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ENTERPRISE VENDOR Oracle has lost its alleged Java patent infringement case against Google after the jury returned a unanimous verdict that Oracle had failed to prove patent infringement in Android by Google. Oracle's lawsuit against Google started falling apart just weeks after it was filed, with lengthy and often comical pre-trial proceedings leaving little of Oracle's case standing. Nevertheless Oracle continued to throw money at the case, however now the jury has returned a verdict that clears Google of infringing Java patents in its Android operating system.Judge William Alsup has yet to rule on whether the Java language APIs are...

Column Oracle won't win this case against Google IT SEEMS that Oracle's lawsuit against Google over its use of Java in Android has fallen apart. Although the trial is still ongoing, and the judge has yet to hand down an important copyright ruling while the jury has yet to return its verdicts on patents and damages, if any - it's already apparent that Oracle is unlikely to win billions or even millions of dollars from Google, and it's possible that Oracle might lose entirely. This lawsuit is rather important, however, if only because it has raised the spectre that software...

Fragmentation matters to the entire Android community: users, developers, OEMs, brands & networks. It's a blessing and a curse. The Blessing. Fragmentation allows users to take their pick from thousands of devices. You can choose from phones with 3D screens, projectors, CDMA, GSM, or even CDMA & GSM. You may not care that Tag Heuer has made an Android phone but at least one person does (and they use OpenSignalMaps). It's a triumph for Android that as a single OS it can target so many markets. The Curse. The proliferation of devices with their associated screen sizes, internal hardware and...

One month into the Oracle v Google trial, Judge William Alsup has revealed that he has, and still does, write code. Will this affect the outcome? So far all that Oracle has managed to prove is that Google copied nine lines of Java code, that are incorporated into Android operating system and eight test files that are not part of the production code. And yesterday, in a hearing about "infringer profits" Judge Alsup challenged Oracle's lawyer David Boies for trying to pin so much on the rangeCheck infringement. U.S. District Judge William Alsup, Northern District of California (Image: Hillary Jones-Mixon/The...

If anyone reading this owns a ZTE Score M Android smartphone, your device has been found to include a backdoor allowing root access without user authentication.The discovery of the backdoor comes via a post on the text storage website Pastebin. It has since been confirmed via Reddit by Justin Case of Cunning Logic and TeamAndIRC. He has confirmed with someone at ZTE that the backdoor does indeed exist and that a fix is in the works.The question that needs to be asked is, why is it there at all?Apparently the handset includes a hard-coded password that allows access to a...

Summary: There were no winners in Oracle vs. Google. Only losers, including all programmers, and perhaps everyone else as well.Not counting the APIs, here's how much code Google was found to have copied from Java.On the surface, it may look like Oracle won the first round of its intellectual property (IP) lawsuit with Google. Look again. No one’s won anything and that includes Oracle.While we wait to see what the jury has to say about the two remaining patents, let’s take a closer look at what the jury decided. They said that Google’s Android mobile platform infringed on part of...

Smartphones will outperform the overall market for mobile phones, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 24.9% for the period 2011–17 to reach 1.7 billion units, according to Ovum. Predictions show Android as the dominant operating system over the next five years as handset vendors rush to make it their primary smartphone platform. In its latest forecast*, the leading telecoms analyst house reveals global annual mobile phone shipments will grow at a CAGR of 6.3% between 2011 and 2017, driven primarily by demand from emerging markets where connection growth will continue to fuel handset shipments. New shipments in...

Open-source Java: Part One Open source Java has a long and torrid history, rife with corporate rivalry, very public fallings-out, and ideological misgivings. But has all the effort and rumpus that went into creating an officially sanctioned open JDK been worth it? Java co-creator James Gosling certainly thinks so - although he didn't seem entirely open to the idea in the early days. Gosling told The Reg that putting Java under the GPL has helped unify what was a fractured community while making the code freely available has helped uptake from a grassroots up. "In general, I'd say that it's...

