ReadWriteWeb

Today's theme is movers and shakers. How about some straight-up tech news for once? There's a lot of interesting maneuvering going on right now, and since RWW doesn't tend to report on rumors, this seems like a good opportunity to round up some of the stories we're watching with interest.

For all we know, these could be major headlines tomorrow.

UpNext Maps for iPhone is beautiful. It's the smoothest, fastest map I've ever used. It renders 3D buildings for virtual exploration of certain cities. Its look and functionality are distinctive. It's free. And both Google and Apple want to build these features themselves. Is this a kamikaze mission for UpNext?

Steve Wozniak, two years later

It’s been fun to watch the normally exuberant tech press go through the rationalization process of what went wrong with Facebook’s IPO, starting with claims that Friday’s flat opening meant the IPO was perfectly priced to outright ignoring the story. It’s been almost as much fun as watching the business press declare Facebook dead on arrival.

Before we dig too deeply into either discussion, let’s remember that the same doubts, along with the same proclamations that an issue had chilled the tech IPO market, were being bandied about eight years ago in the days after Google went public.

Google updated its search app for iPhone today with a complete redesign that makes it more like the iPad version. This was already Google's best iOS experience by far, and now it's faster, more attractive, and consistent across devices. This month, it looks like search is back in the driver's seat at Google.

Google founder Larry Page’s shot across Facebook's bow in an interview with Charlie Rose on Monday night generated plenty of headlines Tuesday, but Page got off without really answering Rose’s original question: Is Google “worried or not worried about Facebook’s competition in search?”

We spent Tuesday tracking down experts who could speculate on if and when Facebook may try to compete against Google in search, and envision what Facebook’s version of search may look like.

The jury is in and Google has triumphed in almost all phases of its trial against Oracle over the use of Java in Android. Oracle spent years nurturing its relationship with developers who use its products, including MySQL and NoSQL Database. But the company's aggressive move to assert its interest in Java - which is, after all, open source - puts the developer community's goodwill at risk. How badly has Oracle damaged its reputation?

The jury in Oracle's patent case against Google delivered a unanimous verdict in favor of the search giant today, exonerating Google's use of Java in Android and dashing Oracle’s dreams of millions of dollars in damages.

Android-powered smartphones aren't much of an underdog anymore, but an entire class of less pocketable Android devices isn't leaping off the shelves so much as dying on the vine. Now that Google's sealed the deal with Motorola, should we expect a brighter future for Android tablets - or is the iPad just too mighty to take down, even for a streamlined hardware manufacturer/software designer power duo? 

Google’s $12+ billion Motorola deal is closed, and Google veteran Dennis Woodside is taking over as Motorola CEO. Now the fun begins. For a variety of reasons, this has the potential to be Google’s most interesting project yet.

Google now owns Motorola. Chinese regulators followed the U.S. and Europe in clearing the deal earlier this week, removing the last barrier. Although the acquisition opens new territory for the search giant, its most immediate effect could be remaking the existing Android landscape. Will Google use its new arm to pound all competitors, or just Apple?