THX sues Apple over speaker design on iMac, iPad, and iPhone

Audio specialist THX -- whose sound engineering is used in cinemas -- is suing Apple. It's accused the Cupertino company of infringing its patented speaker tech, claiming that the iMac, iPad and iPhone are all guilty, Apple Insider reports.

The patent in question was granted to THX back in 2008. THX also claims Apple's alleged violation has caused it "monetary damage and irreparable harm", and is looking to stop the infringement and receive compensation in royalties or damages.

So what about the tech? The patent concerns "narrow profile speaker configurations and systems" -- in other words, ways of getting decent sound out of speakers that fit in slim consumer electronics goods, like desktop all-in-ones and flatscreen TVs. Specifically, the output aperture (aka speaker duct) is more narrow than the speaker face. THX claims theiPhone 4, 4S and 5 infringe the patent, as well as various models of the iMac and iPad.

Apple owns a number of speaker patents, the most recent of which was granted just last month. Though whether they share any claims of those belonging to THX, we'll have to wait and see. The last day the two companies can confer is 14 May, with the initial case set to start on 14 June.

Patent lawsuits are ten a penny in the tech world, with the biggest one by far being Apple versus Samsung. Apple won that, taking Samsung to the bank to the tune of $1bn, though the judge has since decreed that payout be slashed by 40 per cent. Apple and Samsung are heading back to court, so it's another one to watch.

[Source: CNET]

Feedly sees 500,000 new users since Google Reader closure announced

The news that Google Reader is to be closed down for good later this year has hit a lot of us really hard. For many it's the go-to way of getting their daily news fix, and for others -- including everyone on staff here -- it's an integral tool to help us get through the working day. There will be alternatives, but we will miss Google Reader. 

One such alternative is Feedly, and the team has announced a huge influx of new users. In the first 48 hours since the announcement by Google, Feedly has seen 500,000 new Google Reader users join their ranks. Not bad numbers, considering the service is supposed to be in decline. Feedly also has clients for iOS, Chrome, Safari and Firefox, so it's got a big chunk of the bases covered. The reason behind the influx is most likely the fact that Feedly is developing their own system to transition Google Reader users over seamlessly when turn off day finally arrives. 

Feedly has also announced how they're coping with the increased user base, including massively increasing their bandwidth and adding new servers. And, if you're all about function and less about fashion, the Feedly team has also written up some sweet tips on how to make it less pretty and more functional. Great stuff.

[Source: AndroidCentral]

Sony Xperia L: a budget Android device with a focus on imaging and style

The days of the new Sony Mobile are now long past. Two years in, and the company appears to have hit a stride with its smartphone portfolio, churning out new Xperias on a consistent basis. And today is no different with the unveiling of the Xperia L, a mid- to low-end effort that places a heavy emphasis on the camera experience. Carrying on the Arc's legacy, this 4.3-inch handset packs an FWVGA display, dual-core 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4, 1,700mAh battery, 8GB of internal storage (expandable via microSD), NFC and an 8-megapixel rear shooter with Exmor RS sensor into a conspicuously curved body rounded off with that signature Xperia power key.

Though it lacks the greater resolution and screen size of its 720p sibling the SP, this more budget-friendly device does enjoy an exclusive perk: HDR stills andvideo. A feature Sony's included to make the L an attractive point-and-shoot option for budget-minded consumers concerned with style points and not LTE or raw performance. Unsurprisingly, it comes pre-loaded with a trio of Sony's own media apps -- Walkman, Movies and Album -- a precedent it set at IFA last year.

[Source: Engadget]

Sony's 2013 HDTVs start shipping, quantum dots are on the way

We got a peek at Sony's 2013 HDTV lineup during CES in January, and now the company has announced they're starting to roll out and confirmed official pricing. The new sets add features like NFC, MHL and Miracast support to certain models, while the top of the line W900A is its first to use Quantum Dot technology in combination with edge LED lighting. Sony's brought back its old Triluminos brand name for the technology, which it claims provides a wider color gamut while keeping prices quite a bit lower than its last TVs to rock the tag, the now-retiredXBR8 series.

There's no word on the XBR series, but in the lower W- and R- lines the KDL-W900A is the only one with Triluminos. It also brings an extra long internal speaker duct for improved sound and standard NFC remote, and the 55-inch model will carry an MSRP of $3,299. The step down W802A version keeps MHL standard, has the NFC remote as an option and comes in 55- and 47-inch versions that start at $1,799. The 32-inch W650A will ship for $799. The R-Series dodges some of the higher end features, but some still include 3D, WiFi, RVU and the Sony Entertainment Network suite of apps including Netflix, Hulu Plus and more. The R550A has all that and is available in 70-, 60- and 50-inch versions that start at $1,399. Hit the source link for info on more models, or just keep an eye out on (digital) store shelves as these leak into retail.

