Microsoft, Samsung settle contract dispute over patents

(Reuters) - Microsoft and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd have settled a contract dispute over patent royalties, though terms of the settlement are confidential, Microsoftsaid in a statement on Monday.

Microsoft sued Samsung last year in a federal court in New York, accusing Samsung of breaching a collaboration agreement by initially refusing to make royalty payments after the U.S. company announced its intention to acquire Nokia's handset business in September 2013.

The lawsuit claimed Samsung still owed $6.9 million in interest on more than $1 billion in patent royalties it delayed paying. Samsung has countered that the Nokia acquisition violated its 2011 collaboration deal with Microsoft.

In 2011 a technology analyst at Citigroup estimated that Microsoft was getting $5 per Android handset sold by phone maker HTC under a patent agreement, and that Microsoftwas looking for up to $12.50 per phone from other handset makers it had yet to come to an agreement with. Microsoft has never confirmed those figures, but neither has it said publicly that the estimates were out of line.

To apply the $5 price to Samsung, the Korean company could be paying Microsoft about $1.6 billion per year, based on Samsung's sales of 318 million smartphones in 2014, according to IDC shipment numbers.

Samsung said it had agreed in 2011 to pay Microsoft royalties in exchange for a patent license covering phones that ran Google Inc's Android operating system. Samsung also agreed to develop Windows phones and share confidential business information withMicrosoft, according to court filings.

Once Microsoft acquired Nokia, it became a direct hardware competitor with Samsung, the filings said, and Samsung refused to share some sensitive information because of antitrust concerns.

Antitrust regulators in the United States and other countries approved the Nokiaacquisition.

The settlement on Monday also ends Samsung's request for arbitration with the Hong Kong office of the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce.

(Additional reporting by Bill Rigby in Seattle; Editing by Phil Berlowitz and Grant McCool)

READ MORE - Microsoft, Samsung settle contract dispute over patents

More pain for Nokia, RIM seen as smartphones get cheaper

(Reuters) - Credit Suisse said competitive pressure in the smartphone industry was likely to increase over the next 12-18 months as a wave of low-end Android phones hits the market and Apple is seen releasing a cheaper iPhone in 2012.

The brokerage, however, said the overall market for mobile phones would continue to grow as low-end smartphones phase out feature phones, a term used to describe phones with less computing power.

Credit Suisse said Apple and Samsung Electronics would be the biggest gainers in the smartphone market and sees increasing signs of vulnerability for BlackBerry-maker Research in Motion, Nokia and Motorola Mobility.

The brokerage downgraded Motorola Mobility by two notches to "underperform." Shares of the company, which was spun off from Motorola Inc in January, were down more than 3 percent in morning trade on the New York Stock Exchange.

While the growth momentum for phones based on Google's Android operating system is expected to continue, the brokerage said Motorola Mobility could lose out because of limited exposure to the lower and mid-end of the smartphone market.

An onslaught from rival Android phone makers, such as Samsung and HTC, could also hurt Motorola Mobility's market share in the United States.

LOW-END SMARTPHONES TO HURT RIM, NOKIA

The brokerage said there was a high likelihood of Apple introducing a low-end iPhone in 2012, but added that "the precise timing is difficult to predict."

Credit Suisse cut Research in Motion to "neutral" and maintained Nokia at "underperform," saying a cheaper iPhone could further erode their market share.

Nokia, on Tuesday, released its latest smartphone running on a brand new operating system, which the company eventually plans to ditch, a move that analysts expect could condemn the device to obscurity.

Nokia plans to eventually migrate to Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 mobile OS.

"While the shift toward Microsoft is probably the right strategy, we believe that the transition will continue to be difficult, especially as smartphone competition increases," the brokerage said.

Credit Suisse said RIM's transition to the new QNX operating system will be slow, with significant competition in all price segments, but added that the Canadian company's shares remained inexpensive.

The BlackBerry maker's dismal results and failure to deliver exciting new devices have sent its shares plummeting below $26, hitting the lowest level in almost five years.

