Apple and Samsung are among the companies expected to take part in an upcoming sealed-bid auction of RPO’s manufacturing assets and patent portfolio, which covers technology surrounding the company’s Digital Waveguide Touch (DWT) solution. California-based RPO Inc. filed for bankruptcy in April of this year, and an auction to liquidate its protected manufacturing processes and IP portfolio will take place on November 3rd. The company’s DWT technology, which is touted as a superior touch solution that eliminates the need for a touch-sensitive layer, is seen as appealing to Apple, Samsung and other vendors seeking new methods to improve their smartphone and tablet displays. Read on for more.

RPO’s DWT technology records touch input from a finger or stylus by registering interruptions in projected beams of light that are invisible to the naked eye. Because it eliminates the need for a touch-sensitive layer, the technology is said to be more power efficient than current resistive and capacitive touchscreen technologies. RPO also claims its technology makes displays brighter than competitive offerings, with better contrast as well.

“Apple is expected to emerge as a top contender for the DWT patents and manufacturing equipment,” technology research firm iRunway wrote in its analysis of the auction. “The absence of a touch overlay would allow Apple to show off the full capability of their Retina display screens, which are currently produced by LG Display.”

IRunway notes that the capacitive technology currently used in Apple’s iPhone and other smartphones was initially developed for use by graphic artists. “As revolutionary as the iPhone’s retina display is, it is at best a close second when compared against to the new Super AMOLED display sported by the latest Samsung smartphones,” the firm wrote. “A DWT touch screen in place of a traditional semitransparent capacitive touch overlay can give Apple back its competitive advantage at least in the display area. Apple’s motivation will be particularly acute, considering that Samsung recently showcased its own Retina resolution display.”

Samsung also stands to gain from the technology according to iRunway’s report, but not necessarily for the same reason. While DWT might offer benefits for Samsung’s entry-level displays, implementing DWT into its line high-end of Super AMOLED displays is not seen as a cost-effective option. Instead, Samsung could step in and acquire RPO’s patents to block its competitors from purchasing the technology, iRunway says.

“The RPO auction will undoubtedly fuel the ongoing smartphone/tablet wars and is set to be highly contested not only for its technology but also for the strategic and legal advantage it will provide for the winning bidder,” RPO’s report concludes. “Even though it will not hugely upset the playing field, the importance of even incremental improvements in an instantly gratifying spec can never be undermined.”

A group of companies including Apple, Microsoft, Research In Motion, Sony, EMC and Ericsson offered the winning bid in an auction that will net them Nortel’s extensive portfolio of patents. The bankrupt telecommunications company held roughly 6,000 patents, and the six-company consortium’s winning bid came in at $4.5 billion. Among the big losers were Google, which opened the bidding at $900 million, and Intel. Patents within the massive cache cover a wide range of technologies including wireless, voice, networking, optical data transmission and 4G LTE. RIM said it would be responsible for $77o million of the winning bid, and Ericsson separately stated it would pay $340 million. The rest of the companies in the consortium did not disclose their contributions.

A bankruptcy judge on Thursday approved Dish Network’s winning bid and gave it the OK to acquire Blockbuster for $320 million. Dish’s bid topped other bidders including Cobalt Video, a group of hedge funds lead by Monarch Alternative Capital, and billionaire investor Carl Icahn earlier this week at an auction for Blockbuster’s business and assets. New York Judge Burton Lifland gave his approval in bankruptcy court, and Dish will now assume control of 1,700 remaining Blockbuster locations, the company’s DVD-by-mail business and its streaming video business. Now that a judge has approved the deal, Dish is expected to pay roughly $228 million for Blockbuster when factoring in the value of the fallen video giant’s remaining cash and other assets. Proceeds from the sale will help Blockbuster’s creditors, which include multiple movie studios and Carl Icahn, reclaim a portion of the $1 billion they are collectively owed.

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Pending approval at a hearing scheduled for Thursday, Dish Network will acquire Blockbuster Inc. following an auction that took place earlier this week. The company’s winning bid was approximately $320 million but the acquisition is expected to land at about $228 million in cash, taking into account Blockbuster’s inventory, available cash and other adjustments. Blockbuster was put up for sale at an auction on Monday following its recent bankruptcy filing, and several companies competed for control of Blockbuster’s business and assets. Dish’s winning bid topped several other bidders including Cobalt Video, a group of hedge funds lead by Monarch Alternative Capital, and billionaire investor Carl Icahn. “Blockbuster will complement our existing video offerings while presenting cross-marketing and service extension opportunities for Dish Network,” said Dish Network’s EVP of sales, marketing and programing, Tom Cullen.

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The business of smartphone production is starting to look more like the a John Grisham legal novel. While handset makers try to out-innovate each other with high-end, spec-heavy handsets consumers will flock to, lawyers are trying to out-flank each other with patent suits and red-tape. No longer can you have an armada of talented engineers and a driven executive team, you also must possess a war chest of hardware and software patents to prevent your company from entering litigation limbo — just Google the words Nokia, Apple, and patent if you don’t know what we’re talking about.

