RIM to benefit from Apple’s patent attacks on Samsung

As Samsung’s latest devices continue to be targeted by patent complaints filed by the likes of Apple and Microsoft, Research In Motion may reap the benefits of these numerous quarrels. In a note to investors on Tuesday, Gus Papageorgiou of Scotia Capital sees Apple’s multiple complaints against Samsung as potentially opening doors for the struggling BlackBerry maker. Pointing specifically to Apple’s recent win barring the sales and marketing of several new smartphones by three European Samsung subsidiaries, Papageorgiou believes sales of RIM’s new BlackBerry 7 devices will be bolstered by the void these devices will leave in certain regions of Europe if the ban goes into effect on October 13th as scheduled. He also notes that the new BlackBerry Bold 9900 is already selling well in Europe, however, which means RIM’s potential benefits from the impending ban on Samsung smartphones could be icing on the cake. Read on for more.

“These initial victories for Apple do not bode well for Samsung especially in the European market where its market share has moved from 5.0% Q2 last year to 18.8% this year,” the analyst wrote. “In addition to these legal issues, we believe the BlackBerry Bold 9900 is already outselling the Samsung Galaxy S. Based on GSM Exchange’s website, which tracks the top 3 most actively traded devices in Europe, the Bold 9900 is now in the #2 position ahead of the Samsung Galaxy S II and behind the iPhone-4 16Gb.” Papageorgiou raised his price target on RIM stock to $46 from a previous target of $35.60, and he upped his rating to Outperform from Sector Perform.

 

BGR

ComScore calls Android top dog, Apple pulls further ahead of RIM

According to ComScore, out of the 82.2 million people in the US with a smartphone (up ten percent from last quarter), Android came in first as the biggest platform yet again, capturing a whopping 41.8 percent of the market like a boss. In a not-so-close second, Apple was able to snag 27 percent, followed by RIM in the third place spot with 21.7 percent — down 4 percentage points from last quarter. Pulling up the rear is Microsoft with 5.7 percent, and lastly Symbian with a grim 1.9 percent — both down when compared to the previous three months. As far as US hardware manufacturers goes, Samsung is still on top with 25.5 percent of the market, while LG got 20.9 percent and finally Motorola with 14.1 percent, down 1.5 percentage points from before. Apple was able to snag some standing in the OEM space with a 9.5 percent share, while BlackBerry-maker RIM only captured 7.6 percent. As the battle wages on, looks like Androids, iPhones, and BlackBerrys (oh my) are still on top — at least for this quarter. Check out the PR after the break for the full scorecard.

TG Daily

comScore

via:engagdet

Samsung ChatOn to bring BBM-like experience to Android, iOS, BlackBerry, bada [video]

Samsung is set to make a big splash with new products during the IFA trade show in Berlin, which kicks off later this week, and the phone maker recently announced a new group text application called ChatOn. The application allows Android, iOS, BlackBerry and bada users to create groups to quickly send and receive group text messages. The service will no doubt compete with BBM, Apple’s iMessage, Google’s Huddle, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp and GroupMe, but Samsung is trying to distinguish itself from those other services by offering a more robust feature set. ChatOn lets users to see their most messaged friends, complete with “interaction ranks,” send animated text messages and share photos and videos in a shared group “trunk.”

Read on for a full intro video and press release.

More Competition For BBM

With the success of RIM’s BlackBerry Messenger service, the competition are starting to feel the heat. We announced a few months ago that Facebook released a stand alone app designed to enhance the users’ chat experience. Apple also announced some tweaking of their own chat product. These and other companies are realizing that the social experience is not complete without a solid messaging application. This is one area in which BlackBerry has been ahead of the pack for quite some time now.