Last week, RIM admitted delays in revamping an aging smartphone lineup and slashed what most analysts viewed as an unattainable full year earnings outlook. It also said it planned to cut an unspecified number of jobs.

(Reporting by Mary Meyase and Himank Sharma in Bangalore; Editing by Roshni Menon, Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone from Sinyal Bagus XL, Nyambung Teruuusss...!

READ MORE - More pain for Nokia, RIM seen as smartphones get cheaper

Ericsson to buy Telcordia for $1.15 billion cash

By Patrick Lannin and Georgina Prodhan

STOCKHOLM/LONDON (Reuters) - Mobile network gear maker Ericsson is to spend $1.15 billion in cash to buy U.S. group Telcordia to help it manage an explosion in data and services and fend off tough competition.

Ericsson Chief Executive Hans Vestberg has said he expects 50 billion devices to be connected to the Internet by 2020, bringing a huge challenge for operators and systems providers.

Ericsson said in a statement on Tuesday that the agreement to buy the Piscataway, N.J. company would lead to 2,600 employees being transferred to it. Telcordia is being sold by Providence Equity Partners, LLC and Warburg Pincus.

"We will definitely be a leader in many of the different domains here," Vestberg told Reuters, adding that the market where Telcordia was active was very fragmented.

"We see this as one of the areas which has portfolio momentum," he added. Ericsson shares were up 1.7 percent at 88.70 crowns after the news.

The Swedish group said the market for software and systems integration was valued at about $35 billion and was expected to show a compound annual growth rate of between 6 to 8 percent between 2010 and 2013.

"The importance of operations and business support systems will continue to grow as more and more devices are connected, services become mobile and new business models for mobile broadband are introduced," Vestberg said in the statement.

"In this context, Telcordia brings very skilled people and knowledge, a large business in North America and other markets, as well as a good multi-vendor product portfolio."

Ericsson said it expected the transaction to close in the fourth quarter of this year with full effect from the first quarter of next year.

It expected the transaction to be accretive to Ericsson earnings per share within 12 months after closing.

"It should help boost the attractiveness of their services offering and make it more difficult for the likes of Huawei or ZTE to break in. Ericsson is looking increasingly strong in this area," said Richard Windsor, global technology specialist, at investment bank Nomura.

"The big question is whether or not Ericsson has overpaid. They have a history of doing so, for example in the cases of Marconi and Redback," he added.

Evercore Partners advised Ericsson in the deal and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP acted as their legal adviser. Credit Suisse was the financial adviser to Telcordia and Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP was their legal counsel.

(Additional reporting by Nadia Damouni in New York; Editing by Mike Nesbit, Bernard Orr)
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone from Sinyal Bagus XL, Nyambung Teruuusss...!

READ MORE - Ericsson to buy Telcordia for $1.15 billion cash

Samsung, Apple to end Nokia's smartphone reign

By Tarmo Virki, European Technology Correspondent

HELSINKI (Reuters) - Samsung Electronics Co Ltd will become the world's largest smartphone maker this quarter, overtaking struggling Nokia Oyj which has lead the market since 1996, Nomura said on Monday.

In the next quarter Nomura sees Apple Inc also overtaking Nokia, pushing the Finnish company to No. 3 in the rankings.

"Nokia looks set to relinquish its smartphone crown to Samsung and Apple," Nomura analysts said in a research note. "Further emphasizing the shift in power to Asia is our forecast for HTC to almost match Nokia during 2012."

Research firms Gartner and Canalys both said they saw Nokia -- which created the smartphone market with its 1996 launch of the Communicator model -- losing smartphone volume leadership later this year.

"If Nokia's new phones are not well received in the third quarter and with the Galaxy S2 ramping up, Samsung might overtake them and become the smartphone leader in Q3," said Gartner analyst Carolina Milanesi.

On Monday Kantar Worldpanel ComTech's survey showed Nokia's share of the British smartphone market -- seen as a key indicator for trends in Europe -- had dropped to 10.6 percent in 12-weeks to mid-May from 31 percent in the same period a year earlier.

Nokia has lost initiative in the smartphone market to Apple's iPhone and Google Inc's Android devices, and at the lower end to more nimble Asian rivals.

