Those who use jailbroken iPhones and enjoy pirating software are in for a rude awakening as Apple uses the DMCA to take out a frequently used service - Apptrackr. According to Apptrackr developer "Dissident," Apple has sent what he calls "huge takedown notices" to cut off access to pirated apps found through the software. Apptrackr has decided to move the physical location of its servers outside the United States to get around Apple's legal maneuvers and is also employing a form of redirection to avoid "direct" links to infringing content.

According to new data released by app analytics firm Flurry, 1.2 billion applications were downloaded for Android and iOS devices between December 25 and December 31. Earlier in the week the group predicted that in that same period it expected new Android and iOS device activations to be right around 6.8 million. Now they are saying that the number is probably closer to 20 million.

Mojang business developer Daniel Kaplan recently told Gamasutra that he did not know what version 1.0 of the mobile versions of Minecraft - Minecraft Pocket Edition for Sony's Xperia Play and iOS - would look like.

"Oh, wow, I really don’t know, said Kaplan. "I can't answer that."

An interesting report on ShackNews reveals that some PC modifications created for Grand Theft Auto III will actually work with the recently released Android and iOS versions of the game. While the process of getting them to work is a bit cumbersome and might be complicated for some users, the results can lead to importing new cars, textures, songs, and more into the game.

AT&T has officially announced that its merger plan with T-Mobile is pushing up daises, but it also takes a few shots at the government for running interference to kill the deal. The $39 billion deal with T-Mobile parent company - Germany-based Deutsche Telekom - fell apart after government regulators from the FCC and the Justice Department took AT&T to task over what the company claimed the deal would accomplish. The Justice Department sued to block the deal in late August, calling it anti-competitive and warning that  it could raise consumer prices.

The RIAA has given Google bad marks for its fight against piracy in 2011, according to this Ars Technica report. One year ago Google made several promises to combat piracy on various web sites and the RIAA's report card says that those promises have not been met with swift action or progress.

According to the BBC, British telecommunications powerhouse BT has filed a lawsuit against Google, alleging that its Android mobile operating system and other services it provides infringe on six patents it holds. The lawsuit alleges that Google’s Android, Google Music, Google Maps, Google Search, Google Places, Google Offers, Google+, and Google's location-based advertising infringe on various patents it holds.

California has launched a new eCrime unit to combat various online crimes. The new law enforcement unit created by California Attorney General Kamala Harris and announced Tuesday, aims take on various "cyber crimes" such as email scams, online fraud, piracy, child pornography, and real-world theft of computer gear by organized crime.

"Today's criminals increasingly use the Internet, smartphones, and other digital devices to victimize people online and offline," Harris said while unveiling the unit in the Silicon Valley city of San Jose.

Amazon said today that Kindle has been selling more than a million units a week, and that Kindle Fire is the biggest product launch in the company's history. Dave Limp, vice president of Amazon Kindle, said that Kindle Fire "is the most successful product" Amazon's ever launched and that it's been Amazon's best-selling product for 11 straight weeks. He didn't give details.

According to this Ars Technica report, Apple has allied itself with a known patent troll to take out its enemies. The company has had some covert dealings with Digitude Innovations, a company that enjoys being paid in patents so it can beat the hell out of companies in court.

On Tuesday Microsoft revealed an app store for Windows 8 apps. Some of the features being touted by Microsoft's Antoine Leblond at the time included an app discovery system inside and outside of the online marketplace, built-in app trials, support for x86 and ARM-based hardware, and a flexible business model. What he didn't talk too much about were the store's new terms of service. A section of it informs users that the company reserves the right to remotely "kill" or "remove" access to apps for security or legal reasons.

OnLive brings its cloud-based gaming services to smartphones and tablets with a new app for iOS and Android. The app allows those that subscribe to the service to stream playable PC games to smartphones and tablets. Some companies, such as Rockstar Games are even working with OnLive to tailor the experience; the company is creating a specific touch screen interface for L.A. Noire as part of a collection of 25 games with reconfigured controls ready for the launch.

Watchdog groups and governments in Europe are taking a closer look at Carrier IQ's tracking software, to make sure those mobile phone vendors and operators who use it are not violating users' privacy or the law. The Bavarian State Office for Data Protection recently sent a letter to Apple asking it how it uses Carrier IQ's software.

Ever since Trevor Eckhart uncovered the true nature of Carrier IQ, a program that monitors everything that's going on on a smartphone it is installed on, it has been dominating headlines. Consumers are obviously concerned about their privacy - particularly if they happened to be a customer of a company that used the software like Sprint, AT&T, and T-Mobile. While the company that makes the software insists the software is not malicious, several parties have decided to sue them for allegedly violating federal wiretap laws.

While Apple managed to get a number of preliminary injunctions against Samsung in other countries in their ongoing battle of trademark disputes related to iOS devices, it looks like the US courts aren't playing ball. US District Judge Judy Koh has denied Apple's request for a preliminary injunction that would have barred Samsung from selling its Galaxy brand tablets and smartphones on Friday. While thing could go Apple's way eventually after a full trial, the decision allows Samsung to continue to sell its Android-based devices without interference from the courts or Apple.

