Taiwan-based electronics maker HTC will be launching its Vive virtual-reality headset this year, but the company is limiting the total number of units it’ll initially offer, according to a report.

HTC’s Vive will launch in late 2015 in “limited quantity,” the company said in a statement without specifying an actual date. HTC said that the early launch will be available to parts of its “community” and developers. A wide launch “with larger quantities” will ship in the first quarter of 2016.

Virtual reality headsets are worn over the eyes and provide a full, 3D virtual environment for gamers to explore. A connected controller provides additional functionality. Gaming has been a driver for virtual reality, and most devices will launch with support for several titles. Over time, some market analysts believes that virtual reality could also prove to be a desirable option for the film industry, though only a few filmmakers have taken to the technology so far.

The jump to virtual reality is a big one for HTC. The company, which made a name for itself in smartphones, has watched its business decline in that space as competitors such as Apple and Samsung have continued to prove difficult to deal with. In an effort to boost its business, HTC is looking at other markets, including virtual reality. It isn’t alone. While HTC and Valve, best known for its Steam online gaming platform and HTC’s partner on the Vive, have promised to launch the Vive later this year, Facebook’s Oculus Rift and Sony’s Project Morpheus are slated for a 2016 launch.

It’s unclear why HTC may have decided to hold off on a full-scale launch until 2016, but it may be in part due to its competition waiting until then. Indeed, while HTC has previously said it wants to get Vive into some customer hands in 2015, it’s next year that will ultimately prove critical for virtual reality.

“The industry needs a successful first year,” HTC’s head of marketing Jeff Gattis told CNET in July. “Next year is critical.” Gattis went on to say in the interview that a successful first year would see the virtual reality industry sell through 2 million to 3 million headsets.

Whenever the Vive launches, the device may prove popular. CNET Editor Scott Stein took the headset for a spin in March and called it Unlike many other other virtual reality headsets that let you move your head to view things around you, the Vive allows you to freely walk in a (limited) space, adding extra depth to the gaming experience.

HTC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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Microsoft has plans to announce new handsets in October, according to reports, but they may have already been leaked online.

Images were leaked on Twitter on Wednesday purporting to show off the upcoming Microsoft smartphones. The first leak came from Brad Sams, a Microsoft reporter at news site Neowin, that shows an image he said would be known as the Cityman. Evan Blass, who has become a veritable source for product leaks and information, upped the ante by showing off what appear to be official press images of another device to be called the Talkman.

Since Microsoft has not confirmed that the images are legitimate, it’s impossible to know whether the devices pictured in the photos are the real thing or just concept art. Still, they seem to follow rumors that have already surfaced around Microsoft’s plans for new smartphones and appear to be official photos that would typically accompany any product announcement.

Last week, CNET sister site ZDNet’s Microsoft expert Mary Jo Foley outlined the company’s possible plans for its mobile division, saying that the company is eyeing a potential event for October that would be used in part to announce new smartphones. Foley said that the devices are currently codenamed Cityman and Talkman and will run on Windows 10 Mobile.

Foley’s report followed another report in July from Microsoft-tracking site Windows Central, which shared rumor specifications for the Talkman and Cityman. According to that site’s sources, the Cityman will feature a 5.7-inch quad-HD display, a 64-bit octa-core Snapdragon 810 processor, and a 20-megapixel camera. Those specs would effectively make the Cityman Microsoft’s flagship handset, while the Talkman, which will reportedly come with a 5.2-inch screen and a slightly slower processor, would appeal to customers seeking a mid-range product.

Although the leaked images include no mention of specs, they seem to showcase some of the features expected to come to both devices, including their large screens and matte finish. The smartphones may also come in different colors, with the Talkman featuring both a blue and black backplate in the leaked images.

For now, though, until Microsoft says something about the images, their legitimacy should be taken with the proverbial grain of salt. As October fast approaches, it’s likely more leaks will showcase Microsoft’s upcoming devices, but it’s highly unlikely Redmond will confirm anything until its official announcement.

Microsoft did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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The worldwide smartphone market will grow in the coming years, but new research suggests its meteoric rise over the past several years will start to slow over sluggishness in China.

Smartphone shipments will rise 10.4 percent in 2015 to 1.44 billion units, research firm IDC predicted on Tuesday. While the forecast reflects ongoing growth, IDC was quick to note that the expected gain is far below the 27.5 percent year-over-year rise registered in 2014. It’s also down from the company’s previous forecast of 11.3 percent for 2015.

