Google has purchased more than 1,000 patents from IBM, its most recent step in what the Los Angeles Times describes as “an arms race for patents.”
The acquisition is part of an effort to strengthen its intellectual-property portfolio and avoid legal assault.
It may also bolster the legal buffer surrounding its Android mobile OS court showdown with Oracle set for October.
Google has some 700 patents (mostly for search engine technology) while its competitors, especially those in the mobile industry, have thousands.
“Patents are instruments of war. Companies are acquiring patents to both defend their market share and to countersue competitors,” suggests technology patent valuation specialist Alexander Poltorak, chief executive of General Patent Corp. “Google neglected patents for many years because it did not realize that they were essential business tools. It can no longer neglect them.”
Lenovo’s ThinkPad Honeycomb tablet (starting at $480) will offer a stylus for taking on-screen notes, security features, detachable keyboard, Netflix compatibility and a variety of business features.
The new tablet is expected to ship by August 23.
Lenovo does not seem to be concerned with entering the Android tablet price war, since most of the other competitors are angling toward $400 and below. Instead, the company is positioning the tablet as a business-savvy device.
Digital Trends reports: “Lenovo is also launching a few accessories alongside of the ThinkPad. You can buy a folio-style case that has a built-in keyboard, which might mean the Asus Transformer might finally have some keyboard competition. Lenovo has been making some of the best laptop keyboards for several years, and if this keyboard can rival those it might be a game changer in the Honeycomb tablet war.”
The BBC’s popular iPlayer is an on-demand broadband television and radio service that has been available in Great Britain for four years.
As of last week, the service is now available through an iPad app to 11 countries in western Europe (Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Ireland, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and Switzerland) — with plans to launch in the U.S., Canada and Australia by the end of the year as a pilot program.
The app will allow users to stream programs over 3G and Wi-Fi, with the option to download for later viewing offline. International users will have access to some content for free, while full access will be subscription-based.
Luke Bradley-Jones, managing director of BBC.com, describes iPlayer as a VOD service: “We will have content from the last month, but also the best from the catalog stretching back 50 to 60 years.” He added, “What we’re trying to test in the pilot is the ability to drive exploration and discovery through a programming approach rather than an algorithm-based approach. We’re not trying to compete against a Netflix or a Hulu. This has to be tailored and hand-crafted, so we can create a tone of voice.”
A group of 29 American universities have teamed together in an effort to build ultra-high-speed computer networks.
The Gig.U project hopes to provide Internet service speeds of up to 1Gbps (several hundred times faster than what is now commercially available).
The plan is intended to draw high-tech start-ups from the energy, telecommunications and health care sectors to these university regions.
According to The New York Times: “By offering one-gigabit network connections — fast enough to download high-definition movies in less than a minute — not just to scientific researchers and engineers but to the homes and businesses that surround universities, the group aims to create a digital ecosystem that will attract new companies, ideas and educational models.”
Additionally, the project includes members from the heartland (such as Missouri, Montana and West Virginia), with midsize communities that would greatly benefit by the ultra high-speed broadband.
Panasonic has announced its first full HD home theater projector that also handles 3D content.
The PT-AE7000U features a dual core image processor and 3D IR transmitter to sync up 3D shutter glasses (sold separately).
Digital Trends reports: “The PT-AE7000U is also the world’s first 3D projector with 480Hz transparent LCD panels, and the unit sports a new optical engine that offers contrast ratios of up to 300,000:1, along with 2D-to-3D conversion modes that processes 2D content with 3D stylish, with five different 3D effects modes.”
“The PT-AE7000U’s key 3D projection technologies were developed in collaboration with Panasonic Hollywood Laboratory engineers who are heavily engaged in the authoring and mastering of 3D Blu-ray discs,” explained Panasonic’s Art Rankin in a statement. “Through this joint effort, the PT-AE7000U has been redesigned from the ground up to achieve higher basic 2D performance and is packed with unique 3D features to deliver studio-grade 3D content to the consumer.”
The projector is expected to hit shelves by September, although the average consumer may not be ready for the $3,499 price tag.
Adobe has announced Adobe Edge, its new HTML5 Web motion and interaction design tool.
Gizmodo reports: “Far from Adobe surrendering to Apple and the good HTML5 fight, Adobe’s Edge Web creator is simply a little shrug and acknowledgment that HTML5, CSS and JavaScript will get them on more mobile devices than Flash will.”
