Because Apple publishing Android buzz Terencam

Apple Inc. (Special) Jakarta (AFP)-a US Court ruling regarding a profitable Apple, where the disputed decision that could affect the appearance of a ban on all Android-based phones and tablets in the United States.

Previously, Apple had won the initial ruling of a US trade Panel that Taiwan HTC handset had violated two patents Apple.

HTC Google Android operating system for smart phones and appropriate to ensure the purchase of mobile devices.

The initial court decision creating rumors started between handset manufacturers, because the decision delivered a message to other maker smart phone based on Android.

Apple victory could be a trick for thirdparty Android handset or to submit a request for a ban on US imports of HTC, as mentioned in the Guardian.

Patents relating to the processing of such data and to recognize the device covers telephone and asked to call.

Android Apple annoyed that contains ' a ' analyzer ' detection ' Server data structure.

VentureBeat reported statement of patent experts Florian Mueller. (Mueller) says, "I have seen a patent before and this seems very basic."

"It is very likely in violation of the code that constitutes the core of the Android," he said.

"This could be the worst case to ban imports of many more all handsets HTC Android is based on the US market," he said.

The matter will berbuntu in a wealth of patent litigation between Apple and Samsung, which also use Android, Apple and Nokia, and Microsoft and Motorola.

HTC says will ' fight ' with decisions of the judges of the International Trade Commission (ITC) last week, but the Commission has not yet received a full decision.

Android based smart phone sales have exceeded the global iPhone sales expected to start but new Apple iPhone this year and gave a huge boost of its own.

Originally, Apple accuses HTC broken 10 patents but six patent dikandaskan of the case and the judge sets the HTC ITC violates two of the four remaining patents.

A final decision on the case on 6 December, at a later date. Apple has filed suit against HTC parallel courts in Delaware.

"We are confident we have strong evidence of ITC proceedings," said General Counsel HTC grace Lei.

"(We) fully prepared to defend with all means," he said.

HTC's shares fell 6.5 percent on Monday, because it announcement of repurchase of shares failed to stem the decline.

 

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Because Apple Publishing Android phone Terencam

Apple Inc. (Special) Jakarta (AFP) - in a U.S. Court decision as regards a profitable Apple, where the controversial decision that could affect the appearance of a ban on all Android phones and tablets to the United States.

Previously, Apple had won the initial decision of a tribunal of commerce of U.S. the HTC Taiwan aircraft had violated two patents Apple.

HTC Google Android OS for smart phones and the case was closely monitored the mobile devices market.

The decision of the original court which has been the creation of the rumors began among manufacturers of phone because that decision was delivered a message to another manufacturer of smartphone based on Android.

Victory of Apple that might be a cliff of other manufacturers of phone Android or submit a request for the prohibition of the United States on imports of HTC, as reported in The Guardian.

Patents that relate to the processing of these data and to recognize the action of the device phone number and he asks to call.

Apple Android angry that contains the data structure 'detects a parser' server' '.

VentureBeat reported the expert Florian Mueller patent statement. According to him (Mueller), "" I saw a prior patent and it seems very basic."

"They are very likely in violation of the code, which is at the heart of the Android," he said.

"This could be the worst case scenario in the ban on imports of many even devices HTC Android-based on the American market," he said.

The case will be berbuntu on a multitude of disputes between Apple and Samsung, which also use Android, Apple and Nokia and Microsoft and Motorola.

HTC was said to "fight" with the firm of decisions of the judges of the International Trade Commission (ITC) last week, but it has not yet fully the decision of the Commission.

Android smart phone sales have exceeded the global iPhone sales are expected to be launched, but the new Apple iPhone, this year and has given a huge boost of its own.

Initially, Apple accuses HTC broke 10 patents but six patent dikandaskan of the case and the judge sets the HTC ITC violates two of the other four patents.

A final decision on the case on December 6 and later. Apple filed a lawsuit against HTC parallel courts in Delaware.

"We are confident that we have solid evidence for the ITC appeal process," said the HTC Grace of Counsel General Lei.

"(We) fully prepared to defend by all means", he said.

HTC shares fell 6.5% Monday, because it announces share repurchase failed to the attenuation of the stem.

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A New Phone

The time has come to give my old phone a well deserved retirement.

