The resignation of Steve Jobs from Apple has reignited the debate over the extent to which the company’s success and it’s charismatic leader are inseparable. Commenting on Jobs’ departure, Ovum’s chief analyst Jan Dawson suggested that there are “reasons to fear” for Apple’s future if this latest news suggests, as many believe, that Jobs health is failing.

A ban on the sale of Samsung’s Galaxy Tab in Europe that was put in place earlier this month has been lifted already, albeit temporarily, while authorities investigate the legitimacy of the original ruling. A German court instigated the EU-wide ban (excluding the Netherlands) on the import and sale of the tablet device, after complaints from Apple that the Galaxy imitated its iPad product.

The bunfight for Nortel’s patent chest concluded yesterday, with Chief Strategy Officer George Riedel’s announcement that “following a very robust auction”, the winning bid came from a buyer too big for even Google to take on. Following months of speculation and a $900m kick-off bid from Mountain View, the booty has gone to a consortium that reads like a Who’s Who of the tech industry: Apple, EMC, Ericsson, Microsoft, RIM and Sony. Even with names like that in the mix, the $4.5bn price paid is still pretty eye-watering or, as Nortel’s Riedel preferred to put it, “unprecedented.”

Taiwan’s Taipei City Government has accused Google of attempting “to hold Taiwan’s consumers hostage, in exchange for the privilege of refusing to follow Taiwanese law.” The accusation arises from a dispute between Google and Taiwanese regulators that has resulted in the suspension of all paid-for applications in the Android market in that country.