The iPhone 5 is expected in mid-October, as Apple sends master builds of iOS 5 to carriers, while Google loaded up on IBM's patents to fight its patent wars.
IPhone 5 Rumors Heat Up
Apple plans to send the master build of iOS 5 to carriers for approval on September 23. The company asked carriers to approve the OS by October 5, which may lead to the platform's release a few days later.
If iOS 5 does hits in early October, it will add credibility to Stephane Richard's new proclamation. The CEO of France Telecom said he was told the iPhone 5 will arrive on October 15, though he declined to name his source.
Google Loads Up on Patents
Google bought 1,023 patents from IBM, to shore up support for its beleaguered Android OS. Google and IBM did not comment on the financial terms of the deal.
Google may not buy InterDigital's patents. Samsung, Ericsson, Intel and HTC are all reviewing InterDigital's data as they consider offers for the company's intellectual property.
Google, which showed initial interest, instead bought Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion.
Apple, meanwhile, filed motions to stay two of its patent lawsuits against Motorola. The Cupertino, Calif.-based company argued Google's purchase of Motorola results in a "fundamental loss" of rights for the phone manufacturer, since the pending merger gave Google ownership of its 17,000 mobile patents.
Google simultaneously addressed European customer's privacy concerns. The company will let them eliminate their home wireless routers from Google's location data registry. Google had used the routers to locate Android phones in the absence of strong GPS or cell tower signals.
Google also faced new pressure from competitors. Yahoo, Microsoft and AOL joined together to sell lower-priced ads on each other's sites, in an attack on Google's online advertising dominance.
Google, however, may soon release a new feature for these competitors to answer. The company unveiled a program that organizes flight information and fares. It offers users the ability to search airfares by typing "flights" and their destination in the search bar.
Google intends the service to compete with other travel sits such as Expedia, Kayak and Microsoft's Bing search engine.
