There has been quite a lot of activity in legal circles over numerous claims of patent infringements that have affected quite a number of makers. I haven't followed that news closely (due to lack of interest) but several fairly popular models have been variously banned in places like Germany, Japan, and China, for "patent infringements" and the US has just released a ban on some Motorola phones (still subject to Presidential review?).

While the law moves ponderously, and there's unlikely to be a dispute that would affect the particular device you select (for the uses described) it might be worthwhile taking a look at anything that might be "in process" relative to a particular device/model you're considering. Many of the available devices offer very broad ranges of "features," some overlapping with your intended uses, and it's hard to say whether any legal actions would affect you after you've bought something, especially if they relate to features you don't use. If any such things should come up, it could happen - "sometime," which may not really be worth worrying about now.

This shouldn't be a really serious concern in most cases - just another minor factor to consider(?).

Even Microsoft has announced that there will be no Media Player in default installations of Windows 8 "due to the cost of royalties for all the codecs." It's uncertain whether it will even be "installable" on basic models, and (as of now) will only be a free download in the top versions, and an "if you buy it" download for midrange(s).

John