Corporate and legal

Did Google flush $12.4 billion down the toilet with Motorola?

When Google said it would acquire Motorola Mobility for $12.4 billion, it was applauded as a bold move to shore up its patent position.

A year and a half and several legal setbacks later, many are wondering when -- and if -- Google will ever see a payoff.

The latest headache comes courtesy of the European Commission, which sent Motorola Mobility a formal list of complaints on Monday regarding how it uses its market position to seek and enforce a patent-related injunction against Apple.

Companies with a technology that's deemed by the industry as essential for all products … Read more

Taiwan university sues Apple over patent infringement -- again

Apple has been sued by a Taiwan-based university for the second time.

The company on Friday was hit with a lawsuit by the National Cheng Kung University in Taiwan related to a patent the university owns on video compression technology. The complaint, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, claims that Apple's use of video compression technology in its FaceTime video-chatting feature, as well as QuickTime, violates the university's patent.

The university last year hit Apple with a patent-infringement lawsuit over the company's use of Siri and voice-to-text functionality. … Read more

AT&T's 4G LTE covers almost 200 million

AT&T is getting closer to its quest of covering 250 million people with 4G LTE by the end of 2013. On Monday, the carrier announced five more markets that will receive the faster 4G speeds.

The new markets are:

Manhattan, Kan. Sedalia, Mo. Warrensburg, Mo. Jacksonville, Texas Palestine, Texas

This brings AT&T's total to 212 4G LTE markets and nearly 200 million people, up from 175 LTE areas just a month ago.

Verizon's needle, meanwhile, hovers in the 500-market range.

EU warns Motorola in patent spat with Apple

The European Commission has sent Motorola, a division of Google, a formal list of complaints over how it conducts its patent litigation and subsequent enforcement.

The EU said in a statement today that Motorola had been informed of its allegations -- what is known as a formal "statement of objections" -- claiming that the smartphone maker had abused its market position by seeking and enforcing a patent-related injunction against Apple.

The iPhone and iPad maker was told by a court in Germany that it must stop using a networking patent relating to GPRS technology. But Motorola … Read more

Clearwire to shareholders: Sprint's our only hope

Clearwire told shareholders in a letter sent on Monday that its best path lies in an acquisition by Sprint Nextel.

The letter laid out in extensive detail why Sprint's offer of $2.97 a share provides the best value for shareholders. Nowhere in the letter does it reference Dish Network's rival bid for Clearwire, which is actually higher at $3.30 a share.

According to Clearwire's board, Sprint's offer is the only legitimate one. The wireless broadband company said Sprint's offer represents "fair, attractive and certain value." The deal represents the culmination of … Read more

Apple rockets toward top of Fortune 500

Apple has shot up to sixth place in the Fortune 500, Fortune announced today.

The iPhone maker's strong showing in the Fortune 500 is a dramatic rise from its 17th-place ranking in 2012. In sixth place, Apple is the highest-ranking technology company in a list topped by Walmart. Major oil companies, including Exxon Mobil and Chevron, along with Berkshire Hathaway, separate Apple from the top spot.

Another notable mention -- Facebook has for the first time made the Fortune 500. The company was previously ranked 598, but this year, it was able to take the 482nd spot in Fortune'… Read more

Why cell phone locks and required data plans are unfair

Aside from monopolistic cable providers that force their customers to buy expensive bundles of TV channels they might never watch, wireless operators may be the only other businesses I know of that often force their customers to buy expensive services they don't really want.

In this edition of Ask Maggie, I answer two questions from readers who highlight this point. In the first question, a reader asks if he can avoid hefty international roaming fees by getting his brand-new Samsung Galaxy S4 phone unlocked so that he can use a foreign carrier's wireless service while he is abroad … Read more

Sid Meier lets fly with mobile game -- and why you'll be happy to pay

Sid Meier is not a fan of "freemium."

The model of giving a game away only to charge for extras such as new levels, features, or power-ups, has swept up the mobile gaming industry, much to the chagrin of gamers who would prefer to pay once for the complete experience.

Meier, a legend in the gaming business thanks to his beloved "Civilization" franchise, couldn't agree more.

"It's about designing unhappiness," Meier told CNET in an interview on Friday. "You have to design a game so not fun that people will pay … Read more

Apple extends lead over Samsung in U.S. smartphones

Maybe it's time to hold off on the Apple negativity.

The iPhone franchise captured 39 percent of the U.S. smartphone market in the first quarter, extending its lead over Samsung, which garnered 21.7 percent of the market, according to research firm ComScore.

Interestingly, Apple's iOS took market share away from Google's Android, which traditionally has seen more rapid growth.

Apple saw its smartphone market share rise by nearly 3 percentage points in the quarter, while Samsung's share inched up slightly. The next three largest handset vendor, HTC, Motorola, and LG, all lost market share … Read more

Google Fiber heads to Shawnee, Kansas

Google Fiber is making its way to another part of Kansas.

The search giant on Thursday announced that Shawnee, located just outside of Kansas City, has voted to bring Google Fiber to its residents. Google Fiber is already available in Kansas City, the first location to get the Google high-speed Internet service.

Google Fiber has started to slowly expand its footprint across the U.S., with the company recently announcing that it'll be made available to Austin, Texas, residents. Provo, Utah will also receive Fiber service.

Google on Thursday did not say when its service will be available to … Read more