http://www.screendigest.com/rss/ en-gb Copyright: (C) Screen Digest 240 The last 14 months have seen a surge in companies buying patent portfolios in the technology, media and telecoms industry. Starting in late 2010 with the purchase of 882 patents from Novell by a Microsoft-led consortium there have been almost $20bn of patent-related spend from just a handful of major IT and mobile companies. In early 2012 Intel entered the fray with a $120m purchase of 360 video-related patents from RealNetworks. But regulators may be about to respond to the constant sparing as the European Commission starts antitrust reviews over Samsung's mobile claims to prevent innovation from being stiffled.(subscription content) http://www.screendigest.com/reports/201212a/2012_02_the_battle_for_patents/view.html http://www.screendigest.com/reports/201212a/2012_02_the_battle_for_patents/view.html 2012-02-02 Australian online video rental subscription company Quickflix is extending its streaming service WatchNow to Samsung IETVs, Blu-ray Disc (BD) players and the Galaxy line of Android tablets and smartphones....(free content) http://www.screendigest.com/news/2012_02_quickflix_launches_on_samsung_devices/view.html http://www.screendigest.com/news/2012_02_quickflix_launches_on_samsung_devices/view.html 2012-02-02 In Google's most recent results the company reported: 250m Android devices activated to date. This represents first time activations of devices that include Google's proprietary apps such as Gmail, Android...(free content) http://www.screendigest.com/news/2012_01_google_q4_2011_results_the_search_for_mobile_revenue_and_profits/view.html http://www.screendigest.com/news/2012_01_google_q4_2011_results_the_search_for_mobile_revenue_and_profits/view.html 2012-01-23 Mobile M&A activity accelerated once again after a Q2 respite with a 60 per cent increase over the previous quarter. Funding deals recovered too, making Q3 2011 the second most active quarter on record. This report looks at notable deals during the period, with a focus on mobile content deals, and a historical analysis of the coming of age of Mobile Games. (subscription content) http://www.screendigest.com/reports/2012020a/2012_01_transaction_pace_picks_up_again_mobile_funding_and_ma_trends_q3_2011/view.html http://www.screendigest.com/reports/2012020a/2012_01_transaction_pace_picks_up_again_mobile_funding_and_ma_trends_q3_2011/view.html 2012-01-20 Norway-based news publisher Schibsted has agreed to acquire online and mobile on-demand music provider Aspiro for 340m Swedish krona (?38.4m, $49m) to add to its existing portfolio of European media and...(free content) http://www.screendigest.com/news/2012_01_scandinavian_media_group_schibsted_acquires_on-demand_music_provider_aspiro/view.html http://www.screendigest.com/news/2012_01_scandinavian_media_group_schibsted_acquires_on-demand_music_provider_aspiro/view.html 2012-01-18 More than 95 per cent of smartphone apps have been downloaded for free in 2011, as in-app purchases have been a major driver of growth in the smartphone apps business in 2011. Free apps have been deployed by host of companies across the mobile business including games developers, TV companies and mobile operators.(subscription content) http://www.screendigest.com/reports/2012016a/2012_01_free_for_all_in-app_purchases_to_dominate_smartphone_app_business/view.html http://www.screendigest.com/reports/2012016a/2012_01_free_for_all_in-app_purchases_to_dominate_smartphone_app_business/view.html 2012-01-16 UK pay TV operator BSkyB has acquired 10 per cent of London-based social TV app provider Zeebox. The deal, worth over £10m ($15m) according to Zeebox, follows an initial $7m funding round. The Zeebox...(free content) http://www.screendigest.com/news/2012_01_sky_investment_in_zeebox_confirms_rise_of_social_tv_applications/view.html http://www.screendigest.com/news/2012_01_sky_investment_in_zeebox_confirms_rise_of_social_tv_applications/view.html 2012-01-16 UK telecoms regulator Ofcom has published a second consultation into the dispersal of 800MHz and 2.6GHz spectrum bands. This spectrum will be used to provide high speed 4G LTE mobile broadband. After the...(free content) http://www.screendigest.com/news/2012_01_uk_regulator_launches_second_4g_consultancy/view.html http://www.screendigest.com/news/2012_01_uk_regulator_launches_second_4g_consultancy/view.html 2012-01-13