samsung

Samsung takes smartphone battle to the storefront

DALLAS -- Samsung has opened a new front in its battle for smartphone supremacy: the storefront.

The Korean electronics giant plans to set up mini Samsung stores inside all U.S. Best Buy and Best Buy Mobile venues within the next couple of months -- just in time for the Galaxy S4 launch. The "Samsung Experience Shops," which start rolling out Monday, will be in 500 big-box Best Buy stores and all 410 Best Buy Mobile locations by early May. Best Buy's remaining 550 large-format Best Buy stores will feature the shops by early June.

A larger … Read more

AT&T clarifies Galaxy S4 price: Now it starts at $199.99

AT&T clarified the pricing on the Samsung Galaxy S4, adding that it would start as low as $199.99 with a two-year contract.

On its Web site, AT&T notes now that the 16-gigabyte version of the Galaxy S4 will cost $199.99, while the 32GB version will cost $249.99.

The company will begin taking preorders for the phone on April 16. The company hasn't provided a launch date yet.

AT&T previously told CNET that the $249.99 price tag was for the base model of the Galaxy S4.

Still, at $199.99, … Read more

Samsung joins Mozilla's quest for Rust

Mozilla's goals seemed quixotic at best when its research arm decided last year to put its brain power behind a new programming language called Rust.

However, Rust and its Servo testbed on GitHub apparently are now far enough along that no less than Samsung has committed some engineering know-how to its success, the companies announced today. Rust also has reached version 0.6.

Rust is an attempt to create a programming language to replace C++ with one that can handle today's heterogeneous, multicore hardware better while also being more secure. According to Mozilla Research's FAQ on Rust and Servo … Read more

Samsung goes Absolute for mobile security

Samsung has tapped Absolute Software to embed the corporate security solutions provider's patented persistence technology onto its mobile devices -- most notably onto the upcoming Galaxy S4 smartphone.

Headed for Samsung Knox when it debuts this year, Absolute boasted that Samsung's mobile devices will then be the first worldwide to offer "constant, tamper-proof security connection for tracking, wiping, recovery and IT servicing" by including its endpoint security and management software.

For reference, Knox is Samsung's mobile security platform for professional and personal accounts on enhanced versions of Android.

The Vancouver, B.C.-headquartered company said … Read more

Microsoft Store slashes prices on Windows 8 tablets, hybrids

In what could be a sign of things to come, the Microsoft Store is slashing prices on a variety of hybrid laptop-tablet models.

Here are some of the highlights now appearing on the Microsoft Store "Tablets and Convertibles" page:

Toshiba Satellite U925t-S2130 Convertible Ultrabook: Cut to $799 from $1,149. 12.5-inch screen, Core i5 Intel chip, 128GB solid-state drive (SSD). ( Read the CNET review.) Acer Iconia W510-1674 Tablet: reduced to $399 from $499. 10.1-inch display, Intel Atom 1.8GHz "Clover Trail" Z2760 chip, 32GB SSD. ( Read the CNET review.) HP ENVY x2 11-g012nr Touchscreen: … Read more

Apple: Patent we used against Samsung isn't dead yet

Apple today said that a patent it successfully used against Samsung in its 2011 U.S. lawsuit is not dead yet. That's despite a recent decision by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office decision to render it invalid.

In a filing this afternoon, one of Apple's top attorneys noted that the company still has a chance to fight the decision by filing for an appeal with the USPTO, or -- if that fails -- by taking it to the courts.

"A 'final' office action does not signal the end of reexamination at the USPTO, much less … Read more

Three-deal Tuesday: A tablet, a laptop lock, and a free episode of 'Game of Thrones'

I realize "three-deal Tuesday" isn't nearly as alliteratively pleasing as "tablet Tuesday," but when you've got three deals to share, well, alliteration be damned! That's right, I said it. (Good lord, I think I have a problem. I may need Alliteration Anonymous.)

Anyway, let's get down to business...

1. Tablet Tuesday. Today only, and while supplies last, Woot has the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7-inch Android tablet for $169.99, plus $5 for shipping. It's new, not refurbished, and it comes with a bunch of extras.

Specifically, an accessory kit that … Read more

Android outscores iOS in U.S. smartphone sales, says report

Android has grabbed the lead over iOS in the battle for U.S. smartphone buyers, according to a report out yesterday from Kantar Worldpanel ComTech.

From mid-November through mid-February, Android increased its share of U.S. smartphone sales to 51.2 percent, up from 45 percent during the same three-month period in 2012. Over the same time, Apple's iOS dropped to second place as its share of U.S. sales fell to 43.5 percent from 47 percent.

Much of the surge in Android can be attributed to Apple arch-rival Samsung.

Prices drops on Samsung phones in the last … Read more

USPTO reaffirms invalidation of Apple patent in Samsung suit

The damages Samsung owes Apple in their landmark patent lawsuit could be reduced even further after a recent U.S. Patent and Trademark Office decision.

The USPTO issued a First Office Action last October that tentatively rejected all claims of Apple's '381 patent after a federal jury had deemed that it was valid and that Samsung had infringed on it. As part of its re-examination of the patent, the USPTO issued a Final Office Action, according to a Samsung filing late today with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California (see below).

Apple accused more … Read more