Patent No. 7,679,604–“Method and apparatus for controlling a computer system“–the broad motion-control patent I’ve been writing about this week, has passed through a number of hands over the years. First assigned to ArrayComm in 2006, it was subsequently handed over to Durham Logistics, a limited liability company which is itself managed by another obscure Las …

Here’s a potentially noteworthy development in the patent litigation-riddled mobile device market. The patent is No. 7,679,604, “Method and apparatus for controlling a computer system,” and it describes motion control as a means of interacting with smartphones and the like. The invention, the patent’s authors explain, “facilitates an intuitive motion control of the application by physically manipulating the electronic device…it …

Earlier this morning, Apple revealed that it had filed suit against smartphone manufacturer HTC, accusing it of infringing on 20 Apple patents tied to the iPhone. Named as exhibits in the litigation, a handful of Android and Windows Mobile devices including Google’s Nexus One, the T-Mobile G1, the Droid Eris, the Touch Diamond, the Touch Pro2, and the Imagio. Mobile …

So turns out Google didn’t cancel the Beijing event at which it planned to evangelize its new Nexus One Android smartphone. It couldn’t cancel because the company had never arranged to hold an Android event in Beijing in the first place. Asked to comment on a Reuters report claiming Google’s roadshow was skipping the Chinese capital, a company spokesperson told …

Once an Apple engineer, Andy Rubin went on to co-found mobile computing outfits Danger and Android. He sold the former to Microsoft and the latter to Google, where he is now vice president of engineering. He’s also the guy quarterbacking development of Google’s Android mobile operating system and the Nexus One–the smartphone with which Google hopes to fundamentally change the …

Talk about unfortunate timing. Research In Motion (RIMM) has confirmed reports that Blackberry users across North America have been experiencing e-mail problems this morning. Evidently, the outage is affecting all BlackBerry users who rely on RIM’s Internet-based e-mail service instead of corporate servers, regardless of carrier. This, just hours before the company is to release its third-quarter results. In a …

Beginning Nov. 15, Verizon subscribers looking to get out of their smart-phone contracts early will pay $350 for the privilege. That early-termination fee is double the current one, but Verizon insists it’s justified because of the higher prices of today’s phones. “The cost of smart phones is considerably higher than feature phones for which the early termination fees were created …