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Ofcom says mobile contracts should ditch inflation-related price rises

Ofcom says mobile contracts should ditch inflation-related price rises

UK telecoms regulator Ofcom wants to ban inflation-related rises in phone and broadband contracts. Instead, it says any potential mid-contract price rises should be set out in pounds and pence.
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Global smartphone market is set for recovery, says new forecast

A new forecast from research specialists Canalys shows the smartphone market is set to recover next year. Worldwide shipments declined by 12% last year but that decline is expected to slow to 5% this year.
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Vodafone and Three plan to merge their UK businesses

Vodafone and Three plan to merge their UK businesses

New Hutchison/Vodafone network would be biggest UK operator

Vodafone Group plc and CK Hutchison Group Telecom Holdings Limited have agreed to combine their UK telecommunication businesses, respectively Vodafone UK and Three UK. The merger will create a large new network operator to compete with Virgin Media O2 and EE.
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UK mobile payment service Paym to close in March 2023

UK mobile payment service Paym will close on 7th March 2023. The service, which allowed users to make and receive payments using their mobile phone numbers, was launched in 2014.
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Qualcomm legal action moves forward in the UK

Qualcomm legal action moves forward in the UK

Which? seeks payout for Samsung and Apple smartphone owners

Consumer protection organisation Which? has been given permission by the UK's Competition Appeal Tribunal to represent Apple and Samsung smartphone buyers in a legal case against chip manufacturer Qualcomm.
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Opinion Articles

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Has Apple just patented the touchscreen?

Mark Bridge writes:

Imagine a mobile phone that can’t be built without the permission of Apple. Impossible?  Unrealistic?  Not necessarily.

This week, Apple was awarded US patent 7,966,578. It’s an application that was originally filed at the end of 2007, almost a year after the iPhone was first revealed. The patent covers the way in which a mobile phone’s touch-sensitive screen responds when touched.

Although the patent doesn’t cover the invention of the touchscreen itself, it does cover the way a touchscreen works when you use it - and some people are concerned this could give Apple control over the way many current smartphones are designed.

In effect, it covers ‘multi-touch’: for example, using two or more fingers to zoom into an on-screen image.

It seems the big questions now are:

Will it hold up in court?  A judge could rule against Apple in the event of any legal action.

Is there any way round it?  It looks as though the patent covers the theory rather than the technology of multitouch, but I’m no patent expert.

What will Apple do next?  Patents are increasingly used as bargaining chips by technology companies - “you show me yours and I’ll show you mine” - which could give Apple enormous power over longer-established mobile businesses.

And perhaps most importantly...

How will Apple’s competitors respond?  Will we see a rush of legal cases as mobile companies aim for a ‘first strike’ against Apple - or will we see new innovation that bypasses the multi-touch screen. Speech recognition. Virtual reality. Projected keyboards. Video glasses.

Some mobile phone manufacturers could soon be facing a battle for their existence - but we could also be on the verge of a golden age of technology development. Litigation or innovation?  We’ll just have to wait and see. I can’t imagine we’ll be waiting long.

[United States Patent; Macworld.com]

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