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What do 3G hot spots and firearms have in common? They're both banned from the London 2012 Olympic games.

Personal wireless access points and 3G hot spots are among the list of restricted items for the games, which start Friday. Visitors are allowed to bring smartphones and tablets, but are not able to use them as a hot spot to connect other devices. Intomobile first reported on the ban.

"We're just two days away from the start of the first ever Olympic Games in the modern, digital era," said Tomas Mendoza, managing director of Tep Wireless, … Read more

Motorola Mobility said it isn't worried about a looming import ban on many of its products that takes effect tomorrow.

"Motorola has taken proactive measures to ensure that our industry leading smartphones remain available to consumers in the U.S.," the company said in an e-mailed statement.

The ban, which takes effect tomorrow, comes from a U.S. International Trade Commission ruling that Motorola illegally used Microsoft's technology relating to meeting requests and group scheduling in its products. Motorola is now a unit of Google.

Motorola didn't provide specifics, but the company said it would … Read more

Google today pulled the Galaxy Nexus smartphone from its Google Play store.

Customers can no longer buy the device from the store, which has replaced the purchase button with a note that says "coming soon." Below it is a form to sign up for e-mail alerts for when the phone becomes available. Electronista first spotted the change.

Google, however, confirmed that it would begin selling the Galaxy Nexus again next week. The phone will come with Android 4.1, or Jelly Bean.

The Galaxy Nexus is perhaps the most high-profile device affected by the legal squabbling between Apple … Read more

Imports of HTC phones into the United States will continue after a U.S. judge denied Apple's request for a sales ban on the devices in an ongoing patent dispute between the companies.

The U.S. International Trade Commission launched an investigation on Sunday into Apple's claim that HTC was continuing to infringe on one of its patents in violation of a December order to cease. The ITC, a federal agency with the power to ban imports of devices found to infringe on U.S. patents, today rejected Apple's request for an emergency order banning the importation … Read more

The new Apple MacBook Pro with Retina Display announced earlier this week just got an Editors' Choice review on CNET, but some die-hard tinkerers are upset about the lack of upgradeable components inside. According to iFixit.org, the latest MacBook Pro is the least reparable Apple laptop to date.

For starters, users are locked into the amount of RAM they choose at the purchase date, as the memory is actually soldered to the logic board. The proprietary solid-state hard drive is staying put as well, and watch out for a couple of booby traps concealed underneath the lithium-polymer battery! The laptop certainly remains incomparable in terms of display, I/O ports, and chassis, but keep in mind that your upgrade options down the line are severely limited if you go with this model.… Read more

Reddit is taking aim at some media heavyweights to reduce spam on the site.

The popular link-sharing site has banned a half-dozen prominent sites, including TheAtlantic.com and BusinessWeek.com, according to a recently created subreddit. Other banned sites include Phys.org, ScienceDaily.com, and GlobalPost.

Reddit users who try to submit links to these sites are greeted with a message that informs them that "this domain has been banned for spamming and/or cheating."

The site announced a crackdown on spammers last week but only specifically mentioned that it would now employ link shorteners:

HTC believes it's free and clear of infringing on a key Apple patent despite allegations to the contrary by the iPhone maker.

This week, Apple filed its third complaint against HTC in the past three years with the U.S. International Trade Commission. The company is alleging that HTC is still violating the same Apple patents that triggered a recent ban on imports of the HTC One X and Evo 4G LTE.

Following the initial complaint, HTC said that it took steps to work past Apple's U.S. Patent No. 5,946,647, also known as the data … Read more

Google's efforts to block imports of Microsoft's Xbox and Apple's iPhone could cause "substantial harm" to consumers, competition, and innovation, the Federal Trade Commission said in a letter today.

The letter -- addressed to the U.S. International Trade Commission, a federal agency with the power to enforce bans on products shipping to the U.S. -- suggested companies should be limited in their ability to block competitors' imports based on patents that are built into industry standards.

"Simply put, we are concerned that a patentee can make a RAND [reasonable and nondiscriminatory] commitment … Read more

After a two-week-long Customs delay, shipments of HTC's One X and Evo 4G LTE are flowing unfettered into the U.S., the company announced today.

"HTC has completed the review process with U.S. Customs and HTC devices have been released, as they are in compliance with the ITC's ruling," the company said in a statement. "Future shipments should continue to enter the U.S. and we are confident that we will soon be able to meet the demand for our products."

The two smartphones were put in limbo earlier this month over unresolved … Read more