface layer along with the 4.0 upgrade.
The iPhone 4S was far and away the most-activated device during the March quarter by Good Technology enterprise customers, a new study by the firm says. The phone represented 37 percent of activations, roughly four times the amount of any other device. The iPad 2 took home second place at 17.7 percent; the third-gen iPad came in fourth at 4.3 percent, but was only available for less than one month in the quarter, and nevertheless accounted for 12.1 percent of all of the March activations Good tracked.
The tail end of Google mobile VP Andy Rubin's testimony on Android's revenue potential has revealed that the company made broad presumptions about how well Android tablets would fare in the market place. The projections seen by The Verge had Android tablets claiming 10 million shipments out of an estimated 30 million in 2011, or 33 percent share. It had thought that its share would go down in 2012, to 22 percent, but mostly as the market would be getting larger while Android sales stayed flat.
Pegatron on Wednesday became the latest company to reach a patent deal in Microsoft's Android licensing campaign. In a boilerplate statement, Microsoft said Pegatron would pay a royalty on every Android or Chrome OS device it manufactured. The two kept up Microsoft's typical request that the terms of the deal not be made public.
Rumors of an updated Motorola RAZR received a bit more support today, with the emergence of several photos purporting to show the Droid RAZR HD running Android 4.0. The photos show the RAZR HD and its 720p screen in addition to a previously unannounced Motorla handset.
Motorola won an at least temporary victory from the International Trade Commission on Tuesday. The agency found (PDF) that Apple had infringed on one of four patents Motorola had leveled, covering a Wi-Fi implementation. As with other ITC disputes, the determination still faces a review that could reverse the decision.
Recent rumors reported by Pocket Now have pointed to a successor to the Motorola Photon 4G, likely titled the Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE. Full specifications aren't known, but at a minimum a dual-core processor, 720p display, LTE connectivity, and a similar form factor to the original Photon are expected. No release date is known, but similar LTE devices are currently available from Samsung and LG on Sprint.
Judge Janis Sammartino has scheduled July 5th as the date for deliberations on the latest chapter in the legal maneuvering between Apple and Motorola. Apple filed the countersuit in question in February with the intention of gaining declaratory and injunctive financial awards as a result of Motorola's short-lived injunction against the iPhone 4S in Germany. The July 5 hearing is likely to not be open to the public.
Motorola landed a major early victory in its dueling lawsuits with Microsoft on Monday after the International Trade Commission ruled (PDF) that Microsoft had violated four of its patents. The initial findings would effectively ban the Xbox 360 for its use of the H.264 video format, a claim it has leveled against other Microsoft products as well. As a first ruling, it's not automatically in effect and faces a review by a panel, due in August, before it's enforced.
Verizon is planning to quickly follow up on the Sprint Galaxy Nexus launch with a steep price drop. A leaked minimum advertised price guide at Droid-Life has Samsung's Android 4.0 phone dropping to the same $200 on April 23, a day after Sprint stores get their examples. While it could be a storage cut ike the 16GB RAZR, it's more likely to remain the 32GB edition.
A supposed Verizon employee has shared Android update dates for the HTC Rezound and Motorola Xoom tablet on Reddit. The Xoom tablet will supposedly get the update on April 23, while the Rezound's update will arrive on May 9. What makes the rumor more believable is the amount of detail in the leak.
Motorola might be making a fundamental shift from its loyalty to TI if an inadvertent GLBenchmark test run posting is an indicator. A phone known as the MB886, codenamed Qinara and possibly a reference to the Dinara has shown up using Qualcomm's MSM8960, or the same 1.5GHz Snapdragon S4 chip as found in phones like HTC's One S. Motorola has used TI's OMAP and occasionally NVIDIA's Tegra 2 in its Android phones, suggesting a new direction in chip options.
A Mannheim court on Friday reinforced an earlier decision to allow Motorola's ban on iCloud and MobileMe in Germany. The ruling on push services demands that Apple pays Motorola an unspecified amount of damages. Devices themselves are so far unaffected.
Microsoft scored an important win in a Seattle courtroom by successfully getting a temporary block on any Motorola bans of its products. The temporary restraining order prevents Motorola from securing a ban on Windows or the Xbox 360 until the court believes it has made a sincere effort to license its H.264 video patents under FRAND (fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory) terms. Microsoft's maneuver both stops anything in the immediate trial and in other lawsuits or trade disputes.