"There is certainly a very close three-way battle going on for top spot in global smartphone volumes between Nokia, Apple and Samsung during the second quarter," said Neil Mawston, analyst at Strategy Analytics.

"With Symbian demand crashing, there is growing opportunity for Samsung or Apple to grab the lead," said Mawston, but said he still expects Nokia to stay ahead in the ongoing quarter.

Overall, Nokia still makes more cellphones than Samsung due to its strong position in basic cellphones and its wider distribution network in emerging countries.

The company is switching to Microsoft Corp's software from its own Symbian platform as part of an overhaul of its phone business set out in February by new Chief Executive Stephen Elop.

On May 31 Nokia abandoned hope of meeting key targets just weeks after setting them, raising questions over whether its new boss can deliver on the turnaround he promised.

Shares in Nokia closed 0.1 percent lower in Helsinki, at 4.33 euros, in line with a slightly softer technology sector.

(Editing by David Holmes and Jon Loades-Carter)
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone from Sinyal Bagus XL, Nyambung Teruuusss...!

READ MORE - Samsung, Apple to end Nokia's smartphone reign

Facebook looking at IPO in first quarter


NEW YORK (Reuters) - Facebook is preparing to file for an initial public offering as early as October or November that could value the popular social networking site at more than $100 billion, financial news channel CNBC reported on Monday.

Goldman Sachs is leading the chase to manage the lucrative offering, which could come in the first quarter of 2012, CNBC said.

With more than 500 million users, Facebook is the world's most popular Internet social network and one of the most hotly-anticipated initial public offerings on Wall Street.

Facebook, whose chief operating officer last month told Reuters that an IPO was "inevitable," declined to comment on the latest report about its timing for an offering.

Anticipation about a Facebook's future plans comes at a time of heightened investor appetite for shares of fast-growing social networking companies.

Professional networking site LinkedIn Corp launched its own IPO last month, valuing the company at about $7 billion.

Earlier this month, daily deals site Groupon Inc filed to raise up to $750 million in an IPO, fueling speculation that Internet valuations have become too rich.

Founded in a Harvard dorm room in 2004 by the now 27-year-old Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook threatens Internet companies like Google Inc and Yahoo Inc as it becomes a popular online destination for Web surfers and an important marketing channel for advertisers.

Facebook was valued at $50 billion earlier this year when Goldman Sachs invested in the company.

Recent transactions of Facebook shares on the secondary market have valued the company between $78 billion and $81 billion, according to information on the website of Sharespost, an exchange for trading shares in private companies.

Facebook is expected to generate roughly $4 billion in advertising revenue in 2011, up from $1.86 billion a year earlier, according to market research firm eMarketer.

(Editing by Steve Orlofsky, Gerald E. McCormick and Bernard Orr)
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone from Sinyal Bagus XL, Nyambung Teruuusss...!

READ MORE - Facebook looking at IPO in first quarter

Apple, Google cloud can help curb online piracy: U.S.

By Foo Yun Chee

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Services developed by Apple Inc and Google for people to store photos, music and data online may do more to combat online piracy than regulation can, a U.S. official said on Wednesday.

Victoria Espinel, the coordinator of U.S. intellectual property enforcement, said corporate innovation was often more effective than law enforcement or other rules, which are sometimes applied inappropriately.

"The U.S. government doesn't need to pick winners and losers and the last thing we should think about doing is messing up the Internet with inappropriate regulation," she told the World Copyright Summit in Brussels.

"In order for the Internet to be as productive and compelling as possible, we need to have active engagement from companies that interact with and benefit from Internet commerce," she said.

Amazon, Google and Apple have announced music and other services that are downloadable from the 'cloud' -- a form of computing where data and software are stored on servers which users can access with smartphones or PCs via the Internet.

Such innovations give those companies an advantage in developing more secure systems.

"If it is possible to construct it so that it cannot be compromised, it may have the effect of reducing piracy by giving value to consumers -- the ability to own forever and access almost anywhere -- that cannot be obtained with illegal copies," Espinel said.

"The flexibility of the cloud may help spur the development of compelling legal alternatives."