Compatible with Macs and Windows, it can be used to add motion to existing HTML documents and create visually rich HTML and CSS3 content from scratch.
According to the company’s press release: “While in public preview, Adobe Edge will be a no-charge download that Web designers are encouraged to explore and provide feedback on, to help shape future preview releases. To download the software, visit www.labs.adobe.com.”
The post includes a 5-minute video preview from Adobe.
Gizmodo, a noted cynic when it comes to connected TVs, praises the interface and general functionality of the new Insignia Connected TV.
Through a partnership with TiVo, the Insignia Connected TV will be available on BestBuy.com and at Best Buy stores. The 32-inch model will be priced at $499 and the 42-inch model will cost $699.
“TiVo has evolved from its roots as the DVR that changed the way consumers interact with entertainment, allowing us to customize and deliver solutions that best meet the needs of our partners like Insignia,” said Jim Denney, general manager and VP of Product Marketing at TiVo.
Features include 1080p LCD, 120Hz and Audyssey sound processing. Entertainment options include Netflix, CinemaNow, YouTube, Pandora and Napster — plus apps from the chumby content network such as Facebook, Twitter, Photobucket, Accuweather, Reuters News and more.
Gizmodo comments: “The set’s interface is refreshingly simple, responsive, and natural…the real pull is the TiVo blood inside. No, there’s no DVR integrated — but for the first time, I looked at an ‘app TV’ that didn’t make me want to light it on fire. TiVo knows software. It shows.”
Amazon has acquired UK-based Pushbutton, an interactive TV enterprise that builds apps and services.
Pushbutton is best known for its version of Lovefilm for Sony Bravia TVs and the PlayStation 3. Lovefilm, purchased by Amazon in January, was “basically the Netflix of Europe.”
The company also created the Planit test app that creates personalized video collections based on TV and VOD viewing habits. The app could possibly be incorporated into Amazon Instant Video (which currently offers more than 90,000 movies and TV shows).
The acquisition could also help Amazon create video apps for its tablet rumored to be launched later this year.
In related news, Amazon recently signed a deal with NBC Universal to show Universal movies through Amazon Prime Instant Video — and a deal with CBS to stream content from its back catalog, including old “Star Trek” episodes.
Reports are circulating this week that Apple will reportedly release facial recognition capabilities for iOS 5 as an open API for developers.
The technology was made available as a result of Apple purchasing Swedish facial recognition algorithm specialist Polar Rose in 2010.
Polar Rose is the developer behind Recognizr, which Digital Trends describes as “a social media linking app co-developed with TAT that recognizes users and displays their network profiles on-screen.”
The iOS API can determine where a user’s mouth and eyes are located, and can process images for face detection, which introduces new possibilities for Faces and iPhoto. Since it is an open API, we should expect that third party developers will create more advanced facial recognition applications.
GigaOM reports: “It’s not something Apple is advertising about with the software update yet, but as it develops, it could become one of the most significant additions ever introduced to Apple’s mobile operating system.”
The new Olympus SP-810UZ, available this fall for $330, promises DSLR features in a compact design.
Although not as ultrathin as other compact offerings currently on the market, Olympus says the camera is more convenient than a full-sized DSLR and touts a 3-inch LCD, 14MP resolution, 3D capability, ability to shoot 1080p video, in-camera panorama, 10 filters and a 36x ultra zoom.
There is also an optional Eye-Fi SD card, adding Wi-Fi capability for users who want to automatically upload images to a computer.
Olympus claims its optical zoom is presently the longest in any compact camera. “The SP-810UZ is the best zoom performance Olympus has ever delivered,” says product manager Jennifer Schmell. “No compact camera from Olympus has ever offered such impressive wide-angle zoom performance.”
Technicolor announced this week that it would be acquiring physical and electronic distribution assets from Cinedigm Digital Cinema.
The deal, which will enable Technicolor to expand its footprint in physical and satellite delivery, is expected to close in September.
It allows Cinedigm to sell the assets of its noncore business while growing support of key areas of alternative content and digital cinema operational software, Cinedigm CEO Chris McGurk told The Hollywood Reporter.
