US patent office rejects claims of Apple 'pinch to zoom' patent

Samsung devices were found by a jury in California to have infringed one of the claims of the patent

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has rejected claims of an Apple patent that figures prominently in a patent infringement lawsuit against Samsung Electronics, according to documents filed by the South Korean company in a U.S. federal court.

The 21 claims of the patent were rejected by the USPTO in a "final office action," as they were anticipated by previous patents or unpatentable. Known as the "pinch-to-zoom" patent, it covers the ability to distinguish between the scrolling movement of one finger and two-fingers gestures like pinch-to-zoom on a touch-screen to activate certain functions.

Apple has up to two months to respond to the USPTO decision. In a filing in April after USPTO rejected multiple claims of another patent in a similar final office action, Apple said it had further options, including appeal to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board and seeking judicial review.

Claim eight of the patent was involved in Apple's lawsuit against Samsung in the court, according to a filing Sunday by Samsung in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, San Jose Division. A jury last August awarded Apple $1.05 billion in damages, but the court has ordered a partial retrial to review the damages to be paid to the iPhone maker.

The jury found at trial that 21 of 24 Samsung smartphones and tablets infringed claim 8 of U.S. Patent No. 7,844,915 ('915 patent), Samsung said in its filing on Sunday. The claim relates to "determining whether the event object invokes a scroll or gesture operation by distinguishing between a single input point applied to the touch-sensitive display that is interpreted as the scroll operation and two or more input points applied to the touch-sensitive display that are interpreted as the gesture operation," according to a USPTO document filed in the court by Samsung.

The USPTO ruled claim eight was anticipated in U.S. Patent No. 7,724,242 awarded to Daniel W. Hillis and Bran Ferren. "Hillis teaches distinguishing the number of contact points and determining whether the event object matches a gesture pattern," the USPTO wrote in its decision.

The USPTO rejected in April multiple claims of another patent that figured in the lawsuit, known as "overscroll bounce" patent. Apple, however, said in a filing that the reexamination is not finished, and it is entitled to file a response to the action which may result in a withdrawal of the rejection or certification of the claims under reexamination.

The company also raised the possibility that it may appeal to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, and if unsuccessful, may seek judicial review in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit or the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. A similar filing is likely from Apple in connection with the rejection of the '915 patent, even as Samsung is expected to argue for lower damages. The jury awarded damages to Apple with regard to all but two products found to infringe the '915 patent, Samsung said in its filing.

http://www.computerworld.com

US patent office rejects Apple’s ‘pinch to zoom’ patent claims

Of all the patents that Apple has sued Samsung over in the past couple of years, the pinch to zoom patent was perhaps the one that always came to the fore in every discussion related to the legal tussles, and in a move that will not make Apple happy, the US patent office (USPTO) has rejected claims of the Cupertino company to the pinch to zoom functionality.

The rejection of the patent’s 21 claims are deemed to be a “final office action” by the USPTO, after passing a preliminary ruling in December 2012 that the patent claims were invalid, but is open to appeal by Apple to the Patent Trial Appeal Board, similar to the “overscroll bounce” patent that was rejected in April and is currently under review. Claim eight is the most important here, as it was the one that got the courts to make Samsung pay $1 billion in damages, but with the claim now nullified, it seems things could get a bit uneven for Apple.

Whatever may happen in the coming months, this ruling is enormously in Samsung’s favor (and a big win in the fight against silly software patents), and it’s great to see the USPTO actually acting sensibly for a change (even if they did pass the patent initially). The war is far from over, but hey, Samsung is no doubt very h

http://www.sammobile.com

"Smart" car charging from Scosche for iOS and Android

California-based Scosche has announced its new line of chargers, which have car charging Lightning-connector - Scosche strikeDrive 5W and 12W, as well as charging "2 in 1» - reVIVE Line and strikeDRIVE smart - with two types of connectors on a single cable. This kind of cable that allows you to simultaneously charge two devices with different connectors. revive Line - charger that allows you to charge gadgets with 30-pin connector and a micro-USB, which will charge a device from Apple, and gadgets based on Android, e-books and more more.
 

strikeDRIVE smart - Lightning and charge with a micro-USB connector, which also will charge the iOS and Android devices with connectors.

