South Korean court refuses Qualcomm’s request to suspend antitrust order

Qualcomm may have to change its licensing practices in Korea.

Back in December, South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) fined Qualcomm 1.03 trillion won ($912 million) for unlawful licensing deals relating to its modem sales and patents.

Qualcomm said that the KFTC’s claims were “inconsistent with the facts,” and the chip vendor filed two lawsuits with the Seoul High Court, one seeking a reversal of the ruling and the other for a stay on a corrective order that would see the company alter its licensing model in the country.

The court found that the corrective order doesn’t cause “irreparable harm” to Qualcomm, which is why it rejected the company’s motion to suspend the ruling. The order requires Qualcomm to engage in “good-faith negotiations” with chip companies looking to license its patents and “negotiate possible amendments with current licensees upon request.”

Qualcomm said that it will file an “immediate appeal” of the order to the Korean Supreme Court. The corrective order is separate from the $912 million fine the KTFC is seeking, and Qualcomm will be appealing that as well:

The Court’s decision to deny Qualcomm’s stay application does not impact Qualcomm’s appeal of the underlying KFTC decision, which the Seoul High Court will consider later. Qualcomm continues to believe that the KFTC’s decision is not supported by the facts and law, and was the product of a hearing and investigation that denied Qualcomm fundamental due process rights.

Qualcomm also intends to preserve and pursue its arguments that the KFTC’s underlying decision exceeds its authority and principles of international law by inappropriately seeking to regulate intellectual property rights arising under the laws of other nations, including the United States.

How to fix out-of-sync audio on your NVIDIA Shield

How do I fix out-of-sync audio on the NVIDIA Shield Android TV?

If there’s one thing that’s frustrating with watching streaming digital content it’s when the audio is just off from the video. Once you notice it you can’t not notice it.

And for whatever reason, it’s an issue that’s been affecting my NVIDIA Shield Android TV for the past few months — and I’m not the only one. It’s a common enough issue that it keeps popping up in forums and affecting some of the most popular streaming video apps.

Video with the audio out of sync is just plain awful, and there appears to be no rhyme or reason for why this issue seems to affect the NVIDIA Shield. Fortunately, there are some tips to get your Shield back in sync.

Make sure your software is up to date

This one is an obvious one, but you should always make sure that you’re Shield is running on the latest updated version. It’s the best practice to set your devices to automatically check for new updates so you don’t have to manually check yourself. And actually install the updates when they pop up (I’m as guilty as anyone for putting updates off).

Some people found the issue fixed by simply updating to the latest build, while others found the issue persists or seems to be specific to a particular app. That’s when it may be time to dive deeper into the Shield’s advanced settings.

Check the latest Shield TV software release at NVIDIA

Adjust the audio video sync

If you’ve found that a specific app or video file is just slightly out of sync, you can manually adjust the audio video sync in the advanced display and audio settings.

Select the Settings icon.
Select Display & Sound
Select Advanced settings.
Select Audio Video Sync.
Use the slider to match the bouncing ball to the sound.

Make an adjustment and then return to your streaming video to see if it made an impact. NVIDIA specifically states this tool is ideal for those using a USB DAC for audio or using a digital receiver to pull in a TV signal.

Give everything a hard reboot

The makeshift solution that worked for me involved unplugging the Shield console leaving it turned off for a few minutes. While a fresh boot seemed to get things back in sync for a little while, the audio would slowly start to fall back out of sync after a short while.

I reached out to NVIDIA’s support team, and they offered the following steps as a possible solution, which they said should fix any audio latency that may be caused by interference caused by other devices on or located within my wireless network. NVIDIA recommends you connect to a 5GHz Wi-Fi network if possible.

Power cycle your wireless router by unplugging the power cord and waiting 15-20 seconds before powering it back on.
Unplug all the cables and keep the Shield off for 2-3 minutes.
Plug in the power cable, a controller through USB, and an Ethernet cable directly from the router. Do not connect an HDMI cable.
When the device powers up, let it idle for a few minutes then continuously tap the A button for a few seconds.
Leave the device in this state with the HDMI cable for 15 to 20 minutes.
Plug the Shield into a TV via HDMI and test the audio playback in a video.

These steps worked for me and they should work for you, too. However, due to where my router is located in my house I’m unable to have the Shield plugged in via Ethernet, so I have to go back to a Wi-Fi connection. I won’t be terribly surprised if the audio falls back out of sync again.

Have you had this issue with the NVIDIA Shield?

We want to know if this is a common issue with Shield TV owners. Have you dealt with delayed audio video sync? What fixes have you tried?

