Asustek Computer Inc (華碩) yesterday said it ceased online sales of certain smartphones and tablets in Germany two weeks ago due to a patent infringement issue.
“We have not shipped ZenFones and ZenPads in the German market in the past few weeks because of a software patent issue,” company spokesman Nick Wu (吳長榮) said by telephone.
Wu declined to elaborate on the patent infringement issue, but said the incident only affects the sales of ZenFones and ZenPads on the company’s online store serving Germany.
Sales of notebook computers and smartwatches are unaffected, he added.
Wu said the affected products will be patched soon and would be available on the company’s online store again next month.
“The incident is limited to Asustek, as we only halted shipping for two weeks and retailers in Germany have not stopped selling smartphones and tablets,” he said.
ZenFones and ZenPads featured on the company’s German online store are marked with a message saying: “running Android 5.0 or higher are currently not available for purchase.”
German news Web site Heise Online on Sunday reported that Dutch company Philips N.V. had enforced a judgement by a Mannheim court to prohibit Asustek from selling its smartphones and tablets due to a user interface software patent infringement.
However, the software is within Google’s Android operating system and affects not only Asustek, but also other Android manufacturers, the report said.
It said that Google has developed a software patch that amends the questionable function and any devices installed with the revised software can be sold.
ZenFones and ZenPads that had been delivered before the enforcement of the ruling may continue to be sold by retailers in Germany, the report said, citing the ruling.
Intel Corp chief executive officer Lip-Bu Tan (陳立武) is expected to meet with Taiwanese suppliers next month in conjunction with the opening of the Computex Taipei trade show, supply chain sources said on Monday. The visit, the first for Tan to Taiwan since assuming his new post last month, would be aimed at enhancing Intel’s ties with suppliers in Taiwan as he attempts to help turn around the struggling US chipmaker, the sources said. Tan is to hold a banquet to celebrate Intel’s 40-year presence in Taiwan before Computex opens on May 20 and invite dozens of Taiwanese suppliers to exchange views
Application-specific integrated circuit designer Faraday Technology Corp (智原) yesterday said that although revenue this quarter would decline 30 percent from last quarter, it retained its full-year forecast of revenue growth of 100 percent. The company attributed the quarterly drop to a slowdown in customers’ production of chips using Faraday’s advanced packaging technology. The company is still confident about its revenue growth this year, given its strong “design-win” — or the projects it won to help customers design their chips, Faraday president Steve Wang (王國雍) told an online earnings conference. “The design-win this year is better than we expected. We believe we will win
Chizuko Kimura has become the first female sushi chef in the world to win a Michelin star, fulfilling a promise she made to her dying husband to continue his legacy. The 54-year-old Japanese chef regained the Michelin star her late husband, Shunei Kimura, won three years ago for their Sushi Shunei restaurant in Paris. For Shunei Kimura, the star was a dream come true. However, the joy was short-lived. He died from cancer just three months later in June 2022. He was 65. The following year, the restaurant in the heart of Montmartre lost its star rating. Chizuko Kimura insisted that the new star is still down
While China’s leaders use their economic and political might to fight US President Donald Trump’s trade war “to the end,” its army of social media soldiers are embarking on a more humorous campaign online. Trump’s tariff blitz has seen Washington and Beijing impose eye-watering duties on imports from the other, fanning a standoff between the economic superpowers that has sparked global recession fears and sent markets into a tailspin. Trump says his policy is a response to years of being “ripped off” by other countries and aims to bring manufacturing to the US, forcing companies to employ US workers. However, China’s online warriors
RSS