Question: What do Acer, Apple, Atheros, Belkin, Broadcom, D-Link, Dell, Gateway, HP, Intel, Lenovo, LG, Mavell, Motorola, Sony, Texas Instruments, Toshiba, UTStarcom all have in common? Answer: They're all being sued by Canadian company Wi-Lan for allegedly infringing on a Bluetooth patent, one that covers a "method for frequency sharing and frequency punchout in frequency hopping communications network." The patent deals almost entirely with Bluetooth equipped PCs and mobile handsets.

"If the company has a valid claim, then a small licensing settlement is appropriate," said Roger Kay, an analyst with Endpoint Technologies.

Wi-Lan, whose portfolio includes over 800 patents that have either been issued or are pending, is seeking unspecified damages and a permanent injunction. This isn't the first time Wi-Lan has gone to court over patent disputes, as the company has a long history of doing so.

With the acquisition of Nextel, Sprint knows a thing or two about push-to-talk phones, and in a joint press release with Motorola, the two companies have announced the Motorola i1, the world's first push-to-talk Android-powered smartphone.

"Motorola remains focused on delivering differentiated Android experiences within our product portfolio," said Mark Shockley, senior vice president, Motorola Mobile Devices. "With the Motorola i1, we're excited to offer iDEN users the opportunity to enjoy a feature-rich smartphone with push-to-talk, whether its for work or play."

The Motorola i1 shows who is calling no matter what application you're in, whether you're checking email or viewing media. It's also pretty rugged, and according to Motorola, meets military specifications for dust, shock, vibration, and blowing rain.

Other features include a 3.1-inch touchscreen, Wi-Fi, Opera Mini 5 browser, and a 5MP camera with flash, geo-tagging, and panoramic capabilities.

Good news for those of you who are fans of Motorola's Backflip and its somewhat funky form factor. AT&T now offers the backward flipping smartphone for $99 through its website.

There are a couple of caveats, of course. To get below the $100 price point, you'll have to play the mail-in-rebate game, which comes in the form of an AT&T Promotion Card "valid wherever VIsa is accepted, and for 120 days after issue date." You'll also need to commit to a 2-year service agreement and $30 per month data service.

What you get in return is an Android 1.5-based smartphone capable of being upgraded to Android 2.1. The Backflip also sports a 5MP camera with 4X zoom, 3.1-inch touchscreen with a 480 x 320 resolution, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.0, GPS, a 3.5mm headphone jack, microSD card expansion up to 32GB, and a 1380 mAh battery Motorola claims amounts to up to 6 hours of talk time and 13.5 days of standby.

Product Page

Motorola is about to become two-faced, but not in a bad way. Targeting the first quarter of 2011, Motorola says it will split into two independent, publicly traded companies. One will continue to focus on mobile gadgets and home devices, while the other will take aim at the enterprise mobile market and network business.

"The combination of Mobile Devices and our Home business brings together two highly complementary and innovative organizations," said Dr. Sanjay Jha, co-chief executive officer of Motorola. "Together we will be best positioned to lead in the convergence of mobility, media, and the Internet. Our expanding portfolio of smartphones and end-to-end video content delivery capabilities will enable us to provide advanced mobile media solutions and multi-screen experiences for our customers."

The move has the full support of Motorola's board of directors, who sees this as beneficial to long-term shareholder value. Both ventures will use the Motorola brand, with the Mobile Devices and Home business unit owning the rights and licensing the brand royalty free to the Enterprise Mobility Solutions and Networks business.