He may have co-founded the company that became Microsoft's largest competitor, but former Apple boss Steve Wozniak has glittering things to say about his former rival's mobile OS. Mr Wozniak, who co-founded Apple with the late Steve Jobs in 1976, has given a shocking endorsement of Windows' 7.5 Mango interface. The 61-year-old, who no longer works full-time for Apple, says of the four phones he travels with (including two iPhones), the Nokia Lumia makes him feel as though he is 'with a friend, not a tool'. Shock endorsement: Steve Wozniak, who co-founded Apple with the late Steve Jobs in 1976,...

BRITISH OUTFIT Datawind has announced that it will upgrade its latest $35 tablet to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich following its release in India later this month. Speaking to ComputerWorld, Datawind CEO Suneet Singh Tuli said that an upgraded version of the Aakash named the Aakash 2 will start shipping in two to three weeks. Tuli added that although the $35 tablet will ship running Android 2.3 Gingerbread, it will be upgraded to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich within "six to eight weeks". That's not all the new Aakash 2 tablet, which is also known as the Ubislate 7+, improves...

In short order, Google will launch its tablet. And in doing so it will start down the path of abandoning Android. As I explained in my article on how to think about Android fragmentation, fragmentation is not the end of android, but means Google has lost control of Android. Google has lost control of both the Android platform and the Android brand. Google is desperate to compete in the phone and tablet spaces (not to mention social networking). Android is a perfectly suitable technical platform to build on, but as a brand it is atrocious.

Late last summer, I wrote an article titled Dear tablet makers: You’re doing it wrong in which I shared my view on what I believe to be one of the biggest problems currently facing tablet vendors. In this article, I postulated that most Android tablets failed to make a splash because, in a nutshell, they bring nothing new to the table. Of course Android offers a vastly different user interface and user experience as compared to Apple’s market-leading iPad, but in terms of true differentiation — unique and desirable features offered to tablet buyers that cannot be found on the...

The patents present four (somewhat) novel forms of unlock that range from simple to complex The "Big Three" of the Android world -- HTC Corp. (TPE:2498), Samsung Electronics Comp., Ltd. (KS:005930), and Google Inc.'s (GOOG) nearly-acquired subsidiary-to-be Motorola Mobility -- all share a common legal adversary -- Apple, Inc. (AAPL). Apple has asserted a slew of claims against the Android phonemakers, and they haven't been shy about firing back, sometimes quite successfully (other times not so much). I. The Backup Plan One of Apple's biggest successes, however, came when it scored a German injunction on Motorola's smartphones, thanks to its...

Remember when Apple’s voice recognition app Siri refused to give directions to abortion clinics? Well, Verizon’s Android application Iris has the same socially conservative politics. As Right Wing Watch and ThinkProgress report, little Iris also refuses to guide users toward abortion providers. But Iris goes one step further. While Siri simply refuses to give the information, Iris quotes the Bible to make her point. “Abortion is wrong. The Lord has said ‘You shall not murder,’ (Exodus 20:13). The life that is growing within the mother is a child, a baby. The Bible looks at the life in the womb as...

Gaydar for Android **SNIP** From QSoft Consulting Limited: Discreetly take pictures to judge whether a person is straight, metrosexual, or gay! Picture is automatically saved to your phone so you can view it at any time! The most accurate Gaydar on Android! Recent changes:Version 1.0.1 features larger "Straight", "Metro" and "Gay" graphics.

AppTech was the buzz of the mobile tech world Thursday as the company rolled out “ReconAge,” a mobile age recognition app for Android-powered devices. The application, which is free and available now for download from the Android Market, recognizes the approximate age of a person by making use of real time face recognition biometric systems online.Pretty nifty, indeed – especially with regard to the mobile marketing implications the app and its underlying technology deliver.“We’re changing the face of mobile marketing. AppTech is uniting brilliant minds around this idea. With the launch of ReconAge, we intend to introduce the usefulness of...

