Technicolor, the iconic French company that invented the process that enables color movies, is looking for large patent payoffs from major mobile vendors, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday. The company holds more than 40,000 video, audio and optics patents, and reportedly employs a team of 220 people who dissect every new smartphone and tablet from vendors such as Apple, Samsung and HTC. The team is responsible for locating patent infringements within each device. “We usually send manufacturers a big file, with photos of the guts of their products, pointing to where they’ve been using our technology without paying for it,” said Beatrix de Russe, a lawyer and executive vice president of intellectual property at Technicolor. “Once those images have sunk in, we can start negotiating.” Technicolor has agreements with “all major manufacturers” and is also in talks with multiple vendors over new devices, although de Russe declined to elaborate with further details. The company’s patent licensing division is its most profitable business and accounts for nearly 13% of Technicolor’s total revenue.

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The Canadian variant of the Samsung Galaxy S III will scrap the quad-core Exynos processor found in the European version and instead feature a 1.5GHz Snapdragon S4 processor. The Canadian handset, like the Japanese model, will also receive a RAM boost from 1GB to 2GB. It has already been confirmed that the Galaxy S III would be equipped with a dual-core Snapdragon S4 processor on U.S. carriers with 4G LTE networks. It is unclear, however, if U.S. devices will also receive the RAM increase, although it does seem more likely now. The Samsung Galaxy S III will be available in Canada beginning June 20th. Samsung’s press release follows below.

The Samsung GALAXY S III provides Canadians with a more human smartphone experience

Designed for humans and inspired by nature, the Samsung GALAXY S III brings the best combination of power and performance to the Canadian marketplace

MISSISSAUGA, ON, May 30, 2012 /CNW/ – Samsung Electronics Canada, today announces the models details and availability date of the much-anticipated GALAXY S III. Beginning June 20th, the Samsung GALAXY S III will be available through leading Canadian wireless carriers and authorized national retailers.

“We are very excited to bring the highly anticipated GALAXY S III to Canadians so they can experience firsthand, the power, performance and passion that Samsung is known for,” said Paul Brannen, Vice President, Enterprise Business Group, Samsung Canada. “This next generation of the GALAXY S series is sleek and stylish, and offers users features that promote sharing, and are intuitive and powerful, allowing Canadians to enjoy a more human experience with their smartphone.”

Natural Interaction

Smart enough to detect face, voice and motions, the GALAXY S III adapts to the user, providing users an interface that is convenient and natural.

With the innovative ‘Smart stay’ feature, the GALAXY S III recognizes how the user is using their device such as, reading an e-book or browsing the web. By having the front camera identify eye motion the phone maintains a bright display for continued viewing pleasure.

The GALAXY S III features ‘S Voice,’ an advanced natural language user interface, to listen and respond to user commands. S Voice presents powerful functions in regards to device control and commands, such as allowing the user to play a favorite song, turn the volume up or down, send text messages and emails, organize schedules, or automatically launch the camera and capture a photo.

With ‘Smart alert’ the GALAXY S III will alert the user by catching any missed messages or calls with a vibration to notify missed statuses when picked up after being idle. If the user is messaging someone but decide to call them instead, they can simply lift phone to their ear and ‘Direct call’ will dial their number.

Easy and Instant Sharing

The Samsung GALAXY S III is more than a personal device that can be enjoyed by one user – it wants to share and experience smartphone benefits with family and friends, regardless of location with the following features:

With the new ‘S Beam,’ the GALAXY S III expands upon Android™ Beam™, allowing a 1GB movie file to be shared within three minutes and a 10MB music file within two seconds by simply touching another GALAXY S III phone, even without a Wi-Fi or cellular signal.

The ‘Buddy photo share’ function also allows photos to be easily and simultaneously shared with all friends pictured in an image directly from the camera or the photo gallery.
‘AllShare Play’ can be used to instantly share any forms of files between GALAXY S III and tablet, PC, and televisions that are DLNA enabled, regardless of the distance between the devices.

The ‘Group Cast’ feature that allows users to share their screen among multiple friends on the same Wi-Fi network; users can comment and draw changes at the same time as co-workers- witnessing real-time sharing on individual devices.

The preloaded ‘Dropbox’ application provides an even more convenient sharing experience, supplying 50GB of free storage for two years for not just image and music files, but now also for video content. With the GALAXY S III files can also be instantly uploaded through data networks without requiring WiFi access.

