Amazon's new Kindle Fire set to debut in early August?

We knew that there would be another Kindle Fire at some point, but we didn't know when it would arrive, or exactly what it'd look like. If the latest report from the China Times is true, however, we can expect Amazon's new slate to ship around August 7th. Like the first Fire, this new version will be built by Quanta, with a metal chassis and displays provided by LG and Panasonic. Other details, like its size or the contents within said metallic frame, are still nowhere to be found. What we can tell you is that the new tablet can't get here fast enough for Amazon given the Fire's declining sales numbers and its fresh competition from Mountain View.

Nikon releases D4 firmware 1.02 with minor display, formatting, network stability improvements in tow

Have you managed to get your hands on Nikon's elusive D4 full-frame DSLR? It should be smooth sailing from here, with the occasional firmware update being your only critical acquisition going forward. D4 firmware 1.02 brings a handful of minor fixes, but if you're in need of any of the enhancements listed below, it's surely a must have:

• Format memory card can now be added to My Menu.
• Gamut for Adobe RGB images displayed in the camera's monitor has now been changed. This enables more vivid display of images.
• The stability of network connections when the FTP upload option is selected has been increased.
• When recording movies using a lens with an aperture ring in [P] or [S] exposure mode, and Aperture ring selected for Custom Setting f10: Customize command dials>Aperture setting, the minimum aperture was applied. This issue has been resolved.
• When a still image captured during movie recording with 1920 ×1080; 30 fps; crop, 1920 × 1080; 25 fps; crop, or 1920 × 1080; 24 fps; crop selected for Movie settings>Frame size/frame rate and Live frame grab selected for Custom Setting g4: Assign shutter button was displayed in Capture NX 2 or ViewNX 2, the position of the focus point displayed differed from actual recording position. This issue has been resolved.
• An issue that caused the camera to freeze when attempting to format a memory card (setup menu > Format memory card) while the camera was connected to a network in HTTP server mode has been resolved.

HTC smartphones did not infringe Apple patents, U.K. Judge ruled

 

The Apple versus HTC war started way back in 2010, with the Cupertino-based tech giant filing its first ITC complaint against the Taiwanese smartphone manufacturer. It was widely known as the first ever lawsuit filed against an Android device manufacturer. Today, the battle for supremacy continues, as Apple, dubbed as the “patent troll”, takes the lawsuit to the U.K. However, it seems that HTC is winning the duel this time around. Bloomberg is reporting that Judge Christopher Floyd has ruled that HTC did not infringe Apple's four patents and added that three of those patents are actually invalid.

The four patents that Apple accused HTC of infringing include the slide-to-unlock feature, software allowing users to touch the screen in two spots simultaneously, and tools used to scroll through photographs and change alphabets. The court ruled that Apple's photo-management patent is valid but it determined that HTC did not infringe it. "Competition is healthy, but competitors should create their own original technology, not steal ours," Apple said in a statement. On the other hand, HTC spokesperson Andrea Sommer said that HTC is  disappointed that Apple continues to favor competition in the courtroom over competition in the marketplace.

U.S. Judge Rejects Samsung's Request; Galaxy Nexus Remains Unavailable… Or Is It?

 

U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh in San Jose, California, has rejected last Tuesday Samsung's request to lift a pre-trial injunction that would prohibit sales of Galaxy Nexus smartphone in the country. This comes after Judge Koh granted last week Apple's request to block the sales of Samsung's Android smartphone.

The judge also rejected a similar request to lift the ban on selling Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 in the United States. But Samsung is not giving up just yet, as it has also appealed to a federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., which has exclusive jurisdiction over intellectual property disputes.

Because of the injunction, Samsung and Google (developer of the phone's Android OS) will have to find a workaround to sell their Galaxy Nexus to eager Americans. Sources say that a software patch will be implemented “imminently” to avoid patent infringements from Apple. Also, the phone is currently listed in Google Play store as “coming soon,” just in case the software update would make the Galaxy Nexus clear of any legal issues.

Photo credit: Reuters/ Bobby Yip

Evigroup SmartPaddle Pro tablet dual boots into Windows 7 and Windows 8

 
Want to get a Windows-based tablet but you're not sure if you want it to run Windows 7 or Windows 8? You're in luck. The folks over at Evigroup have recently announced their new Intel-based tablet – the SmartPaddle Pro. What separates this tablet from other Windows tablets out there is its ability to dual-boot into Windows 7 or Windows 8. Granted, Windows 8 is not out, but the tablet will be shipping with the developer preview version of the operating system when it goes on sale. After Windows 8 is finally released, owners of the SmartPaddle Pro will be able to update their tablets to the full version of the operating system for free.

Specs of the tablet include: a 11.6″ touchscreen display, an Intel Atom N450 processor, 1GB of RAM, and a 32 or 64GB SSD. The tablet will be priced at 759 Euro ($951). No word on a release date or if it'll be making its way over to the US, but it certainly is an interesting idea that may or may not catch on. What do you think?