For Google, it's personal. The Internet search giant is no longer going to roll out the same search results to everyone. Starting Tuesday, Google will pluck only the results most relevant to you --and not just from billions of Web pages but from the personal stuff that you and your connections privately share. The idea, says Google Fellow Amit Singhal, is that Google now searches your world, not just the Web, and serves up results that combine both for your eyes only. "Your world was missing from search until now," he said. "We are bringing your world into search."

If you’re a first-time smartphone shopper or a current smartphone shopper approaching an upgrade, you may be curious about the mobile platforms that are available. Everyone knows about the iPhone and iPad, and everyone knows about “Droids� (Android is the platform, Droid is one specific brand on Verizon). Often overlooked is the newcomer, Windows Phone. How do the three mobile operating systems stack up?We broke down the three platforms into some of the most distinct categories so you can better understand the differences between them. Let’s take a look…Total Devices Before delving into the specifics of each operating system, one...

The new Android application, Flip-Flop Mitt is an interactive quiz game that features an animated character dressed in the standard blue suit, red tie and the a-typical bright yellow boxer shorts. He holds a spatula with a pancake on it, which he tosses in response to players answering questions. A video of the game is available on YouTube at this link: Video The purpose of the game is to test the player’s knowledge about Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney’s position on several important issues. The goal for the player is to answer every question correctly. The player has an option to...

Android and iOS continued to gain market share at the expense of struggling platforms like BlackBerry and Windows Phone 7 (WP7), according to a new report from NPD Group. Android’s share of smartphone sales grew to 53 percent of the U.S. smartphone market (53 percent) from January through October 2011, while Apple’s iOS share grew to 29 percent of the market. Research In Motion’s OS share declined to 11 percent. RIM and other companies that were formerly on top of NPD’s smartphone rankings, however, have made critical business decisions this past year in a quest to shore up their U.S....

If you are like us, every day you pick up a smartphone and you send email, visit with friends on Facebook, send a text message or even log into your bank's website and pay a bill. These modern day conveniences have become routine. We all believe that our passwords are secure, our data is protected, and life is easier if we don't have to write a check to pay a bill or dig around and find a stamp to send a friend a quick note. But this morning we are no longer sure. The tech world is in a fury,...

A security researcher, Trevor Eckhart, recently made a startling discovery. Hidden inside every Android and iPhone is a program called Carrier IQ (CIQ), which is capable of monitoring virtually everything you do on a SmartPhone. And then it has the ability to send all that data back to your wireless carrier and then who knows where it will wind up and how it will be used. Perhaps these phones have become too Smart for our own good. This is our worst nightmare potentially being realized. With our freedoms being eroded at a rapid rate, this is a biggie. A cellphone...

Intel Corp. has formed a partnership with Google Inc. to optimize the Android operating system for its processors, with hopes the move will help the chip giant make inroads into the mobile market and have everything from servers to smartphones running on its technology.While the Santa Clara, Calif., company dominates the PC and server markets, it has struggled to make inroads in smartphones and tablets because its chips are viewed as too power-hungry compared to designs based on ARM Holdings PLC architecture. But Intel hopes new lower-power chips and advanced-process technology will help it break into the market.Read the rest...

PERRY, IA, -- Despite missing numerous release dates, MCP Entertainment is pleased to announce the immediate availability of Piein' Palin. The game offers an exciting pie tossing experience. Even if she isn't running for president, doesn't mean she can't take a pie in the face. This is a fun, fast paced, carnival style game. Fun for the entire family. You choose to throw pies as your favorite Palin hater for three levels of raucous good times. A great soundtrack and Palin quips keeps the game fun and fresh for hours of entertainment. You can get your copy through the Android...

