Back in April, Samsung slapped back at Apple’s claims of patent infringement with a healthy helping of ten claims of its own. Now Bloomberg is reporting that Samsung quietly dropped its countersuit against the Cupertino-based company on June 30th, in an attempt “to streamline the legal proceedings.” Of course that doesn’t mean the saga is over: Apple’s smartphone infringement accusations stand, as do legal battles in South Korea, Japan, Germany, and the UK. Samsung says it will also continue to fight Apple’s accusations in the US in the form of a counter-claim. One down, one to go?
Update: To clarify, this does not mean that Samsung has abandoned its own infringement claims against Apple. Those claims have been rolled into counter-claims in the original suit.
Just think — a decade from now, you won’t even need to spend eight grueling years in the books to be able to practice medicine. Instead, you’ll be able to drop endless cash on smartphone attachments while letting the robotshandle the rest. FotoFinder Systems is one company working hard to make that future a reality, with its recently updated Handyscope iOS app working in conjunction with the camera attachment shown above. To do what, you say? To turn your iPhone 3GS or iPhone 4 into a digital dermatoscope for mobile skin examination. It’ll probably make quite a few stomachs turn, but the peripheral + app combo allows mere mortals to take dermoscopic photos which can be viewed with a magnification of up to 20X, enabling users to email them directly to their physician (Dr. Spaceman, we hope) for a second opinion. In all seriousness, we can’t imagine anyone at risk for skin cancer even waiting for this thing to arrive before going to get checked out, but if you’re willing to pay big bucks to play doctor, the attachment is on sale now for €1,166 ($1,582), with the accompanying app going for a comparatively modest $11.99. Vid’s after the break, if you’re into it.
We’ve seen countless individuals integrate their phone, PMP or tablet into their whip, but for years, we’ve all been thinking the same thing: “There has to be an easier way.” Turns out, there is. One Mr. Romin has seemingly unearthed the solution, which involves a Lilliput FA1042 touchpanel, a Belkin AV dock adapter cable and a critical piece of software by the name of Centrafuse. Working in conjunction, he has enabled his monitor to actually control the iPhone, and when firing up a YouTube video, the content plays back on the big screen while the controls remain visible on the handset. It’s a nifty setup, for sure, and we’re downright excited to see this rig get installed in a vehicle far too small for American roads in a fortnight or so. For now, catch it working in action just past the break.
Hey, a phone that Apple introduced back in 2009 (that’d be the iPhone 3GS) is now selling — brand new with a two-year voice / data agreement — for $49, both at AT&T and through Apple directly. Of course, you could get the far more capable iPhone 4 for a fair amount more, or you could wait until tomorrow so you’d actually have an option when it comes to carriers. Your call, obviously.
You know what that is, don’t you? That’s right: AT&T’s new $50 smartphone. In an aggressive move targeted at tweenagers still taking mirror-based MySpace profile pics with their Motorola RAZRs, both new and upgrade-eligible existing AT&T customers will be able to get the cut-rate iPhone 3GS starting tomorrow, January 7. According to the PR, the price for phones sold in Apple channels will be determined by — you guessed it — Apple, so bargain shoppers should stick to the AT&T retail outlets. And there you have it — do with the information what you will. PR after the break.
Hey, you — it’s January 3rd. You know, the day you’re supposed to return to work / school / life. And the day you’re supposed to catch a flight you’ve had booked for three months. And probably a day that you’re supposed to accomplish lots of other tasks. Unfortunately for you, you actually believed that your iPhone alarm would fix itself when today rolled around, but based on hordes of complaints seen on Twitter and Facebook, said fix is still hibernating. And thus, you’re still sleeping. Even here at Engadget HQ, we’ve seen iPhone 4 handsets not wake us as promised (on non-recurring alarms), so who knows when Apple will step up to the plate and address the issue. In the meantime, go ahead and set up a recurring alarm while gently crossing your fingers and toes. Or, you know, buy a battery-powered alarm clock off of your grandmother.
