Features Hardware The Year in Tech: 2012 Top Tech Stories Page 4 : Mobile, Patent Wars, Security & Hacking By TechSpot Staff December 30, 2012 TechSpot is celebrating its 25th anniversary. TechSpot means tech analysis and advice you can trust. When you buy through our links, we may earn a commission. Learn more. Facebook Twitter Reddit RSS Comments Mobile, Patent Wars, Security & Hacking Hardware Apple The Web CPU/Graphics Google Tech Culture Software Microsoft Gaming Mobile Patent Wars Security Mobile January Chile requires all cell phones to be unlocked as of this week Broadcom introduces first gigabit-speed 802.11ac chips Intel joins smartphone race, announces two new handsets with Lenovo and Motorola HP's webOS to be fully open-sourced by September Former Palm CEO Jon Rubinstein leaves HP effective immediately February Windows Phone 8 'Apollo' based on the desktop OS' kernel, brings NFC, native Skype, more March Google reboots Android Market with Google Play, consolidates content Apple introduces 'The new iPad', available starting March 16 Nokia CEO says multi-core smartphones are "just a waste of battery" April HTC One X Review: Quad-Core Power, Looks to Spare Infographic: The death of RIM RIM isn't unveiling new BlackBerry 10 hardware at BlackBerry World June iOS 6 brings new Map app, Siri updates, FaceTime over 3G, more Foxconn CEO: iPhone 5 will put Samsung Galaxy S3 to shame July Google Nexus 7 Review: The Best $199 Tablet You Can Buy Google Nexus 7 tablet costs $152 to build, teardown reveals Rumor: Facebook and HTC to release smartphone by mid-2013 August Acer: Surface tablet will hurt the industry, we may look for new partners Gartner: Smartphone adoption up 43%, buyers waiting for new iPhone September Galaxy S3 overtakes iPhone 4S as the best selling phone in the US Amazon unveils backlit Kindle Paperwhite, Kindle Fire HD tablets Apple iPhone 5 is official: 4-inch screen, LTE, ships this month iPhone 5 vs. Galaxy S3 vs. Lumia 920: spec by spec rundown Intel finishes Android 4.1 Jelly Bean port for x86 phones Revamped Kindle Fire and Kindle Fire HD in-stock, $159 and $199 Apple iPhone 5 Review: Thinner, Lighter, Faster Tim Cook apologizes for Apple Maps, points users to third-party apps October New iPod Touch available in stores, pre-orders begin shipping Surface with Windows RT debuts to mixed reviews, most complain about the lack of quality apps Jailbreaking smartphones remains legal. Tablets? Not so much. Google announces trio of Nexus devices, Android 4.2 with Miracast and multiple account support November Survey names Verizon the best US carrier, AT&T the worst Surface Pro pricing revealed: $899 for 64GB and $999 for 128GB December Google Maps app for iOS downloaded 10M times in the first two days Survey: 25% of computer users debating on going tablet-only T-Mobile, Verizon, Sprint, AT&T all expand 4G-LTE coverage iPhone surpasses 50 percent US market share for the first time Patent Wars January Google expands patent portfolio with another 217 from IBM Microsoft strikes another Android patent licensing deal Motorola targets iPhone 4S and iCloud in new lawsuit, probably with Google's blessing February Apple wins 3G patent case against Motorola in Germany Microsoft: Motorola and Google are trying to 'kill video on the Web' March Samsung, RIM sued over emoticon display patent :-( Apple at odds with Nokia, RIM, Motorola over nano-SIM standard June Apple files motion for preliminary ban on Samsung Galaxy S III in US Judge bans Samsung's iPad rival from sale in the US July Apple ordered to post "Samsung didn't copy iPad" notice on its UK website August Internal Samsung memo talks 'crisis of design', iPhone UX Samsung loses U.S. trial, owes Apple more than $1 billion in damages Apple wants judge to ban eight Samsung handsets from the US market September Apple amends US lawsuit, seeks ban of Galaxy S3 and 21 more Apple wants $3 billion in damages as Samsung targets iPhone 5 Swiss railway operator says Apple stole their clock design October Samsung official says Apple no longer plans to use their technology November UK Court not amused with Apple's 'copy' notice, ordered to replace it Security and Hacking January Indian military computers hacked, Symantec source code leaked Anonymous goes on DDoS rampage after MegaUpload shutdown Google, Microsoft and others join forces to fight phishing February Final appeal rejected in Pirate Bay case, founders face prison time March LulzSec leader worked with the FBI for months, turns in fellow hackers April French piracy cut by roughly half, entertainment revenue still falling Twitter escalates anti-spam efforts, files lawsuit against spammers Iran to block the entire internet, replacing it with "clean" intranet June LinkedIn password database leaked, company confirms intrusion Flame virus created by U.S. and Israel sources say, Iran is target Hacker gets three years in prison for selling 'rooted' cable modems July Microsoft engineer exposes international Android spam botnet Hundreds of thousands may lose web access July 9 due to virus Microsoft urges Windows Vista, 7 users to disable desktop gadgets New Zealand's three-strikes law reportedly halved movie piracy August Demonoid shut down by Ukrainian authorities following DDoS attack Amazon, Apple tighten security following devastating Mat Honan attack Video footage reveals armed raid on MegaUpload founder's home Demonoid operators arrested in Mexico, Anonymous vows revenge Blizzard internal network compromised, encrypted passwords stolen Multiple Android piracy sites seized by US law enforcement Mozilla warns Firefox users to disable Java over zero-day exploit September AntiSec breaches FBI laptop, grabs 12 million Apple iOS UDIDs Researchers: Your IP is logged within 3 hours of downloading a torrent 'Six Strikes' piracy warning system headed to the US this year October Major scamware creator fined $163 million by U.S. authorities Hackers use exploit to massacre entire cities in World of Warcraft Android apps used by millions vulnerable to data theft November Thieves steal 3,600 iPad minis from JFK International Airport Loophole enables anyone to get a Windows 8 license for free Police raid targets 9-year-old pirate, Winnie the Pooh laptop seized December Anonymous member convicted for DDoS against PayPal, others Trojan bypasses two-factor authentication, steals $46.5 million 25-GPU cluster can brute force Windows password in record time Hardware Apple The Web CPU/Graphics Google Tech Culture Software Microsoft Gaming Mobile Patent Wars Security If you enjoy our content, please consider subscribing. 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