Sunday, May 29, 2011

Tech News Update: Paypal v. Google: a tawdry tale of trade secret misappropriation

Google and its poached Paypal employees got sued for trade secret misappropriation yesterday, but we didn't know the dirty details until now. A peek at PayPal's complaint reveals there's a bit more to the story. Apparently, Paypal and Google were in talks last year to use PayPal for payments in the Android Market. Osama Bedier was in charge of those negotiations for PayPal in October of 2010, when the deal was supposed to close, but was allegedly interviewing for a mobile payment position at Google at the same time (holy conflict of interest, Batman!). The complaint claims that Bedier initially rebuffed El Goog's advances, told PayPal of the job offer and professed that he would stay, but jumped ship a month later (bringing some PayPal coworkers with him) after being recruited by Stephanie Tilenius and the almighty dollar. Once it hired Osama, Google reportedly put the brakes on the PayPal deal and created Google Wallet. Then Google, Bedier, and Tilenius got slapped with a lawsuit. A brief rundown of the legal claims awaits you after the break. 


In California, information is a protected trade secret if it's economically valuable, isn't generally known, and its owner has made reasonable efforts to keep it secret. Additionally, contracts preventing employee poaching are enforceable in Cali to the extent that they're needed to protect trade secrets possessed by those employees. PayPal's plans and mobile payment strategies would certainly be valuable to its competitors, and it keeps its institutional info classified with employee confidentiality clauses and customer non-disclosure agreements. So, PayPal appears to have a pretty strong argument for trade secret protection, and its breach of contract claims against Bedier and Tilenius for soliciting PayPal employees are looking good too.


Of course, that assumes Osama, in fact, used (and is using) his knowledge of PayPal's mobile payment plans to create Google Wallet -- and that he breached his duty of loyalty when he got himself and others hired by El Goog instead of doing the Android deal. And, if the complaint is to be believed, Ms. Tilenius and Google are on the hook for inducing him to do these dastardly deeds. PayPal paints quite the picture of corporate intrigue, but it'll be interesting to see how the folks from Mountain View respond. The real question is, can Google Wallet pay legal fees?

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Google Android Smartphone News: HTC Wildfire S review (www.drmobiles.co.nz) "Android Unlock", Auckland

Mini phones are hot and HTC don’t want you take Sony Ericsson’s word on that. What started as a small niche is now a segment that keeps growing – and one that no manufacturer can afford to ignore. Sony Ericsson have just announced their updated mini lineup while Samsung and LG routinely have more than one thing going on in the midrange.

HTC know they can’t afford to stop right in the middle of what they’ve been doing with the Wildfire, the Aria and the Gratia. Going all the way back to the Tattoo, which first put Android on the radar for budget shoppers.

HTC Wildfire S HTC Wildfire S HTC Wildfire S HTC Wildfire S 
HTC Wildfire S official photos

There’s plenty of choice already for those who like their droid in a small package. The HTC Wildfire S seems to be aware of that and does well to make itself seen. The lively paintjobs and friendly compact size are the right features to show to potential buyers. The Wildfire S has found a way to further reduce size while keeping the same 3.2” screen.

One thing we should keep in mind though. HTC seem to be in power-saving mode currently with all their recent releases but facelifts offering minor improvements over predecessors. That holds true for the Wildfire S too, though this is not to say that it shouldn’t be on your list if you’re looking for the next hot mini. HTC seem to have worked exactly on the things that most needed improvement. Display is key here, HVGA finally bringing it to acceptable levels. CIF video-capture was upped to VGA and the phone runs the latest Android Gingerbread.

These things should give it enough value as an upgrade. The Wildfire S is well-designed and well-built – a colorful little droid to offer good bang for buck. Let’s look at what else the S stands for.

