Samsung and Apple’s CEOs have finally agreed to meet to discuss a possible settlement to the companies on-going legal battle, Reuters reported on Tuesday. U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh referred the companies to a San Francisco-based magistrate judge who will mediate the talks, which have a 90-day deadline. The two battling companies have been in a bitter patent war since last April that includes more than 20 cases in 10 countries. A trial between the two is scheduled for July in the United States.

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Do you flip out every time a new Android phone is reviewed and desperately wish you yourself could be the reviewer? Maybe you’ve had an apple with a bite out of it tattooed on your wrist? Want to write about technology, test devices, and work with one of the most influential tech sites out there? We have a lean team, and we’re setting traffic records all the time (March was our biggest month — ever!), but we’re looking for the right people to come on board and help us take things to the next level. A lot of tech news can be boring and regurgitated, and we want to change that. Here’s what we’re looking for right now:

• Full-time East Coast News Editor
• Full-time East Coast Writer

If you’d like to apply, please send an email to jobs at bgr dot com with the position you’re applying for in the subject. Please include the following:

• Some information about yourself. Your name, where you live, what you like, your passion for all things tech, etc.
• Education and work-related information. A background in journalism or tech blogging is a big plus.
• Your top-four favorite gadgets or pieces of tech of all time. Phones, TVs, gaming systems — whatever!
• Three sample posts written in the BGR flavor. Be comfortable with the writing, keep it professional, and write things you think would appear on the site, written by one of us.

Please don’t send us attachments!

Microsoft plans to roll out its Windows Phone “Tango” update for its mobile platform in China some time this year. While the new version of Microsoft’s OS will allow Windows Phones to hit lower price points, Chinese manufacturers are pessimistic about the plan and believe the operating system may not achieve enough success, according to DigiTimes. Android-based smartphones are believed to continue to dominate the Chinese market due to the aggressive marketing of low-end devices from local vendors such as ZTE, Huawei, Coolpad and Xiaomi Technology, and the ease of developing applications through the open-source operating system. Despite unfavorable market conditions, Nokia will lead the charge into China with devices set to launch in the first half of 2012. The publication’s sources also believe Huawei will release several Windows Phones din the second quarter, with Microsoft also looking to partner with Lenovo and ZTE to launch devices in the Chinese market.

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Verizon Wireless on Tuesday announced that the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 will be available in stores and online starting March 1st. The slate was originally announced at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show in January and comes equipped with 4G LTE connectivity. The Tab 7.7 also features a 1.4GHz dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM, a 3.2-megapixel rear camera, a 2-megapixel front-facing camera, 16GB of internal storage, a microSD slot and, unfortunately, Android 3.2 Honeycomb. An update to Android 4.0 has been promised in the future. The Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 will be available March 1st for $499.99 with a new two-year agreement. Read on for Verizon’s press release.

SAMSUNG GALAXY TAB™ 7.7 AVAILABLE EXCLUSIVELY on the VERIZON WIRELESS network

World’s Thinnest 4G LTE Tablet on America’s Fastest 4G Network

BASKING RIDGE, N.J. – Announced at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES), the Samsung Galaxy Tab™ 7.7 will be available in Verizon Wireless Communications Stores and online at www.verizonwireless.com starting March 1. Movies, pictures and games come to life in high-definition with the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7’s Super AMOLED™ Plus touchscreen display. Customers can quickly access the Web, stream music and more at blazingly fast speeds using the Verizon Wireless 4G LTE network combined with a 1.4 GHz dual-core processor and HTML 5 Web browser.

The Tab 7.7 is a multimedia expert allowing customers to use their tablet as the center of their home entertainment system. The Peel Smart Remote feature eliminates the need for multiple remote controls for televisions, audio players and other home entertainment systems. Customers can make their Tab 7.7 the master controller to find and watch their favorite TV shows, create a favorites list, set program reminders and more. Customers also have the ability to stream media to their compatible TV using the HDMI Multimedia Dock with a built-in HDMI port or the HDTV Adapter (sold separately). The Samsung Media Hub offers a large selection of media to rent or purchase and watch while traveling or plug into a TV to share at a party.