A nostalgic review of my previous phone, actually my very first phone. Photos are from the photoblog - Nokia 7610.

 

Nokia 7610

It's exactly 6 years since I received this phone as a gift from an uncle. Little did I imagine at that time it would introduce me to a world of new experiences.
(Photo taken 2 weeks after I received it).

Launched in May 2004, the 7610 runs on Symbian S60v2 OS 7.0s. Its internal specs are antiquated compared to today's devices.
123Mhz ARM4T CPU, 7MB RAM, 8MB internal memory. It also came with a 64MB Reduced-Size MMC (RS-MMC), the precursor to the MicroSD. Died after 2 years & replaced with a 256MB card.

The 7610 was a grey market device, bought from Hong Kong or Singapore (around Rs 11k) with no warranty. If it broke or malfunctioned, there was little I could do.
Somehow, after numerous falls & unimaginable torture, the device is still working. External casing aside the body is solid unbreakable plastic. Legendary Nokia build quality. Keeps working, even on the factory firmware.
Yup, at that time, you couldn't update your device over USB, so you had to bring it to a Nokia Care Centre. Which I never did. & I didn't need to do it because there weren't any show-stopping bugs on the 7610.

The OS occupies around 25MB on the ROM. That has always been one of the biggest advantages of Symbian - run efficiently on minimum specs. Includes support for multi-tasking... Proper apps running in the background with an app switcher.

 

The Design

It's fair to say that Nokia didn't go as crazy as with the 7600. It features the same teardrop shape, with more conventional keypad layout & less curved edges. Now that I realise it, Nokia actually made smartphones fashionable!

 

1MP camera

The first megapixel (1152 x 864) smartphone. A revolution at a time when most camera phones had VGA resolution. It also supported 10 min video recording (at 176x144) in the popular 3gp format. The photos are shockingly bad compared to modern standards. No settings other than digital zoom & a night mode. But it was an essential feature which helped me out countless times. When I broke my P&S camera, it was this 1MP fixed focus camera which got me out of tight spots. Normal photography isn't its forte, but my word, it was awesome at "photo-scanning" printed text & other documents. Some of my “best” photos…

RCPL. Overlooking the cemetery & DT projects. 2005.

 

Calodyne.

 

Old Post Office, Port Louis.

 

Valetta lake.

 

Roof-top. In 2005, I could actually see the sea… (In 2010)

 

Symbols.

 

Ganga Talao. 2006 & 2009.

 

Maheswarnath Mandir. Being painted in 2006.

 

Pointe aux Biches.

 

Ferrari 348.

 

Orange is here. 2008.

 

Victoria Hospital room. Stayed there for 5 days. Hell.

 

Audi R8. December 2008.

 

USB Plasma ball.

 

UOM kittens. 2009.

 

Ile aux Cerfs. 2010.

 

The Port. 2010.

 

& the rest is history…

While uploading these photos, I had an epiphany. However bad these photos may look, they still remain priceless memories. An advice - capture every moment in your life. :)

 

My First Smartphone

The 7610 introduced me to the world of smartphones. At that time, there were only 2 major smartphone OSes - Windows Mobile & Symbian. Few people acknowledge it, but Nokia actually invented the smartphone for the masses with the 6600 & then expanded it with the 7610, 6670 & 3230. It's another thing that only geeks understood & exploited the full potential of their Symbian phones.

So imagine my absolute delight when on my first day with the 7610, I discovered you can install apps on it! Just like on a computer! & games! Themes! Wallpapers! Custom ringtones!
It was by sheer luck that I discovered multitasking when I pressed the menu button for a longer time than necessary.
Similarly, it was a friend who informed me the purpose of the pencil key - used for marking, selection, copy, cut & paste. Yes, a dedicated copy/paste button.

Here a few of my favourite memories with the 7610.

- Two weeks after I received the 7610, I bricked it. What happened was that I was taking photos using internal memory & it completely filled up, leaving not enough space for the device to boot. After several days of panicking, I discovered that you can hard reset every Symbian phone (Power on while holding on Call+3+*).