Key features

  • Quad-band GSM and dual-band 3G support
  • 7.2 Mbps HSDPA, 384 Kbps HSUPA support
  • 3.2" 256K-color TFT capacitive touchscreen of HVGA (320 x 480 pixels) resolution
  • 600MHz Snapdragon MSM7227 CPU, Adreno 200 GPU; 418MB of user-available RAM
  • Android 2.3.3 (Gingerbread) with HTC Sense 2.1 UI
  • Wi-Fi 802.11 b, g, n with hotspot functionality
  • GPS with A-GPS connectivity; digital compass
  • 5 MP autofocus camera, LED flash, geotagging and face-detection
  • VGA video @ 24fps
  • microUSB port (charging) and stereo Bluetooth v3.0
  • microSD slot (up to 32GB, 2GB in box)
  • Standard 3.5 mm audio jack
  • Accelerometer and proximity sensor
  • Gorilla Glass display
  • Stereo FM radio with RDS
  • Light and compact
  • Turn-to-mute, lift-to-tone-down, flip for speakerphone
  • Smart dialing
  • XviD video support
  • HTCSense.com integration
  • HTC Portable Hotspot
  • Ultra-fast boot times (if you don’t remove battery)

Main disadvantages

  • Poor camera performance
  • No HD 720p video recording
  • No shutter key for the camera
  • No Adobe Flash player, Flash Lite only
  • No Document viewer
  • No secondary videocall camera
  • No ambient light sensor

The Wildfire S is the usual all-round smartphone – with the latest Android inside at that – but now in an even friendlier shape. All work and no play wouldn’t do for the Wildfire S and HTC have added some twists to the old recipe to make it 2011-ready.

HTC Wildfire S Review HTC Wildfire S Review HTC Wildfire S Review HTC Wildfire S Review 
HTC Wildfire S live shots

Balance was sought above all – no groundbreaking features are to be expected. Not in this price range, not in a pint-sized package. Minis are friendly and playful. Let’s see if the HTC Wildfire S matches the description.

Economical retail package

The tiny box of the HTC Wildfire S has the essentials duly covered. You get the mandatory charger and an USB cable (to use with the charger as well as in data connections). There’s a set of nice looking headphones and a complimentary 2GB microSD card inside too. The rest is the usual papers.

HTC Wildfire S Review HTC Wildfire S Review 
HTC Wildfire S retail package

The white set of accessories is suspiciously similar to the iPhone’s, the earphones especially almost a complete replica.

HTC Wildfire S 360-degree spin

The HTC Wildfire S measures 101.3 x 59.4 x 12.4 mm and is smaller in real life than it appears on a picture. It’s made entirely of plastic, tipping the scales at the acceptable 105 grams. Maybe it’s the similar styling but we got it wrong initially. No aluminum unibody in the HTC Wildfire S.

The phone feels great in your hand and – being so small, one-hand operation is hassle-free. 3.2” is still more than enough screen real estate to work with – you don’t feel crammed for space.

Design and construction

The HTC Wildfire S borrows some styling ideas from its bigger brother the Desire S and has inherited others from the original Wildfire. Bottom line, the Wildfire S is neat and friendly, and delightfully compact. The finish hasn’t suffered from the plastic build. The soft rubbery back contrasts nicely with the brushed finish of the front frame.

HTC Wildfire S Review HTC Wildfire S Review 
A little Desire S

The phone will be available in a variety of colors and the selection makes sense for a phone targeted at the young. Size is still the key selling point though.

HTC Wildfire S Review 
The Wildfire S next to the Galaxy S II, iPhone 4

The front of the Wildfire S is dominated by a 3.2” capacitive touchscreen of HVGA (320x480) resolution. It’s a reasonably bright LCD unit but with no automatic adjustment for the lack of an ambient light sensor. The smallish screen is quite reflective – making it uncomfortable to use outdoors. The poor viewing angles don’t help it either: colors quickly get washed out. Still it’s enough of an improvement over the poor QVGA screen of the original Wildfire.

HTC Wildfire S Review HTC Wildfire S Review 
The HVGA display of the Wildfire S

As you have every right to expect, the capacitive screen response is top-notch.

