Samsung Will Have to Pay Apple $120 Million

A US jury has recently ordered Samsung to pay almost $120 million to Apple for smartphone patent violations, though it is much less than iPhone-maker initially wanted and marked a big loss for Apple in the latest round of the two companies’ litigation.

Apple have accusing Samsung of violating patents on smartphone features for a while now, trying to claim it was Steve Jobs who invented everything. In response, Samsung denied warongdoing. In result of one of the trials, which took place in the United States, the jury found Samsung infringed two Apple patents.

The two companies have been fighting in courts across the globe for several years now. Jurors awarded Apple about $930 million after a trial in the US two years ago, but the company failed to persuade American district judge to issue a permanent injunction against the sale of Samsung phones in the United States.

Industry experts think that Apple is just trying to curtail the rapid growth of phones based on Google’s rival Android software. It is known that Samsung was by far the largest adopter of this mobile OS. Despite the fact that this verdict is large compared to others, it can’t be regarded as a victory for Apple. The matter is that this award is less than 10% of the amount Apple requested, and may even not surpass the amount of money the company spent litigating this case.

The latest lawsuit involves 5 Apple patents that weren’t at issue at that trial two years ago and cover such iPhone features as slide-to-unlock and search technology. The iPhone-maker had sought to ban sales of a number of Samsung phones, including the Galaxy S3, and demanded over $2 billion in damages.

Apple claimed that the recent ruling reinforced its stance that Samsung stole its ideas and copied its products. This situation led some experts to question if patent litigation was a viable strategy, as it can be abused and hinder innovation. The supporters of this point of view believe that litigation can help innovators protect their IP and benefit from it.

Samsung argued that Apple had exaggerated the importance of its iPhone features, while Apple argued that the Korean company couldn’t have competed in the smartphone market without copying iPhone.
In the trial two years ago, by the way, it was also found that Apple had infringed one of Samsung’s patents, and the Galaxy-maker was awarded $158,400
EnjOy.. :)
Bugs 0f Techn0l0gy

iPhone 5S battery balloons and catches fires unexpectedly

An iPhone 5S user has posted pictures online of his device that caught fire while in use and eventually exploded.

Only recently it was reported that a student’s iPhone 5C caught fire when it was doing absolutely nothing in her pocket, causing her second degree burns in the process. Photos of a somewhat similar incident have been posted online, the source claims that he was using the iPhone 5S to browse Facebook when out of the blue the battery started to inflate. He also claims that the phone wasn’t open, wasn’t being charged and that it had no damage prior to this incident.

Apparently as soon as the battery started to inflate, it pushed up the screen so much so that he was able to grab a hold of it and rip it off with a fair bit of force, with the screws ripping out of the threads. He claims that smoke billowed from the battery for a good three minutes while he took the EMI shields off in a bid to disconnect the battery to remove it and take it outside.

One might question just how he was able to take pictures when all this was happening. The source says that he doesn’t use the iPhone as his primary device, ”I use the iPhone for everything else other then (sic) texting and calling,” he says. Apple hasn’t commented on this incident as yet but apparently they did request him to take pictures and sent it to them. Its unclear what may have caused this incident, previous cases have often been triggered by faulty chargers or unauthorized accessories, that doesn’t appear to be the problem this time around.

EnjOy..:)
Bugs Of Techn0l0gy

iPhone 5C Sets on Fire in School Girl’s Pocket

The girl is treated for second-degree burns at a Biddeford hospital.

A middle school student in Kennebunk suffered second-degree burns Friday when her iPhone caught fire in her pants pocket just before a class, said her family and school officials. The eighth-grader sustained burns on one thigh and her back, and was taken to Southern Maine Health Care in Biddeford for treatment. Her mother, Judy Milligan, said, “I was a little bit in shock” when the school notified her about the fire. She said she preferred not to release her daughter’s name.

The 14-year-old girl had sat down just before her first-period French class Friday morning when she and her friends sitting nearby heard a pop from the Apple iPhone 5C she had been given by her mother two months earlier.

“Immediately, smoke starts billowing from around the student,” said Jeff Rodman, principal of the Middle School of the Kennebunks. “She knew right away something was wrong and, in a panic, knew her pants were on fire caused by the cellphone.”

