Samsung expert: No one buys Samsung gadgets for touch-screen tech

A Samsung expert on Friday made his case for why the Korean giant should pay Apple only $52 million in damages, saying there's no evidence that anyone has bought Samsung devices because of a particular patented Apple technology.

An expert hired by Apple had determined the company was due $114 million in lost profits because of Samsung's use of technology under Apple's patent No. 7,844,915, also known as "pinch to zoom." The '915 patent covers technology that can distinguish whether a user is scrolling with one finger versus using several touch points at once for a pinch-to-zoom action.

However, Michael Wagner, an accountant and lawyer hired by Samsung, said there's no evidence from either company that shows consumers bought Samsung devices because they liked that particular touch-screen feature. As a result, he believes Apple should receive no money for lost profits.

"I believe people bought these phones for other features," Wagner said. That includes bigger, AMOLED screens; faster processors; and 4G LTE. 

Teen Dropout Rate Spooks Facebook Investors

Younger teens may be pretty much over Facebook, a thought that sends a shiver down the spine of some investors. Sure, there are plenty of users in other demographics to keep the network thriving for the short-to-medium term, but if those Facebooked-out teens should stay away for good, that would bode ill for the long term. What's needed is more interactivity, said Jenesys Group's Nipa Shah.

Facebook on Wednesday reported a rise in third-quarter profit and growth in mobile ad revenue. It posted total revenue of US$2.02 billion, a 60 percent jump from the $1.26 billion it reported in the year-ago quarter. Advertising accounted for $1.8 billion of that revenue.

Facebook now has 1.19 billion active monthly users, an 18 percent jump from the same period a year ago. Many are signing on via their mobile devices -- the number of active monthly mobile users rose 45 percent to 874 million.

That increase generated a rise in mobile advertising revenue, which now accounts for 49 percent of Facebook's total advertising revenue, up from the 41 percent it comprised in the second quarter. That's an important figure for Facebook since so many of its users sign on through their smartphones and tablets.
Solid Numbers

Shares initially rose more than 15 percent in after-hours trading but abruptly slumped when the market opened, in part due to concerns over teens losing interest.

Overall, teen use in the U.S. was stable from the second quarter to the third, but Facebook acknowledged a decrease in daily use among younger teens.

After sinking to $46.50, the stock recovered on Thursday, however, closing at $50.21. The bounce can be credited to confidence that Facebook's next few quarters will be strong, said Arvind Bhatia, an analyst at Sterne Agee.

"Third-quarter results were strong across the board, driven by increased usage, greater engagement and higher monetization," he told the E-Commerce Times. "Instagram monetization and introduction of video ads on Facebook are near-term growth drivers."
Keeping Kids on Board

The stock recovery likely reflected the realization that there are many factors influencing Facebook's revenue, said Brian Wieser, an analyst at Pivotal Research Group.

"Reactions to comments on teen use of Facebook seemed like an overreaction," he told the E-Commerce Times. "As teens aren't the entities spending advertising on Facebook, there is little to worry about near-term."

Still, Facebook needs to address how to keep the younger generation interested, because there are plenty of options for them to socialize elsewhere online, said Nipa Shah, president of Jenesys Group.

"The best way Facebook can bring younger kids back is by offering them more interactivity," she told the E-Commerce Times.
"They are getting that more on Twitter, Instagram and chat tools like GroupMe," Shah noted. "Some of the best features they have that could be improved to promote that interactivity would be their original photo sharing and also their event set-up and notification."

That increase generated a rise in mobile advertising revenue, which now accounts for 49 percent of Facebook's total advertising revenue, up from the 41 percent it comprised in the second quarter. That's an important figure for Facebook since so many of its users sign on through their smartphones and tablets.
Solid Numbers

Shares initially rose more than 15 percent in after-hours trading but abruptly slumped when the market opened, in part due to concerns over teens losing interest.

Overall, teen use in the U.S. was stable from the second quarter to the third, but Facebook acknowledged a decrease in daily use among younger teens.

After sinking to $46.50, the stock recovered on Thursday, however, closing at $50.21. The bounce can be credited to confidence that Facebook's next few quarters will be strong, said Arvind Bhatia, an analyst at Sterne Agee.