Display test 50% brightness 100% brightness
Black, cd/m2 White, cd/m2 Contrast ratio Black, cd/m2 White, cd/m2 Contrast ratio
Sony Ericsson XPERIA Neo 0.19 299 1577 0.31 513 1670
LG Optimus Black P970 0.27 332 1228 0.65 749 1161
LG Optimus 2X 0.23 228 982 0.35 347 1001
HTC Wildfire S 0.43 256 603 0.76 314 414
HTC Incredible S 0.18 162 908 0.31 275 880
Motorola Atrix 4G 0.48 314 652 0.60 598 991


At the bottom of the device you get the usual four capacitive keys: Home, Menu, Back and Search. The major absence compared to the original Wildfire is the optical trackpad. It won’t be badly miss we guess – except perhaps in text editing.

The capacitive keys are small but well-spaced, with precise vibration feedback for comfortable use.

HTC Wildfire S Review HTC Wildfire S Review 
Capacitive Home, Menu, Back and Search keys

On the left side of the Wildfire S you’ll find the volume rocker and the MicroUSB port for charging/data connections. The volume control is unexpectedly big and prominent, with good press.

HTC Wildfire S Review 
Volume rocker and MicroUSB slot

There’re no controls on the right, the asymmetrical contour of the battery cover a nice little accent.

HTC Wildfire S Review 
The right side features nothing

At the top of the device there is a standard 3.5mm headphone jack and the power/lock button. It’s easy to locate by touch and bounces right back up after each press.

HTC Wildfire S Review HTC Wildfire S Review 
Power/lock button and 3.5mm headphone jack

The mouthpiece and a tiny lanyard eyelet are the only things to note at the bottom.

HTC Wildfire S Review HTC Wildfire S Review 
Microphone, lanyard eyelet

The back of the device is simple but attractive. We like the soft matt finish and the light-colored patch holding the loudspeaker grill, camera lens and LED flash that stands out against the darker finish of the surrounding surface. The camera is a 5 MP auto-focus unit and the LED flash looks quite powerful.

HTC Wildfire S Review HTC Wildfire S Review 
5 MP auto-focus camera with LED flash and loudspeaker

Removing the back panel reveals the 1230 MAh Li-Ion battery. It’s quoted at 360-570 hours of stand-by and 430/350 minutes of talk time (between 2G and 3G). In reality our unit gave us about 5 days, used sparingly.

HTC Wildfire S Review 
1230MAh Li-Ion battery

The HTC Wildfire S is a solid little mini whose key feature is its diminutive size. The premium feel is gone but getting a higher-res HVGA screen we’d call it a fair trade. And just to be clear, the phone has no aluminum unibody but the build and finish are up to the usual high HTC standards.

HTC Wildfire S Review HTC Wildfire S Review 
HTC Wildfire S in hand

It’s a small phone that handles well and comes in a variety of colors to please any taste. Friendly and compact, the Wildfire S will let even less experienced users enjoy Android.

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Tech News Leak: Apple testing A5-packing MacBook Air? (www.drmobiles.co.nz) "iPhone 5 Unlock"

We've seen it put its processing power behind the iPad 2 and heard rumors of its presence in the upcoming fifth-gen iPhone, but could Apple really be considering putting its mobile-minded A5 processor in a MacBook Air? According to Japanese website, Macotakara, a trial of the ARM chip is already underway. Apple's reportedly been experimenting with a Thunderbolt-equipped MacBook Air with the A5 on board, and "according to someone who has seen a model running with [Apple's] A5 processor, the performance is better than had been thought." Two weeks ago, we reported on rumors that the upcoming MacBook Air refresh could be on its way as early as next month, featuring Intel's Sandy Bridge 17W mobile processors -- a claim we'd say could hold water. Of course, this information has trickled a ways down the grapevine, and the presence of an A5-packing test vehicle doesn't mean much anyway, but you can consider our interest piqued, regardless.  

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1923 Leica 0-series becomes world's most expensive camera, fetches $1.89 million at auction

Just when we thought ancient wooden boxes were all the rage among camera collectors, a compact beauty has shattered our theories -- this 1923 Leica 0-series just sold at auction for €1,320,000, or about 1.89 million in US money. Curiously enough, the exact same auction house reportedly sold the exact same camera four years ago: No. 107, the first Leica to be exported, allegedly for a patent application inspection in New York. In 2007, it fetched a relatively paltry €336,000, which was apparently still a world record for Leica cameras at the time. Quite the return on that investment, no? Find more pictures and details at the links below.   

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