- The Apps Revolution. Before these so-called app stores were born, I was downloading & installing apps & games everyday. At the start, it was from WAP sites & forums. Eventually I discovered where I could get Zero Day releases - on MIRC chat channels. It was #mediaplace channels if I remember well. Releases were mirrored among chat members & all you had to do was download from them. Using commands naturally as there was no GUI. In its heyday (2005-2006), around 60-100 Symbian apps were being released daily. My own apps database is over 1GB (average app size of 1MB).

- Using offline dictionaries (Concise Oxford English, Thesaurus, etc) while everyone else had to lookup in their hardcopies.
- Graphical calculators. :P

- Gaming. Mostly Java games, arcade-style - Prince of Persia, Tomb Raider, Splinter Cell, Asphalt, Bejeweled, Worms & Brothers-in-Arms (above).

- Reading eBooks using MobiReader. HP & TLOTR converted to .mbp. Spent 2 days reading HP5 non-stop. Turn off screen backlight & make it reflect the ambient light - it's as good as ebook readers!

- Watching movies & TV shows, including Top Gear. All had to be re-encoded into a lower resolution. Started with 3GP on RealPlayer (no fullscreen). Moved on to DivX with Smartmovie. & finally settled with Xvid (avi) & x264 (mkv) when I discovered CorePlayer. What an app!

- My first smartphone virus. Received over Bluetooth from another infected S60 phone. Fortunately, I did have an antivirus app installed which promptly deleted it. It was harmless anyway because you had walk it through its installation steps.

- Beyond themes & icons replacement, I also changed the font (ttf converted to gdr), the screensaver & adding quick launch shortcuts to the home screen. A few years back you could also change operator logos...

- Pranking friends by recording their conversations or playing pre-recorded ones in the background.

- Identifying barcodes & mobile QR codes. At that time, it was nothing more than a gimmick. No actual use.
- Apps like CameraFx allowing special effects (sepia, faux flash, b&w, pop art, kaleidoscopes, etc) & stitching of photos (360 panoramas).
- Installing Python apps. You just needed to install the Python framework & then write & run your own homebrew apps.

- Bluejacking - copying sms & contacts from other phones. Only worked with a few devices. Other bluetooth hacks - remote controlling my PC, use phone as bluetooth mouse, IMing over bluetooth (to other Symbian devices) & using camera as webcam.

- Long battery life. Only 900mAh, but it could run 2/3 days on heavy usage & up to a week on light usage. Only games used to kill battery life. Otherwise, you could leave apps running in the background without worrying about it draining the battery.

- Music. Using a 3rd party headset connected to the pop-port. Listening to music (with mono hardware limitation) using UltraMP3 to overcome the default 7 bars volume. I always believed in the mobile phone as a converged device & that's why I never owned a music player. I actually skipped the iPod generation.

- Opera Mini + Dabr = Twitter on the go. Opera Mini has been a godsend for browsing web sites without exploding my data consumption.

- Free Gprs. Around 8GB downloaded using Cellplus' network in 2007. Figured out a way to tether it to my PC & enjoyed an unlimited connection for the very first time in my life - (I was on dial-up in 2007). & that was around the same time I started blogging. So yeah, the 7610 was directly responsible for me being a blogger today. :)
& it's still helping me today - 90% of all posts on the blog have been typed on the 7610. Including this one.

You now know why I love Symbian. Its apps, its ease of use, its stability & its efficient use of the battery. The perfect OS built for devices like the 7610.
I find it amusing when people complain that <insert OS or smartphone here> doesn't have a feature I've already used years ago. Symbian was way ahead of its time.

As such, whatever will be replacing my 7610 will have to fulfill all these requirements & improve on many of the available features.

Requirements
- Touchscreen smartphone - at least 3.5" high resolution screen.
- Good build quality & durable. Should handle some abuse, especially in harsh environments.
- Great battery life with removable battery.
- Great browser with flash support (or at least play YouTube videos).
- Ample storage - microSD + internal storage (16/32GB)
- Decent camera. I already have the Nikon L20, so that the least of all my priorities.
Budget - Rs 14,000 ($467)

Basically looking for a mid-end smartphone on a tight budget. Let's look at the contenders, OS-wise.

 

iPhone

Large app ecosystem. Decent hardware (high res screen, good battery life, 1Ghz processor, 512MB RAM). Future-proof. Jailbroken apps fixes some of its deficiencies.