One of the main issues for the slowing growth is China, IDC said. The research firm said that while China will remain the world’s largest smartphone market in 2015, demand for new devices is slowing. The issue, according to IDC, is that China is slowly turning into a mature market where the vast majority of consumers own a smartphone. Mature markets, like North America and Western Europe, tend to see slowing growth year over year. China is following suit.

China has long been a critical market for most technology companies, largely because of its massive and growing consumer base. Still, there is rampant speculation that the country’s market may be weaker than anticipated. On Monday, the Chinese stock market suffered its biggest drop in eight years. The Chinese media called the day “Black Monday,” and prompted concerns among analysts and Wall Street watchers that companies and countries doing business in China may be negatively affected.

In an odd move for a company that prides itself on secrecy, Apple CEO Tim Cook tried to ally fears on Monday, emailing CNBC host Jim Cramer and saying that his company has “continued to experience strong growth for our business in China through July and August.” He added that growth in iPhone activations has “actually accelerated over the past few weeks,” and he said he believes the mobile market in China is stable.

“Obviously I can’t predict the future, but our performance so far this quarter is reassuring,” Cook wrote, according to a tweet by Carl Quintanilla, another host at CNBC, the business-focused television network. “Additionally, I continue to believe that China represents an unprecedented opportunity over the long term as LTE penetration is very low and most importantly the growth of the middle class over the next several years will be huge.”

LTE is a wireless communications technology that delivers higher-speed and better-quality service to wireless networks. LTE has been slow to arrive in China, but, according to Cook, could ultimately help the market’s smartphone space grow.

Another major factor in smartphone market growth — both in China and elsewhere around the world — is higher demand for big devices, according to IDC. The company reported that shipments of big smartphones — featuring screen sizes of 5.5 inches and up — will rise significantly in 2015 and drive the market’s gains.

“Since Apple finally delivered a larger-screen smartphone with the iPhone 6 Plus, the demand for large-screened devices among consumers has been at a record high,” Anthony Scarsella, research manager at IDC’s mobile phones team, said in a statement. “Smartphones featuring display sizes from 5.5 inches to 6 inches are forecast to grow 84% in 2015 compared to last year, while phablets overall will make up over 71% of shipments by 2019.”

Looking ahead, despite the dip in smartphone shipment growth worldwide, IDC doesn’t anticipate much changing in terms of the market’s overall makeup. The research firm believes the market will grow at an annualized rate of 7.9 percent through 2019, ultimately reaching 1.9 billion shipments in 2019 alone.

IDC also forecast that Google’s Android platform, which will own 81.1 percent of the smartphone space in 2015, will retain the same share through 2019. Apple’s iOS share is expected to end 2015 at 15.6 percent, but ultimately fall to 14.2 percent in 2019 as Microsoft’s Windows platform steals some share and rises from 2.6 percent this year to 3.6 percent in 2019.

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LG will show off a new tablet at the IFA trade show in Berlin in early September.

LG, the Korea-based conglomerate that makes everything from refrigerators to smartphones, on Monday announced the new G Pad II 10.1. The Android-based tablet will boast a 10.1-inch screen, a 2.26GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor and a 5-megapixel rear-facing camera to complement its 2-megapixel front-facing lens. The tablet will run on Android 5.1.1. (Lollipop). LG said it will reveal full details on the tablet at IFA Berlin starting on September 4.

LG’s decision to announce the G Pad II 10.1 ahead of IFA reflects the significant amount of competition companies face at the trade show. IFA is one of the world’s biggest consumer electronics and home appliances trade shows. Many of the tech world’s elite will be in attendance, including fellow Korea-based company Samsung, China-based Huawei and countless others. Nearly all companies are expected to announce new products at the event, and trying to get attention among the deluge can be difficult.

Still, trying to get attention in the broader tablet market may prove difficult for LG or any other company trying its luck in the sluggish tablet market. So far this year, tablet makers — including market leader Apple — have failed to appeal to consumers. In March, research firm IDC cut its tablet market forecast, saying that the worldwide tablet market would ship 234.5 million units by the end of 2015. That’s up only 2.1 percent compared to 2014. In 2013, year-over-year growth in tablets was at 52.5 percent.

Apple’s iPad business is proving to be a pain point for the space. Apple’s tablet sales are down significantly, tumbling 23 percent year over year in the company’s last-reported quarter, alone. Tablet’s running Google’s Android mobile software are similarly facing trouble. According to analysts, tablets are facing pressure on both sides as consumers opt for big smartphones rather than slates, and have shown increased interest in thin, lightweight laptops that contend with tablets.

