Samsung Slips Passed Apple on 4G

The war between Apple and Samsung over design and technology patents has cast Samsung as the underling, while Apple is painted as pushing at the edges of innovation. Ahh what a short sighted world we live in, I’d argue with such commentary, going so far as to say that most commentators have things wrong, very wrong.

While Samsung may have a little eggroll on it’s face over claims of plagiarism, the Korean consumer electronics behemoth is definitely no slouch on the technology front, winning the much more important war on patent innovations, particularly when it comes to 4G and it’s application in the mobile device wars.

4G isn’t so much a new technology but  a better use of existing technologies, Samsung has been working on 4G since 2005 and has pretty much perfected it’s use in mobile devices. The higher and more responsive – up to 10 x 3G – bandwidth of 4G is well suited to tablets and smartphones.

In Australia, Telstra has the largest geographic coverage in 4G and has been upgrading mobile cell towers to 4G since 2010, with a consumer roll-out from late in 2011. The benefits of running mobile devices on 4G are real, the simultaneous speed is pretty outstanding :: Read the full article »»»»

Apple Settles iPad Trademark Dispute For $US60 Million

Technology behemoth Apple has agreed to pay Chinese company Proview nearly $US60 million to settle a dispute over ownership of the iPad trademark. Apple insists it bought the the global rights to the iPad name from Proview Technology in 2009. However, a Chinese court ruled last year that Proview still owned the name in China.

The High Court in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong now says the government body overseeing trademarks has been asked to immediately recognise Apple’s rights to the iPad name.

“This means that the dispute between Apple and Shenzhen Proview over the rights to the iPad brand is resolved in a satisfactory manner,” the court said in a statement.

Proview’s Taiwanese affiliate registered ‘iPad’ as a trademark in several countries including China as early as 2000, years before Apple began selling its hugely successful tablet computer.

Apple subsequently bought the rights for the global trademark, including from the Taiwanese affiliate, but Proview said the deal did not include the rights for mainland China, and sued after the iPad was launched :: Read the full article »»»»

The Ultimate Fridge Magnet! Woodford Designs FridgePad

There is little question that the Apple iPad has taken over the galaxy, the ultimate in mobile computing. The experts – PC World – say that there are a heap of reasons to rely soley on the iPad as your primary mobile computing device. Apple’s iPad has a more functional interface than a netbook, it’s lighter and has a longer battery life.

Technology is only any good if it fulfils a human need, the iPad seems to cope rather well with fulfilment. Surfing, communicating, imagery, sound and motion, the iPad was designed as an interface to all the human bits that make us smile day to day.

A bunch of clever boffins at Woodford Design have now replaced the humble, often tacky fridge magnet with what they bill as the Ultimate Fridge Magnet, meet FridgePad :: Read the full article »»»»

CHINA: Teen Sells Kidney For iPhone

Five people in the southern China province of Hunan have been arrested and charged with intentional injury in the case of a teenager who sold a kidney so he could buy an iPhone and an iPad.

The five included a surgeon, who removed a kidney from the 17-year-old boy in April last year.

The boy, identified only by his surname Wang, now suffers from renal deficiency, the government-run Xinhua News Agency quoted prosecutors in Chenzhou city, Hunan province as saying.

According to Chinese news agency Xinhua, one of the defendants received about 220,000 yuan, $US35,00 to arrange the transplant.

He paid Wang 22,000 yuan and split the rest with the surgeon, the three other defendants and other medical staff.

The report did not say who received and paid for the kidney :: Read the full article »»»»

Apples New iPad Making Waves in Games

We didn’t manage to get our hands on Apples latest ubergadget, the iPad, the one that Apple paints as Resolutionary! Our Favorite Rueterist, Liana B. Baker has filled that missing space however, reporting that the übergadget has caught the eye and desire of gamers:  Apple’s faster and sharper-looking new iPad is drawing the notice of the traditional video game industry, as developers are envisioning games for it that have more in common with the visceral 3D shooter “Call of Duty” than “FarmVille.”

Apple is also setting itself up to take on Microsoft and Sony on their home turf of game consoles.

From Electronic Arts to “Crysis” developers Crytek, industry executives are figuring out ways to migrate graphics-intensive so-called hardcore games to the iPad. Epic Games and Namco Bandai – 7832.T – took the stage at Apple’s iPad unveiling this week to show off what they can do with an iPad that has a faster quad core processor.

With more than 55 million iPads sold to date, including 15.43 million last quarter, the tablet is quickly catching up to the number of consoles on the market: the PlayStation 3 has sold 62 million units and Xbox 360 has moved more than 65 million units. That growing user base is drawing developers who want to see their games played on as many devices as possible.

“Apple is definitely building their devices as if they care a lot about ‘triple-A’ games,” said Mike Capps, president of Epic Games, the studio behind “Gears of War” for consoles and “Infinity Blade” for the iPad. Read the full article »»»»

Check the pad at the official Apple site: http://www.apple.com/ipad/