There’s a calculated and boring war being fought in the world of mobile technology. Apple is the latest company to launch an offensive over perceived patent infringement.

Apple claims that Taiwan-based phone manufacturer HTC has violated 20 patents that pertain to the iPhone’s user interface, architecture and hardware. Steve Jobs, Apple’s chief executive, said in a press release: “We can sit by and watch competitors steal our patented inventions, or we can do something about it. We’ve decided to do something about it.” Mr. Jobs added: “We think competition is healthy, but competitors should create their own original technology, not steal ours.”

Apple too has been sued over the years for patent infringement.

In one case, Scottish technology and research firm Picsel
“claims that Apple has implemented a key component from Picsel’s mobile rendering functionality, which enables users to scan through all kinds of on-screen content without experiencing prolonged screen update cycles. Without Picsel’s technology, users can be subjected to prolonged delays while “zooming” and “panning” documents, Web pages, and images. This core rendering feature is a key contributor to the unique visual experience delivered by Picsel.”

St. Clair Intellectual Property Consultants also sued Apple for patent infringement pertaining to the iPhone camera. The Michigan-based organization went after Sony for violating the same set of patents and was awarded $25 Million in damages. Next, they took on Canon and won $34 million.

To date, Apple has filed over 200 patents pertaining to the iPhone.

In a recent study performed by Admob, app purchasing habits were revealed. It was found that iPhone and Android users share similar downloading habits, both users download an average of 9 applications per month.

While the Android seems to be closing in on the iPhone, and the iPod Touch when it comes to free app downloads, it was found that iPhone users are more likely to spend money on applications. 50 percent of iPhone users buy at least 1 app per month (compared to 21 percent of Android users).

iPod touch users were found to be the most engaged, downloading 37 percent more apps than iPhone and Android users. These consumers also spend an average of 100 minutes a day using apps.

Palm’s WebOS averaged about 5.7 downloads per user, with 0.6 paid downloads per user.

It will be interesting to see how the iPad will fall into the mix, especially because many see the device as being heavily reliant on app downloads in order to be successful.

A new survey performed by Admob has discovered that iPhone and iPod touch owners are mostly male and iPhone users are older and have less time to use downloaded applications than those who have an iPod touch.

AdMob’s Mobile Metrics report for January 2010 found that iPod touch users download an average of 12 applications per month (37 percent more than iPhone and Android users). It was also found that those with an iPod touch also spend 100 minutes per day using applications (25 percent more than both Android and the iPhone).

iPod touch users are also considerably younger- 78 percent of them were below the age of 25. Compared with the iPhone, where only 25 percent of users are under the age of 25.

When it comes to satisfaction, iPhone users ranked highest, with 91 percent saying they would recommend their device. The iPod touch had an 88 percent recommendation rate. Android users have reported satisfaction as well, with 84 percent saying they would recommend their handset. Palm’s WebOS came in last with 69 percent.

The survey performed by Admob was based on 963 total respondents, with 318 Android users, 244 iPhone, 356 iPod touch and 45 WebOS.

App store analytics company, Distimo, released a report that provides some interesting game app pricing statistics across multiple stores.

The report focuses on games in the Apple App Store, BlackBerry App World, Google Android Market, Nokia Ovi Store and Windows Marketplace for Mobile in the United States. Here are just a few of the findings.

Games on Windows Marketplace for Mobile and BlackBerry App World are most expensive at $4.91 and $4.60 (on average) respectively.

The Games category on the Apple App Store with the most titles available is Puzzle.

Games published in the Role Playing category on the Apple App Store are most expensive, averaging $7.96 per game. Most other game categories average between $1.30 and $2.60.

22% of the most grossing game titles in the Apple App Store were published in the Action category. The Arcade and Adventure categories were second and third with 12% and 9%, respectively.

The concept of augmented reality isn’t exactly new. However, The Astonishing Tribe, a Swedish mobile software firm, is taking the technology to a new level.

The firm developed a mobile application called Recognizer, which basically uses a device’s camera to create a 3-D model of a person’s face, then uses a cloud server to conduct facial recognition and send back the individual’s name along with any social networking site they may be a part of.

The software even takes note of the position of the person’s head in the photograph, popping up icon links to the individual’s social sites around his or her head without obscuring the photo.

Those that are concerned about their privacy may not have to worry. The makers claim that it is required to opt into the service and upload a photo and profile in order to be identified by the system.

The recognition algorithms are currently compatible with the iPhone and newer Android phones.

Lately Apple has been trying to put a stop to applications that are deemed “too sexy”, including photographs of women in lingerie and swimsuits, a decision that has surprised many developers. However, this clearly shows that Apple will not take a hands-off approach like its biggest competitor, Google.

