Nokia wins an injunction against all HTC devices in Germany

Another one of Nokia’s lawsuits against HTC in Germany ended favorably for the Finnish manufacturer. Nokia won a patent injunction against all Android devices of the Taiwanese manufacturer, including the trio of HTC One devices.

HTC was found to infringe patent number EP1148681. It is related to a method for transferring resource information which allows users to directly connect two HTC devices over Bluetooth or NFC. The patent is deemed not standard-essential, thus meaning that Nokia doesn’t have any FRAND (fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory) obligations.

According to the ruling, Nokia can enforce the injunction on a provisional basis, and recall all infringing HTC devices from the market. In order to do so, the Finnish company must post a bond of €400 million.

HTC is certain to appeal the German court’s decision. The process however, could prove challenging.

Google is also concerned about this litigation. The search giant has filed a nullity complaint which challenges the patent, which can potentially threat the entire Android eco system.

The latest German court ruling comes hot on the heels of another one from earlier this month. Another decision on the case which involves the two companies is expected on January 9, 2014.

HTC has been in a legal tussle with the Finnish company in the United Kingdom as well. It managed to get the UK injunction which Nokia won suspended for the time being.

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LG reportedly sold three million G2 smartphones

According to a report in Yonhap News quoting local analysts, LG has sold three million G2 smartphones globally since the device's launch. The latest sales number is higher than the previously reported two million units sold by the Korean manufacturer.

One million LG G2 units were sold between August and September - hot on the heels of the flagship's New York City launch. The remaining two million devices got into customers' hands in the last quarter of this year. Out of the three million units, 900,000 are said to be sold in LG's home market in South Korea.

While three million units is undoubtedly a stellar sales number, LG still has a way to go before it reaches its targets for the G2. Back in September, LG announced its intentions to sell 10 million G2 units.

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Huawei Ascend Mate 2 photos leaked

We recently posted some pictures of the Ascend Mate 2 from less than ideal angles, but now there is an entire photo gallery dedicated to Huawei's upcoming phablet.

Huawei Ascend Mate 2

The photographer was kind enough to take pictures of the Mate 2 with the original Mate smartphone to give a better idea of the aesthetic changes the Chinese manufacturer put into the newer device. The Mate 2 is slightly thinner and has a more curved backside. The most intriguing updates, however, are under the hood.

A 13MP primary camera, 1.6 GHz quad-core processor, 16GB internal storage, and 2GB RAM. It has been reported, however, that the screen will not be updated on the Mate 2. It will most likely sport the same 6.1 inch, 720p display as the original Mate, which may be a bit disappointing, considering that the screen is the star of the show. Expect the Mate 2 to debut at CES 2014, which takes place from January 7-10. You can check out the leaked photos, courtesy Engadget China, at the source link below.

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Samsung Galaxy Note 3 vs. Nokia Lumia 1520: Bigger, better, faster

GSMArena team, 27 December 2013.

Introduction

We venture again into the realm of phablets, one that at the beginning seemed to promise little more than a short burst of action, has become the scene of some of the most thrilling battles this industry has seen. The showdown we're about to witness though could well be the climax and a new beginning, all at once. A new dimension of a rivalry that's been going for years but is now more heated than ever.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 3 emerged from every battle without so much as a scratch. The lineup has defined the segment and the third generation is an impressive all-rounder with rock-solid still imaging, probably the best video a phone can produce, processing power to spare and plenty of value-adding software features. The S Pen also makes sure the Note 3 caters to artists and creative in a way hardly any device would.

Nokia is only just entering the phablet space, but years of design and imaging excellence are finally made to count, now that Microsoft has finally taken the platform up to speed, enabling support for the latest in screen resolution and computing power. What once put the N and E series at the top of the smartphone food chain must be running in the veins of the Lumia 1520 too.

Ironically, it's phablets where Windows Phone is finally able to stand up to Android in a meaningful, unconditional way. In the end though, there couldn't have been a more appropriate scene for this battle. A battle that may never have happened. A killer droid against a droid killer.

Nokia Lumia 1520 over the Samsung Galaxy Note 3

• A little more screen real estate


• More base storage - 32GB vs. 16GB


• Bigger camera sensor - 1/2.5" vs 1/3.06" and higher resolution - 20MP vs 13MP


• Optical image stabilization


• FM Radio


• Superior battery life


• Four microphone setup, WDR audio recording


• Offline maps and voice-guided navigation

Samsung Galaxy Note 3 over the Nokia Lumia 1520

• S-Pen stylus input and good software backing


• Notably Cheaper


• More compact - 151.2 x 79.2 x 8.3 mm vs 162.8 x 85.4 x 8.7 mm


• Lighter - 168 g vs 209 g


• More RAM - 3 GB vs 2 GB


• 64 GB of built-in storage version


• Slightly higher-clocked chipset - 2.3 GHz vs 2.2 GHz


• 4K (2160p) video recording over 1080@30fps


• 2 MP 1080p front-facing camera vs 1.2 MP 720p one


• Temperature and humidity sensors


• IR port for remote control functionality

These two are powered by identical Snapdragon 800 chipsets and have massive full-HD screens. It's Super AMOLED against ClearBlack LCD, PureView against S Pen, Nokia against Samsung, Android against Windows Phone. Apps and services is where the battle will be fought too. PureView and the software behind it, Nokia Music, Nokia Drive and Microsoft Office against the stylus-enabled apps and features, the latest TouchWiz treats, and the Google services.

