Google to Launch Android 3.0 'Honeycomb' on Feb. 2

Google plans to launch Android 3.0, or "Honeycomb," at an event at its headquarters on Feb. 2, the company said.

Google sent out invitations to journalists on Friday, along with the new logo for the operating system - an Android-like honeybee. The new operating system is expected in several tablets; it isn't known whether Google will eventually bring the OS to smartphones.

Google released its Honeycomb software developers kit (SDK) on Wednesday, a good indication that the Honeycomb software was en route. Highlights of the SDK include: a UI framework for creating great apps for larger screen devices; high-performance 2D and 3D graphics; support for multicore processor architectures; rich multimedia; new types of connectivity; and enhancements for enterprise.

Honeycomb is expected to usher in a new generation of Android tablets, although how successful they will be in the face of the iPad is anybody's guess. According to a recent IDC survey, price will be the distinguishing feature of Android tablets, not the new Honeycomb OS. You can also vote in an informal poll.

Google's Mike Cleron demonstrated Honeycomb on an unnamed tablet at this year's CES, where a number of tablets either used or pledged to use Honeycomb, including the Motorola Xoom, the LG G-Slate, and Eee-branded products from Asus.

Honeycomb was originally expected to require a powerful processor, but so far there apparently is no "hard" specification for processor requirements.

via pcmag 

MWC 2011: Samsung to unveil Galaxy S 2 smartphone

World's second largest mobile phone manufacturer Samsung is all set rock the gadget world through their new products, which were expected to surafce at 2011 Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona. Rumor mills reported that Samsung will unveil Galaxy S 2 smartphone at MWC.


Along with Galaxy Tab 2, Samsung Galaxy S 2 is expected to get more advanced specifications than their older versions. The leaked pictures and specs of Galaxy S 2 hinted that the Seoul based Samsung has been planning to compete with the Motorola Atrix 4G smartphone.

According to rumors, Samsung Galaxy S 2 will have a 4.3-inch Super AMOLED display which offers maximum multimedia experience to the users. This smartphone will run on Google Android 2.3 Gingerbread operating system.

Another exclusive feature on Samasung Galaxy S 2 is its dual-core Orion CPU that makes it faster than the first version Galaxy S and many other smartphone available in the market. This upcoming smartphone may also boast an 8 megapixel camera which is capable of recording HD videos.

Some reports added that Samasung Galaxy S 2 will provide a built-in NFC chip that helps users for instant payment through the smartphone. Samsung has not yet officially confirmed the existence of Galaxy S 2 smartphone. The much awaited 2011 MWC will kick start on Feb 14 in Barcelona. So, we have to wait for the official launch.

via oneindia 

Technology : Facebook boosts security, adds HTTPS

Facebook : In order to stay safe and protect users from getting hacked, the popular social networking site Facebook is rolling out a new set of security features.

Facebook, with over 500-million members, has added the ability for users to login and surf the site using a more secure encrypted connection, known as HTTPS.

The encryption is the same used on shopping and banking websites to secure connections, and was previously used on Facebook when passwords are checked.

"Starting today we'll provide you with the ability to experience Facebook entirely over HTTPS. You should consider enabling this option if you frequently use Facebook from public Internet access points found at coffee shops, airports, libraries or schools," the company said in a blog post.

Facebook noted that the site may function more slowly using HTTPS, and some features, including many third-party applications, don't currently support HTTPS.

In addition to the added encryption , Facebook said it will now also offer "social authentification," a unique form of the traditional "captcha" coding that will ask a user to identify Facebook friends from their photos.

The two new security features promise to prevent Wi-Fi hackers from fraudulently accessing accounts. Facebook already uses HTTPS when users log into an external site through Facebook Connect.

Your password, which gets sent back to Facebook from the third party site, remains encrypted. This will now be extended to user activity within the site itself.

IT experts can already overcome internet security issues by adding third-party security measures and forcing an encrypted connection. However, Facebook's decision to make full-session encryption a default setting for all users will remove the burden from those that are less aware of Wi-Fi hackers.

Facebook uses captchas to authenticate users when they log in from a country that is not associated with their account. However, this is now being replaced in favour of a new photo-matching system. Users will be faced with three photos of one of their Facebook friends, and will have to correctly identify them from a list of six friends' names.

"Hackers halfway across the world might know your password, but they don't know who your friends are," says Facebook engineer Alex Rice. Rice admits inevitable drawbacks to the new security measures.

Page loading speed will take a hit under HTTPS and many third-party apps are not HTTPS enabled. Social network users that that collect friends by the thousand may also have difficulty identifying photos of friends at random, and friends who have cartoons or 'lookalikes' tagged under their name could be unidentifiable.

HTTP settings will not change automatically, so users can opt in or out of the new feature.

via indiatimes

Technology : In future, cars might decide if driver is drunk

Report : An alcohol-detection prototype that uses automatic sensors to instantly gauge a driver's fitness to be on the road has the potential to save thousands of lives, but could be as long as a decade away from everyday use in cars, federal officials and researchers said Friday.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood visited QinetiQ North America, a Waltham, Mass.-based research and development facility, for the first public demonstration of systems that could measure whether a motorist has a blood alcohol content at or above the legal limit of .08 and — if so — prevent the vehicle from starting.