[Source: Engadget]

Apple gets defensive with new iPhone campaign

Apple has launched a new section of its website dedicated to singing the iPhone's praises. The timing is no surprise, seeing as Samsung has just lifted the lid on the Galaxy S4, which is the iPhone's biggest threat by far.

The Cupertino company also took the opportunity to fire a few potshots at rival operating systems. Which seems a bit defensive if you ask me.

The whole thrust of the page is how much people love their iPhones. Apple makes a big deal of the fact it's won eight straight awards from J.D Power and Associates. It bigs up the device's design too: "every detail and every material -- particularly the sleek aluminium enclosure -- has been meticulously considered and refined." This attention to detail is usually seen in high-end watches, Apple reckons.

Apple also praises the iPhone's Retina display, battery life, A6 processor, 4G skills, and camera. But it's when it comes to the App Store that the gloves really come off. Apple says the "App Store is home to over 800,000 apps -- all reviewed by Apple to guard against malware. Other mobile platforms have a myriad of fragmented store options, resulting in availability issues, developer frustration, and security risks." Could that be Android and Google Play it's thinking of, by any chance?

iOS 6, Siri, iCloud, and Apple's support teams also have smoke blown up their behinds.

Apple is obviously proud of its handset -- and justifiably so -- but I can't help but think this seems a bit defensive. Does it really need to slate Android? The only reason I can see it would is because it feels threatened by Google. Whatever happened to the Apple of old, the one with such swagger it didn't even really bother with marketing? The one that didn't feel the need to tell you how good its products were, just let them speak for themselves?

[Source: CNET]

Is this the Nexus 5?

Pinch of salt time: a render of what purports to be the Nexus 5 has surfaced online, along with a spec list. There are plenty of reasons to think it's fake, but a few that hint it could be the real deal too.

An anonymous source claiming to work for Google sent the image and specs to Android and Me. They say the Nexus 5 is due for release around October, and Google is currently evaluating several prototypes from different manufacturers. This one is from LG and is codenamed "Megalodon". Sound real? Or bent as a nine bob note?

The spec list does sound too good to be true. The Nexus 5 is said to be packing a 5.2-inch OLED display with 1,920x1,080 resolution. Inside is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor, clocked at 2.3GHz, along with a ridiculous 3GB of RAM. Storage is said to go up to 64GB (dwarfing the Nexus 4's 16GB), and a 16-megapixel camera is capable of capturing 4K video. Like I say, sounds too good to be true.

Some of the tech isn't found even in devices yet, like Qualcomm's chip, though it should be by October. It also seems a bit early to be seeing renders, but then this could be more of an artist's impression. We've also heard previously that a successor to the Nexus 4 was already on the cards.

Adding fuel to the fire, the very reliable Twitter account @evleaks tweeted: "LG Nexus 5 looks pretty hot, if that was just it…" It followed this up with: "I had to beg to say even that much :P"

The Nexus 4 has been wildly popular, but Google has had trouble meeting demand, with the device being in and out of stock at Google Play since its debut in November. That price tag of £239 will have helped, no doubt. Buy it elsewhere, and you'll have to shell out way more than that.

[Source: CNET]

World’s Fastest Wireless Radio Frequency Chip Boasts 10 Billion Bytes Per Second

Researchers from the Korean Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) have developed a new radio frequency chip capable of sending/receiving 10 gigabits per second.  That equates to a 4.7GB movie file that can be downloaded in 3.76 seconds.

Park Cheol Soon, the lead KAIST professor of the project, states the chip can be used in future smartphones and cameras, but can also replace cables and deliver cable/fiber optic speeds without the costly infrastructure.

The team claims the design of the chip and antenna has been made to be small (4mm tall and 6.6mm wide) for use in most mobile devices. The antenna itself is designed to transmit and receive data, rather than needed multiple antennae to perform the task, further reducing the size of the design.

For consumers, this means some really cool applications, imagine Google Fiber datatransmission speeds without all the laying of wires and infrastructure in homes, or transferring a full 64 GB SD card wirelessly in mere seconds.

[Source: TechnoBuffalo]

Wii U gets UK price slash, after Nintendo ruled it out

Wii U sales may not have set the world alight, but Nintendo claimed just recently it wouldn't cut the console's price. Well now UK retailers have gone behind the gaming giant's back, and done so anyway, CVG reports.

Asda and Amazon have knocked £50 off the RRP of the Wii U basic and premium packs, selling each for £199 and £249 respectively. ShopTo is also in on the slashing, dropping its Wii U basic pack by £60 to £190.

