THX sues Apple over iMac, iPhone and iPad narrow profile speaker design

Alex Allegro

Images from Patent no. 7433483

Apple has found itself on the wrong side of another patent lawsuit. Lucasfilm-owned THX sued Apple yesterday over a claimed infringed patent relating to the speaker designs found on the new iMacs, iPhones, and iPads.

url-1

Patent no. 7433483, filed in 2008 by THX, protects “narrow profile sound systems” that shoot sound out a “narrow sound duct.” The exact patent description reads as follows:

A narrow profile speaker unit comprises at least one speaker outputting sound towards an internal surface and through a duct with an output terminus, such as a slot, having a narrow dimension, effectively changing the cross-section of the speaker’s audio output wave. A pair of speakers may face one another, outputting sound towards a common output slot. Multiple pairs of speakers may be used to form an inline speaker unit for increased sound output. A slotted speaker unit may include multiple speakers facing the same direction, towards a groundplane or reflecting surface, and having parallel apertures for allowing sound radiation. The speaker units may be integral with or attached to electronic appliances such as desktop computers or flatscreen devices, or may be used in automobiles or other contexts.

THX was founded in 1983 as a division of Lucasfilm and was re-booted in 2001 as an independent company. Apple and THX have never had friction in the past, and, just two months ago, THX released ‘THX tune-up’. It’s an app that allows you to adjust your “TV, projector and speakers” all from your iPhone or iPad.

Read more

Samsung goes theatrical, launches Galaxy S4 with 5-inch 1080P, 441ppi display

Jordan Kahn


Samsung-Galaxy-S4-vs-iPhone-5

Following Apple’s Phil Schiller’s comments on the eve of the Galaxy S4 launch yesterday, Samsung has now finally unveiled the device at its launch event live in New York. While Schiller was quick to point out that the S4 was rumored to ship with an OS that’s almost a year old, Samsung announced today the S4 would launch with the latest Android 4.2.2 at the end of April on 327 carriers in 155 countries.

The device certainly sports some impressive specs (most of which were already rumored or confirmed in leaks), including a 5-inch Super AMOLED 1,920-by-1,080 display with 441 ppi. The S4 isn’t as thin as the iPhone 5 at 7.9MM thick, but it includes some other enticing specs compared to Apple’s latest offering, such as: a 13 megapixel camera, 2GB of RAM, and up to 64GB onboard storage. WSJ compared the two devices specs for spec here. Samsung put on quite a Broadway-style, theatrical presentation, and you can get the blow-by-blow and photos from the event on 9to5Google here.

Yesterday, Apple Worldwide Marketing SVP Schiller gave interviews to several media outlets and pointed to issues with the Android platform. As DaringFireball called an “unforced error,” Schiller said that the Galaxy S4 would contain an old OS:

“And that extends to the news we are hearing this week that the Samsung Galaxy S4 is being rumored to ship with an OS that is nearly a year old,” he said. “Customers will have to wait to get an update.”

and

“When you take an Android device out of the box, you have to sign up to nine accounts with different vendors to get the experience iOS comes with,” he said. “They don’t work seamlessly together.”

As noted above, the S4 will come out with Android 2.2.2 (though it is unlikely it will be upgraded to the next OS as it is introduced in May).

Samsung also announced a number of new camera features, the addition of new sensors including temperature and humidity sensors, and new software features exclusive to the S4. Get all the details on 9to5Google.com Read more

Apple’s Schiller takes more jabs at Android ahead of Samsung Galaxy S4 event: ’4x as many iPhone switchers’

Seth Weintraub

phil-schiller

Just last week, Apple Worldwide Marketing SVP Phil Schiller was tweeting a warning out to Android users to be safe in light of a recent F-Secure report which said the overwhelming amount of  mobile malware floating around was on Android.

Today, the WSJ reports that Schiller has more tough words for the Android platform (which today saw a change in leadership). Beyond the 4X switching rate to iPhone vs to Android, he also said that Android users are often running old operating systems and that the fragmentation in the Android world was “plain and simple.”

He added that “Android is often given a free replacement for a feature phone and the experience isn’t as good as an iPhone.”

Mr. Schiller said the Android service suffers in part because different elements come from multiple companies, where Apple is responsible for all its mobile hardware and as well as its iOS operating system.

“When you take an Android device out of the box, you have to sign up to nine accounts with different vendors to get the experience iOS comes with,” he said. “They don’t work seamlessly together.”

Interesting words from Schiller ahead of the Galaxy S4 launch. On one hand the timing makes Apple seem defensive as the WSJ notes. On the other, most of these stats, while widely known for the most part, are indicative of Apple success.

