The latest news is that Apple has announced (German article) that its temporarily-removed products are going back to the online store shortly. Other details are so far unknown; “what we know is that Apple won a temporary suspension of the injunction,” a spokesperson said.

Google translation:

The U.S. computer maker Apple has announced that those affected by a judicial ban iPhones andiPads bring ”soon” to return to the online store. Even on Friday afternoon to the older iPhone modelswith 3G and 4 and iPads mobile unit again be available directly from Apple. Apple has sought to suspend the ban on sale, said a spokesman for the company over Mac & i ”All the iPad and iPhonemodels will be sold again soon through the online Apple Store in Germany.” The Higher RegionalCourt in Karlsruhe has stopped as a court enforcement of the ban on sale for the time being.Currently, the devices are still listed as ”not available”.

According to his blog post, “Apollo” will be based on the Windows 8 kernel. By the time of its launch, Windows expects to have about 100,000 Apps compatible with the upcoming device.

The eagerly awaited WP8 will be tied closely to the desktop versions of Windows 8 in multiple ways, Thurrott says. First of all, the two will be launched close to each other, will share integrated ecosystems, and we might even witness a new face of Windows as part of  the “Windows Re-imagined” campaign.

The WP8 hardware changes will be significant, with ambitious goals being set by Microsoft. Apollo will feature multicore processors, a new screen resolution (maybe a Retina Display?), and removable micro SD card storage.

It sure looks like contactless payment is gaining field, as leaks point to NFC technology support for the Windows Phone 8. Windows Phone manager Joe Belfiore calls this feature the “Wallet experience”.

Other key new features Thurrott highlights:

• Data Smart—a way to actively save cellular data when possible
• App-to-App communication capabilities
• Internet Explorer 10 Mobile
• Shared components with Windows 8
• SkyDrive integration
• Skype App.

Image courtesy of Ars Technica

Related articles

• Leaked Windows Phone 8 Details of the Day (geeks.thedailywh.at)
• Windows Phone 8 Details Leak (pcworld.com)
• Windows Phone 8 features leaked (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• Windows Phone 8 Details Leaked in Video (gadgetynews.com)
• Microsoft Windows Phone 8 details leak (telegraph.co.uk)

This is what we saw with the world’s crowned mobile phone king, Nokia: according to its quarterly report, feature-phone sales dropped globally. This is how it lost a significant market share to its competitors such as Samsung and Apple.

NPD In-Stat research company’s latest study seems to confirm the continuous growth of the Smartphone and tablet industry, joining the line of other forecasters, who set the industry to increase its shipments by up to 383.5 million units through 2017.

What the NPD In-Stat research company research company does it is to categorize certain consumer electronics products into the smart devices category, which includes devices that have the same silicon components, operating systems and application software, leading the mobile segment. In other words: Smartphones, tablets and notebook PCs.

Jim McGregor, Chief Technology Strategist of the research company, highlights that “the technology driver of all these smart devices is mobile technology, because it represents the largest and fastest growing segment of the entire electronics market.”

The study, “Mobile Graphics: Smartphone Beat the Drum to Which All Markets March”, found four key factors that drive the mobile market: richer content, network access for communication and content, increased bandwidth, and new technologies.

Among its key findings, the NPD In-Stat study suggests that Smartphones will increase from just under 20% of total handsets (the current market share according to their findings) to 43% in 2015.

Related articles

• Sales of smartphones, tablets and notebooks expected to grow 25.7% annually through 2015 (bgr.com)
• Apple is now the world’s third largest Smartphone vendor (mobileusers.com)

Liquipel, when applied to a device, forms a protective layer on the device that keeps water and other types of liquid from seeping into the device’s electronics. The technology seems to be pretty effective, as Liquipel has demonstrated that an iPhone with the coating applied can be completely submerged in water and the phone will continue to work. In fact, Liquipel’s demonstration of the effectiveness of its coating impressed many at CES 2012.

Although a lot of rumors concerning a new iPhone ultimately don’t pan out, it’s very possible that this one might. The source has reportedly been right in the past about their predictions, as they gave the correct release dates for both the iPhone 4 and 4S prior to the launch of each.

Those who want to take advantage of the Liquipel technology now can do so by shipping their iPhone to Liquipel and by paying $59 to have the coating applied. The process generally takes 1-2 days (plus shipping time) to complete. In the event that the iPhone 5 shipping with the Liquipel coating already applied rumor doesn’t come to fruition, this might just be the next best option.