The ESRB and CTIA have finally revealed details on the voluntary rating system for mobile apps that was revealed last week. The ratings system currently has the support of six major mobile service and hardware providers including AT&T, Microsoft, Sprint, T-Mobile USA, U.S. Cellular and Verizon Wireless. Apple and Google did not throw their support behind the new ratings system because they already have their own process and system in place - and it has been refined to their satisfaction.

The Entertainment Software Review Board (ESRB) has teamed up with trade group Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association to create a standardized rating system for mobile applications and games. The ESRB says that the new ratings system will be "based on age-appropriateness of their content and context," according to Gamasutra. An official announcement on the new ratings system will take place next Tuesday in Washington, DC.

Ford is sponsoring what it calls the "largest Words with Friends" game ever to promote its all-new Ford Escape. The public gaming event will take place tomorrow at 11:00pm - Wednesday at 12:00am at Hollywood Blvd and Highland Ave or on the company's Facebook page via a livestream.

Free-to-play MMO company Nexon is planning an initial public offering on the Tokyo Stock Exchange next month, according to a TechCrunch report. The IPO is reportedly worth $1.3 billion USD, or ¥100 billion. The TechCrunch report is based on a report in the Japanese business paper The Nikkei. If the valuation turns out to be accurate, it could make Nexon the most valuable IPO in Japan this year. The IPO will be handled by Nomura Securities, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs, with Nexon expected to be approved for the listing by the end of the week.

New research released by Newzoo digs a little deeper into the lucrative Chinese and Korean online gaming markets. The research focused on the 190 million Chinese (76 percent) and 26 million Korean (60 percent) consumers ages 15 to 50 - who make up the majority of those who play games in those countries. Newzoo found that both countries were passionate about MMO games, with 100 million MMO gamers in China and 8 million in Korea. While both countries enjoy games, players in each country have different preferences when it comes to social and mobile gaming.

Zipline Games CEO Todd Hooper isn't buying into all the hype of HTML5 being a great platform for mobile game development. In a lengthy interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Hooper said that excitement about HTML5 is being created by forces outside of the games industry, giving a false impression of its importance to developers.

Bloomberg reports that Samsung Electronics has finally overtaken Apple in the last quarter to become the world’s largest smartphone vendor. Both companies have been embroiled in legal battles all over the world because of various patent infringement claims. Samsung shipped 27.8 million smartphones in the last quarter, taking around 23.8 percent of the market, according to Milton Keynes from U.K.- based Strategy Analytics. Apple’s 17.1 million shipments equated to 14.6 percent of the market. Nokia maintained a third-place position.

According to a C&VG report, Sony has confirmed that it will pay around 900 million Euros (roughly $1.28 billion USD, according to current exchange rates) to Ericsson to get out of its decade-old joint mobile phone venture with the company. This will allow Sony to integrate its smartphone business with its gaming, tablet and PC businesses. In turn, Sony should be able to cut costs and synchronize its product development strategy.

French mobile publisher Gameloft acknowledged on Thursday that a security breach forced it to temporarily take down one of its web sites. Reports began surfacing on the company's forums earlier this week, suggesting that the GameloftLive.com Web site had been experiencing problems and that some accounts had been compromised. After a poster suggested that users stay away from the site and that Gameloft fix the problem, the web site was taken down.

The Federal Communications Commission and the nation's wireless carriers have hammered out an agreement that will have wireless operators notifying customers when they are nearing their monthly limits on usage for voice, text, or data services. The FCC estimates that tens of millions of wireless phone subscribers are hit with overage charges each year; their data is based on their own studies on the issue, as well as data from the Government Accountability Office and private research firms.

Android piracy rates for Appy Entertainment’s Facefighter game app were 2,330 percent higher than on the iOS version of its game, according to studio exec Steven Sargent. The Appy exec said the developer also had problems with the compatibility of smartphones, with the first customer complaint coming within hours of FaceFighter’s release.

According to a new report called "Digital Omnivores: How Tablets, Smartphones and Connected Devices are Changing US Digital Media Consumption Habits," Apple's iPad held 97.2 percent of all tablet internet traffic in the US in August 2011.

New research by Knowledge Networks shows that tablet users age 18 - 64 spend 4 hours, 19 minutes on the Internet daily, compared to 2 hours 55 minutes for all consumers 18 - 64. this represents a net difference of 84 minutes, or 48 percent.

Tablet owners spend, on average, 55 minutes a day on the Internet. Around 24 minutes of that time is spent using social networking sites, gaming, and searching. Mobile devices (smartphones and/or tablets) account for 38 percent of tablet owners’ online use, compared to 14 percent for the general 18 - 64 year-old population.

The third largest wireless carrier in the United States is betting on the iPhone 5 in a big way. Sprint Nextel Corp. will pay Apple a whopping $20 billion dollars to give its customers access to iPhone 5, according to the Wall Street Journal. The company's top executive told Sprint's board that he expects to lose money on the deal until sometime in 2014.

According to a new report from research firm Strategy Analytics' Tablet and Touchscreen Strategies service, Amazon will sell 15 million Kindle Fire tablet devices by 2013. The forecast was published this week in "Amazon's Fire Reignites Entry-Level Tablet Market," and comes to this conclusion under assumption that Amazon will add two additional Fire models between now and 2013. It also assumes that Amazon will make the device available to Western Europe, Japan and other developed markets during 2012.