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Mobile Sports Report TechWatch: New Kindles this Week?

September 4, 2012 by

It is sounding like Intel is finally landing a major, known customer for its microprocessors targeted at the smartphone space. It is being reported that Motorola Mobility and Intel will be making a joint announcement on Sept. 18.

Actually it had already been announced that they were working together but now we finally get to see the fruits of their joint labor. According to PhoneArena the companies are now starting to send out invites for the event.

Amazon to dump Google Maps
It looks like competition in the tablet business has lost Google another customer for its popular maps program. Apple has already shown that it will not be including Google Maps as a standard feature in its next generation iOS and now Amazon is following its example.

According to a report in Rueters Amazon will instead be using technology from Nokia Oyj as the mapping technology of choice in its next generation Kindle Fore, a device that could be available as early as the end of this week.

Sony launches upgraded tablet
Missed amid preparations for Labor Day last week was news that Sony upgraded its tablets and has rebranded them under the Experia name, the same as it uses for its smartphones. The company also recently showed a trio of Experia smartphones including the Experia T with a 4.6-inch display.

Delays on iPhone 5 due to lack of screens?
http://www.electronista.com/articles/12/08/31/sharp.experiencing.production.glitches.with.in.cell.display.tech/
The Wall Street Journal via Electronista is reporting that Sharp, one of three display manufacturers tapped to provide displays for Apple’s next generation iPhone has been experiencing manufacturing issues.

This is not the first time that Sharp has had issues deploying next-generation technology, and it has hurt the company at its bottom line as its recent $1.2 billion loss testifies to. The lack of these displays could lead to a constrained supply of the phone when it is released.

Apple and Samsung agree on something
Apple and Samsung have agreed that any payment or bond that Samsung may need to make can be put off for at least a few months according to Foss Patents. It seems that since Apple buys significantly more than the amount of the fine from Samsung on a regular basis it sees no reason to burden its partners.

The author speculated that the issue also was influenced by the fact that with cases pending against each other in 10 countries it makes sense to waive posting bonds rather than being forced to do so in a variety of jurisdictions.

While the two are agreeing on some things at the same time Apple is seeking to add both the popular Samsung Galaxy SIII and the Galaxy Note to the list of eight other devices that it is seeking to have banned from import and sale in the United States.

Apple and Google in Patent talks
In some of the least secret talks in recent years, if true, Apple’s Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook and Google’s CEO Larry Page are having talks about how to settle the patent disputes that have been an ongoing bone of contention between the two companies, and in Google’s place the licensees of its Android operating system.

While neither side is admitting to the talks it has been reported by multiple sources that they talked via phone last week and have additional talks scheduled. It has been viewed that Samsung, Motorola Mobility and HTC, all of whom are fighting Apple in a variety of courts around the globe are simply serving as Google’s proxies in the battle.

Amazon to double its fun with two new Kindle Fire tablets
There have been reports for weeks that Amazon planned to beat Apple to the punch by delivering a next generation Kindle Fore prior to Apple’s expected release of a 7-inch iPad, commonly called the iPad Mini. Now reports are emerging that Amazon will release two new Kindles, and possibly by Friday this week.

Cnet is saying that the company will have a pair of 7-inch Kindles available on Sept 6th, and that contrary to some earlier reports Amazon will not be going with a 10-inch model to take on Apple and others in the larger screen format space.

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Filed Under: Amazon, Android, Apple, Google, HTC, Intel, iOS, Lawsuit, Motorola, Samsung, Smartphone, Sony, Tablets Tagged With: , ,

Friday Grab Bag: Replacement Refs Make the Cut, Apple/Motorola Bury the Ax, Sort of

August 31, 2012 by

ESPN pays out $5.6 billion for MLB broadcast rights
ESPN will remain the broadcaster of choice for Major League Baseball for Sunday, Monday and Wednesday night baseball as the broadcast giant has inked a new deal with the league for $5.6 bn according to the Sports Business Journal.

The eight year deal will work out to be approximately $700 million per annum, more than double the current deal. Other broadcast rights are still in the process of being bid and baseball may have many windfall years ahead. I wonder what this will do to the luxury tax in the league, although I am sure that it is already covered in the CBA.

Microsoft offers SkyDrive for Android
Although it sounds vaguely like the plot for Terminator 4, it is simply Microsoft offering its SkyDrive cloud storage service as an app for Android users and they can go over to the Google Play store and pick it up. While it can run on early versions of the Android operating system it is optimized for version 4.0.

Apple’s win a loss for standard-essential patents?
While I write a good deal about patent issues due to the seemingly constant state of litigation that is ongoing in the mobile and handheld space, I am far from an expert on the topic, and do not pretend to be so. An interesting look at some of the after affects from Apple’s win over Microsoft can be found at this piece from Reuters.