Uncompromised Performance

With a 4.8″ HD Super AMOLED display, the GALAXY S III offers a large and vivid viewing experience. Samsung Mobile’s heritage Super AMOLED display even enhances to HD and 16:9 wider viewing angles. To ensure faster content sharing and connectivity, the GALAXY S III offers Wi-Fi Channel Bonding which doubles the Wi-Fi bandwidth.

The GALAXY S III not only presents features with enhanced usability, but also provides an ergonomic and comfortable experience through its human-centric design. Its comfortable grip, gentle curves, and organic form deliver a rich human-centric feel and design. Available in Pebble Blue and Marble White at launch, Samsung will introduce a variety of additional color options.

The GALAXY S III also sports a range of additional features that boost performance and the overall user experience in entirely new ways, with features such as:
‘Pop up play,’ users can play a video anywhere on their screen while simultaneously running other tasks, eliminating the need to close and restart videos when checking new emails or surfing the Web.

An 8MP camera features a zero-lag shutter speed that lets users capture moving objects easily without delay, with the ‘Burst shot’ function that instantly captures twenty continuous shots, and the ‘Best photo’ feature that selects the best of eight photographs, the GALAXY S III ensures users a more enhanced and memorable camera experience.

HD video can be recorded even with the 1.9MP front-facing camera, which users can use to capture a video of themselves. An improved backside illumination sensor further helps to eliminate blur in photos that result from shaking, even under low light conditions.

With Samsung Hubs, users can continually refresh phone content through the ‘Game Hub,’ which provides access to numerous social games, while Video Hub, a new service offering to the Canadian marketplace, brings users high quality TV and movies for rent . Furthermore, Samsung Music Hub will offer a personal music streaming service.

The GALAXY S III will be available for purchase in Canada starting on June 20, 2012. Samsung is pleased to be working with all of the leading wireless providers in Canada, to give our customers a choice of service provider. The SGH-i747 variation of the GALAXY S III will be available from Bell Mobility, Virgin Mobile, SaskTel, TELUS and Rogers Wireless. The SGH-iT999 model will be available from Videotron, Wind and Mobilicity.

Additional Features Include:

Processor:

Snapdragon S4 Dual Core 1.5 GHz
Qualcomm MSM8960 Chipset

OS (Shipping): ICS 4.0.4

Data: LTE (SGH-i747 variation) and HSPA+ 42 (SGH-iT999 variation)

Memory: 2 GB RAM

Dimensions: 136.6 x 70.6 x 8.6 mm

Weight: 133g

Memory: 16/32GB internal memory (SGH-i747)/ 16GB internal memory (SGH-iT999)

Expandable microSD up to 32GB

Display: 4.8 HD Super AMOLED 1280×720 (306ppi)

Connectivity: NFC, Bluetooth 4.0, DLNA, WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n, MHL Video Out

Camera: 8MP Rear-facing, 1.9MP Front-facing

Battery: 2100 mAh

Other:

TouchWiz with Motion UX

S Beam

AllShare Play enhance functionality

MP3/ACC+/WAV audio player

DivX/Xvid/MP4/WMV/H.263/ H.264 Video Player

Samsung’s recent run of television commercials depicted iPhone owners as mindless hipster sheep who line up for days just to get their hands on a boring incremental update. While Samsung and its advertising firm had some fun poking at Apple and its legions of dedicated fans, the truth was made known during an interview earlier this year with Samsung marketing boss Younghee Lee: Samsung wants people to be obsessed with its products just like they are with Apple’s products.

The South Korea-based consumer electronics giant still has plenty of work left to do before it manages to build a formidable sSheep army, but the company’s dreams began to come true on Tuesday — Samsung took a page from Apple’s book as lines full of anxious consumers began to form ahead of the Galaxy S III launch.

One such line was captured on video, as noted by CNNMoney, and while it doesn’t quite measure up to lines we have seen outside Apple Stores in the past, launch-day lines certainly aren’t the norm in today’s crowded smartphone market. A successful global launch of Samsung’s latest flagship phone is paramount as the company looks to create more hype surrounding its devices and continue its record-setting run that has been fueled by strong smartphone sales.