Available in only 16/32GB. No microSD. Non-removable battery. Fragile glass construction. Doesn't survive falls. Broken front glass requires complete touchscreen replacement because it's glued together. Cat-&-mouse game between Apple & jailbreakers resulting in updates removing jailbreaks/unlocks.

eBay prices (unlocked):
iPhone 4 16GB - $855
iPhone 4 32GB - $990
iPhone 3GS 32GB - $625

If you account for the Customs VAT, Orange Mauritius actually sells it cheaper, but it's network-locked.
Because of its popularity, the iPhone is way overpriced. The only place where you can get the lowest price is Singapore/Hong Kong - where it's sold for as low as Rs 20k ($667).
Not only it's out of my budget but I don't have any external contacts, so the iPhone is very much out of my reach. Anyway, I wouldn't want one because it's too fragile; will never survive my clumsiness.

 

Android

I have zero experience of using Android & the following points are based on what I've read from reviews.
Large portfolio of devices. From cheap smartphones (320x480 screens) to the superphones (1Ghz+ processors). Most of the 1Ghz devices are future-proof. Large amount of apps. Extensive customization options (keyboard replacement, home screen, etc).

While Android has a plethora of devices, they all have the same drawbacks. Fragmentation. Yes, it does exist if you stick to manufacturer updates. OEMs are methodically slow at pushing the latest Android updates to their devices. Fortunately, there are the vanilla ROMs that you can install…. at the expense of manufacturer customizations (specifically in the camera & music department).
Short battery life due to lack of multitasking optimization. No GPU-accelerated UI (that's why Android needs faster CPUs). 

Despite the wide variety of Android devices, the hardware isn't appealing if you're looking for the perfect converged device. For e.g., there's only one manufacturer that makes decent cameras - SonyEricsson. But given their track record at updating their devices, it's impossible to trust them anymore.

Apart from the Nexus line of devices, it's hard to consider any Android device. The cost, lack of mid-end converged devices & the fact that I've never tried Android means I'm still undecided over this platform.

HTC Desire - $490
HTC Desire HD - $565
HTC Desire Z - $565
Motorola Milestone 2 - $580
Samsung Galaxy S i9000 - $600
Nexus One - $570
Nexus S - $690

 

Windows Phone 7

At this point in time, it’s hard to consider an OS that’s still in its infancy. Yes, it has the most advanced UI but lacks essential features like multitasking, decent browser & microSD card support. Given Microsoft's accelerated development schedule of the OS, I would estimate WP7 to be one year away from having a feature set on par with iOS & Android.
Excluding the games, the apps catalogue isn't very exciting. & the iOS-styled limitations are a step too far for a platform that needs to attract as much users as possible.

HTC HD7 - $520
Samsung Focus - $595
Samsung Omnia 7 - $615

 

Symbian

I know there are tons of devices from the N97 mini, the X6, the E72 to the C5. But after having used Symbian^3, there's no going back. Given that the C6-03, C7 & E7 all have EDoF cameras, there's only one Symbian device that can be considered - the Nokia N8. That would have been my first choice… if I hadn't used & extensively reviewed it. The main limitations are a crap browser, rubbish resolution, lack of apps & a UI that hasn't changed since my 7610. The price is tempting, but the camera alone isn't worth it.

Nokia N8 - $480

 

MeeGo

Yeah, MeeGo OS is just round the corner. The N9 will probably be announced within a week with the rumoured hardware specs as follows: 1.2Ghz CPU, 1GB RAM, 1080p-playing GPU, 64GB internal memory & 12MP camera. Clearly into superphone territory, with a price double my budget. I couldn't wait for it...

 

No iPhone, no Android device, no WP7 device & not even a Symbian device. So what did I buy?

The first tablet OS, built for the Internet.
The only touchscreen smartphone with no front buttons.
One of the two smartphones with 32GB internal storage & a microSD slot.
A pure Linux experience that makes Android look like Windows.
The only smartphone with native dual-boot support (with MeeGo 1.1).