The technology is being designed as unobtrusive, unlike current alcohol ignition interlock systems often mandated by judges for convicted drunken drivers. Those require operators to blow into a breath-testing device before the car can operate.

The Driver Alcohol Detection Systems for Safety, as the new approach is called, would use sensors that would measure blood alcohol content in one of two possible ways: either by analyzing a driver's breath or through the skin, using sophisticated touch-based sensors placed strategically on steering wheels and door locks, for example.

Both methods eliminate the need for drivers to take any extra steps, and those who are sober would not be delayed in getting on the road, researchers said.

The technology is "another arrow in our automotive safety quiver," said LaHood, who emphasized the system was envisioned as optional equipment in future cars and voluntary for auto manufacturers.

David Strickland, head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, also attended the demonstration and estimated the technology could prevent as many as 9,000 fatal alcohol-related crashes a year in the U.S., though he also acknowledged that it was still in its early testing stages and might not be commercially available for 8-10 years.

The systems would not be employed unless they are "seamless, unobtrusive and unfailingly accurate," Strickland said.

The initial $10 million research program is funded jointly by NHTSA and the Automotive Coalition for Traffic Safety, an industry group representing many of the world's car makers.

Critics, such as Sarah Longwell of the American Beverage Institute, a restaurant trade association, doubt if the technology could ever be perfected to the point that it would be fully reliable and not stop some completely sober people from driving.

"Even if the technology is 99.9 percent reliable, that's still tens of thousands of cars that won't start every day," said Longwell. Her group also questions whether an .08 limit would actually be high enough to stop all drunken drivers, since blood alcohol content can rise in people during a trip depending on factors such as how recently they drank and how much they ate.

"It's going to eliminate the ability of people to have a glass of wine with dinner or a beer at a ball game and then drive home, something that is perfectly safe and currently legal in all 50 states," she said.
LaHood disputed that the technology would interfere with moderate social drinking, and said the threshold in cars would never be set below the legal limit.

In Friday's demonstration, a woman in her 20s weighing about 120 pounds drank two, 1 1/2 ounce glasses of vodka and orange juice about 30 minutes apart, eating some cheese and crackers in between to simulate a typical social setting, said Bud Zaouk, director of transportation safety and security for QinetiQ.

Using both the touch-based and breath-based prototypes, the woman registered a .06 blood alcohol content, Zaouk said, so she would be able to start the car.

via yahoo

Motorola's Atrix 4G Handset Could be World's Most Powerful Smartphone

The next big thing to come out of Motorola, who has gone totally Android-crazy, is the much anticipated 4G-ready handset the Atrix 4G. The company has gone so far as to call it The World’s Most Powerful Smartphone yet. For hardcore mobile fans the specs are enough to start you saving up for this mobile monster today.

The Atrix will feature a dual-core (1GHz each) Nvidia Tegra 2 CPU (+ 1 GB RAM ) under the hood which is more than enough to spark an interest in the community. It’s only competition will be LG’s offering in the Optimus 2X that’s also flaunting a Dual-core 1GHz ARM Cortex-A9 processor, ULP GeForce GPU, Tegra 2 chipset. Other features also include -

*  A 4-inch capacitive touchscreen encased in Gorilla glass making it scratch resistant and sturdy (540 x 960 pixel resolution, 24-bit color - the world’s first qHD [Quarter High Definition])
*  3 and 4G capable HSDPA speeds (up to 14.4Mbps), Wi-Fi with DLNA compliance
*  GPS with A-GPS support and possible a newer version of the MotoNav software
*  Bluetooth with A2DP + EDR
*  a 5MP AF camera with an LED flash featuring image stabilization and geotagging
*  Stereo FM radio
*  HDMI out port
*  3.5mm handsfree socket
*  MicroSD card support plus 16GB internal storage (up to 48GB of memory in total)

If that’s still not impressive enough the device will come running Froyo with Adobe Flash 10.1 support showcasing Motorola’s MOTOBLUR customised UI and will be upgradeable to 2.3 later. The camera is currently capable of 720p video recording at 30fps but a future upgrade will allow you to record video in full HD i.e. 1080p. The Optimus 2X was already announced having this feature.

The Atrix also supports 1080p video playback of files with Xvid or DivX codecs among many others. It’s even equipped with a Biometric Fingerprint Reader for your security requirements should you be of the secretive genre of individuals. Active noise cancellation is also part of the handset’s long list of features.

So far it’s been announced only for the US’ AT&T network but with a handset featuring specs like this, I’m sure the rest of the world would want it as well. But is it really the World’s most powerful Smartphone? Not for long that’s for sure.

via tech2

World's first hack-free software 'developed'

Scientists have developed what they claim is the world's first hack-free software which can protect systems from failure or malicious attacks. The 'seL4' microkernel has been developed by a team led by Australia's ICT Research Centre of Excellence's spinout company -- Open Kernel Labs (OK Labs). It is a small operating system kernel which regulates access to a computer's hardware.

Its unique feature is that it has been mathematically proven to operate correctly, enabling it to separate trusted from untrusted software, protecting critical services from a failure or a malicious attack, say the scientists.

In future applications, seL4 could ensure that trusted financial transaction software from secure sources like banks or stock exchanges can operate securely on a customer's mobile phone alongside "untrusted" software, such as games downloaded from the Internet, according to its developers.

It could also provide a secure and reliable environment for mission-critical defence data, operating on the same platform as everyday applications like email. Or, it could protect the life-supporting functions of an implanted medical device, such as a pacemaker, from hacking, they say.