The Department of Energy is standing by a $529 million loan guarantee to a company building an electric car line in Finland. A department official, in a lengthy response posted on a government blog Thursday night, confirmed that the company Fisker is assembling its Karma electric car at its "overseas facility." The response comes after ABC News reported that the Obama administration gave the green light for the company to move the manufacturing to Finland two years after announcing the loan. The ABC News report noted the political connections enjoyed by Fisker and another company, Tesla Motors, which together received...

21 October 2011 Last updated at 09:40 GMT Steve Jobs vowed to 'destroy' Android Steve Jobs said he wanted to destroy Android and would spend all of Apple's money and his dying breath if that is what it took to do so. The full extent of his animosity towards Google's mobile operating system is revealed in a forthcoming authorised biography. Mr Jobs told author Walter Isaacson that he viewed Android's similarity to iOS as "grand theft". Apple is suing several smartphone makers which use the Android software. According to extracts of Mr Isaacson's book, obtained by the Associated Press, Mr...

By Justin Hyde Aug 5, 2011 11:45 AM 202,021 229 This is Google’s first self-driving car crash This photo of what looks like a minor case of Prius-on-Prius vehicular violence may actually be a piece of automotive history: the first accident caused by Google's self-driving car. Whose name should the cop write down on the ticket? UPDATE! Sent in by a Jalopnik tipster, the photos were snapped earlier this week near Google's Mountain View, Calif., headquarters. The Prius — recognizable as a Google self-driving prototype from the roof equipment that's smaller than a typical Google Streetview image collector —...

SEATTLE—A new smartphone app bills itself as a useful tool for the hundreds of boisterous Occupy Seattle protesters at Westlake Park and other locations throughout the world. The “I’m Getting Arrested” app, created by Quadrant 2, provides a one-click button on your phone that you can press when you know arrest is imminent. Once you hit the big red bull’s-eye, a prewritten text message will be sent to your mom, your lawyer or any other contact you might want to help you out. The app can also be used to quickly send any other message to a group of people....

I'm Getting Arrested is a creative Android app that, according to developer Quadrant 2, was inspired by a real-life "Occupy Wall Street" incident. It lets you quickly notify your family, friends, and crack legal team (if you have one) of your situation with a single tap of your finger.

If you have a phone or tablet that runs Google Android, you should check out the new LHSee app, released by the University of Oxford and available in the Android Market. Funded by the Science & Technology Facilities Council, the LHSee app delivers data from the ATLAS experiment at CERN directly to your handheld device. LHSee, released last week and currently in version 1.0, requires Android 2.2 and up and will need full Internet access. The new app is already a hit — it has a 4.5 star rating and 123 reviews in the Android Market. ATLAS is a particle...

The iPhone 4S may look identical to the iPhone 4, but that's where the comparisons stop. Under the hood, the iPhone 4S is full of hardware and software innovations that help Apple catch up with its rivals. Here’s how Apple’s iPhone 4S stacks up against its Android, Windows Phone 7, and BlackBerry competitors when it comes to specs.

India has launched what it says is the world's cheapest touch-screen tablet computer, priced at just $35 (£23). Costing a fraction of Apple's iPad, the subsidised Aakash is aimed at students. It supports web browsing and video conferencing, has a three-hour battery life and two USB ports, but questions remain over how it will perform. Officials hope the computer will give digital access to students in small towns and villages across India, which lags behind its rivals in connectivity. At the launch in the Indian capital, Delhi, Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal handed out 500 Aakash (meaning sky) tablets...

HTC said Windows Phone devices make up 30 percent of its sales, as Microsoft begins gaining ground in the mobile market. The Taiwanese phone maker is betting Microsoft’s platform will be a big part of its future plans and expect the number of Windows phones sold to go up. “We believe that Windows Phone 7 will eventually be better than other platforms and will give Android a run for its money,” said HTC’s manager in Singapore, Melvin Chua. Microsoft believes its platform has made good progress since its launch last year, and the Mango update builds on that success. Mango...

