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Saturday, 4 January 2014

Samsung, Apple in talks to end patent battle, report says

The two tech giants are reportedly attempting to hammer out a royalties deal that could finally end their ongoing patent dispute

Samsung and Apple are trying again to come together on a possible patent accord, according to a new report.

Despite a two-year legal battle that appeared to have no end in sight, Apple and Samsung have started discussing the possibility of inking a royalties deal and putting an end to all of their litigation, an official at the Korea Fair Trade Commission told the Korea Times in a reportpublished on Sunday.

According to that official, the talks are in their "working-level" stage right now, and the companies are attempting to reduce "differences over royalty payments." The Korean regulator is also working with American and European antitrust watchdogs to aid in arriving at a deal.

At this point, Apple and Samsung both believe the other company is being unfair in the dollar values they want to place on the overall settlement. Samsung is willing to enter into a "cross-licensing" deal with Apple, where both companies can get the intellectual property they need for a set price, sources told the Korea Times. Apple is asking Samsung to pay a more than $30 fee for every device found to be in violation of its patents, according to the report.Apple and Samsung have been suing each other all over the world over the last few years. Last year, Apple CEO Tim Cook and Samsung Electronics chief Choi Gee-sungtried to hash out an agreement to end their patent dispute, but those 17-hour talks failed. Apple has since won an important patent infringement case in the US, which might have prompted Samsung to make a move on arriving at an agreement. That case alone could see Apple net $890 million.

If the companies can't arrive at a deal, a long, arduous legal process awaits. Early next year, the companies will again wage a patent-infringement battle, followed by several others.

CNET has contacted both Apple and Samsung. We will update this story when we have more information.

Bigg Boss 7 Love Birds Will Gauahar Khan Marry Kushal Tandon?

Prev pos

Gauahar Khan really knows how to be in the news all the time and even post her win she is doing all that it takes to be in the headlines even it that means flaunting her new boyfriend Kushal Tandon and posting pictures on via twitter.

When asked about her relationship with Kushal, Gauahar said, “My relationship with Kushal is what it is. I am not going to camouflage it or lie about it outside the Bigg Boss House. We came on the show, we became friends and we fell in love, and I don’t have to lie about it at all.”

One thing that she did not like during her stay was when the other contestants became judgmental about her and also her relationship with Kushal. Most of the house mates still believe that their relationship was for the cameras.

However post her win, Gauahar is right now over the moon and attributes a lot of it to Kushal, who according to her gave her the strength to survive for long in the Bigg Boss house.

However, Gauahar’s elder sister Nigaar Z Khan believes it’s too early to predict whether she will marry Kushal Tandon or no. She very confidently stated, “Let’s not hatch eggs before they are laid. It’s something very sweet and we saw two people respect and support each other. Let’s not think about what will happen in the future. Let’s be happy about today. Even you (media) can’t guarantee what will happen in the future, then how can Gauahar. If they both stay with each other, then let’s see.”

At a press meet here, their mother, Razia said, “Gauahar is a very intelligent girl. If she wants, then we will definitely take things forward.”

While on one side sister Nigaar Khan is not sure what the future holds for Gauahar and Kushal, and Gauahar does not want to even look at the future. She is just happy talking about the past and the present. Well now what’s called being media savvy and smart. But then that’s Gauahar Khan for you.

Having said all of this, I am wondering where is Kushal and what is his take in all of th

Microsoft's Surface Pro 2 gets stealth silicon upgrade

Tablet gets a quiet upgrade. Unannounced CPU upgrades are unannounced for a reason: newer CPUs tend to offer better performance

Surface Pro 2: there's new silicon inside after only two months.

(Credit: Brooke Crothers)

The latest Surface Pro 2s are shipping with a new processor -- only two months after the second-generation device was released.

The upgrade is to a 1.9GHz Core i5 4300 from an Intel 1.6GHz Core i5 4200U processor -- the latter shipped in the Surface Pro 2 that was released in October. The news was first reported by WinBeta.

Wells Fargo downgrades Apple stock over market concerns

Wells Fargo analyst Maynard Um decided to keep Apple's shares in the same $536-to-$581 range, however.

(Credit: James Martin/CNET)

Apple's shares might have some trouble growing in 2014, a new analyst report claims.