An interesting conclusion I gain from the piece is that the host of patents that Google gained in the Motorola purchase may not have quite the value that the company believed that it would have, and that could make the deal a lot less valuable than previously believed.

ESPN’s top college football markets
Ever wonder why a game is on and how well it did in terms of viewership? Well ESPN did not release all of its market data but it has provided a look at the top 25 markets, but from last year and going back 12 years.

There is a lot of interesting data in there, mined quite well to show you the shifting interest in teams , regions and leagues. The only two areas that stayed in the top 5 over the entire span were Birmingham and Columbus, Ohio.

Motorola and Apple bury the ax in Ge

rmany
Peace at last? That is probably too much to ask but at least one bone of contention between the two has been buried as Motorola Mobility and Apple have agreed on a FRAND licenses in Germany. An earlier attempt had failed when Motorola asked for 2.25% revenue rate.

Apple called the deal “fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory” and will call for Apple to pay Motorola an unspecified sum for all previous use of Motorola technology, Foss Patents reports. It also said that the deal is probably a result of the ruling in the Apple/Samsung case.

Images of next generation Sony tablet leaked
As the release date for Windows 8 nears more news about the hardware developers plans appear to be leaking out, intentionally or unintentionally. Sony is the latest with a very interesting looking tablet called the VAIO Duo 11.

Sony’s efforts in the tablet space have been met with less than open arms but the image shows a tablet that has a built-in, fold out keyboard in a sharp looking industrial design. The tablet appears to be running Microsoft Office, meaning that it uses an Intel or AMD processor.

NFL Replacement Refs to start season
Well one group made it through the pre-season without getting the chop and that is the NFL’s replacement reps. Not happy with this since I am pretty sure I saw a couple of 17 yard penalties marched off last week.

I suspect that no matter how well they actually do, fans for half of the teams will be blaming the refs on everything from their teams’ loss to costing them in the points category in their Fantasy Football league. I wonder how long this will go on or will the NFL change its mind in less than a week?

Samsung shows five pending Windows 8 phones
Samsung took the floor at the IAF trade show in Berlin and backed the truck up with a wide range of new and future devices including the Galaxy Note II, hybrid PCs and a new high end camera. It also previewed five smartphones that will be using Microsoft’s Windows 8 operating system.

The devices, with info on them here from Gizmag, will all carry the brand name ATIV as the company appears ready to use that moniker to cover aa wide range of next generation devices including PCs and phones. The official launch of Windows 8 is in late October and expect to see more details from all of the players adopting Microsoft’s Windows 8 for a variety of products.

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Filed Under: Android, Apple, ESPN, Google, Intel, Microsoft, NFL, Samsung Tagged With: , , , ,

Samsung is Back with Galaxy Note II Phablet (Phone/Tablet)

August 29, 2012 by

Samsung Galaxy Note II

Samsung is back with its latest tablet the Galaxy Note 2, or to be exact, a hybrid device that is both a phone and a tablet featuring a 5.5-inch screen and all of the functionality of a smartphone. It was one of many announcements the company made at the IFA trade show in Berlin.

The release comes less than a week after Samsung lost its court case vs Apple is US District Court, a lose that could result in fines as large as $3 billion and cause the company to have as many as eight smartphones banned in the US. The court has said that it will hear Apple’s request for a permanent injunction for select Samsung smartphones on Dec 6.

The latest Galaxy Note has a slightly larger screen, 5.5-inches as compared to 5.3-inches, compared to its predecessor. It has been reported that it is Sa

msung’s second most popular smartphone after its Galaxy S lineup. The first generation Note was released last October and sold $10 million units, according to the company.

The device, often called a phablet due to its hybrid nature will feature the larger display that has 1280 x 720 resolution, which is also slightly thinner that the previous version. In addition it will feature a quad core 1.6GHz processor and an 8 MP camera, includes the Android Jelly Bean operating system and it uses a stylus. It has 2GB RAM, and is available in 16GB, 32GB and 64GB storage versions.

There is competition in the phablet space with the LG Optimus VU and an expected one from HTC, the 6435LVW and considering the success that Samsung had with its first generation I would not be surprised to see more players join the field. I was very skeptical about them but I think that the customers that have purchased them simply envision them for uses in ways that I did not. Others also see the potential as market research firm AMI Research has predicted that annual sales for phablets will reach 208 million units globally by 2015

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Filed Under: 4G LTE, Android, Apple, Galaxy Note, HTC, iOS, iPhone, Lawsuit, Samsung, Smartphone Tagged With: , ,

Mobile Sports Report TechWatch: Lots of Apple News- NASA uses Android

August 27, 2012 by


NASA satellites to operate using Android phones
Gizmodo is reporting that the brains that will operate a set of tiny asteroids that are being built by NASA will use the smartphones running Android. The satellites, called PhoneSats will be made from off the shelf materials and will only cost around $3,500.