As the producer, his Chargers ergonomic features a compact size and spiral cable that allows you to adjust the length and fits rechargeable device.

BBM for iOS and Android to Launch This Summer

Waterloo, ON – BlackBerry® (NASDAQ: BBRY; TSX: BB) announced plans to make  its ground-breaking mobile social network, BlackBerry® Messenger (BBM™), available to iOS® and Android™ users this summer, with support planned for iOS6, and Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) or higher, all subject to approval by the Apple App Store and Google Play. BBM sets the standard for mobile instant messaging with a fast, reliable, engaging experience that includes delivered and read statuses, and personalized profiles and avatars. Upon release, BBM customers would be able to broaden their connections to include friends, family and colleagues on other mobile platforms.

In the planned initial release, iOS and Android users would be able to experience the immediacy of BBM chats, including multi-person chats, as well as the ability to share photos and voice notes, and engage in BBM Groups, which allows BBM customers to create groups of up to 30 people.

“For BlackBerry, messaging and collaboration are inseparable from the mobile experience, and the time is definitely right for BBM to become a multi-platform mobile service. BBM has always been one of the most engaging services for BlackBerry customers, enabling them to easily connect while maintaining a valued level of personal privacy. We’re excited to offer iOS and Android users the possibility to join the BBM community,” said Andrew Bocking, Executive Vice President, Software Product Management and Ecosystem, at BlackBerry.

BBM is loved by customers for its “D” and “R” statuses, which show up in chats to let people know with certainty that their message has been delivered and read. It provides customers with a high level of control and privacy over who they add to their contact list and how they engage with them, as invites are two-way opt-in. iOS and Android users would be able to add their contacts through PIN, email, SMS or QR code scan, regardless of platform. Android users would also be able to connect using a compatible NFC-capable device.

BBM has more than 60 million monthly active customers, with more than 51 million people using BBM an average of 90 minutes per day. BBM customers collectively send and receive more than 10 billion messages each day, nearly twice as many messages per user per day as compared to other mobile messaging apps. Almost half of BBM messages are read within 20 seconds of being received; indicating how truly engaged BBM customers are.

Today, BlackBerry also announced BBM Channels, a new social engagement platform within BBM that will allow customers to connect with the businesses, brands, celebrities and groups they are passionate about. BlackBerry plans to add support for BBM Channels as well as voice and video chatting for iOS and Android later this year, subject to approval by the Apple App Store and Google Play.

If approved by Apple and Google, the BBM app will be available as a free download in the Apple® App StoreSM and Google Play store. Additional details about system requirements and availability will be announced closer to the launch.

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About BlackBerry

A global leader in wireless innovation, BlackBerry® revolutionized the mobile industry when it was introduced in 1999. Today, BlackBerry aims to inspire the success of our millions of customers around the world by continuously pushing the boundaries of mobile experiences. Founded in 1984 and based in Waterloo, Ontario, BlackBerry operates offices in North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and Latin America. BlackBerry is listed on the NASDAQ Stock Market (NASDAQ: BBRY) and the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: BB). For more information, visit www.blackberry.com.

Apple’s App Store Marks Historic 50 Billionth Download

Apple® announced that customers have downloaded over 50 billion apps* from the revolutionary App Store?. Customers are downloading more than 800 apps per second at a rate of over two billion apps per month on the App Store. The 50 billionth app was Say the Same Thing by Space Inch, LLC, which was downloaded by Brandon Ashmore from Mentor, Ohio who received a $10,000 App Store Gift Card to commemorate this historic milestone.

“Apple would like to thank our incredible customers and developers for topping 50 billion apps downloaded,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services. “The App Store completely transformed how people use their mobile devices and created a thriving app ecosystem that has paid out over nine billion dollars to developers. We’re absolutely floored to cross this milestone in less than five years.”

The App Store opened in July 2008 with 500 apps. Since its introduction, Apple’s incredible developer community has created an app for doing almost everything imaginable on an iPhone®, iPad® and iPod touch®.

“We were blown away with our success on the App Store back in 2008,” said Rich Riley, CEO of Shazam. “And almost five years later we continue to be amazed with how much people love using Shazam on their iPhone or iPad. With the App Store, we can effortlessly provide users with updates that give them great new features while making it easy for new users to discover and download Shazam for themselves.”