Additional features:

· 7.7-inch Super AMOLED Plus display (1280×800)
· Android™ 3.2 Honeycomb – supports Google™ Mobile Services, including Gmail™, YouTube™, Google Talk™ with video chat, Google Search™, Google Maps™, as well as access to Google Books™, movie rentals and more than 400,000 apps on Android Market™
· 3.2-megapixel rear-facing camera with LED flash, full 720p recording and 1080p playback (1080p playback through HDMI dock or adapter)
· Front-facing 2-megapixel camera for video chat
· 16 GB on-board storage (actual formatted capacity is less)
· Support for up to 32 GB microSD™ card
Business solutions

Business professionals can feel secure when working on their Tab 7.7 knowing that it is Samsung Approved for Enterprise (SAFE™). The SAFE certification signifies that the Tab 7.7 is equipped with an exclusive suite of security features that deliver enterprise-friendly capabilities to help safeguard sensitive data and communications, including Mobile Device Management (MDM), on-device Encryption, Virtual Private Network (VPN) and push synchronization of corporate email, calendar and contacts.

The Galaxy Tab 7.7 provides the ideal balance of portability and productivity so business professionals can get the job done. Pair the Tab 7.7 with a keyboard dock and maximize productivity with the QuickOffice® Pro HD application. Customers won’t even notice they left their laptops behind with the ability to create and edit Microsoft® Office documents.

Even traveling business teams can stay connected and productive in remote meeting locations, such as airports, with the 4G LTE Mobile Hotspot capability. The Tab 7.7 lets customers share their 4G LTE connection with up to 10 Wi-Fi-enabled devices simultaneously, enabling leaders to become the team’s Wi-Fi hotspot to rapidly download large presentations and blueprints to review before boarding a flight.

Pricing and availability:

· Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 will be available March 1 in Verizon Wireless Communications Stores and online at www.verizonwireless.com for $499.99 with a new two-year customer agreement.
· Customers that purchase a Tab 7.7 will need to subscribe to a 4G LTE mobile broadband data package starting at $30 monthly access for 2 GB of data.

Mercedes-Benz has unveiled plans to integrate Apple’s Siri voice assistant into its A-Class vehicles, according to a report from PSFK. The integration would allow drivers to access their iPhone apps using voice commands. The feature is being called the Drive Kit Plus program and will work in conjunction with Mercedes-Benz’ Digital DriveStyle app to translate the iPhone’s screen onto the in-car display. The program will feature compatibility with popular apps such as Twitter and Facebook pre-installed, and drivers will be able to listen to music, change radio stations, update their status on social networks and send text messages using voice commands as well. According to the report, the car’s integrated Garmin navigation system will be also compatible with Siri commands. Mercedes-Benz is the first car maker to integrate Apple’s voice assistant into a vehicle, with the feature reportedly set to debut at the 2012 Geneva auto show next month and a rollout to all A-Class vehicles scheduled to begin this fall.

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A coalition of Internet giants has agreed to support a “do-not-track” button that can be embedded in most Web browsers. The Digital Advertising Alliance, which includes Internet heavy weight Google, represents over 400 companies and will work to begin adopting and honoring the system within nine months, reports The Wall Street Journal. The feature, which is already implemented in Firefox, Internet Explorer and Safari, will restrict the data that websites can collect about a user through cookies when activated. Even people who clicked on the button within FireFox, IE or Safari, were still being tracked, however, because advertisers and tracking companies hadn’t agreed to honor the system. Google is expected to update its Chrome Web browser by the end of the year to include a do-not-track button.

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Last week, it was revealed that Google and other leading advertising companies had been bypassing the privacy settings of millions of unknowing Safari users. The Mountain View-based company maintained its innocence and claimed it “used known Safari functionality to provide features that signed-in Google users had enabled.” Microsoft is now claiming that the search giant has used a similar technique to bypass privacy settings in Internet Explorer. By default, IE blocks third-party cookies unless the site provides a “P3P Compact Policy Statement” indicating how the cookies will be used and agreeing to not track the user. Microsoft claims that Google is improperly representing certain cookies, which allows them to pass through IE’s security without disclosing the company’s intent. Google has not responded to Microsoft’s claims.

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Google and other leading advertising companies have been bypassing the privacy settings of millions of unknowing Safari users, reports the Wall Street Journal. Using “a special code,” the companies were able to bypass the browser’s privacy restrictions and install cookies on a user’s computer, even when such actions were supposed to be blocked. Companies such as Google use cookies to track browsing habits across websites that it places advertisements on. Apple’s Safari Web browser blocks these third-party cookies by default, only allowing them on a website that a user directly interacts with. Read on for more.

The Journal’s research found that this “special code” was present in 22 of the top 100 websites when browsing from a computer, and 23 sites when using the iPhone’s browser. The publication notes that “once the coding was activated, it could enable Google tracking across the vast majority of websites.”