The girl had to take off the pants, so girls in the class helped her into a corner of the room while others herded the boys from the room and summoned a teacher, who was standing just outside the door, Rodman said.

“It was sensitive. She knew she was kind of in a tough situation,” he said.

Teachers came to help, and someone in the main office called 911.

The girl had the presence of mind to “stop, drop and roll,” Rodman said, which reduced the flames and the injuries she suffered. “The phone fell out of her pocket ... and it was still smoldering. Her pants were still on fire,” he said.

Once the pants were off, one teacher wrapped the girl in a blanket while they waited for rescue workers and firefighters to arrive.

School officials declared a “hold in place,” so students could not leave their classrooms and emergency workers could get in and out of the building quickly, Rodman said.

The girl was taken to the hospital in Biddeford, where she was treated for what her mother said were second-degree burns. She was released after about 45 minutes.

She asked to return to class, her mother said, but school officials and health care workers encouraged her to go home.

“She’s very calm – just a calm person,” Milligan said.

A call to Apple headquarters was not returned by press time.

An investigator with the state Fire Marshal’s Office took pictures of the phone.

Andrew Rosenstein, owner of TechPort in Portland, which repairs Apple products, said customers have brought in batteries that were swollen and at risk of malfunction after extended use, but not from a phone that was almost new.

“There’s basically a lithium-ion type rechargeable battery built in (to an iPhone). The battery, as it charges and discharges, it’s really a chemical reaction that can generate heat,” Rosenstein said. “It’s very rare there can be an issue, but any battery is just a chemical composition that can be flammable in extreme circumstances.”

Rosenstein said his business uses a fireproof box to store batteries from devices that are being repaired, so fire cannot spread if they somehow ignite.

There have been sporadic reports of phone fires, though typically the phones that caught fire were being charged.

The most notable malfunctions of lithium ion batteries were aboard two 787 Boeing Dreamliners, causing fires that led to the grounding of the aircraft.

Rosenstein couldn’t say what would have caused the battery in the eighth-grader’s phone to burn. He said there’s nothing else in the phone that could cause a fire. “These batteries installed in Apple products in particular are extremely safe. It’s an extremely rare incident,” he said.

Milligan said her daughter is an honor student and enjoys school, especially French class. She also is a competitive swimmer with the Biddeford Manta Rays, and had to miss Friday’s practice and Saturday’s meet in Belfast.

Milligan said she almost didn’t get the call from the school telling her that her daughter had been burned.

When she left the house Friday morning with her daughter and son, she realized she had left her cellphone in the house. She contemplated going without it for the day, but instead ran inside to grab it. In the middle of her hour-long drive to work, she got the call.

The iPhone, which was green and is now black, is useless. So are the pants, which Milligan agreed to replace.

“We went to Target and got a pair of yoga pants,” she said.

EnjOy..:)

Bugs Of Techn0l0gy

How to use Burst Mode on the iPhone 5S

Apple's latest flagship iPhone, the 5S, includes some enhancements to the camera, including a new Burst Mode.

 

When Apple unveiled the iPhone 5S, one of the main feature sets shown off during the presentation was the camera improvements. Two of the new features stood out more than others, were slo-mo videos and a new Burst Mode.
Burst Mode will take photos at up to 10 frames per second on the 5S, so you don't miss the best shot. This comes in especially useful when taking a photo of a child, or an action shot and timing isn't easy.
To use Burst Mode on the iPhone 5S, you launch the Camera app and ensure that you're using either the Photo or the Square setting.
Next, frame your shot and then tap and hold on either the shutter release button on the screen, or the volume-up key on your iPhone.
You'll hear the familiar shutter sound, but instead of just one click, you'll hear a rapid series of them. You'll also find a count indicator on the screen next to the shutter button, going up faster than you can count. This count lets you know how many photos you've snapped in a quick burst.
Don't worry, though, the software in the iPhone 5S will group all of the photos from the same burst into one thumbnail. Doing so prevents any clutter in your Camera Roll, especially if you take a long burst of 50 or 60 photos.

 

When viewing a set of burst photos, you'll notice a few extra pieces of information on the screen. The first is how you can identify a set of burst photos, complete with a count of photos in the bunch.

