"The Wall Street Journal" (http://macte.ch/TZROb) reports the U.S. Department of Justice is investigating whether Samsung has misused some of its mobile-device patents in ways that violate antitrust law, rival Apple said in a legal document filed late Monday. The department is purportedly investigating Samsung's use of patents that are deemed essential to wireless technology. The Justice Department hasn't commented on the matter. The European Union's European Commission launched launched a formal investigation in January looking into whether Samsung was using its essential wireless patents as an anticompetitive too. If so, this would violate a commitment the company made to the European Telecommunications Standards Institute.

AT&T has announced its third quarter fiscal results. The company activated 4.7 million iPhones during the quarter, an increase of one million over the previous quarter. For the quarter ending Sept. 30, AT&T's consolidated revenues totaled US$31.5 billion, flat versus the year-earlier quarter. When excluding the divested Advertising Solutions business unit, AT&T’s consolidated revenues grew 2.6%. Compared with results for the third quarter of 2011, operating expenses were $25.4 billion versus $25.2 billion, up 0.7 percent year over year; excluding Advertising Solutions, operating expenses were $25.4 billion versus $24.6 billion in the year-ago quarter, up 3.4 percent. Operating income was $6.0 billion, down from $6.2 billion; and AT&T’s operating income margin was 19.2 percent, compared to 19.8 percent. Third-quarter 2012 net income attributable to AT&T totaled $3.6 billion, or $0.63 per diluted share, consistent with $3.6 billion, or $0.61 per diluted share, in the...

The Gartner research group (www.gartner.com) predicts that by 2013 mobile phones will overtake personal computers as as the most common Web access device worldwide and that by 2015 over 80% of the handsets sold in mature markets will be smartphones. However, only 20%of those handsets are likely to be Windows phones. By 2015 media tablet shipments will reach around 50% of laptop shipments and Windows 8 will likely be in third place behind Google’s Android and Apple iOS operating systems. Consumerization will mean enterprises won't be able to force users to give up their iPads or prevent the use of Windows 8 to the extent consumers adopt consumer targeted Windows 8 devices, says Gartner. Enterprises will need to support a greater variety of form factors reducing the ability to standardize PC and tablet hardware, they add. "The implications for IT is that the era of PC dominance with Windows as the single platform will be replaced with a post-PC era where Windows is just one of a...

Expanding its portfolio of cloud-enabled products, D-Link (www.dlink.com) has announced its latest ShareCenter 2-Bay Cloud Storage 2000 (DNS-320L), offering a centralized storage solution with remote sharing, streaming, and management capabilities. Delivering a home and small business cloud storage solution, the D-Link Cloud Storage 2000 enables users to remotely and locally download and upload files, delete files and folders from their storage device, and access files stored on their ShareCenter from  any computer via the mydlink.com portal. Plus, with a free app for iPad, iPhone and Android devices, users can now view photos, and stream music and videos from their ShareCenter directly to mobile devices from anywhere in the world, says Ken Loyd, director, consumer products, D-Link Systems. The Cloud Storage 2000 replaces D-Link's leading DNS-320 storage device and includes a faster CPU, Gigabit Ethernet port for high-speed data transfers and a hardware design supporting up to two 3....

Kensington says seven new protective covers and stands for the iPad mini that are immediately ready for use. These products will be available soon for pre-order online at Kensington.com and Amazon.com. You can see a list of the new iPad mini ready Kensington accessories at http://www.kensington.com/kensington/us/us/s/2906/miniipad.aspx . Cygnett (www.cygnett.com) has released information on its debut line of iPad mini cases. In all, six cases with varying colors and styles will land on store shelves and at online retailers at the same time as the iPad mini.

Stellar Data Recovery has announced the US$69 Stellar Phoenix MOV Repair (http://macte.ch/CdtRt) for Mac OS X. Some QuickTime .mov files can be corrupted due to virus infections, software malfunction, etc. Phoenix MOV Repair is a tool that repairs corrupt and/or damaged .mov files, while keeping the multimedia content intact. According to Stellar Data Recovery CEO Sunil Chandna, you can repair corrupted .mov files in three steps: Select, Scan and Repair. After repairing the corrupt file, the application clearly displays the reason of corruption in the file.

