It's a nice idea, but it requires the calling party to have a Mac or iOS device to call in from. I would have thought they need a solution that would support PC users as well.

If only there were a way that you could install cross platform third party apps like Skype or Yahoo Messenger on the iPad.....

If there were only a simple low cost low maintenance device that could do FaceTime, Skype etc. that costs less than $299 was portable, automatically updated itself, and was foolproof. I wander when someone will invent such a device. It wouldn't even need a keyboard and it could be wireless! It could have a front facing camera and be a simple touch screen device.

Nahh we will never see something that simple in our lifetime....

It doesn't matter whether some MS patents have expired. According to the summary "Samsung voluntarily entered into a legally binding contract with Microsoft in a cross-licensing agreement".

Do you really think that Samsung's lawyers were incompetent enough to sign a contract that extended beyond the patent terms?

But that argument becomes a double edged sword, since M$ patent licenses cover the standardized memory card file format(oopsey - standard essential ) . So what's good for the goose is good for gander so to speak..

"Standard essential" is not Just some arbitrary term that judges slap on a patent. The patent holder decides to agree to license their patent under FRAND in exchange for being a part of the standard. MS never tried to become part of a standard or did they agree to license the particular patent under FRAND.

Of course such a vulnerability would probably never be FOUND in iOS or WinPhone, since they are closed source, and almost certainly never disclosed if it was

The last major security flaw in iOS was found in open source parts of iOS.

http://nakedsecurity.sophos.co...

And all phones released since 2009 received the patch. (iPhone 3Gs and up)

No not all of Android is open source and Google is close sourcing more and more of what is considered "Android" by most people.

It's easy to improve something that sucks in the first place.

iOS apps have been compiled to native code since day one. The first version of the Android VM didn't even use JIT. Then they improved it to use JIT. Now they are going a step further and using ART. None of the "improvements" are state of the art.

No matter how much the Java proponents have been shouting that it runs as fast as native, it simply isn't true and has never been.

Are you really saying that you think the latest OS would run faster on a device that was released in 2010?

Apple still sells the devices that are being updated. Why wouldn't Apple want them to perform well?

So you're bragging about Google improving the very bad Dakvik engine after 7 years and you're comparing that to iOS which has been completely compiled to native code since day?

Google has been promising 60fps animation for 5 years -- something Apple did in 2007.

Do you really think they are so incompetent that they have a different build setup for each device and not have different optimization set? We know they have some different flags set because it has to be built for both 64 bit and 32 bit chips.

Google on the other hand want everyone on there latest of OS which is why they are working on Project Butter and Project Svelte to optimize hardware.

You obviously don't know how slow and inefficient Dalvik is.....

I do suspect they do not even bother compiling the binaries for the older architecture by switching a couple of compiler flags though. The performance difference is just too big.

Well your suspicion is incorrect. There is a separate build for the OS for each supported device. If you download the OS on the computer from iTunes you have to download a copy for your specific device.

Amazon went public in 1997. How long do long term investors have to wait for consistent profitability?

So you need to buy a Google-branded phone to get good support, and all the other Android vendors such?

Google usually only updates their phones for 18 months.

http://liliputing.com/2013/10/...

Apple just released a security update in February for the 3GS that was introduced in June 2009.

They released iOS 7 for the iPhone 4 released in June 2010.

Right because under Jobs they didn't buy lala to start iTunes Radio.

Or for that matter over *20* other companies.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mergers_and_acquisitions_by_Apple

No, it's because Steve Jobs decided to go "thermonuclear" with patent litigation, and because Apple doesn't have enough valuable technology patents of its own to cross-license and refuses to pay cash.

A lot of the lawsuits have been by patent trolls. But you do remember that Apple won cases against Samsung (twice), and HTC?

Apple hype around upgrades. If iOS 7 were so good why were so many people downgrading and them complaining when that option went away? Also: automatic updates and people not realizing the ramifications of a major OS upgrade that would make everything look different and slow their device down.

And you've seen cited of representative samples of the majority if people who upgraded to iOS 7 not liking it?

People complain about change on the Internet. News at 11. How many people have complained about Facebook changes and swore they would never use it again?