In today’s mobile news roundup: Judge to put an end to Apple-Samsung case; FCC nudges FAA to allow use of mobile devices during takeoff; iPhone 5S leaked photos; and Amazon to add two important navigation features to Kindle Fires in 2013.

Judge to put an end to Apple-Samsung case

US District Judge Lucy Koh has had enough of the Apple-Samsung patent dispute and stated that in the following weeks, she will be issuing a ruling to finally settle the legal brawl.  Apple wants to add $500 million to the previous $1.05 billion verdict while Samsung is seeking to half the fine.  Judge Koh gave no indications as to whether she’s siding with Apple or Samsung.

“I think it’s time for global peace,” Judge Koh told lawyers for the two electronics giants during a court hearing in San Jose.

FCC nudges FAA to allow use of mobile devices during takeoff

Earlier this year, news surfaced that the Federal Aviation Administration is rethinking their rule on use of electronic gadgets during takeoff, taxi and landing.  This is in response to people’s growing dependence on mobile devices for work or personal use.  But it seems the FAA isn’t reconsidering fast enough, as the Federal Communications Commission wrote a letter to them to urge the FAA to get things moving.

“[M]obile devices are increasingly interwoven in our daily lives,” FCC chairman Julius Genachowski said in his letter to Michael Huerta, FAA’s acting administrator.  “They empower people to stay informed and connected with friends and family, and they enable both large and small businesses to be more productive and efficient, helping drive economic growth and boost U.S. competitiveness.”

iPhone 5S leaked photos

Photos of what people believe as the iPhone 5S prototype leaked on the internet and they indicate some internal changes, such as screws placed differently.  The position of the screws could mean some internal tweaking, like more chips being added or changed.  But all in all, it seems the 5S won’t be much different from the original, at least on the outside.  Much like what happened when they released the iPhone 4S.

But Apple Insider believes that there’s a possibility that the leaked photos are actually of the iPhone 5 prototype.  The screw placement might have changed as they finalized the design of the iPhone 5.

Amazon to add two important navigation features to Kindle Fires in 2013

Amazon announced that they will be adding “Voice Guide” and “Explore by Touch” to their new standard definition Kindle Fire and Kindle Fire HD 7” by early 2013.  The features are already available on Kindle Fire HD 8.9” but they want more visually-impaired users of other Kindle Fires to be able to “easily navigate the menus and content on the device, enjoy books and audiobooks, and listen to music.”

“We have heard from thousands of customers who are vision-impaired that Kindle has made a difference in their lives. With Kindle Fire HD 8.9” and soon our full line of new tablets, we are continuing our efforts to provide a range of accessibility features—Voice Guide, Explore by Touch, text-to-speech, optional text coloring and adjustable font sizes—for our vision-impaired customers,” said Dave Limp, Vice President, Amazon Kindle. “We plan to deliver additional accessibility features, so that our vision-impaired customers can have a better experience for reading, communicating and consuming media.”