After seizing Apple iPads in store in  the Xinhua district in China,  Shenzhen Proview Technology asked the help of Chinese customs to ban the import and export of iPads in their country because of the trademark dispute they have with Apple.  But Shenzen Proview now knows that it will not happen.

“The customs have told us that it will be difficult to implement a ban because many Chinese consumers love Apple products. The sheer size of the market is very big,” Yang Long-san, chief of Shenzen Proview Technology, told Reuters in a telephone interview on Wednesday.

“We have applied to some local customs for the ban and they’ll report to the headquarters in Beijing.”

Yang stated that the next best thing to settle the dispute will be an out-of-court settlement between the two companies.  The next court hearing for the case is set on February 22nd.

Another Major Loss For RIM

2011 wasn’t a good year for RIM as more consumers opt for rival products, but they still had something good going – they were Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) certified, making them the recommended product for government use. But that edge slowly disappeared as government agencies are looking to certify iOS and Android products for government use.  And now, another nail was hammered into RIM’s coffin as the General Services Administration, which procures more than $70 billion worth of products and services for other federal agencies a year, will begin issuing Apple products as well as Android products upon their staff’s request, if the products they choose have applications that would help them work more efficiently with customers like the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security.  The announcement was made by GSA spokeswoman Deborah Ruiz.  The GSA’s 12,635 employees opting to go the iOS or Android route will put another big dent in RIM’s pocket.  No word yet as to when workers will see iOS and Android devices at the office.

Government Denies LightSquared 4G/LTE Proposal

LightSquared proposed building a national 4G/LTE network, but the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) indefinitely suspended their proposal after  the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) warned them that, “LightSquared’s proposed mobile broadband network will impact GPS services and that there is no practical way to mitigate the potential interference at this time.”

According to a report from ArsTechnica, the government has been testing LightSquared’s proposal and found out that it will harm the performance of more than 75% GPS devices.

LightSquared argued that, “You can get a cell phone for free with a two-year contract that is more resilient to GPS interference than what’s being installed in today’s commercial airliners,” but the company also pledged to keep working on a solution.

“This proceeding has revealed challenges to maximizing the opportunities of mobile broadband for our economy,” the FCC said in a statement. “In particular, it has revealed challenges to removing regulatory barriers on spectrum that restrict use of that spectrum for mobile broadband. This includes receivers that pick up signals from spectrum uses in neighboring bands. There are very substantial costs to our economy and to consumers of preventing the use of this and other spectrum for mobile broadband.

“Congress, the FCC, other federal agencies, and private sector stakeholders must work together in a concerted effort to reduce regulatory barriers and free up spectrum for mobile broadband. Part of this effort should address receiver performance to help ensure the most efficient use of all spectrum to drive our economy and best serve American consumers.”