Fring, which has enjoyed interconnectivity with Skype for four years, called the VOIP provider "cowards" for allegedly blocking Fring from offering video chat on smartphones. Skype said it didn't block Fring. - In a nasty war of words between VOIP providers, Fring accused Skype of blocking it from letting users make video calls on Apple's iPhone 4, Google Android and other smartphones and applied the quot;c-word quot; to the company. Fring, which has enjoyed interconnectivity with Skype for four year...

Fring, a provider of voice over IP apps, was slightly overwhelmed, following the release of a two-way calling app allowing iPhone 4 owners to chat face-to-face with friends on various mobile platforms. - Fring has introduced an already popular new app to the Apple App Store that allows iPhone 4 owners to enjoy two-way video calls over WiFi or 3G, with friends on older iPhone, Android or Symbian smartphones. The app has proven so popular, however, that the Fring Blog waved a white flag, notin...

The maker of the iPhone, iPad, iPod and Mac could be poised for a solid quarter and an end to its product shortages.

Market research firm iSuppli estimates that Apple’s iPad has created a spillover effect that will see touchscreen shipments soar by 5,000 percent this year.

Sparks are flying as a host of high-tech powerhouses square off in various battles royal. Whether it’s Google vs. Microsoft or Apple vs. HTC, here are 10 tech tussles that are creating fireworks.

Today: Google’s Android army has gained share in the U.S. smartphone market. Plus: Mortgage rates fall to historic lows.

Rob Enderle explores whether the upcoming Cisco Cius and HP WebOS tablet can compete with Apple’s iPad.

Nearly 5 million consumers have downloaded a Skype Web application that launched in May, the company reports, allowing users of Apple's iPhone to use Skype's VOIP service over the cellular network for the first time. - NEW YORK, June 2 (Reuters) Nearly 5 million consumers have downloaded a Skype Web telephony application that launched Sunday, allowing users of Apple Inc's iPhone to use privately held Skype's service over the cellular network for the first time, Skype said on Wednesday. Before the launch of...

Truphone joins Citrix Systems and Cisco Systems in moving quickly to make voice applications for the iPad that allow users to take a virtual office with them anywhere they go by providing secure access to their corporate applications and documents. - Global mobile operator Truphone is adding voice over IP to the iPad applications that give users to the ability to make voice calls. Truphone's application turns Apple's tablet PC into quot;a mobile phone that offers free or low-cost international calls, as well as advanced instant messaging f...

As the sale date of Apple’s next mobile device approaches, a Zogby poll shows surprising results. The Sybase-commissioned survey was released this week at the CTIA wireless tradeshow.

Apple is apparently willing to dig its claw deep in with this one. In its claim with the ITC, Apple included 14 physical exhibits, including its own iPhone 3GS and MacBook Pro, along with 12 different HTC devices, in boxes with packaging, that it believes include patent infringements including the Nexus One, Touch Pro, Touch Diamond, Touch Pro2, Tilt II, Pure, Imagio, Dream (T-Mobile G1), myTouch 3G, Hero, HD2 and Droid Eris.

Some software makers have been lucky enough to get their hands on Apple's iPad weeks before its April release, people tell Bloomberg BusinessWeek. What kinds of apps are they building?

Games are the focus, judging by the recent activity of software developers monitored by Flurry Analytics:

The chart above shows the proportion of iPad apps being created for each category in the iTunes App Store by developers who are testing on the actual devices. Flurry, a popular provider of analytics software for mobile applications, tracked the number of programs using its software on the tablet and divvied them up by category.

Games are the predominant type of app being tested on the iPad, making up 44% of the total. Entertainment, which Apple has generally defined as videos and novelties like lava lamp apps, take second with 14%. Social networking programs made up 7% of the total, followed by sports, travel, lifestyle, and utilities.

The data is not a comprehensive look at all the apps that will be available for the iPad shortly after its launch, since it does not account for the apps being built on an iPad simulator, which Apple invites anyone to download for a nominal fee.

Instead, the chart may offer a window into the types of applications Apple is most focused on getting perfect for the iPad's release on April 3. While selecting which developers to "seed" with actual iPad devices before launch -- a process reported on by Bloomberg BusinessWeek Friday -- the company appears to have favored game makers, whose apps are generally more complex and may require that developers have a greater familiarity with the capabilities of the device.

Flurry Analytics would not disclose the total number of iPad applications or iPads it's currently monitoring, or their location, as it did in January. The company could not comment on whether the activity it's monitoring is the result of an effort by Apple to seed third-party developers.

Some software makers have been lucky enough to get their hands on Apple's iPad weeks before its April release, people tell Bloomberg BusinessWeek. What kinds of apps are they building?

Games are the focus, judging by the recent activity of software developers monitored by Flurry Analytics:

The chart above shows the proportion of iPad apps being created for each category in the iTunes App Store by developers who are testing on the actual devices. Flurry, a popular provider of analytics software for mobile applications, tracked the number of programs using its software on the tablet and divvied them up by category.

Games are the predominant type of app being tested on the iPad, making up 44% of the total. Entertainment, which Apple has generally defined as videos and novelties like lava lamp apps, take second with 14%. Social networking programs made up 7% of the total, followed by sports, travel, lifestyle, and utilities.

The data is not a comprehensive look at all the apps that will be available for the iPad shortly after its launch, since it does not account for the apps being built on an iPad simulator, which Apple invites anyone to download for a nominal fee.

Instead, the chart may offer a window into the types of applications Apple is most focused on getting perfect for the iPad's release on April 3. While selecting which developers to "seed" with actual iPad devices before launch -- a process reported on by Bloomberg BusinessWeek Friday -- the company appears to have favored game makers, whose apps are generally more complex and may require that developers have a greater familiarity with the capabilities of the device.

Flurry Analytics would not disclose the total number of iPad applications or iPads it's currently monitoring, or their location, as it did in January. The company could not comment on whether the activity it's monitoring is the result of an effort by Apple to seed third-party developers.

Based in Chicago ever since it was founded in 1928, Motorola is contemplating a move to California, according to co-CEO Sanjay Jha.

When Motorola splits in two next year, Jha said he may transplant the handset and set-top box units to Silicon Valley. "We'll go where that talent is, and right now, that looks like California," Jha said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal.

This makes a lot of sense: Software acts as the biggest differentiator for cell phones and other gadgets nowadays. And much of that developer talent resides in California. Nokia has established a research presence in Silicon Valley in recent years. So has smartphone software maker Symbian. Apple, Google and Palm are based in California. Last, but not least, Qualcomm, where Jha used to work before joining Motorola, is headquartered in San Diego.

But uprooting Motorola's existing engineering and marketing talent won't be easy. Motorola lost a lot of great employees over the past several years, as it struggled to turn the business around. And it could lose more staffers if Jha decides to go ahead with the move.