Samsung welcomes you the future of mobile displays Samsung Flexible AMOLED

This Samsung Flexible AMOLED looks like Star Trek the Next Generation equipment. It is very futuristic and functional.

Apple to ditch Samsung memory for new vendors

As Apple and Samsung continue to battle over patents and product design, Samsung seems to be positioned to take the biggest hit.  Seems Apple has open it’s wallet to other people and intend to shut it for Samsung. Samsung has already had its tablet blocked in multiple regions and Apple is digging deeper. Apple was expected to make roughly $7.8 billion in component purchases from Samsung in 2011. That may not be the case any more. That relationship is now in jeopardy.  DigiTimes on Thursday reported that Apple is looking  in other places for mobile memory chips as well.

Apple has secured two new suppliers for its DRAM and NAND flash chips. Japan-based Toshiba and Elpida Memory have received increased orders.  Toshiba will supply Apple with NAND flash chips while Elpida will supply mobile RAM.  It is unknown if Samsung who is the world’s leading supplier of both NAND flash memory and DRAM chips will keep any of Apple’s mobile memory business.

Apple leaves Samsung goes to TSMC for screens

Who didnt see this coming? Apple leaves Samsung goes to TSMC for screens of its next gen iPhones. Its too late for iPhone 5 but iPhone 6 will be done by someone else. Apple may have just hit Samsung where it hurts as the two companies continue their ongoing legal battles over patents. Apple is the largest buyer of Samsung components. This turn of events will hurt Samsung but not anytime soon. Samsung owns numerous patents surrounding the chip’s design, including a patent that covers the processor’s the system design and memory packaging.  Apple still needs Samsung and Samsung still needs Apple.

Samsung will not however build its next-generation A6 processor, Reuters reports. Instead TSMC has been contracted to build the chip. This is big loss for Samsung but I am thinking they are going to somehow use what they have learned in R&D of the chip in their own Galexy line of devices.  TSMC on the other hand is the world’s largest contract microchip manufacturer. Rumor has it that they have already started test production of Apple’s A6 processor. As of now the A5 chip is expected to be included in Apple’s iPhone 5.

This is getting ridiculous: Apple files patent complaint against HTC.

I am starting to think that Apple is running out of ideas. First it was the iPad 2 which was more like the iPad 1.5 since there was little change. Then came the Apple Cloud which at its base is not really a streaming service. It more like Google and Amazon’s music locker service. It is not streaming like Pandora or the soon to invade US shores Spotify. Apple also tried to unsuccessfully sue Amazon over the word AppStore. Apple is also battling Samsung over patents.

I love Apple because they were the innovative company. They didn’t try to sue everyone like other technology giants. It just kept making better products than the competition. Today when it filed a new patent complaint with the International Trade Commission it made it clear that Apple is more about protecting than inventing at this point.

Why would you try to block the sale of HTC devices. They have their own well designed skin that in some cases is better than Android and iOS. The claim it infringes on some patents on the surface seems like a reach at best. Although I disagree with the lawsuit; Samsung Galaxy line of phones mimic iDevices more than anything. HTC has nothing to fear other than a waste of time if a judge entertains this complaint as valid.

I just heard Samsung say “How is that fair?”

 

Seems that a judge in the U.S. District Court in the Northern District of California has ruled that Samsung cannot view Apple’s next-generation of products. Apple began said that Samsung was a copycat. It asked Samsung to show it’s next-generation devices in court. The courts forced Samsung to show Apple the Galaxy S II, Galaxy Tab 8.9, Galaxy Tab 10.1, Infuse 4G, and DROID Charge. So Samsung assumed that it too would be able to do the same thing. They asked to see Apple’s next generation of products. The judge said no and his reasoning is that Samsung had already showed off its products to members of the press and others. So it was no big deal but Apple one that never shows off its tech until its ready to hit stores. You can see how that is true. Maybe next time Samsung.

Here comes the Chromebooks: 1st up is Samsung

Google unveiled the first notebooks running Chrome OS. The first one is from Samsung. Most people have been calling them “Chromebooks”. The first two partners producing them will be Samsung and Acer.  As one of the first people to play with the CR-48 I can say first hand that it is not enough for long use. But never the less Google is forging ahead anyway.

The Samsung Series 5 machine has a 12.1-inch display, Atom dual-core processor and a 8.5 hour battery. You can get it with just Wi-Fi or get one with 3G. You can get it at Best Buy and Amazon at a cost of $429 for Wi-Fi-only and $499 for 3G.