NVIDIA Shield Android TV

• Read our Shield Android TV review
• The latest Shield Android TV news
• Shield vs. Shield Pro: Which should I buy?
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The Note 8 and the LG V30 won’t have Oreo at launch but does it really matter?

It depends on just who you ask.

So we’re going to be able to buy the Note 8 or the LG V30 (or both) soon. They have more in common than being the “luxury” model from the companies who make them: they are both launching with Android Nougat instead of Oreo. How much does this really matter, and to whom?

These two phones are important to the companies selling them, the people who will be buying them, and to the Android ecosystem as a whole. And more often than not, these three different groups of things don’t have the same goals or needs. And that’s important when talking about what it means to launch with an older version of Android.

For the Android Platform

We’ll start with the Android ecosystem here because it’s the easiest to talk about. It matters.

Android, like every other computing platform, exists and prospers because of the companies and people building applications that run on the platform. When developers stop spending time and resources to make third-party apps, even the best platform can die off. We’ve seen this happen with Windows on mobile. Most anyone who has used a Windows phone will tell you it was a great product or at least a great starting point for something bigger. Because developers weren’t there, sales never took off and Microsoft has had to halt the platform while they reimagine it. When it returns, the same thing might happen if the apps people want and need aren’t available.

Developers want as many people as possible using their app.

For Google — which is Android’s caretaker — phones not running the newest version that can take advantage of the newest features is not an ideal situation. Developers build apps that appeal to the largest number of users, and an app that only 3% of the total user base can use isn’t it. Developers can either target the version with the most users, work to provide multiple copies of their apps or build apps in a way to work on both the new and the old, or go for that 3% of users with the new version. We all know what happens, and new apps launch without new Android feature support and don’t get updated to use them until there are enough users to justify it (if they get updated at all).

Compare this to iOS, where thousands of apps are ready the minute a new version is released and the rest soon follow. Google could force developers to update within a certain period, but that would drive developers away because phones just aren’t running the latest version. And by not forcing them to do it, developers just aren’t. It’s a catch-22 and there is no way to fix it, other than getting the companies who build phones to ship with the latest version as well as update older models on day one.

For the users

For you and me, a new phone launching with Nougat doesn’t matter much at all. And it won’t for a while.

This isn’t universal. Regular readers of Android Central may be enthusiasts who feel that they need to have the latest version of Android for one reason or another. I’m one of them, and you might be, too. But for the user base as a whole, a phone running Android Oreo will still be downloading and installing apps without any of the latest features because developers aren’t incorporating them yet. See the 3% circle above.

More: Android Oreo will look like Android Nougat for almost everyone

Features built into Android are a little different, but once a manufacturer makes its changes to Android many, if not most, of them aren’t visible or recognizable. And some have been there for a while because manufacturers have added them already. If you buy a Note 8 or a V30 today, you just won’t miss much from Oreo until the Galaxy S7 sees a platform update. That’s when there will be enough users for developers to justify targeting Oreo. The few apps that take advantage of things like the Autofill API or emojis and fonts as app resources instead of system resources will be a treat for the few people who get to use them, but there will be no big shift towards building out those apps for a while.

This situation is getting better than it used to, and in a few years, it might be more important for a phone to launch with the latest version when it comes to the user experience. But right now, it’s not.

For the manufacturers

It matters and it doesn’t matter. For the companies making Android phones, a new version means a lot of new work. And it’s more than just spending time and money to update their software for Android Oreo.

Samsung and LG want to build phones we want to buy. That’s the core philosophy of their mobile divisions and every company’s mobile division. That means they want the software on their latest phone to be well-tested in the field and as bug-free as possible. Because Google’s timeline might not match up with theirs, that means shipping the latest version may be risky. Android is getting pretty good about shipping new releases without critical bugs, but when you add an entirely new layer of complexity to the picture it becomes a risk not worth taking. In this case, using last year’s version of Android doesn’t matter too much.

Companies making these phones have to make a phone everyone loves and that’s hard.

The marketing department might not feel the same way, though. There’s one big issue that is hard to work around when the Note 8 or V30 launches with Nougat — when to push out updates for them, as well as the Galaxy S8 and G6.

Users who paid the extra money to buy the premium model aren’t going to be happy if they are seeing other phones getting an update before they are. Users who bought the high-selling consumer model can feel like they have been waiting longer and should be first. Samsung and LG want both camps to be happy with the brand and purchase from them the next time, so this can get dicey. Most folks buying phones aren’t going to be concerned, but the most vocal folks are and balancing resources to satisfy everyone becomes part of the update process. Because of the release cycle for the Note and V series, this becomes a thing every year.

But does it really matter?

Nope.