"Our seL4 microkernel is the only operating system kernel in existence whose source code has been mathematically proven to implement its specification correctly. Under the assumptions of the proof, the seL4 kernel for ARM11 will always do precisely what its specification says it will do," lead scientist Gerwin Klein said.

Added another scientist Gernot Heiser: "Verification of operating-system kernels has been attempted since the 1970s -- we pulled it off!"

via hindustantimes

Android Honeycomb: 10 things you need to know

Google unveiled its tablet-specific Android 3.0 OS at CES to a flurry of excitement thanks to some pretty exciting new tablet-focused additions to the already impressive OS.

But, with a preview of the SDK only just released to developers, we won't be seeing Honeycomb on our Android tablets for a little while; in the meantime, whet your appetite with our round-up of the key new features.

There'll be 3D-effect graphics

You can't swing a cat without hitting something 3D (literally) in the tech world these days, and Google knows it. Honeycomb offers developers the opportunity to use high-performance 3D graphics which should offer no noticeable lag, even with the extra rendering required.

This means we'll see 3D creeping into our apps, wallpapers and carousels as the developers get to grips with the extra dimension.

The Android UI has been redesigned especially for tablets

The Android user interface had always been intended for smartphones with screens no bigger than around 4-inches – with the advent of tablet devices, displays have shot up in the size stakes. Lucky for us, they're not short of a brain cell or two over at Google and have re-designed the Android UI taking the larger screen into account.


Recent apps will make multi-tasking a breeze

Multi-tasking is where we expect the dual-core Android tablets to shine, and Honeycomb gives it the tools to do so.

The 'recent apps' launcher lays out the last apps you used and the state you left them in, so you can quickly nip from one to another and straight into work. The tool lives in the system bar which is always onscreen, so there'll be no tedious navigation through menus.


The keyboard will be tablet-friendly


Of course you could buy an external keyboard for your tablet but lugging a million accessories around defeats the object of having a sleek and handy tablet.

To save you the hassle, Google has put a bit of thought into the onscreen keyboard; the keys have been reshaped and repositioned to make typing more comfortable and the targeting more natural for the larger screen, instead of simply scaling up the keyboard.

We love the inclusion of a tab key, which makes the typing experience more akin to that of a desktop or notebook than that of a phone.


Better copy and paste than ever before


Ah, copy and paste. Such a small function and yet so universally adored. While regular Android does allow text selection, copying and pasting, the Honeycomb system has had a few tweaks.


Connectivity upgrades include improved Wi-Fi and Bluetooth tethering

Google has improved Android's Wi-Fi connectivity with a new scanning system; it reduces scanning time across bands and filters, so you should be up, running and connected in shorter times.

Bluetooth connectivity has been updated too; more devices can now tether to the tablet and share its connectivity, while simple devices with no user interface (think sensors and the like) are also supported.
There'll be anonymous tabbed web browsing

If you fancy a spot of private web browsing on your Android tablet, then you're in luck; the new "incognito" mode lends an air of Poirot-era respectability to your secretive searching.

Google has also done away with the multiple-window browser, instead going for a tabbed browser system with your open web pages displayed in the action bar at the top of the screen.


Google Chrome users can easily sync their bookmarks to the tablet browser too, thanks to Honeycomb's option to automatically sign in to all Google sites with one supplied account.

Legacy apps will work seamlessly

Worried that you won't be able to make use of the thousands of Android apps already in the marketplace? Never fear, even though they were designed for a much smaller-screened device, Honeycomb is still compatible with apps developed for earlier Android iterations as long as devs add in a simple spot of code.

The menu key functions from Android phones are migrated to the Action Bar menu in Honeycomb, and there's the option for developers to create dedicated layouts for larger screens and add them to existing apps.

Two-pane email should mean easy inbox oraganisation

Two-paned email sounds a little familiar – oh yes, that's right. We've seen it before on the iPad where it works brilliantly. If it ain't broke, and all that.

The ability to select multiple messages in the inbox and move or delete them mean there's no excuse for a messy, disorganised inbox, while attachments can be synced to the tablet for you to view later.

Widgets are going to get interactive

Widgets saved to the home screen on Honeycomb tablets are going to have a whole new level of functionality available. Rather than passively relaying information to the user, they'll be interactive.

via techradar

Facebook founder Zuckerberg's fan page hacked

SAN FRANCISCO: Facebook on Wednesday said a software "bug" let a hacker impersonate the social network's founder Mark Zuckerberg in a comment posted to his public fan page at the website.

The bogus update posted late on Monday suggested that Facebook turn to its users instead of banks for money and got "liked" by more than 1,800 members of the social network before it was erased.

"A bug enabled status postings by unauthorized people on a handful of public pages," a Facebook spokesperson said in an email reply to an AFP inquiry. "The bug has been fixed."

Pictures of the hacked page could be found at technology news blog TechCrunch and other online venues. The message, complete with typos, left on the page read:

"Let the hacking begin: If facebook needs money, instead of going to the banks, why doesn't Facebook let its users invest in Facebook in a social way? Why not transform Facebook into a 'social business' the way Nobel Price winner Muhammad Yunus described it? http://bit.ly/fs6rT3 What do you think?"

