Judge William Alsup, presiding over Oracle’s patent infringement suit against Google, ordered the former to reduce the number of claims against the Mountain View based firm to 3 from the original 132. At the same time, the judge ordered Google to reduce the number of “prior art references”-the defense that Google is using-to 8 from a few hundred. A “prior art reference” is a term that is used when someone tries to show that before a company received a patent, the particular item being protected was already under a prior patent. It is a common defense used in these proceedings to show that-in the present case-Oracle’s patents were invalid.

Last August, Oracle sued Google claiming that the Android OS infringed on a number of Oracle’s patents and copyrights pertaining to Java. Those patents and copyrights became part of Oracle’s intellectual property when the company bought Sun Microsystem. The suit was filed last August, as we reported.

source: AndroidandMe

LG has announced today that the LG Optimus Black will be launched on 6 continents in Europe later this month before heading to North America. The handset with the 4 inch NOVA screen was displayed at CES and at MWC and has garnered pre-orders from 56 carriers in 50 countries.

Dr. Jong-seok Park, President and CEO of LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company said, “For smartphone users who appreciate both style and substance, the LG Optimus Black offers beauty, performance and mobility in one smart package. LG Optimus Black is a significant addition to our global Optimus portfolio and we think it’ll prove to be one of our most popular phones.”

The LG Optimus Black also introduces the Korean based firm’s NOVA display that brings a higher level of brightness and true representation of blacks and whites. At 700 nit, the screen is brighter than the 500 nit reading on the Apple iPhone 4. At the same time, battery consumption is cut in half when compared to the power used on a regular LCD display.

Weighing in at only 109g and measuring a sleek 9.2mm thin, the LG Optimus Black is a stylish handset and will be followed by white and pink versions next month. The device is powered by a 1GHz Texas Instruments Omap3 processor and offers both a rear and front-facing camera coming in at 5MP and 2MP respectively. The screen lies flush with the body offering a seamless viewing experience. There is 2GB of internal memory and the microSD slot accepts up to 32GB of additional storage. Android 2.2 is installed along with the Optimus 2.0 UI.

As we reported, T-Mobile UK and Orange are offering the phone for free with specific plans. Without a carrier subsidy to fall back on, the price of the phone rose to $600 in retail locations in Singapore where the LG Optimus Black has already been released.

source: LG

The Kyocera Echo stars on the hit Fox show Fringe

While the Kyocera Echo may not be everyone’s cup of tea, its dual-screen capabilities were recently put to good use on an episode of Fox’s Fringe. Thanks to the twin displays, the Echo helped the Fringe team pull up a set of security blueprints to an opera house.

The show takes place in 2026 which makes us wonder if the Fringe team was so busy that they didn’t bother to upgrade the device to Watermelon.

source: Engadget

Owners of the HTC EVO 4G might feel a little envious since their device is loaded with Sense 2.1 and the upcoming HTC EVO 3G will launch with Sense 3.0. It might reduce the hue of green that EVO 4G owners have been wearing by downloading the Sense 3.0 lockscreen on their handset.

To be able to install the Sense 3.0 lockscreen, you need a rooted EVO 4G with a Sense 2.1 based Gingerbread ROM. Download and install the .apk file, turn off and then on your device and you should have the new lockscreen up and ready to use. And speaking of using the new screen, it features a round semi-transparent ring that you move up to unlock the phone.

The new lockscreen features music app controls and a alarm snooze/dismiss button. It should be pointed out that the applications shortcuts are not working. When it is up and running, the plan is for the user to drag the ring to a shortcut which will instantly launch the app.

source: XDADevelopers

At the press event held in New York City for the Samsung Infuse 4G, both Samsung and AT&T executives touted the speedy abilities of the handset since it’ll be the carrier’s very first device featuring HSPA+ Category 14, which should get theoretical speeds of up to 21Mbps. Moreover, unlike the HTC Inspire 4G and Motorola ATRIX 4G before it, the Infuse 4G will have HSUPA on board at launch. Seeing that we now have the device in hand, we’re just curious to see what kind of speeds it’ll put out right now – prior to launch.

Using Ookla’s SpeedTest.net app, we first initially ran the test while at Samsung’s press event in New York City. Knowing that the network could potentially be unpredictable, especially in a metropolis like New York City, we still forged ahead and ran the speed test nonetheless. Unfortunately though, the results are far away from being admirable, since it’s given that prestigious “4G” moniker in its name, namely due to the lackluster numbers it’s able to put out. Specifically, we got download speeds ranging from 114kbps to 188kbps, while upload speeds hovered around 49kbps to 625kbps.