Despite the troubles, devices makers are forging ahead with new devices. LG’s G Pad II 10.1, which includes a metallic finish and a Reader Mode that reduces blue light to help with eye fatigue, addresses all of the needs consumers have, Chris Yie, LG’s vice president for LG Mobile, said in a statement on Monday.

“Customers asked for a large display, bigger battery and faster performance all without raising the price,” said Yie. “The G Pad II delivers on all counts.”

LG said it will announce pricing and availability at IFA. When it does, the company may find itself caught up in another whirlwind: Apple is rumored to be hosting its own event in early September that could see the company announce new iPads.

LG did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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Car-hailing service Uber has secured investment funding from an India conglomerate as it looks to expand its ridership in the growing country.

Tata, the India-based conglomerate that operates across several industries, including technology, has invested in Uber, the companies announced on Wednesday. Though the sum was not disclosed, it came from a private equity fund operated by the Indian company named Tata Opportunities Fund, according to Reuters, which spoke with Uber about the investment.

The investment round, which Reuters’ sources say could have reached as high as $100 million, will help Uber inch its way toward 1 million rides per day in India. The company previously set that goal to be met within the next nine months, though it only tallies approximately 200,000 rides per day right now. The 1-million-rides mark is an important milestone: it’s about the same number that its India-based competitor, Ola, is expected to hit sometime this month.

Uber has previously said that India is critical to its growth. The company, which operates in 59 countries around the world, including 18 cities in India at the end of July, said in July that it would invest $1 billion over nine months to expand its footprint in the country. Uber said the cash would be used to fund its growth, as well as provide more services to the country.

Still, questions remain over how willing some cities may be to welcome Uber, and whether the company will need to jump through regulatory hurdles to realize its vision.

As Uber has grown, it’s increasingly faced criticism and controversy in several countries around the world. In fact, the company’s plan for rapid expansion in India could be met with challenges from Indian regulators who have proved difficult for Uber to work with.

New Delhi, India’s capital city, has been an issue for Uber since last year when one of its drivers was accused of sexually assaulting a rider. Soon after, the service was banned by local regulators, citing inappropriate licensing. In January, despite its ban, Uber went back on the roads in New Delhi, saying that it was applying for a radio taxi license. In June, New Delhi authorities rejected the application and started impounding Uber cars.

In July, a court in New Delhi lifted that ban, saying Uber should be allowed to operate in the city if provided a license by regulators. The company’s victory in the New Delhi court came after Uber petitioned the court, saying that its license denial was inappropriate. The company pointed to the same regulators approving the licensure Ola for its defense. The courts agreed with Uber that it was being treated unfairly and the company will now have an opportunity to resubmit a license application. Meanwhile, Uber is allowed to operate in the city.

In addition to its funding announcement on Wednesday, Uber has nabbed nearly $6 billion in venture funding over the past five years. Uber in July raised around $1 billion in a new funding round, according to a report in July in The Wall Street Journal (subscription required). Uber is valued at around $51 billion, according to the Journal’s sources, making it the most valuable venture-backed company in the world.

Neither Uber nor Tata immediately responded to a request for comment.

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The global smartphone market had a strong second quarter, due in large part to demand for higher-end smartphones like Apple’s iPhone 6 and Samsung’s Galaxy S6 line, according to new sales data.

Total smartphone unit sales worldwide rose 5 percent to 302.1 million units in the second quarter, German research firm GfK reported on Monday. Meanwhile, smartphone vendors raked in the cash, generating $92.4 billion during the second quarter, up from $86 billion during the same period in 2014.

The GfK data, which tracks sales to users as opposed to supplier shipments, shows it may have been a troubling quarter for companies offering devices in the midrange of the market at prices between $250 and $500. In the two biggest smartphone markets — North America and China (which also account for the lion’s share of worldwide revenue) — consumers were most interested in higher-end smartphones that cost $500 or more. In the US, low-end handsets that cost up to $250 also proved popular among consumers.

“We see a price polarization as sales of high- and low-end devices grew at the expense of midranged devices,” GfK wrote in a statement detailing the North America market in the second quarter. “Smartphones in the high end captured 43 percent of smartphone unit share in Q2 2015, up from 38 percent in 2Q 2014.”

