Regulators in the US have issued their approval of Google’s £7.9bn bid for Motorola Mobility, the mobile phone manufacturer, just a few hours after Google also received the go-ahead from regulators in Europe. 

The European Commission and US regulators stated that they did not feel the deal would cause any competition issues among tablets or mobile phones, although both groups of regulatory authorities did add they will be monitoring Google and their use of patents. Before the deal is finalised however, Israel, China, and Taiwan must also issue their approval.

Google decided to place a bid on the tablet and phone manufacturing sector of Motorola last year after the company was split into two sectors. The major search engine company and Android OS creator hopes that by purchasing Motorola they will be able to access their thousands of patents which should substantially help them beef up Android a bit.

Vice President for Google, Don Harrison, wrote in a blog that the EU approval was a huge milestone towards getting the deal completed. He added that if they are able to successfully combine Motorola Mobility with Google then the end result is going to be a ‘supercharged’ Android.

Harrison also added that it will offer consumers many more choices, better user experiences, and innovative products which combine to make a great package. The EC delayed their decision to consider if Google would favour Motorola over other manufacturers that use the Android OS such as HTC or Samsung, but decided that this would not be an issue.

Apple won its patent case in Germany last week regarding its ‘slide to unlock’ feature that it claimed was illegally copied by Motorola.  The feature in question had to do with how users unlock their smartphones for use: by sliding a finger across the screen along the strip that in essence represented ‘unlocking’ the phone.

The fact that Apple won means that they now could ban all Motorola products that use the ‘slide to unlock’ feature in Germany, but it could present a problem for Apple if in the future Motorola was to win an appeal.

The Xoom tablet, and two of Motorola’s other smartphones, were the main focus on the court case, but it should be noted that Apple only won in court over the smartphones while the Xoom was found to be perfectly legal. Motorola told its customers that they will appeal the ban and will continue to sell their phones in Germany by altering their unlocking feature slightly.

The company told customers that the patient litigation only pertains to one software feature on the phones and that they already had a back up plan in place in case Apple won the injunction. In place of the slide to unlock feature is expected to be a ‘swirl to unlock’ feature that may be a bit more tedious for users to master but will at least allow them access to the Motorola range of phones.

Apple did not comment on their recent win in the German courts even though they have been attempting to fight Motorola in the country for many years.

Interactive Voice Response, or IVR, are everywhere. If you don’t know what this is, as soon as it is explained you will know immediately. IVR’s are those systems where if you phone a company or business, it offers you various options and responds to either your spoken answers or which button you press on your telephone keyboard. Now everyone knows what the correct name is for the system.

While consumers may moan and groan about them, and how long it takes to speak to a real person, from the business points of view IVR’s are invaluable. If you call a large corporation that has several thousand employees, spending a couple of minutes listening to options and choosing the relevant one for you ensures you get to speak to somebody who can help you, which is the whole point of the call.

These have usually been limited to government agencies and large businesses and corporations, but SME’s are slowly getting in on the act as they have realised that even though some find them annoying, they do give an air of professionalism and give the impressions that although a company is small, it still has many departments and employees.

An SME with a single phone number will greatly benefit from an Interactive Voice Response as there is nothing worse than ringing a number which is constantly engaged. The IVR will take the call and free up the line for the next caller. When the IVR directs a call to the right department and if the line is busy, there will be a polite message telling the caller that their call will be answered as soon as possible.

There may be only one person in an office taking calls, but the IVR gives the impression that this SME is a busy company, dealing with dozens of enquiries, and the fact they are waiting in a queue makes them feel as if they are dealing with a professional company.

When Fifa Street first came out it combined street fashion with football with an obvious urban flare, but although it may have started out weird it is now back five years later with a vengeance. In fact, while the first Fifa Street was a bit more like an advert than a game, its return looks a lot more hopeful. The basic premise of the game is the same with urban football the main feature, with cool tricks and random matches in the streets. However, there are some novelty modes that you can play such as short games like Last Man Standing that allow you to show off your skill.

In fact, the skill moves that number more than fifty are fun to learn to master, and are fun to rack up the points with once you get them down. Of course, beating down a defender is always a fun treat as well, which you can easily do once master the tricks with the right stick that in real life you may never be able to pull off. Plus, the advantage of the game version is you can do all this while still looking great without even breaking a sweat.

Gamescon 2011 kicks off the third week of August in Cologne and with its largest set of exhibitors already lined up to show off their new games (550 in total), it promises to be an event not to be missed. Of course, all of the major gaming companies are going to be there including Microsoft, Sega, Nintendo, Sony, EA, and plenty of independent gaming companies as well which should add to the excitement quite well.

Microsoft kicks off the event with a ‘Play Day’ where those who are lucky enough to be in attendance will get the chance to spend some time playing Halo CE Anniversary, Forza 4, and Gears of War 3. Following this event, EA is going to hold a press conference at 4pm and then attendees can rush over to hear what Sony has to say at their conference which will start at 7pm.  Sony’s Vita handheld is expected to be the main focus of their conference with word on popular games Battlefield 3, Uncharted 3, and Mass Effect 3.

Other highlights include the trade-only day with NcSoft opening at 9pm with their own press conference and news about the new MMOG that is expected to come out of Carbine Studios. Gaming security will also be addressed by Kaspersky the IT security company which is aimed at helping gamers learn how to keep themselves safe from cyber-attacks and what to do if they become the victim of one.

