NTP sues smartphone makers over patents
A private US company, NTP, is suing six smartphone makers for alleged infringement of patents. The Virginia-based company has filed a lawsuit against Apple, Google, HTC, LG Electronics, Microsoft and Motorola over eight patents related to the wireless delivery of email to mobile phones.
Global Telecoms Business
Microsoft’s Ballmer shows off new Windows 7 tablets
Microsoft's chief executive Steve Ballmer demonstrated his company's keenness to take on Apple's iPad by showing off tablet-style devices running the Windows 7 operating system at a conference this week. New Windows-powered tablet or slate devices - small, hand-held, wireless computers - are in the pipeline from Acer, Dell, Samsung, Toshiba, Sony and a dozen other PC makers, Ballmer said at the company's annual partner conference in Washington, D.C., which was webcast.
IT Pro
Egenera bags another Fujitsu OEM deal
Just because Fujitsu has its own blade servers and systems management software doesn't mean it can't try to make some money selling someone else's stuff. And thus, Egenera, one of the pioneers in the blade server racket that has been trying to convert itself into a Switzerland for converged server and networking infrastructure, has been able to get another OEM deal out of Fujitsu to help it keep the money rolling in as it works to get its PAN Manager software certified on more iron.
Channel Register
Five billionth mobile subscription added
The five billionth mobile subscription was added last week, according to Ericsson estimates based on industry information.Emerging markets such as India and China have added substantially to the count, the company said. Mobile broadband subscriptions are growing at similar pace and are expected to amount to more than 3.4 billion by 2015 (from 360 million in 2009), Ericsson added.
Mobile Today
BlackBerry Protect arrives to save your phone
If you're one of those serial BB losers, RIM has unveiled BlackBerry connect to help keep you emailed up to the eyeballs. The new service offers a range of options should you mislay your BlackBerry, from simply locking it remotely to completely wiping the contents of the handset - lest you divulge the secrets of a nation, should you be an MI5 agent.
TechRadar
Android to eclipse iPhone sales and app downloads
Research from Ovum and AdMob shows a fast-closing gap
Two pieces of research have been released predicting that handsets powered by Google's Android OS will soon eclipse iPhone in terms of both sales and app downloads.
Google-owned ad network AdMob used the MobileBeat conference to assert that Android users will outnumber iPhone users by the end of this year.
Mobile Entertainment
Facebook facing lawsuit as New Yorker claims 84% of firm
Filed in the Supreme Court in New York's Allegany County last month, the lawsuit details how Paul Ceglia signed a contract with Facebook in April 2003 to design and develop the website TheFacebook.com for an agreed $1,000 (£665) fee and a 50% stake in the site. The contract stipulated, Ceglia claims, a further 1% stake for each day until the site was finished on 4 February 2004. Facebook is valued at an estimated $6.5bn, so an 84% share would be worth around $5.46bn. Following Ceglia's lawsuit, acting New York Supreme Court justice Thomas Brown issued a temporary restraining order that blocks Facebook from transfering assets. The case has now transferred to a federal court and Facebook is trying to have it annulled.
Guardian
Ebook deals 'not remotely fair' on authors
The chair of the Society of Authors, Tom Holland, has hit out at publishers' attempt to seize control over electronic rights, calling ebook deals that lock authors in for the duration of copyright "not remotely fair".Speaking at the Romantic Novelists' Association's annual conference last week, Holland urged authors to push for ebook royalties that are "considerably higher" than the standard of around 25%. Although Holland said the market for ebooks is only about 1% of the total UK market, it is "growing fast" and the Society of Authors believes that, given publishers will eventually have much lower warehousing and distribution costs for ebooks, royalties should be divided 50/50.
Guardian
Skype and Fring in video-calling row
Fring has confirmed it will no longer support Skype calls, after Skype threatened the company with legal action.
Fring, which allows people to make voice and video calls on their phones to other mobiles and Skype users, said it had temporarily withdrawn support for Skype calling because of huge demand for the service, and was then subsequently asked by Skype not to reinstate it. But Skype insists that it blocked Fring because the app was misusing the Skype API.
Telegraph
3D TV: Six million Brits can't make it out
Spread of 3D could be hampered by millions not being able to watch TVs without eye strain. Six million of us Brits cannot see in 3D. That’s according to work done for The Eyecare Trust, which says between 10 and 12 per cent of the UK’s population are not able to watch 3D TV without experiencing problems.For these six million people it’s like taking the 3D glasses off, making everything all blurry. You can’t see the image and that causes headaches, eye-strain and blurred vision, said The Eyecare Trust’s Dharmesh Patel.
T3
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