The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Google’s acquisition of Motorola Mobility is expected to close next week. This deal is just pending approval from the Justice Department. Google will gain access to 17,000 additional patents through the acquisition, which is already being used to sue Apple for 2.25% of sales royalties.

Above is a leaked photo of what is believed to be the case back for an iPad 3. On the left is the case back for an iPad 2 and on the right is the leaked photo for case back of an iPad 3. Comparing them side-by-side allows us to make some guesses about what the iPad 3 will be like.

Now we know why Siri is on the iPhone 4S, but not the iPhone 4. Stephen Shankland at CNET reported that it has to do with Apple’s partnership with Audience. The Apple A5 processor has noise-reduction circuitry licensed from Audience.

Google has hired Apple senior director of product integrity Simon Prakash from Apple according to VentureBeat. Prakash is most likely working with Sergey Brin on a secret research project.

In August 2011, Pulse2 intern Riley Kennysmith wrote about how Google acquired Motorola Mobility as part of a strategic move in their patent war. Google added about 17,000 patents to their war-chest as part of the acquisition. It appears that Google is now putting their new patent portfolio to good use as they are now demanding 2.25% of Apple’s sales for licensing the use of a specific wireless-related patent. Since an agreement was not made yet, Motorola was able to successfully block the sales of the iPhone 4 and the 3G-enabled iPad in Germany through an injunction.

Keith Woolcock wrote a piece on Time today about how Google being blocked out of Facebook’s walled garden and inability to index Twitter’s tweets is an indication of Google being in danger of “being shut out of the changing Internet.” John Battelle responded to that article by saying that the Facebook’s upcoming IPO and Twitter blocking their tweets should not question whether Google is being threatened, but we should define what kind of commons should be created to keep the Internet “open.”

Apple has stopped offering older iPhone models and 3G-based iPads at their German online store today out of a response to an injunction that was won by Motorola Mobility Holdings this past December. “While some iPad and iPhone models are not available through Apple’s online store in Germany right now, customers should have no problem finding them at one of our retail stores or an authorized reseller,” stated Apple spokesman Alan Hely.

Piper Jaffray Senior Research Analyst Gene Munster told investors on Tuesday that he recently spoke to a major TV component supplier to learn more about Apple’s rumored plans to release a connected HDTV. The supplier confirmed with Munster that Apple did contact them “regarding various capabilities of their television display components.”