PayPal acquires Card.io and Two Other Stories You Need To Know

Welcome to our Third Episode of Stories You Need To Know. So what is going on today in the Tech World, today we are looking at three particular stories that caught our interest.

PayPal Acquires Card.io

PayPal, the popular online payment behemoth, has recently acquired card.io, a San Francisco startup which provides developers with the technology to capture credit card information by using a smartphone camera. In an announcement today, PayPal said that the employees at card.io will be joining the PayPal global product team to work on new products for its digital wallet.

“We first met with the team at card.io when we were working on integrating their technology into the PayPal Here mobile app,” said Hill Ferguson, Vice President of Global Product at PayPal. “While working with them, we were simply blown away by the creativity and drive of their employees. They are a passionate and independent team that likes solving large, complex problems and we wanted them to join our team. Great people make great products and great products are what make companies great.”

HTC countersues Apple over HP embedded server and network patents

HTC has filed two counterclaims in an ongoing litigation with Apple in the Southern District of Florida, claiming that the Cupertino-based hardware giant is infringing on patents acquired from Hewlett-Packard (HP) in December.

The two patents being asserted by HTC:

• U.S. Patent No. 7,571,221 for “installation of network services in an embedded network server”From the abstract: Various systems and methods are provided for maintaining an embedded network server. In one embodiment, one method includes the steps of providing a dynamic service loader in the embedded network server, receiving a service request to install a dynamic service in the embedded network server, and installing the dynamic service in the embedded network server with the dynamic service loader.HTC claims Apple infringes this patent with devices “including but not limited to personal computers (such as the Mac Pro, MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, iMac, Mac Mini), mobile communications devices (such as the iPhone, iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S), and mobile computing devices (such as the iPod Touch, iPad, iPad 2, the new iPad)”.

• U.S. Patent No. 7,120,684 for a “method and system for central management of a computer network”From the abstract: A method and system for central management of plural network clients interfaced with a network host, each network client automatically calling a login routine (20) and a start-up routine (22) associated with initiation of a login script at the network client. Configuration and start-up management can be based upon an operating system determination with several different operating systems, such as Windows 95 and Windows NT, deployed across the network.

HTC claims Apple infringes this patent with “Apple Remote Desktop, Apple Profile Manager, and/or products and services that use Apple Remote Desktop and Apple Profile Manager”.

Next iPhone will use in-cell technology to produce a thinner screen, says WSJ

The WSJ is reporting that the next iPhone, currently being manufactured by Asian component makers, will use a new technology that makes the smartphone’s screen thinner. Reports suggest that Apple is expected to use in-cell touch display technology, reducing the thickness of the device and ensuring it remains lightweight.

The technology will integrate touch sensors into the LCD, making it unnecessary to have a separate touch-screen layer. LCD makers Sharp and Japan Display are said to be mass producing the panels for use in Apple’s next iPhone which will likely appear later this year.