Both devices at HQ

What will decide this one though is perhaps between the lines of the spec sheets, and the fight will be one to watch, we promise you.

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Nokia Lumia 635 Moneypenny to have LTE connectivity

Rumors surrounding the most recent Lumia smartphone in development, codenamed "Moneypenny," continue to come fast and fresh, and the latest one indicates that at least one of the Moneypenny variants will have support for 4G LTE.

The leaked shot comes by way of @evleaks, and shows off the Windows Phone 8 OS running on what is purportedly the Nokia Lumia 635 (as indicated by the time). The icon and antenna clearly shows off a 4G connection in the upper left.

We first heard about Moneypenny last week, when @evleaks again released a screenshot showing off a WP8-powered device with a dual-SIM interface - a first for Windows Phone.

It's assumed that that variant of the Moneypenny will see the light of day as the Nokia Lumia 630, again based on the time in the shot. Due to its dual-SIM configuration, it'll likely be available in emerging markets, while the 4G-capable Lumia 635 is expected to hit more developed regions.

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Nokia Lumia 525 goes on sale for $100 in China

The recently announced Lumia 525 (a version of the Lumia 520 with 1GB RAM) has just made it to select markets putting an end to our guessing about its price. The surprise is that it's got an even more cutthroat pricing than the Lumia 520 right out of the gate.

We just reported yesterday on the strong sales the Lumia 520/521 were accomplishing worldwide, making up 30% of all Windows Phones sold. A lot of it has to do with the fact that the prices of these models are lower than any similar hardware from Android. The Lumia 520, for instance, just recently hit an all-time low price of £70 ($110) SIM-free over at Amazon UK. The Amazon stock is now sold out and the Lumia 520 is back to £100+ ($160+) price levels.

Online Chinese phone retailer Tmall has priced the 525 at ¥629, which is the equivalent of around $100. Amazon China, which sells both the Lumia 525 and Lumia 520 has the first listed as ¥699 ($115). It should be noted that Tmall is offering the 525 for less than what Amazon charges for the 520, despite the 525's better specs.

These prices are very appealing, considering what buyers get: a 4-inch display with the latest Windows Phone 8 and 1GB RAM. The boost in RAM is perhaps the biggest draw of the 525 over its 520/521 counterparts. 1GB of RAM would allow users access to all of the apps in the Windows Phone marketplace (some high-profile apps won't run on any less than that). The expandable storage and the free voice-guided navigation are also very enticing.

There's no official date as to when the 525 will be made available in the US and Europe, but when it comes, we expect the phone to sell just as well, if not better, than the 520 and 521. (Note: Even though the picture at Tmall reads "520" the description indicates it is indeed the 525)

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Samsung announces 4GB DDR4 mobile DRAM

Samsung has been working hard this holiday season and today announced its 8Gb (that's 1GB) LPDDR4 mobile DRAM chip. This is not only the industry first LPDDR4 mobile DRAM, but it's also the first mobile DRAM to fit such a high density (8 gigabits) on a single die. Four of those dies can successfully be combined for a total of 4GB of mobile memory - an amount that so far has not been achieved commercially.

Fabricated on the 20nm manufacturing process, the new mobile LPDDR4 chips are reportedly 50% faster than the fastest LPDDR3 memory on the market, while also consuming 40% less power at 1.1 volts.

Here's what Young-Hyun Jun, executive vice president, memory sales & marketing, Samsung Electronics said regarding the new product.

This next-generation LPDDR4 DRAM will contribute significantly to faster growth of the global mobile DRAM market, which will soon comprise the largest share of the entire DRAM market

The data transfer speeds the new 8Gb LPDDR4 DRAM chip can achieve are 3,200Mbps per pin - twice the speed of currently produced 20nm LPDDR3 DRAM.

Samsung also hints that the resulting 4GB RAM modules will be included in "UHD smartphones, tablets and ultra-slim notebooks," which says something about the jump in smartphone screen resolution during the next year. Perhaps even the upcoming Galaxy S5 may be one of those UHD smartphones.

Mind you, to utilize that kind of memory, the Galaxy S5 will need a 64-bit CPU architecture. Good thing Samsung promises it's 64-bit SoC will be ready in time for the phone's announcement (usually in the first half of the year).

Thanks for the tip, sharang!

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