ClamCase (www.clamcase.com) has announced the ClamCase iPad mini keyboard case. It offers all of the features of the original ClamCase, such as the patent-pending 360-degree hinge . The hard polycarbonate plastic shell completely encloses the iPad mini. The on-screen keyboard occupies nearly half the tablet's display. ClamCase, when paired with the new iPad mini, offers "the most affordable and portable Mac-laptop experience on the market," the folks at ClamCase claim. It will be available early 2013; pricing hasn't been announced.

Rokform (www.rokform.com) has released RokGard screen protectors for the iPhone 4/4S, iPhone5, iPad and Galaxy SIII. Along with protection, they provide a l clear view of the screen.  Measuring .0045 inches, the screen protection fits with most cases and doesn't affect the sensitivity of the touch screen, according to Rokform President Craig Erion. Precision cut for a perfect fit, RokGard screen protectors are easy to apply, bubble free, in minutes, he adds. Each pack of RokGard screen protectors comes with two cut-front screens, a cleaning cloth and a squeegee for applying. For iPhone 4/4S and iPhone 5 models, two precision cut-back screen protectors are also included. Prices range from US$15 to $24.

Mac users can now enjoy 100GB and 30 days free to test out Dolly Drive's new Mac-centric online backup, sync, and file storage service (www.dollydrive.com). Customers with Macs and MacBooks can consolidate their data protection and access services into a single, more cost-efficient application. The 30-day free-trial period lets Apple fans see the capabilities of the company's new platform. The all-in-one cloud productivity suite incorporates an applications-based interface similar to Lion and Mountain Lion. The offer signals an intention by the company to help Mac users consolidate their data protection and access services -- Dropbox, iCloud, and online backup -- into a single, more cost-efficient application, says Anthony Palermo, creator of Dolly Drive. The 100GB annual Dolly Drive plan is priced at US$72. Dolly Drive plans continue in various sizes up to 8TB or more.

Apple has released an update (version 10.0.6) to Final Cut Pro X, its pro/prosumer video editing software. It's available at the Mac App Store. The new supports the RED camera line, adding both native Redcode Raw editing and transcoding to Apple’s ProRes format. Other changes: Expand multichannel audio files directly in the timeline for precise editing of individual audio channels; 
• Unified import window for transferring media from both file-based cameras and folders of files; 
• Redesigned Share interface for exporting projects and range selections to one or more destinations; 
• MXF plug-in support that allows you to work natively with MXF files from import through delivery using third-party plug-ins; 
• Dual viewers, each with a video scope display, let you compare shots to match action and color; 
• Option to add chapter markers in the timeline for export to video files, DVD, and Blu-ray disc; 
• Range selection now preserves start and end points in the Event Browser and allows...

Today at it's "We've got a little more to show you," Apple has unveiled a completely new iMac. It doesn't have a Retina display, but it does come with a new goodie Apple has cooked up called the Fusion drive. The new iMac has a third generation Intel quad-core processors and NVIDIA graphics in the thinnest Apple all-in-one yet. One of the reasons it's so thin is that it drops the optical drive. If you want one of those you'll need to pick up an US$79 Apple SuperDrive. Redesigned from the inside out, the new iMac packs high-performance technology into an aluminum and glass enclosure with up to 40% less volume than its predecessor and an edge that measures five mm thin, says ays Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. The new iMac also features a completely reengineered display that reduces reflection by 75% while maintaining brilliant color and contrast, he adds. In the new design, the cover glass is fully laminated to the LCD and an anti-reflective...

Today at it's "We've got a little more to show you," Apple updated the Mac mini with third generation dual-core Intel Core i5 and quad-core Intel Core i7 processors that are up to twice as fast and have integrated graphics that are up to 65 % faster. Mac mini comes standard with 4GB of 1600 MHz memory with support for up to 16GB. Retaining its compact aluminum design, the new Mac mini now includes four USB 3.0 ports in addition to its Thunderbolt, HDMI, SDXC, Gigabit Ethernet, and FireWire 800 ports. The Mac mini is available with a 2.5GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 with Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.1GHz, 4GB of memory and a 500GB hard drive for a suggested retail price of $599; a 2.3GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 with Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.3GHz, 4GB of memory and a 1TB hard drive for a suggested retail price of $799 (US); and a 2.3 GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 with Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.3 GHz, OS X Server, 4GB of memory and two 1TB hard drives for a suggested retail price of $999....

