Tag - Samsung

Samsung to buy US cloud-services firm Joyent
On Thursday, Korean manufacturer Samsung announced that would buy US cloud services company Joyent, based in San Francisco, for an undisclosed sum. The 11-year-old company will retain its name and top managment, but it will be integrated into Samsung's mobile division, and reportedly help the rival smartphone maker offer its own cloud services. In a statement, Joyent CEO Scott Hammond said that "Samsung brings us the scale we need to grow our cloud and software business."

DOJ: Supreme Court should send Apple vs Samsung back to trial courts
The seemingly never-ending courtroom saga between Apple and Samsung has taken a new twist, reports Reuters. In an amicus brief supplied to the US Supreme Court in Wednesday, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) has recommended that the Supreme Court should send back the case to trial courts in order to determine whether a new trial should be undertaken over a component of the case that was won by Samsung on appeal. If the Supreme Court accepts the DOJ's appeal, the court case which dates back to 2011 could be set to stretch out for some time to come.

Samsung Gear IconX wireless earbuds, Gear Fit 2 announced
Samsung has launched two new products aimed at the fitness market. The Gear IconX wireless earbuds are reminiscent of the rumored wireless EarPods that Apple is said to be developing for a future iPhone, that could ship without a standard 3.5mm jack. Along with the announcement of the earbuds, Samsung has also announced its latest wearable, the fitness-focused Gear Fit 2, with a curved AMOLED display.

Supreme Court Apple versus Samsung brief filed, new trial sought
On the last day allowed, Samsung has filed its brief with the Supreme Court for an appeal of its legal battle with Apple. In its brief, Samsung spells out that design patents are overvalued when tried for damages, and "at a minimum, a new trial is necessary" to determine damages that the Korean company owes the Cupertino manufacturer.

One More Thing episode 41: Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon
It's been pointed out to us that this may be the only Mac technology podcast that comes out of the UK. Maybe the UK is just smaller than it seems to us as we sit here. If it's true, though, we do have a certain responsibility to be the best technology podcast possible and to podcastily cover technology.

Samsung shows postage-stamp size 512GB SSD technology
Samsung Electronics announced today that it has begun mass producing the industry's first NVMe PCI-e solid state drive (SSD) in a single ball grid array (BGA) package, for use in next-generation PCs and ultra-slim notebook PCs. The new BGA NVMe SSD, named PM971-NVMe, features a compact package that contains all essential SSD components including NAND flash memory, DRAM and controller.

OLED equipment maker sees orders ramp due to future iPhone
Companies in Apple's supply chain are already reaping the benefits of Apple's rumored plans to switch to OLED display panels for its 2017 iPhone line up, reports Bloomberg. Upstream supplier Applied Materials last week reported a close to four-fold increase in orders for its equipment, which is used to manufacture OLED displays. In putting place orders for this equipment now, OLED display manufacturers like Samsung are said to be positioned well to ramp up OLED production for the fall of 2017.

Samsung could beat Apple to global live TV subscription service
Samsung is said to be in preliminary discussions with entertainment companies to deliver a live global television subscription service delivered over the Internet to its web-connected TVs, reports Bloomberg. If it is successful in putting together a package for its customers, it would potentially beat Apple to market with such a service. Apple had been considering a similar service, but has yet to find a way forward in delivering the content it wants to deliver, at a price that it believes customers will be willing to pay.

FCC, FTC to investigate mobile industry security patch practices
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the Federal Trade Commission (FCC) have partnered to investigate concerns about how devices are patched. Both the FCC and FTC have issued orders to eight mobile device manufacturers, with Samsung, BlackBerry, LG, HTC, Microsoft and Motorola joining Apple and Google on the list. In particular, the FCC and FTC want to know the details about each company's policies and processes for identifying and addressing security threats for devices that they have sold on the US market since 2013. The aim of the exercise is purportedly to improve the protections of consumers from malware and other hacking methods that pose an ongoing threat to consumers, many of whom use devices no longer supported by makers.

