court revives Apple claim on Samsung tablets‎

WASHINGTON — A U.S. appeals court ruled on Monday that Apple Inc could press its bid for an immediate block on the sale of some tablet computers made by Samsung Electronics Co Ltd based on allegations of infringement of one patent.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit said the judge in a district court in California had erred in deciding that Apple failed to show that it was likely to succeed on the merits.
The dispute over that one patent is part of a larger legal proceeding in California. In mid-April, Apple and Samsung agreed that their chief executives would participate in settlement talks to try to resolve the dispute, according to a court filing.
Apple sued Samsung in the United States last year, saying the South Korean company’s Galaxy line of mobile phones and tablets “slavishly” copies the iPhone and iPad. Samsung then countersued Apple.

Samsung Focus 2: Can a $50 Windows Phone Steal HTC, Nokia Thunder?

While Samsung just created serious buzz around its latest Android phone, the Galaxy S III, the company clearly isn’t giving up on its Windows Phone line. In fact, Samsung’s new Focus 2 is aggressively priced to steal sales from Nokia and HTC.

Revealed Monday, the Focus 2 follows the original Focus, the Focus S and the Focus Flash. The latest Samsung Windows Phone, running Windows 7.5 Mango, will be available exclusively on AT&T starting May 20.

The Focus 2 is Samsung’s first LTE Windows Phone device. AT&T offers two other LTE Windows Phones — HTC’s Titan II and Nokia’s Lumia 900, both released in April. But unlike the Lumia 900 at $100 and the Titan II at an even more pricey $200, Samsung’s Focus 2 is incredibly affordable at $50 with a two-year contract.

With such a low price point, the Focus 2 could appeal to users transitioning from feature phones to smartphones.

“We’ve seen that so much of our sales are smartphones now. But there’s still a large population has hasn’t transitioned yet,” Mike Woodward, AT&T’s VP of Mobile Device Portfolio, told Wired. “Windows Phone has an OS that really speaks to simplicity, and the lower price point [of the Focus 2] is certainly something else that can help with that transition.”

The Focus 2 specs are on par with other thin smartphones, measuring at 10.98mm thick and weighing 4.3 ounces. By comparison, Samsung’s Galaxy S III is 8.6mm thick and 4.7 ounces.

The device harkens back to the rounded edges of the original Focus, and features a 4-inch, 400×800 Super AMOLED display. It packs a 1750mAh battery, 8GB of memory, and a 1.4GHz single-core processor. A 5-megapixel camera can shoot video in HD 720p, and a front-facing VGA camera facilitates video chat.

Colors? There’s only one choice: “pure white.”

Windows Phone adoption has been slow to pick up — Nokia is even facing a lawsuit from shareholdersclaiming that Windows Phone failed to save the mobile handset company’s flagging position in the smartphone market. But Woodward says that AT&T fully supports Windows Phone and has seen positive feedback from customers.

“We see Windows Phone as a delightful end-user experience. Our own internal surveys show that [the OS] has great customer satisfaction,” Woodward said. “From the beginning we saw this as an opportunity to offer consumers something new and innovative. We’ve now just hit a point of maturation where it makes sense to offer more choices [for Windows Phone].”

AT&T has the largest portfolio of Windows Phone devices, and plans to add more as Microsoft’s platform gains momentum.

Samsung recently surpassed Nokia in mobile handset sales, largely due to its support of the Android platform. It will be interesting to see whether Samsung’s investment in the Windows Phone platform — especially with such an affordable device like the Focus 2 — will undercut Nokia’s Lumia sales.

“If you look at the momentum of Windows Phone, Nokia coming into it was a very strong endorsement. I think the fact that Samsung, who is now the world’s largest cell phone maker, continues to invest heavily in the category provides significant momentum,” Woodward said. “This is a marathon, not a sprint. For sure, Windows Phone will be one of the strong competitors.”

Samsung Galaxy S III versus the world

      Samsung’s flagship handset has sparked a huge debate about the design choice and materials used but underneath it all, there’s no denying that it’s one of the fastest and most modern smartphones to hit the street, when it launches in June.
Although the chassis is mostly plastic, their new Hyperglaze coating gives you a good grip and feel of the phone. No one’s going to be looking the back though when you have such a gorgeous 4.8-inch HD Super AMOLED upfront. Samsung has managed to squeeze a massive screen into form that’s just a little larger than the S II, which is quite a feat.
Beating inside, is their latest Exynos 4 Quad SoC which is giving many smartphones a run for their money. More than the specifications though, it’s new special features that make phone unique like the S Voice, Smart stay, etc. If you don’t feel like waiting till the end of the month though, then here’s some very good options in the market right now.

HTC One X
The One X was the first quad-core smartphone is arguably one of the best built phones in the market. The polycarbonate shell makes is very durable and super light as well. One of the unique features of the HTC One X is the new Burst mode in the camera interface. This lets you capture photos in rapid succession which means you can get some really good action shots. The One X also boasts of zero shutter lag which means capturing a photo is almost instantaneous. The phone is great if you game a lot as it’s powered by Nvidia’s Tegra 3 SoC, which has one of the best GPUs in any phone till date. For Rs36,000, it’s currently the best Android in the market.

Apple iPhone 4S
Apple’s iPhone is always an option when money is not a constraint. The 4S takes all the goodness of the iPhone 4 and adds some more as well. It now packs in a beefier dual-core CPU from the iPad 2, giving it 1080p recording capabilities. The new 8MP BSI sensor improves on the already good sensor of the previous one for better low light photography. And then there’s Siri, your personal assistant to answer your every beck and call. The 4S sits at the top end of the price bracket at Rs45,000.

Sony Xperia S
Compared with the other handsets, the Xperia S may not come across as a serious contender but it has one of the best cameras and display right now. The plastic and chrome finish have been ditched for a classy, matt finished chassis. The HD resolution, 4.3-inch screen makes everything super sharp and crisp so reading eBooks and web pages is a dream. It also has one of the best cameras for outdoor shooting. The 12MP sensor can snap up some really detailed pictures, making it a joy for Instagram enthusiasts, especially macro shots. The phone is also slated to receive an ICS update. If a camera is off high priority, then at Rs31,000, this is your best bet.