Handset makers in China have formed an alliance to prepare for possible patent battles with Apple, Microsoft and Nokia. Coolpad, Konka, TCL, ZTE and Lenovo were among the companies named in a report by DigiTimes on Friday. The number of lawsuits filed in China is expected to increase as Microsoft, Nokia and Apple try to increase market share there, the report says. Nokia has already filed patent infringement suits against several Chinese phone makers and Microsoft has gone after Huawei to try to secure a patent licensing deal. Huawei responded to Microsoft’s threats in early November and explained that it has 65,000 patents worldwide. “We have enough to protect our interests,” Huawei Devices chief marketing officer Victor Xu said. “We are a very important stakeholder in Android.” Each of the Chinese companies reportedly has a large patent portfolio and, combined, they could create enough of a force to stave off at least some of the patent-related lawsuits that have plagued other companies.

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Alright, we don’t want to get everyone all riled up on a Monday morning, but this next bit of speculative news is pretty exciting. Recently, a gentlemen by the name of Alvaro Fuentes Vasquez let go a pretty exciting tweet. The 160 character quip, which was written in Español, roughly translates as:

Prepare your Nexus One (Developer version) for Android OTA update 2.3 (Gingerbread) for the next few days :-D

A quick look at Mr. Vasquez’s LinkedIn profile reveals the following position:

Leadership team and usability at Open Handset Aliance (sic) | Google Andoid (sic)

Assuming that “Aliance” means Alliance, and “Andoid” means Android, this is pretty big news. The Open Handset Alliance is “a group of 78 technology and mobile companies who have come together to accelerate innovation in mobile and offer consumers a richer, less expensive, and better mobile experience,” explains the group’s homepage. “Together we have developed Android, the first complete, open, and free mobile platform.”

Will we see Android 2.3 drop in the “next few days”? Man, we hope so.

Read [Tweet] Read [Android Police] Read [LinkedIn]

It looks as though the worldly Samsung Galaxy S will be one of the very first smartphones to be knighted by the Wi-Fi Alliance as Wi-Fi Direct certified. Wi-Fi Direct is a newly minted protocol that will allow enabled electronics to make device-to-device connections with the speed, range, and throughput of 802.11b/g/n. Samsung’s generic GT-I9000 is now listed on the Wi-Fi Alliance’s site as a Wi-Fi Direct compatible device.

As a note, any Wi-Fi enabled device can gain Wi-Fi Direct certification by implementing an approved software/firmware update; no additional hardware is needed for the protocol. Now, in regards to when Sammy will actually roll-out this approved code to GT-I9000 handsets… that’s anyone’s guess.

[Via Engadget]

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Today, the Wi-Fi Alliance announced a new protocol that is sure to further embed the groups namesake technology in your life called Wi-Fi Direct. The new technology will allow devices to use the Wi-Fi protocol to make device-to-device connections (similar to Bluetooth) with the range and throughput of the 802.11 specification. As the press release reads: “Wi-Fi Direct-certified devices can connect with older Wi-Fi CERTIFIED devices, enabling a vast range of devices already in use to connect with products implementing Wi-Fi Direct from the certification program’s inception. [...] Wi-Fi Direct-certified devices can support Wi-Fi CERTIFIED n technology as well as older forms of Wi-Fi.” The implications of Wi-Fi Direct in both the mobile and non-mobile spaces are pretty exciting. Hit the jump to check out the full press release.

Wi-Fi® Gets Personal: Groundbreaking Wi-Fi Direct™ Launches Today

Wi-Fi CERTIFIED Wi-Fi Direct devices make connections that don’t require a traditional network

AUSTIN, TX, Oct. 25 /PRNewswire/ — Wi-Fi has made an important leap in connecting devices anywhere, anytime – with or without a traditional network available. The Wi-Fi Alliance® today announced that it has begun certifying products capable of making device-to-device connections, designating those products Wi-Fi CERTIFIED Wi-Fi Direct.

With portable content like photos, videos and music taking center stage in the digital consumer experience, Wi-Fi Direct devices meet an important consumer need: directly connecting devices for applications such as content sharing, synching, printing, and gaming anywhere with ease. Current trends demonstrating how people use digital devices highlight the need for this compelling solution:

• Content is portable. In 2010, young Americans carry an average of about 1,100 songs, 50 videos, and 1,200 photos with them on digital devices.(1)
• Wi-Fi connects it all. With 82 million Wi-Fi-enabled portable consumer electronics and 216 million Wi-Fi enabled handsets set to ship this year, and growing at annual rates of 26 percent through 2014, consumers will be able to use Wi-Fi Direct to connect a huge range of digital devices.(2)
• Apps are at the forefront. New applications for portable devices emerge every day, offering compelling new ways to use connected devices. Adoption of apps on portable devices is growing at a 50 percent annual rate.(3)
• Technology is social. In the United States, 64 percent of young people report that Wi-Fi connectivity helps them maintain relationships with their friends. Moreover, young Americans also report they often gather around devices for entertainment, with about 90 percent of people reporting they have gathered around a portable device to look at pictures, videos, or video games.(4)

“We designed Wi-Fi Direct to unleash a wide variety of applications which require device connections, but do not need the Internet or even a traditional network,” said Edgar Figueroa, CEO of the Wi-Fi Alliance. “Wi-Fi Direct empowers users to connect devices – when, where and how they want to, and our certification program delivers products that work well together, regardless of the brand.”

Wi-Fi Direct-certified devices can connect with older Wi-Fi CERTIFIED devices, enabling a vast range of devices already in use to connect with products implementing Wi-Fi Direct from the certification program’s inception. Wi-Fi Direct devices include a push-button set up mechanism, employ the latest WPA2™ security protections, and bring typical Wi-Fi throughput and range. Wi-Fi Direct-certified devices can support Wi-Fi CERTIFIED n technology as well as older forms of Wi-Fi.

“Wi-Fi Direct is a game-changing advance for Wi-Fi technology,” said Victoria Fodale, Senior Analyst at ABI Research. “As people continue to increase the number of devices and the amount of content they carry, Wi-Fi Direct extends an already-compelling technology into an even more useful, convenient solution for all the things people want to do with their devices.”

The first products to be designated Wi-Fi CERTIFIED Wi-Fi Direct, and which form the test suite for the certification program are:

• Atheros XSPAN® Dual-band 802.11n PCIe Mini Card (AR928x)
• Broadcom BCM43224 Dual-Band 802.11n 2×2 MIMO PCIe Half Mini Card
• Intel® Centrino® Advanced-N 6200
• Ralink MIMObility 802.11n 2×2 PCIe Half Mini Card
• Realtek RTL8192CE-VA4 HM92C00 PCIe mini card

In addition, the Cisco 2106 Wireless LAN Controller and Cisco Aironet 1240 Series Access Points are used in the certification test suite.

More information, including information for consumers and retailers, a list of Wi-Fi CERTIFIED Wi-Fi Direct products, the technical specification, white papers, and more, is available at www.wi-fi.org/Wi-Fi_Direct.php.

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More from HTC this morning as the W-Fi Alliance strikes again. Wi-Fi Alliance revelations are a bit of a mixed blessing actually. On one hand, we learn of the existence of a potentially sweet new handset. On the other hand, we pretty much get no details about said device. Such is the case with the HTC “MEGA 100 Series”. Odd name aside, all we know about HTC’s forthcoming phone is that, well, it’s a phone and it has Wi-Fi 802.11b/g on board. Great. The rest is a mystery for the time being, though unsubstantiated speculation suggests it could be a Touch 3G-like handset running Windows Mobile 6.5. We shall see.

[Via Cellpassion]

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