But it's believed the trade price of the console hasn't changed -- it's still £205. Which would mean retailers are selling the device at a loss. Can things really be that bad?

It seems so. In January, Nintendo lowered its Wii U sales forecast for the year from 5.5 million units to 4 million. But company president Satoru Iwata was adamant it would not lower the price. "With Wii U, we have taken a rather resolute stance in pricing it below its manufacturing cost, so we are not planning to perform a markdown," he said in a statement.

He admitted Nintendo "had not yet fully communicated the value of the product," and that it would "work to enrich the software lineup which could make consumers understand the appeal of Wii U." Chop-chop.

The Wii U has been criticised for being too complicated for casual gamers won over by the original Wii. It's also under threat from the rise of cheaper (or even free) games for mobiles and tablets. Why buy a console with a tablet control, and be tied to its roster of games, when you can pick up a standalone tablet and have thousands to choose from? That seems to be what a lot of punters are thinking, anyway.

[Source: CNET]

Canon Sends Out Invites For March 22 Event; Canon 70D Inbound?

There have been rumors suggesting Canon might announce a new product—possibly the 70D—this month, and low and behold, press invites have gone out for an event on March 22. These aren’t your ordinary invites, either.

Recipients were sent a secretive black box containing a nondescript silver pen. So? So, the pens actually contain a hidden message one can only see in a dark room. That’s some Bond-level spy stuff right there.

The pen is actually branded PowerShot, so perhaps in addition to the possibility of the 70D, Canon will announce one or two other shooters for the spring season. It’s unclear what time the announcement begins, but we do have a date, so we’ll keep an eye out leading into next Friday.

[Source: TechnoBuffalo]

HP and Samsung offer setup-free printing on the Galaxy S 4, with others to follow

As ubiquitous as wireless printing has become, there remains the occasional hoop to jump through for printing from mobile devices if you don't happen to have either a special app or iOS gear that supports AirPrint. HP and Samsung are teaming up to remove many of the headaches for the Galaxy S 4: when the phone launches in April, it should have setup-free WiFi printing to almost 200 HP inkjets and LaserJets, as long as any given printer is either on the same network or is otherwise accessible through direct printing. Don't expect ubiquitous support, though. Beyond being limited to the one phone, you'll have to stick to some of its preloaded apps, including the browser, contacts, email client, photo gallery, Polaris Office and S Note. It's far from a truly universal solution, then, but the two partners are at least promising zero-setup printing on both the Galaxy S III and the Galaxy Note II through firmware updates coming later in 2013. We'll take the approach if it saves time snagging an old-fashioned boarding pass or someconcert tickets.

[Source: Engadget]

Apple sued over defective MacBook Pro Retina displays

A lawsuit has been filed in federal court in California alleging that Apple is misleading consumers by not advertising that there are two different types of displays used in its MacBook Pros with Retina displays. The issue stems from widespread reports that MacBook Pros with Retina displays that use display panels from LG suffer from ghosting issues. MacBook Pros that use Retina displays from Samsung reportedly are not affected by the same issues.

ArsTechnica reports that the class action lawsuit says that because the two makes of the Retina displays "exhibit different levels of performance and quality" Apple is wrongly marketing the MacBook Pro with Retina display as one product when instead it should be marketed as two different products -- the difference being which display, LG or Samsung, is used in the laptop.

[Source: TUAW]

Samsung Galaxy S4 cases launched

Gadget accessories company, Proporta, has released its collection of cases for the newly launched Samsung Galaxy S4 smartphone. Adopting its wealth of experience in protective, fashionable accessories for the latest technology innovations, the line-up of Galaxy S4 cases includes signature Proporta favourites, fashion brands and fresh designs.

Leather Case with Aluminium Lining - £29.95 Leather Style Flip Case - £24.95

Lynnette Prigmore, Head of Product at Proporta, expressed her delight at the announcement of the new S4 and commented on the accompanying cases: "In the world of Smartphone tennis it would appear that Samsung has had the first serve for 2013 and, in some areas, raised the bar for mobile technology with a new S4 rammed full of features. For the industry and Proporta, where we continue to manufacture our own branded, British designed accessories as well as producing cases and sleeves for a number of global fashion and lifestyle brands, this makes for a very exciting time. As with any new device launch, it's a race against the clock for the accessories market; our design team will once again have initial designs ready for pre-order first thing - with many more designer cases to follow in the next few weeks."

Union Jack Case - £14.95 Screen Protector - £4.95

Quiksilver Hard Shells - £19.95 each 'Redemption', 'Blue Checks', 'Black' and 'Echo Beach'