Following a recent loss in Germany's Mannheim Regional Court, Apple has told German iPhone customers that e-mail can no longer be "pushed" to their phones through their iCloud or MobileMe services.

“Due to recent patent litigation by Motorola Mobility, iCloud and MobileMe users are currently unable to have iCloud and MobileMe email pushed to their iOS devices while located within the borders of Germany,” the company said on a support page (http://support.apple.com/kb/TS4208?viewlocale=en_US&locale=en_US). "Affected customers will still receive iCloud and MobileMe email, but new messages will be downloaded to their devices when the Mail app is opened, or when their device periodically fetches new messages as configured in iOS Settings. Push email service on desktop computers, laptop computers, and the web is unaffected, as is service from other providers such as Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync."

Pending Apple's appeal, which could take months, iPhone users in Germany will have to retrieve their e-mail "the old-fashioned way" by "pulling" it manually or by configuring their iPhones to check for new messages periodically, notes "CNNMoney." It's the first time iPhone users anywhere in the world "have been inconvenienced by the ongoing smartphone patent wars," the article adds.

All this is part of an ongoing legal battle between Apple and Motorola Mobility over alleged patent infringements. Apple says it believes Motorola's patent is invalid and is appealing the decision.

For more info go to http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2012/02/24/apple-forced-to-shut-off-push-e-m...