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Sprint has the Press Release directing you to head over to http://www.samsungmobileusa.com/i325/upgrade/ to get yourself the Windows Mobile 6.1 update for your Samsung Ace. You'll also get yourself some cool GPS action too, though we don't know yet if it's tied to Sprint Navigation or open to the rest of the OS.

As always with Samsung updates, follow the instructions to a T, backup, and settle in for a half hour long process at best.

Here's what we're wondering: now that the Motorola Q9c is back on Sprint, is the Samsung Ace really a good option? We know that Sprint was pushing users to the Ace when the Q9c was in limbo, too. Sure, the Ace does offer that World Phone bit, but overall the Q9c has a better keyboard and more power. Any Ace users out there loving their phone?

We still have a couple of weeks before we learn when the Xperia X1 will be released in the U.S. — but you can at least figure out how to use it in the interim.

Engadget Mobile spied the user guide (pdf link) to the long-awaited (and awaited ... and awaited) Sony Ericsson device. We'd previously seen a couple shots from the manual, but it's good to finally see the whole thing.

A couple of interesting notes:

• Instructions for video calling. Dieter recently gave us the good news that the North American version (X1a) of the phone will keep the front-facing camera, but don't expect to actually make a two-way video call on AT&T.
• Instructions for the built-in RSS reader. A nice touch.
• aGPS and QuickGPS. We've discussed aGPS before (and AT&T recently flipped the switch on it). QuickGPS downloads the positions of the satellites from a server and uses that knowledge to lock in more quickly.

So, yeah, we're still tapping our fingers waiting on an official release date and price.

Here's a thought: We've been expecting this thing to come out on AT&T, given the radio bands it uses. But with the number of customizations built into software side of the device, is it possible Sony Ericsson will just release it unlocked and keep meddling hands off its ROM? Probably not, seeing as how it's carrier-wed in Europe. But a boy can dream.

We avoided the last turning of the Qualcomm vs. Broadcom screw because, well, it's just becoming so darn tiring. If you missed that last month, what happened is a US Appeals court affirmed that Qualcomm infringed on two Broadcomm patents and therefore needed to pay up [via Engadget]. These were related to EVDO, QChat, and video processing. Now leave that stewing in the back of your mind.

In the front of your mind, recall that we had ourselves a little panic last year as courts told Qualcomm they weren't allowed to import certain chips into the US. This was pretty bad, but Verizon decided to pony up licensing fees so they could continue to use the chips, Sprint tried to insert themselves into the conversation, and President Bush declined to stop the International Trade Commission's (ITC) ban.

All clear? Good -- Next up, from Patently-O: the ITC's decision has been vacated by a Federal Circuit court because the original ITC decision didn't find “inducement of infringement” and also found that the ITC didn't really have the authority to exclude imports in the exact method that they used. In short, the Qualcomm chip ban has been lifted (for now)

The upshot is that Broadcom still can collect the damages you read about in the first paragraph, the ban you read about in the second paragraph has been lifted, but the court finding in the third paragraph can probably be appealed and the ban reinstated at some future date. ...and you were starting to suspect that patent lawsuits were adding uncertainty to the marketplace -- for shame!

Thanks to Dave for the tip!

(p.s. The above has nothing to do with the US not getting the Touch HD. Seriously, everybody, you have to let that one go and dream of the 'other cool stuff.')

Well how about that. Silverlight's getting the upgrade to the big 2.0. (Guess these guys won't be coming to the party.)

Says Mary-Jo Foley at ZDNet:

Microsoft officials said Silverlight 2 will be available for download from the company’s Silverlight site starting on October 14. They also said that anyone using a beta version of Silverlight 2 or Silverlight 1 will be “automatically upgraded” via Microsoft’s various patching systems to Silverlight 2 in the coming months. (However, users will be able to block the Silverlight 2 download if they decide to do so.)

Microsoft's alternative to Adobe Flash has had its share of ups and downs, but it's still alive and kicking and hopefully a step closer to actually making its way onto a mobile device. And for proof that they're actively working on it, we again turn to Ms. Foley, who updated an earlier blog post stating that Silverlight for mobile would be a topic at this month's Professional Developer's Conference.

“In this demo-filled session learn how to extend your existing Silverlight 2 applications to work on Windows Mobile and how to build rich mobile Silverlight apps that access device peripherals such as camera; GPS or WiFi or the radio stack for location; as well as mobile web services. We also talk about tooling enhancements in Microsoft Visual Studio that support Silverlight app development on Windows Mobile, what to consider when delivering eye-popping UI on mobile, and help you understand the key differences from developing Silverlight apps for the desktop.”

That sounds like it's a lot farther than tinkering around in the ol' garage. Anyhoo, while we wait for the mobile goodness teased to lo' those many moons ago, snag the updated Silverlight on Tuesday and keep your fingers crossed that we'll see something when Windows Mobile 7 finally sees the light of day.

Update: It's heeeeere. Have fun.