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App discovery company AppsFire is debuting a new iOS application today called Logostream, which offers a curated view of the iTunes application store. The app provides users with an easy way to find new apps to try, through the use of high-level categories and app icons you can flip through with your finger as they stream by. It’s a simplified alternative to what can sometimes be the overwhelming experience of browsing through the iTunes App Store itself.

According to AppsFire co-founder Ouriel Ohayon, the idea for Logostream was born out of the company’s previous attempt at app discovery called Appstream. Like the older version, both apps involve streams of icons, but Appstream offered a busier user interface with lots of icons. What Ohayon found was that people tended to tap on the apps of brands they were already familiar with instead of the unknown new icons for brands they had never seen.

To serve this demographic, the company created Logostream. Here, apps are sorted by category. When you switch to any section, the logos automatically stream by. You can also flip through them using your finger to move more quickly. Tap any logo to see all the apps under that brand. So, for example, if you tap the Microsoft app, you’ll see apps for Bing, Xbox, OneNote, MSN, Photosynth, and more. Tap on LinkedIn and you’ll find both LinkedIn and CardMunch (a 2011 acquisition). You get the idea.

There are just a few categories for now: Tech, Sport, Fashion, TV & Music, Celebrities, and Every Day. But it’s a good start.

However, since mainstream users tends to gravitate towards brands they already know, I’m not sure how they’ll ever find Logostream. Oh well. Maybe you can install it for your app-deprived friends?

Logostream is a Universal app and is available in iTunes here.

For many New Yorkers, Grand Central Station is where you go to escape the island -- not to leisurely browse aisles of iPhone accessories, or pop in for a Genius Bar appointment. But apparently Apple has a slightly different vision for the city's transportation hub, opening its fifth NYC store along the main hall's 23,000 square foot east balcony. We dropped by for the grand opening this morning, which came complete with the standard Apple Store t-shirt giveaway and what seemed like hundreds of red shirt-clad retail employees.

As NYC's gateway to Connecticut, Grand Central is typically incredibly crowded during rush hour, but the enormous sunlight-filled main hall was packed to the brim today with spectators -- eager customers queued up in a hallway out of view, beginning early this morning. The store itself is huge, occupying the entire east balcony and several side rooms, with a large genius bar, training area and accessory alcove at either side. Eager to pop in for a visit? Thumb through the gallery below to step inside, and jump past the break to experience the cacophonous chaos at Grand Central.

Continue reading Apple just arrived at Grand Central Station, we hop aboard (video)

Apple just arrived at Grand Central Station, we hop aboard (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 09 Dec 2011 11:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple has lost a preliminary injunction filed by Motorola Mobility over a wireless-related patent. That’s not something we’re hearing a lot of these days, but it seems to be the case over in Germany, where a judge in the Mannheim Regional Court has ruled that the iPhone and iPad (3G versions) infringe European Patent 1010336, covering a “method for performing countdown function during a mobile-originated transfer for a packet radio system.”

By now all this patent litigation has likely become tiresome to you, as it has most of us, but this is actually a pretty substantial win for Motorola, and an equally substantial loss for Apple. The loss means that an injunction on all the old iPhones, (probably the 4S, as well) and 3G-capable iPads is preliminarily enforceable against Apple Sales International, which is Apple’s Ireland-based subsidiary.

Motorola has already secured a similar ruling before, but it neglected to give Apple the chance to present its case. This ruling, however, came after both Apple and Motorola presented their full arguments. That said, Apple has very few options to stop the ban. They will likely try to get a stay to appeal the ruling, but it’s unclear whether or not that suspension will be granted.

The ruling also allows for Apple to remove the allegedly infringing technology from its products, but that seems impossible. The patent in question covers technology that seems to be crucial to the functionality of the phone. Even if it wasn’t, it’s probably not commercially viable for Apple to remove it.

But it gets trickier than that. For one thing, enforcing this injunction is a bit of a risk for Motorola. The judge has allowed for Apple to receive a €100 million bond, which would go toward damages sustained during the injunction, should Cupertino find a way to overturn this ruling down the road.

Then there’s the matter of FRAND (fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory) licensing, which comes into play here since the patent in suit falls under the GPRS data standard. But Germany deals with FRAND issues a little differently. Basically, if a company is found to be using FRAND-style patented technology in its products, the court can only allow that company a FRAND defense if it’s made “an irrevocable, binding offer” to license the patents on FRAND terms and also post a bond for ongoing royalties, reports FOSS Patents.

