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Texas backs out of the lawsuit to stop the T-Mobile and Sprint merger
Texas no longer stands in the way of the T-Mobile and Sprint merger. The state has reached a settlement with T-Mobile, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced today. In exchange for T-Mobile's commitment to build a 5G network throughout Texas, Paxton will drop the lawsuit he filed in August in an attempt to block the $26.5 billion deal.
Microsoft and TiVo agree to drop ongoing patent suits, we ask the world to follow
At last. A pair of companies decide that bickering (and spending) in the courtroom over patents just isn't worthwhile. In an era where it seems like every technology company under the sun is suing at least one other for nondescript "infringements," TiVo and Microsoft are laying aside their differences. Purportedly, both outfits have reached an agreement "under which both companies will dismiss pending litigation over patents." According to a regulatory filing, nary a patent right was granted to Microsoft by TiVo, but for whatever reason, the two have decided that both can continue operations without any more meddling. It all started early last year, when the folks in Redmond alleged that TiVo was infringing on four of its patents; predictably, TiVo slung one of its many patent-related suits in Microsoft's direction. Those looking to dive fully into the last chapter in this one can hit the links below; for the 99 percent, just scoot your eyes down to the next article and exhale in relief. So, Samsung, Apple -- you guys paying attention?
Vodafone UK bids adieu to Galaxy Tab 10.1v, likes its slates skinny
Back in February, it looked like Vodafone UK was more than happy to get its hands on the original Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1v, but with the impending UK release of a younger, slimmer model, the carrier is giving the 10.1v the boot. According to some helpful tipsters, customers who showed early interest in the thicker version of the tablet have received an "important update" from Vodafone saying, "We've decided to add the slimmer Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 to our range, which will now take the place of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1v." The landing page for the original 10.1 has also been removed from Vodafone's website. Looks like it's a sad day for our friends across the pond who like their tabs with a little extra cushion, not to mention an 8 megapixel camera. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Panasonic abandons Jungle portable gaming project, probably scared off by the NGP
Panasonic has decided to discontinue development of its audacious Jungle portable gaming console, citing "changes in the market and in our own strategic direction" as the reasons. If we had to guess, we'd say those market changes mostly relate to Sony announcing the utterly spectacular NGP, whose release probably coincided too closely with what Panasonic had on its Jungle roadmap, and so the latter company decided to cut its losses and run home. Panasonic also engaged in some early testing with US consumers late last year, which now seems likely to have born unsatisfactory results. It's a shame, we were sincerely looking forward to another competitor in the portable gaming arena, but we suppose it's better for a bad product to never see the light of day than to depress us all with its woefulness.
Apple: iPhone 4 drops 'less than one additional call per 100 than the 3GS'
It's fairly obvious that the howls around the web for Apple to address this antenna issue has gotten underneath the skin of one Steve Jobs, and in a fashion that's very much unlike Apple (or AT&T, for that matter), the aforesaid CEO has actually handed out a bit of hard data surrounding dropped calls on the iPhone 4. According to Jobs, AT&T won't reveal the exact amount of call drops for competitive reasons, but they did manage to push out a meaningful delta. As of today, they've noticed that the "iPhone 4 drops less than one additional call per 100 than the 3GS." In other words, the iPhone 4 has actually been dropping more calls than the 3GS in the three weeks that the former has been on the market. Of course, Steve's also playing up the fact that just a fraction of a percent of all buyers have bothered to call in about their bout with dropped calls (and why would you, knowing there's no cure?), but it's still interesting to finally get some cold, hard facts on this disaster. Even if it's but a snippet.
Time Warner Cable loses HDNet at the end of the month, says "being in HD is not enough"
Bad news for Mark Cuban, not only are his Dallas Mavericks out of the NBA Playoffs, but Time Warner Cable is dropping HDNet and HDNet Movies on all of its systems on May 31. Hopefully this doesn't mark the beginning of the end of the network MOJO HD-style, especially since we've heard of the network sliding onto new Comcast systems recently, but TWC PR director Robyn Watson doesn't seem optimistic, saying "being in HD is not enough." Ouch. Still, fans of Art Mann Presents and the like take heart, the "24x7 HD Network for men" MavTV is launching on the HD Xtra tier at the beginning of June.
Ubisoft drops 'Heroes' game rights
Ubisoft apparently agrees with the geek hive mind that Heroes isn't even worth bothering with anymore because the publisher has returned the game rights to NBC Universal, reports MTV Multiplayer. Ubisoft originally announced a game based on the former hit show last July.It's not exactly clear if the rights were returned due to the show's declining condition, or because Ubisoft was unhappy with the performance of its Lost and CSI based games. There's always a chance another publisher might pick up the rights for the show. Dancing With the Stars got turned into a game, so anything is possible
BlackBerry Bold doesn't handle pavement well
Always looking to make lemonade out of lemons, the self-proclaimed BGizzle took the opportunity to inform prospective (and current) BlackBerry Bold owners of the handset's fragile nature. To no one's surprise, the naked Bold didn't stand up too well to pavement when dropped from about two feet -- maybe this is where a real metal bezel would come in handy? Anywho, we're not told whether or not the essential functions were fubared, but we'd recommend taking his advice and snapping up a skin / case before welcoming it to the world.
Nokia's patent-licensing case against Qualcomm dropped by Dutch court
Last we heard from the seemingly endless Nokia / Qualcomm kvetch-fest, the former company was soliciting the ITC's help in barring US Qualcomm chip imports, but for those wishing on their lucky stars that this spat would simply vanish into the night, we've got marginally good news. Apparently, a trio of judges in a Dutch court ruled that it didn't have jurisdiction to rule on the phone maker's claims outside of The Netherlands, thus, the patent-licensing case against Qualcomm was dismissed. Aside from claiming that its "jurisdiction was limited," the court also stated that Nokia's gripe was "too broad to give a reasoned decision." Of note, a German court also dismissed the case just last month on "similar grounds," but if you were counting on Nokia to just take the news in stride, we doubt you'll be pleased to hear that it's already "considering if it will appeal the decision."
