Dish Network and Echostar have won a victory this week over TiVo, with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office claiming TiVo’s patent claims for “time warp” DVR tech are invalid.
The updated ruling comes after the PTO reexamined the patents for a second time.
TiVo said it would follow the ruling with additional arguments.
The decision could still lead to the satellite companies paying damages to TiVo, but the new PTO ruling could still have long-term ramifications in TiVo’s other cases against AT&T and Verizon, says the WSJ.
All the companies have been fighting for years over the patents to the technology that allows for pausing, rewind and fast-forwarding of live TV.
In 2006, Dish and EchoStar were found liable of patent infringement when they began creating their own set-top boxes. The companies are currently in “en banc review,” which will spell out the legal ramifications of the case.
Most expect TiVo to win.
Result for: Live
GearLive, citing a source close to Microsoft that is “never wrong,” has reported today that the Microsoft Xbox 360 will be the first console to get native Hulu support, with the announcement coming at the E3 event later this month.
Microsoft will show off a subscription-based Hulu, says the source, at E3, which begins on June 14th.
The rest is speculation, but the site says Hulu will be integrated into the Xbox 360 dashboard, just like Netflix and other Xbox Live services are currently.
The subscription fee is still unknown, but it seems improbable the monthly fee will cost over $9.99.
As speculated in the past, a subscription-based Hulu would include full access to all seasons of TV episodes. Users using the free ad-based Hulu normally only getting the last 5 trailing episodes of any given season.
Result for: Live
T-Mobile has finally announced the pricing and release date for the myTouch 3G Slide, the successor to the first ever Android phone, the G1.
The device will be released on June 2nd, and will cost $179.99 with two-year contract.
The phone includes a 600 MHz ARM processor, Android 2.1 with HTC Sense and multi-touch support, 512MB of RAM, 512MB internal storage, a 5MP autofocus camera with LED flash, and a free 8GB MicroSD card.
The device has a 3.4-inch HVGA (320 x 480 pixel) touchscreen, and a trackpad as well.
One feature missing from the 2.1 included with the new Slide is “live wallpapers,” interactive backgrounds that can be found on high-end devices such as the Nexus One and HTC Incredible.
Swype is the default keyboard, giving users the chance to use the record-breaking text input system that has been in closed beta for some time now.
HTC noted today that the device will get the 2.2 Froyo update later this year as well, which promises a 400 percent performance boost, tethering, portable hotspot tech, built-in Flash 10.1, and Microsoft Exchange enterprise capabilities.
