A federal judge last week ruled that a class action cannot hold Apple responsible for apps on the iPhone and iPad that sold their users' data to advertisers. Jonathan Lalo was the lead plaintiff on a class action filed in 2010 claiming Apple had approved apps for the iPhones and iPads that intercepted personal information and tracked users' habits without authorization.

According to two separate reports, Apple is in discussions with the makers of the Kinect motion sensing technology to buy the company out. According to reports on AllThingsD and Calcalist, Apple is in serious talks to buy out Israel-based PrimeSense for $345 million.

GungHo Online Entertainment's Puzzle & Dragons has surpassed two million downloads in North America, which is pretty impressive but pales in comparison to previous numbers in other regions. Puzzle & Dragons is available for free on the App Store and Google Play. To date, Puzzle & Dragons has collectively reached 23 million downloads in Japan, North America and Korea alone.

Atlanta-based indie game developer Secret Library can't seem to catch a break from Apple. It submitted its retro 8-bit iOS game Hot Mess to the App store and had it rejected because it contained animated naked people kissing. In Hot Mess players step into the shoes of a firefighting robot who goes haywire and mistakes the burning passion of romance as the flames that burns down houses. He thinks couples kissing is dangerous and therefore tries to hose them down to avoid fires...

While more people are downloading apps via Google Play for Android devices of various shapes and sizes, Apps on the Apple App Store are making more money, according to the new App Annie's third quarter 2013 report.

Apple claims that its iPhone sales has grown 26 percent in its fourth quarter, thanks to two new iPhones. As part of its fourth-quarter earnings report for the period ended September 28, Apple saw iPhone saw sales jump by 26 percent.

Apple today revealed the iPad Air, a new re-imagining of its iPad line of tablets. The new system promises to be 20 percent thinner and a slimmer outer bezel that's 43% narrower than the previous iPad model. The iPad Air will also offer 9.7-inch Retina display, the new A7 64-bit chip that debuted in the iPhone 5S, MIMO tech (Multiple-In-Multiple-Out) for Wifi, a 5MP 'iSight' camera supporting 1080p video, dual microphones for stereo sound, and up to 10 hours of battery life.

The iPad Air will start at $499 for the WiFi only model in black, grey and white.

AllThingsD is reporting that Apple will reveal a new version of the iPad at the end of this month. At an event on Oct. 29, Apple will reveal the new iPad and make some other product announcements, according to the report.

The UK's Office of Fair Trading (OFT) is warning app and game developers that high-pressure monetization in programs that are aimed at children needs to be avoided going forward. The OFT made its announcement today after months of investigation (which began in April) into allegations that some free online apps and games for children were using questionable tactics to get children to purchase in-game items - often without parental consent. The OFT examined 38 games related to this practice and drafted a set of guidelines for UK developers.

Apple is denying that it paid publisher Electronic Arts to delay the release of the Android version of the game. The denial relates to a statement by EA executive Frank Gibeau that the iOS device-maker paid EA to delay the Android release of Plants vs Zombies 2. That statement was made in an internal company presentation by Gibeau, as reported by GiantBomb.

Apple announced that its two new iPhones - the iPhone 5C and 5S - have collectively sold more than nine million units in their first three days of availability. We're certainly not shocked by those numbers, nor is Apple CEO Tim Cook:

"This is our best iPhone launch yet," beamed Apple's Tim Cook. "More than nine million new iPhones sold is a new record for first weekend sales."

Apple also said that the new operating system for its phone and tablet devices - iOS 7 - is now being used on more than 200 million iOS devices.

In a highly competitive promotion against Apple's favorite tablet, Microsoft has decided to give consumers willing to turn in that old iPad a couple of hundred bucks in their store - presumably to spend on their Surface tablet... The promotion, which runs until October 27, allows people to trade in their "gently used" iPad 2, 3, or 4 tablets to receive a minimum of a $200 gift card to the Microsoft Store.

The Obama administration has lifted an International Trade Commission ban on older models of Apple's iOS devices (iPhones and iPads). As a general rule, presidents do not intervene in cases handled by the ITC - the last time an ITC ban was overturned was in 1987. The news was revealed over the weekend by U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman, who announced that  he would stop both an import ban and a cease-and-desist order that would have required Apple to remove the products from shelves.

According to this Reuters report, the Taiwanese company Pegatron Corp. is being accused of forced overtime, low wages and the use of underage workers. Pegatron is one of several companies that works in Apple's supply chain for various iOS devices. So who is accusing the company of such horrendous practices?

In an interview with GamesBeat, EA's Frank Gibeau revealed a couple of interesting facts about the company. The first fact he revealed is that Apple was the company's biggest partner in the last quarter, raking in an estimated $90 million in app sales. The game that made the most money for EA on iOS devices was The Simpsons: Tapped Out. EA's sales through Apple's Store represented about 18 percent of its business.

