UPDATED 10:00 EDT / DECEMBER 20 2012

Google Infiltrates Apple’s iPad With New Quickoffice App

In today’s mobile news roundup: Google continues to infiltrate Apple devices; Intel’s Clover Trail chip delays some tablets’ release; EU to charge Samsung with antitrust lawsuit; And Facebook halts ad network plan.

Google continues to infiltrate Apple devices

This week, Google finally released their Google Maps app for iOS – a much awaited app especially for those who were forced to use Apple Maps, literally lost in the world.  Though Apple is trying their hardest to detach themselves from the search giant, Google is doing everything to weasle their way onto more of Apple’s devices.

The latest comes in the form of Quickoffice + Google Apps.  Quickoffice was acquired by Google this year and they’ve worked with the Quickoffice team to deliver a better app to allow people to edit or convert their Microsoft Office files using their iPads.  The new service would let users convert Microsoft Office files to Google Docs, allowing them to share and work together in real time.  This also enables them to edit Office files on users’ iPads, so you can have access to all your files anywhere you are.  The Quickoffice app is now available for free to business customers with iPads and Google stated that the iPhone and Android version will be available soon.

Intel’s Clover Trail chip delays some tablets’ release

A lot of companies are banking on Intel’s Atom Z2760, dubbed the “Clover Trail” chip, with the selling point of being energy-efficient to better compete with Apple’s iPad, Android tablets, and other Windows 8-based tablets.  But the selling point they were so hopeful about is causing them huge problems, as it seems to be the reason why Dell and HP’s new tablets won’t be coming until January 2013.

According to one Dell customer, he ordered his Dell Latitude 10 back in November and was given a shipping date of mid-December.  But now, he was told that the Latitude hasn’t been officially released and will only be available in January.  Dell still continues to take orders for the Latitude 10 but they aren’t informing the consumers that they are actually pre-ordering the device.  As for HP, their Envy x2, which also has the Clover Trail chip, will be available on January 8, while ASUS and Lenovo have not specified when their Clover Trail tablets will be available for purchase.

Here with more analysis is Contributing Editor John Cassaretto.  See the video below:

EU to charge Samsung with antitrust lawsuit

Though Samsung stated that they would drop their injunction claims against Apple in European countries, that didn’t seem to make any difference with the European Union who is currently investigating Samsung for possibly violating EU competition rules when they filed lawsuits against Apple.  EU competition chief Joaquin Almunia stated that they will soon release a “statements of objections soon.”

In other Samsung news, they’ve completed talks with the state government of Texas regarding plans “to invest $3.9 billion to expand system-chip production lines and that the expansion would proceed.”

Facebook halts ad network plan

Earlier this year, Facebook experimented on a new advertising plan that would allow the social giant to put their ads on other developer’s mobile apps.  They were also in talks with other publishers regarding putting up Facebook ads on their mobile websites.  Facebook knows that money comes from advertising and they were really pushing the envelop.  And though Facebook stated that the response in their efforts were positive, they still chose to postpone their mobile ad push for the meantime, with publishers stating that they doubt if Facebook will really be able to deliver ads on external sites that will produce significant value for either the network or its partners.

“We are pausing our mobile ads test off of Facebook,” said Facebook spokesman Brandon McCormick, in an e-mail to AllThingsD.  “While the results we have seen and the feedback from partners has been positive, our focus is on scaling ads in mobile news feed before ads off of Facebook. We have learned a lot from this test that will be useful in the future.”


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