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Filed under: Handsets , HTC , Motorola , Nokia , RIM , Samsung , Sony Ericsson , UTStarcom , ATT , Sprint , HP , Apple What would you do if the US patent office gave you the go-ahead on a far-reaching, non-specific application filed for a "mobile entertainment and communication device"? If your answer was that you would immediately draw up lawsuits against almost every major electronics manufacturer that even looked at a smartphone funny, you get a cookie. Yes folks, as impossible as it is to believe, the holders of the aforementioned patent have just sued Apple, Nokia, RIM, Sprint, AT&T, HP, Motorola, Helio, HTC, Sony Ericsson, UTStarcomm, and Samsung... amongst others. So eager was this company to sue, in fact, that legal papers were filed a day before the patent was granted, and subsequently had to re-submitted. The real sucker-punch here is that the patent simply combines a list of prior technologies jumbled into one product, a practice which has recently been ruled against by the Supreme Court. Still, we doubt it will stop the holders from trying to nab a few dollars in settlements, staying the work of real innovators, and generally making a mockery of our patent system. Bravo! [Via Slashdot ] Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

We all know the iPhone is doing well. Almost everyone we talk to is incredibly pleased with their newly acquired gadget (we have heard complaints, but the pros seems to greatly outweigh the cons). So, it’s not really surprising to hear that the iPhone is changing the wireless game in the US. ChangeWave conducted a survey of 3,003 ChangeWave Alliance members to gauge just how well the iPhone was doing. The results are encouraging, if a little expected. The iPhone is popping up on the market-share-meter with a full 1% of the wireless market. But, and this is where it gets really interesting, when the respondents were asked about their mobile phone purchases in the coming six months, 16% said they’d plunk down the necessary coin for an iPhone. That’s 16% of the wireless market - “catapulting Apple ahead of all other manufacturers.” In comparison, planned purchases of Motorola handsets declined to 14% (from 33% in October 2006). Future planned BlackBerry purchases were up to 13% (from 10%). And, corroborating “street reports” of iPhone satisfaction, ChangeWave found that an astounding 77% of iPhone owners were “Very Satisfied.” Research In Motion’s BlackBerry garnered a “Very Satisfied” rating from 50% of owners. However, Motorola (36%), Palm (34%), and SonyEricsson (29%) owners didn’t hold their handsets in as high regard. Another interesting finding shows that, since the iPhone’s release, 30% of ChangeWave Alliance members planned to switch to AT&T as their wireless carrier (up from 28%). In contrast, only 19% indicated that they would switch to Verizon (down from 22%), continuing the down-ward trend for the third consecutive survey. It should be noted that ChangeWave is pegging AT&T’s market share at 28% (up from 27%), with Verizon’s market share at 29% (down from 30%). “There’s no doubt about it, consumers are embracing the iPhone. And judging by the numbers...