Nvidia Corp. on Thursday filed patent infringement complaints against Samsung and Qualcomm with both the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) and the U.S. District Court, in Delaware. The chip designer claims that virtually all modern graphics architectures used in mobile devices infringe its patents. As a result, Nvidia wants to …
Read More »Judge denies Apple bid for sales ban of certain Samsung products
A U.S. Judge Lucy Koh on Wednesday denied Apple’s request for a permanent sales ban of certain Samsung products in the U.S. because they infringe Apple’s patents. The judge said that the infringement did not harm Apple, which is why the block of sales is unnecessary. “Apple has not satisfied …
Read More »Intel introduces ‘world’s smallest’ 3G modem
Intel Corp. has introduced what it claims to be the world’s smallest 3G modem. The Intel XMM 6255 is designed for wearables, security devices and industrial equipment as well as the upcoming devices that belong to the Internet-of-Things market. The new modem from Intel supports dual band HSPA with 7.2Mb/s …
Read More »Huawei: Windows Phone-based phones ‘on hold’, Tizen has no chances
Huawei is one of the fastest-growing smartphone vendor in the world. Last year the company shipped 52 million smartphones and this year it aims to sell 80 million units. At present the company only sells phones based on Google Android operating system and despite obvious risks the firm has no …
Read More »JEDEC finalizes LPDDR4 standard, promises up to 4266MT/s data-rates
JEDEC, an organization that defines standards for computer memory, on Monday announced that it had finalized the LPDDR4, a next-generation standard for mobile DRAM [dynamic random access memory]. The new technology will enable data rates of up to 4266MT/s and will significantly boost performance of mobile devices, such as smartphones …
Read More »Samsung set to make LPDDR for Apple iPhone 6 – report
Apple and Samsung are direct rivals on the markets of smartphones and tablets, but when it comes to manufacturing of components, they have been partners for well over a decade. Although in the recent years Apple tried to reduce its orders to Samsung, it looks like it needs a steady …
Read More »Intel could buy an ARM SoC vendor, MediaTek is a target – analyst
In a bid to finally become successful on the market of mobile devices, Intel Corp. needs to buy an existing developer of ARM-based system-on-chips (SoCs) for smartphones and tablets, a market analyst said. It is believed that MediaTek is a potential target for acquisition. It is not a secret that application …
Read More »Microsoft to use Opera browser on feature phones, Asha smartphones
As announced, Microsoft Corp. no longer wants to develop software for its feature phones and entry-level smartphones, however, the company will continue to sell such handsets for a while and therefore needs to keep them competitive. On Thursday Opera Software said that Microsoft had licensed its Opera Mini browser and …
Read More »BlackBerry forms new unit to focus on patents and technologies
BlackBerry this week formed a new business unit that will concentrate on patents, technologies and software. The new unit will help the company to get new revenue streams without selling smartphones, but by licensing its intellectual property, software or technologies. BlackBerry Technology Solutions, or BTS, includes BlackBerry’s technology assets, such …
Read More »Apple and Google control 96% of smartphone market
In the second quarter of 2014 shipments of smartphones reached a new milestone: 300 million units per quarter for the first time in history, according to International Data Corp. When it comes to operating systems, then Apple and Google controlled 96.4 per cent of the market, whereas shares of BlackBerry, …
Read More »Apple and Samsung drop patent disputes outside the U.S.
Apple and Samsung Electronics have agreed to end all their legal disputes outside the U.S. The agreement do not include any cross-licensing contracts and therefore it is possible that the two companies will renew legal fights in the future. “Samsung and Apple have agreed to drop all litigation between the …
Read More »Microsoft sues Samsung over Android-related royalty payments
Microsoft Corp. has sued Samsung Electronics for not paying royalties related to Google Android operating system. Samsung stopped paying Microsoft after the world’s largest developer of software announced its intention to acquire Nokia Corp.’s devices and services division. “We don’t take lightly filing a legal action, especially against a company …
Read More »Tablets are ‘crashing’, PC business is ‘reviving’ – chief exec of Best Buy
In the recent years it became common for high-technology industry leaders to complain about slow PC sales and praise booming sales of tablets and smartphones. Apparently, the situation changed drastically in the recent months. After Microsoft ceased to support its Windows XP operating system, not only enterprises, but also consumers started …
Read More »Intel sells quad-core Atom for tablets for $5 per chip – report
It looks like the price war on the market of mobile system-on-chips is in full swing. Just a day after Allwinner announced a quad-core application processor that will be sold for $4, it transpired that Intel Corp. already sells its quad-core Atom products for $5. Without making any announcements, Intel has …
Read More »First mobile devices with LPDDR4 memory to emerge in 2015
Although Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix have been sampling LPDDR4 memory for mobile devices for well over half of a year now, actual devices featuring the new type of low-power dynamic random access memory will not hit the market until the second half of next year. According to market analysts, …
Read More »Microsoft commands 94.5% of Windows Phone 8 smartphones market