The video of a line forming outside a Samsung store at the Westfield Stratford City mall in London recorded by YouTube user MrThaiBox123 follows below.

[Via CNNMoney]

Samsung on Tuesday announced the arrival of its new Music Hub service. The all-in-one mobile music service launched in various European markets with the Galaxy S III smartphone. Music Hub is based technology from mSpot, whom Samsung recently acquired, and allows users to store, purchase, and stream millions of songs in one place. Music Hub also has the ability to scan and match a users music in a method similar to iTunes Match. Not only will the service rival Apple’s iTunes, but it will also compete directly against Google Music. The premium features of Music Hub, which include streaming and matching, are available for €9.99 per month to Galaxy S III owners in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy and Spain. Samsung’s press release follows below.

Samsung Launches Music Hub, Offering the Ultimate Mobile Music Service

New service integrates all your music experiences in one place: Millions of songs, your own music stored in the Cloud, a music store and radio discovery

Initially launching on the Samsung Galaxy S III in Germany, France, Spain, Italy and the UK

Open Mobile Summit, London, U.K., (May 29, 2012)- Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd, a global leader in digital media and digital convergence technologies, today announced the arrival of the much anticipated new Music Hub – the first completely integrated, all-in-one mobile music service. Initially available on the Samsung Galaxy S III and hitting European markets today, Music Hub vastly simplifies and enhances the everyday experience of listening to music. Whether you’re an avid collector wanting easy access to your own music collection, someone with ever-changing music tastes, someone who likes to sample a broad selection of music and genres or a passive listener who prefers radio, Music Hub provides a richer music experience for everyone.

Based on the technology services of mSpot, a leading mobile content service provider recently acquired by Samsung, the new Music Hub service will initially be available on the Samsung GALAXY S III and will soon be offered on a wider selection of devices.

“When you ask yourself, ‘what do I want to listen to?’ there is now one simple answer, for every mood, every place and everyone,” stated TJ Kang, Senior Vice President of Samsung Electronics’ Media Solution Center. “With the new Music Hub, we’re bringing the joy back to music – listening, collecting and sharing.”

“We believe that today’s mobile market must have an open mobile music system – one that offers all kinds of services across different devices. Music Hub removes all the barriers to your music,” stated Daren Tsui, CEO of mSpot.

The new Music Hub service will be offered for free and also in a Premium version:

Music Hub Store: (free)

Offering a vast, 19 million song catalog provided by 7digital, Music Hub Store enables you to buy songs and albums, as well as listen to 30-second previews of all songs. Purchased music is stored in the cloud and automatically appears on all of your devices, while music can also be stored locally on devices for offline listening.

Music Hub Premium: (€/£9.99 per month)
For €/£9.99 per month, you can upload and access your entire music collection anywhere, enjoy unlimited streaming from the millions of songs in the Music Hub catalog and discover new songs with radio stations based on the artists you like.

Music Hub features include:

Scan & Match Cloud Locker: Upload your music to the cloud so you can play it anywhere. Music Hub utilizes scan & match technology to decrease upload time and ensure high-quality playback. Any unmatched songs are directly uploaded from your library so you can access rare or personal recordings (100 GB of storage for all unmatched songs). When you edit playlists or purchase music, your collection stays automatically updated across all authorized devices.

Catalog of millions of songs: Enjoy full access to our entire catalog to stream or purchase, with unlimited plays and no advertisements. Search for new music, create playlists, share songs with friends, and view lyrics and album information.

Radio: Relax and listen to the music you like with personal radio and programmed stations. Create personal stations based on songs and artists you love, or browse genre stations recommended and tailor-crafted by the Music Hub team. Hear a song you like? Tag it so you can find it later and play it again whenever you want.

Recommendations: Discover great new music all the time with customized recommendations for songs, artists, albums and radio stations. The more you listen, the better recommendations you’ll get.

Optimized for Mobile: Music Hub is optimized specifically for your Samsung device. Advanced streaming and downloading options let you save storage space, play music when offline, and cut down on cellular data usage. Audio settings are designed to prolong battery life and ensure smooth streaming even under spotty network coverage.

Web Player: In addition to the mobile app, users can access their music library and the Music Hub catalog/store online at www.musichub.com. The Web Player allows users the freedom to play their music easily on any PC.

N.B.: Users must initially register on a Galaxy S III phone using a Samsung account.