Mobile Miscellany: week of August 22, 2011

This week was packed with news on the mobile front, so it was easy to miss a few stories here and there. Here’s some of the other stuff that happened in the wide world of wireless for the week of August 15, 2011:

Phone Releases

• Fido launched the Samsung Galaxy Q, also known as the Gravity Smart in the US, on Thursday. [via MobileSyrup]
• The BlackBerry Curve 9360 can already be purchased on Telus for $50 with a three-year contract, and the Torch 9860 will be available on August 30th.
• SouthernLINC Wireless announced the immediate availability of the Motorola Titanium, offered for $150 with a two-year commitment.
• T-Mobile released the Samsung Gravity TXT, a basic messaging phone that’s on sale for $10. [via UnwiredView]
• Cricket has begun offering a new messaging phone called the Samsung Comment, which offers a full QWERTY keyboard, stereo bluetooth, a microSD slot and 1.3MP camera. It can be had for $90 with no commitment required. [via PhoneScoop]

Other news

• The government of South Korea, in reaction to Google’s planned acquisition of Motorola, now intends to form a consortium of local companies that will work together in building a brand new mobile operating system. [via IntoMobile]
• Randall Milch, Chief Counsel for Verizon, is so frustrated with the patent wars going on that this week he filed an appeal to President Obama, asking for him to provide assistance in the matter. [via PhoneScoop]
• The Motorola PRO is expected to debut in the UK in mid-September, though pre-orders are already taking place at select authorized resellers. [via UnwiredView]
• Leaked posters indicate the BlackBerry Torch 9850 will be offered by Verizon and screenshots show the same phone going to US Cellular, though we’re still unsure of the release date or pricing. [via CrackBerry(1) and (2)]
• Last week we reported on the rumored Sony Ericsson Nozumi, a smartphone that will likely feature a 1.4GHz single-core Qualcomm S2 CPU, Adreno 205 GPU, and 4.3-inch display with 1280 x 720 resolution. At the time, it was assumed to be only selling in Japan; however, there’s a good possibility the Nozumi will end up available globally instead. [via XperiaBlog]
• Pantech’s LTE phone on Verizon may actually end up being called the Breakout (rather than the “Apache”), according to a leaked screenshot. When released, it’ll feature a 1GHz CPU with 512MB of RAM, dual cameras, and will be preloaded with Gingerbread. Not much to write home about at this stage in the game, considering these are incredibly similar to the specs of the LG Revolution. However, it would be the first 4G phone on Big Red that has a 4-inch display. [via AndroidCentral]
• T-Mobile may be planning to throw a data pay-per-use feature onto any smartphone that currently has its internet access blocked. If this happens, it will affect current customers as well as new ones. [via TmoNews]
• Dish has petitioned the FCC for permission to use 40MHz of allocated spectrum to begin building out an LTE-Advanced network. [via PhoneScoop]

Engadget

Google’s Motorola buy could spell trouble for Android partners

By now, you’ve no doubt seen the news: Google intends to acquire Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion. What this will do is not only give Google access to Motorola’s vast patent library consisting of nearly 25,000 patents, but it will also give Google an end-to-end hardware and software strategy with smartphones, tablets and even with Google TV. The thing is, Google didn’t need to buy Motorola. Google could have just licensed the patents from Motorola. Google bought Motorola because it felt like control of the Android experience was slipping away. It’s apparent that one Nexus-like device from Google a year won’t be enough — MOTOBLUR has probably given Andy Rubin ulcers — and it’s apparent that a company that’s leading in many areas of the smartphone arena wants to control that entire experience. Open or not, it is Google’s, after all. Smartphones and tablets are also going to be the biggest categories in technology for the foreseeable future, and if you think Google is just going to play around with that, well, you obviously haven’t seen the company’s recent moves.

Read on for more.

Visa ramping up move to mobile payments

Visa is accelerating its efforts to dominate the mobile payment space, Reuters reported on Monday. Visa is no stranger to mobile payments. It began trialing an iPhone NFC payment solution in Europe early this year, has plans to work with Samsung on a system for the 2012 Olympics, and recently announced that it has partnered with ISIS for the development of a mobile payment network in the United States. “As mobile payments and other chip-based emerging technologies are poised to take off in the coming years, we are taking steps today to create a commercial framework that will support growth opportunities,” Visa’s global head of product Jim McCarty told Reuters.