Sony has announced a new budget PSP model that has shocked the industry and will hopefully make gaming a bit more affordable for those with stretched budgets. The leading gaming company announced the new gaming console that is being referred to as the PSP E-1000 at the Cologne Gamescon conference in August.

It also stated that the new model will be priced at 99 Euros although there will be a few missing features to keep it down at that low price. First off, the PSP E-1000 will have a UMD drive so that it remains compatible with all of the PSP disc games, but it will not come with onboard Wi-FI although it can be connected to a PC so that users can still purchase digital titles.

It also will weigh a bit more than other similar handheld models and will come only in a black matte finish although aesthetics should not be too large of a deal. More concerning for the social gamers is the lack of Wi-Fi, which means that you cannot play social gamers in any type of online forum.

Also confusing to many is why Sony is actually releasing yet another model when the company already announced that its newest version of the gaming console, PlayStation Vita, was going to be released soon. Good news for serious Sony gamers however is the fact that the PlayStation 3 is going to drop in price across the world costing only £199 for the 160GB version and £215 for the 320GB.

British Airways is taking a step into the future by putting away the traditional paper forms that let flight attendants know who should be on a flight and replacing them with electronic manifests that crew members can use to access a list that is updated by the moment.

Outside of the simple manifest, the Apple iPad will also offer them instant access to safety information, timetables, and profiles of every passenger on board the plane. In addition, also stored on the iPads will be passengers meal preferences, seating plans, and any previous flights that passengers may have been on along with their previous flight history and/or any issued complaints about their experience.

This is just one more example of a company within the aviation world moving forward to help bring flying into the new digital age. In order to secure passenger details, antivirus programs such as Norton Internet Security are set to be available for iPads to prevent the devices from vulnerabilities. Another recent improvement made by many aviation companies is the option of letting passengers check in with a mobile boarding pass that they can show the flight attendant to scan at the gate.

At the moment the iPad check-in system is still in the trial stages with one hundred crew members using the new electronic system. If the trial proves to be useful without too many glitches past the simple training stages and proven that devices are secure, then BA plans to issue them to all of its 1,800 senior crew members.

For passengers, the most important feature of the update will be the fact that crew will know which passengers are heading for connecting flights so that arrangements can be made prior to landing if the plane is delayed in the air.

A German patent court has given Apple a preliminary injunction over the Samsung Galaxy tablet which means that until the court reaches a final decision Samsung will not be able to ship the Galaxy out to customers in the EU. After Apple won the temporary reprieve in patent court customs officers were instructed to seize and hold all shipments of the Galaxy Tab. Samsung announced that it would quickly attempt to take care of the matter, given its sales are blocked in every country in the EU outside of the Netherlands, which is a large piece of its world market.

It is believed that tens of thousands of the tablets were seized and are in temporary custody until the matter is resolved. Apple accused the tablet range of copying the functions and overall design of its iPad and iPhones. A spokesperson for the Samsung stated that they are disappointed in the court’s ruling and that they will quickly take action to defend their rights in the German legal system and to defend their property rights elsewhere across the world. The spokesperson added that they will take action to make sure that the devices are soon available to those in Europe.

Given the fact that the Mac OS X Lion is meant to operate a server and is priced below forty pounds it seems safe to say that there must be something wrong with it, which is why taking a closer look at the new OS may be in order. When you first start to think about Apple most likely server software is not the first thing that will come to mind, if it even comes to mind at all. However, way back before Apple specialized in i-products, it was a creator of operating systems for servers.

Since 1999 it has continued to create the OS X line with each release offering a stronger configuration that is suited for the new demands of enterprise. This version combines file sharing from Macs to PCs, Jabber based IM, web, email services, and even tosses in address book servers and a calendar. The installation is easy for what it is, and can be downloaded from the Mac App Store although you need to make sure that your Snow Leopard Client is up to date. This is due to the fact that the OS X Lions can only be downloaded over the previous version.

There are constant wars being fought in the world of technology, be it televisions, laptops or mobile phones. The most fiercely fought at the moment is that of the tablet, with new and so called improved versions arriving on the shelves seemingly daily. It can be extremely daunting for the consumer to choose the best for them from the vast array available, but there is one tab that is the best for everyone, and that is the Samsung Galaxy Tab.

The slimmest, lightest and best looking tablet on the market, the Samsung Galaxy Tab achieves the impossible by matching its appearance with its operating capabilities. From the 10.1” screen to the cutting edge Android honeycomb 3.1 operating system, this tab is the ultimate in mobile browsing, gaming, and anything else that you could want from a device of this kind.

Touchwiz 4.0 has also been integrated, and there is a new version which has been tailor made for the UK market. This gives you the kind of effortless and intuitive navigation that is unsurpassed on any other device. Throw in the crystal clear clarity of the graphics and you realise that you literally have the future of tablets in the palm of your hand.

Whether you want to store and listen to music, read or connect to social network, the Samsung Galaxy makes all these options easier than ever thanks to the ingenious Samsung hubs. Every action is smooth, instant and seamless and to compare this tablet with any other out there is just a waste of time.

If you are in the market to upgrade your tablet, or are looking to purchase one for the first time, this is a pretty good choice!

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