Mobile

Patent No. 7,679,604--"Method and apparatus for controlling a computer system"--the broad motion-control patent I've been writing about this week, has passed through a number of hands over the years.

First assigned to ArrayComm in 2006, it was subsequently handed over to Durham Logistics, a limited liability company which is itself managed by another obscure Las Vegas LLC called Memscom. But there's one more company at the end of that oblique line of ownership: Intellectual Ventures, an "invention capital firm" or patent troll, depending on your views on innovation and intellectual … Read more

In the heyday of PDAs such as the Dell Axim and the Hewlett-Packard Jornada, companies such as TomTom and Navigon offered software that ran on other companies' hardware. The low installed base of PDAs prevented that solution from becoming a runaway success and gave way to integrated portable navigation devices, or PNDs, such as those from Garmin. PNDs sold in the millions, becoming hot gift items.

Now, though, the growing screen size and touch capabilities of smartphones are making them formidable rivals to standalone navigation devices. According to NPD Group's Mobile Phone Track, four out of five cell phones … Read more

Time Warner Cable has launched free Wi-Fi for all 1 million of its New York City customers.

According to Time Warner, customers can connect to "thousands" of high-speed Wi-Fi hot spots around the city starting Thursday. Time Warner Cable subscribers will have unlimited access to the Wi-Fi services, which run on Cablevision's Optimum Wi-Fi network that launched in 2008.

It should be noted that only New York City-based subscribers will be able to access the hot spots. In order to access a hot spot, customers will need to log in using their Road Runner username and password.… Read more

The mobile apps market has become a cash cow for carriers such as Apple but is turning increasingly competitive for developers trying to make a profit, according to a new In-Stat report.

Mobile subscribers are downloading apps in ever increasing numbers as they learn more about the capabilities of their smartphones, said the report, released Wednesday. As the company that set the standard for mobile apps, Apple and its App Store are seeing the most action, with iPhone and iPod Touch users downloading 2.4 times more apps than the other smartphone owners.

But although the news may be bright … Read more

LAS VEGAS--First it was e-readers and Netbooks. Now AT&T wants to connect dog collars and pill caps to its wireless network.

AT&T's Glenn Lurie, who heads up the company's emerging devices business, sees a world in which any device can be connected over AT&T's wireless network. And for almost two years, he has been working to get as many devices signed up on the AT&T network as possible.

The business is just beginning, but at the end of 2009, AT&T reported it already had one million devices … Read more

LAS VEGAS--AT&T execs said there is big opportunity in selling mid-range phones to consumers who think smartphones are too expensive and too complicated.

Executives talked about this new cell phone category they call "quick messaging devices" on Wednesday at an event at the CTIA tradeshow here.

What is a quick-messaging phone? Think the LG Neon and Samsung Propel. These are phones that don't have the processing power and functionality found in most smartphones, but they still offer data services, such as messaging, e-mail, and Web access. Most of these phones also have QWERTY keypads and/… Read more

LAS VEGAS--Sprint Nextel and Clearwire executives admitted Wednesday that they could follow the rest of the worldwide wireless network and adopt LTE for future network upgrades.

Spring Nextel CEO Dan Hesse and Clearwire CEO Bill Morrow sat down separately and talked to CTIA CEO Steve Largent during the keynote session on the second day of the CTIA trade show here.

In 2008, Sprint and Clearwire combined spectrum and formed a partnership to build a nationwide network using a technology called WiMax. During the keynote conversations, Largent asked each executive about his company's decision to use WiMax over other technologies, … Read more

LONDON--Let's say you're trying to decide whether to buy a new mobile phone and you like taking photos. The Google Nexus One's 5-megapixel camera has 56 percent more pixels than the iPhone 3GS's 3.2 megapixels, but it's clear the camera isn't 56 percent better.

Now let's say it's 2012 and you're trying to decide whether to buy an Apple iPhone 4GS or a Google Nexus Three. You might be able to make a better choice this time.

That's because the International Imaging Industry Association, a consortium involving more than … Read more

Here's a potentially noteworthy development in the patent litigation-riddled mobile device market.

The patent is No. 7,679,604, "Method and apparatus for controlling a computer system," and it describes motion control as a means of interacting with smartphones and the like.

The invention, the patent's authors explain, "facilitates an intuitive motion control of the application by physically manipulating the electronic device...it enables a user to intuitively control the state and/or displayed content of a computing device without the conventional need of pressing button(s), or manipulating a trackpad, trackball, etc. In this … Read more