Apple : Report: Samsung, Google execs to meet in Seoul Thursday

Report: Samsung, Google execs to meet in Seoul Thursday
iPhone 5 Retina display 'better' than Galaxy S3 OLED screen
Foxconn riots may return, according to experts
Garmin tries to snatch iOS users with new features

Report: Samsung, Google execs to meet in Seoul Thursday

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Two of the technology world's top executives are meeting in Seoul for a high-level meeting Thursday, according to the Korea Times.

Though those people could be just about anybody we read about daily, this pair happens to be Shin Jong-kyun, Samsung's president of mobile communications business, and Eric Schmidt, executive chairman of Google.

"I will meet Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt on Thursday in Seoul," Jong-kyun reportedly said earlier this week.

What the two will talk about Jong-kyun wouldn't divulge. However, he revealed that strategic meetings with major U.S. carriers are also scheduled for next week.

While Samsung's mobile chief and the Google honcho could discuss just about anything Android related, they won't be stretching for conversation thanks to at least one common enemy: Apple.

Sharing slices

The two companies are intimately tied as many Samsung handsets run Google's Android operating system. Samsung, the paper wrote, is the "representative of Google's Android community" in a legal fray with Apple.

Apple was not only awarded nearly $1.05 billion (UK£665, AU$1.01) in damages from Samsung after a San Jose, Calif. jury ruled the latter violated several design and technology patents tied to iPhones and iPads, it recently requested that hundreds of millions more be added to the total sum, plus a sales ban on additional Samsung products.

From its end, Samsung has filed for a new trial, a move that could potentially reverse the damages ruling.

Google also has a legal dispute brewing with Apple, as Motorola Mobility, owned by the Mountain View, Calif.-based company, is seeking a U.S. sales ban on iPhone, iPad, and Mac computer imports.

The bad blood between Google and Apple is nothing new as both have competed for operating system dominance for many years.

When asked about the meeting, a Google representative said the company had no comment.

TechRadar reached out to Samsung for comment and will update this story if and when details become available.

iPhone 5 Retina display 'better' than Galaxy S3 OLED screen

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Apple's iPhone 5 isn't perfect, but it just scored a victory against rival Samsung as tests have shown the phone's screen to be superior to the Super AMOLED HD tech on offer in the rival Samsung Galaxy S3.

DisplayMate, which ran the display tests, said Apple has, somewhat uncharacteristically, "categorically understated" how much better the new 326 ppi, 1136 x 640 Retina display is, compared with the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S.

Close examination found that screen reflectance levels had "decreased substantially" and were among the lowest the site had ever recorded on a mobile device.

The iPhone 5 also boasts the brightest smartphone screen the site has ever tested, while it also has the highest "Contrast Rating for High Ambient Light" on any mobile device.

Twice as bright

The Samsung Galaxy S3, on the other hand, is held back somewhat by the newness of the OLED technology, which DisplayMate said has "not yet been refined to the same degree as LCDs."

The test revealed that the brightness of the S3's screen "is about half of the iPhone 5 due to power constraints resulting from the lower OLED power efficiency and concerns regarding premature OLED aging."

"As a result," the report continued, "the image contrast and screen readability in high ambient lighting is much poorer than the iPhone 5."

The site advises Samsung to keep working on developing its own "promising" OLED technology, while pointing out that the iPhone 5's Retina Display is "not perfect and there is plenty of room for improvements."

On that note, who's looking forward to the iPhone 6 and the Samsung Galaxy S4?

Foxconn riots may return, according to experts

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The factory riot that stopped production at Foxconn Monday may strike again, experts warn.

Foxconn is one of the world's biggest electronics manufacturers, based in northern China, it's responsible for making popular tech products such as the iPhone 5 and the Xbox 360. The company has also been criticized in the media for poor working conditions and over extending its labor force.

About 2,000 employee's rioted earlier this week injuring 40 people. The brawl briefly halted production in one of FoxConn's factories in the northern city of Taiyuan. The riot comes amid a slowdown in the Chinese economy and high demand for the newly released iPhone 5.

Though the incident was sparked by a clash between guards and workers, experts warned in a Washington Post article that issues underling the riot need to be resolved or more disturbances may arise.

"Such riots have become in some ways inevitable," Liu Kaiming, a labor expert in Shenzhen, told the Post. "It's no longer simply a matter raising the wages."

Experts say a contributing factor is the changing demographic of the migrant workers who fuel China's manufacturing sector. These workers are becoming better educated and are looking for higher paying jobs elsewhere. So the labor pool is starting to shrink for these unskilled manufacturing jobs.

Though the labor pool is evaporating, demand for tech products is as high as ever, putting more pressure on the remaining workforce.

'Serious and pressing concerns'

Back in March, a probe by the US Fair Labor Association found "serious and pressing concerns" as employees at a Foxconn plant were working overly long hours and weren't paid overtime. The report also said employees would often go more than 11 days without time off and work as much as 70 hours a week.

Another problem is the intensity of the job. Workers are required to do very precise work in quick repetition.

Workers also complained in the Post about poor management and abusive guards. One former employee said a problem was "spiritual emptiness" as they were discouraged from talking with one another.

Apple and Foxconn

Apple's relationship with the electronics manufacturer came under fire in the past, as the company relies heavily on Foxconn as its main Chinese supplier.

"Our team has been working for years to educate workers, improve conditions, and make Apple's supply chain a model for the industry," Apple CEO Tim Cook said when the FLA conducted its probe.

Apple helped contribute to raising wages for workers and other minor reforms, but it doesn't seem to be enough, judging from recent unrest. And pressure is only going to build from the recent success of the iPhone 5 and the oncoming holiday season.

Garmin tries to snatch iOS users with new features

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Apple's Maps app is still catching a lot of flack in its early stages, and that has opened the door for competitors.

Both Nokia and Google have taken time out to claim their navigation products are superior to Apple's new first-party offering.

Now even Garmin is getting in on the action, as the company released a new update to several of its navigation apps on the iTunes store Tuesday.

Though Garmin charges for some of the apps' new features, it's not ashamed to tout new additions like Google Street View and Panorama View 3D.

Garmin adds support for iOS 6, iPhone 5

The latest versions of the Garmin apps add compatibility with iOS 6 and the iPhone 5, making this a particularly timely update.

By adding that support, along with the free edition of Google Street View, Garmin is effectively hoping to capture the disappointed users turned off by Apple Maps.

Additionally, the updated Garmin apps will allow users to purchase Urban Guidance in-app, which "considers public transportation options, such as subways, trams, busses and water taxis, when calculating pedestrian routes."

That feature costs $2.99 (UK£1.85, AU$2.87).

Panorama View 3D is also available for $9.99 (UK£6, AU$9.60), and offers "true 3D elevation views obtained from NASA's height and terrain data enable intuitive orientation and show users what lies ahead."

While Garmin is an industry leader in satnav technology, its Garmin U.S.A. app, for example, runs $39.99 (UK£24, AU$38), and that's not even the most expensive version.

Despite how barebones the Apple Map is, it's still free, and Apple assured its users that Maps' will lose its bugs and inaccurate listings as more people use it.

Although a report surfaced last week that Google was working on its own maps app for iOS 6, the hopes of many lost users were squashed as the company's CEO announced Tuesday no work has been done on any such app.

While it's not yet time to break out a compass, you might want to re-familiarize yourself with the North Star.

Yahuui Blog

Wednesday, September 26, 2012