Samsung Vs iPhone

No matter how much we hope and pray, the legal wrangling between Apple and Samsung never seems to end. The latest court battle has Apple seeking up to $2 billion in damages from the Korean manufacturer for infringing on five patents, including tap to search and slide to unlock.

This time around though, Samsung is looking to drag Google engineers into the courtroom to testify about the creation of Android — including, potentially, Andy Rubin. The hope is that their testimony and the evidence they provide would prove once and for all that the mobile operating system was developed independently of iOS and put to bed the back and forth over patent battles.

While Mountain View has successfully stayed above the fray for the most part, it makes sense for Seoul to drag the company into this particular battle. Apple is seeking up to $40 per device sold in royalties — far more than it ever has before.

As part of its counter offensive Samsung is countersuing, claiming that Cupertino stole two of its technologies for use in the iPhone and iPad. Like other cases in the war, this will probably take some time to settle. And jury selection starts this week.

Apple has over 3 million iPhone 5cs collecting dust

Apple’s stockpile of the iPhone 5c has reached over 3 million units, confirming what most already know: it isn’t exactly a hot seller. 2 million units are at Pegatron, the manufacturer of the 5c, with the rest sitting on shelves hoping someone will take them home.

Despite Apple’s record-breaking quarter, the 5c didn’t reach nearly the same amount of numbers that the 5s did. The price of the 5c is most decidedly the deal-breaker, given its high cost for a phone with less than stellar tech specs.

With rumors of Apple increasing the screen size of their next crop of iPhones to 4.5” or 4.7”, and even murmurs of a 5.5” Apple phablet, it doesn’t look good for the future of the iPhone 5c. Expect Apple to liquidate their current stock of 5cs at a reduced price and not bring back the plastic iPhone back.

Curved screens not weird enough for you? Samsung plans a three-sided phone display

Leave it to Samsung to once again make us say “huh?” when it comes to new smartphone screen technology.

The Korean electronics giant is reportedly developing a three-sided smartphone screen — so it will cover the front and two sides of a phone — according to a Bloomberg report.

A source tells the news agency that Samsung is working on adapting its “Youm” technology, which is used in its curved Galaxy Round phone, to display messages on the side displays. So, for example, the phone could display incoming notifications on the sides, or the title of the song it’s playing, without needed to wake up the display.

iPhone 5s fingerprint sensor called Touch ID, recognizes your thumb on the Home button: here’s how it works and what it does

Apple’s brand-new iPhone 5s isn’t dramatically different from last year’s model, but it has at least one major addition: a “Touch ID” sensor. Us human beings are calling it a fingerprint sensor, and it’s built into the phone’s main Home button below the screen. Apple’s Phil Schiller says, “It reads your fingerprint at an entirely new level” — it’s 170 microns in thickness with 500 ppi resolution. According to Cupertino, it “scans sub-epidermal skin layers,” and can read 360 degrees. As expected, the sensor is actually part of the Home button, making it less of a button and more of a…well, sensor. Using Touch ID, users can authorize purchases in iTunes, the App Store, or in iBooks by simply using their thumbprint (starting in iOS 7, of course). Pretty neat / scary!

As rumored, the sensor uses a laser cut sapphire crystal cover; it retains a tactile input for those wary of the sensor wearing down after lengthy use. The sapphire crystal, acting as a lens, takes a highly detailed image of your fingerprint, which Apple says is “never stored on Apple servers or backed up to iCloud.” According to Apple’s official PR on the new phone, Touch ID’s fingerprint info is “encrypted and stored securely in the Secure Enclave inside the A7 chip” (the A7 chip is the new processor at the heart of the 5s). Apple hasn’t made clear whether Touch ID allows for multiple users on a single iPhone or not, nor has the company said whether you could turn off fingerprint authentication (though we have to presume the answer is yes given previous authentication standards on the iPhone).

Apple iPhone 4S now free on-contract in wake of iPhone 5c reveal

Just yesterday, the venerable iPhone 4S sat as Apple’s mid-tier smartphone, but now it’s moving into a new role as the company’s go-to option for budget seekers: an 8GB iPhone 4S is now free on-contract. The news follows this morning’s introduction of the iPhone 5c ($99), which brings a dash of color to Apple’s mid-range and replaces the iPhone 5.

