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Showing posts with label tablet android. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tablet android. Show all posts

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

HTC Android Phones Are Being Banned from the US Next Year

apple
Apple VS HTC
Apple just won a big court victory against HTC that could force HTC to stop selling its Android phones in the United States. The United States International Trade Commission ruled that HTC was infringing on an Apple patent that effects HTC Android devices running Android 1.6 to 2.2.

The devices that may be banned from being sold in the U.S. is basically a who's who list of Android phones: Droid Incredible, Evo 4G, T-Mobile G2, Nexus One and a bunch of older Android devices. The patent that the courts ruled HTC was infringing on (#5,946,647) is potentially a big one. According to Fortune, who took a deep look at the specific patent, it works like this:

When an iPhone receives a message that contains a phone number or an address — e-mail, Web or street — those bits of data are automatically highlighted, underlined and turned into clickable links.

Click on the phone number, and the iPhone asks if you want to dial it. Click on the Web address, and it opens in Safari. Click on the street address, and Maps will display it.

That's huge, not only because it's an important feature in smartphones but because it could mean Apple could go on to attack other Android phone makers because it's the OS that's infringing the patent, not the hardware. However, if HTC Android phones removed that feature (unlikely) or implement it in a different way (which we expect HTC to do), they could keep on selling. And that's pretty much what HTC expects to do, HTC, which has responded to this decision with rainbow colored unicorn tears, reached out to us with this statement:

This decision is a win for HTC and we are gratified that the commission affirmed the judge's determination on the ‘721 and ‘983 patents, and reversed its decision on the ‘263 patent and partially on the ‘647 patent. We are very pleased with the determination and we respect it. However, the ‘647 patent is a small UI experience and HTC will completely remove it from all of our phones soon.

Yes, the patent in question is a fixable problem but I'd hardly categorize the court's decision as a win for HTC. If HTC doesn't fix this issue however, the ban on HTC Android phones in the US is set to take into effect on April 19, 2012. That's not winning.

There are still some real moves left for HTC to make to avoid the import ban (a Presidential veto is an option) but this is sure setting up for a major stateside war (thermonuclear, even) between Apple and Android phone makers much like with what's happening with Apple and Samsung Tablets in Europe and Australia.

News by Gizmodo






Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Americans love to read information about tablet, but free!

Digital Tablet
AFP - Americans love to see the information on their digital tablet, provided you do not have to pay out of pocket, according to a study released Tuesday. The results of this survey may shower the hopes of the press who were part of this new medium to compensate for losses in traditional formats. The study conducted by Pew and the think-tank The Economist Group, 11% of American adults have a digital tablet.

With regard to their use, the consultation of information comes in 3rd place (53%), after surfing the internet (67%) and email (54%) but ahead of social networks (39%) and games video (30%). But users are only 14% to purchase directly from the info on shelf, even though 23% have a print subscription that includes a digital version. One in five users (21%) have not yet paid for access to information on said shelf, however, willing to pay up to five dollars a month if that's the only way to view a site or a particular application .

"When they were launched, many observers thought that the tablets would help to change consumer behavior information," says the study. "This belief was based on the feeling that people consult information largely via dedicated applications, the media would have to pay." However, users are primarily's web browser to view their tablet news sites, most often free, and only 21% first pass by the applications. The findings of the investigation is bleak for the press. "If the media manage to make money shelves more efficiently than they did on the internet in general," the outlook is "promising." But this scenario is "highly uncertain at best."