In a New York Times interview with Apple’s Senior Vice President, Phil Schiller, more information was given concerning the removal of thousands of “risqué” apps from the iTunes App Store. Schiller stated that over the past few weeks, some developers were submitting applications containing very objectionable content.

“It came to the point where we were getting customer complaints from women who found the content getting too degrading and objectionable, as well as parents who were upset with what their kids were able to see,” said Schiller.

AppShopper.com has been tracking the number of apps added and removed from the App Store each day and found that Apple withdrew more than 6,000 applications in just four days (nearly 4,000 last Thursday alone).

Analysts believe the company may be trying to ensure that the App Store would not scare off potential customers as its products become more mainstream, especially with the arrival of the new iPad-which Apple hopes will be used as an educational tool in schools.

“At the end of the day, Apple has a brand to maintain,” said Gene Munster, an analyst at Piper Jaffray who keeps a close eye on the company. “And the bottom line is they want that image to be squeaky clean.”

The iPhone started it. It created a new paradigm that was built on the notion that apps could help users do more stuff in a more native context. But according to Gartner’s David Smith, “Five years from now, I expect to see the majority of mobile ‘apps’ be Web apps, not native,” wrote the analyst. “Not that native won’t matter, but it won’t be the obsession that it is today.”

This could be one of the things Microsoft was banking on when CEO Steve Ballmer recently announced Windows Phone 7 at the World Mobile Congress in Barcelona. Windows Phone 7 is slated for release for the 2010 holiday season, and features a new operating system and integration with Xbox Live and Zune services for starters.

Though several months away from release, Baller and Microsoft are expected sprinkle the mobile conference path with little hints to the inner workings. This style of dragging out the release of product information has certainly worked for Apple. More news is expected next month at Microsoft’s MIX conference for designers and developers, in Las Vegas. For now, here’s a video that highlights some of the features we’re likely to see.

According to an announcement on the iPhone development news page, versions of the App Store are now available in 13 new countries, which means developers can reach an even larger customer base.

Countries added include:

• Armenia
• Botswana
• Bulgaria
• Jordan
• Kenya
• Macedonia
• Madagascar
• Mali
• Mauritius
• Niger
• Senegal
• Tunisia
• Uganda

Due to the design of the iPhone SDK, inclusion into the new App Stores is not automatic and developers must request that their apps are added.

In order to expand reach to these new regions, developers can either manually alter their iTunes Connect settings, or select the “Sell in New Territories” option.

Consumer confidence in making complex transactions via mobile devices appears to be climbing rapidly. According to a study by market intelligence company ABI Research, the number of mobile banking subscribers is doubling annually. The study, reported on by Mobile Commerce Daily’s Rimma Kats, spells out the following findings.

“ABI Research predicts that 407 million people will use their mobile phones to carry out financial transactions with their banks by 2015.
Out of the 407 million people expected to use their phones for mobile banking, approximately 66 million will be in North America, while the majority of subscribers are from the Asia-Pacific region.”

Additionally, “ABI Research claims that the global number of subscribers more than doubled between 2008 and 2009, and is expected to double again in 2010.”

Many users are already comfortable and well-versed in online banking options. The jump in the number of users expected to adopt mobile banking is predicted because financial institutions are counting on customers to learn that they can conduct those same transactions on their mobile device.

As you might guess, the top 10 banks in America are mostly poised and ready to help their customers bank on the go. Click on their names to learn more about their mobile offerings.

1. CitiGroup

2. Bank of America

3. JP Morgan Chase & Co.

4. Wachovia

5. Wells Fargo and Company

6. HSBC: I couldn’t find a link to their mobile program on their site. I also checked iTunes for a mobile app. No luck. If they have a program, they’re not making it easy to find. I’m afraid I can’t spend more time searching. The list must go on…

7. US Bank

8. Bank of New York Mellon Corp.

9. Citizen’s Financial Group

10. National City Bank

Jailbreaking the iPhone is very tempting for many, allowing users to access unlicensed apps. However, from now on, those with jailbroken phones may get banned from the App Store.

Sherif Hashim, a well-known hacker, found that his Apple ID was blocked and his account suspended when he recently tried to access the App Store. The only explanation he received was “for security reasons”.

Many fear that Apple will take action and really crack down by banning all users with a jailbroken phone. Some experts feel that Apple may take it a step further and actually ban entire devices, rather than individual accounts.

However, as of now, some feel that Apple is using this as a scare tactic to discourage users who may be tempted to jailbreak their own devices.

In the long run, Apple would most likely lose money, considering the thousands of iPhones that are currently jailbroken.