There is an Acer Chromebook as well but it’s only at Amazon. The Acer has an 11.6-inch HD widescreen display, Atom dual-core processor and 6 hour battery. It too comes in two versions. Wi-Fi only or 3G. The Wi-Fi only cost $349. There is no word yet on the 3G version.

Business as well as schools will be able to rent the Chromebooks. Businesses will pay $28 per month for Wi-Fi and $31 per month for 3G. The educational institutions will pay $20/$23. Both will come with a dedicated help-desk and maintenance plan, and the 3G systems will get 100MB of data included.

Try as you may not everything can be done in the cloud. Sometimes you need a real program or at least an app. So a pairing of Android and Chrome would be a great. Just a thought Google. Just a thought.

Apple asks judge to dismiss iTunes monopoly lawsuit but sues Samsung over Galaxy line. Says too similar to iPhone

Apple lawsuit news seems to be the big thing going on right now. First Apple sues Samsung for infringing on the iPhone and iPad’s look and feel. Then with a straight asked a judge to dismiss a lawsuit that claims iTunes is a monopoly. The lawsuit comes from 2004 when Apple blocked RealNetwork’s Harmony software. A judge ordered that Steve Jobs must submit to deposition in the lawsuit. Jobs gave his disposition on April 12, and now Apple is asking that the entire case be thrown out of court.

Back to the Samsung suit; Apple is claiming that the Galaxy S 4G, Epic 4G, Nexus S and Galaxy Tab too closely imitates the look and feel of the iPhone and iOS. Apple’s lawyer said “Rather than innovate and develop its own technology and a unique Samsung style for its smart phone products and computer tablets, Samsung chose to copy Apple’s technology, user interface and innovative style in these infringing products.” So basically they are saying that but Samsung copied the look and feel of both iOS and iPhone and iPad hardware. Now Apple could demand all devices be removed from the market if they win the suit.

Funny thing is Samsung currently supplies Apple with large quantities of flash memory, LCD displays and the A4 and A5 chips found in iPhone 4s and iPads. Given that Samsung has had lots of time with the product they may have had an unfair advantage on design. Nevertheless competition is good for the market.

The Pelican array camera vs. Samsung S5K3L1 camera

California startup Pelican Imaging wants to put slimmer, higher-quality cameras into cellphones with its new camera-array technology. Instead of using a single lens and sensor, the camera uses an array of smaller modules and uses computation to combine them into a single image. The resulting hardware is thin, but that is probably the least interesting thing about it.

The Pelican array uses “light-field photography”, and aside from just stitching small pictures into a big one, it does some things a regular camera can’t. For instance, you can diddle with the picture after it is taken, blurring a background, say. And in principle at least, you could use a kind of 3D “healing brush” to paint out distractions behind and in front of your subject.

Pelican’s camera also promises to give high resolution images with low-noise results in low-light situations, and could enable gesture-controls on tablets.

The tech is being sold into the industry, not to consumers, so we’ll keep our fingers crossed that Apple will buy this and use it to replace the crappy camera in its skinny iPod Touch.

But Samsung has their own camera too.

What the world needs now is more pixels up in your phone, and Samsung has a selection of new offerings that offer  just that for stills and vids. It’s released details on two new sensors, one,
the S5K3H2, clocking in at eight megapixels and the other, the S5K3L1, at 12.
Both will record 1080p video, with the 12 megapixel offering doing it at up to
60 fps — the lesser model makes do with a mere 30. Both can capture full-res
stills at 30fps and, naturally, both are really tiny for fitting into things
like smartphones.

Microsoft Surface 2.0

Microsoft offered a brief glimpse of its revised Surface earlier this week at the Ballmer keynote. The  Samsung SUR40 for Microsoft Surface has that “2.0 experience” firmware. The screen is gorgeous. I see a future with one in every house much like TV was sent it first started.

Galaxy Player vs. iPod Touch

 

Samsung has announced a new Android-based Galaxy Player that will be showcased next week at the CES 2011. Samsung says the new music player takes inspiration from its successful Galaxy S phone and is spec’d similarly sans the cellular connectivity. Front facing camera is VGA. Will come in 8GB, 16GB and 32GB storage capacities.

The 9.9mm thick Galaxy Player (YP-GB1) runs on Android 2.2 Froyo OS and features a 1GHz CPU, 4-inch Super Clear LCD screen supporting up to WVGA resolution (800×480), T-DMB, SoundAlive audio enhancing technology, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 3.0, 3.2MP rear camera with front facing camera for video calling, GPS, HD video playback, microSD card slot, Android Market and Samsung Apps access and a 1200mAh removable battery.

iPod Touch does not have much to worry about right now but if Samsung and HTC got together that would be something.