A Samsung Galaxy S2 and iPhone 4 side by side.

As part of the two companies’ lawsuits against each other, Lucy Koh, the San Jose judge in charge of the legal proceeding, has forced Samsung to had over several unreleased devices to its chief competitor, Apple. Apple will have a chance to go over the devices to look for infringing hardware and software that might violate its design and utility patents. The devices required to be hand over are both of the new Galaxy Tabs, Galaxy S2, Verizon’s Droid Charge, and AT&T’s Infuse 4G.

In most normal circumstances, the infringing company would have three months to turn over said products (in case they were under NDA and in development) – but Samsung has been too public about these products. Two of the three phones are released, and all of them have been shown to the public either online, in trade shows, and even via television advertisements. A limited edition Galaxy Tab 10.1 was also given to 5,000 Google I/O attendees earlier this month, as Apple points out – which further more justifies that the 3 month rule should not apply.

Apple claims the Touchwiz user interface used in these products might be a little too similar to the iOS user interface (see picture above) and wants to research the similarities in more detail. Despite the validity of the case, however, it’s hard to deny that Apple might be wanting the devices for its own gain too. With the iPhone 4S (or iPhone 5) along with a series of new iPods launching later this fall, the demand for these devices from a company like Apple might certainly raise some eyebrows.

What do you think? Is Apple doing this for its own gain, or to see if Touchwiz really does infringing on its patents?

[Source: Courthouse News Service]

Motorola and Verizon have just announced the Droid X2, a 4.3″ smartphone sporting Android 2.2 Froyo, a qHD screen, and the NVIDIA’s Tegra 2 chipset powering this device. On the backside of the device, there’s a solid 8MP camera capable of recording HD video along with the same nice, smooth back cover you’ve come to expect from the original Droid X. The X2 will cost $200 with Verizon’s 2 year contract and is being released tomorrow online and in select stores (at least according to Android Central). General store availability is expected by May 26, if you’re reluctant to purchase the phone online.

Also, as Engadget points out, the USB and HDMI ports of the phone seem to be in a similar position as the Atrix 4G, which sports a laptop dock. With Motorola saying there’s more laptop docking phones coming our way, maybe the Droid X2 could also be one of them. (Maybe the feature is to be enabled in a future software update?)

Update: The Droid X2 launches today, and a trip to my local Verizon store leaves me in doubt of the May 19 store release date. No phones are in stock.

[Source: PR. Read the release statement after the break.]

DROID X2 BY MOTOROLA COMING TO VERIZON WIRELESS WITH DOUBLE THE POWER, DOUBLE THE DOES

Fast and Powerful DROID X2 by Motorola With Broad Range Of New Features To Be Available Online Beginning May 19

BASKING RIDGE, N.J., and LIBERTYVILLE, Ill. – Verizon Wireless and Motorola Mobility, Inc. (NYSE: MMI), today announced the second-generation DROID X2 by Motorola, designed for the consumer who does everything on their smartphone.

Fly through the Web with the DROID X2, which boasts Verizon Wireless’ first dual-core 1 GHz processor for fast webpage loading and Adobe® Flash® Player, allowing Verizon Wireless customers to experience rich content online. The 4.3-inch scratch-resistant and anti-reflective qHD display delivers a sharp, clear view ideal for watching movies, typing emails and playing your favorite games. Never miss a moment using the 8-megapixel camera with continuous autofocus and stunning HD video capture. Use the new Gallery app to view, tag and post photos on sites like Flickr® and Facebook®, all from one place.

Additional features:

· Powered by Android 2.2, to be updated to Android 2.3

· Mirror Mode allows you to view and share your photos, videos and downloaded movies on a larger TV via HDMI output

· Enterprise-ready with security and IT-grade policies, allowing you to use your DROID X2 for work and play

· Support for Google™ Mobile Services, including Gmail™, YouTube™, Google Talk™, Google Search™ and Google Maps™, as well as access to more than 200,000 apps available to download from Android Market™

· Mobile Hotspot capability, allowing you to share your 3G connection with up to five Wi-Fi-enabled devices

· Virtual QWERTY keyboard featuring SWYPE technology for quick and easy typing of messages and emails

Pricing and availability:

· The DROID X2 will be available online at www.verizonwireless.com on May 19 and in Verizon Wireless Communication Stores on May 26 for $199.99 with a new two-year customer agreement.

· DROID X2 customers will need to subscribe to a Verizon Wireless Nationwide Talk plan and a smartphone data package. Nationwide Talk plans begin at $39.99 for monthly access and an unlimited smartphone data plan is $29.99 for monthly access.

For more information on Verizon Wireless products and services, visit a Verizon Wireless Communications Store, call 1-800-2 JOIN IN or go to www.verizonwireless.com.

(EDITOR’S NOTE: Media can access high-resolution images of DROID X2 in the Verizon Wireless Multimedia Library at www.verizonwireless.com/multimedia.)

Today we’re starting to roll out a fix which addresses a potential security flaw that could, under certain circumstances, allow a third party access to data available in calendar and contacts. This fix requires no action from users and will roll out globally over the next few days.

However, the problem isn’t over yet. Although Google has patched and moved both Contacts and Calendar to encrypted connections, the situation involving Picasa – Google’s photo sharing/hosting service – remains in the dark. Hackers can still exploit Picasa using the same method with no problem if they’re on the same open WiFi network you’re on. While there isn’t much you can do about this, you can take a few precautions. Not connecting your Android phone to an open WiFi network, using 3G instead of WiFi, or simply moving your photos out of Picasa can all help remedy the problem on your end. If you have any protective tips/security measures you’d like to let us know of, leave ‘em below in the comments.

[Source: ComputerWorld]

Both new phones run on Android 2.4 skinned with HTC Sense. The ChaCha comes with a full, QWERTY physical keyboard and a 2.6″ screen while the Salsa sports a 3.4″ capacitive touch screen. HTC also claims the phones were developed with cooperation from Facebook. In a press statement today HTC said the phones are “context-aware, gently pulsing with light whenever there is an opportunity to share content or updates through Facebook.”

Press shots of the HTC Salsa (left) and ChaCha (right).

“We have worked closely with HTC for several years on bringing Facebook to their devices and HTC ChaCha and HTC Salsa are the next stage. HTC has brought Facebook to these two new devices in an innovative way enabling people to connect and share easily whenever they want, wherever they are,” said Henri Moissinac, head of mobile business for Facebook.

While HTC did announce that phone would launch in 2Q 2011 (presumably to AT&T), there is no word of the price of either two phones.

Android’s leap forward wasn’t the only thing mentioned in the report. The results showed that AT&T barely beat Verizon, 32% to 30%, for the largest American cellular network and T-Mobile edging out Sprint for the number three spot at 17% and 15% respectively.

Source: NPD