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Google slams Apple collusion
Google, fresh from losing a bid to buy thousands of patents from bankrupt Nortel, lashed out at its biggest rivals, accusing them of banding together to block the internet giant in the red-hot smartphone arena. In a rare public outburst, Google blasted Microsoft, Apple, Oracle and “other companies” for colluding to hamper the increasingly popular Android mobile software by buying up patents, effectively imposing a “tax” on Android cellphones. Apart from increasing costs for consumers, snapping up the patents will stifle technological innovation,said the company. Microsoft and Apple had teamed up to acquire patents previously owned by software maker Novell.