Google's high-profile acquisition of Motorola Mobility is set to go ahead after regulators in China gave their official backing for the move. The deal, which is worth as much as $12.5 billion, means that Google will soon seize control of Motorola's patents.

Consequently, Google's ongoing battle with Apple has moved up another notch. Of course, Larry Page, the Google co-founder, is determined to ensure that the search engine giant soon competes on an even footing with Apple's iPhone, which currently dominates the lucrative smartphone market. Google has ambitious plans to extend its hardware business and this deal is seen as a key component of that.

Similarly, the takeover is seen as significant in terms of the continuing disputes over patents. Google is, of course, already the world's biggest maker of smartphone software and as a result of the acquisition, it will soon gain control of around 17,000 additional patents. With the new patents under its control, Google will be in a stronger position to protect Android devices in legal disputes with competitors, such as Apple.

The deal was first announced in 2011, but Google have been waiting on regulatory approval in China. In a statement, Google said: "Our stance since we agreed to acquire Motorola has not changed and we look forward to closing the deal."

Interestingly, though, the deal now puts Google in direct competition with other handset makers, like HTC, which work on the Android operating system. Under the terms of the deal, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said that Android software versions must be free and open over the next five years.

Additionally, it has been confirmed that Google will be required to report to an independent monitor in China on its progress in meeting the terms of the agreement.

Microsoft has unveiled a revolutionary piece of kit that could transform the consumer electronic market over coming years. Using the new augmented reality system, consumers working in different locations would be able to collaborate on tabletop projects. The device, in essence, allows them to share objects that they can both handle.

The device, which is known as MirageTable, has been demonstrated at a conference in Austin, Texas. The firm also outlined details of the project on the firm's research site. The impressive system gives the illusion that the two parties are working together seamlessly. However, Microsoft researchers concede that even more work needs to be conducted before the kit can reach the consumer market.

Details of how the system works are provided on Microsoft's research site. The firm explained that using a 3D-video projector, consumers are able to beam images onto a sheet of curved white plastic. Thereafter, camera sensors are used to track the direction of each person's stare. They are also used to capture the shape and appearance of objects. And using shutter glasses, consumers are able to see the object in three dimensions, thereby rendering geographic boundaries obsolete for some people.

In a statement, the researchers said they were "motivated by a simple idea: can we enable the user to interact with 3D digital objects alongside real objects in the same physically realistic way and without wearing any additional trackers, gloves or gear".

Although the prospect of the MirageTable reaching the consumer market remains some way off, Microsoft researchers are optimistic about the future of the project.

"In our system, the user can hold a virtual object, move it, or knock it down, since all virtual and real objects participate in a real-world physics simulation," the research team said. "The unique benefit of this setup is that two users share not only the 3D image of each other, but also the tabletop task space in front of them."

However, the research team's positivity surrounding the project was tempered somewhat by the acknowledgement that simulating realistic grasping behaviours given depth camera input "remains an open research problem".

Google has announced a significant change to its email system, Gmail. The firm explained that from now onwards, users of Google's email system will benefit from automatic message translation, a feature that has been in the works since 2009.

Using Google Translate, consumers are now able to have their mail written in one language, send it and then have the same message in another language when it reaches the inbox of a friend or colleague.

"The next time you receive a message in a language other than your own, just click on 'Translate message' in the header at the top of the message, and it will be instantly translated into your language," explained Jeff Chin, the product manager of Google Translate.

The innovative feature has, in fact, already been trialled in Google Labs a number of years back. And owing to positive feedback on the feature, Google has decided to add the feature to its Gmail service.

"Since message translation was one of the most popular labs, we decided it was time to graduate from Gmail Labs and move into the real world," Mr Chin said.

Google, of course, competes in a fiercely competitive market with the likes of Microsoft in terms of its email system. The firm hopes that the new feature may attract people to move over to Gmail, where they will also find Google Drive, the free, web-based office suite.