It was signed "#hackercup2011," an apparent reference to an international computer programming competition being held by Facebook. The link directed users to a Wikipedia page about social business.

Yunus was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for helping people break out of poverty with the help of micro-loans.

via indiatimes

In China, a new software helps battle corruption

Nanjing Urban Planning Bureau, corruption in official ranks, Chinese provincial government, software to continuously monitor the work of officials

With corruption among official ranks emerging as a major menace, a Chinese provincial government has introduced a computer software which continuously monitor the work of officials.

In the Nanjing Urban Planning Bureau of Jiangsu Province, a yellow light will flicker in the office computer system of the department, a warning signal, if an official does not finish a case within 20 days.

“If an official violates the protocol when dealing with a case, a red light will flicker,” Ding Haiyang, head of the discipline department of the bureau told official Xinhua newsagency.

The system enables public to follow their case, know the result of the official’s work on a website and make complaints online, Ding said. “Since the system was installed, every official has tried his best to finish his part of his work in time and hand it to colleagues in the next step.

“No one wants to be the one who delays the case and causes the yellow light to flicker,” Ding said, adding that the discipline department will monitor the work of all officials through the system.

The new system is proving effective as 52 departments of the provincial government, 13 city governments and 106 county departments in Jiangsu are linked by the new monitoring system.

According to the provincial discipline agency, the system has sent about 3,200 yellow-light warnings and 22,400 red-light warnings throughout the province since it started operation in January last year.

“Transparency of government work and effective supervision are the best way to prevent corruption. The new system helps us supervise the administrative power and stem graft at its source,” Xie Chang, deputy secretary of provincial commission for discipline inspection said.

The new system is one of many measures the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CPC) is publicising as a part of its efforts to show that fighting corruption is its major priority as it continued unabated despite cases where some high profile officials have been given death sentences.

According to new figures, recent commercial bribes alone amounted to a whopping 16.59 billion Yuan (USD 2.65 billion) during the past five years. Prosecutors at all levels investigated more than 240,000 cases of embezzlement, bribery, dereliction of duty, and rights infringement.

via indianexpress

Google "not happy" with slow Android application sales

Despite brisk hardware sales to consumers and large numbers of apps sitting in in marketplace, Google's Android platform isn't resulting in health app sales, a problem the company is trying to solve.

Speaking to "anxious app developers" at the Inside Social Apps conference in San Francisco on Tuesday, Android platform manager Eric Chu said Google is actually "not happy" about the limited number of apps actually being purchased, according to a report by Forbes blogger Oliver Chiang.

The Plan to fix Android app sales

Chiang said Chu outlined a roadmap for Android in 2011 that the company hopes will help it drive new app sales more comparable to the outstanding results of Apple's blockbuster iOS App Store, but noted the plan is short on specifics.

"Chu used the phrase 'stay tuned' enough to make a drinking game out of it," Chiang wrote.

The overall plan includes creating an in-app payments system like the one Apple created last year as part of iOS 4, enabling developers to sell episodic content or related virtual goods.

Google also hopes to negotiate carrier billing agreements with scores of regional mobile providers, allowing users to buy apps and bill them to their mobile account. Apple doesn't need to do this because the iOS App Store in iTunes can bill users directly in most countries, far more than Google's Android Marketplace.

Wanted: app curator

Chu also wants to clean up Android Market, saying there is a team tasked with "weeding out apps that violate Android Market’s terms of service," an indication that Google's free-for-all market design is recognized to have serious drawbacks.

Many of the tens of thousands of apps in Android Market are just ringtones, wallpapers or simplistic "apps" designed just to fill space, a situation that drowns out legitimate developer's work under tons of copyright infringing junkware.

Android Market has also distributed distractive malware, a problem Google can't catch in advance because it isn't curating its catalog, and instead waiting for fires to erupt so it can put them out.

Migration toward HTML apps

The company also hopes to create algorithms to help promote the best apps, making it easier for users to discover worthwhile programs. Chu also indicated that Google planned to turn users' Address Books into a "social graph" that third party apps could tap into.

Without elaborating, Chu also commented that Google was "betting on" HTML5 as a way to create apps. Google employees have previously made it clear that the company sees the Java-like core VM of Android as a stepping stone to a future where apps are created in HTML, as soon as web tools can support sophisticated apps.

That's something that undermines rather than builds confidence in Google's commitment to Android in general. Why should Google bother to create an app store if its future is aimed at web pages? In Google's case, either can be monetized with ads, so there's no reason to build the current Android platform to be anything more than a temporary placeholder.

Chu's comments came just days after Apple celebrated its 10 billionth iOS app download and is promoting an iPad-optimized library of over 60,000 apps.

via appleinsider

Apple iPad and iPhone 'aim to replace cash'

Apple's forthcoming iPad and iPhone are expected to include a mobile payments feature that the firm hopes will replace cash and cards for millions of users.

Spending on debit and credit cards in the UK overtook cash for the first time last year, but already the technology industry is gearing up for the next battle.

According to analysts, Apple is considering heavily subsidising payment terminals for shops as it prepares to take on rival "Near Field Communications" (NFC) systems from Visa and Mastercard, which allow shoppers to simply wave their credit card at the checkout.

The second iPad is due in April, swiftly followed by the fifth iPhone in June.

NFC is most familiar to most Britons as the technology behind Transport for London's Oyster card. More recently it has been promoted by Barclaycard: For small purchases, users just have to wave their card rather than enter a PIN.

