So, yesterday, we learned that the AT&T HTC One X and Sprint’s upcoming HTC EVO 4G LTE had been delayed in the US due to Apple’s how-the-hell-did-it-get-granted “link” patent. Patent #5,946,647 deals with the now standard Android method of clicking a link (like in email) and being presented with a menu displaying a list of apps you want to launch from there. Apparently, Apple’s got this locked down. Looks like something like this has never been done before in the history of software and Apple is fully responsible for this “invention.” (Sigh)

Anyway, there was a lot of talk and anger (and suspicions) on why HTC — who knew for the longest time exactly what this patent dealt with, after facing Apple in court — didn’t attempt to sidestep Apple’s patent, as to avoid action like the delays we’re seeing today (and during a crucial time for HTC financially). Well, as it turns out — they did.

This feature of a menu popup after clicking a link has been removed in the new version of Sense for HTC’s US devices. Now, clicking a link will automatically launch the appropriate app giving Android users slightly less usability, but also avoids Apple’s legal team. If a user wants to specify which links will launch which app, there is a new option inside the Settings app that deals with links called “App Associations.” Boom.

I can see in my mind’s eye… A top level Apple exec gets a hold of an international One X. He scrolls through the device only to find his patent brazenly ignored by the rival smartphone manufacturer. His face turns blood red and eyes widen. He rushes to grab the telephone, calling up the top officials at the ITC and US Customs, demanding they block the biggest threat to their upcoming iPhone 5 — HTC’s One X and EVO 4G LTE. Little does he know, the US versions shipped with tweaked software. HTC be trollin’.

It’s still unclear if Customs will see things our way. It’s very possible they could still interpret HTC’s new method of handling links as a violation of Apple’s patents. But, providing HTC’s workaround is adequate, we could see this whole mess sorted out a lot sooner than later. Let’s hope those One’s and Evolte’s will be in everyone’s hands again shortly.

[TheVerge]

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For the lucky few developers that were quick enough to get their hands on one of Google’s golden tickets, and will be attending Larry Page’s Chocolate Factory this year — otherwise known as Google I/O — the Sessions calendar is now available for you to scan, and schedule your trip accordingly. Looking through the scheduled sessions and events, there were no real giveaways on what will be announced at this year’s keynote, but I did rather enjoy the clever wording on Day 3′s “For Butter or Worse: Smoothing out Performance in Android UI’s.” Ah, those Google guys… they just “get” me.

Of course, Phandroid will be on hand for the entire event, bringing you the very latest on whatever Mt. View manages to cook up. I’m crossing my fingers for an affordable Nexus tablet.

Thanks, Steve!

[IO Sessions]

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It looks like we’re about to have a major snafu in regards to the anticipated arrivals of the AT&T HTC One X and Sprint EVO 4G LTE smartphones. HTC recently confirmed the imports of both devices have been delayed at the U.S. border due to a “customs review”. The reason for this hints in the direction of none other than Apple. Apparently, the cause may come from the ITC exclusion order Apple was granted last December over hyperlinks in the messaging app and browser. HTC claims the issues raised by Apple in front of the ITC were more or less silly and would be removed from their various products. Unfortunately, customs must review the shipments coming in after the April 19 deadline set in place by the ITC whether HTC likes it or not. HTC added an official statement regarding the matter:

“The US availability of the HTC One X and HTC EVO 4G LTE has been delayed due to a standard U.S. Customs review of shipments that is required after an ITC exclusion order. We believe we are in compliance with the ruling and HTC is working closely with Customs to secure approval. The HTC One X and HTC EVO 4G LTE have been received enthusiastically by customers and we appreciate their patience as we work to get these products into their hands as soon as possible”.

While HTC is being professional and handling the matter as quietly as possible, there are many individuals who are offering vocal opinions for the latest turn of events from Apple. Rene Ritchie of iMore.com gave additional insights of Apple for the matter:

“Apple’s lawsuits against HTC — and Samsung and Motorola — stem from Apple’s feeling that Android was “grand theft” of iPhone intellectual property. Basically, they believe Google partnered with Apple, had their then-CEO Eric Schmidt on Apple’s board, and then not only stole Apple’s ideas about smartphone technology, but gave them away “promiscuously”.