Samsung knocks Apple from number one mobile vendor spot in US
According to a recent traffic and sales analysis, Samsung has regained the top spot as the leading smartphone vendor in the US market with a 28.8 percent share on the strength of the new Samsung flagship phone. After eleven months at the top, Apple slipped to second place with a 23 percent share for the month of March. LG picked up third place with a 17.1 percent share, while Chinese makers like Huawei and ZTE were well off the pace.
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Cirrus creates Lightning-headphone dev kit
Apple supplier Cirrus Logic has introduced a MFi-compliant new development kit for companies interested in using Cirrus' chips to create Lightning-based headphones, which -- regardless of whether rumors about Apple dropping the analog headphone jack in its iPhone this fall -- can offer advantages to music-loving iOS device users. The kit mentions some of the advantages of an all-digital headset or headphone connector, including higher-bitrate support, a more customizable experience, and support for power and data transfer into headphone hardware. Several companies already make Lightning headphones, and Apple has supported the concept since June 2014. http://bit.ly/29giiZj

Apple Store app offers Procreate Pocket

The Apple Store app for iPhone, which periodically rewards users with free app gifts, is now offering the iPhone "Pocket" version of drawing app Procreate for those who have the free Apple Store app until July 28. Users who have redeemed the offer by navigating to the "Stores" tab of the app and swiping past the "iPhone Upgrade Program" banner to the "Procreate" banner have noted that only the limited Pocket (iPhone) version of the app is available free, even if the Apple Store app is installed and the offer redeemed on an iPad. The Pocket version currently sells for $3 on the iOS App Store. [32.4MB]
Porsche adds CarPlay to 2017 Panamera
Porsche has added a fifth model of vehicle to its CarPlay-supported lineup, announcing that the 2017 Panamera -- which will arrive in the US in January -- will include Apple's infotainment technology, and be seen on a giant 12.3-inch touchscreen as part of an all-new Porsche Communication Management system. The luxury sedan starts at $99,900 for the 4S model, and scales up to the Panamera Turbo, which sells for $146,900. Other vehicles that currently support CarPlay include the 2016 911 and the 2017 models of Macan, 718 Boxster, and 718 Cayman. The company did not mention support for Google's corresponding Android Auto in its announcement. http://bit.ly/295ZQ94

Apple employees testing wheelchair features
New features included in the forthcoming watchOS 3 are being tested by Apple retail store employees, including a new activity-tracking feature that has been designed with wheelchair users in mind. The move is slightly unusual in that, while retail employees have previously been used to test pre-release versions of OS X and iOS, this marks the first time they've been included in the otherwise developer-only watchOS betas. The company is said to have gone to great lengths to modify the activity tracker for wheelchair users, including changing the "time to stand" notification to "time to roll" and including two wheelchair-centric workout apps. http://bit.ly/2955JDa

SanDisk reveals two 256GB microSDXC cards
SanDisk has introduced two 256GB microSDXC cards. Arriving in August for $150, the Ultra microSDXC UHS-I Premium Edition card offers transfer speeds of up to 95MB/s for reading data. The Extreme microSDXC UHS-I card can read at a fast 100MB/s and write at up to 90MB/s, and will be shipping sometime in the fourth quarter for $200. http://bit.ly/294Q1If

Apple's third-quarter results due July 26
Apple has advised it will be issuing its third-quarter results on July 26, with a conference call to answer investor and analyst queries about the earnings set to take place later that day. The stream of the call will go live at 2pm PT (5pm ET) via Apple's investor site, with the results themselves expected to be released roughly 30 minutes before the call commences. Apple's guidance for the quarter put revenue at between $41 billion and $43 billion. http://apple.co/1oi1Pbm

Twitter stickers slowly roll out to users
Twitter has introduced "stickers," allowing users to add extra graphical elements to their photos before uploading them to the micro-blogging service. A library of hundreds of accessories, props, and emoji will be available to use as stickers, which can be resized, rotated, and placed anywhere on the photograph. Images with stickers will also become searchable with viewers able to select a sticker to see how others use the same graphic in their own posts. Twitter advises stickers will be rolling out to users over the next few weeks, and will work on both the mobile apps and through the browser. http://bit.ly/29bbwUE