A similar discount is also in effect for the unlocked iPhone 4S, which now sells for $450 outright for the new 8GB model. Alongside the price drop, the continuation of the iPhone 4S brings a reprieve for Apple’s legacy 30-pin dock connector, which is an important consideration for compatibility-minded folks. Naturally, you won’t find all the latest goodies — or even LTE — in this 2-year old smartphone, but living behind the curve sure is easier on the wall.

iPhone 5c and 5s coming to 9 countries, including the US and China on September 20th

pple’s new iPhone 5c and iPhone 5s are now in the wild, and here’s how you’ll be able to grab one. Both will arrive on September 20th in the US, Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Japan, Singapore and the UK, with iPhone 5c pre-orders starting September 13th. That marks the first time China will get the iPhone at launch, and NTT DoCoMo will get it in Japan for the first time. By December, Apple said the phones will be available in over 100 countries.

Stateside, a basic 16GB iPhone 5s model will run $199 for the 16GB version, $299 for 32GB and $399 for 64GB on a two year contract. The iPhone 5c will cost $99 for the 16GB model and $199 for the 32GB model. You’ll also be able to grab them at those prices from AT&T, Sprint and Verizon, while an unlocked, contract free iPhone 5c will be available through T-Mobile for $549 (16GB) and $649 (32GB). 

Apple iPhone 5c hands-on

Wait, Apple unveiled two completely different iPhones on the same day? In the same year? The answer is a resounding yes, though we have a feeling Tim Cook’s little surprise wasn’t the most well-kept secret in Cupertino. Known as the iPhone 5c, this is the less expensive (yet vibrant) sidekick to the 5s, and we’ve been playing with the device here at Apple HQ.

The device will be available for pre-order starting September 13th, and can be picked up at stores a week later on September 20th. You can get your choice of five colors, and the 16GB version will be offered for $99 on contract, while the 32GB tacks on an extra $100 to the total; if contracts aren’t your thing, the off-contract costs are $549 and $649, respectively. We’ll be bringing you a full helping of pics, vids and our initial impressions as we go along, so keep your eyes peeled here! 

New iPhones means new accessories: see the options right here

Welcome to the drama, the dilemmas, the sheer disbelief involved in picking accessories to go with your new iPhone. (Yes, an official 30-pin to Lightning adapter really costs that much). We can’t promise to make the choices easy, but we can at least give you a glimpse of some of the bumpers and functional extras that Apple has revealed today, and link you up to the relevant pages on Apple’s store (see the Source links below).

Starting with the iPhone 5c, it’s “unapologetically” plastic to start with, of course, but you can give it extra protection with an additional, colorful mesh-style plastic case. This costs $29 and comes in the same five colors as the phone itself, so you can either match the phone or mix it up with a secondary color. There’s also a black option if you want to tone things down a bit. One more thing: the iPhone 5c gets it’s own Lightning dock, which comes in plain white and costs $29. 

iPhone more vulnerable than Android, BB, and WP combined

Security is always a hot topic with mobile platforms, but most of the time the focus is on Android and the malware issues that exist for the platform if you don’t use the Google Play Store. But, a new study shows that maybe we should pay more attention to the iPhone’s security issues, because the study claims that the iPhone has more security vulnerabilities than Android, BlackBerry, and Windows Phone combined.

The study was conducted by SourceFire, which analyzed vulnerabilities from the Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) data and National Vulnerability Database (NVD) over the past 25 years. Yves Younan, senior research engineer at SourceFire’s Vulnerabilities Research Team and author of the report, said that the results were “surprising”, especially since despite Apple constantly releasing security fixes with each update, CVE continue to grow year over year.

Samsung Galaxy S 4 wireless charging pad and S Health scale hands-on

No phone launch is complete without a few accessories added to the mix. Samsung had a whole bunch to announce alongside its Galaxy S 4, but only a few were on hand to check out up close and personal. We did, however, find a nice surprise hiding under those glossy white table covers — a wireless charging pad. Yes, it turns out the the GS 4 does in fact have Qi wireless charging capabilities.

Provided its available in your region and your carrier chooses to support it. The charging pad itself has a glossy plastic base that matches the phone, but there’s a nice rubbery gray top that keeps the handset from sliding around too much while it’s juicing up....................