“We started our company in 2008 as three friends focused on creating great educational apps for our children,” said Caroline Hu Flexer, co-founder of Duck Duck Moose. “The App Store brought ‘Wheels on the Bus’ to the world in a big way. Sixteen apps later, a fan base of millions of parents, children and educators and a growing company with 20 full-time employees, we couldn’t be happier with our success.”

“The App Store has been integral in getting us into the hands of millions of iOS users and has transformed our business,” said Elizabeth Francis, Chief Marketing Officer of Gilt.com. “Our apps allow our members to access their favorite sales on Gilt every day, anytime, anywhere. App Store customers have proven to be a loyal shopper base and have been influential in making Gilt the globally recognized brand it is today.”

The revolutionary App Store offers more than 850,000 apps to iPhone, iPad and iPod touch users in 155 countries around the world, with more than 350,000 native iPad apps available. App Store customers can choose from an incredible range of apps in 23 categories, including newspapers and magazines offered in Newsstand, games, business, news, sports, health & fitness and travel.

*50 billion unique downloads excluding re-downloads and updates.

Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices with iPad.

Apple updates iTunes 11 with new mini player

Apple updates iTunes 11 with new mini player

http://blog.gsmarena.com/apple-updates-itunes-11-with-new-mini-player/

iTunes 11.0.3

About iTunes 11.0.3
This version of iTunes comes with several new features and improvements, including:

New MiniPlayer. MiniPlayer now includes a beautiful new view that showcases your album artwork. In addition, a progress bar is now built right into MiniPlayer.
Improved Songs View. You can now enjoy your album artwork while in Songs view.
Multi-Disc Albums. Albums with multiple discs now appear as a single album.
This update also provides performance improvements when searching and sorting large iTunes libraries.

For information on the security content of this update, please visit: support.apple.com/kb/HT1222.

Windows SHA1=1e95101b584762b3c46ab597c115cd86bfd45d64

Windows 64 SHA1=6669044bd50c1f753c8412a02556a70be09fd9f8

Mac SHA1=83f4afc5d3b5698c811c87c27b975824116bbf1d

To download iTunes 11.0.3 for Windows 64 bit: support.apple.com/kb/DL1615.

eBay’s iPhone app gets new interface, quick sign-up with Drivers License scanning, iPad app gets enhancements

eBay’s iPhone application has received a significant update that affects both the user-interface and some core features.

Notably, the application’s interface has been tweaked for simplicity and features an improved bidding process for soon-to-be-ending auctions, larger photo views, and the ability to checkout multiple items simultaneously in the United States and United Kingdom.

Perhaps the most interesting and handy feature, though, is the ability to quickly sign-up for an eBay account by scanning your Drivers License with the iPhone’s camera. eBay owns high-profile barcode scanning technology, so perhaps that is used to make that new feature a reality. The free update is available on iTunes.

eBay’s (separate) iPad app also got a notable update today: release notes below.

iPhone/iPod touch: What’s New in Version 3.0.0

- New and improved look and feel
- Checkout multiple items at a time with the new eBay Shopping Cart (US and UK only)
- Tap the grid icon at the top of search results to see larger photos (iOS 6 required)*
- Scan your drivers license for fast and easy eBay registration (available in select US states)
- Improved last minute bidding
- Selling support for Spain
- Many bug fixes and enhancements

iOS 5+ is required for this update

*New search results will be available over the next two weeks

iPad: What’s New in Version 2.3.0

- Buy multiple items with Shopping Cart
- Improved photo picker in selling flow
- Faster checkout remembers your PayPal ID
- Photos in search results look even better

We’ve been hard at work on version 2.3 of eBay for iPad and we hope you like it.

New for Sellers:
- Attach multiple photos at once from your photo library
- Easily crop and adjust photos
- Buyer’s name now shown in grid view for quick reference
- Easier to select shipping options in SYI
- “Sell One Like This” button easier to find
- Access your listing drafts right from your homescreen
- View your feedback received on View Item

Improvements for Buyers:
- Easily filter seller feedback by positive, neutral, and negative
- New “Search By Best Offer” items option
- Your Max Bid now included on View Item
- Always want New items with Free shipping? Set your default “Search Preferences” options in settings

http://9to5mac.com