GfK added that high-end smartphones now account for 17 percent of the $26.8 billion China market, up from 10 percent last year.

The findings show little is changing in the smartphone space, as consumers continue to favor products that either sit at the top of the market or come in at a low price point. For the last few years, Apple and Samsung, the two market leaders, have continued to stake claim to the smartphone space largely on the backs of their high-end smartphones. However, other companies, including Huawei, Xiaomi, and others, have been able to succeed by offering compelling devices at lower cost.

“The overall growth of the smartphone market was not only driven by the success of premium flagship devices from Samsung, Apple, and others, but more importantly by the abundance of affordable handsets that continue to drive shipments in many key markets,” IDC research manager Anthony Scarsella said in a statement last month accompanying his company’s own report on the second-quarter smartphone market.

In July, research firm IDC reported that Samsung secured 21.7 percent of the global smartphone market in the second quarter on 73.2 million unit shipments. Apple’s 14.1 percent market share on 47.5 million shipments put the iPhone maker in second place.

China-based Huawei, which sells a range of smartphones to the country, was in third place with 8.9 percent market share. Its fellow China-based companies, Xiaomi and Lenovo, took fourth and fifth place, respectively.

China, however, proved to be a bit softer than other markets when it came to actual unit sales, according to GfK. While every other market around the world saw smartphone unit sales grow in the second quarter — most notably the Middle East and Africa, where smartphone sales jumped 24 percent — China saw a 10 percent year-over-year decline, according to GfK. The research firm didn’t say why China’s unit sales were down, but noted that its revenue jumped 17 percent, reflecting the market’s increasing desire to buy fewer, but pricier, smartphones.

Looking ahead, GfK said it expects 2015 to be a banner year for the smartphone market, notching its highest unit-sales figures ever of 1.3 billion units. The research firm says that worldwide smartphone sales volume will hit $400 billion, up 5 percent compared to the same period last year. North America will see the strong growth in sales revenue, jumping 16 percent year over year.

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Rumors have been swirling that Google is planning to launch a new version of its Nexus-branded smartphone, and now an image has hit the Web claiming to show that device.

A member on the Google Nexus Community Indonesia site posted an image of what looks to be the backplate of a Nexus handset. Reports around the Web suggest it’s a picture of the upcoming Nexus, though it’s impossible to know for sure what the device in the image actually is.

What we do know is that the image shows the back of what looks to be a Nexus-branded smartphone. The backplate is white and comes with the familiar “Nexus” branding. It also has a large lens and flash. “Not for Sale” text is placed above the Nexus branding.

The image is being called the first to show a final or near-final design of Google and its manufacturing partners may have in store for the next line of Nexus devices.

Debuting in January 2010, the Google Nexus line of handsets includes devices made by third-party manufacturers under the Google branding. Unlike most other Android-based handsets, the Nexus line runs the standard version of Google’s latest Android operating system. Most other devices tend, including Samsung’s Galaxy line or HTC’s One smartphones, have a skin atop Android that offers a slightly different user experience and includes their own applications in addition to Google’s.

Nexus is designed for Google to showcase the original, unmodified version of Android. The company also tends to work with handset makers to offer higher-end specs, placing the Nexus line, which also includes tablets, in competition with top-end devices like Apple’s iPhone.

Each year, Google handpicks the manufacturers that will design and build the latest Nexus. A host of manufacturers, including LG, Motorola, and HTC, have developed Nexus handsets.

Last year’s model, the Nexus 6, was designed by Motorola Mobility, a unit that Google sold to Lenovo last year for nearly $3 billion.

For months, rumors have suggested that Google is hoping to launch two new Nexus handsets in 2015. In May, the Android-tracking blog Android Police cited sources who said both LG and China-based vendor Huawei are working on new Nexus devices. The LG handset, codenamed Angler, could offer a 5.2-inch screen, while the Huawei option, codenamed Bullhead, would get a 5.7-inch display.

The image that hit the Web on Sunday appears to show an LG logo on a sticker attached to the backplate. It’s unclear whether it comes with a 5.2-inch screen.

Speculation abounds over when Google may finally announce new Nexus devices, but the latest rumors peg a release date in the fall. For now, though, take the rumors — and the latest image — with the proverbial grain of salt until the company actual unveils its new handsets.

Neither Google nor LG immediately responded to a request for comment.

(Via Engadget)

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Samsung’s hopes of scuttling a massive fine on alleged patent infringement of Apple products have been dashed, leaving the company with only two options: break out the cash or try its luck with the US Supreme Court, according to a report.