You and I shouldn’t be concerned with the trials and troubles billion-dollar companies go through to make phones. All we should care about is feeling like we got our money’s worth when we buy them.

Worry about what you like and not a company’s bottom line.

People buying the V30 or Note 8 will be able to take advantage of all the features built into either and will have their choice of a million plus apps to install from Google Play. By the time we need to have a newer version of Android to use the apps we really want, it will be there. And in the meantime, most of what’s new isn’t going to be missed by anyone buying.

And for those that will miss it, Google has a phone coming every autumn for you.

Samsung Galaxy Note 8

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• LG V30 hands-on!
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TalkTalk wants to exit the mobile business

TalkTalk wants to ditch its mobile business and focus on cheap home broadband, according to the Financial Times. The company has long been a ‘quad-play’ provider, offering TV, mobile, landline and broadband bundles in the UK. You can buy each service individually or combine them to save money, much like Sky, BT and Virgin Media. It’s a simple proposition: TalkTalk’s bundles are normally cheaper, but in return you have to put up with a slightly inferior service. Now, however, it’s looking to give up on mobile altogether, which can only be interpreted as a tactical retreat.

TalkTalk launched its first mobile plans in 2010 by piggy-backing on Vodafone’s UK network. The company is still a ‘mobile virtual network operator,’ though it’s since switched to O2’s infrastructure (its deal with Vodafone meant it couldn’t offer 4G). As the Financial Times reports, TalkTalk had considered creating its own mobile network that could be utilised in conjunction with O2’s cables. It eventually scrapped the project, however, preferring to “work closely with [O2 owner] Telefonica UK on the right platform and customer offering.” The company has 913,000 mobile subscribers at the moment, some of which are on quad-play bundles.

According to the Financial Times, TalkTalk is trying to strike a deal that would involve selling a rival’s SIM cards alongside its broadband packages. If the company sidled up with O2, for instance, you would receive a discount for taking out an O2 smartphone plan with one of TalkTalk’s home internet offerings. “We are in advanced discussions with a number of potential partners, including O2, to agree a low touch, retail arrangement that will enable us to continue to offer a compelling mobile service to all our broadband customers,” a spokesperson for TalkTalk told the FT.

The large and embarrassing TalkTalk hack of 2015 still looms over the company. Management tried to shake its fragile image with a simpler, “all-in” pricing structure and a family-focused marketing campaign last October. It doesn’t seem to have worked, however. TalkTalk is up against mounting competition in the mobile space too. EE continues to work on its TV offering, while Three, Virgin Media and Vodafone experiment with “free,” zero-rated data deals. Throw in the various MVNOs such as Tesco Mobile, Giffgaff and iD, and suddenly TalkTalk has a hard time standing out. Bowing out, while not ideal, might be its best bet financially.

Source: Financial Times

The Morning After: Tuesday, September 5th 2017

This morning: The future of your kitchen, why Apple might not fix your iPhone, and the world’s top how-to requests for Google.

Changes are coming.
The smart-kitchen revolution is a slow one

Of all the spaces in our homes, the kitchen is the one that has seen the least change in the last few years. Sure, that countertop CD player has given way to an Echo, but you’ve probably not invested in a smartphone-controlled oven or DRM-enabled juicer. Look hard enough, however, and you can see more radical shifts in the appliances world on the horizon. IFA offered up a glimpse of what we might see — eventually.

Leaked Apple warranty guide shows what it will and won’t repair
If you try to take your iPhone apart, forget about Genius help.

It’s pretty tough for individuals and even third-party shops to repair Apple products, and it’s often hard to predict whether Apple itself will repair, decline to fix or replace a busted iPhone. However, Business Insider has unearthed a 22-page Visual/Mechanical Inspection Guide, or VMI, which shows what qualifies as an “eligible repair.” It’s reportedly used to conduct a physical damage inspection and assess cost, “basically half the training for iPhone techs,” an anonymous Genius told BI.

Just look at what they did for smartphones.
Fitness wearables will live or die by their apps

Wearables are back again. From Fitbit’s debut Ionic smartwatch to Samsung’s Gear Sport, these fitness-focused watches also run the companies’ own proprietary platforms, each offering their own app selection. For them to succeed, Samsung, Fitbit and Garmin, which also unveiled a new watch at IFA 2017, must now race to stock their stores with the best apps. That’s good news for smartwatches in general because the influx of wearable apps could do for smartwatches what it did for smartphones years ago.