According to ETCentric contributor Carolyn Giardina of THR: “Technicolor will acquire Cinedigm’s physical and electronic distribution assets, including replication equipment and hard-drive inventory as well as a minimum of 300 satellite roof rights in the U.S. and Canada, resulting in an increase of about 40 percent in Technicolor’s North American satellite footprint, which now will include some 1,100 locations. Technicolor will become Cinedigm’s preferred content servicing partner for postproduction through distribution services.”
Technicolor is also acquiring Laser Pacific — the noted post facility that provides feature film, TV, restoration and visual effects services. (Laser Pacific was purchased by Kodak in 2003 for $30.5 million, and was sold to HIG Capital in 2010.)
In related news, ETCentric recently reported that Technicolor and Deluxe have entered into agreements whereby Technicolor will subcontract its 35mm print business to Deluxe in North America, while Deluxe will farm out its 35mm print distribution business in the the U.S. to Technicolor.
Britain’s High Court ruled in favor of Hollywood studios on Thursday, forcing Internet service provider British Telecom to block access to the Newzbin2 website, a hub for pirated media content.
Newzbin2 has more than 700,000 users, and opened last spring after its predecessor, Newzbin, was shut down by court order. The members-only site aggregates illegally copied material found on Usenet discussion forums.
“In my judgement it follows that BT has actual knowledge of other persons using its service to infringe copyright,” said Justice Arnold in his ruling. “It knows that the users and operators of Newzbin2 infringe copyright on a large scale, and in particular infringe copyrights of the studios in large numbers of their films and television programs. It knows that the users of Newzbin2 include BT subscribers and it knows those users use its service to receive infringing copies of copyright works made available to them by Newzbin2.”
The suit was hailed as a victory for creative industries by the Motion Picture Association, which repped the studios in the suit. The ruling marks an important precedent, opening the doors for copyright holders to call on ISPs to help prevent infringement.
Chris Marcich, MPAA president and managing director for Europe, the Middle East and Africa said: “This ruling from Justice Arnold is a victory for millions of people working in the U.K. creative industries and demonstrates that the law of the land must apply online.”
In an effort to help emerging artists reach wider audiences, the Sundance Institute has partnered with online video outlets including Hulu, Amazon, Netflix, iTunes, YouTube and SundanceNow.
The deals are not exclusive to any one platform, so films can be made available simultaneously on competing sites.
Films will be packaged under the Sundance name as part of its recently launched Artist Services Initiative. Marketing guidance will also be provided to filmmakers through the new Web-based program.
New Video will serve as the aggregation partner for online distribution, taking a small cut of the revenues. However, the online services will not purchase the movies, enabling the filmmakers to retain their copyrights.
Sundance hopes that the online initiative will provide an audience for films that typically do not find conventional distribution. First to be distributed: “Connected: An Autoblogography about Love, Death & Technology” by Tiffany Shlain and “On the Ice” from Andrew Okpeaha MacLean.
Verizon began selling the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 this week, the first LTE-supported tablet available in the U.S.
A 16GB version of the Honeycomb 3.1 device is offered at $530, while a 32GB model is available for $630 (although InformationWeek was not impressed with the pricing of the data plans). Verizon will also offer the Wi-Fi-only model for $499.
Additionally, the wireless provider will begin selling an LTE-ready HP Pavilion Entertainment laptop and will upgrade its Motorola Xoom tablet to LTE in September. InformationWeek reports the new HP laptop “ships with Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit and it features an 11.6-inch, high-definition HP BrightView LED display at 1366 x 768 pixels. Under the hood, it is powered by a 1.6-GHz AMD dual-core processor, offers 2 GB of RAM, and 320 GB worth of storage with HP’s ProtectSmart hard drive protection.”
ETCentric recently reported that Verizon expanded its LTE 4G network to more than 100 markets last week. Verizon claims its customers can expect download speeds between 5 and 12 Mbps and upload speeds between 2 and 5 Mbps.
U.S. General Services Administration (that oversees the bulk of purchasing and acquisitions for the federal government) is the first federal agency to migrate its email systems completely into the cloud.
Unisys recently completed moving GSA’s 17,000 employee email accounts into the Google Apps for Government email client.
According to Digital Trends, “Unisys claims the move should save the GSA about 50 percent over the infrastructure, maintenance and personnel costs of an in-house email system. The change is part of a federal effort to save around $3 billion over the next five years by shutting down 40 percent of the federal government’s costly data centers.”
Nextgov.com reports an additional 15 agencies — including the USDA, NOAA and the Army — have plans to move into the cloud.
