The mobile world was quite busy with various upgrades and device launches–it’s really quite hard to keep up with them.  Well, what can you do?  Nowadays, technology equates to change, as in ‘The only constant thing in this world is change.”  So you’d better brace yourself in the coming months as more releases are expected from mobile companies, especially with the Holiday season nearing.

So to summarize, these are a few of this week’s highlights in the mobile realm:

Apple iPad users experience a more realistic “magazine” feel when reading their custom news streams, as advertising in Flipboard was launched.  iPad maker Apple is getting more strict with their in-app purchases, making things a little tricky for digital publishers hoping for a smooth transition to the mobile market.  But on a fun note, a new app was launched: the Talking WeeMee on the iPhone and iPod Touch.

Deeper in the tablet realm, Android tablet sales are gaining on iPad’s lead, whileAmazon’s soon to be released tablet could be ‘the one’ to help Android beat Apple in the tablet war.

RIM, on the other hand, is experiencing a bit of a downfall as 2,000 employees were laid-off.  But the BlackBerry maker is hoping for a comeback as their PlayBook is the first FIPS certified mobile device, and hopes are quite high with the release of their BBM 6, which makes ‘BBMing’ even easier for multitaskers.

HP, in an effort to keep up with the ever-changing market plans on installing webOS, the mobile platform it acquired as part of the Palm deal, on every device it will make in the future.

While HP is banking big on its own mobile OS, Mozilla is throwing its hat into the pot as well.  The company behind Firefox is planning to take a shot in the mobile realm as they develop a new mobile OS focused on delivering an open alternative to iOS and Android. Alibaba is making a big appeal to the Chinese mobile market, launching a cloud-based OS and smartphones, including the K-Touch Cloud-Smart Phone W700.

Manufacturers are winners too, as Verizon launches Samsung 4G Galaxy Tab 10.1 helping Android take a jab or two at the iPad. But Microsoft is setting its sights high, as Windows phones are soon getting upgraded with Mango.

As for apps, some are being welcomed with arms wide open, while others are being shrugged off.  Health Apps available on mobile devices are being utilized by doctors, and may soon be FDA approved, but facial recognition software causes concerns as consumers feels their privacy and security are being threatened and violated.

And as for infringement lawsuits, they’re all but characterizing the mobile industry of today.  Former CEO of Sun Microsystems, Jonathan Schwartz, endorsed Android’s use of Java as both Oracle and Google both slammed in court by District Court Judge William Alsup.  Earlier this week, HTC was willing to negotiate with Apple regarding the cases filed against them, but still plan to appeal their case with Apple.  And finally, the AT&T/T-Mobile merger is being opposed by consumers and politicians alike, as it may cause more financial issues for consumers while the Verizon-Radio Shack partnerships is set to go smoothly.

So that’s what happened this week in the mobile sector, tune-in next week as we anticipate more mobile news to overwhelm us.