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Samsung To Appeal Apple Ruling

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Samsung plans to ask the US Supreme Court to hear its appeal of a Californian federal jury’s stinging 2012 verdict that found the South Korean tech giant violated Apple’s iPhone patents.

Samsung has filed court papers to halt its ongoing patent feud with Apple while it presses its appeal to the nation’s high court.

The US Federal Circuit Court of Appeals last week rejected Samsung’s earlier request to reconsider a ruling that largely backed Apple.

That part of the verdict – which has been pared from an original judgment of US$1 billion – accounts for about $400 million of the $548 million in damages Samsung still must pay Apple from their first trial.

Swatch Signs Visa For Smartwatch

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Swiss watchmaker Swatch has inked a deal with Visa in a bid to break into the growing market for smartwatches.

Swatch, the world’s biggest watchmaker, said Visa would provide cashless payment systems for its new Swatch Bellamy, pictured, which will be available in the US, Switzerland and Brazil from the start of 2016. (No news yet on an Australia launch.)

The watch, which will sell for 90 to 100 Swiss francs (A$121-134) uses near-field communications technology to allow the devices to exchange data and cashless payment.

Worldwide smartwatch sales are expected to grow from seven million units in 2014 to 650 million by 2020, according to estimates by the Smartwatch Group consultancy.

Garmin In New Tracking Push

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Garmin Australia is looking to grab a larger share of the activity-tracking wearables market with the launch of its Vivomove, described as a fashionable analog watch with digital tracking features.The new watch, designed to be worn all day, features a

timeless analog style face, but as well as the time can display step progress

and inactivity at a glance.

A bar on the left side of the face shows the progress toward a user’s

personalised daily step goal. A red bar on the right side reminds users when

they’ve been inactive too long, counts steps and tracks how well users slept.

The water-resistant Vivimove is available with interchangeable leather and

silicone strap options and case finishes including black, white, rose

gold-tone, stainless steel, and gold-tone. Recommended prices range from A$249

to $479.

Schmidt Book Accuse “Internet Menace” China of Cybercrime, as Papers Hacked

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SAN FRANCISCO – Google chairman Eric Schmidt has written a new book in which he calls China an “Internet menace” that backs cyber-crime for economic and political gain.
The New Digital Age – due for release in April – reportedly brands China “the world’s most active and enthusiastic filterer of information” and says China is “the most sophisticated and prolific” hacker of foreign companies.

Beijing has been accused by several governments, foreign companies and organisations of carrying out extensive cyber espionage for many years, seeking to gather information and to control China’s image.

– It isn’t just government agencies that are the target of the Chinese hackers, according to growing reports: US media is also under increasing attack.

The New York Times last week reported that its computers and those of Bloomberg had been attacked by Chinese hackers.

Since then Rupert Murdoch’s Wall Street Journal has also reported it has been a victim of Chinee attackers, and the Washington Post said its computer system had been attacked by China-based hackers in 2012.

Multi-Use PadFone Hits Oz

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SYDNEY – Asus Australia has taken the wraps off an all-in-one Android device that it claims can be used as a smartphone or a tablet – or can be converted into a netbook (remember them?)


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Dubbed the PadFone, in basic smartphone mode it has a 4.3-inch multi-touch screen.

This can be plugged into the back of a 10.1-inch PadFone Station tablet, which can then be plugged into an optional keyboard dock to become a netbook, Asus says.It all runs on Google’s Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) OS and sports a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 8260A dual-core 1.5GHz processor.

The all-in-one device will be available at Harvey Norman stores from August 14 at $999, Asus says.

Dropbox Demands Access To PC And Mac Kernels

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Dropbox has come under fire from disgruntled techies about the company gaining access to PC and Mac operating system kernels.Dropbox’s Project Infinite is aimed at shifting the

service beyond being just a browser-based interface and integrating it more

tightly with an OS so that files can be placed into cloud storage in a more

seamless way.

It also wants this deeper integration with a computer’s operating system and

local file storage so as to prevent, for instance, an inexperienced employee

removing files from a shared Dropbox file.

But some observers say giving the cloud software access to a computer’s kernel

layer potentially opens up the control layer to hackers.

Google Glass Off To Warehouse

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A US manufacturing unit of Deutsche Post is test driving the Google Glass wearable device at two of its US warehouses. The company, Exel, claims the Internet-connected eyewear will help boost productivity at its logistics facility.

The eyeware is being used to replace handheld scanners and paper job orders, with the wearable “smart-glass” devices in this case outfitted with warehouse management software.

The devices can tell workers the fastest route to find products and can read barcodes, reducing the time needed to pick out an item and pack it for shipping by 25 percent, Exel said.

Parra Gets Its Own Card

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PARRAMATTA, NSW – ParraSynch – a smartcard developed for Parramatta City dwellers – has beaten off competition from the Commonwealth Bank and Google to win a major award at the Smart Card Awards Asia event in Singapore, the city council says.
The card – developed by a technology consortium comprising the council, STMicroelectronics and SGS Technologie Australia – will be launched later this year.


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Among other things it will enable cardholders to “access council-owned car parks, use it as a security tag to access work buildings, borrow from local libraries, purchase items from businesses, access loyalty programs and more,” according to local MP Geoff Lee.

The card was developed with the aid of a grant under a NSW Government initiative dubbed Mobile Concierge.

Sony Launches 6-inch Xperia

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Sony has moved into the phablet arena with this week’s launch of its Xperia T2 Ultra dual-SIM smartphone. The T2 features a giant 6-inch display, compared with Samsung’s best-selling Note 3 phablet, which features a 5.7-inch display.

And, selling for as low as A$499 – when bought at a Sony Centre or Sony online – the Xperia is about half the $999 asking price of a Note 3. 

The Sony device is also available from major retail groups including JB Hi-Fi and the Good Guys, for $549, a price that includes a BlueAnt Bluetooth headset that usually retails for $79.

Despite its screen size, Sony claims the Xperia T2 is slim, at 7.6mm, and light, weighing only 173 grams.

Features include space for two SIM cards, allowing users to take a phone call while also listening to music or watching video. There’s also a 13-megapixel camera and a 3000mAh battery claimed to be big enough to power the big screen with ease.

Dropbox Opens Lid To Xero

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Fast-expanding NZ-based accounting software company Xero has inked a deal with online storage outfit Dropbox that will see the two companies integrate their services for business customers.

Planned enhancements will allow Xero users to access and share Dropbox files from within the Xero system, the two companies say.

Dropbox for Business will be a major sponsor of the software company’s Xerocon conference in Melbourne on August 13 and 14.