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Crytek, the developers behind the Crysis series of games, are said to be in the advance stages of building a new social gaming network called GFACE that will be capable of some pretty amazing things. In addition to the features you’d expect from any social network, such as the ability to communicate with friends and share your experiences, GFACE will boast an impressive game streaming service that allows you to team up with friends and play together from a number of different devices. Think of it as Facebook meets OnLive… only better.

New numbers show Android-based tablets are gaining on the reigning champ, Apple’s iPad. Although Android owns 39 percent of the tablet market, some question whether there’s a ringer: Amazon’s Kindle Fire. The device is the first non-Apple tablet to lay a hand on the iPad, but uses a highly-customized version of Google’s mobile operating system. How much of Android’s gains are due to its barely-recognizable distant cousin, twice removed?

Since the Absinthe jailbreak tool was released for Apple’s A5-powered devices last week, we’ve seen all sorts of tweaks that maximize Siri functionality on the iPhone 4S. The latest is one of the most impressive. It’s called Lingual, and it provides quick and easy voice translation to over 30 languages, using Microsoft Bing Translate API.

Motorola Mobility sued Apple in a Florida court on Wednesday for violating 6 wireless technology patents found in the iPhone 4S and iCloud. The patents in question relate to antenna, software, data filtering, and messaging technology.

Google recently acquired Motorola for $12.5 billion and is in the process of merging with the company. While Google is not directly involved with this specific case, Motorola’s lawsuit can definitely be seen as another attempt to protect patent ammunition for the ongoing legal war between the top smartphone manufacturers. In fact, this is the closest Apple and Google have ever come to fighting in the courtroom.

Beginning March 1st, Google will roll most of its privacy policies into one new main privacy policy to cover the majority of its products. Google has been slowly working towards the goal of creating a unified and more personal experience across their products and the new privacy policy is just another step in that direction.

Apple is one of the best-known brands, so no wonder it paid Google just $18 million in 2011 for search traffic. By comparison, HP and Dell, which are breathing heavy to keep ahead of the Cupertino, Calif. tech giant ranked No. 1 and No. 2 for spending big bucks flogging their products online.

An interesting report from Boy Genius Report claims that Research In Motion is eyeing Samsung as its new daddy. The defunct BlackBerry-maker is apparently considering a last resort to stay afloat amid depressing sales and investor qualms.

According to BGR, Research In Motion wants to sell itself for up to $15 billion to Samsung. Considering the patent war that companies like Apple are fighting at present, Samsung could buy RIM to reinforce its patent portfolio. (Although RIM’s own portfolio may not be that valuable after all.)

What’s this? Android news on Cult of Mac? Who cares? Maybe you don’t, maybe you do. Point is: these are a few of the popular topics going on in the Android world today. Maybe you’d like to know what the competition is up to, or perhaps your aunt received a Kindle Fire she needs to update. Regardless of the reason, having a resource such as Cult of Android allows you to learn more about what’s going on with the competition. You know what they say: the best way to beat the enemy is to know which way they’re moving!/em>

LAS VEGAS, CES 2012 — Over the past year, Nokia has been making steady incremental improvements to reshape the company’s image by showing the world that greatness doesn’t come to those who merely copy what the best company is doing. Greatness is achieved by setting yourself apart from the competition by taking a radically different path than everyone else. Apple has known this fact for decades and have used it become the most admired company in the world, and during Nokia’s press conference today it was readily apparent that the only company that should be viewed as a truly worthy adversary to Apple in the mobile market is Nokia.

A group of Chinese authors have reportedly filed a lawsuit against Apple in Beijing claiming that the Cupertino company is infringing copyright with books sold through its iBookstore. The Chinese financial magazine Caixin reports that nine authors from the China Written Works Copyright Society (CWWCS) are involved in the suit, which is hoping to secure 11.9 million yuan ($1.9 million) in compensation.

