The biggest weapons in the smart phone and tablet wars of 2011 aren’t processors, touchscreens, operating systems or app stores. They’re patents. The last three years have been a blur of product and software innovation in the mobile industry, driven by the engineers at Apple, Google and numerous phone makers, as well as the talented developers making apps for their …

Skype announced today it has agreed to acquire group messaging service GroupMe. Financial details of the deal were not revealed. “Skype and GroupMe have a shared vision of creating applications and experiences that are the daily communications choice for a billion people,” Skype CEO Tony Bates said in a statement announcing the deal. “The GroupMe team has created an incredibly …

Verizon Communications said today its workers are heading back to work August 22 without a contract, signaling some progress on a new contract. The New York telecommunications provider said the company and the two unions representing the workers–the Communications Workers of America and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers–have made headway in their talks over a new contract. The workers, …