It is not a secret that Microsoft Corp.’s Windows Phone platform is far from being truly popular. Even though formally it is supported by a dozen of vendors, many have not released anything based on the operating system. As a result, it is not surprising that the most popular Windows …
Read More »Allwinner introduces quad-core processor for $4
Allwinner, a Chinese maker of application processors for mobile devices, said this week that its A33 system-on-chip is now in mass production. The A33 is the world’s first quad-core application processor that costs only $4 and thus can enable very affordable smartphones or tablets. Moreover, the developer claims that the …
Read More »BlackBerry to encrypt voice calls thanks to acquisition of Secusmart
Less than two weeks after Apple and IBM agreed to offer enterprise-tailored services with sophisticated security, BlackBerry, whose main customers are enterprises, governments and other organizations requiring advanced security, announced a plan to acquire Secusmart GmbH. The take-over enriches BlackBerry’s extensive security technologies with high-security voice and data encryption and …
Read More »Intel wants its ‘SoFIA’ chips to power $50 smartphones
It is not a secret that Intel Corp. pins a lot of hopes on its code-named SoFIA system-on-chips for affordable smartphones and tablets. The company needs to drive its x86 architecture to these markets so to ensure that it can sell chips for mobile devices going forward. While SoFIA promises …
Read More »Samsung delays launch of Tizen smartphone due to lack of programs
Samsung Electronics has once again decided to delay commercial launch of its Galaxy Z smartphone based on the Tizen operating system. The new postponement was conditioned by the lack of programs for the smartphone. “To further enhance the Tizen ecosystem, Samsung plans to postpone the launch of Samsung Z in …
Read More »LG readies Windows Phone 8.1-based smartphone
Although Microsoft Corp. and LG Electronics announced intention to bring Windows Phone-based smartphones to the market earlier this year, LG has not yet introduced any actual products. According to unofficial information, the South Korean maker of smartphones is working on a mid-range Windows Phone-based handset, which is projected to emerge …
Read More »Microsoft may cease using Lumia brand – report
Although Microsoft Corp. can use Nokia’s trademark and brand-name for ten years, it looks like the company plans to cease using the Nokia name rather shortly from now. Moreover, the company even plans to phase out the Lumia brand as well. DigiTimes reports that Microsoft wants to completely get rid …
Read More »Microsoft to cease development of Asha, feature-phones
While Microsoft Corp.’s chief executive officer Satya Nadella outlined a lot of details about the future strategy of the company last week, recently some additional details have emerged. As it appears, the strategy of the company when it concerns smartphones in particular and mobile communications in general is very simple and …
Read More »Sales of Nokia Lumia devices improve, but not significantly
Sales of Lumia branded smartphones on the second quarter of calendar 2014 were up sequentially and year-over-year, but remained generally low. Despite of efforts by Nokia Corp. and Microsoft Corp., sales of Windows Phone-based Lumia handsets are below shipments of Nokia's Symbian-based smartphones several years ago. Microsoft on Tuesday said …
Read More »Microsoft to phase-out Nokia X Android-based smartphones
As part of its major restructuring plan announced on Thursday, Microsoft Corp. will phase out its Google Android-based smartphones and will offer more affordable Lumia devices in order to address customers in budget as well as developing markets. Additionally, Microsoft announced plans to focus on higher-end smartphones and fight against …
Read More »Japan Display and MediaTek enable mobile devices with 120Hz display
Japan Display Inc. (JDI) and MediaTek said this week they have developed technologies that will enable mobile devices with 120Hz displays. Such screens will offer advanced video playback and smooth gameplay, but they will also consume quite a lot of power. Still, some top-of-the-range smartphones or tablets may get 120Hz …
Read More »MediaTek readies system-on-chip for high-end smartphones, tablets
For many years MediaTek has been a supplier of affordable system-on-chip (SoC) solutions for smartphones and inexpensive tablets. However, starting this year the company will start to offer higher-performance application processors aimed at mainstream devices. But MediaTek does not want to stop there. A leaked roadmap shows that next year the Hsinchu, …
Read More »Samsung’s Gear VR headset pictured, described
The rumours about Samsung’s own virtual reality headset have been circulating for several months now. Late on Tuesday the first image of the device showed up on the web along with some additional details regarding the gadget. Based on the render published by SamMobile, Samsung’s Gear VR virtual reality headset …
Read More »Intel, Dell, Samsung, others to develop new wireless tech
Six major high-tech industry companies on Tuesday said they would jointly develop a new wireless communication technology for various devices. The new interconnection will utilise existing and emerging wireless standards and will be designed to be compatible with a variety of operating systems Atmel Corp., Broadcom Corp., Dell, Intel Corp., …
Read More »Microsoft readies “Nokia by Microsoft” branding
Although Microsoft Corp. has rights to use the Nokia name for several years, it cannot use it forever. According to a leaked image, Microsoft will start to prepare its smartphones for transition to its own brand shortly. Initially the firm will introduce the “Nokia by Microsoft” trademark, but eventually the …
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