Related articles

• Liquipel Waterproofs Your iPhone Without A Case (iphonesavior.com)
• Liquipel says it can waterproof your iPhone without a case (geek.com)
• Do we get to see a waterproof iPhone 5? (mobileusers.com)

The Australian reports that Apple has expanded its Australian lawsuit to 27 claims against Samsung. According to the online newspaper, the original lawsuit related to just three patents of features that were included in the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, but now we are talking about 22 patents that cover 10 new products.

Apple won a preliminary injunction against Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1 last year, but another court overturned the injunction in November, just in time for the Korean manufacturer to prepare for the holiday period. The result: stunning sales for both companies.

On the other hand, Samsung is trying to obtain a ban on Apple’s iPhone 4S, claiming the Cupertino company’s latest Smartphone infringes its 3G patents. This however, is questionable, as Samsung now faces a full-blown investigation (in Europe, but it may affect the fate of future Samsung claims of 3G/UMTS patent infringement) initiated by the European Commission. The Commission is investigating whether Samsung has abusively, and in contravention of a commitment it gave to the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI), used certain of its standard essential patent rights to distort competition in European mobile device markets, in breach of EU antitrust rules.”

Samsung’s lawyer, Neil Young, says the company was given extremely short notice, which means the Korean company cannot file a defense until mid-May.

via: The Next Web

The leaked images show that the tablet is very similar to the TF201T, but its “TF300T” codename, found in the QuieTek certification document, clearly points to the fact that what we see is the next generation device. One simple argument: the codename differs from the OGs TF101’s and the Prime TF201’s codenames.

Although we could not find any information about the technical specs besides the presence of a 10.1-inch widescreen, the leaked pictures show a blood-like color (the back of the tablet). Stay around, we’ll keep you posted.

via: Engadget

Changewave Research surveyed 254 Kindle Fire owners, as the research company sought an evaluation of the reception to the latest Amazon tablet.

One of the main sections of the survey was consumer spending. With the new Kindle Fire, Amazon seems to have found a new route into the consumer’s wallet, as 29% of Kindle Fire owners are likely to spend more money on Amazon over the next 90 days. As a comparison: only 19% of non-Kindle Fire owners showed any willing to spend more money in the next three months. This means Amazon might gain back the $10 which it reportedly loses on each Kindle Fire sold at $199.

The Changewave Survey aimed to find an answer regarding consumer satisfaction level. The company’s research aims to rate the tablet industry manufacturers through the eyes of the consumer.

What we know is that Kindle Fire sales have pushed the sales of the Galaxy Tab behind, and the two Android-running tablets (among other Android tablets) have gained a significant percentage of the global tablet market, pushing Apple’s market share behind the 60% milestone.

The recent research shows that when asked how satisfied they are with their newly purchased Kindle Fire, 54% of those surveyed were “very satisfied” , while another 38% said they were “somewhat satisfied”.

To put this in perspective, Changewave compared the number with other tablet manufacturers’ consumer satisfaction surveys. The Amazon Kindle Fire’s 54% is well below the iPad’s 74%, but it ranked above other tablets, which accounted for only 49% in the consumer satisfaction survey.

According to the report, the main reason the new Kindle Fire owners liked the device—with 59% of those surveyed—is the $199 price tag. Its color screen ranked second with 31%, and ease of use ranked third with 27%.

What the new owners mainly disliked is the lack of a physical volume control (27%), while 21% missed the camera from the device. But also among the dislikes was the short battery life, lack of 3G/4G capacity, screen size and the lack of microphone for voice, but the number of Apps available accounted for a significant 12% of the reasons owners disliked their latest purchase.

Although the lawsuit is between Motorola Mobility and Apple Sales International, Apple’s Ireland-based European sales organization, this ruling is very important for both companies.

Today’s permanent injunction is not Europe-wide, as it only concerns German customers for now. In addition, the ruling is preliminary-enforceable, which means Motorola can seek its enforcement anytime now, with the terms of posting a €100 million bond. This amount is a guarantee requested by the court, in case an appeal court overturns the ruling. In this scenario, Motorola would be liable for premature enforcement and would have to compensate for damages caused by imposing such enforcement.

What is likely to happen: Apple will appeal this ruling in the Karlsruhe Higher Regional Court, so Motorola is unlikely to seek any enforcement in the up near future.

In this litigation against Apple Sales International, Motorola asserted European Patent 0847654 (B1) on a “multiple-pager status synchronization system and method” seeking patent infringement by Apple’s iCloud service and the devices containing the iCloud client software (which specifically means all of Apple’s product line except devices running iOS 5 and Lion).

