handsets

Preliminary ruling on patents filed in 1994 and 1996 could lead to per-licence fee payment on HTC handsets - or an import ban by the end of the year. By Charles Arthur and agencies

Samsung is about to knock off Nokia as the top smartphone seller thanks to its calculated Google Android strategy.

HTC and LG hope to help their own cause with glasses-free 3-D smartphones. And Swype has a better keyboard for everyone's Android handsets and tablets.

Microsoft on Tuesday announced plans this fall to release Windows Phone "Mango," the code-name for a major Windows Phone 7 upgrade with more than 500 new features, on handsets from the three current Windows Phone 7 manufacturers and four others, including Nokia.

In conjunction with the announcement, Microsoft released Mango tools for developers

Tech Drive-in: "You read it right, 3D technology is coming to your smartphones too. Sharp is all set to launch two glasses free 3D enabled handsets in Japan and what makes the deal even sweeter is the fact that, both these handsets will be powered by Linux based Android operating system."

Samsung already said it has sold more than 1 million Galaxy S Android handsets but the company just said that it will hit the two million mark by the end of next week.

That’s pretty darn impressive.

Gigaom: "Sales of Google Android phones in the U.S. are rising so quickly, the devices have outsold Apple handsets for the first time on record."

The hacker community has always been quick to the rescue with hacked ROMs so that we can update our handsets before the new versions of an OS is officially available.

It’s all been fine and dandy until HTC decided it was time for it to stop.

LinuxInsider: "Android 2.0, nicknamed "Eclair," will make its big entrance on the Droid next month, and other handsets are sure to follow.

However, the wide-open Android ecosystem may be prone to fragmentation as the underlying platform grows in strength and ability."

The company is facing a battle getting its Web plug in on Apple's handsets, but the open nature of Android makes it an attractive platform for Silverlight.