As is usual on the morning of the launch of an iPhone, there were queues outside Apple retail stores so long that even the Parisian paparazzi struggled to capture the scenes with their hi-tech lenses. But although the majority of those sleeping rough for several nights to be among the first to own the slightly thinner, slightly taller and slightly faster version of last year’s phone were hardcore Apple fans, an increasing proportion were opportunists, lining up to be caught on camera in their promotional t-shirts or selling their space in line for four figure sums.

In an effort to consolidate its position as the third biggest player in the smartphone ecosystem, Finnish handset manufacturer Nokia has unveiled two devices running on Microsoft’s Windows Phone 8 platform.The move comes less than a week after Samsung pipped Nokia to the post with a view of the first Windows Phone 8 device to be seen.

Sanjay Jha, who revived Motorola’s devices business and led the company through its acquisition, has been replaced as CEO, after Google finalised its takeover of the firm.

Motorola Mobility has posted a loss of $86m in its first-quarter earnings for 2012. The loss is $5m deeper than the $81m loss the company made in the same quarter last year. The firm, which is on the verge of being acquired by Google, is still to post an annual profit, having recorded losses for the four years since it was established.

Telecoms firms reported mixed fortunes in their fourth quarter earnings results, with Samsung having reason to celebrate, Motorola Mobility reporting an average quarter and AT&T taking a huge hit.

Google’s takeover of Motorola Mobility has hit a stumbling block as the European Commission (EC) has suspended its review of the merger. An EC spokesperson confirmed to Telecoms.com that it “needs certain documents from Google that are essential to its evaluation of the transaction”.

The LTE North America awards 2011 are taking place on the 8th November 2011 at the Fairmont Hotel in Dallas, Texas, USA. The awards celebrate the innovation and excellence in that has taken place over the past 12 months in the LTE industry and features 60 nominees across 9 categories. In the lead up to the awards, we are featuring close looks at each of the companies shortlisted and here we bring you a preview of the category: Best Enabling Technology for LTE.

The ongoing patent disputes between Apple and Google and its Android partners is killing innovation, according to Malik Saadi, principal analyst at Informa Telecoms & Media.

Google’s entry in the mobile phone hardware market with the acquisition of Motorola Mobility seems to be the outcome of the company’s desire to acquire the 17,000+ patents that Motorola holds and compete more effectively with Apple and other smartphone/OS vendors. The acquisition will however, not only have an impact on the handset market but possibly will also have a big impact on the mobile services market. In particular, this may help Google to accelerate the growth of the m-commerce market.