Google and Samsung on Tuesday announced a new Chromebook and Chromebox computer. Both machines are powered by Google’s cloud-based Chrome OS and are built for speed. Samsung’s newest Chromebook, the Series 5 550, features a 12.1-inch display, an Intel Core processor, 4GB of RAM, an HD Camera, two USB 2.0 ports and six hours of continuous battery life. The Chromebox resembles Apple’s Mac mini, and adds four additional USB 2.0 ports. Both come equipped with built-in dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n and Gigbit ethernet, however the Chromebook also has a 3G connectivity option. The Chromebook Series 5 550 starts at $449 and the Chromebox can be purchased for $329 — the two devices are available now.

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Samsung’s flagship smartphone for 2012 is now available in 28 countries around the world but unfortunately, the United States is not one of them. The Galaxy S III Android smartphone saw record demand ahead of its launch, and now the handset is available in more than two dozen markets globally. First announced at a press conference in London earlier this month, the Galaxy S III features an ultra-thin design that was inspired by nature. Spec highlights include a quad-core 1.4GHz Exynos processor, a 4.7-inch 720p HD display, an 8-megapixel camera, 1GB of RAM, 4G LTE connectivity, Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and a case that is just 8.6 millimeters thick. The international version of the Galaxy S III is currently available for preorder in the U.S., however carrier-branded versions not expected to launch until some time this summer.

Both Samsung and Sony, two of the world’s largest television makers, have begun enforcing minimum prices on their HDTV sets, in an effort to preserve profit margins, The Wall Street Journal reported. The plan could also protect retail chains such as Best Buy and Target from being undercut by online merchants such as Amazon. The new policy prevents U.S. retailers from advertising or selling televisions in stores or online for less than a certain price set by the manufacturers. The move comes after HDTV prices have fallen over the past three years, from an average of $644 in 2009 to $545 last year, representing a 15% decline. Samsung and Sony are taking a major risk and could lose sales to rivals LG, Panasonic and Sharp, which are still willing to let retailers offer deep discount on their sets.

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Samsung’s Galaxy S III hasn’t even launched yet and it’s already setting records. News of the high demand among carriers for the upcoming flagship Samsung smartphone emerged last week, and now U.K. carrier Vodafone has confirmed that it has received a record number of end-user preorders for the Galaxy S III ahead of its launch later this month. A Vodafone spokesperson wouldn’t confirm numbers while speaking with The Inquirer, but the company did say preorders of Samsung’s latest Galaxy phone have been off the charts. “With over a week to go until launch, it’s already the most pre-ordered Android device we’ve brought into our smartphone line-up to date and our limited time offer of 2GB of mobile data and 100 free music tracks is being snapped up,” the Vodafone spokesperson said. U.K. retailer Carphone Warehouse also confirmed that it has seen huge pre-sales demand for the phone. The international version of the Galaxy S III is currently available for preorder in the U.S. from Amazon, but Samsung has not yet unveiled any local versions of the smartphone.

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As previously reported, after a less than stellar unveiling at Mobile World Congress in February, Samsung delayed the launch of its Galaxy Note 10.1 in order to make revisions. The original Galaxy Note 10.1 featured a 10.1-inch 1280 x 800-pixel display, a dual-core Exynos processor clocked at 1.4GHz, 1GB of RAM and a 3-megapixel rear camera. The slate utilized Samsung’s S-Pen stylus, however unlike its “phablet” counterpart, the device lacked a slot to store the nifty stylus. Samsung has addressed the issue in the redesigned version of its upcoming tablet, and the company added a new quad-core Exynos processor as well, according to Tablet Community. Unfortunately, the South Korea vendor has not announced a release date for the device. A second image follows below.

[Via Android Police]

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After two days of settlement talks between the chief executives of Samsung and Apple, the two companies failed to reach an agreement that would end their on-going legal battles over mobile patents, The Korea Times reported on Wednesday. According to a Samsung official, the two technology giants could find no clear agreement during the talks. Both companies remained firm with their arguments, with Samsung demanding Apple pay royalties for using its wireless transmission technology and Apple insisting that Samsung copied its designs. Despite both firms’ stated desire to avoid legal proceedings, the two companies will seemingly head to trial in July.