In an effort to protect itself from this corporate conundrum, Google has announced a $900 million bid for over 6,000 patents currently owned by Nortel. As the company’s Senior Vice President & General Counsel, Kent Walker, explained in a blog post: “The tech world has recently seen an explosion in patent litigation, often involving low-quality software patents, which threatens to stifle innovation. Some of these lawsuits have been filed by people or companies that have never actually created anything; others are motivated by a desire to block competing products or profit from the success of a rival’s new technology.”

Trying to prevent this, Google has publicly stated that its $900 million offer has been selected as the “striking-horse bid” for Nortel’s portfolio of patents in the company’s upcoming bankruptcy auction. “The patent system should reward those who create the most useful innovations for society, not those who stake bogus claims or file dubious lawsuits,” continues  Walker. “In the absence of meaningful reform, we believe it’s the best long-term solution for Google, our users and our partners.”

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The fate of Blockbuster is now up for auction. On Monday Blockbuster’s next owner, and future, will be decided. According to Reuters, it’s possible that a new owner could close the video rental chain, liquidate it entirely, or continue operations in a bid to compete with the likes of Netflix and the growing number of online media streaming services. Reportedly, Dish Network Corp. and Carl Icahn have already placed bids for the company, and SK Telecom is also interested. Monarch Alternative Capital LP opened the bidding at $290 million in February when Blockbuster put itself up for sale, and bids last week needed to be less than $296 million to qualify. It’s unclear how much Dish or Icahn bid on Blockbuster, but Dish Network reportedly has plans to continue building Blockbuster’s online movie offering should it win the auction. After a new owner is decided on Monday, it will have to be approved by bankruptcy judge on April 7th before the deal can move forward. Blockbuster filed for bankruptcy in September 2010.

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Speaking to Reuters recently, Iraq’s communications minister, Mohammed Allawi, said he believes the auction for a fourth mobile phone operator license at the end of this year could fetch between $1 billion and $2 billion. Similarly, Allawi said that the licensing fees, installation and equipment required to install a new network would cost between $1 billion and $2 billion. 40% of the revenues raised from the auction would be given to the mobile operator, 35% would be given to the public, and the final 25% would be given to Iraq’s communication ministry. In 2007 AsiaCell, Korek Telcom, and Zain paid $1.25 billion each for 15-year mobile phone operator licenses. Allawi hopes that the fourth license will be used for faster data networks. “Regarding the fourth license, the most important thing about it is that we are going for more advanced technology,” Allawi said. ”Until this moment, we have no 3G in Iraq, we have no 4G. We have only GSM.”

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The FCC today announced that it will hold an auction on July 19, 2011 for sixteen licenses in the 700MHz spectrum. The government agency has two licenses that operate in the 698-704MHz and 728-734MHz frequencies (Block A) along with fourteen licenses that operate in the 704-710MHz and 734-740MHz frequencies (Block B); all sixteen licenses have a 2 x 6MHz pairing and 12MHz of bandwidth. The 700MHz spectrum is currently what wireless providers AT&T and Verizon Wireless are using to build out their 4G, LTE networks in the United States. The proceeding has been designated with the name “Auction 92.”

[Via Phone Scoop]

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The AP reports that U.S. President Barack Obama will “double the available amount of wireless communications spectrum over the next 10 years in an effort to keep up with the ever-growing demand for high-speed video and data transmission to cell phones, laptops and other mobile devices.” The plan, which will call for the auctioning off of 500 MHz of federally owned spectrum, will be put into a Presidential Memorandum to be signed today. The White House, in an official statement said: “This initiative will catalyze private sector investment, contribute to economic growth and help to create hundreds of thousands of jobs.” The AP went onto report that revenue generated from the auction would go to “public safety, infrastructure investments and deficit reduction.”

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Remember all those rumors that surfaced last year and spoke of an upgraded iPod Twith an on-board camera? Now is your chance to get your hands on not one, but two iPod Touch prototypes with the aforementioned rear-facing camera. The iPod Touches are designated DVT-1 and DVT-2 and are thought to be units produced for testing by Apple’s development team. These pieces of iPod history fell into the hands of the seller when he purchased them at a flea market from another seller who originally purchased them at an auction. One iPod is completely non-functional while the other boots and reveals a partially complete SwitchBoard OS. Interesting, isn’t it? Hit the jump for a few more shots of the prototypes.

[Via 9to5 Mac]

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Score one for Google and company as the FCC has cleared the way for the use of the white space spectrum for free, nationwide wireless internet service. Calling the reports of interference by the opposition as being “overblown”, recent tests conducted by FCC engineers in Seattle showed that the white space could be used for wireless internet service without a significant risk of harmful interference. Bad news for T-Mobile who has vehemently opposed the plan as their recently launched 3G network, which they purchased for $4 billion a few years ago by the way, borders this white space spectrum. D’oh! The FCC is expected to finalize the rules for the usage and allocation of the spectrum in preparation for an auction sometime in early to mid-2009. Free wireless Internet access that will reach 50% of the U.S. population in four years and 95% within a decade? Bring it on!

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