The late Steve Jobs reportedly vowed to go “thermonuclear” over Android, and spend every dime in Apple’s tens of billions of dollars in the bank to reap horrible vengeance upon them.

Current Apple CEO Tim Cook has thus far been much calmer, but every bit as deadly about patent litigation, saying Apple shouldn’t be the developers for the whole world”.

As it stands, the AT&T HTC One X is currently listed as “sold out” on AT&T’s website, while the Sprint EVO 4G LTE is still due to go on sale this week, but the available stock in-store is unclear. So it’s more than possible we may not see either device for the foreseeable future.

Ladies and gents, feel free to let out a deep sigh at this time.

source: Android Central

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Most ROM users will find that their list is filled with duplicate entries, and if they can’t deauthorize devices more than four times in a single year, they’ll soon be SoL on using Google Music on future ROM installs.

You either limit the ROM installs or you get rid of Google Music, and it’s a choice that yours truly was faced with upon hearing this news. Users tried to deauthorize more than four devices earlier to confirm that this was the case, and they were indeed met with an alert.

But it seems Google’s lifted the limit for now. We’re not sure if they’re doing this temporarily to allow users a chance to deauthorize, if this is a permanent move, or if they’re looking into a different method for counting authorized devices (a MAC address or IMEI number would work great, we think).

We’re hoping it’s the latter two situations, but Google hasn’t released any official word to let us know either way. If you need to unauthorize more devices, now is your chance to do so. Head to Google Music and click the ‘music settings’ button in the upper right corner.

UPDATE: Google has issued this statement via their Google Play FAQ:

Yesterday we made a change to our device policy for music on Google Play.  Any user can associate up to 10 devices to his or her account.  Once you have connected 10 devices, you may add a new device only by deauthorizing an existing one from your account, and you may do this up to four times per year.

We limit the number of times you can swap out new devices at the request of some of our music partners in an effort to limit abuse. We understand this has caused some issues for users who often deauthorize and reauthorize the same device, and we are currently re-implementing the solution in a way that works for our users and music partners.

We apologize for any inconvenience and will update this page as new changes are made.

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Yesterday, we told you guys about the Samsung Galaxy S3 (and 19 other devices) slated to arrive in the land of the rising sun via Japanese carrier NT Docomo. Normally that wouldn’t be considered very important news to you guys, but get this — NT Docomo is listing their GS3 with the same dual-core S4 processor that’s been leaked to arrive in the US and, get this — it will supposedly arrive with 2GB of RAM.

Now, this could be nothing more than a typo from a carrier with more high-end Android devices in their lineup than they know what to do with. But it got me thinking… If Samsung does opt for a slightly less powerful Qualcomm S4 processor for the US (to ensure compatibility with our LTE bands), it could make some sense that they would try to pick up the slack by increasing performance in other areas.

When it comes to marketing, sometimes specs are a purely a numbers game. If Samsung wants to make sure the GS3 makes a big splash here in the US, that extra 1GB of RAM could give them a leg up on the competition (especially when they can’t boast “extra cores”). Would you guys be happy if Samsung threw us a bone with 1GB of extra RAM to make up for an admittedly, very capable dual-core CPU?

Via TechnoBuffalo | SammyHub | NTDocomo (PDF)

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While Google went out and patent protected its Project Glass Glasses a little bit of news has been discovered by the folks at CNET. According to them we may not see everything that the promo video has shown us. A Google spokesperson had this to say:

It’s still too early to know what the functions and UI will be, it’s the simple interactions that are making people the most excited.

It may be that Google is under-promising what these can do only so that they can over deliver at Google I/O conference this year. While they are being seen worn by Google employees it sounds like it will be a while yet before they are in the hands of the public. So if you’re attending Google’s yearly conference, don’t expect it to be apart of your welcome goodie bags. And just in case you missed the video we’re talking about here the first time around, we have it for you after the break. While Google Glasses is something to get excited about, it appears that it won’t be the advanced HUD we hoped they’d be. Sorry.

Click here to view the embedded video.

source: CNET

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