Looking back to the history of legal battles between Apple and MMI, what we see is that Motorola is gaining field, which only raises its value in the eyes of Google. Although, as Foss Patent’s Florian Mueller writes in his article, one of the three rulings was only a default judgment scheduled for review today, and there are two significant rulings that favor MMI, not Apple.

What we should keep an eye on is the upcoming decision scheduled for next February 10, 2012, when Andreas Voss will decide whether Apple infringes a patent essential to 3G/UMTS.

Update: Apple has removed all non-iPhone 4S devices with 3G technology from its German online store following Motorola’s win.

Via: Foss Patents

Apple recorded an impressive 128.4% growth on a year-over-year basis, the numbers reveal. We have learned from the company’s quarterly earnings that sales skyrocketed (mainly due to the holiday season and the October release of the iPhone 4S), but that covered only a 98-day period.

Looking back to Q4 of 2011, Apple’s global mobile phone market share more than doubled: the IDC report shows Apple’s iPhone accounted for 4% of the global market back in 2010, which placed the Cupertino-based company in fifth place. The latest study shows that the success of the iPhone brought another 4.7% of the global market share, which now totals 8.7%. In other words, Apple surpassed LG and ZTE, and is challenging Samsung and Nokia, companies that retain the highest percentage of the market.

Apple’s 2011 Q4 helped the ranking, of course, with the company selling 37 million iPhones. One of the key reasons for its success, was that it made the device available in 90 countries, which rapidly boosted sales and balanced the numbers for Apple.

The results published by IDC are very important for Apple, as their iPhone’s managed to grab a relatively high percentage of the total of 427.4 million units shipped in the fourth quarter of 2011 globally. The total number of mobile units is 6.1% higher than a year ago, better than the forecasted 4.4% global growth, but less than the 9.3% growth recorded during the previous quarter.

“The mobile phone market exhibited unusually low growth last quarter, which shows it is not immune to weaker macroeconomic conditions worldwide,” said Kevin Restivo, senior research analyst with IDC’s Worldwide Mobile Phone Tracker. “The introduction of high-growth products such as the iPhone 4S, which shipped in the fourth quarter, bolstered Smartphone growth. Yet overall market growth fell to its lowest point since Q3 2009, when the global economic recession was in full bloom.”

Nokia maintained its position as the market leader, shipping 113.5 million units during the 98-day quarter, and grabbing 26.6% of the global market share. This percentage, however, is lower than the previous year, when Nokia mobile units accounted for 30.7% of the global market.

On the other hand, Samsung followed Nokia as it broke the 300 million market for the first time in a single year. If Samsung continues to grow at this pace, it will dethrone Nokia, as the difference between the two companies’ fourth quarter shipments is 15.9 million units.

LG dropped to fourth place, as its total sales volume declined 42.2% on a year-over-year basis.

The IDC’s figures include both Smartphones and feature phones, they note. While the feature-phone sales give Nokia first position, studies analyzing the Smartphone sales alone give Apple the title of the world’s number one Smartphone vendor.

According to Bret Jordan and Chris Hessing, dedicated developers and researchers, the flaw can be found in any affected HTC handset that runs Android applications. Technically speaking, any HTC device with the specific permission -android.permission.ACCESS_WIFI_STATE – has the capability to call upon the code “.toString()” via the WifiConfiguration class of the device. What does it do? Any seasoned programmer can actually view all the credentials of a user as long as it’s tethered to a Wi-Fi network.

But just as you think that it’s the worst case scenario, it is not. An attacker can add more pain to the injury by combining the code with the android.permission.INTERNET string to gather all your details and send them flying over to the Internet for the whole world to see. It appears that HTC could no longer keep this case a secret. It’s probably too much. So here’s HTC posting a warning on its support website.

“HTC has developed a fix for a small WiFi issue affecting some HTC phones. Most phones have received this fix already through regular updates and upgrades. However, some phones will need to have the fix manually loaded. Please check back next week for more information about this fix and a manual download if you need to update your phone,” HTC said.

The following HTC devices are most vulnerable to the flaw: Desire HD, Glacier – Version FRG83, Thunderbolt 4G – Version FRG83D, Droid Incredible Version FRF91, Sensation Z710e, Sensation 4G, Desire S, EVO 3D Version GR140 and the EVO 4G. Thankfully, HTC was quick to respond by announcing a patch that will solve the issue. HTC said that although the patch is automatic, some devices might require manual loading in order to fix the problem. HTC is urging all affected users to visit the company’s support site right now to finally put an end to the flaw.

Source: The Next Web