Apple did make an offer, to license all of Motorola’s FRAND-pledged patents, but threw in a clause that drifts away from the idea of “irrevocable” and “binding.” The issue is that Apple wants to argue the validity of the patent in question, which would mean those royalty payments would fly out the window.

The court in Germany agreed with Motorola when it argued that the offer Apple made to license the patents was shy of what is needed to cover damages. That said, Motorola can license these patents to Apple moving forward, but Apple will have to cough up the dough for past infringement.

Here’s a full copy of today’s ruling (but brush up on your German first):

With all the hype around the Kindle Fire it’s easy to forget about the Nook Tablet. The other budget Android tablet is zipping along nicely according to industry watchdog Digitimes. The outlet, citing upstream component suppliers, is reporting that B&N has shipped (note: not sold) one million units since the Nook Tablet’s mid-November launch. Plus, due to strong initial sales, ol’ B&N is increasing its order countering earlier estimates that predicted demand for a B&N tablet would decrease.

The Amazon Fire might be the wunderkind of the Android world, but the Nook Tablet isn’t a slouch either. Both the Fire and Nook Tablet are built using the formula of the original Nook Color. By skinning Android with a much more consumer-friendly interface, Amazon and B&N successfully are successfully chipping away at the iPad’s mountain. A much lower price helps as well.

The Nook Tablet will never likely eclipse the Kindle Fire in retail sales volume. The Fire already has a massive lead. But the sub-iPad tablet market is largely untapped and the impressive initial sales numbers show consumers want a $200-ish tablet. For example, if this report is correct (it seems very likely), B&N shipped a million tablets in roughly a month while CE giant Asus is predicting to ship just 1.8 million tablets for all of 2011.

The iPad has effectively already won the first several rounds of the tablet war. But much like the PC battlefield, there is plenty of room for more than just one vendor. Barnes & Noble is officially a top player.

Amid talks of a Groupon acquisition, the smart local recommendations app Alfred has arrived on Android. Alfred serves up personalized suggestions for nearby restaurants, coffee shops, bars and nightclubs using a combination of artificial intelligence and machine-learning algorithms to develop personal “taste graphs” for its users.

Previously an iOS-only app, the big news for Alfred’s second platform launch is not just the expanded reach, but also how the team at Clever Sense has approached the Android port.

Instead of simply reproducing the familiar Alfred interface using different code, Clever Sense created a second native app specifically designed to take advantage of features and interactions found on the Android platform. On Android, Alfred looks totally different.

Immediately after the app’s installation and launch, a screen asks you if you want to save the app to your homescreen. Having used Android for over a year myself, I’m surprised more Android apps don’t do this. (Android apps are hidden away by default in most cases, allowing users to customize multiple homescreens with their own selection of apps and widgets.)

After launching Alfred, the app walks you through the “getting to know you” quiz which asks you to teach it about some of your preferences. You can opt out of the quiz, but that wouldn’t be a great idea. Alfred’s algorithms get better the more you train them, so it’s worthwhile to give the app’s smarts a kickstart via the quiz.

When you arrive on Alfred’s main screen, this is where you’ll see the most startling departure from the iOS user interface. Instead of thumbnail photos you tap (e.g., lunch, dinner, etc.) to swipe through place recommendations, there are colored circles for “Ideas,” “Profile” and “Teach.” The Ideas circle, when tapped, take you through a list you scroll through up and down to choose the category. And when you’re in a category (e.g. “coffee and tea”), there’s a toolbar at the bottom that lets you view the recommendations as cards like on iOS, on a map or as a list. It allows you to apply filters to the recommendations.

The end result is a bit more of a geeky take on Alfred, which, frankly, is perfect for the Android user base. Android users are often interested in things like tweaks, customizations, and heavy personalization, thanks to the platform’s openness. There’s an enjoyment of apps, in many cases, as tools that help you get the job done, instead of “experiences” like on iOS. That’s not a bad thing, mind you, but it’s different.

To date, Alfred has served up 21 million recommendations to users, up from 7 million in October. And users have liked 4.6 million places, up from 2 million. But the company won’t disclose the actual user base numbers at this time.

Clever Sense had previously said that restaurants and the like was just the first step for the use of Alfred’s technology. It was looking into delivering personalized deal recommendations from sites like Groupon and LivingSocial in its next phase. That would explain Groupon’s interest in the matter. But while that would be likely be a nice exit for the company, it would be a shame for Alfred’s happy users to lose this app, especially now that it came to Android.

Alfred is live on the Android Market here.