Allied to the new translation feature, Google confirmed that it is launching two new offerings: Smart Mute and Title Tweaks. Smart Mute helps to eradicate the noise on a noisy email thread. Title Tweaks, on the other hand, changes the title in the browser's tab to inform users that they have new messages.

Meanwhile, Google explained that several of its old features have been retired, including Hide Unread Counts, Move Icon Column and Inbox Preview.

The eagerly-awaited iPhone handset is expected to launch later this year and industry experts are already speculating about the features that could distinguish the new handset.

A Korean news agency has claimed that the new handset will be cased in 'liquid metal', citing sources close to the project. The case is rumoured to be up to 20 times stronger than that fitted to the iPhone 4S, which was unveiled late last year. And the news agency observed that the metallic glass is "a metal alloy, but one with the disordered structure of glass".

The material is not new, of course, having been developed in the 1990s. However, thanks to a breakthrough in "superspeed pulse mould technology", this type of glass is as tough as metal. Consequently, Apple sees it as the ideal material for phone casings.

Liquidmetal Techologies Ltd, the inventors of the material, has signed an exclusive deal with Apple to produce the component for the new handset, which is expected to be even more dramatic and powerful than the iPhone 4S. Official figures have yet to be revealed, but speculation has suggested that Apple paid as much as $11 million for the agreement.

The metallic glass will be used to create the back casing rather than the glass display, which consumers have moaned about in the not-too-distant past. As ever, the California-based tech giant has refused to comment on the speculation or even reveal an expected launch date for the new handset.

Meanwhile, Samsung's eagerly-awaited S3 handset, the next Galaxy smartphone, will be made of high-tech ceramics, according to the same Korean news agency.

Are you looking forward to the launch of the new iPhone, or is Apple's dominance of the marketplace proving unhealthy?

Intel, the world's largest chipmaker, has announced profits of $2.7 billion for the first quarter of 2012, representing an 18 per cent fall from the same period last year. Intel, of course, enjoyed a bumper year in 2011 compared to the rest of the industry, which seemed to be undermined by broader economic strife.

However, analysts have suggested that despite the strong profit results, the firm is not totally resistant to wider pressures. Last year's success was largely driven by Sandy Bridge processors, which helped to swell profits.

But with Ivy Bridge processors set to appear over the next few weeks, Intel Chief Executive Paul Otellini is hopeful that the firm's performance will improve through the rest of the year. Allied to this, the company expects to see the debut of the Medfield Atom-based smartphone in the next three months.

"The first quarter was a solid start to what's expected to be another growth year for Intel," Mr Otellini explained.

"In the second quarter, we'll see the first Intel-based smartphones in the market, ship products based on 22nm tri-gate technology in high volume, and accelerate the ramp of our best server product ever, providing a tremendous foundation for growth in 2012 and beyond."

Intel's figures are disappointing when viewed in context of those for 2011. However, it ought to be noted that the bottom line figure was greatly influenced by delays to the Ivy Bridge project, which set to be the main driving force behind the firm's performance for the rest of 2012.

And with the launch of Microsoft's new operating system – Windows 8 – set for later this year, allied to the firm's recent foray into the lucrative smartphone market, Intel can expect things to improve over the next few months.

A US-based journalist has claimed that a giant e-waste landfill site in the Chinese province of Guangdong is a little more sinister than it may appear. E-waste is, of course, highly toxic and consequently needs to be disposed of in a safe manner.

However, Adam Minter, the author of the Shanghai Scrap, made an unusual discovery when he visited the landfill site in Guiyu. Mr Minter explained to readers that he discovered boxes of faulty, disused computer parts. The components were in their original packaging, with the products coming from major electronic firms like Samsung and HP.

Samsung, for its part, has already vehemently denied suggestions that it was aware of the disposal. In fact, the manufacturer observed that the computer components were made many years ago.