Apple and Amazon have settled a lawsuit (Apple Inc v. Amazon.com Inc et al, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, Case No. 11-01327) over who has the right to use the term "app store," as a destination to sell applications for their respective platforms. U.S. District Judge Phyllis Hamilton in Oakland, California, on Tuesday dismissed the case at the companies' request, killing a trial that was set to begin on August 19. The settlement came about when Apple promised not to sue, and Amazon promised to ditch its counterclaim in the case.

With Apple's App Store celebrating five years in business, Apple has decided to release its list of the best selling games and apps for the iPhone and iPad. It should come as no surprise that Rovio's Angry Birds is all over these lists. The original game is the number one best-selling paid app on iPhone. In fact, various versions of the game are on the Best Selling Paid App charts for both devices and Angry Birds HD Free is #4 on the Most Popular Free Apps chart for iPad.

Other popular titles include Fruit Ninja, Cut The Rope, Words With Friends, and Temple Run.

As part of a settlement deal back in February, Apple agreed to pay settlements to parents whose children supposedly bought in-app purchases in kids' games on iOS "accidently" and without their parents' consent. Now the company has provided a means for claiming compensation. Apple has launched a dedicated website where parents can claim either a $5 iTunes Store credit or iTunes credit equal to the amount of in-app purchases made with a 45-day period.

On May 3 Apple said that it was very close to hitting 50 billion app download mark on its App store. Today the company announced that its App Store has surpassed the milestone - which they point out does not include re-downloads of apps or updates by users. While we do not know the exact data and time this milestone was met, we do know who the person was that downloaded the 5 billionth app: Ohio's Brandon Ashmore. Apple awarded him a $10,000 App Store gift card, and his app of choice - the word game Say the Same Thing by Space Inch.

An investigation examining 400 apps conducted by Develop shows that there is a lack of consistency in the way in-game purchases are presented on digital stores. The investigation follows the UK government agency the Office of Fair Trading’s recent announcement that it would investigate in-app purchases in children’s games.

This week the European Commission issued a preliminary antitrust ruling against Google’s Motorola Mobility related to its heavy handed tactics against Apple in German Courts. The finding could ultimately lead to a large fine for Motorola (and by extension Google) and could lead to Motorola being forced to enter an agreement with competitors to license its patents for a reasonable royalty rate.

Courthouse News reports that Apple's plan to settle with parents over its failure to get parental consent before minors made purchases in various apps has been approved by a federal court. Apple's settlement would provide all class members with a minimum $5 iTunes store credit (or cash payment for those who no longer have an iTunes account), according to court documents.

Apple announced today that its app store is nearing the 50 billion app download mark. Since its launch, the Apple App Store has seen almost 50 billion downloads of various apps for its iOS devices. Apple also announced that the person who downloads the 50 billionth app will receive a $10,000 App Store gift card, while $500 gift cards will be given to the individuals who download the first 50 after that milestone.

Apple has won another battle this month at the U.S. International Trade Commission. The ruling dismissed patent claims by Google's Motorola Mobility against Apple's iPhone. If Motorola had prevailed, the ITC could have instituted a ban on imports of the iPhone into the United States from Apple's manufacturers in China.

When Apple applied for a trademark for the smaller sized iPad last year, the US Patent and Trademark Office replied to its request by saying that the description for it was not enough to warrant approval because it would be covered under what it already holds for the iPad.

Apple has refused to include Auroch Digital's Endgame: Syria on the Apple App Store and has removed Sweatshop HD - a collaboration between U.K. studio Littleloud and Channel 4, according to this Polygon report. Both games, it seems are a little too controversial for Apple.

Humble Bundle 5 with Android has added three more games into the mix to entice those who have yet to purchase this pay-what-you-want DRM-free PC and Android game bundle - and to reward those who have already taken the plunge. The new Android/Windows/Mac/Linux games include Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP, Splice, and Crayon Physics Deluxe. Soundtracks are also included. Beat Hazard Ultra, Dynamite Jack, Solar 2, NightSky HD, Super Hexagon, and Dungeon Defenders.

Apparently Apple has filed a patent application that would allow them to - get this - develop a system that would allow the resale and transfer of "used" digital goods. The new patent application published by the USPTO shows how Apple might be able to enable users to resell or lend digital content they’ve purchased in the past. The patent accounts for transfers that can take place either through the original content provider’s store or directly between users. The method described would also allow for transfers of content that is stored in the cloud.

It looks like Apple has just gotten its hand slapped away from Samsung's cookie jar - according to a report this morning on AllThingsD. Judge Lucy Koh, the judge overseeing the Apple-Samsung patent trial threw out part of the billion dollar verdict Apple had previously won in the long-running case and ordered a new trial to determine damages for patent infringement.

Apple has agreed to settle a class action lawsuit related to children inadvertently making purchases in the Apple Store for iOS devices, according to Reuters. The class action lawsuit concerned customers who were charged when their children downloaded applications from the company's online store.