NVIDIA on Thursday announced that its Icera 410 LTE multi-mode data modem for tablets and clam shell devices has been validated for use on AT&T’s 4G LTE network. “Validation with AT&T is an achievement that paves the way for NVIDIA Icera-powered LTE devices on the AT&T network through this year and next,” said Stan Boland, senior vice president of Mobile Communications at NVIDIA. The Icera 410 LTE modem offers 4G LTE connectivity of up to 50Mbps alongside HSPA+, 3G and 2G connectivity. NVIDIA’s modem is the company’s latest step toward bringing LTE and Tegra 3 compatibility to smartphones. So far, manufacturers have been forced to scrap NVIDIA’s quad-core processor in devices bound for LTE networks in the U.S. Read on

A German regional court on Thursday issued an injunction against newly-acquired Motorola Mobility for infringing one of Microsoft’s patents, according to FOSS Patents. The manufacturer is banned from selling its Android-powered devices that infringe Microsoft’s EP1304891 patent, which covers “communicating multi-part messages between cellular devices using a standardized interface.” The sales ban, for the time being, is subject to additional confirmation. If confirmed however, it is enforceable with a bond of $31.4 million. Patent expert Florian Mueller notes that since the patent covers “operating system-level functionality, the modifications ‘Googlorola’ would have to make to Android to work around this ruling would lead to significant complications.” Furthermore, apps that make use of Android’s messaging layer will apparently have to be completely

We realize there's only so much time one can spend in a day watching new trailers, viral video clips, and shaky cell phone footage of people arguing on live television. This is why every day The Atlantic Wire highlights the videos that truly earn your five minutes (or less) of attention. Today: Famous fictional mafiosos explain private equity, another look at day one of the Romney presidency, and the filming locations of Hoosiers, revisited.

Google on Thursday announced an update to its Google Play Store that allows Android users to make in-app subscriptions. The update comes more than year after the Mountain View-based company introduced in-app billing in what was then called the Android Market. “Since the launch, In-app Billing has been extremely successful in helping developers monetize their apps through try-and-buy, virtual goods, upgrades, and other popular business models,” Google said on its developer blog. “Today, 23 of the 24 top-grossing apps in Google Play use In-app Billing, and the total revenue generated from in-app purchases exceeds revenue from traditional app purchases.” In-app subscriptions will allow developers to sell monthly or annual subscriptions from within their apps. “Developers just set the price and

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - World No.2 telecoms equipment maker Huawei has called for EU antitrust regulators to intervene in a dispute with InterDigital, saying the U.S.-based firm is demanding "exploitative" fees for use of its 3G mobile phone patents. Huawei filed a complaint with the European Commission on Wednesday, after failing to reach a deal with the wireless technology patent holder, making it the latest company to take a patent grievance to the EU watchdog. "Huawei ... ...

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - A German regional court ruled in a hearing on Thursday that Motorola Mobility infringed Microsoft patents by offering the option on its mobile phones to send a longer text in a batch of several messages. "We're pleased the court agreed today that Motorola has infringed Microsoft's intellectual property, and we hope Motorola will be willing to join other Android device makers by taking a license to our patents," Microsoft said in a statement, referring to Google's Android operating system for mobile phones. ...

BGR called for the death of the “phablet” this past February when we reviewed Samsung’s mammoth Galaxy Note, but the market has spoken loud and clear. End-user sales of Samsung’s first true smartphone-tablet hybrid topped 5 million units within about five months, placing Samsung well on its way to achieving the company’s goal of selling 10 million units in 2012. According to a new report from market research firm ABI, Samsung’s Galaxy Note is just the beginning. Shipments of smartphone-tablet hybrids like the Samsung Galaxy Note and LG Optimus Vu will surpass 208 million handsets annually in 2015 according to a recent report published by ABI Research. We now sit at “the dawn of the phablet era” according to the

Bump, an app for Android phones and the iPhone, has made it very easy for people to transfer photos or money from one phone to another. It’s now set its sights on transfers from a phone to a computer. Today the company is announcing an...

Google’s Android operating system and Apple’s iOS platform showed big market share gains in the first quarter of 2012 as Symbian and BlackBerry shipments plummeted. Market research firm IDC on Thursday published its global smartphone market share report for the first quarter of this year, and Google’s Android was far and away the biggest winner in terms of year-on-year shipment gains. According to IDC’s study, Android shipments during the quarter totalled 89.9 million units, up a staggering 145% from 36.7 million in the first quarter of 2011. iPhone shipments were up 88.7% over the first quarter last year to 35.1 million units, giving Apple 23% of the smartphone market in the first quarter compared to Google’s 59% share. “The popularity

Taiwanese tycoon Tsai Eng-meng topped the island's richest list for the first time boosted by his booming China-based business, Forbes magazine said.

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Google Inc's Android mobile platform has not infringed Oracle Corp's patents, a California jury decided, putting an indefinite hold on Oracle's quest for damages in a fight between the two Silicon Valley giants over smartphone technology. In a case that examined whether computer language that connects programs and operating systems can be copyrighted, Oracle claimed Google's Android tramples on its intellectual property rights to the Java programming language. ...

