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Samsung, Apple, Lawsuits, and Consumer Fatigue

samsung appleBy now you’ve probably seen that a Californian Jury has handed down their decision in the most recent legal saga between Samsung and Apple. Who was the big winner?

Nobody.

Neither side really came out ahead. Sure Apple was awarded more money, but both sides walk away with a mere fraction of what they wanted. Apple claimed Samsung infringed on five patents covering covering functions such as slide-to-lock, universal searching, quick linking, automatic word correction and background syncing. They were asking for $2.2 Billion, and the jury awarded them $120 Million. Samsung claimed Apple had infringed two of its camera patents, one related to video compression and transmission, and asked for $6 Million. It was awarded $150,000. Continue reading “Samsung, Apple, Lawsuits, and Consumer Fatigue”

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Galaxy S5 vs One M8 Camera Showdown Part 2: Real World Video Tests!

In our first part, comparing still photos, the Galaxy S5’s larger sensor showed a clear advantage in offering up a shallower depth of field for more photographic output.

Now we’re going to compare video performance in a series of real world tests. Brightly lit outdoor scenes, low light, tracking movement, and image stabilization. Will the M8 be able to eke out a victory here?

Galaxy S5 Video Tests

HTC One M8 Video Tests

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Microsoft giving away Windows Phones over the weekend at Microsoft Stores

ms windows phone contestPosted to their Facebook page today, Microsoft will be giving away eight Windows Phones at each of their stores this May 3rd and 4th.

Details are a bit slim, but if you’re looking to score a free phone, it looks like you’ll be playing a game. We know it’s called the “Opportunity Rings, Answer It” game, but we don’t know how it’ll be played. We also don’t know what phones will be given away, and what carriers will be supported.

Still a free phone is a free phone, and if you live near a Microsoft store it might be worth the trek. A little additional info can be found on their Facebook event page. Good luck!

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Buy Your Mom a Moto X for only $299 this Mother’s Day (Sale Today Only)

moto x mothers day saleShe’s your MOM! The least you could do is get her a nice smartphone. Thankfully there’s a sale happening today on the Moto X, and you can score a 16GB model for only $299. The 32GB will run you an additional $25. You can even customize the phone’s colors to match the beautiful flowers you’re sending her for Mother’s Day.

The sale runs today through 11:59PM EDT, so get cracking! And maybe give her a call occasionally. It’s not like she gave you life and then raised you or anything. Geez…

Moto X sale on Moto Maker.

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Russia Tries to Trash Talk NASA, Gets Slapped By Elon Musk

Elon_Musk_-_The_Summit_2013Aw social media. The great equalizer. Giving people who should know better the tools to publicly embarrass themselves.

Take this little gem of an exchange. Dmitry Rogozin, the Russian Deputy of Military and Space, was apparently unhappy about the recent sanctions imposed, and had this to say on Twitter:

Analyzing sanctions against our kosmoproma, suggest the U.S. to take its astronauts to the ISS using the trampoline

Ouch. Gonna need some ice for that burn, but who should come to our rescue? Why none other than Mr. Tesla McSpaceX himself Elon Musk! His reply:

Sounds like this might be a good time to unveil the new Dragon Mk 2 spaceship that @SpaceX has been working on w @NASA. No trampoline needed.

It’d be great if Russia could once again play the bad guys to motivate us into spending more on our space agency again. I mean, without all that actual pesky cold war nonsense of course. In the meantime, we’ll just keep pointing to Mr. Musk as our own real life Tony Stark.

 

 

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Will Google and Netflix Publicly Campaign Against the FCC’s “Fast Lane” Rules?

Google_logoFCC Chairman Tom Wheeler announced a proposal to institute new rules which would effectively wreck Net Neutrality by allowing carriers and ISP’s to charge companies arbitrary rates on their bandwidth usage. The proposal will be voted on May 15th, and has proven fairly unpopular in tech media coverage.

What’s been curious is the silence coming from various online entities like Google. Netflix has started making some noise on its blog, especially its recent deal with Comcast in which they agreed to pay the ISP more to prevent further de facto degradation of their service to customers. The silence might end soon however.

Reported on by The Wallstreet Journal, Google might be wading into the fight soon, as they would also stand to lose some significant fights if each of their services like Youtube and GMail had to negotiate individual rates with each carrier.

If they are going to start making some noise, they only have two weeks before the rules go to a vote.

Related:

Net Neutrality and Contacting the FCC (before May 15th)

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Net Neutrality and Contacting the FCC (Before May 15th)

FCCThe FCC will be voting on May 15th to approve new rules which will essentially wreck the fair and neutral internet we all enjoy. We’ve detailed the proposal in another post, but the long and short of it is ISP’s are already allowed to degrade services as they see fit. If these new rules go into effect, ISP’s will be allowed to charge different rates to every online service. Those new added costs will likely be passed on to consumers, or might create a barrier too high for start ups to consider paying, ultimately punishing any service which becomes more popular than a carrier would like.

The announcement has sparked off a pretty visceral reaction from advocacy groups and the tech-ier folks out there. Enough noise has been made for the FCC to request comments be sent to a special email address set up specifically for this discussion: openinternet@fcc.gov.

Now the cynic in me would be afraid that email is essentially the digital equivalent of a “rectangular filing cabinet” (or rubbish bin) to keep all these complaints from filling up the important inboxes. In hedging our bets on messages actually making an impact, at least by sheer quantity, you can also reach out to the individual commissioners on the FCC by going to http://www.fcc.gov/contact-us. There you’ll also find an email for Chairman Tom Wheeler who proposed these new rules.

But maybe that’s not enough.  Continue reading “Net Neutrality and Contacting the FCC (Before May 15th)”

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The Samsung Galaxy K Zoom Camera/Phone Hybrid is Official

Galaxy K zoom_Charcoal Black_10The Zoom series is alive and well.

Announced last night, Samsung took the wraps off their follow up the Galaxy S4 Zoom. Dubbed the Galaxy K Zoom, Samsung has aggressively updated the build for their camera focused, zoom lens phone.

On tap is a 20.7MP 1/2.3″ BSI sensor tied to a 10X zoom lens (24-240mm) with optical image stabilization. The focus is a little tilted to the camera side of the equation, as the rest of the phone specs are somewhat mid-range. Continue reading “The Samsung Galaxy K Zoom Camera/Phone Hybrid is Official”

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