Google results: $774m spent on IT, with more to come

Google has reported  a 10% increase in net income in the second quarter of 2012, reaching $2.79bn, compared to $2.51bn in the same period last year.

Revenue from the UK was  $1.18bn, representing 11% of Google sales. Total revenue was $12.21bn, up 35% year on year, including recent acquisitions. Advertising and other revenues grew 21% to $10.96bn. 

During the quarter the company spent $774m on IT infrastructure investments, including datacentres, servers, and networking equipment.

The company also completed the acquisition of Motorola Mobility, launched Google Drive and Google Maps Coordinate, as well as the ability to edit Google Apps documents off-line.

“Google standalone had a strong quarter with 21% year-on-year revenue growth, and we launched a bunch of exciting new products – in particular the Nexus 7 tablet, which has received rave reviews,” said CEO Larry Page.

The operating loss for Motorola was $233m - made up from $192m for the mobile segment and $41m for the home segment - equivalent to 19% of Motorola revenues in the second quarter of 2012.

CFO Patrick Pichette noted, “We can expect Motorola to continue to show some accounting variability, as is typical with the closing of such large transactions.”

In a transcript of the earnings call, Susan Wojcicki, senior vice president, advertising at Google, said the company was also improving its voice search capability: “Now with the Jelly Bean release [of the Android smartphone operating system], we have the ability not only to ask a question, but also to have the answers given back to you.”

Japan's FujiFilm sues Motorola over phone patents:

Japan's FujiFilm is suing Google's Motorola Mobility subsidiary over four patents associated with digital camera and photo technology in cellphones.

The lawsuit has its roots in April 2011, when FujiFilm says it first notified Motorola that it believed the cellphone maker was infringing on the four patents. The companies held a number of face-to-face meetings, according to FujiFilm. The matter was apparently not resolved to FujiFilm's liking and that led to this week's lawsuit.

The patents in question include:

U.S. Patent 6,144,763, which covers the capturing of color pictures by a cellphone and their conversion to monochrome images;

U.S. Patent 6,915,119, which addresses a "telephone and data transmitting method." FujiFilm alleges a number of Motorola devices infringe on this patent through their use of Bluetooth or Wi-Fi as a means to communicate with a computer or other device;

U.S. Patent 7,327,886, covering the facial detection system included in some Motorola cellphones; and

U.S. Patent 5,734,427, concerning the processing of a high-resolution image into a lower-resolution image for display on an electronic viewfinder.

The lawsuit alleges a number of Motorola handsets infringe some or all of the patents, including the Droid X, X2, 2 Global, Bionic, 3, Pro; and the Atrix 2, Electrify, Photon 4G, XPRT, Defy, Cliq 2 and Titanium handsets.

In its complaint, FujiFilm asks the court to find infringement in its favor, for Motorola to pay damages to be decided at trial and for Motorola to pay FujiFilm's legal costs.

FujiFilm, Motorola Mobility and Google could not immediately be reached for comment.

The case, number 12-03587, was filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court in San Jose.

Microsoft signs two patent licensing deals...

Microsoft signs two patent licensing deals covering Android, Chrome...

Microsoft said that two more companies had signed patent agreements covering their Android and Chrome devices, under the company's IP (intellectual property) licensing program that already has more than 1,100 licensing agreements.

The software giant said it would receive royalties from the two deals but did not provide details.

The agreement with Coby Electronics, a maker of Internet TVs, tablets, and other consumer electronics, provides broad coverage under Microsoft's patent portfolio for Coby's products running the Android or Chrome platform, while the patent agreement with Aluratek provides coverage under Microsoft's patent portfolio for Aluratek's e-readers and tablets running the Android or Chrome platform.

Microsoft said the program launched in December 2003 was developed to open access to Microsoft's research and development investments and its patent and IP portfolio, though some critics claim Microsoft views it as a revenue stream. A number of companies including Samsung have signed up for Microsoft's Android licensing program, but Motorola Mobility, now owned by Google, has not signed.

Microsoft claims Android infringes some of its patents, hence the requirement for these licensing agreements.

One holdout, Barnes & Noble settled patent litigation with Microsoft over its Android-based Nook e-reader in April as part of a broader alliance with Microsoft. Barnes & Noble and a new subsidiary set up with Microsoft under the terms of the alliance will pay Microsoft royalties for its Nook and table products.

Motorola and Microsoft have legal disputes in a number of countries, including one over patent infringement by the Xbox before the U.S. International Trade Commission. A court in Munich ruled in May that Motorola infringes on a Microsoft patent relating to SMS messaging.