Apple has introduced a new version of its free iBooks app for iOS devices. It lets users read ebooks in over 40 languages. The new iBooks also lets users experience an entirely new kind of ebook that’s "dynamic, engaging and truly interactive," according to Apple. Ebooks created with Apple’s new iBooks Author offer fullscreen ebooks with interactive animations, diagrams, photos, videos, custom fonts, mathematical expressions and much more. It also supports continuous scrolling, sharing of passages (but not, alas, entire books) on Facebook and Twitter, iCloud syncing support, and more. iBooks is a free app available at the Apple App Store. Apple has also revved its iBooks Author tool, a free app that allows anyone to create and publish multi-touch books for the iPad. Available at the Mac App Store, the upgrade sprots new templates, custom font embedding, and portrait-only iBooks.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office has, in a non-final Office action, declared all 20 claims of Apple's rubber-banding patent invalid, including claim 19, which Apple successfully asserted against Samsung in the summer trial in California, reports "FOSS Patents" (http://macte.ch/KOeKj). "While this non-final decision is not binding, there is a possibility that Judge Koh will be persuaded by this to grant Samsung's Rule 50 ('overrule-the-jury') motion to the extent it relates to the '381 patent," Florian Mueller writes for "FOSS Patents." "Even if Judge Koh is hesitant to overrule the jury on this and skeptical of a non-final action, the reexamination process will continue during the Federal Circuit appellate proceedings, so if the non-final findings concerning claim 19 are affirmed in subsequent Office actions, they will have more weight. And even after the appeals process, a subsequent final rejection of the relevant patent claim would make the patent unenforceable going...

Tidal Pool Software has released BeanCounter 1.0 for Mac OS X (10.7 and higher). BeanCounter is a bookkeeping, time-tracking, and invoicing application. It features double-entry accounting, multiple currency support, and a one-window user interface. It allows you to manage accounts, clients, projects, merchants, and bills for an unlimited number of businesses. With BeanCounter you can add transactions in any currency with support for custom fields and attachments. You can attach photos, scans, voice memos, and files such as receipts, invoices, and other documents to each transaction. You can define custom accounting periods of varying length that may be manually closed to prevent changes. You can automatically clear down nominal accounts at the end of each accounting period. BeanCounter also includes support for split and repeat transactions. What's more, you can share data with import and export transaction support (including attachments). BeanCounter 1.0 is available immediately...

Usefool has introduced Actions 1.0. Available for both Mac OS X and Windows, the app transforms your iPad into a customizable remote controller for all your computer applications. With Actions 1.0, the user can build her own cockpit optimized for their work habits using text labeling and a library of icons, as well as color coding. Instead of forcing the user to look up for software functions in nested menus or remember tons of shortcuts often difficult to learn and memorize, the folks at Usefool says Actions 1.0 provides an harmonious and personalized interface in which every button fires an action to your computer applications. The app costs US$0.99 and is available at the Apple App Store. You can download it, or learn more, at http://getactionsapp.com .

The French app market has shown strong growth rates over the last few years, according to new data from Research and Markets (www.researchandmarkets.com). Now there are almost 18 million smartphone, tablet and iPod touch users in the country who have downloaded 4-5 apps on average in 2012. The share of paid downloads vary significantly per platform, says the researchh group. French iPad users pay for almost every fifth download whereas Android users rarely pay for the content.

The low-cost smartphone segment, defined as models with a selling price of less than US$150, is a strong growth opportunity for the mobile phone industry, according to the new "NPD DisplaySearch Smartphones: Displays, Designs and Functionality" report. Low-cost smartphone shipments are forecast to double every year from 2010 to 2016, increasing from 4.5 to 311.0 million. "Most mobile phone subscribers around the world can’t afford to spend more than US$200 for a smartphone, on top of their service plans," says Shawn Lee, research director at NPD DisplaySearch (www.displaysearch.com). "Low-cost smartphone manufacturers create these new products quickly without much investment, which has allowed them to extend their telecom subscriber base to emerging regions." Most of the demand (60%) is from the Asia Pacific region, where a large majority of component suppliers and manufacturing factories are located -- providing both time and cost savings. These solutions have a shorter lifetime than...

