Back in February, Apple announced that it was suspending push functionality for iCloud and MobileMe email users in Germany following a victory by Motorola Mobility in a patent lawsuit. As noted by Dow Jones Newswires , an appeals court has upheld that ruling, requiring that Apple continue to refrain from offering push email in the country and that the company pay unspecified damages to Motorola

Following the new Apple TV's slip to a 1-2 week shipping estimate in Apple's U.S. online store late yesterday, the first signs of Apple's supplies of the new iPad beginning to run short have now emerged , with 16 GB and 64 GB models of the AT&T 4G iPad in white now showing estimated shipping dates of March 19 in the store. All models had previously been listed as delivering on the launch date of March 16

Back in December, Motorola Mobility won a preliminary injunction against Apple in Germany that could have seen Apple barred from selling its 3G-enabled products such as the iPhone and cellular-capable iPad models in the country. Apple did indeed briefly pull all 3G devices with the exception of the iPhone 4S from its German online store earlier this month, only to put them back on sale a few hours later after a court temporarily suspended enforcement of the injunction. But FOSS Patents now reports that Apple has won a much more significant decision in the ongoing case, as a court has now ruled that Motorola can not enforce the injunction for the duration of Apple's appeal in the case

Last month, OnLive introduced its free OnLive Desktop service that allows users to run virtual instances of Microsoft Office apps streamed from OnLive's remote PCs to the users' iPads. The company has now added Adobe Acrobat Reader support to the service and introduced a paid "Desktop Plus" subscription service to provide enhanced functionality including priority access and a Flash- and PDF-enabled browser experience.

While Proview has had some success in its battle against Apple's use of the "iPad" trademark in China with minor court decisions against local retailers, the two companies are now going directly head-to-head in a higher-profile case underway in Shanghai. There has been no decision in the case yet, but lawyers for both sides spent four hours today laying out their evidence for the presiding judge. Reuters notes that Apple has gone on the offensive by citing the impact on the Chinese economy if iPad sales were to be halted, given the iPad's massive popularity and Proview's current lack of any product offering under that name.

KTVZ.com has received confirmation from Apple that the company plans to build a new data center on a 160-acre lot in Prineville, Oregon. The land was reportedly purchased for $5.6 million from Crook County. A February 15th filing first identified Apple, Inc

Qualcomm today announced the launch of its fifth-generation Gobi reference platform that seeks to pack support for nearly all of the major worldwide mobile standards into a single chip. While the reference platform is not ready in time for inclusion in the iPad 3, it does pave the way for future world-mode iOS devices and is targeted at ultra-thin notebooks and tablets. Based on Qualcomm’s Gobi 4G LTE wireless baseband modems, the MDM9615™ and MDM9215™, the technology delivers fast LTE connectivity on FDD and TDD networks worldwide, with backwards compatibility to both HSPA+ and EV-DO networks.

Apple today announced that it has extended the deadline for Mac App Store apps to implement sandboxing until June 1. The requirement had been set to go into effect on March 1 after already having been delayed from last November, but continued uncertainty about implementation and its effects on app functionality has caused Apple to again slow down the transition

Earlier today, a report from The Daily claimed that Microsoft has a "working prototype" of its Office suite for iPad, with the app reportedly set to be submitted to Apple for App Store approval "soon". The New York Times now reports that Microsoft has issued a statement denying at least some of the claims made in the original report, although the company offered no detail on what specific claims it was objecting to.

While Apple's partnership with the Fair Labor Association to conduct independent audits of working conditions at factories in Apple's supply chain has been gaining headlines in recent weeks, USA Today reports that Apple is also gearing up for independent environmental audits of several suppliers. The news comes as Apple yesterday released its annual environmental report , touting a number of new initiatives and improvements, including significant investments in alternative energy at its new North Carolina data center. Ma Jun, founder of the Institute of Public & Environmental Affairs, told USA TODAY in a phone interview Monday that Apple agreed to the independent reviews in late January in response to two reports that IPE and other environmental groups released last year documenting hazardous-waste leaks and the use of toxic chemicals at suspected Apple suppliers.