"Third-quarter results were strong across the board, driven by increased usage, greater engagement and higher monetization," he told the E-Commerce Times. "Instagram monetization and introduction of video ads on Facebook are near-term growth drivers."
Keeping Kids on Board

The stock recovery likely reflected the realization that there are many factors influencing Facebook's revenue, said Brian Wieser, an analyst at Pivotal Research Group.

"Reactions to comments on teen use of Facebook seemed like an overreaction," he told the E-Commerce Times. "As teens aren't the entities spending advertising on Facebook, there is little to worry about near-term."

Still, Facebook needs to address how to keep the younger generation interested, because there are plenty of options for them to socialize elsewhere online, said Nipa Shah, president of Jenesys Group.

"The best way Facebook can bring younger kids back is by offering them more interactivity," she told the E-Commerce Times.
"They are getting that more on Twitter, Instagram and chat tools like GroupMe," Shah noted. "Some of the best features they have that could be improved to promote that interactivity would be their original photo sharing and also their event set-up and notification."

Google+ Gets a Makeover

Google+ isn't trying to compete with Facebook, and that could be making it a lot better in some ways. "Google+ doesn't need to make a sudden change that is going to bring in advertisers quickly but upset users, or report every user that comes and goes in a quarter, for example," noted tech analyst Trip Chowdhry. Google can invest in changes that "will make it fantastic for a core group of users."

 Google has introduced a slew of changes that will make it easier to enhance and share digital media on Google+.

It unveiled the new features at a Tuesday event in San Francisco, where it also revealed that Google+ now has 540 million active monthly users who upload 1.5 billion photos each week.
Several of the Google+ updates are aimed toward helping users work with those photos, which range from grainy cellphone shots to professionally produced images.

Users can enhance them with several new filters, or digitally edit them with Snapseed and an HDR Scape filter. Unlike Instagram's tools, the new Google+ editing features won't force cropping or condensing of images.

The new Auto Awesome feature has several components designed to better capture action. Users can turn a series of action photos, such as a person skateboarding, into a strobe-effect image that pieces together all the captured elements. Users can also put those shots into a reel-style movie, adding effects like a soundtrack and transitions.

The updates make it easier for users to search their photos using keywords such as "beach" or "concert."

Easier Chats

Google has also updated Hangouts, the video chat application on Google+, adding automatic lighting adjustments and the ability to share locations via Google Maps.

SMS messaging is now integrated into Hangouts.

Users can schedule Hangouts On Air, which are broadcast publicly, and use a watch screen to promote the conversation.

"The improvements to Google+ Hangouts are cool, especially the dedicated watch page for Hangouts," Internet marketing expert Brian Carter told TechNewsWorld. "From a business perspective, the ability to use Hangouts instead of other webinar or screen-sharing apps is disruptive for the companies that charge for this. Hangouts haven't had all the components they need, though, and the watch page helps."
Targeting a Smaller Crowd

This product refresh isn't going to suddenly make Google+ the new Facebook or Twitter -- but that's not what Google is aiming to do with its social space, said Carter. The company knows it has a smaller core group of users, and is rolling out incremental updates that cater to them.

"There are definitely a lot of people who want Google+ to succeed," he noted. "These improvements are a way for the Google and Android folks to stay on par with what the Apple folks have. But the Auto Awesome Movie and other photo enhancement techniques are more than that -- they're not imitations -- so it's nice to see that the Google and Android product and programming teams are thinking ahead about making the user experience more awesome."

Google+ is in a unique position in that it has the freedom to go after that smaller crowd and invest more in user experience, said Trip Chowdhry, senior analyst for Global Equities Research. Facebook has to prove to investors that its site is the preferred social network for consumers, shareholders and advertisers, but Google's social platform is only a small portion of its overall business.

"Google+ doesn't need to make a sudden change that is going to bring in advertisers quickly but upset users, or report every user that comes and goes in a quarter, for example," Chowdhry told TechNewsWorld. "Google has the cash to take a bold, long look at Google+, look into what certain consumers really want that is a little different from what they're getting somewhere else, and invest in changes that might not get it to a billion users worldwide, but will make it fantastic for a core group of users."