 

The second is the Favorites text at the bottom. What happens after you take a burst of photos is iOS 7 automatically selects what it thinks is the best photo of the bunch and shows that as the main photo. When you tap on Choose Favorites, you're able to scroll through the photos in the set and select a different favorite, or even select multiple favorites. Doing so will copy your selections and paste them into your Camera Roll where you can then share, edit and do what you'd like with the photos.
Deselecting a favorite photo will remove it from your Camera Roll, without removing the copy stored in the original set of burst photos.
When using an older iOS device you may note you can also hold in the shutter button and it will snap a series of photos. While that behavior is similar to that of the iPhone 5S, it's not near as fast, and you'll also notice that all photos taken are placed in your Camera Roll, instead of being grouped as they are on the 5S.
What do you think of the new Burst Mode on the 5S? Is it something you have used, plan or using or will never use? Have you taken an amazing photo only made possible by Burst Mode? Feel free to share it with us below in the comments.

EnjOy..:)

Bugs Of Techn0l0gy

Five apps to help you track your steps on the iPhone 5S

The iPhone 5S tracks your daily step count, but doesn't have the option to display totals built into it. You'll need to use an app for that.

 

The M7 coprocessor in the iPhone 5S is a fancy name for a chip that counts your steps and motion all day, every day. In order to see how many steps you've been taking, you'll need to use an app specifically built for the iPhone 5S and the M7 chip.
While we wait for more developers to integrate the M7 and the stats it keeps into apps, there are currently five apps available that have already integrated with the motion tracker. Here they are in no particular order.

Strava Run
This free app has been around for a while giving runners stats and GPS-created maps of running routes. With the M7 having the capability to discern if someone is walking or running (among other things), it only makes sense for the app to integrate with the new technology.
You won't find your daily step counts in Strava Run; instead you will find that it uses the M7 chip to automatically pause your current activity when you stop running, and provide better accuracy about your run.
Download Strava Run from the App Store.
 
Argus
Argus is more than a simple step counter app in that it also wants you to enter your daily weight, and track meals, water intake, and more. Basically, it's a health app that also happens to use the M7 chip to more accurately count your steps.
The first time you launch Argus, you may be surprised to find that it automatically populate your last week's worth of steps. This is because of the M7 recording and storing this data, regardless of what apps are installed, for the last seven days.
As you'll find with most of the pedometer-type apps that use the M7, there's also the option built into Argus to have your current step count displayed as a notification on the app icon.
Download Argus from the App Store for free
 
M7 Pedometer - Steps
This free app is built with one purpose: to show you how many steps you take on a daily basis.
It will provide you with your current step count for the day, along with your step count for the last week, and a total for the current year.
You can also view a graph charting your step counts over the last month. If you want to go back to a previous month, just swipe to the right.
With the iPhone 5S and the M7 having only been out for a few weeks now, there isn't a lot of historical information available, but I can see these graphs increasing in value in the future.
Download M7 Pedometer - Steps from the App Store.
 
Pedometer++
Pedometer++ is a bare-bones pedometer app. It displays your current step count for the day, along with the step count for the last seven days, and that's it. You can't share via Twitter or Facebook, and you can't view a graph or even go back in time.
Actually I lied, there is one additional feature built into the app: the ability to display your current step count as a notification on the app icon.
The step count should automatically refresh when you first launch the app, but if for some reason you don't think it has, the developer built in the capability to pull to refresh.
Download Pedometer++ from the App Store.
 
WeatherRun
WeatherRun is the only app that's not free. It'll set you back $1.99, but it provides more than just a step count.
The app was originally designed to help runners better track their runs by providing weather and altitude stats.
With a recent update adding M7 support, WeatherRun will now also show users their daily and monthly step counts, just as the apps above will do.
Download WeatherRun from the App Store.

As someone who wears a Fitbit Flex on a daily basis, I have some questions about the accuracy of the iPhone 5S and the M7 chip.
I've found the step count on my iPhone to be roughly half (if not less) than that tracked by the Fitbit. Granted there are times when I walk around for a few minutes with my iPhone sitting on the desk, but when I have Fitbit telling me I took 5,000 steps yesterday and the iPhone 5S telling me I only took 1,700 steps, something's not right.
Even if you already wear an activity monitor and have an iPhone 5S, download one of the free apps mentioned above and compare the results with the ones from your monitor. What's your experience like?

EnjOy..:)

Bugs Of Techn0l0gy