Apple on Monday unveiled remote computing services, giving it a lead over rivals Google and Amazon, which recently moved into music storage and streaming.

Espinel said she was already working closely with major corporations to develop more security for online pharmacies, and holding meetings with Google, GoDaddy, Microsoft, MasterCard, Yahoo!, American Express, eNom, PayPal, Discover and Visa.

Espinel said she would be meeting with European Commission officials to exchange views on intellectual property rights.

Last month, the European Union executive set out proposals to overhaul the legal framework for intellectual property rights in the 27-country bloc. These will need approval from the European Parliament and EU countries.

(Editing by David Cowell)
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone from Sinyal Bagus XL, Nyambung Teruuusss...!

READ MORE - Apple, Google cloud can help curb online piracy: U.S.

FT launches Web-based app to work on all tablets

By Georgina Prodhan

LONDON (Reuters) - The Financial Times is launching a new, Web-based version of its mobile app, the first of its kind by a major publisher, that will allow it to adapt quickly to new tablet PCs and reduce its dependence on Apple Inc.

Until now, news publishers have tended to custom-design their tablet offerings for Apple's iPad -- which has opened a new and potentially profitable market for them as print sales decline, and offers a glitch-free experience for users.

Rupert Murdoch's News Corp, for example, recently launched a new digital newspaper, The Daily, initially just for iPad users in the United States.

But an explosion in the variety of tablet computers means designing so-called native mobile apps for each device will soon be too costly and slow, and will delay new apps getting to market.

John Ridding, chief executive of the FT -- which is part of British publishing group Pearson Plc -- said the FT aimed to make it easy for customers to read the newspaper on any phone or computer through a single subscription.

"We are determined to make it as accessible as possible for the user," he told Reuters by telephone. "Readers will be able to get our journalism through whatever device or channel they may choose."

The new app, available from app.ft.com, launches on Tuesday for the iPad and iPhone, with a week's free access. Versions optimized for the Samsung Electronics Co Ltd Galaxy, Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc Xoom and Research In Motion Ltd BlackBerry PlayBook are planned soon.

Tweaks for particular devices will now take weeks, not months, and FT.com's managing director Rob Grimshaw said the FT would be encouraging users to migrate to the Web app, which would generally deliver a better experience than native apps.

APP-LIKE EXPERIENCE

The move will also free the FT from the confines of Apple's App Store. Apple charges 30 percent of revenues and is trying to enforce a rule that subscribers must sign up through the App Store rather than directly with publishers.

The FT, however, is determined to maintain a direct connection to its readers, which it says is fundamental to understanding the way they consume FT content.

"Working through the browser means we can maintain a direct relationship with the customer. That's been central to our business model," Grimshaw said.

The new app is based on HTML5, the latest version of the HTML standard Web language that can be read by any browser. Grimshaw said it took five to six months of development in partnership with software designer Assanka.

"We've had this in mind since probably the middle of last year when we first started to realize how much would be involved ... if we had to write them all with native code," Grimshaw said.

"At that point nobody had done anything like that, so it really wasn't clear you could produce an app-like experience using HTML5."

Using the Web rather than an app store also means users will be able to get automatic software updates without having to download them.

Benedict Evans, an analyst with London-based research firm Enders Analysis, said: "On a purely technical level, it's very impressive. You can occasionally notice it's not quite as fluid as a native app, but most of the time it performs just as well."

Evans said the FT was in a different position from most news publishers, who had yet to develop a mature online business.

FT.com has more than 224,000 paying online subscribers, and digital revenues grew 47 percent last year, accounting for 24 percent of the FT's total sales. Its mobile and tablet apps have been downloaded more than 1 million times.

"For those other publishers, the point of the iPad is that it offers a great experience qualitatively different from what you can get on the Web," said Evans. "If you're The Daily or The Times, it's a great way to capture customers. The FT doesn't need the App Store as an acquisition tool in quite the same way."

(Editing by Andre Grenon)
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone from Sinyal Bagus XL, Nyambung Teruuusss...!

READ MORE - FT launches Web-based app to work on all tablets