We’re not exactly sure of the cause of this fancy new issue affecting Apple’s super cool iPhone line of cellphones, but apparently you’ve got trouble come 1/1/2011. According to an explosive stream of frustration-filled tweets on the Twitter microblogging service, when the clock strikes midnight, one off alarms will cease to sing out. The issue sounds eerily similar to recent Daylight Savings Time trouble we witnessed back in November, although we saw both repeating alarm and single alarm failures.
So how can you fix this potentially life-ruining problem? Well until Apple patches its OS — and it’s currently unclear if this is just iOS 4.2.1 or earlier versions as well — you can simply create a recurring alarm at the time you need to be woken up, and then disable it once your dreams are completely ruined. We’re taking a deeper look into the issue and have contacted Apple — if we get more news, you guys will be the first to know. In the meantime, feel free to commiserate in comments, and… happy new year?
Update:9to5 Mac says that the bug will get fixed all by itself once the calendar hits January 3rd. We haven’t confirmed this, but if it turns out to be the case, that’s pretty good news. In less good news, the issue seems to be affecting iOS 4.1 and 4.0.2 as well.
Update 2: Apple responded to us on the issue, though they didn’t offer any surprises:
We’re aware of an issue related to non repeating alarms set for January 1 or 2. Customers can set recurring alarms for those dates and all alarms will work properly beginning January 3.
All signs have been pointing to this release for a few days now, but we’ll admit: we expected Skype to wait until CES next week to pull the covers off what could become its crown jewel service over the coming months. Skype’s official iOS client has finally sprouted the ability to make video calls, allowing iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, and fourth-generation iPod touch users to share real-time video amongst each other and users of Skype’s Windows, Mac, and Linux clients along with the ASUS Videophone (obviously, 3GS users won’t have the convenience of a front-facing camera, but they’ll still be able to broadcast video from the rear-facing one). Additionally, you’ll be able to receive video from others if you’re using an iPad or a third-generation iPod touch. The service is free and works over both WiFi and 3G — and considering Skype’s existing PC footprint, we’d argue this stands a very real chance of putting the hurt on FaceTime usage. No word on when Skype will be making video-capable clients available for Android or other mobile platforms, but Skype says that there’ll be “plenty more” announcements in Vegas next week, so we wouldn’t be surprised.
Update: So we just gave 3.0 a spin, calling iPhone-to-iPhone (both WiFi), iPhone-to-desktop (both WiFi), and again iPhone-to-iPhone (both 3G). The first two worked great, although the desktop camera produced better quality. As for the worst-case scenario, 3G-to-3G video calling, well… we wouldn’t recommend it unless absolutely necessary. Video after the break, and be sure to note the battery life — after about 10 minutes of use, we dropped from 66 percent to 61.
Someone must really like you — otherwise, how did you end up with an iPhone this holiday season? Yeah, we know, iPads don’t really fit into stockings. Besides, your parent or significant other got you an arguably better gift in the cheaper (with two-year contract, of course), more compact, and more recently updated iPhone 4. We’ve given you some app suggestions before when the device first launched, but that was six months ago, and in technology time, that’s like seven years. Want a run-down of the best apps, our favorite accessories, and the essential tips and tricks? Just follow along after the break!
Whoa, Nelly! ThinkFlood won’t like this… not one bit. If you’ll recall, the RedEye universal remote dongle was well received, as a simple 3.5mm adapter added IR beaming to Apple’s slate of iDevices. But now, Mashed Pixel has taken the integration one step further, seamlessly embedding an Infrared emitter into a case. Simply pop the Surc around your iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS or iPhone 4, download the (free) accompanying app and start programming. Before long, you’ll be dictating your home entertainment setup sans any external accessories, and heck, you may even improve your phone’s reception all the while. The only downside to this approach compared to ThinkFlood’s is that the iPad is obviously not supported, and once you upgrade to the iPhone 5, your trusty IR case becomes a glorified paperweight. If you’re kosher with that, though, you can get your pre-order in now for $69.95, with initial shipments expected to make their way out in Q1 2011.
