Tablet News Bits: Samsung Wins in US Court, Dell Streak 7 Discontinued, ICS Open to x86

The tablet news never stops, but before you get your fill for the day of the tablet news you might have missed, check out if Amazon's latest Kindle beat the Barnes & Noble NOOK as the best eReader available this holiday season, as well as our Samsung Galaxy Note review.

All set? Now onto the news:

Samsung Wins a Round Against Apple in US
A US District Court Judge has ruled in favor of Samsung and dismissed Apple's request to halt sales of Galaxy Smartphones and tablets.  The Judge declared, "It is not clear that an injunction on Samsung's accused devices would prevent Apple from being irreparably harmed." The case will still likely proceed to higher courts, but for its part, Samsung released the following statement:

Samsung welcomes today's ruling denying Apple's request for a preliminary injunction. This ruling confirms our long-held view that Apple's arguments lack merit. In particular, the court has recognized that Samsung has raised substantial questions about the validity of certain Apple design patents. We are confident that we can demonstrate the distinctiveness of Samsung's mobile devices when the case goes to trial next year. We will continue to assert our intellectual property rights and defend against Apple's claims to ensure our continued ability to provide innovative mobile products to consumers.

Source: Reuters

Dell Discontinues the Streal 7 Tablet
The Dell Streak 7 has followed the original 5-inch streak to "discontinued" status. The Streak 7 was a 7-inch Gingerbread tablet released just after CES 2010 and was marketed as the first 4G tablet when it debuted on T-Mobile's HSPA+ network. It was followed by the 10-inch Streak Pro that launched only overseas. The move does not come as a surprise, given that earlier this year, Dell CEO Michael Dell was quoted as saying that the Android "market has not developed to the expectations they would have had."

Source: Dell

Google Opens Ice Cream Sandwich for x86 Chipsets
It looks like Google is making good on its promise to open up Android for Intel and AMD systems, as its Android development team has just released Ice Cream Sandwich for x86 chipsets. While the release isn’t fully stable for Intel chipsets, missing features like sound, camera, Ethernet and hardware acceleration, such features, including Wi-Fi will work for AMD chipsets. 

Source: 9to5Google

Cisco to Release Larger Tablet in Spring 2012
Cisco Systems plans to release a new tablet in the first half of next year, as part of the company’s plan to release a line of tablets in multiple sizes, according to a company exec. The device will reportedly offer a larger screen than the current 7-inch Cius and will hit the U.S. in the spring season. 

Source: Computerworld 

First Android Ice Cream Sandwich Tablet Appears in China
It looks like the first tablet featuring Android 4.0.1 Ice Cream Sandwich has appeared in China. Sporting a similar design to the Xoom, the 10.1-inch tablet packs a Tegra 2 chipset and 1GB of RAM. Additionally, the unnamed tablet features 16GB of storage, dual cameras, GPS, HDMI, a 7000mAh battery and a 3G SIM card slot. While the tablet is not available for purchase yet, a slew of ICS-enabled tablets will begin hitting the market next year, after making their debut at CES in January.

Source: TechCrunch 

Australian Court Extends Samsung Galaxy Tab Ban by One Week
An Australian court has extended temporary ban on sales of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 in the country until Dec. 9. The ban was set to expire on Friday at 4 p.m. Australian time, as part of the court’s decision made earlier this week. Yet, Apple plans to appeal the ruling, which would have overturned the ban that has been in place since July, and will face the High Court to do so. 

Source: Reuters 

Oil-Repellent Glass, Will it Be on the Next-Gen Touchscreens? 
A team of researchers from Germany have claimed to find a solution for glass that repels oils. Using the perfect combination of candle soot and silica baked at 600C, the researchers claims the coating gives glass just the right roughness necessary to shed oils. 

Source: Gizmodo

Memo Touch, a Tablet Aimed at Senior Citizens Now Available 
A new tablet designed specifically for senior citizens who struggle with short-term memory loss is now available. Dubbed the Memo Touch, the tablet provides users with gentle reminders to take medication or visit the doctor, in addition to allowing family members to add calendar events, to-do items and share photos via the product’s companion website. The Memo Touch retails for $299 and requires a six-month ($174) or 12-month ($300) subscription, though unhappy customers can return the tablet within three months of purchasing it for a refund or have it restored to its original Android platform. 

Source: Engadget

Arhcos Aims 101 G9 Turbo Tablet at Europe
Archos has released a modified version of its 101 G9 tablet, known as the Turbo, aimed at European users. Besides its 1.2GHz dual-core processor and 16GB of internal storage, the Turbo otherwise resembles its predecessor, with the same 10.1-inch display, Android Honeycomb platform and Wi-Fi support. The 101 G9 Turbo tablet costs £299.99 or €349.99 ($470), though there’s no sign of this tablet hitting the U.S. market. 

Source: Engadget

Sonos Controller Now Available for Android Tablets 
Sonos, which offers a set of Wi-Fi-enabled speakers allowing users to play digital music throughout their home, is now bringing its controller app to Android tablets. The company already offers an app for the iPad but now Android tablet owners can use the app, as long as they are running Android 2.2 or higher. Sonos is also releasing its 3.6 software along with the controller app, bringing better Spotify integration, more local language support and AAC+ codec.