The Mountain View-based company has maintained its innocence, claiming its advertising cookies do not collect personal information. “The Journal mischaracterizes what happened and why. We used known Safari functionality to provide features that signed-in Google users had enabled. It’s important to stress that these advertising cookies do not collect personal information,” responded a Google representative.

Vibrant Media, Media Innovation Group and PointRoll all employed a similar code for tracking. Out of all the companies, Google has the largest market share, delivering Internet ads that were viewed at least once by 93% of all U.S. Web users in December. Apple reached out to The Journal and informed the publication that the company is “working to put a stop” to codes that bypass Safari’s privacy settings.

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Mozilla announced on Monday that it will release a Metro-specific version of Firefox for Microsoft’s upcoming Windows 8 platform. The browser will require “a new Firefox front end and system integration points” and be based on the Gecko layout engine. “The feature goal here is a new Gecko-based browser built for and integrated with the Metro environment,” said the company’s planning document. “Firefox on Metro, like all other Metro apps will be full screen, focused on touch interactions, and connected to the rest of the Metro environment through Windows 8 contracts.” The company may also produce a live tile that would display updates on the home screen. Mozilla hopes to unveil its new browser in the second quarter of 2012.

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With the relaunch of BGR over a year ago, I decided to switch comments to a more robust platform that I thought would give us more than useful sign-in options like Facebook and Twitter, but also features to help moderate comments and better reduce noise. One request we receive regularly is to do a better job at moderating the comment section. While we can’t moderate every comment all the time, I believe that discussion on BGR is incredibly important. In the early days, I couldn’t find a better place to engage with passionate people about the topics we covered. Now, a very small group of people are ruining the discussion with personal attacks on other commenters, on us, and on each other.

We’re working on a much-improved solution for commenting on BGR. In the meantime, we’ve added a feature that allows readers to turn comments off at will, and by default keep comments off until they are re-enabled.

I’m disabling comments for a bit, though. I’m tired of reading nonsense and of interacting with people that solely troll this site just to get a rise out of other commenters and start a holy war in the comments section. I’m tired of having to delete crap and I’m tired of people complaining that a few thousand people ruin it for millions.

Mozilla on Tuesday released the latest version of its Firefox browser. In addition to allowing users to run full-screen apps, Firefox 10 offers the following enhancements:

• The forward button is now hidden until you navigate back.
• Most add-ons are now compatible with new versions of Firefox by default.
• Anti-Aliasing for WebGL is now implemented.
• CSS3 3D-Transforms are now supported.

Mozilla also made some HTML5 changes and noted two bug fixes. The company said that it has fixed a Java-related crash, which Mac OS X users experienced in earlier versions, as well as a crash related to moving bookmarks. Firefox 10 is available immediately as a free download.

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AMD is reportedly planning to undercut Intel by offering cheaper ultrabook components later this year. The notebooks are expected to cost between $700 and $999, which is a good deal cheaper than the $999-$1,200 price tag that many ultrabooks carry now. DigiTimes notes that AMD’s technology will not add any new innovative functions but will instead be focused on delivering consumers thin and light devices at a much more wallet-friendly price. The first round of AMD-powered ultrabooks is expected to hit the market in June.Read

Google’s flagship device, the Galaxy Nexus, has been widely acclaimed and we had great things to say in our review of the world’s first Ice Cream Sandwich phone. The device is fast, responsive, and Android 4.0 is the most polished version of Android yet. Numerous users are reporting a bug that randomly reboots their devices, however, and the exact cause of the issue is unclear at this time. The majority of these reports come from owners of the GSM version, although Verizon’s CDMA model isn’t immune immune to the problem. The issue is widespread, with users suffering reboots while streaming music, playing games or even while the device is idle. Additionally, affected customers are reporting that the reboots seem to occur more frequently as time progresses. Google has indicated that the company aware of the problem and is investigating it.

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HP recently circulated a short video of a new ultra-thin notebook that is purportedly its upcoming HP Envy Spectre ultrabook. While there aren’t any specs discussed in the video, we’re definitely impressed by what appears to be a very sleek design. HP’s first ultrabook, the Folio 13, was unveiled in November and it offers the latest Intel Core processors, a 128GB SSD and more for a relatively affordable $900 price point. The Consumer Electronics Show is just around the corner so hopefully we’ll hear a bit more about the Spectre next week. The clip follows after the break.

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