Samsung Droid Charge
Apple Asks Court to Ban 8 Samsung Phones
In the wake of its courtroom victory against Samsung, Apple today asked the court to ban sales of eight Samsung devices found to infringe on its design and other patents. The devices include the Galaxy S 4G, S2 (AT&T and T-Mobile), S2 Skyrocket, S2 Epic 4G, S Showcase, Droid Charge, and Galaxy Prevail. Apple is hoping the court will grant a preliminary ban on these devices while seeking a final, permanent injunction barring their sale in the U.S. A San Jose jury found Samsung guilty of willful infringement of Apple's intellectual property and awarded it damages of more than $1 billion. Samsung is preparing to challenge the verdict.
Samsung Droid Charge to Get Remote Diagnostic Tool, Too
Verizon Wireless today indicated that it will begin pushing a system update to the Samsung Droid Charge in the coming days. The update will add the same remote diagnostics tool that Verizon recently delivered to the LG Revolution. The remote diagnostic software will let Verizon's technical support staff view the user's device remotely to help with trouble shooting. The update also addresses several bugs and improves performance. It is free to download, and users will be notified once it is available for their handset.
Skype Expands Video Chat Feature to More Androids
Skype has provided an update to its Android application that adds the video chatting feature to a large number of new Android handsets. Skype notes that Gingerbread is required to use the video chat feature, so owners of the following phones are encouraged to make sure their system is up to date. The new handsets are: the Acer A5; the HTC Desire, Thunderbolt, Sensation, EVO 4G, EVO 3D, Incredible S, Desire HD, Flyer; the LG Revolution; the Samsung Galaxy S, Galaxy S II, Droid Charge, Galaxy Tab; and the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play, Xperia ray, and Xperia mini pro. The update is free to install.
Samsung Droid Charge Update Repairs Mobile Hotspot
Verizon Wireless is offering a new system update to the Samsung Droid Charge that fixes a number of issues, including restoration of the mobile hotspot feature (which was knocked out in May). Other improvements include better battery life, better management of 4G/3G data connections, improved GPS and browser performance, and improvements to the email program's Exchange and folder support. Users will be notified when their device is ready for the update.
Inductive Battery Cover Available for Samsung Charge
Owners of the Samsung Droid Charge can now purchase a new battery cover that will allow the phone to charge wirelessly via magnetic induction. The cover, which conforms to the Qi standard, costs $29.99. The charging pad is available separately.
Google Says Android Security Fix Being Pushed Out
Google today acknowledged a security issue recently discovered by researchers that left Android device users' authentication details exposed when used over unprotected Wi-Fi networks. In response, Google said it is pushing out a security update that should fix the problem. "Today we're starting to roll out a fix which addresses a potential security flaw that could, under certain circumstances, allow a third party access to data available in calendar and contacts," Google said in a statement. "This fix requires no action from users and will roll out globally over the next few days."
Hands-On: Samsung LTE 4G smartphone.
Samsung's baby is so new, it hasn't even been named yet, so we'll just call it the LTE 4G smartphone. We got hands-on time with the new phone at Verizon Wireless' CES press conference.