Apple is not the only Silicon Valley giant to see the potential in uniting such technology with internet-enabled smartphones. Google's new Nexus S device also incorporates an NFC chip.

"The reason this NFC chip is so interesting is because the credit card industry thinks the loss rate is going to be much better, they’re just more secure," said Google CEO Eric Schmidt in November.

Apple's forthcoming launches will be particularly closely watched, because as with technologies popularised by the iPhone, such as mobile web browsing and touchscreens, the mobile industry has tried for several years to launch NFC, with limited success.

Steve Jobs' mobile payments service is expected to be launched in the United States as soon as mid-2011, according to Bloomberg. It is likely to be integrated with the firm's iTunes service, which already holds financial information on millions of iPad and iPhone owners.

The system could open up yet another front for Apple, against the credit card industry. The firm is already the world's most valuable technology company, fighting service providers, hardware and software makers in many markets.

via telegraph

Google Cloud Print for Mobile, Gmail Now Live

Lets you send a print command, manage print jobs while on the move

Google has introduced Cloud Print beta service for mobile documents and Gmail mobile web app for English language users. With this opt-in service, users can get a print of any important document or email right from their smartphones or mobiles. Google Cloud Print beta for mobile Docs and Gmail will work only on HTML5 supporting phones. Google has started pushing this service en masse just after Apple made the AirPrint technology available to the iOS devices.

Cloud Print service was announced last year in April and Google initiated its inclusion in any application meant for web, desktop or mobile. With this Cloud based printing, users can rely on Google's cloud servers to manage the prints from the desktop or mobile. Check more at http://www.google.com/cloudprint.

Google Cloud Print for mobile documents and Gmail will let you can send a print command from anywhere and a print out of the document or email would be waiting for you when you reach the printer. Sorry, you'll have to buy auto-bots to fetch you the printouts.

Tyler Odean of Google Cloud Print Team noted, "Just open a document in Google Docs or an email in Gmail in your mobile browser and choose Print from the dropdown menu in the top right corner. You can also print certain kinds of email attachments (such as .pdf or .doc) by clicking the Print link that appears next to them."

At this moment, the Google Cloud Print service for mobile platforms works only on the HTML5 supporting mobile web browsers. That's because both mobile web apps, Google Docs and Gmail, have been tweaked with HTML5 richness. Apple devices running iOS 3.0 or higher and all Android phones with Android 2.1 or higher updates will be able to make the best of Cloud Print service.

Google Cloud Print service is already available through the latest beta of Google Chrome for Windows XP, Windows 7 and Vista while Mac and Linux support is expected soon.

Google Cloud Print service would compete with Apple AirPrint but the latter needs compatible printers. However, Google hasn't started rolling out this service to everyone. Initially, English speaking users for UR region would be getting it and eventually, it would be rolled out to other users.

via techtree

'Facebook, Twitter making us less human'

LONDON: A leading academic in the US has claimed that social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook are threatening to dominate our lives, making us more isolated and 'less human'.

Professor Sherry Turkle, of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has even branded the use of the technology a form of 'modern madness', reports the Daily Mail.

She argues that, under the illusion of allowing us to communicate better, technology is isolating us from real human interactions in a cyber-reality that is a poor imitation of the real world.

Turkle, who is leading an attack on the information age with her book Alone Together, even suggests social networking can make us mad, citing 'pathological behaviour' she has witnessed, such as mourners at funerals checking their iPhones.

Her book is part of an intellectual backlash in America calling for the people to devote less time to sites such as Twitter.

Other American academics have also criticised the growing trend of internet activity. One, Professor William Kist, of Kent State University in Ohio, has cited the death in Brighton of Simone Back who posted her suicide note on Facebook at Christmas.

None of the 42-year-old Back's 1,058 'friends' on the site called for help. Instead they traded insults on her page.

But defenders of Twitter and Facebook claim social media has many benefits and has, for example, led to more communication for people who are separated by long distances.

via timesofindia

Motorola launches dual-SIM Android phone

Handset-maker Motorola Mobility India on Monday launched the country's first Android-powered dual SIM touch screen smartphone, priced at Rs. 31,999.
The Android-powered Milestone XT800 is a dual SIM (CDMA-GSM) smartphone equipped with 3.7-inch touch display, 5-megapixel camera and expandable memory up to 32GB, Motorola said in a statement.

Android is a mobile operating system, initially developed by Google and later by the Open Handset Alliance, a consortium of 47 hardware, software and telecom companies.

Being an open-source operating system, Android allows developers to design applications like games, music players and location-based services, independent of the handset type.

"We have specially designed the Milestone XT800 to provide infotainment-on-the-go for consumers who want a device that matches the demands of a hectic lifestyle like that of a senior professional," Motorola Mobility India Country Head Faisal Siddiqui said.

The handset has built-in GPS satellite navigation using Google Maps, which helps the owner find their current location and chart routes to various destinations quickly and accurately. It also enables users to view and edit documents in popular formats including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF and Zip.

via ndtv

T-Mobile's Samsung Vibrant gets Android 2.2 Froyo update

There seems to be good news ringing in the air for T-Mobile USA customers who are currently in possession of the acclaimed Samsung Vibrant. As reported, they can now get their hands on the highly-awaited Android 2.2 Froyo update.