Demand for the iPhone has actually grown since the release of the iPhone 4S, a new ChangeWave Research study claims. The firm polled 4,413 people in March; of the people who said they would buy a smartphone in the next 90 days, 56 percent said they were planning to buy an iPhone. That figure is actually up two points from December, which not only represented part of the holiday shopping season, but came just two months after the launch of the 4S.
The Droid RAZR from Verizon may very soon get its expected software update to Android 4.0, if some newly discovered YouTube videos (below) are any indication. They are tutorial videos that are apparently bundled in the phone, though it likely came from a leaked Android 4.0 build that's not yet official. If they do indeed represent the final product, then it appears Motorola won't implement as strong a custom interface on its Android 4.0 update as in the past.
HTC's One S got clues it was much closer to release after leaks of internal staff training. Material passed on to TmoNews have it selling the phone on April 25, which is likely "Final" barring a delay. The copies mostly recap features, but also position the One S as one of if not the most important phone T-Mobile will have for the spring.
Apple has dropped another patent from a Chicago-based lawsuit against Motorola, a FOSS Patents report says. In particular Apple has dropped '337, covering a "method and apparatus for distributing events in an operating system." The judge in the case, Richard Posner, has been telling both Apple and Motorola that he wants the companies to "winnow" their claims; at one point the case was up to 15 Apple and six Motorola patents, but those amounts have been reduced to roughly a third.
Last week, rumors, partially fed by an internal Best Buy website posting, indicated that the Motorola Droid RAZR and Droid RAZR MAXX would be getting their Android 4.0 updates today. This was given additional credibility when a test build of the update was leaked on Sunday. The update still has not been distributed and other than Tweeting "We'll share more details soon," Motorola continues with its silence.
Motorola's Webtop interface for its Android docking mode has been updated to support Android 4.0. Leaked in a video, embedded below, the Webtop 3.0 beta software appears to be much improved, and offers a less heavily customized appearance and feature-set than before. Unfortunately, Firefox is cut from the preloaded software and has been replaced by a version of the stock Android 4.0 browser.
Federal Judge Richard A. Posner, in rejecting an motion to reconsider parts of his favorable Claim Construction Order of March 29th that adopted Apple's broad interpretation of its scrolling patent against Motorola, ripped into the unnamed Apple attorneys that filed the brief [PDF link], calling it "troubling" and accusing Apple of wasting the court's time. The lawyers had apparently misinterpreted a section of the judge's original order and made arguments that parts of the order were in error.
The Motorola RAZR MAXX is due to arrive in Europe and the Middle East this May, the electronics company revealed on Tuesday. The phone is thus far offered exclusively by Verizon as the Droid RAZR MAXX. Naturally, Motorola is boasting the handset's long battery life as its biggest selling point, claiming a 17.6-hour talk time from the 3,300mAh battery.
Android now makes up more than half of all smartphones sold in the US, comScore found on Tuesday. As of February, Google's platform had climbed to 50.1 percent, giving it an absolute majority of the country's smartphone share. The iPhone was still gaining share, however, and was now up to 30.2 percent.
The European Commission quickly acted on earlier hints on Tuesday and formally started two antitrust investigations versus Motorola. The two pursuits will look into whether Motorola was abusing its standards-based patents against Apple and Microsoft. The claims would check whether Motorola was trying to squeeze Apple over 2G and 3G licenses for iPads and iPhones, as well as similar tactics over H.264 video in Windows 7 and the Xbox 360.
Microsoft in a retaliatory move against Motorola ended teamwork with Germany company Arvato for software distribution. The move reported by Germany's Deutsche Presse-Agentur would see about 50 people lose their jobs as Microsoft relocated distribution to the Netherlands. The Windows developer argued that Motorola's H.264 video patent demands made staying in Germany untenable.
Samsung should retake the edge in the smartphone space as of the first quarter, Canaccord Genuity said in early estimates. Analyst T. Michael Walkley saw Samsung going back to 28.2 percent share on the back of 41 million smartphones. Apple would have its strongest winter ever, but at 32.6 million iPhones would have a more modest 22.4 percent.