This is the second of three consecutive posts on information gleaned from last night's filings in Oracle v. Google. I previously blogged about Sun's proposal to create a Red Hat-style Android distribution with open source Java.While patents are the most important part of Oracle's lawsuit against Google, the copyright infringement part shouldn't be underestimated. Google is currently trying to get rid of it on summary judgment, but Oracle defends its related claims.Judge Alsup denied the filing of various interesting documents under seal, so they entered the public record last night. Also, documents that were heavily-redacted are now much less redacted...

Company says its rivals are being "anticompetitive" by trying to defend themselves with IPIn a scene straight out of Bizarro World, Apple, Inc.'s (AAPL) lawyers are crying foul about Samsung Electronics Comp., Ltd. (SEO:005930) and recent Google Inc. (GOOG) acquisitions Motorola's allegedly "anticompetitive" use of patents. I. Apple Claims Android Phone makers are "Abusing" Patent System Yes, this is the same Apple that has initiated a patent war [1][2][3][4][5] with these smartphone rivals.  And it's the same rival that has tried to remove competing products from the market, rather than agree to negotiate a licensing fee.  And it's the same company that patented multi-touch gestures 26 years after they...

Those yet to pick themselves up a smartphone are an indecisive lot, as well as the next target market for Google and Apple, according to a report released yesterday by Nielsen. Among likely smartphone upgraders, it is the "Late Adopters" who are most likely to say they are "not sure" which operating system they'd like in their next smartphone. According to Nielsen, fully 30 percent of late adopters are not sure which mobile OS they're targeting when they make the leap to a bigger, better device. However, among those who say they are usually the first to embrace new technologies,...

Google’s Android platform gained once again during the three-month period ending in July, increasing it’s share by 1% over second-quarter totals to grab 40% of the U.S. smartphone market. Apple’s iOS stayed flat at 28% and RIM’s BlackBerry OS lost one point from June-quarter figures to fall to 19%.... Android topped iOS in the firm’s survey of which smartphone platform users intend to buy next. From “innovators” to “late adopters,” each consumer group Nielsen polled but one — “early adopters” — found Android to be the most appealing OS for their next purchases.

In the Plex: How Google Thinks, Works, and Shapes Our Lives by Steven Levy Simon and Schuster, 424 pp., $26.00 I’m Feeling Lucky: The Confessions of Google Employee Number 59 by Douglas Edwards Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 416 pp., $27.00 The Googlization of Everything (and Why We Should Worry) by Siva Vaidhyanathan University of California Press, 265 pp., $26.95 Search & Destroy: Why You Can’t Trust Google Inc. by Scott Cleland with Ira Brodsky Telescope, 329 pp., $28.95 Tweets Alain de Botton, philosopher, author, and now online aphorist: The logical conclusion of our relationship to computers: expectantly to type “what is...

On the one hand, the tech industry is awash in patent trolls, companies that own generally spurious patents for technologies they didn't really invent, which exist solely to sue other companies into licensing said technologies. On the other, we have tech companies that have patents for technologies that they did, in fact, invent (or at least purchase legitimately) and, as important, use in actual products. These companies, too, must sue others to protect their patents, but for far more legitimate reasons. Google is upset about the latter kind of company, and it's citing two heavy-hitters, Apple and Microsoft, as example...

Cool map from ad network JumpTap breaking down which mobile operating system is most popular on a state by state basis. As Dan Frommer at SplatF put it, Android versus iPhone is the new red state versus blue state.

This is completely Vanity, but if you travel with kids via car over long distances and have a droid phone, if you could send me a private email, I'd like feedback about an App I have. Thanks.

oogle Android captured 48% of the smartphone market in Q2 of 2011, hitting an all-time high, according to a report by market research firm Canalys. The platform has been making big strides during the past year, overtaking Symbian in Q4 of 2010 to become the top smartphone platform, representing a 32.9% market share at that time. Smartphone adoption continues to grow rapidly across the world, reaching a total of 107.7 million units shipped in Q2 of 2011, a 73% year-on-year growth. Android was the biggest driver of smartphone shipments in Q2, as Android-based smartphone shipments were up 379% year-over-year, coming...