The 17-year-old still needed his mom to sign off on the deal.Highest-paid ‘Overwatch’ pro lands $150,000 salary deal

eSports teams are now trying to outbid each other for the industry’s rising stars. One of these hotshots, North American Overwatch player Jay “sinatraa” Won, just signed a $150,000-per-year contract, reports ESPN. As a result, sinatraa will be earning $100,000 more than the league minimum, with revenue-sharing options available. He also happens to be 17 years young.

But wait, there’s more…

• Google reveals its most-searched how-to tips
• Samsung’s second dual-camera phone is much more affordable
• Behold, the cameras destroyed by the solar eclipse
• What’s on TV: ‘Destiny 2,’ ‘Bojack Horseman’ and ‘You’re the Worst’

Google taps Xiaomi for its most powerful Android One phone

You’d be forgiven for thinking Android One was dead and gone. Google’s initiative to bring stock Android to emerging nations through cheap, local handsets roared to life in 2014. By 2015, however, it was already being rebooted, with the tech giant promising to further lower prices. That same year it came to Africa, and is currently available in Japan, Turkey, and the Netherlands, among other regions. Now, Android One is getting fitted with upgraded hardware courtesy of Xiaomi. The Chinese manufacturer’s new Mi A1 handset was just announced in India, and will cost $234. That’s significantly more than the $50 Android One phones we’re used to. The switch to a higher price point indicates a shift in Google’s strategy — as it looks to capture a bigger slice of the world’s mobile-first market.

Of course, for that price you get a lot more bang for your buck. Overall, it seems the phone is a variant of the Xiaomi Mi 5X. It boasts the same specs as its older sibling, albeit with Xiaomi’s MIUI software coating swapped out for stock Android.

For the uninitiated, the Mi A1 offers a full-metal body and 5.5 inch, full HD display. Its 7.5mm thickness also makes it slimmer than flagship devices, like the Samsung Galaxy S8. It packs a dual camera setup like Xiaomi’s own high-end handset, the Mi 6. This includes both a 12MP telephoto and wide-angle lens. The front-facing selfie snapper, on the other hand, comes in at 5MP. Inside, you’ll find a Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 processor, 4GB RAM, and 64GB storage (expandable up to 128GB). In terms of looks, Xiaomi hasn’t done away with its bezels, like it did with the Mi Mix.

#MiA1 will be retailing at Rs. 14,999! #FlagshipDualCamera #XiaomiGlobalLaunch in India! pic.twitter.com/aDKSw5uzVd

— Mi (@xiaomi) September 5, 2017

Those specs wipe the floor with other Android One devices. And, of course, the phone will come packing Google’s stock OS — along with a bunch of pre-loaded software, including Google Assistant and Google Photos. Upgrades will also be more frequent (you can expect Android Oreo for the Mi A1 before the end of the year). The same goes for future versions of the OS, such as Android P.

Thanks to the release of Android Go (a special configuration of Android Oreo for low-end phones), it seems Google’s plans for emerging markets are expanding. But, as its latest partnership proves, that doesn’t mean Android One is being put to bed.

The Xiaomi Mi A1 will also be available in around 40 regions, including Indonesia, Vietnam, Russia, Poland, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Ukraine, and Mexico. Although prices for those counties have not yet been announced. The device lands in India on 12 September.

Source: Google (blog)

800,000 low-income UK homes to benefit from free solar panels

One of the biggest ever green energy schemes in the UK is set to provide clean energy for as many as 800,000 low-income homes over the next five years, renewable energy provider Solarplicity has revealed. As part of a £160 million investment from Netherlands-based Maas Capital (part of the ABN AMRO Bank), the company will provide 100,000 households with free solar panels over the next 18 months and hopes to reach its target within five years.

The aim of the £1 billion project is to help individuals and families living in social housing by saving them an average of £240 a year. The harvested energy won’t be free, but offered at a significantly reduced rate. If it meets its potential, the scheme could save tenants up to £192 million in total.

Already, 40 “social landlords” — including many local authorities — are on board, with the majority of them located in the North West. Over 290,000 homes in towns like Oldham and Bradford will benefit from the project, followed by the North East and the Midlands.

The deal is set to create over 1,000 new jobs for people who will be tasked with installing and maintaining the panels. Solarplicity says that many of the positions will be offered to military veterans, who will be retrained for new maintenance careers.

The companies involved will profit from the scheme by way of the government’s feed-in tariff, which pays households that generate their own electricity via renewable methods. Tenants will also contribute towards the cost, but they’ll also be given low-energy LED bulbs and smart meter in order to better manage their energy consumption.