Amongst all the rumors that were doing their rounds across the mobile terrain, we now see the official GalaxySsupport on Twitter sprouting out putting all these claims to rest. The post tweets, “Vibrant customers: The Android 2.2 upgrade is now available!” Owners can install the update by connecting your handset to a PC using Samsung Kies Mini software.

Read Also |  10 apps to boost your finances using Google's Android OS

Apparently, the delay of the Android 2.2 Froyo upgrade on T-Mobile’s Samsung Vibrant was due to some rough edges that still needed to be smoothened out especially in terms of Wi-Fi calling among others. Thanks to this latest update, handset owners can take complete advantage of Adobe Flash 10.1 support, voice dialing, USB tethering, various software enhancements and even Wi-Fi calling.

Read Also | Android's Rumoured Music Store a Picture Closer to Being Reality

It was earlier reported that late December last year saw Samsung Vibrant and Fascinate owners situated across Canada acquiring Android 2.2 Froyo updates for their respective handsets. After a long anxious wait, Vibrant users in the US can finally avail of this frozen yogurt.

via mobiletor

Web to run out of IP addresses

The world will run out of Internet addresses “within weeks”, one of the founding fathers of the Web said on Friday.

Mr Vint Cerf, Google’s vice-president, who helped create the Web by connecting computers, using Internet Protocol addresses, said it was his “fault” that the 4.3 billion addresses created were running out, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.

“I thought it was an experiment and I thought that 4.3 billion would be enough to do an experiment,” Mr Cerf, the “Chief Internet Evangelist”, was quoted as saying in an interview.

In 1977, Mr Cerf created the web protocol, IPv4, which connects computers globally, as part of an experiment, while working with the US Department of Defense. He said he never expected his experiment “wouldn’t end”.
IP addresses are the unique sequence of numbers assigned to each computer, website or other internet-connected devices. They are not the same as website domain names.

To resolve the crisis, an updated protocol for the Internet, IPv6, currently being planned by the industry, will create trillions of addresses.

via deccanchronicle

Beware Goo.gl Fake Antivirus Worm on Twitter

Twitter and Twitter users are being targeted by a malicious worm. The worm sends out tweets with a goo.gl shortened URL link directed to a rogue antivirus application. The attack demonstrates once again how URL shortening can be a Pandora's box as users click on links with no clue where they might lead.

A post on Naked Security by Sophos' Graham Cluley describes the threat. "Thousands of Twitter users are finding that their accounts have been tweeting out malicious links without their permission, pointing to a fake anti-virus attack," adding, "A quick search on the popular micro-blogging network finds many tweets from users containing no message other than a goo.gl shortened link (Google's equivalent to bit.ly or tinyurl), which itself points to a URL ending with "m28sx.html".

Attacks hiding behind shortened URLs are not new, and are also not technically challenging to execute. By their very nature, URL shortening services like goo.gl and bit.ly take cumbersome, long URLs and condense them down to a nice, short alias that can be used in its place. The concept makes it much easier to send some exceptionally long links, and is a necessity for a site like Twitter which caps messages at 140 characters.

Adam Wosotowsky, principal researcher at McAfee Labs, explains, "Shortened URL sites are not 100 percent malicious, so blocking the domain completely can cause false positives, which is something researchers try and avoid. Goo.gl is an example of a site associated with Google, so blocking the domain may be frowned upon by Google, allowing the spammer to continually abuse the site."

Wosotowsky elaborates, "As we stated in our 2011 Threat Predictions, we currently track and analyze--through multiple social media applications and all URL shortening services--more than 3,000 shortened URLs per minute. We see a growing number of these used for spam, scamming and other malicious purposes, and we expect to see shortened URL abuse invade all other forms of Internet communications."

Shortened URLs provide attackers a simple, and commonly accepted means of obscuring malicious links. McAfee recommends using its proprietary URL shortening service--mcaf.ee. McAfee's shortened URLs are scanned and filtered to weed out malware. Of course, you can't really control what URL shortening service other people use to send links to you.

To avoid falling victim to Trojans, drive-by downloads, and other malicious attacks hiding behind innocent-looking shortened URLs, try using a tool like Tweetdeck that offers an option to reveal the full-length link behind the shortened URL before visiting it.

via pcworld

Samsung vows Android 2.2 for Vibrant have come Today

T-Mobile chief marketing officer Cole Brodman said on Thursday that the long delayed Android 2.2 upgrade for the Samsung Vibrant would arrive tomorrow, January 21. He denied accusations that the update was being purposefully held back and said it was strictly practical. It was only "quality control and timing" that mattered, he told PCMag.

The carrier was using the Vibrant's delay as an incentive to speed up its Android upgrade patterns. It would now upgrade phones to a new version of Android within three to five months of Google itself making the release public. Not having had the iPhone, the experience of users wanting multiple timely upgrades was "new."

While a 2.2 release on Friday would help settle anger among Vibrant owners and could mitigate a class action lawsuit, it wouldn't address issues with Samsung being one of the slowest to upgrade its phones. Some Galaxy S phone owners have received upgrades earlier outside of the US, but no American models have moved past 2.1 in the roughly half year since they've been available.

Other carriers either haven't given clues as to the release date or won't have the upgrade for even longer. US Cellular's Mesmerize variant won't have it until March, or roughly nine months after the Galaxy S first reached Americans.