NetSpot has announced NetSpot 2.0, an update of the Wi-Fi site survey software for Mac users. The free, standard version includes a wireless discover mode, a new streamlined interface, and more NetSpot allows  visualizing their networks, identifying areas of weakness and correcting problems. Premium paid additions are offered for users who need more advanced Wi-Fi survey features. The Pro edition gives network experts features such as multi-floor scanning, active scanning, the ability to scan hidden networks, and automated troubleshooting. The Enterprise edition includes all the features of the Prp edition and provides licenses to all users within a company, along with priority support. NetSpot PRO and Enterprise allow commercial use. For more info, including pricing options, go to www.netspotapp.com/ .

Here are the latest updates for Mac OS X apps: BusyMac has revved its BusyCal (www.busymac.com) calendar app to version 2. It offers an improved calendar interface with a customizable appearance and more. Syncro Soft -- the developer of the Oxygen XML suite (www.oxygenxml.com) of products, has announced the immediate availability of version 14.1 of its Oxygen XML Editor, Oxygen XML Author and Oxygen XML Developer products containing a set of tools supporting all the XML related technologies. The upgrade allows attributes to be edited directly in the Author view through form like controls and placing actions directly in the document flow. Bensoftware (www.bensoftware.com) has released SecuritySpy 2.2.1, an update to the multi-camera video surveillance software. New features in this version include IPv6 support, enhanced web server security, support for more network cameras, and bug fixes. Open Planet Software has introduced Smoovie 1.3 (www.openplanetsoftware.com/smoovie), an update...

After its release on Sept. 19, iOS 6 notably achieved a 15% share of all iOS traffic in its first 24 hours, and saw an adoption rate of over 50% after only two weeks. Now that's up to 60%, according to Chitika Insights (www.chitika.com), a full-service on-line advertising network serving over two billion monthly impressions across more than 80,000 websites. To quantify this study, Chitika Insights took a sample of hundreds of millions of mobile ad impressions coming out of the Chitika Ad network ranging from Sept. 19 to Oct. 19. The growth rate of iOS 6 was then compared to total iOS Web usage using a time series to illustrate the rate of adoption of the new OS. iOS 6 growth has decidedly leveled out over the past week, although it still is growing. Since Chitika's previous study on Oct. 2,, iOS 6 gained nearly 10% usage share, now constituting 61% of all iOS traffic. "We expect small gains for the OS in the coming weeks, with the possibility of iOS 6 usage touching 70% once adoption...

A new study by Forrester Research (www.forrester.com) -- as reported by Social Barrel (http://macte.ch/kFtOE) -- shows that only 33% of companies who responded to their new survey have plans to move to Windows 8, Microsoft’s latest upgrade of its operating system. Ten percent of the respondents have no intention at all to upgrade. The remaining 40% of the survey respondents stated that they have no plans of upgrading to Windows 8 yet. "Social Barrel" says the percentage decline is "massive" in comparison with companies that intended to shift to Windows 7 when it launched in 2009. At that time, 67% of the companies that participated in a Forrester survey intended to shift to Windows 7, with 28% either not considering the update or are totally skipping it.

Samsung has suffered a setback in its ongoing legal battle with Apple over alleged patent violations after a Tokyo court rejected its request for injunction to stop iPhone sales in Japan, reports "The Asahi Shiumbun" (http://macte.ch/3Ws7d). The Tokyo District Court rejected the South Korean technology giant's claims in September and October, saying there had been no patent infringement by the U.S. company's Japanese unit. The patents in question involve the technology for downloading an app to add new functions to a smartphone and the so-called airplane mode, which suspends a phone's communications without turning off the power during flight. This is all part of the ongoing, global legal battle. Apple and Samsung have filed more than 30 lawsuits against each other across four continents. For example, Apple alleges that Samsung copied the slide-to-unlock technology of its iPhone and iPad devices.

Another day, another lawsuit. Apple is being sued by a couple of customers claiming that locking the handset to AT&T's wireless network violates the Digital Millenium Copyright Act, reports "CNET." Zach Ward and Thomas Buchar filed a putative class action lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Northern California on Friday alleging that the tech giant violated antitrust laws by locking iPhone buyers into voice and data contracts with AT&T Mobility. The plaintiffs claim that Apple violated the Sherman Act's prohibition on monopolization by not obtaining consumers' contractual consent to have their iPhones locked when the tech giant entered into a five-year exclusivity agreement with the wireless carrier in 2007 
Read more at http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-57536889-37/apple-sued-over-deal-locki... .