The devices will be approximately 4 cubic inches and the next generation is expected to launch next year. NASA already has tested the first generation that uses a Nexus One smartphone for two way communications and other uses.

iPad Mini in October?
The rumor mill has been churning over the features and delivery date for the expected iPad Mini from Apple. The tablet is believed to be a 7-inch tablet, the first from Apple. Now Cnet is reporting that the device will officially see the light of day in October.

Original reports had the device coming to market along side the next generation iPhone, that is expected in early September but apparently Apple had different plans if the most current reports are correct.

IAC has purchased About.com for $300m
Internet conglomerate InterActiveCorp has reportedly purchased About.com from the New York Times in a $300 million cash deal. The Times was probably happy to rid itself of the money losing property, having taken a $194.7 million non-cash write down on the group last quarter.

However the Times originally purchased About.com for $410 million in 2005. About.com is similar to a property that IAC already owns, Ask.com, and is being positioned as a complementary property by IAC.

Samsung shares drop $12 billion after US Court verdict
Samsung, already stung b

y losing big in its court case against Apple in the US, with as much as $3 billion on the line took another hit after the verdict was read. Its stock dropped like a rock, with shares dropping 7.5%, resulting in a loss of $12 million in the company’s market value, according to a report from Reuters.

Apple still dominates tablet sales according to HIS iSuppli
Apple is slowly expanding its dominate market share in the tablet space according to market research firm IHS iSuppli, and now sells seven out of every ten tablets. Apple's 69.6 percent share in the April-June quarter is up from about 58 percent in the first quarter, helped by the release of a new model just as the quarter began.

HIS iSuppli’s top 5 in the second quarter of 2012Here are the top five manufacturers of tablets in the second quarter, as released by IHS iSuppli:
Apple 69.6 percent share
Samsung Electronics Co. 9.2 percent.
Amazon.com Inc. 4.2 percent
AsusTek Computer Inc. 2.8 percent
Barnes & Noble Inc. 1.9 percent
Other, 3 million, 12.3 percent
It will be interesting to see the next two quarters as the Microsoft Windows 8 show as well as the very popular Nexus 7 could have an impact on the standings.

ITC provides Apple with an additional win
The U.S. International Trade Commission ruled in Apple’s favor last week wjhen it stated that the company did not infringe on three of Motorola Mobility’s patents, in a complaint that has been ongoing since 2010. The ITC remanded the investigation of a fourth patent that is under dispute by the two to an administrative law judge.

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Filed Under: Amazon, Android, Apple, Barnes & Noble, Google, iOS, iPad, Kindle, Lawsuit, Microsoft, Nook, Samsung, Tablets, The New York Times, Windows 8 Tagged With: , , , ,

Apple Beats Samsung in Court: Will Microsoft Benefit as Well?

August 27, 2012 by

The mammoth Apple vs. Samsung case has been decided and Apple has emerged a strong victor as the jury ruled that Samsung copied Apple’s iPhone look and feel and awarded Apple $1.049 billion. An appeal is expected on Samsung’s part.

Apple is expected to ask the judge to triple the damages, to roughly $3 billion since the jury unanimously found that Samsung willfully violated Apple’s patents. Among the technologies copied were the ability to zoom text at the touch of a finger and to “bounce back” when scrolling off the page.

The judge has set a late September date for hearing Apple and Samsung’s points, including Samsung’s request to throw out the verdict and Apple’s request to ban importation of a range of Samsung devices.

The victory is widely viewed as having the potential to provide a damper on the smartphone and tablet markets which have seen explosive growth in the past few years by increasing licensing costs and slowing the adoption of new technologies.

The company that appears to be the most impacted by the decision is not Samsung but rather Google, who provides the Android ope

rating system that features some of the technologies that were at issue in the case. The question that many are wondering now is will developers seek indemnification from Google to shield them from potential Apple lawsuits?

The flip side of this is that a potential winner, aside from Apple, is very likely Microsoft, which will soon be pushing its new operating system for smartphones. Microsoft has a patent licensing agreement with Apple that also features an anticloning caveat that prevents Microsoft from delivering a knockoff of Apple’s look and feel.

There are plenty of comments now that this will have a tremendous impact on the market, and could hamper the growth of smartphones as developers have to find ways to either skirt Apple’s patents in their own development or work out licensing agreements with the company.

However the other side of this seems to me that it also opens the door to additional innovation, by forcing developers to look at the issues from a new point of view. This hopefully could lead to a new wave of products that offer features that might not be available today.