LAS VEGAS, CES 2102 — The Consumer Electronics Show is kicking off with some sobering news. Smartphones and tablets are eating all other electronics alive, says the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), the organizer of the show.

“Smartphones and tablets are really sucking up most consumer spending,” said Steve Koenig, director of research at CEA, during a Sunday afternoon opening keynote outlining key trends for the industry this coming year.

It’s hard living in a post-PC world, especially if you’re chip giant Intel. A Wall Street analyst downgraded the company from “Buy” to “Neutral” after key PC makers signaled plans to adopt rival ARM – not to mention the smartphones and tablets also throwing sand in Intel’s face.

Google’s button cute VP of Location and Local Services, Marissa Mayer, has long been a self-avowed Apple fan. Heck, she once nominated Steve Jobs as the 2010 Time Magazine Person of the Year, and now, she’s openly singing the praises of Apple’s Airport range of wireless routers on her Google+ account.

If you thought pulling a rabbit out of your hat was cutting-edge magic, you haven’t talked to Apple CEO Tim Cook lately. Give him three months, and Cook can convert 300,000 Apple shares into almost $100 million dollars. Pretty neat trick, huh? In fact, Cook leads all Silicon Valley executives in the largest cash haul from company stock, according to just-released data.

There’s nothing like a family fight and one may be brewing between Android creator Google and the Kindle Fire, one of the few Android-based tablets able to lay a finger on the iPad’s overwhelming success. Although unconfirmed, a report suggests the Internet giant is planning to unveil its own tablet in early 2012 that could undercut Amazon’s price advantage. It brings tears of joy to the eyes of Apple fans.

Google has updated its popular Google Translate app for iOS today, introducing native support for the iPad. Instead of running in a small window in the center of screen, the app will now take advantage of your iPad’s large display to make text translation easier on the go.

What’s this? Android news on Cult of Mac?! Who the hell cares?! Maybe you don’t, maybe you do. Point is: these are a few of the popular topics going on in the Android world today. Maybe you’d like to know what the competition is up to, or perhaps your aunt received a Kindle Fire she needs to update. Regardless of the reason, having a resource such as Cult of Android allows you to learn more about what’s going on in the ecosystem powered by the world’s leading mobile OS.

Finland is far from the minds of most iPhone users. However, the frigid, Nordic country is huge on carriers’ radar because it is there that text messaging was born and where it could very well die. The number of Christmas Eve texts in Finland fell off a cliff, plummeting to 8.9 million from 10.9 million in 2010. With text messages accounting for 20 percent of carrier revenue, its enough to give companies nightmares — but this bad dream is far from over.

What’s this? Android news on Cult of Mac?! Who the hell cares?! Maybe you don’t, maybe you do. Point is: these are a few of the popular topics going on in the Android world today. Maybe you’d like to know what the competition is up to, or perhaps your aunt received a Kindle Fire she needs to update. Regardless of the reason, having a resource such as Cult of Android allows you to learn more about what’s going on in the ecosystem powered by the world’s leading mobile OS.

Sometimes, in the race between Apple and Android we lose sight of the larger picture. Such is the case when tech media reported the Google-created mobile software leading iOS 46.9 percent versus 28.7 percent. In fact, a year-long review paints an entirely different scene – one that proves the old tale of the tortoise and the hare.

The popular jailbreak tweak vWallpaper has received a pretty significant update that finally brings live home screen wallpapers to iPhones running Apple’s latest iOS 5 software.

This rare photograph of Steve Jobs demonstrates the Apple co-founder’s infamous rebellious spirit as he “flips the bird” outside an IBM building in New York City. It was taken in 1983 when the Macintosh team visited the city for a meeting with Newsweek, and was posted to Google+ today by Andy Hertzfield, a member of the original Macintosh development team.

A recently discovered Apple patent reveals that the Cupertino company could be planning to introduction facial recognition technology to its Mac and iOS devices. The system would allow users to login to multi-user machines using only their face, much like the facial recognition feature recently introduced to Google’s Android operating system.