 

The Nokia N900

The ultimate geek phone. & by geek, I don't mean the faux geeks that consider themselves to be one just by jailbreaking devices, taking photos HDR or retweeting hashtags. The Maemo 5 OS on the N900 is a tablet GUI on top of the Linux kernel, giving you total freedom of modification. No unlocking, no jailbreaking & no complex rooting procedures. The N900 has been designed with only one thing in mind - to be completely open.
Here's the analogy with cars... iPhones are BMWs with loads of gizmos available. Android is the Volkswagen group - building everything from Polos, Audis to Lamborghinis. Symbian is like Toyota, great at making good cars but not supercars.
& the N900? The Ariel Atom or an F1 car. Only a few can drive it & they know exactly what an incredible machine it is.
That’s why when I saw it was being sold at $400 on eBay, I didn’t think twice. Even though I’ve never used one before…

Yeah, the first time I held an N900 was when I unboxed it… Unboxing pics & first impressions are in this post on the photoblog.

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Infotech 2010 - Intelligent Mauritius

It’s time again to visit our annual tech trade fair organised by the NCB – Infotech.

 

Orange Expo?

Before entering SVCC, one thing you’ll notice is this Great Wall being built.

Actually, it’s the Port Louis Ring Road.

 

At the entrance of the Conference Centre, there were two donation boxes to collect money for the Pakistan flood victims.

Going in, there’s the Career area on the right.

Avatar area on the left. :p

12 screens joined together at the reception.

 

Finally we enter the big bazaar. Here, the eShop stand & the huge Cash & Carry stand.

 

Cash & Carry

With every Infotech, Cash & Carry seizes the opportunity to offer discounts on a huge variety of gadgets, including laptops.

Taking a self-portrait. :)

More laptops & LCD monitors.

Nokia N97, X6, 5800… all class-B smartphones.

Nikon S8000, L21 & L22. No DSLRs. :D

Aha! 3D on a Samsung LED TV. After trying out the glasses (Rs 9k a pair), I’m still unconvinced. 3D lacks the depth of real-world objects. & when you focus on one point of the screen, the other areas lose the 3D effect. To conclude, it’s a marketing gimmick & a head-ache.

Coming to back to TVs, it seems Cash & Carry have pulled out all the stops to promote their HDTVs.

The public was definitely wooed.

Cash & Carry’s “iMax” lineup. :p

40” Samsung LED TV. These LED-backlit TVs provide better contrast, greater viewing angles & incredible thinness… at not-so-affordable price.

 

HM Rawat

At the Rawat stand, I saw this.

Magnification via a microscope of the internal circuit of a phone.

 

Galaxy

The Rs 80k Asus 3D laptop. Another gimmick.

The Rs 110k 46” Samsung LED TV. :)

 

eShop

More self-portraits… this time with a touchscreen MSI Wind Top.

Macbooks.

Magic Mouse, an ergonomic nightmare.

& the iPad, an over-sized iPod Touch. No hands-on, no demo. At least, it’s turned on, better than Courts’ Rs 40k "64MB" dead iPad.

 

….

 

Courts

The Super AMOLEDs Samsung Wave & Jet.

The Motorola Droid Milestone.

Canon EOS 450D, which has been succeeded by the 500D, which has been succeeded by the 550D. Oh well…

Nintendo Wii & XBOX 360. This reminds me that I’ve never played with a console… :|

 

MBC stand with Sam Amigan & co.

Radioplus stand with Guillaume.

 

Interactive Whiteboard

Basically, it’s a finger tracker which then allows interactivity with the OS – like a huge touchscreen.

 

Orange

This is the Tabbee, a crablet (short for crap tablet).

The Samsung Wave. The Super AMOLED screen is awesome, but Bada OS is a joke, a copycat.

 

Emtel

As always, Emtel have the most innovative stand. I wish their products were the same.

 

& the over-hyped Emtel girls…

 

To conclude, zero innovation, zero new technologies, gadgets that are 6 months (or years) old & very few product demos & hands-on. That said, if you are looking to buy something, Infotech might be the perfect place to get bargains (assuming that you haven’t already found it cheaper online). Otherwise, Infotech is just a place for window shopping. Duh!

Related:

• Yashvin’s 15-min review of Infotech 2010 – Infotech 2010
• Asheshr - Infotech 2010
• L'Express - Infotech : L’édition 2010 du salon a attiré une foule record de quelque 80 000 visiteurs

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