Without the upgrade, the phones haven't had access to Google Voice Actions or many of the official apps Google has released since the spring.

via electronista

HTC Flyer tablet arriving by summer, but Android 3.0 not included?

HTC's Android smart phones impressed millions of users -- and more than a few reviewers -- in 2010. Now the company is preparing a big tablet push in 2011, starting with the HTC Flyer. The device could be available in the US as soon as March, according to DigiTimes, and then in other countries by the summer.

We don't have a pic yet, but the Flyer is described as looking like "an enlarged version of HTC's Desire", and is likely to be sold through mobile operators in a similar way to the Samsung Galaxy Tab.

The bad news? DigiTimes' sources claim the HTC Flyer will run Android 2.3, rather than the tablet-focused 3.0 Honeycomb version of Google's OS. The claim you'll be able to upgrade to Honeycomb when it becomes available means you might be left tapping your feet, waiting for your operator to push Android 3.0 out.

Then again, if the HTC Flyer makes its UK debut closer to the summer, it's entirely possible it will come with Honeycomb preloaded. Keep your fingers crossed.

Two more HTC tablets, running Honeycomb out of the box, are expected to go on sale in June.

read more at  cnet

56 Indian-Americans semi-finalists in Intel competition

HOUSTON: Fifty six high school students of Indian-American community were named amongst the 300 semi-finalists in the Intel Science Talent Search which is considered as America's most prestigious pre-college science competition.

California has the highest number of the semi finalists, 41 out of which seven are Indian Americans, followed by New York 11, Maryland seven, Texas six and the rest of the Indian-Americans are from various other states.

This year's semi-finalists were selected from 1,744 applicants representing 172 schools and are competing for USD 1.25 million in awards.

Each of them receive a USD 1,000 grant. The schools also get USD 1,000 for each semi-finalist named.

Colleges and universities regard the Intel STS Semi-finalist award to be evidence of exceptional academic promise. Each semi-finalist is provided with a certificate of accomplishment, which may be sent with their applications for college admission and scholarships.

From amongst the 300 semi-finalists, 40 finalists will be announced on January 26.

The finalists will attend the Intel Science Talent Institute in Washington DC in March and participate in a final judging process to share USD 630,000 in awards.

STS Alumni have made extraordinary contributions in the field of science and hold more than 100 of the world's most coveted science and maths honours, including seven Nobel prizes and four National Medals of Science.

via The Times of India

Download Real Player Beta for Android Free

Real Player (by RealNetworks), the much popular multimedia player sometime ago is now back in race with their new app ‘Real Player Beta for Android’. The beta version of Real Player is available as a Free download for all Android devices.

Real Player for Android has a nice interface and the app looks pretty promising. It is an all-in-one player which allows users to listen the stored music albums, music videos and photo albums too. One can view photos as a slideshow and opt to play a background music to improve the viewing pleasure. It recognizes all the Playlists from the stock media player and lists music in 4 heads namely: Albums, Artists, Genres and Songs.

However, it doesn’t holds the much needed and useful ‘Search’ option. The Real player team is asking for users feedback to improve the overall experience in future builds. So, do try it and share your views!

Search for ‘Real player’ in Android market or use the below QR code to download it.




via webtrickz

Google software for the masses lands in Iran

(AFP) – Google has made mapping, photo-sharing, and Web browsing software available for the first time to people in Iran but blocked access by government computers there.

Google worked with US officials on the nuances of making Earth, Picasa and Chrome programs available for download in Iran in a way that comports with export restrictions eased early last year.

"For the first time, we are making Google Earth, Picasa and Chrome available for download in Iran," Google export compliance programs manager Neil Martin said in a blog post.

"As a condition of our export licenses from the Treasury Department, we will continue to block IP addresses associated with the Iranian government."

Martin recounted how Iranian officials deported foreign journalists, disrupted mobile phone connections, and shut down media outlets to suppress protests of the controversial presidential election results in June of 2009.
"In spite of this, the sharing of information using the Internet prevailed," Martin said.

read more at  yahoo

Facebook backs down over contact info controversy

Facebook has backtracked over a new feature that would have shared users' addresses and mobile phone numbers with developers of applications on the popular social networking site.

Facebook announced the change late Monday night just three days after the introduction of the new feature was met with howls of protest from privacy advocates.

The new feature appeared whenever users installed a new application.

In the past, such actions prompted a menu in which users were asked whether they wished to share personal details such as their name, picture, friends lists and other general information with the application provider.

Privacy advocates immediately blasted this omission, and to Facebook's credit, the company acted quickly to close the security loophole by disabling the new feature. "Over the weekend, we got some useful feedback that we could make people more clearly aware of when they are granting access to this data," Facebook wrote on its developer blog.

"We agree, and we are making changes to help ensure you only share this information when you intend to do so. We'll be working to launch these updates as soon as possible, and will be temporarily disabling this feature until those changes are ready. We look forward to re-enabling this improved feature in the next few weeks."

via ciol

Sony Ericsson Steps up Camera Game with new Xperia Arc

If you tuned into last night's episode of the Monday Night podcast, you'd know that one of the topics we touched on was digital cameras in smart phones. While the average consumer thinks that more megapixels means better pictures,this couldn't be more wrong. In fact, all it essentially means is a larger final image.

 There are other features that factor into how nice those pictures from your birthday party end up looking. Factors that include speed, sensors, and light sensitivity among others. Sony Ericsson understands this and has taken dramatic steps in improving the camera in their upcoming Xperia Arc.


