Microsoft Wins Order To Ban Import Of (Some) Undisclosed Motorola Android Smartphones Into US

According to an exclusion order issued by the ITC, some of Motorola Mobility's smartphone devices are in violation of four claims in a Microsoft patent related to scheduling meetings in a calendar. The specifics really aren't important - basically, the ITC found that Motorola infringed a Microsoft patent related to mobile software for creating and sending meeting invitations.

Motorola and Google had argued that an exclusionary order banning the import of offending Motorola devices wasn't in the public interest, but the judge didn't buy it. More importantly, it's unclear exactly which Motorola devices fall under the scope of the exclusionary order, which should go into effect roughly 60 days from now. This probably isn't enough time to cause device supplies to go uninterrupted, but then again, Motorola isn't exactly selling them by the pallet-full here in the US lately - the DROID RAZR really being the company's only truly popular smartphone.

However, as HTC has learned, it may not matter whether your phones actually violate the patents cited in ITC orders, so much as whether US Customs decides they want to "investigate" them. Most likely, US Customs will give Motorola the same treatment it has given HTC once the order goes into effect and err on the side of "caution" - if we get that far, that is.

Motorola does have one option here: settle. While the Google-Motorola deal isn't officially closed yet (China is lagging on approval), I'm sure there's plenty of closed-door discussion going on about what conceding to Microsoft's patent claims would mean for Google's image. If Motorola settles, other would-be patent trolls may start coming out of the woodwork looking for a piece of the action, and Google's other hardware partners probably wouldn't be thrilled, either. Of course, Samsung, LG, and HTC already have licensing deals with Microsoft - Motorola is the last major holdout.

Personally, I see this ending in settlement, Motorola is already lagging behind the smartphone curve, and with the Google merger still up in the air, the company doesn't want any more financial uncertainty than it already has. Check out the source link for more.

FOSSPatents, ITC Order

Zipwhip Lets You Send Text Messages From Your Comp or Tablet (Order Espresso Too) [Video]

They’re calling it “Textspresso,” and it’s brought to you from the clever minds at Zipwhip who have come up with the world’s first, text-enabled espresso machine. Using an Android based phone, anyone can order up a cup of coffee by doing little more than shooting off a simple text message. Once your SMS is sent, the robotic barista whips up a custom cup of coffee and and lets you know when it’s ready by messaging back.

Don’t expect to find one of these Textpresso machines at your local coffee shop tomorrow (the barista from the Samsung ad is safe). This proof-of-concept was little more than Zipwhip showing off their cloud-based SMS technology in a very unique, and pretty damn cool way (I have a thing for robots). Zipwhip did mention that they would be open sourcing their Textpresso machine in the near future so that anyone can build one of their very own, and place in their home or office (margarita machine, please). You can see the Texpresso in action via the video below.

So, what exactly does Zipwhip do when they’re not building fancy expresso robots like this? If their name sounds familiar, Zipwhip is the company behind group messaging and cloud texting apps currently found in the Google Play Store from their partnerships with T-Mobile and Sprint (and may have come pre-installed on your Android device). With their latest application for all Android devices, they provide a way for users to send and receive text messages from their Android phone, directly on their desktop computer or tablet.

I’ve come across a few solutions like this in the Play Store in the past, but none that have Zipwhip’s level of polish. If you ever wanted to send or receive text messages while taking advantage of your computer’s full keyboard, you have to give Zipwhip a try. The app can be found for free right now in the Google Play Store.

[Zipwhip Blog | Play Store Link]