NVIDIA CEO Jen-Hsun Huang previously mentioned that more Tegra 3-powered tablets would be coming to the market this summer, starting at the low price of $199. At the company’s annual shareholders’ meeting last week, vice president Rob Csonger revealed Kai, a plan to democratize its quad-core Tegra 3 system-on-a-chip. NVIDIA is looking to offer tablets that are more powerful than Amazon’s Kindle Fire, but that will be offered at the same low price point. “Our strategy on Android is simply to enable quad-core tablets running Android Ice Cream Sandwich to be developed and brought out to market at the $199 price point, and the way we do that is a platform we’ve developed called Kai,” he said. “So this uses

TORONTO (Reuters) - The head of global sales at Research In Motion Ltd has resigned to take on a leadership role in another industry, the BlackBerry maker said on Wednesday, a major blow ahead of make-or-break product launches due later this year. Patrick Spence was a 14-year RIM veteran widely considered a rising star. A spokeswoman for RIM said Spence's last day with the company will be June 15. Spence was promoted to the global sales role in July after serving as managing director for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. ...

Samsung’s Galaxy S III hasn’t even launched yet and it’s already setting records. News of the high demand among carriers for the upcoming flagship Samsung smartphone emerged last week, and now U.K. carrier Vodafone has confirmed that it has received a record number of end-user preorders for the Galaxy S III ahead of its launch later this month. A Vodafone spokesperson wouldn’t confirm numbers while speaking with The Inquirer, but the company did say preorders of Samsung’s latest Galaxy phone have been off the charts. “With over a week to go until launch, it’s already the most pre-ordered Android device we’ve brought into our smartphone line-up to date and our limited time offer of 2GB of mobile data and 100

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Google Inc's Android mobile platform has not infringed Oracle Corp's patents, a California jury decided, putting an indefinite hold on Oracle's quest for damages in a legal fight between the two Silicon Valley giants over smartphone technology. The verdict was delivered on Wednesday in a San Francisco federal court. The same jury could not unanimously agree on the copyright allegations earlier in the case, though the jury foreman told reporters on Wednesday that the final vote on a key copyright issue heavily favored Google. ...

In the widely publicized patent infringement case between Google and Oracle, a San Francisco jury on Wednesday found that Google’s Android operating system does not infringe Oracle’s patents. Jurors have been dismissed and Judge William Aslup of the U.S. District court of Northern California exonerated the Internet giant of any wrong doing. The verdict marks the end of the trial’s second phase, which focused on patent infringement claims. Google earlier this month was found to have infringed Oracle’s copyrights, however, and the proceedings are set to resume on Tuesday morning. [Via The Verge] Read

The jury has handed Google a major win in its case with Oracle over whether the search giant violated patents by using some of Oracle's code for its Android apps, The Next Web reports.

Google has focused a great deal of effort over the years on making its Android operating system more attractive. Android partners’ first attempts at tablets were lackluster to say the least, and while Honeycomb and Ice Cream Sandwich have revamped the user interface, they still leave much to be desired for many users. Luckily, Android users have the option of completely customizing their devices with various home screen replacement apps, and a nearly endless number of custom ROMs. These alternatives cannot compete with Chameleon, however, an Android home screen replacement app like no other. Chameleon replaces the standard Android home screens and app launcher with a custom layout of widgets and apps that deliver users a wide range of information. The

BGR has learned from a reliable source that Microsoft is currently planning to release the company’s full Office suite for not only Apple’s iPad, but for Android tablets as well. The company is targeting November of this year for both launches. Additionally, our source has seen Microsoft Office running on an iPad first-hand and has said that it looks almost identical to the previous leak from The Daily a few months back, despite the fact that Microsoft flat out denied that the app was authentic. It is also plausible that Microsoft Office will be coming to the iPhone and iPod touch rather than only the iPad, as we’re told the loading screen in the app clearly said “Office for iOS” and

High-tech product releases announced the week ending May 23 include a compact Android PC priced at just $49, Sony’s NEX-F3 mirrorless camera, a DSLR camera built for adventurers, a waterproof smartphone with FeliCa, and a 4G mobile hotspot that’s built to travel.

Verizon Wireless on Monday confirmed that the DROID RAZR, RAZR MAXX, HTC Rezound, and DROID 4 will receive global roaming capabilities later this summer, enabling the handsets to access voice and data services in more than 200 countries, Droid-Life reported. “Customers will see a notification on their device when the software update is available for their device,” a Verizon spokesperson said. “After the software update, customers will be able to take their smartphone overseas and use voice service in more than 220 countries and receive data in more than 205 countries.” While the carrier didn’t give a specific timeline, there is a possibility the update may be included with the smartphone’s upcoming Ice Cream Sandwich updates, which are also slated for

OmniVision on Tuesday announced the OV16820 and OV16825 smartphone camera chips. The two sensors support up to 16-megapixels and can capture video at a 4k resolution, known as Quad Full High Definition (QFHD), at 60 frames per second. “It was an industry-wide assumption that smartphones would cut into DSC/DVC sales; but at higher resolutions, we’re seeing a very distinct divide between the two markets and both remain strong,” said Devang Patel, senior product marketing manager at OmniVision. “Industry experts have observed that mainstream DSC products are shifting to 16-megapixel resolutions and are offering improved image quality and optics. The OV16820 supports such offerings, allowing DSC/DVC manufacturers to provide consumers a high-resolution, feature-rich point and shoot photography experience, while the OV16825