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Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen sues Apple, Google, Facebook, AOL, eBay, Netflix, Yahoo!, Staples, OfficeMax, Office Depot, and YouTube over patents

admin — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 18:42:00 +0000

Microsoft's co-founder Paul Allen has filed suit against nine companies over patent violations. Through his current firm, Interval Licensing LLC, Allen is suing Apple, Google, AOL, Facebook, ebay, Netflix, Office Depot, OfficeMax, Staples, Yahoo, and YouTube (which is a subsidiary of Google). The claims involve four separate patents, most of which cover integral parts of how the companies named do business. For example, one patent allows site suggestions for consumers based on things they're currently viewing, while another allows related articles to be delivered while reading news. All in all, it sounds like Allen's patents -- if they're indeed found to cover these technologies -- are seriously vast. The suit, which was filed today, does not name any specific amount of damages he is seeking. Allen, who is one of the richest people in the world with an estimated worth of over $13 billion, recently pledged to donate over half of his wealth to philanthropic causes after Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates called on the world's billionaires to do so.

Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen sues Apple, Google, Facebook, AOL, eBay, Netflix, Yahoo!, Staples, OfficeMax, Office Depot, and YouTube over patents originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 Aug 2010 14:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dell dropping Windows Phone 7 devices from its roadmap? (update: Dell responds, is definitely still in the game)

admin — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 14:54:00 +0000

Now we don't have much more to go on here than some analyst chatter and a lengthy article from TechCrunch, but if you believe what you read, a major player has just dropped Windows Phone 7 devices from its roadmap. ~~And that player is Dell~~. According to Jonathan Goldberg, an telecom analyst at Deutsche Bank, the only remaining partners currently working on Windows Phone 7 handsets are HTC, Samsung, and LG. If this is true (and that's a big if), that means that the seriously awesome looking Dell Lightning that we spied in leaks recently will never see the light of day -- as a WP7 device, at least.

We already knew that HP was out of the game (instead focusing on webOS phones), but the casual suggestion that Dell has made for the door here is somewhat suspect. The company itself hasn't made any statements (we've reached out but have yet to hear back), and while Dell has certainly concentrated a lot of effort on Android devices recently, its partnership with Microsoft is long-standing (despite dabbling in the world of open source). If the story turns out to be true, it could spell mixed (if not outright bad) tidings for the Windows Phone 7 launch, which Goldberg alleges may cost Microsoft upwards of half a billion dollars -- no small fee. Losing two of the biggest computer-makers in the world can't feel very good when you're trying to fight your way back to relevancy, but at least on the bright side, neither HP nor Dell have a track record of making anything other than heroically mediocre handsets. Take this all with a grain of salt right now, however, as the author of the TechCrunch article provides no source for the statements from Goldberg, and... well, he's an analyst, and they're prone to making up all kinds of crazy things. We're investigating, and will let you know as soon as we have more info.

Update: We've been pinged back by Dell's Matt Parretta, and he was 100 percent clear that Dell was most certainly still part of the Windows Phone 7 game. In the company's words:

Any reports, or speculation, that report Dell will not support Windows Phone 7 are false... Microsoft announced Dell as a supporting partner at this year's Mobile World Congress and nothing's changed. We are excited to collaborate with Microsoft on Windows Phone 7, and are looking forward to bringing customers amazing mobile experiences.

Furthermore, the analyst in question here (Jonathan Goldberg) has also reached out to us to clarify his statements, saying that he believes Dell is still a partner on Windows Phone 7, just not a launch partner. Dell was mum on release schedules, but one thing is clear -- they intend to follow through on this collaboration.

Dell dropping Windows Phone 7 devices from its roadmap? (update: Dell responds, is definitely still in the game) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 Aug 2010 10:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Verizon confirms Android 2.2 update for Droid Incredible hits today

admin — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 14:51:00 +0000

Just as we thought, HTC's Droid Incredible for Verizon is getting boosted from Android 2.1 to 2.2 today, which should make plenty of owners (and plenty of non-owners who've been unable to find any stock for the past couple months) happy as a clam. Major features include pre-installed Flash 10.1, 720p video recording, mobile hotspot support as first introduced for Verizon on the Droid X, and naturally, all the other standard greatness you've come to expect with Froyo. We imagine this update will take a couple weeks to roll out to everyone, so show some patience, Droid Incredible owners -- or, you know, do like we do and search frantically for an update.zip to get posted somewhere.

[Thanks, Ryan]

Verizon confirms Android 2.2 update for Droid Incredible hits today originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 Aug 2010 10:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung Galaxy Tab gets video preview in Korea

admin — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 12:44:00 +0000

It sees like we can't let a day pass without talking about Samsung's upcoming Froyo tablet. This time there's a whole video preview, courtesy of some of our Korean brethren. Android 2.2, WCDMA 3G, 802.11n WiFi, a 16:10 screen ratio, a front-facing camera "dedicated to video calling," SDHC memory expandability, and a DMB tuner for those TV-crazy Koreans are all listed on the spec sheet, but you'll be wanting to see the Galaxy Tab's UI in motion. It really looks silky smooth and should give the iPad cause for concern. Speaking of the iPad, there's a size comparison against Apple's slate and Samsung's own Galaxy S handset as well -- all yours after the break.

Update: Fast-loading video embedded after the break.

[Thanks, Eric]

Continue reading Samsung Galaxy Tab gets video preview in Korea

Samsung Galaxy Tab gets video preview in Korea originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Aug 2010 08:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Canon EOS 60D: 18 megapixels and 1080p video flexes its articulating screen this September

admin — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 04:10:00 +0000

Well, what do we have here? Last we heard about the Canon EOS 60D it was just a twinkle in our articulating screen of a peripheral vision. And now it's official -- my, how times have changed. Here's what we know about the 50D successor (with definite nods to the Rebel T2i's feature set): the 18-megapixel DSLR has a single DIGIC 4 processor and boasts 1080p H.264 video with an in-camera movie editing feature, manual audio level control, a "flexible" (read: articulating) 3-inch LCD screen, an ISO range of 100-6,400 purported to be expandable to 12,800, and support for processing RAW images from within the camera itself. Look for the little photo shooter to hit retail at the end of September for just a dollar under $1,100 body only, or $1,400 with a bundled 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS zoom lens. You know the drill: pics below, press release and video after the break.

Gallery: Canon 60D press shots

Continue reading Canon EOS 60D: 18 megapixels and 1080p video flexes its articulating screen this September

Canon EOS 60D: 18 megapixels and 1080p video flexes its articulating screen this September originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Aug 2010 00:10:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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