The US Federal Circuit Court of Appeals decided on Thursday that it would not grant Samsung’s request for a new trial on whether nearly two dozen of the company’s mobile devices infringed on Apple’s design patents, according to San Jose Mercury News, which obtained a copy of the decision. If Samsung’s request had been granted, a new hearing would have been held to determine whether the company’s products actually violated Apple’s patents. But since it has lost, Samsung must either dole out hundreds of millions of dollars in damages to Apple or attempt to have the US Supreme Court to hear the case, the report says.

“We are disappointed that our request for an en banc hearing of the US Court of Appeals was denied,” a Samsung spokesperson said in an e-mailed statement. “For decades, we have invested heavily in developing revolutionary innovations in the mobile industry and beyond. We are confident that our products do not infringe on Apple’s design patents, and we will continue to take appropriate measures to protect our products and our intellectual property.”

Apple declined to comment on the court’s decision, but has charged in the past that Samsung “willfully stole our ideas and copied our products.”

Samsung’s loss could prove to be the final say on the company’s bid to overturn a ruling in 2012 that found Samsung violated Apple’s design patents across its smartphone and tablet line. The company was initially required to pay over $1 billion in damages, but that figure has since been pared down to $548 million after a series of hearings and appeals.

In 2011, Apple filed a lawsuit against Samsung, accusing it of violating several patents in the design of its mobile devices. Apple won the trial in 2012, with the jury awarding it $1.05 billion in damages. In March 2013, US District Court Judge Lucy Koh cut $450.5 million off those damages, but in November 2013, a jury awarded Apple an additional $290.5 million in damages, ultimately amounting to approximately $930 million.

Samsung appealed the decision, and in May (PDF), the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit upheld the violations concerning design patents but struck down certain damages related to trade dress, a legal term that refers to the way a product is packaged or presented. The decision reduced the amount of damages owed by Samsung to $548 million.

The Circuit Court’s ruling may also prove to be troubling to several Silicon Valley companies, including Google, Facebook, eBay, and PC makers Dell and Hewlett-Packard, that together filed a brief with the federal court in July. Those companies argued that Apple’s victory in 2012 against Samsung covered only minor technologies, adding that if upheld, the infringement could set off a ripple effect that could negatively affect companies attempting to develop “useful modern technologies.”

“If allowed to stand, that decision will lead to absurd results and have a devastating impact on companies…who spend billions of dollars annually on research and development for complex technologies and their components,” the companies said in a statement to the court filed on July 1.

The issues with Samsung and Apple date back to 2011 when the companies sued each other in the US, a host of countries in the European Union, and Asia. Both Apple and Samsung argued that the other was violating patents each held related to mobile technology. Over the years, the companies’ top products — including Apple’s iPhone and iPad line, as well as Samsung’s Galaxy line — were entangled in the proceedings. Both companies hoped to ban the sale of allegedly infringing products and receive damages on their sale.

The international cases Apple and Samsung were waging were scuttled last year after the companies decided to only face off in US court.

Still, the war continues in the US. Last year, Apple won an additional $119.6 million in a separate infringement case. That case proved to not be as one-sided as the decision in 2012. Apple had sought far more in damages and asked US District Court Judge Lucy Koh who has presided over the cases, to ban the sale of Samsung’s allegedly infringing products. Judge Koh denied the request, saying that “Apple has not demonstrated that it will suffer irreparable harm to its reputation or goodwill as an innovator without an injunction.”

That case is currently in appeals.

Looking ahead, Samsung hasn’t said how it will handle the court’s ruling on Thursday. While the company may attempt to go to the Supreme Court, actually getting the highest court in the land to hear the case could prove extremely difficult, given the high number of cases it turns down each year. Opting to pay may ultimately be the quickest solution, if Samsung wants to put the case behind it.

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OnePlus, the China-based handset maker that has made a name for itself by offering high-end devices, has another reason for Android enthusiasts to celebrate: its latest smartphone is awfully easy to fix.

The OnePlus 2 Android-based smartphone earned a repairability score of 7 out of 10 from iFixit, a company that tears down electronics and sells tools to help users fix their own products. The score, which equals the repairability rating on Apple’s iPhone 6 Plus, was boosted for the handset’s use of modular components that can be replaced independently without worry of buying a whole new smartphone. The OnePlus 2 easily bested its predecessor, the OnePlus One, which could only muster a 5 out of 10 in iFixit’s review of that device.

