Apple drops patent claim against Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini

Apple has agreed to withdraw patent infringement allegations against Samsung's new Galaxy S3 Mini in exchange for assurances that the South Korean electronics giant will not market the smartphone in the U.S.

Apple disclosed the agreement today in a filing with the U.S. District Court for Northern California. The iPhone maker requested last month that the new smartphone and other Samsung products be added to the ongoing patent dispute between the two companies. Samsung countered that the S3 Mini was unavailable for purchase in the United States, however Apple noted that the new smartphone was listed on Amazon's U.S. storefront and had been purchased and delivered to multiple U.S. addresses.

"Apple will agree to withdraw without prejudice its request to include the Galaxy S III Mini in this case given Samsung's representation that it is not making, using, selling, offering to sell, or importing that product into the United States," Apple said in its filing.

Google Zeitgeist 2012: Whitney, Gangnam, iPad 3 and more

The death of Whitney Houston in February led to Google's top search for 2012.

Looking at the world's most popular searches for the year, Google's Zeitgeist 2012 uncovered a variety of people, events, and even a couple of tech products.

In second place behind Houston was music video phenomGangnam Style. Hurricane Sandytook third place, followed by the iPad 3, Diablo 3, Kate Middleton, the 2012 Olympics, Amanda Todd, Michael Clarke Duncan, and BBB12.

The list also drilled down to the top searches among specific categories, including people, movies, TV shows, and consumer electronics.

The iPad 3 proved the most popular item in the consumer electronics area. Samsung's Galaxy 3 was next on the list, followed by the iPad Mini, Google's Nexus 7, the Galaxy Note 2, the Sony PlayStation, the iPad 4, Microsoft Surface, Kindle Fire, and Nokia's Lumia 920.

The iPhone 5 didn't make it on the top 10 list among consumer electronics but it did take third place in the image search category.

Apple TV is in 'early stage of testing,' report says

Apple has begun the early stages of television set testing, according to reports. The Wall Street Journal says that manufacturers Sharp and Hon Hai -- otherwise known as Foxconn -- are collaborating with the tech giant to test designs for a large-screen, high-resolution TV, according to unnamed officials connected to Apple's suppliers.

The Cupertino, Calif.-based company, which tests ideas internally before bringing products to external suppliers, has been testing television set prototypes "for a number of years," according to the Journal's unnamed sources. The iPad and iPhone maker has already infiltrated the living room with its Apple TV box, which connects online media to traditional television sets.

"It isn't a formal project yet. It is still in the early stage of testing," one of the sources told the Journal.

The idea of Apple producing a television set was brought back to the stage this month by Apple CEO Tim Cook, who hinted in aninterview with NBC that a new product offering may be on the horizon. "When I go into my living room and turn on the TV, I feel like I have gone backwards in time by 20 to 30 years," Cook said. "It's an area of intense interest. I can't say more than that."

 Although it remains to be seen how much impact Apple could have in the television and media industry, already entwined in long-standing broadcasting contracts and "smart TV" production by manufacturers, a survey from Morgan Stanley suggested that the brand name may be enough -- and consumers would be willing to pay a 20 percent premium for an Apple-branded set.

Meanwhile, famed technologist and venture capitalist Marc Andreessen speculated at the Dealbook conference this morning that an Apple TV is likely to arrive in 2014 or maybe 2015 at the latest, if it doesn't squeak out in 2013, according to Business Insider.