Via: HuffPo UK

Source: Solarplicity

Alleged ‘iPhone 8’ Sim Tray Images Again Depict Copper-Like Gold Color

New photos of an alleged iPhone part leak appeared online this morning offering another possible indication that Apple’s upcoming 2017 range of iPhones will be available in just three colors. The images were shared by Benjamin Geskin and depict two iPhone SIM card trays in gold and silver, purportedly destined for Apple’s so-called “iPhone 8”.

#iPhone8 SIM Card Tray

“Blush” Gold
Silver
Black pic.twitter.com/TuCXeh4sby

— Benjamin Geskin (@VenyaGeskin1) September 5, 2017

Geskin’s tweet refers to previous rumors suggesting Apple will offer the “iPhone 8” – as well its companion devices, the iPhone 7s and the iPhone 7s Plus – in silver, gold, and black (not shown).

The three colors were first mentioned in early August by notable KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo and appeared to line up with dummy model images that were circulating at the time, albeit with a question mark remaining over the copper-tinged appearance of the gold model, described by the dummy leaker as “champagne gold”.

A couple of weeks later, Geskin claimed the internal name for the unusual-looking color was “Blush Gold” and offered his own OLED iPhone render to give an idea of its appearance.

Following today’s emergence of sim tray photos, Geskin later shared another comped image comparing the three colors side by side, offering a better example of how the copper-like tint differs to previous gold iPhone options.

The new color has divided observers, with some calling it the “Zune option”, referring to Microsoft’s much-maligned brown music player. Still, it’s hard to know for sure how the so-called “Blush Gold” color will appear in natural light, if indeed Apple plans to offer it instead of its traditional Rose Gold or Gold colors.

Apple is expected to offer the new iPhones in 64GB, 256GB, and 512GB storage capacities at $999, $1099, and $1199 price points, respectively. To find out if the rumors are accurate, be sure to follow our coverage of Apple’s September 12 media event on MacRumors.com and through our MacRumorsLive Twitter account.

Related Roundup: iPhone 8
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Pixelmator Announces New ‘Pixelmator Pro’ Software Coming This Fall

The team behind the popular Pixelmator photo editing app for iOS and Mac today announced plans to unveil an all new pro-level app, Pixelmator Pro.

According to the Pixelmator Pro teaser site, the new software features a reimagined editing workflow, simplified editing tools, and intelligent image editing features powered by machine learning.

Pixelmator Pro is a powerful, beautiful, and easy to use image editor. Featuring an elegant and streamlined single-window interface, it puts all the focus on the images you edit, rather than what’s around them. And with a design that is totally and completely Mac, it feels instantly familiar from the moment you first open the app. So image editing becomes simpler and more enjoyable than ever.

Pixelmator Pro takes advantage of the new Core ML framework built into macOS High Sierra to provide features like automatic layer naming based on layer content, automatic horizon detection, an improved repair tool for removing objects from photos effortlessly, and a quick selection tool that’s better than ever.

The interface includes tools designed to make it easy to resize and rearrange layers, with a nondestructive Arrange Tool, smart spacing guides, and advanced alignment tools for aligning several objects with a click, plus there’s a new painting engine powered by Metal 2 and dynamic paint blending technology.

Nondestructive color adjustment tools let you edit the colors in photos, there are a selection of effects that can be added to each layer and combined in Recipes, and there are shape tools, drawing tools, layer styles, and more. All in all, Pixelmator Pro includes more than 40 tools to work with.

Pixelmator Pro will be available sometime this fall. Prospective customers can sign up to get an email when the software launches on the Pixelmator Pro website.

Tag: Pixelmator
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Gigabyte made the tiniest GeForce GTX 1080 card yet

NVIDIA has been shrinking gaming laptops with its Max-Q graphics initiative, but what about desktop users who want high-end graphics in a discreet, portable case? Gigabyte has come up with the GeForce GTX 1080 Mini ITX 8G, an unwieldy name for the world’s smallest GTX 1080 graphics card. At just 16.9 cm (6.7 inches), it’s nearly four inches shorter than a regular model, so it can be tucked into a Mini-ITX case (6.7 x 6.7 inches), as the name implies. Yet, it packs the same power as any other GTX 1080 desktop card, letting you do 4K video, gaming and VR with ease.

In a card that size, the main trick is cooling, so Gigabyte used copper composite heat pipes and a 90mm fan with a custom blade design. Despite the compact size, you’ll hear nary a decibel when the system is running under a light load, thanks to 3D Active fan tech. Gigabyte also supplies software for one-click overclocking so you don’t have to futz around with that much.

There’s no mention of availability or pricing, but don’t expect a discount just because it’s smaller — it might even cost more because of the engineering required to shrink it. Hopefully, that’ll be offset by the lower cost of ITX components, and should be worth it for a portable machine that (for now) can still blow away any laptop.