Other major firms caught up in the affair, including Panasonic and HP, have refused to make any public statements.

The majority of e-waste dumped in China does not come from the West as was once the case, according to Mr Minter, who observed that the majority now comes from Asia and China, in particular.

Guiyu, for example, became a popular location for e-waste recycling in the mid-2000s, with consumers throwing old computers and other spare parts to one side. Now, though, it's clear that rather than being used for recycling, the coastal town has simply become a dumping ground for computer parts.

Owing to the waste material, the groundwater in Guiyu has become undrinkable. And a recent study, conducted at China's Shantou University, concluded that the town has the highest level of cancer-causing dioxins in the world.

Sadly, local children also suffer from an uncommonly high rate of lead poisoning. This problem, according to Mr Minter, is being exacerbated by the fact that new computers are being disposed of in Guiyu.

Despite denials to the contrary, Mr Minter speculated that some of the world's leading technology firms may have had knowledge of the activities. "Of course it may be that they were dumped by some local company and HP and Samsung didn't know it was happening, but the fact that they've declined to answer my questions is weird in itself," he noted.

Raspberry Pi, the credit card-sized computer designed for educational use, has been handed to a group of schoolchildren in Leeds, in the north of England. The children are, in fact, that the first group to get their hands on the models of the computer, which appear in a stripped-down form.

The computer is designed to help children learn programming basis and comes shortly after Michael Gove, the Education Secretary, conceded that the government had been slow to recognise the increasing importance of IT.

The concept has been hailed by education experts in the UK, most of who accept the device is an innovative, yet low-cost, way of sparking an interest in technology among young people. Indeed, the government has already stated its ambition of becoming the European hub of IT innovation. Raspberry Pi has already attracted an enormous amount of media interest and at one stage, the device was shipping at a rate of 700 per second.

Premier Farnell, which has offices in the city, sent the first batch of devices out on last week, shortly after the children were presented with their models by Eben Upton, the project co-ordinator. Dr Upton was on hand to host a programming masterclass to help the children find out what the machine is capable of.

However, it is not just school children who are in line to benefit from the new device. Indeed, reports have confirmed that interest in the machine has come from people in all areas of society, thus proving the thirst of interest in computer programming.

Premier Farnell explained that delivery of the machine, which is built using the Arm chip that is used in the vast majority of mobile phones, uses one version of the Linux operating system. It is also available in two versions – one with and one without a networking connector.

By 2016, the global market for mobile processors will reach 1.9 billion units annually. That is according to new NPD In-Stat research, which found that the growth of mobile processors exceeded 43 percent in 2011. And in four years' time, the research firm said that this growth rate will touch 22 percent compound annual growth rate.

Mobile processors are used in applications processors and central processing units. They are commonly used in multifunction devices that are a "fusion of computing, communications, entertainment, and/or productivity capabilities", the firm explained.

Jim McGregor, Chief Technology Strategist at In-Stat, explained: "Although the total available market for mobile processors continues to grow, the emergence of industry leaders in the high-growth mobile device segment is becoming a key factor in the success of processor vendors.

"Just having a captive smartphone and tablet market has propelled Apple into second place for the entire mobile processor market just behind industry leader Intel."

This year, Mr McGregor added, is likely to see Apple seize the top spot in terms of shipments, with the success being driven largely by sales of iPhones and the new iPad, which was launched earlier this month.

Nvidia, Texas Instruments, Qualcomm, and Samsung were some of the firms Mr McGregor pointed to as having benefitted from new product releases.

Furthermore, the research confirmed that ARM is the dominant processor architecture for all mobile devices with over 73 percent of all units shipped - and this market dominance is growing. Intel, though, continues to dominate the mobile PC market, while Apple, Qualcomm, and Samsung top the list in terms of other CE devices, In-Stat said.

However, the competition between the ARM and x86 processor architectures is set to reach an apex later this year when Microsoft 8, Microsoft's latest operating system, is launched.