One of the most important ongoing stories in tech for 2011 was the incessant legal maneuvering between Apple and Samsung. The patent wars have crossed the globe with battles being fought every day in different countries and over different patents. Both sides have had major victories. Both sides have suffered devastating losses. In the middle of it all, a new type of infringement popped up on the internet this month. MacRumors noted that the ad (below) “feels a lot like an Apple iPad ad” but what they didn’t notice is that Samsung used the same young actress that appeared in an iPhone 4S commercial….

Just when many (including us) were writing off Windows Phone 7 and waiting for their more-anticipated next generation of phones and software, Microsoft leaked plans to bring 3 or more LTE Windows Phone 7 devices “within the next half year”, all on AT&T. This information refers to US markets only. As VentureBeat put it, the phones are going “to blossom” in 2012. We will learn more at CES, but right now the speculation is split as to whether the phones will run 7.5 Tango which was supposed to be for lower-end phones or if it will stick with the current OS. Either way, it will be enough to continue to…

Big races, big crowds, and big bets have been associated with Opening Day at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, CA, for decades. Traditionally opening the day after Christmas, the biggest names in horse racing converge to start the new season. This year, there’s a bit more attention falling on the track from two different industries: entertainment and technology. From the entertainment front, the upcoming HBO series “Luck” starring Dustin Hoffman and Nick Nolte will bring in patrons eager to see where the series, debuting in January, is being shot. Here’s the trailer for season 1: More importantly,…

When it comes to technological innovations heading into 2012, much focus is being put on mobile devices. Advancing the technology integrated into them as well as the various peripherals being added to them is highly lucrative and companies big and small are making pushes to be first to market. Senseye is working on the cutting edge of such technologies. The four-man team of led by CEO Sune Alstrup Johansen is creating a way that mobile device users can interact with their handhelds by simply looking at the screen and various parts of it. Check out the video and imagine the possibilities of this technology:…

First and foremost, RIM is dying. Anyone with knowledge of their situation knows that they have already lost the war against Apple, Google, and even Microsoft when it comes to being a player in the mobile device industry even if they still have a substantial chunk of the market. Recent reports indicate that they were approached by Amazon and others to help them get back on track but passed on the offers. “They have had approaches from folks who have wanted to have discussions,” said one head of technology investment banking at a Wall Street bank. “The issue is it is hard to find a value that makes sense…

We have everything we need. The technology has been around for over a decade. The adoption of smartphones and other advanced mobile devices makes it easy to integrate the consumers. Businesses from local to corporate are starting to offer mobile as a method of payment. The one thing left is trust. We don’t trust the mobile connections. We don’t trust the security component at the local businesses. We don’t trust ourselves (more importantly, our ability to keep our smartphones out of the hands of the nefarious). This infographic by our friends at Intuit shows exactly what makes people happy as…

The Android Developers blog announced that they are launching a beta of Android Training, “a collection of classes that we hope will help you to build better Android apps.” As the battle between Android and iOS continues to expand and with Microsoft creeping up slowly behind them, the need for better apps is high. It seems that everyone, even Microsoft, have enough apps. Android is hoping to help developers build the best apps available through this training. With resources on topics ranging from Implementing Adaptive UI Flows to Advertising without Compromising User Experience, Google hopes…

The concept of business intelligence has been around for decades, but only in the last dozen or so years has it become an essential tool that businesses use to make major decisions about directions and strategies. The rise of the internet has made it the central focus of companies around the world whether they’re internet-based or not. As a result, BI’s important has continued to rise. Society is transitioning towards using mobile devices as primary tools for day-to-day life. Many of the purchases and other transactions occurring in the world are shifting towards promoting mobile interactions…

In Mark Zuckerberg’s response to the FTC, we learned that Facebook is being forced to be more transparent, more privacy-oriented, and to get permission across the board for any changes they make both by users, the FTC, and anyone else who cares. This is a real blow, not because it hampers their ability to make money with the site but because it will force them to make some adjustments to the phone they’re developing. The folks at Geek Culture “discovered” what the real plans were before. How they will change with the FTC agreement is anyone’s guess, but one thing is sure – they’ll need to make changes…

In the next year or two (anyone’s guess is valid at this point) Facebook will be releasing a smartphone by HTC according to AllThingsD. Its codename: Buffy. Nobody can predict the future, but a combination of common sense, reality, and historical precedent point to the probability that a phone that focuses so acutely on Facebook will fail miserably. Here’s why: Niche phones are niche The 2nd biggest reason (with the biggest reason being price) that hyped gadgets fail is that they tighten their niche too much. Items like the Zune, HP Touchpad, and Playstation phone put too much emphasis on what…