If we can manage to pull our eyes and attention away from the ongoing legal battle that is currently being disputed between Apple and Samsung, then it is worth noting that both companies have some new and exciting going on behind the scenes. Both companies are continually pumping their resources into the design and development of new products, and considering Samsung is currently the world’s largest smartphone vendor, with Apple in a close second, they are battling it out in the marketplace as well as the court rooms.
It's official folks - Samsung has begun inviting press to its upcoming IFA 2012 event on August 20th. The event has been the subject of some announcement rumors of late, with everyone in general agreement that we will see a new handset come out of Samsung's IFA event.
We should all know by now that Apple and Samsung are locked in a trial centered around a patent infringement case that has been bubbling away for the better part of the last eighteen months. With various allegations being made from either side, the dispute is primarily focused on the alleged patent and design infringements, with Apple said to be looking for $2 billion in compensation from the Korean electronics giants. As is usually the case with trials that center around this kind of thing, nothing is ever straight forward with Samsung vehemently disputing the claims and making their own accusations aimed at Apple.
Google TV is just one of a slew of web-centered streaming content services, but is quickly becoming one of the most popular, with Vizio - manufacturer of the Co-Stora set-top box for Google TV - struggling to keep a decent amount set-top in stock due to high demand. For those of you using Google TV ( I know there are many of you), a new extension for Chrome will allow you to control GTV straight from the browser, working in much the same fashion as the numerous remote apps for Android.
Google paints its Wallet services as the future of shopping transactions, and using the power of NFC, or Near Field Communication, it has certainly shown much promise. The lack of a few important features is largely attributable to its infant state, but today, the Big G has given Wallet a pretty big update, offering support for all major credit and debit cards.
Despite Apple's incessant efforts to win an injunction banning sales of Google's Galaxy Nexus, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has rejecting the Cupertino company’s claims, and the device - manufactured by South Korean electronics giant Samsung - will continue to retail.
The smartphone industry is one of the most fiercely contested in tech space, and although Windows Phone 8 will bring Microsoft well and truly into the fold, the battle is currently fought between Google's Android and Apple's iOS platforms.
In terms of technology, we're heavily reliant on insider information and the typically "unspecified" sources in order to gather intel, but often, indications of new features are right under our noses. When a new software feature arrives in Android or iOS, the foundations are usually laid long before that, and it's down to us to do the digging and uncover them.
One of the great things about having devices like smartphones and tablets is the ability to constantly update the standard functionality of the gadget by downloading and installing additional apps which are available through marketplaces like the iOS App Store and Google's own software market, the Google Play Store. In some instances it is possible to acquire installations from other sources, but for the mainstream user, the official app hubs prove more than sufficient with over 1.2 million combined apps available on the two largest sales platforms.
Android Jelly Bean (4.1) seems to have gone down a treat among those using it, and it certainly seems as though Project Butter - a movement to make Android a lot sleeker and lag-free - has done the trick. With any new operating system, the temptation for many is to simply mod and tweak in order to decipher just what it's capable of, and for those having done a little - maybe too much - modding on their Nexus device, you'll be pleased to know you can grab a fresh, stock copy of your mobile OS.