Wells Fargo analyst Maynard Um on Tuesday issued an Apple stock downgrade, pushing the company's shares from "Outperform" to "Market Perform." The move, however, did not include a change to Um's 12-month prediction on Apple's share price of $536 to $581. Apple is currently trading at $553.

As Chromebooks catch on, 2014 promises more models

Laptops based on Google's Chrome OS will reportedly multiply in 2014. They're cheap and schools have a growing affinity for them

HP Chromebook 14 is priced at $300 on Amazon.

(Credit: Hewlett-Packard)

As Chromebooks gain in popularity, device makers are gearing up for new entries in 2014.

Both Asus and Toshiba will enter the market, according to a report on Friday from Digitimes.

That report is backed by plenty of supporting evidence. The Toshiba Chromebook leaked when a review was posted prematurely. And the Asus Chromebook has been rumored for a while now.

And the list of Chromebooks for sale on Amazon is getting longer every month.

Dell will be offering a Chromebook later this month for the first time.

And a report from the NPD Group last month showed the Google Chrome-based laptops grabbed about one-fifth of sales in commercial laptop channels -- which the report says is largely shipments to educational institutions -- in a 12-month period, up from virtually nothing the year before.How popular are they? Well, Chromebooks, such as the Acer C270 and Samsung offering, seem to be ensconced almost permanently at the top of Amazon's bestselling laptop list.

All of the above is spurring the world's largest PC maker, HP, to put more emphasis on Google's Chrome OS. HP now sells both a 14-inch Chromebook and an 11-inch model.

One reason for their popularity is price. They're typically priced between $200 and $300. In addition, some organizations, like those in education, only need Google services such as Google Docs and Google Drive, according to NPD.

The Dell Chromebook 11 will be available in January

Acer launches 27-inch all-in-one Android PC

The $1,099 monitor packs in a quad-core processor and a 2,560x1,440 touch screen

Acer's new 27-inch all-in-one Android PC.

(Credit: Acer)

Acer's latest all-in-one PC can serve double duty as an Android entertainment center and a high-resolution monitor.

Already shipping around the world, the Acer TA272 HUL offers a 2,560x1,440 WQHD display, four times sharper than conventional high-definition monitors, according to the company. Equipped with Android 4.2 Jelly Bean, the TA272 includes a 10-point touch screen so you can tap into the wide lineup of available Android apps.

The monitor itself can be tilted anywhere from 30 to 80 degrees depending on your preferred viewing angle. A USB 3.0 port can handle game controllers and other accessories.The system is outfitted with an Nvidia Tegra quad-core processor, 16GB of memory, and dual-band 802.11 abgn wireless connectivity. A 2-megapixel Webcam and two front-facing Dolby surround sound speakers are also part of the package.

The TA272 is also equipped with HDMI and DisplayPort connections, which means it can act as an external monitor for your desktop or laptop. The device is Windows 8 certified, so it can take full advantage of the touch-screen features in Microsoft's latest OS.

Consumers who wouldn't mind spending $1,099 on the TA272 can check Acer's online store orthird-party retailers for availability.

GlobalFoundries' NY chip plant to get up to $10B boost

ATIC says it will invest the money over the next to years, which will aid the factory's expansion to produce 20- and 14-nanometer nodes.

An aerial view of GlobalFoundries' Fab 8 factory in Malta, N.Y.

(Credit: GlobalFoundries)

Abu Dhabi-based Advanced Technology Investment Company plans to drop $10 billion into GlobalFoundries' semiconductor factory in New York, the company has confirmed.

Speaking to Reuters in an interview published on Friday, ATIC CEO Ibrahim Ajami said that the $10 billion investment will be made over a period of two years. The funds will be used to expand the chipmaker's factory and allow for the production of 20- and 14-nanometer nodes. Producing chips with these smaller nodes will allow device makers to build yet smaller products -- like thinner phones and tablets.

GlobalFoundries' New York plant went into full production in Malta, N.Y., in 2012. According to Reuters, the plant can produce 60,000 chip wafers per month. GlobalFoundries has alsoreportedly been in talks to make chips for Apple as the iPhone maker looks to expand its chip partners and decrease its dependency on Samsung.

The area is a high-growth segment of the industry as more companies pass off chip production to companies like GlobalFoundries. Ajami told Reuters that companies in non-traditional markets, like automobiles, are looking to firms like GlobalFoundries for chips, which should help the plant see increased growth.