Earlier this year Google sold off Motorola to Lenovo. What some people didn't know is that Google retained one secret division at Motorola called the Advanced Technology and Projects (ATAP) group that is headed by Regina Dugan, the former director of the U.S. Defense Department's fabled Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) which developed the Internet, satelite navigation and stealth fighters. We covered Regina Dugan in a report earlier this year regarding Motorola's electric Skin Tattoo project. Google's ATAP group introduced a new project back in October 2013 which has only recently come to light. It's Project Ara which is an initiative that aims to develop a free, open hardware platform for creating highly modular smartphones. The platform will include a structural frame that holds smartphone modules of the owner's choice, such as a display, keyboard, extra battery or larger camera. It has the potential of revolutionizing the smartphone as we know it. The question becomes: Will this geeky concept actually turn into the new social chic? We'll know soon enough because it's being targeted for public release next year.

On the February 15 we reported that IPCom who was suing Apple for US$2.2 billion dollars was seeking documents from Apple in a California Subpoena. It was reported at the time that Samsung and Google lawyers were to represent the licensing firm against Apple. Well, that didn't help any being that the German Court threw out the case today finding that there was no infringement.

Apple started 2014 off with a bang in India with price cuts to the original iPad and agressively re-introduced the iPhone 4 at US$369 (India Rupees 22,900), as the iPhone 5C was still priced too high for the average Indian. While Apple's marketing steps were starting to get some traction in India, local online megastores stepped in with out of control price slashing to counter Apple's every move. Apple has been trying to enter the Indian Market with a chain of new Apple Stores that would provide the Indian consumer with a positive Apple environment, sales training and better after sale support to counter local online stores but the Indian Government has refused to change their policies that would allow Apple to enter that market directly. Today, Apple is starting an all new marketing program in India to support their local distributors. Apple is bringing back the their 1984 test drive marketing idea, but for iPhones this time around.

A Korean business website, who is traditionally pro Samsung, reported today that they were disappointed in the new Galaxy S5 unveiled in Barcelona on Monday. The report noted that the Galaxy S5's specifications didn't live up to market expectations. But Korea's Electronic Times news vehemently disagrees and claims that Samsung's real surprise is being withheld for now but that it's in the wings.

During the ongoing Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this week, Dolby's Chief Marketing Officer, Bob Borchers, the former director of product marketing at Apple, announced that Dolby had entered deeper collaborations with two of the leading Chinese smartphone makers ZTE and Huawei. Yet what got people's attention was Borchers comments about the original 2007 iPhone.

A Few weeks back Brand Finance Global 500 put out their list of the world's 500 most valued brands and Apple was named number one again for the third year in a row. Today, Fortune published their list of the top 100 most admired companies in the world, with Apple landing on top for the seventh consecutive year.

On February 27, 2014, the US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple that reveals yet another level of their fanatical attention to detail to ensure that iDevices rolling off the production line are particle and blemish free. Earlier today we posted another report covering Apple's intent to add self-healing material to iDevice and Mac display backlights to ensure that artifacts are self-eliminated. So while Apple advances their iDevices with features like Touch ID, we able to see through today's inventions that they also pay attention to the finer details that make premium Apple products. Today's report concludes with revisiting Apple's patent pending invention regarding a handheld standalone camera that Apple is still tweaking.

On February 27, 2014, the US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple titled "Systems and Methods for Preventing Light Guide Plate Scratching Artifacts." Apple's invention details the possible use of self-healing and Teflon coatings to protect the backlight from being scratched which produces annoying artifacts on iDevice and Mac displays. Apple's gorgeous Retina Displays may soon shine even more with Apple's push to eliminate unsightly artifacts

On February 27, 2014, the US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple that reveals a number of interesting possible future features for Macs, televisions or even a car dashboard. With the addition of new sensors hidden in Macs, users will be able to control some device functionality with in-air hand gesturing. Apple's new invention could also provide users with superior lighting for FaceTime videoconferencing and more.

More than 100,000 companies were threatened in 2012 alone with infringement suits by businesses whose sole mission is to extract royalty revenue, according to a White House report. Those entities, called pejoratively "patent trolls" by critics, filed 19 percent of all patent lawsuits from 2007 to 2011, according to the Government Accountability Office. In December, the U.S. overwhelmingly passed the "Innovation Act" against patent trolls. Today in Washington, the justices debated how best to deter meritless suits as they weighed in on the rules that govern fee awards in patent litigation. Apple and Google are among the companies urging the court to lower the bar for fee awards.

According to a new mobile phone forecast from IDC, mature smartphone markets like North America and Europe are expected to see growth drop to single digits. In emerging markets, 2014 volumes are expected to be 1.2 billion, up from 1 billion in 2013, representing 19.3% year-over-year growth. In the longer view, IDC forecasts worldwide smartphone shipments will slow to 8.3% annual growth by 2017 and 6.2% in 2018. While IDC's forecast spells out a gloomy smartphone future for Android OEMs, it may spell opportunity for Apple.

On Monday it was reported that Apple had asked Republican Arizona Governor Jan Brewer to veto the controversial religious freedom bill SB1062. Today Delta and Marriott International Inc. have joined Apple, American Airlines Group Inc. and several other U.S. corporations in urging the Arizona Governor to veto a bill allowing businesses to refuse service to gays and lesbians on religious grounds. The companies all said the law, if enacted, would run counter to their internal policies aimed at ensuring an equal workplace. They also said the law could prompt companies to relocate outside Arizona, which is already struggling economically. Apple recently opened a plant with partner GT Advanced Technologies employing 700.