Two different graphs. Both happen to be published at Ars Technica, with one of them coming from a different source. Seemingly completely unrelated, but when you ponder the waterfall of recent lawsuit-related news, these two graphs suddenly tell all there is to tell. These two innocent little graphs illustrate why Apple is attacking Android so ferociously. Let's start with the first graph. Based on Apple's recent quarterly results, it shows where, exactly, Apple's revenue is coming from. It's not iPods, it's not iTunes, it's not even Macs; no, 68% of Apple's revenue in the past quarter has come from the...

Google Chief Executive Larry Page has been ordered to testify before the court as part of an ongoing lawsuit in which Oracle has accused the search giant of infringing on its patents for Java. Google CEO Larry Page(Credit: Google) The order yesterday by Judge Donna Ryu of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California states that "Oracle may depose Mr. Page for a maximum of two hours, excluding breaks, solely on topics relevant to the willfulness of Defendant's alleged patent infringement, and the value of Android to Defendant," according to a blog published today by FOSS Patents'...

Apple, which owned more than 94% of the market in the second quarter last year, saw the iPad’s share slide to 61.3% according to Strategy Analytics. Over the same period of time, Android tablets jumped from a 2.9% share to a 30% share last quarter.

The latest ComScore results from the last quarter are in, and the US mobile device wars were hotter than ever as 13% more people reported owning a smartphone. Google conquered most users' territory with Android climbing just over five percent (now totaling 36.4%) and still claiming first for mobile software platforms. Apple's iOS destroyer took second place (at 26%) partially due to RIM's S.S. BlackBerry OS sinking about five percent (now 25.7%) to claim third, while Microsoft and HP / Palm rounded out the bunch struggling to stay in the fight with even lower single-digit scores. In the OEM region...

A female Florida sheriff's deputy handcuffed naked girls to a desk, spanked them with a leather paddle and sent the seamy homemade videos to a boyfriend she met on a fetish web site, authorities said. Robin Leigh Pagoria, 45, subjected her two victims - described as girls between the ages of 10 and 18 - to multiple torture sessions, authorities said. "There aren't words to describe my anger with her," Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd told the Orlando Sentinel, adding that the arrest "came out of nowhere." Pagoria, a divorced Marine veteran, shackled the girls' wrists and ankles to a...

Lifehacker’s Adam Dachis takes a look at the top 10 ways Apple’s iOS beats Google’s Android. Following that, Whitson Gordon attempts to come up with the top 10 ways Google’s Android beats Apple’s iOS.We offer both lists, so you can easily compare exactly what’s being claimed to be “better� about each platform. Which list has more things of actual importance to the typical end-user?Top 10 ways Apple’s iOS beats Google’s Android: 10. The iTunes Media Store 9. AirPlay 8. Find My iPhone 7. A Better Support System 6. Better Battery Life and Management 5. iTunes and Tethered Syncing 4. No...

Microsoft has made little headway in reclaiming its lost smartphone market share in the six months since the debut of Windows Phone 7. According to Gartner's latest numbers, Microsoft sold only 1.6 million Windows Phone 7 devices during the first quarter of the year, leaving it just ahead of HP's anemic webOS numbers (categorized by Gartner as "other"), but behind every other major platform. Microsoft has fumbled through the early months of 2011 with Windows Phone 7, which has seen delayed system updates, software glitches, and problems arising from the long-delayed updates. Microsoft is prepared to make a major WP7-based...

Nearly every smartphone running the Google Android platform today is readily vulnerable to data snoops and cyberthieves, who can easily pluck information from them over ordinary Wi-Fi networks, German security experts discovered. [snip] The problem doesn't affect Apple's iPhones, experts noted, which don't rely upon communication with Web-based servers as heavily as Google's platform does.