UPDATED 07:45 EDT / JULY 26 2012

Apple Claims Samsung Overpriced Licensing Fees

Today’s mobile news roundup features: Apple accusing Samsung of charging high licensing fees; the latest news on Microsoft’s Surface price and Windows Phone 8 launch; NFC rendering smartphones vulnerable to malware; and media sharing via different devices.

Apple claims Samsung asks high licensing fees

In the ongoing Apple-Samsung court battle, previous court filings submitted by Apple were unearthed last Wednesday revealing that the iPhone maker was claiming Samsung Electronics was demanding higher licensing fees compared to other companies.  But in a separate filing, Samsung stated that they do not charge higher for Apple, as they’re royalty fees comply with industry standards.

Also on Wednesday, Judge Paul Grewal reprimanded Samsung for deleting e-mails that could have been used during the trial.  The Judge stated that the jury can use Samsung’s actions against the company.

“We intend to appeal Judge Grewal’s decision to the trial judge, and if necessary, to the Court of Appeals,” Samsung said in a statement. “Samsung remains committed to complying with all information requests from the court.”

Microsoft to launch Windows Phone 8 at Nokia event

A lot of people are excited to see and get their hands on the Microsoft Surface.  Since more people are accustomed to using Windows on their PCs and laptops, they’re curious as to how a Windows tablet would work, and if there’s a possibility that Windows tablets could replacing Windows PCs.  But the big question is, how much will the Surface cost?

According to a report from CNET, a Swedish website claims that the Surface Windows RT would cost $1,000 and the Surface Windows Pro would cost as much as $2,500.  That’s a steep price for a tablet, and could price Microsoft right out of the market.  Others claim a much lower price but still a bit higher than the iPad, at somewhere between $599-$799.  If their tablet’s going to be that expensive, it better be the best tablet anyone’s ever laid eyes on.

In other Microsoft news, the Windows Phone 8 platform will be unveiled at Nokia World, which will be held on September 25, 2012 in Helsinki, Finland.  The event will also showcase new phones from Nokia and Microsoft such as the Lumia 910, Lumia 920, Lumia 950, and Lumia 1001, as well as the Nokia 510 and Belle 805 which surfaced via a leaked developer tool.

NFC makes smartphones easy to hack

At the Black Hat convention, security specialist Charlie Miller demonstrated how NFC can be used to attack smartphones or acquire personal information.  Miller’s talk, entitled “Don’t Stand So Close to Me: An Analysis of the NFC Attack Surface,” described how NFC tags on stickers and smart cards can be hi-jacked to redirect NFC-smartphones to malicious sites where their personal data can be acquired effortlessly.

Since NCF requires close contact, and most smartphones with NFC ship with it “on by default”, hackers just need to tap their NFC tags to the devices and your personal data will be theirs for the taking.  Miller suggest that smartphones with NFC should alert users if they are being redirected to any site, and not be allowed to perform automatic actions just because an NFC tag was detected.  Miller stated that the vulnerability was found on Android and Nokia NFC devices.

HTC Media Link HD shares media from Symbian and Android devices

These days, though everything claims to be more social and connected, you sometimes find yourself stumped, unable to simply share a photo to your friend because your two devices are not compatible.  But with a little ingenuity and exploration, you can find that some things are meant to go together even if they come different manufacturers.  And one device that lets you do this is the HTC Media Link HD – a palm-size device that allows you to view your media on an HD TV.  Though the HTC advertises it to work with other HTC devices, it can stream media to your HD TV via DLNA connection even if you’re using a Nokia 808 Pure View or a Samsung Galaxy SIII.


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