Apple loses patent case related to FaceTime, asked to pay $368 million

Apple has lost a patent related case to VirnetX, a patent holding firm in the US, for infringing on four of the latter’s patents related to FaceTime. The four patents in the case deal with establishing VPSs and domain names.

Apple argued that it did not infringe upon any patents, that FaceTime was a free service with no revenue and that VirnetX does not have any products that use those patents but apparently it was not enough to please the judge and now Apple has been ordered to pay $368 million.
Apple doesn’t have to pay the amount just yet. The company has now filed a motion asking whether VirnetX has sufficient evidence to support its case and to reexamine each of the four patents in question with the US Patent Office.
VirnetX pulled a similar move on Microsoft earlier this year, winning $200 million in settlement from Microsoft for using its VPN-related patents in its Windows operating system and other products.

Samsung Galaxy Express to hit shelves November 16

The Samsung Galaxy Express midrange LTE-powered droid exclusive to AT&T is expected to become available for $99.99 with a two year contract starting Nov. 16.
The Samsung Galaxy Express will feature a 4.5 inch Super AMOLED Plus screen of 480 x 800 pixel resolution, dual-core 1.5 GHz processor, 5MP camera all powered by a 2000 mAh battery. It will ship with Android 4.0 ICS out of box.


If you'd like a closer look at the Samsung Galaxy Express, check out our hands-on from last month's release event in New York.
No word yet on when its (also AT&T exclusive) LTE sibling, the Galaxy Rugby Pro, will hit shelves, but we expect it to be sooner rather than later.

Samsung ATIV Tab Review (Our Rating-7/10)

Introduction:

As far as tablets go, we didn't really have that much of a variety until recently. One could either get an iPad from Apple, or go with an Android tablet that fits their budget and preferences. But now that Windows RT is here, things are seemingly bound to change. All of a sudden, we have a third platform entering the tablet race, and it is backed up by a pretty major player – Microsoft.

Today, we are reviewing one such tablet. The Samsung ATIV Tab is a 10.1-inch tablet that runs Windows RT and is meant to be an alternative to Microsoft's Surface RT. As such, it has been outfitted with some decent hardware, including a dual-core Snapdragon S4 processor paired with 2GB of RAM, a couple of cameras, the main one being of 5 megapixels, and a full-sized USB port.

But what is Windows RT exactly, you ask? Well, it looks like Windows 8 and it feels like Windows 8, but at the same time, it is quite different. RT is made for ARM-based devices, and the software available for Windows 8 or previous versions won't run on it. The only place one can get software from is Microsoft's own Marketplace, and in there, it still feels a bit lonely, with only about 10,000 apps across the entire catalog.

With that out of the way, it is time to fire up the Samsung ATIV Tab and see what it has to impress us with. First, let's take a close look at...

Best Buy corroborates $150 on-contract price for Nokia Lumia 920

We’ve already seen the PureView-laden Nokia Lumia 920 prematurely listed on Best Buy and eBay for $149.99, but while those listings have been removed, now we have an in-store picture that corroborates the $150 on-contract price for Nokia’s Windows Phone 8 flagship.

This makes the Lumia 920 $50 cheaper than most other high-end devices as Nokia is definitely trying to get you buying Windows Phone. Off contract, the device will sell for $600, which is again $50 less than the rumored $650 retail price for a rival device like the iPhone 5.

However when fared against the Samsung Galaxy S III, the Lumia 920 is around $50 more expensive.

Nokia is bringing its PureView camera technology with great low light performance, and the Lumia 920 also comes with wireless charging, but will this be enough for it to get traction? What do you think?

source: WP Central

Samsung ATIV S vs HTC Windows Phone 8X

Introduction

Microsoft has finally released the first batch of Windows Phone 8 handsets, and since we happen to be in possession of two of those, it seemed only natural to us to make a quick comparison between them. In the blue corner today we have the Samsung ATIV S, while in the red corner we have the HTC Windows Phone 8X – a smartphone that the guys from Redmond seem to be pushing really hard these days.

With both phones being almost identical to one another in terms of software, their biggest differentiating factor will now be their appearance, (screen) size, and whatever little exclusive content/apps they have managed to pack.

HTC J Review (Our Rating - 8/10)

Introduction:

The HTC J is an interesting device. But first, we have to make it clear - this is not the HTC J Butterfly, the 5-inch 1080p monster phone that you might have heard of. Rather, this is a more ordinary smartphone, but still one that can stand its ground.

With a 4.3-inch qHD screen and a dual-core Snapdragon S4, the HTC J looks much like the HTC One S. The similarity is no coincidence as the HTC J is a device targeted squarely at the Asian market with WiMAX connectivity, a feature the One S does not support. This makes it a kind of a niche product on one hand, made to please the quickly diminishing category of WiMAX users, but on the other hand it is also offered unlocked in other markets as simply a 3G phone.

With some level of water protection, larger battery and a funky red paint job among other colors, this device has plenty of reasons to exist on its own even as unlocked. Let’s see if all this actually could make it desirable for more people.

HTC Desire SV Dual SIM , Dual-core 3G Android Phone announced, coming to India first

At an regional event here in Singapore today , HTC announced a new handset the Desire SV which has been designed exclusively for markets like India.It is a Dual-core, Dual-SIM 3G Android phone running on Android 4.0 ICS and getting upgraded to JellyBean soon.Lennard Hoornik ,President ,South Asia , HTC said that Dual SIM 3G , loud audio are features Indian consumers will appreciate.

Here are the specs of the Desire SV

• 4.3 inch WVGA display
• 1 GHz Dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon
• 768MB RAM
• 8Megapixel camera
• Bluetooth 4.0
• WiFi b/g/n
• Dual SIM with 3G support
• 2xmicroSIM card slots
• microSD card slot.
• Android 4.0.4 with HTC Sense 4.1

HTC  is launching this device exclusively india and is specially been designed with the Indian consumer in mind.Both the SIM card slots use a microSIM card.Pricing has not been announced yet but is expected to be Rs.25000 approximately.
Although the Desire SV is affordable , it does not feel cheap and still has the premium HTC  hardware feel to it. Check out our hands on photos and video later in the day.