The case, originally filed in 2011, revolved around several issues. Apple claimed that Samsung violated a number of its patents and that Samsung closely copied its iPhones and iPads. The jury came down heavily in Apple’s camp, finding a wide range of devices, but not all, had violated a number of Apple patents.

Samsung had its own suit against Apple, claiming that Apple used its wireless technology improperly and was asking for $399 million. It lost its suit. This will obviously not be the end of this as the two have lawsuits against each other in South Korea, Germany, Japan, Italy, the Netherlands, Britain, France and Australia and Samsung is set to appeal the verdict if the judge does not.

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Filed Under: Android, Apple, Google, iOS, iPad, iPhone, Lawsuit, Samsung Tagged With: , ,

Friday Grab Bag: Apple/Samsung Jury Forms, NFL Cutdowns, Kindle Loses Big Sale

August 24, 2012 by

Major League Baseball

Now that it has decided to test expanded replay, Major League Baseball is testing a pair of systems to see which will better meet its needs which will now include examining fair/foul calls and trapped balls.

MLB will have one system installed at Yankee Stadium and the other at the Mets' Citi Field in order to conduct tests. The systems are expected to be up and running by the end of this month and will be used in September games, according to Yahoo Sports.

Google Nexus 7 sales to hit 7 million
A report has surfaced from Tech-thought.net that said it estimates that Google will sell as many as 7 million of its Nexus 7 tablets this year, an amazing feat that would put it in among the leaders in tablet sales.

That number would be more than twice what Google had originally estimated it would sell, but demand has been strong and in the first weeks it sold out of its entry level model that starts at $199.

Look to Awful Announcing for your NFL broadcast news
Now that the NFL season is around the corner its time to look at one important aspect of the games — the announcers. I find most announcers to be pretty grating and often watch games on mute rather than expose myself to their blather.

Some brave souls not only listen, but rate them with the pros. So head over to Awful Announcing and lend a hand. The site also does nice work covering many aspects of sports.

Microsoft to build 3 million Surface tablets in 2012?
Market research firm IDC said that it expects Microsoft to build 3 million Surface tablets in 2012, according to an interview run in C/net. The estimate includes tablets that run Windows 8 Pro and Windows RT.

In the interview with IDC analyst Bob O’Donnell C/net reported that he believed that the entry level price of at least one version of the tablets would be in the $199 range, putting it in a head to head price competition with the smaller 7-inch tablets and making it much less expensive than offerings from Apple and Samsung.

America’s Cup World Series mishaps
One captain at this week’s America’s Cup World Series races predicted carnage due to the sailing conditions on San Francisco Bay. Well the San Francisco Chronicle has done a nice job of providing a photo essay on that topic.

Dell not as enthusiastic on Surface sales
Dell executives said that the company expects that Microsoft’s Surface tablets will represent a very small percent of the overall PC units in the next year. Michael Dell, founder and CEO said that he expects the numbers to be between 1% and 2%.

The company has reported that its PC and mobility sales were down 14% for the most recent quarter and sees tablets as eroding that space. The company will be among the hardware developers expected to deliver Windows 8-based tablets in the fall.sales have been

ESPN bids on BCS playoffs
Now that the BCS has altered its championship format to now feature a playoff, the next step is of course to sell the rights to broadcast those games. ESPN has been broadcasting the BCS Championships the past few years and it has the opportunity to continue.

It has been reported that starting Oct 1, ESPN will have an exclusive 30-day window in which to purchase the playoff rights from the BCS. The BCS is also working on a new revenue-sharing plan to work out how the playoff money will be divided.

BCS Championship

Think you are well informed re Apple vs Samsung — look at Jury form
The form that the jury is using for the case is 20 pages long and looks like a college exam. I really feel sorry for the jury and expect that they will need to constantly have to get refreshers on what all of the varied elements are in the case.

Huge U.S. Government Kindle purchase killed
ITWorld is reporting that the U.S. Department of State has canceled a large order for Amazon’s Kindle Touch tablets along with additional content. The order was valued at $16.5 million over the course of its lifetime.

The department said that it was taking a second look at the requirements of the program and was conducting additional market research. The contract originally called for an initial 2,500 e-readers and 50 titles of content.

NFL roster reductions start Monday
For NFL fans some of the most interesting days, prior to when they actually start playing, will be coming up over the next week as teams will have to reduce rosters from the current 90 player level to 53 by Aug. 31.

Teams will be looking to shore up perceived weak areas as a flood of players hit the market with the first cut down next Monday to 75 and then again later in the week. I wonder how many might find a place in the USFL or other alternative leagues?

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Filed Under: Android, Apple, Awful Announcing, Baseball, BCS, Dell, ESPN, Kindle, Major League Baseball, Microsoft, NFL, Samsung, Smartphone, Surface, Tablets, Windows 8 Tagged With: , , ,
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