Read

BGR

Mobile Miscellany: week of August 1, 2011

Here’s some of the other stuff that happened in the wide world of wireless for the week of August 1, 2011:

• Vodafone unveiled the world’s first prepaid-only Facebook phone, dubbed the Vodafone 555 Blue. It has a portrait QWERTY, 2 MP camera, 2.4-inch display, and a few other minor features added in. No word was given on pricing or availability, only that it’ll be sold through its own shops and website. [via Pocket-Lint]
• The Motorola Milestone Plus is Cellular South’s variant of the Droid Pro, a portrait QWERTY that runs Android 2.2 and has a 1GHz CPU and 3.1-inch display. It can be yours for $200 with a two-year commitment and after a $50 mail-in rebate. [via AndroidCentral]
• While we’re chatting about Cell South, the regional carrier will soon release the Samsung Admire, the same entry-level Android device we’ve peeked at en route to MetroPCS. No pricing or availability have been announced. [via AndroidCentral]
• A phone with the model number LG-P699 received its Bluetooth certification this week. It’s widely speculated that this phone’s the Optimus Net. [via PhoneArena and PocketNow]
• Screenshots and an APK of Sony Ericsson’s latest home launcher for its Xperia series were leaked this week. Most of the changes are subtle UI differences. [via Xperiablog]
• Rogers announced the upcoming availability and pricing of the BlackBerry Bold 9900, Torch 9810, and Torch 9860. All three will be added to the lineup this summer, and all will require a three-year commitment. The 9900 will be sold for $250, and both Torches will be priced at $200. [via MobileSyrup]

engagdet

Sprint extends 4G coverage to wholesale

Sprint’s 4G service is taking a turn for the wholesale — the company announced this week that it will be offering up some 4G-packing products to resellers. The list of available products includes the EVO Shift-esque HTC Detail and a data card from Sierra Wireless. More products are expected in the coming months. The model is not a new one for Sprint — the company already offers rebrandable 3G products for companies. At present, Sprint’s 4G coverage is available in 71 markets across the US.

 

More info in the press release below.

Google slams Apple and Microsoft, claims 'hostile, organized campaign' against Android waged through 'bogus patents' (update: Microsoft responds!)

By Donald Melanson posted Aug 3rd 2011 5:16PM

It, as they say, is on. Google’s Senior Vice President and Chief Legal Officer, David Drummond, made an appearance on the company’s official blog today with a post not-so-subtly-titled “When patents attack Android,” which directly addresses what he calls a “hostile, organized campaign against Android by Microsoft, Oracle, Apple and other companies, waged through bogus patents.” Drummond then goes on to cite a number of examples of this “organized campaign” from those trying to “strangle” Android, including Apple and Microsoft teaming up to buy Novell and Nortel’s old patents “to make sure Google didn’t get them,” Microsoft seeking $15 licensing fees for each Android device, and lawsuits against the likes of Barnes & Noble, HTC, Motorola, and Samsung.According to Drummond, those efforts amount to a “tax” that makes Android devices more expensive for consumers and manufacturers alike, and that “instead of competing by building new features or devices, they are fighting through litigation.” He further goes on to bemoan the “anti-competitive strategy” that’s “escalating the cost of patents way beyond what they’re really worth,” and closes things out by noting that he’s encouraged by Justice Department investigations into the aforementioned Novell and Nortel patent issues. Hit the source link to read the full post yourself.Update: And now, shots have been fired from both sides. Brad Smith, Microsoft’s General Counsel, has shot off the following tweet: “Google says we bought Novell patents to keep them from Google. Really? We asked them to bid jointly with us. They said no.” We’re guessing the truth lies somewhere in between, as it always does.

Update 2: Hoo boy! The hits just keep coming’ out of Redmond. Frank Shaw, lead corporate communications for Microsoft has just tweeted an image of an email between Brad Smith and Kent Walker (Google’s General Counsel) that appears to corroborate the claims that Microsoft wanted to team up with El Goog.

Official Google Blog

via: Engadget