Samsung Slips Passed Apple on 4G

The war between Apple and Samsung over design and technology patents has cast Samsung as the underling, while Apple is painted as pushing at the edges of innovation. Ahh what a short sighted world we live in, I’d argue with such commentary, going so far as to say that most commentators have things wrong, very wrong.

While Samsung may have a little eggroll on it’s face over claims of plagiarism, the Korean consumer electronics behemoth is definitely no slouch on the technology front, winning the much more important war on patent innovations, particularly when it comes to 4G and it’s application in the mobile device wars.

4G isn’t so much a new technology but  a better use of existing technologies, Samsung has been working on 4G since 2005 and has pretty much perfected it’s use in mobile devices. The higher and more responsive – up to 10 x 3G – bandwidth of 4G is well suited to tablets and smartphones.

In Australia, Telstra has the largest geographic coverage in 4G and has been upgrading mobile cell towers to 4G since 2010, with a consumer roll-out from late in 2011. The benefits of running mobile devices on 4G are real, the simultaneous speed is pretty outstanding :: Read the full article »»»»

UPDATED! Apple vs Samsung vs Apple vs Samsung

Just hours apart, in two separate courtrooms – one in the USA and another in South Korea – two absolutely opposing views on the war that is Apple vs Samsung – or should that be Samsung vs Apple? – have been handed down.

A South Korean court has handed down a split ruling over Samsungs claim that Apple infringed it’s intellectual property, ruling that some element of the iPhone do indeed use patented Samsung telecommunication technology. The court also ruled however that Samsung had – as Apple has been ranting – copy Apples interface for it’s early Galaxy phones and tabs.

The South Korean court found that both companies shared blame, ordering Samsung to stop selling 10 products including its Galaxy S II phone and banning Apple from selling four different products, including its iPhone 4.

Meanwhile across the pacific in San Jose, California, a US jury has found in favour of Apple in a case that was expected to take years to settle, Apples copycat rant has just landed it a $US1 billion dollar win! However, the US ruling runs much deeper than just a huge compensation payout, BILLIONS of dollars in future sales hang in the balance for both tech-behemoths :: Read the full article »»»»

Google Fined $US22.5 Million For Apple Privacy Breach

That behemoth that is Google has been fined $US22.5 million for violating the privacy of millions of Apple Safari browser users. Last October Google signed an agreement that included a pledge not to mislead consumers about privacy practices, oops.

In fining the behemoth the FTC - US Federal Trade Commission - said that Google had broken an agreement made with the commission in October 2011, Google had agreed not to place tracking cookies on or deliver targeted ads to Apple Safari users, but then went ahead and did so. The fine is the biggest imposed by the FTC against a company for violating a previous agreement with the Commission.

In a statemnet the FTC said that Google has agreed to pay the record $22.5 million civil penalty to settle Federal Trade Commission charges.

“The record setting penalty in this matter sends a clear message to all companies under an FTC privacy order,” said Jon Leibowitz, Chairman of the FTC. “No matter how big or small, all companies must abide by FTC orders against them and keep their privacy promises to consumers, or they will end up paying many times what it would have cost to comply in the first place.”  :: Read the full article »»»»

Google Fined $US22.5 Million For Apple Privacy Breach

That behemoth that is Google has been fined $US22.5 million for violating the privacy of millions of Apple Safari browser users. Last October Google signed an agreement that included a pledge not to mislead consumers about privacy practices, oops.

In fining the behemoth the FTC - US Federal Trade Commission - said that Google had broken an agreement made with the commission in October 2011, Google had agreed not to place tracking cookies on or deliver targeted ads to Apple Safari users, but then went ahead and did so. The fine is the biggest imposed by the FTC against a company for violating a previous agreement with the Commission.

In a statemnet the FTC said that Google has agreed to pay the record $22.5 million civil penalty to settle Federal Trade Commission charges.

“The record setting penalty in this matter sends a clear message to all companies under an FTC privacy order,” said Jon Leibowitz, Chairman of the FTC. “No matter how big or small, all companies must abide by FTC orders against them and keep their privacy promises to consumers, or they will end up paying many times what it would have cost to comply in the first place.”  :: Read the full article »»»»

STANDOUT! Apple FORCED To Offer iPAD Refunds 4G Non Compatibility

Our favourite tech behemoth Apple is once again in an übergadget pickle.  The beheomoth has been forced to offer a refund to people who bought its new iPAD, which it admits is not compatible with Australia’s Telstra 4G network. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission – ACCC – has taken legal action against Apple for what it claims are misleading statements over its new iPad.

Lawyers for the ACCC have accused Apple of breaching consumer law by promoting the device as being able to connect to high-speed 4G mobile networks using a sim card. The Australian Federal Court heard that Apple ignored warnings from the ACCC and was told the day before the iPad’s launch that it was misleading consumers. Read the full article »»»»

STANDOUT! Apple FORCED To Offer iPAD Refunds 4G Non Compatibility

Our favourite tech behemoth Apple is once again in an übergadget pickle.  The beheomoth has been forced to offer a refund to people who bought its new iPAD, which it admits is not compatible with Australia’s Telstra 4G network. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission – ACCC – has taken legal action against Apple for what it claims are misleading statements over its new iPad.

Lawyers for the ACCC have accused Apple of breaching consumer law by promoting the device as being able to connect to high-speed 4G mobile networks using a sim card. The Australian Federal Court heard that Apple ignored warnings from the ACCC and was told the day before the iPad’s launch that it was misleading consumers. Read the full article »»»»