UPDATED 07:06 EDT / FEBRUARY 24 2012

Proview Takes iPad Lawsuit to US as Apple Acquires Chomp App Search Engine

In today’s mobile roundup we look at Apple’s trouble in China moving to the US, their acquisition of Chomp, Motorola Mobility’s incoming CEO and more MWC hype.

Apple’s Proview Trouble Reaches US Soils

On Thursday, a court in Shanghai, China rejected Shenzhen Proview Technology’s appeal to ban iPads from being sold in China, which in turn grants Apple’s request to postpone proceedings until a court in China’s southern Guangdong province decides on an appeal in a related case.  The Guangdong Provincial High Court is expected to hear the appeal on Wednesday.

Proview quietly took their case to the US last week when they filed with the Superior Court of the State of California in Santa Clara County on February 17th.  Shenzhen Proview claims that Apple had committed fraud when it used a company set up by one of their law firms, IP Application Development Ltd., to purchase the iPad trademark from Proview on Dec. 23, 2009 for 35,000 British pounds ($55,000).

“The suit accuses Apple of unfair business and fraud,” Shenzhen Proview chief executive Yang Rongshan said.

Apple is firm on their stance that they rightfully own the iPad trademark, and that Proview is just stubborn in their refusal to honor their purchase in 2009.

In other Apple news, the iPhone maker has reportedly bought Chomp, the app search engine that powers Verizon’s Android app search as well as app search for iOS and Android devices in general.  Chomp’s Android services will continue at the moment but it is expected that once the company has been fully engulfed by Apple, those services will stop.

The San Francisco-based app search engine was founded in 2009 and raised about $2.5 million in funding from BlueRun Ventures, SV Angel and others.  Neither Chomp nor Apple has commented on the matter.

According to 9to5mac, Chomp CEO Ben Keighran and CTO Cathy Edwards are already working at Apple. Keighran working with the iTunes marketing team while Edwards is now a senior iTunes engineer.

MoMo’s CEO Change

Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. will soon have a new CEO upon the completion of the Google Inc. deal.  Incumbent CEO Sanjay Jha will be replaced by Dennis Woodside, who currently oversees the Google-MoMo merger and previously led Google’s ad sales in the Americas.  Woodside will be appointed by Google, not Motorola.

“The main thing he’ll need to figure out is what sort of hardware strategy is needed to offset the assault by Apple,” said Sameet Sinha, an analyst at B. Riley & Co. in San Francisco, who has a buy rating on the stock and doesn’t own it. “It’s an interesting choice.”

The Google-MoMo merger already received the go signal from US and European regulators, but still awaits the approval of regulators in China, Taiwan and Israel.

Giddy for MWC

The Mobile World Congress will officially kick off on February 27th, but attendees are advised to register during the weekend to avoid any hassles during the event as there is an impending transport strike during the conference.  Members of the media should secure their official Mobile World Congress pass, as this will identify them as part of accredited media.

Nokia president and CEO Stephen Elop will host the Nokia press conference on the 27th at 8:00 AM CETand only those who have proper accreditation will be allowed in.  And because of space constraints, admittance will be on a first-come, first-served basis.

The media has their own predictions as to what products and brands will shine at MWC this year.  Some are saying that Windows 8 devices will take center stage, as well as smartphones with powerful cameras, and more tablets are said to be joining the party.
To learn more about the MWC and what to expect at this year’s event, check out SiliconANGLE’s The Complete Guide to Mobile World Congress 2012: Smartphones to Look Out For, Apps and More


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