Google News: Lawsuits Abound!

By Alec Niedenthal, Minyanville Staff Writer Lawsuits, apps, and mapping. That pretty much sums up what Google's GOOG been up to lately. Google continues to fight Apple's APPL accusation that Google's Android technology mimics too closely its own patented iPad and iPhone features. (Apple has incurred legal fees worth some $32 million in its struggle to preserve what it sees as the singularity of its smartphone technology: It's currently tangled up in lawsuits with Samsung (SSNLF) and HTC. Corp. (HTCKF) in addition to Google. Google certainly has no shortage of legal squabbles. Insider Monkey reports that Consumer Watchdog is gearing up to contest Google's $22 million settlement with the Federal Trade Commission over an alleged privacy violation. The FTC charged Google with having installed cookies on Apple's sovereign Safari browser. But Consumer Watchdog demands rationale for the settlement, as no briefs explaining how it was reached have been released. The agency claims that the FTC is not upbraiding Google in any real or lasting way—the $22 million price tag is merely a flesh wound to the $38 billion monolith. In app news, according to Value Walk, Google's Play app store is closing in on Apple's once-humongous lead—in terms of the raw number of apps. Google boasts 600,000 apps to Apple's 650,000. Last quarter, Google trailed behind with 145,000 less than its antagonist. Lagging no longer, Google has generated or else acquired roughly 100,000 apps over the course of the past quarter. Finally, Google continues its expansive mapping project. According to Bloomberg Businessweek, the Google team this week is mapping Cambridge Bay, Nunavut—an isolate region of arctic Canada—for its Street View program, or better put, campaign. Obsessed with charting the arcana of the world, Google will, says Karen Tuxen-Bettman, the Street View program's leader, use a “specially-designed tricycle mounted with several cameras […] to record a 360-degree view of the area that is only accessible by air.” As of 12:55 p.m., Google is down $0.98 (-0.14%) to $676.20. More from Minyanville:

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