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Samsung’s flagship Galaxy S III smartphone won’t be available in the United States until this summer, but the unlocked international version of the phone is now available for preorder from Amazon in both blue and white. The phone costs $799.99 and it will not support Verizon Wireless or AT&T’s 4G LTE networks, instead relying on AT&T’s HSPA+ network or slower GSM networks for service. The device will feature Samsung’s quad-core Exynos processor, however, which will likely be replaced by a dual-core Snapdragon S4 chipset once the smartphone launches stateside. Unlocked Galaxy S III preorders will be delivered on June 1st according to Amazon, but most users will likely want to wait for subsidized local versions, which will most likely arrive on all four major carriers later this year.

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Samsung has accused Apple of calling expert witnesses that exhibit “slavish adoration” to the company during an ongoing patent trial between the two consumer electronics giants. As noted by patent expert Florian Mueller of FOSS Patents, court documents filed by Samsung in California seek to exclude testimony made by a number of Apple’s expert witnesses on the grounds that they were biased.

“Apple’s damages expert, Terry L. Musika, writes in his report that ‘Apple has built a considerable and at times a cult-like following to all things Apple,’ ” Samsung’s attorneys wrote in a court filing, according to FOSS Patents. “That cult-like following apparently includes several experts who are appearing on Apple’s behalf in this case, and may explain why they have cast aside established scientific methods and governing legal principles in favor of slavish adoration of their client and platitudes about its alleged magical and revolutionary products, issues that are of no relevance to the claims and defenses at issue.”

The filing goes on to attack a number of Apple witnesses, repeatedly suggesting that they are among Apple’s cult-like following, sometimes referred to as “iSheep,” and therefore their testimony cannot be included in the trial. Mueller notes that Samsung appears to take particular issue with one witness in particular, Henry Urbach, who Samsung accuses of being a “loyal devotee of Apple.”

“Before being retained by Apple in this matter, Mr. Urbach wrote an essay on the design of Apple’s retail stores, entitled Gardens of Earthly Delights, describing them as ‘Quasi-religious in almost every respect, . . . chapels for the Information Age,’ ” Samsung’s motion stated. The filing also claims that Urbach referred to Apple’s co-founder Steve Jobs as “St. Eve.”

Finally, Samsung notes that beyond Urbach’s potential bias, he is not a qualified witness because he “has admitted he has no experience in product design, or marketing, and therefore any opinions he could offer would be beyond his area of expertise.”

Samsung’s mobile boss JK Shin on Sunday confirmed to reporters that the South Korea-based consumer electronics giant is making new efforts to end its patent war with Apple. While Shin did admit that there is still much work to be done, he said there are a number of possible resolutions that the companies will consider. “There is still a big gap in the patent war with Apple but we still have several negotiation options including cross-licensing,” Shin told reporters at the Seoul airport while waiting to board a flight to the United States with Samsung CEO Choi Gee-sung, Reuters reports. Samsung and Apple are scheduled to meet today in an effort to take the first steps toward putting an end to the costly patent battles the companies have been fighting in dozens of courts around the world.

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Samsung said earlier this year that is hoped to sell 10 million units of its smartphone-tablet hybrid, the Galaxy Note, in 2012. End-user sales reached 5 million units in March, putting Samsung well on its way to achieving the lofty goal. If 10 million is a magic number for Samsung, the company is undoubtedly pleased with pre-sales performance of its next-generation flagship smartphone, which may reach 10 million units before the smartphone even hits store shelves. South Korea-based newspaper Korea Economic Daily on Friday cited an unnamed Samsung official in reporting that carrier preorders of the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S III have already hit 9 million units. Reuters, which relayed the report, notes that Samsung’s South Korean factory is currently building the Galaxy S III at full capacity of 5 million units per month, according to the paper. Samsung’s Galaxy S III will launch in Germany on May 29th before rolling out in other markets around the world. The flagship smartphone is expected to begin launching on carriers in the United States this summer.

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Samsung recently updated its website to include a list of T-Mobile devices that will receive Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich upgrades. “Samsung is in close communication with both Google and our carrier partners to upgrade devices to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich as quickly and as smoothly as possible,” the company wrote on its website. The manufacturer will be issuing over-the-air updates to the Galaxy S II, Galaxy S Blaze 4G, Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus and Galaxy Tab 10.1. Unfortunately, neither T-Mobile nor Samsung have announced a release schedule for the upcoming updates.

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