While iFixit’s teardowns mean little to the average consumer who has no interest in breaking open a device to fix internal components, there is a subset of enthusiasts who often take apart devices to fix everything from screens to bad batteries to internal components. It’s that group that iFixit caters to, and it’s one — especially in the Android space — that is larger than one may think.

The OnePlus 2 is arguably doing the most of any smartphone on the market to excite Android enthusiasts. The device, which OnePlus calls the “2016 flagship killer,” comes with high-end specs, including a 5.5-inch screen, a 13-megapixel rear-facing camera, and a USB-C port, making it one of the first mass-market smartphones on the market to come with that port. It’s also running a modified version of Android developed in-house by OnePlus called Oxygen. The smartphone starts at $329.

OnePlus came on the scene with a splash last year when it unveiled its OnePlus One. The company had initially offered an invite-only method for buying its devices to control its costs and build a viral component to its marketing. The technique paid off, and has since made OnePlus a noted handset maker in the Android space. In 2013, when the company was founded, it had just 10 employees. It now has 900 employees and growing fast.

OnePlus has followed a similar strategy with the OnePlus Two by offering its device on an invite-only basis. The company, which faced issues getting invites to customers due to high demand for its OnePlus One, said things would be better this time around. On August 13, however, OnePlus announced that it will be rolling out invites more slowly than initially planned. The company blamed the slow rollout on issues it’s seeing in the manufacturing process, as well as some trouble it’s facing on software.

“There is continuous work being done on OxygenOS to improve the overall product experience,” the company wrote on its forums. “In addition, we’ve seen a few cases where the material of the new USB Type-C cable is not holding up to our standards. This is being resolved upstream. For these reasons, we will be rolling out invites slowly to closely monitor and act on user feedback.”

The announcement came after OnePlus announced on August 10 that it will delay its North America launch and start shipping to the continent two to three weeks after the handset is offered in Europe. The device went on sale to invite holders on August 11.

When customers get their OnePlus Two, they’ll find a handset bundled with Qualcomm components. According to iFixit, Qualcomm not only powers the processor in the OnePlus 2, but also the built-in audio chip, the component that manages dual-SIM connectivity, and its Wi-Fi chip. OnePlus is relying on Samsung for its memory and storage. Like the OnePlus One, iFixit discovered that the 2 also features the company’s signature red battery — a design touch only those breaking open the device will see.

Still, it wasn’t all nice inside the OnePlus 2: iFixit discovered that the device’s LCD screen and the glass digitizer, which converts user touch inputs to digital commands that control the operating system, are fused together. If the glass cracks, therefore, the digitizer must also be replaced, boosting cost.

OnePlus did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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In a win for Uber, a federal judge on Thursday dismissed a lawsuit filed against the car-hailing service by more than a Connecticut-based taxi companies.

US District Court Judge Alvin Thompson ruled that none of the seven complaints brought against Uber by local taxi and limousine companies were valid. Uber — a ride-hailing service that pairs passengers with drivers via a smartphone app — was accused of violating a range of federal and state laws, including misrepresenting the kinds of services it offers, engaging in “deceptive trade practices,” and racketeering.

While the judge dismissed all of the charges, he left open the possibility of the taxi companies amending their claims.

The victory comes as Uber faces off with taxi consortiums around the world over whether it should be allowed to operate. The service, which operates in more than 250 cities in 58 countries, has faced legal action everywhere from the US to Europe to India, for a range of allegations including acting unlawfully and not adhering to the same taxi laws imposed upon its competitors. Uber has argued that it is not subject to transportation laws since it is a “technology company” that does not own vehicles. Uber drives are also technically not employees of the company, allowing it to sidestep some taxi laws.

A standout in this case, the taxi companies cited federal racketeering law, calling the car-hailing service a Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization (RICO) — an allegation Judge Thompson dismissed out of hand. Racketeering charges are most often used by law enforcement officials targeting illegal organizations or crime syndicates. It’s rare for it to be used in a civil case between companies.

For its part, Uber was quick to laud Judge Thompson’s ruling. “We applaud the district court’s decision that will allow Connecticut drivers and riders to continue enjoying the economic and transportation benefits that Uber brings to the State,” said an Uber spokeman in an emailed statement.

Still, the fight may not be over: Judge Thompson has allowed the taxi companies to amend their claims against Uber, potentially restarting the lawsuit process.

Attorneys for the taxi companies did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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