After that, we decided to test it later again, but instead, we did it this time around in the greater Philadelphia region. Interestingly enough, download speeds improved dramatically with speeds ranging from 1433kbps to 3393kbps, while upload speeds marginally improving to 119kbps to 490kbps.

At this point, it’s unclear whether or not the Samsung Infuse 4G in our possession has the final software version, but we’ll be keeping a close eye as we approach launch date since it’s mentioned that it’ll be HSUPA enabled at launch. Let’s cross our finger because right now, T-Mobile’s HSPA+ speeds in our area, is by far demolishing what AT&T is touting with the Samsung Infuse 4G.

The Samsung DROID Charge launch remains on hold; next update from Costco is due Monday

For the second time within a week, Costco sent out a notice to its reps that the Samsung DROID Charge has been delayed. While no specific reason has been given, the warehouse membership club obviously got the word from Verizon. The latest memo says that, “Verizon is committed to delivering a high quality experience on all 4G devices”.

With Big Red’s second LTE device on hold, a “do not sell” flag is up at Costco. The original memo that we reported on Tuesday, noted that this delay is in force at all national retailers. The next update from Costco will be May 9th and we eagerly await the next report which hopefully will give the Samsung DROID Charge a green light for launch.

source: AndroidCentral

The HTC EVO 3D has been spotted in two magazines, EW and ESPN The Magazine

The HTC EVO 3D will be launched this Summer by Sprint. While the exact date and price are unknown, HTC decided to whet your appetite by putting an ad for the device in both Entertainment Weekly and in ESPN The Magazine. If you want to feel that you are making progress toward obtaining the EVO 3D, you can run over to Best Buy and pre-order one now.

The two magazines offer a pretty thorough reach of both sports fans and those who like music, television and the movies. Sounds like HTC has just about everyone covered. Just one suggestion for the Taiwan based firm. Next ad, how about giving us a launch date?

source: AndroidCentral

Two of HTC’s top shelf Android smartphones are getting their Android 2.3 Gingerbread makeover, seeing that the update for the latest version of the mobile platform is starting to roll out to the HTC Desire HD and Incredible S.

European owners of the device should begin to see the notification hitting their devices starting today, and it should bring the Desire HD’s build number to 2.36.405.5 and 2.12.405.7 for the Incredible S. Fittingly, these two respectable and still relevant handsets are still among the few in the market to finally see the long awaited update.

Although the HTC Incredible S is moving up to Gingerbread right now, it’s still unknown when its US counterpart, the recently released HTC Droid Incredible 2, will get is crack with the new update. Despite that, HTC Droid Incredible 2 owners can sleep knowing that it’s on its way down the road.

source: HTC via Unwired View

Have you always thought to yourself that you could manage the New York Yankees better than Joe Giradi? Here is your chance to prove it. Android game creators Com2uS have created 9 innings: ProBaseball 2011. Unlike all of the other baseball games available for your phone, this is the first one to be licensed by the MLBPA which means that for the first time, your favorite players will perform on your handset as they do on the diamond. 750 MLB players are available, using the latest available stats to make sure that players are capable of playing just as they do in real life.

The game has three different modes. Season Mode allows you to take your favorite team and manage it over 9 seasons with the goal to make the playoffs-just as in real life. Exhibition Mode allows you to pick two teams to play one game and Home Run Mode goes through your lineup player by player in a modified Home Run derby. You get a certain point total as a goal and you keep going through your lineup until that goal is reached.

9 innings: Pro Baseball 2011 is ad supported which means that it is available for free from the Android Market for phones batting with Android 2.1 or higher. If you are a big baseball fan, you are going to want to install this game right away. Play Ball!

source: AndroidandMe

We were digging through the FCC’s web page while having our morning cup of coffee when one entry in particular caught our attention. It seems like we have come across a filing for the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 – its slimmer variant to be exact with a waistline of the commendable 8.6 millimeters.

The tablet may be only listed with its GT-P7510 model name, but we are pretty sure we are dealing with the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 here. It becomes pretty obvious when we take a close look at its technical drawings, which reveal a 10.1-inch display along with some other design features. There is no word of any 3G wireless connectivity, which means that this is most probably the tablet’s Wi-Fi-only version.

Receiving the FCC’s seal of approval means that the tablet’s launch is already a step closer to becoming reality. We are expecting it to hit the shelves in a little over a month’s time – on June 8, and if you have not done so already, feel free to check out our Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 hands-on to see Samsung’s tablet pose for a photo session.

source: FCC