Schiller gave the same ‘interview’ to Bloomberg:

The Galaxy S4 launch is tomorrow and will be covered on 9to5Google. Read more

Google Now for iOS promo video leaks to YouTube

Alex Allegro

Google Now, the prediction software that debuted on Android’s Ice Cream Sandwich last year, may be crossing over to iOS in the very near future. A promotional video posted on YouTube today—but was pulled minutes later—showed Google Now on the iPhone and iPad.

A tipster for Engadget recorded the video and re-uploaded it online, which is now available above. The speaker in the video seems to be the same female voice found in the original Google Now promotional video from last year (below). Unless this is a very elaborate hoax, it would seem that a Google Now update is in store for Google Search app.

Perhaps the delay in going live is due to App Store approval.

We’ll update when/if the app update to the Google Search app goes live.

Read more

Verizon CFO talks iPhone: Free iPhone gains, incentivizing employees to sell lower subsidy devices & Share Everything plans

Jordan Kahn

verizon-iphoneVerizon CFO Fran Shammo spoke at the Duetsche Bank Annual Media, Internet & Telecom conference this morning, where he was asked a few questions related to the iPhone. Verizon reported its fourth quarter 2012 earnings last month with 9.8 million smartphone activations—a record 6.2 million of which were iPhone. We knew about half, or 3.1 million, of those iPhone sales were driven by the first full quarter with the iPhone 5, but today Shammo talked about just how important getting the free iPhone 4 was during the quarter:

But this past fourth quarter you had a couple — you had really one thing happen that never happened before, especially with Verizon Wireless, and that was for the first time ever, because of the iPhone 5 launch, we had the 4 at free. So it was the first time ever you could get a free iPhone on the

Verizon Wireless network. So that produced a lot of volume for us. We had a lot of new customers come into Verizon who took that free phone, and that was great for us because again if you think about — we sold a lot of LTE product in the fourth quarter. We sold a lot of 3G product from the iPhone products in the fourth quarter.

But that is key for us, because if you think about our two networks it is important for me as I migrate people into the 4G network I still have this very large 3G network that operates very efficiently. We are not investing any more capital in that network other than to keep it up and running, so no more coverage capital, no more capacity capital. If I can keep that network up and running that just generates more contribution margins for us. So it is critical for us to balance that. But, again, I think you had one point in time where you had a free phone, a free Apple phone that never happened before with us and that generated a lot of volume.

While noting that 53 percent of the carrier’s smartphone activations were iPhones in 2012, Shammo was asked about the opportunity to incentivize employees to sell non-Apple devices that would also come with lower subsidies for Verizon:

The answer is, no, we don’t and it is critical that we don’t do that. The reason for that is because what is more important for us is when a customer walks into a store that customer walks out with a phone that they will be happy with and not return under our 30-day guarantee. Because the worst thing that can happen for us is for me to incentivise a salesperson to get you into a phone that you walk out the door with thinking you are going to like and in three days you come back because you don’t like it. Therefore, now I’ve just subsidized two smartphones because that phone you used I can’t resell as a new phone.

You can read more from Shammo’s presentation and where he discusses the growth of Share Everything plans, tablets, and more here.

White House agrees with consumers that criminal penalties shouldn’t be levied for unlocking phones

Jordan Kahn
Unlock your phones at Chronicunlocks.com

iphone-5-itunes-unlock-1Following a petition on whitehouse.gov that urges the Library of Congress to change its decision on making unlocking cellphones illegal, the White House has issued an official response agreeing with the over 110,000 people who have signed the petition (via AllThingsD). White House Senior Advisor for Internet, Innovation, and Privacy R. David Edelman issued the official response, admitting the White House agrees “consumers should be able to unlock their cell phones without risking criminal or other penalties.”

He said the policy should also extend to tablets, while devices still under contract should be allowed to function on other networks:

And if you have paid for your mobile device, and aren’t bound by a service agreement or other obligation, you should be able to use it on another network. It’s common sense, crucial for protecting consumer choice, and important for ensuring we continue to have the vibrant, competitive wireless market that delivers innovative products and solid service to meet consumers’ needs.

The decision was made by the Library of Congress in October to make unlocking cellphones illegal, and that policy officially took effect in January. The Library of Congress issued a statement today in response to the White House, stating it agrees that “the question of locked cell phones has implications for telecommunications policy and that it would benefit from review and resolution in that context.”

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski also published a statement following the White House’s response to consumers today, explaining the FCC is investigating the decision by the Library of Congress to make unlocking illegal. He added that it didn’t “pass the common sense test.”

“From a communications policy perspective, this raises serious competition and innovation concerns, and for wireless consumers, it doesn’t pass the common sense test. The FCC is examining this issue, looking into whether the agency, wireless providers, or others should take action to preserve consumers’ ability to unlock their mobile phones. I also encourage Congress to take a close look and consider a legislative solution.”

Edelman said the Obama Administration will work with the FCC and others to implement legislative fixes that prevent consumers from risking criminal penalties related to unlocking: Read more