Read Also | Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc unveiled with Android 2.3


Sony Ericsson has added a number of enhancements to the camera's functionality and including better light sensitivity, quicker response time between shots, and a new sensor called Exmore R . Generally speaking these will allow for better, brighter pictures with less blur.

 There are a host of options available to users when using the camera including a new feature called "Fill Flash" which still flashes to allow for a more even lighting. This is perfect for conditions such as the sun rising or setting in the picture. Check the video below to see a quick walkthrough from Sony Ericsson.




via androidguys

OS : Only 0.4 Percent of Android Users Have Gingerbread

According to the Google-run Android Developer's blog, only 0.4 percent of all Android users run the newest version of Android, Gingerbread, or Android 2.3.
Another 51.8 percent of Android users run Froyo, Android 2.2, while 35.2 percent run Éclair, Android 2.1. Altogether 87.4 percent of all Android phones run some form of Android 2.X.

Compare that to 89.7 percent of all iOS users running some form of iOS 4, as TechCrunch picked up from Bump CEO David Lieb's response in Quora. Broken down, Lieb said 52.89 percent of all iOS users upgraded to the latest minor version iOS 4.2.1.

The stark discrepency between the adoption rates of the latest Android and iOS versions points to the way mobile software is distributed. Unlike iOS users, Android handset owners receive over-the-air software updates from their carriers. This has led to carrier-manufacturer finger-pointing over the long delays between available software updates.

Most recently, someone claiming to be a T-Mobile source accused Samsung of conspiring to delay updated Froyo releases in order to sell more handsets. The latest news, reported today, is that Samsung may be releasing a Galaxy S Froyo update in March. GigaOm points out that the T-Mobile myTouch 3G only recently received Froyo—14 months after the device hit the market.

The distribution model is different for Gingerbread, however. For now it is only available on Google's Nexus S smartphone. Google launched its second smartphone directly to consumers, via Best Buy, on December 6, 2010. This is Google's second attempt to take back control of its own mobile software updates. A year ago Google launched Android exclusively on its Nexus One smartphone, carried by T-Mobile, but it didn't sell well. Eventually, Google had to give up some control over of Android to encourage mass adoption of the mobile OS.

via pcmag

Androids Top 10 Newest Released Applications

Android Applications : If you have just grabbed a new Android handset, and is looking for some cool and new applications to download, here is a list of top 10 newest, releases.

1. Rope Cut: Tops our charts for being the best game of this week. A mix of strategy and timing, this game’s objective is to feed your creature by dropping him treats, though each level brings a new challenge in doing so.

2. Galcon: A multiplayer strategy game set in space at $2.99. Send in your battle ships to defeat enemy planets, with the ultimate goal of taking over the entire universe.

3. Gangstar: Miami: At $5, it is an intense adventure to check out, with car chases, drug busts and fist fights that get up close and personal.

Android Games : http://www.gameloft.com/android-games/top/

4. Meteor Breakout: At $3, its an updated version of the told-school brick breaker games. Set in space, Meteor Breakout comes with new power boosts, level challenges and “bosses” to beat.

5. Straw Hat Samurai: is worth a try. Escape or kill oncoming enemies with your samurai sword. This is a beta version, but has gained decent traction with its early release.

6. BitLetters Free: Just like Scrabble, create as many impressive words as you can with the letters you’re given. Board placement is everything, presenting opportunities for bonuses and defensive strategies against opponents.

7. Tap Crazy: Pop the balls by tapping them before they get to the top of the screen, while keeping other balls safe at the bottom of the screen.

8. Mini Squadron Special Edition: There’s a sequel to the MiniSquadron lineup, with eight new levels, tricks and weapons to check out only at 99 cents.

9. Super Connect 4: It brings good graphics, two-player game play and an easy interface to the Android Market. Take turns passing the phone to your opponent, and see how well you fare on the expert levels.

10. Spectral Souls: At $14, great graphics and an involved storyline, with dozens of characters to customize and take through this long and ambitious journey.

via areacellphone

Google & Facebook will test IPv6

The new standard offers many trillions of new web addresses, but cannot be accessed from modems and routers that only use IPv4

Web addresses are likely to run out as soon as November and to raise public awareness Google and Facebook have decided to switch their websites to a new system for one day in June.

On June 8, a whole bunch of web giants, including Google, Facebook, Yahoo, will turn on a new way of running web addresses, reports the Telegraph.

Read Also | RIM taps Web technology to drive mobile developments

The system, called IPv6, has been designed to stop the world running out of the web addresses that underlie the locating of websites and devices.

As of now, only 0.2 per cent of web users have access to the new protocol, however. 'World IPv6' Day is designed to encourage its adoption.

Vint Cerf, one of the web's founding fathers, is leading a global campaign to encourage web service providers and IT managers to switch from the current system, IPv4, to IPv6.

Read Also | American brings in ITA Software to design passenger technology platform

The new standard offers many trillions of new web addresses, but cannot be accessed from modems and routers that only use IPv4.

It is likely, however, that most of the changes needed will take place without consumers losing access to any part of the web because they will be part of the standard software and hardware upgrade cycle.

The availability of new web addresses will, it is hoped, allow more connected devices, such as tablet computers, as well as permitting more mundane devices to gain web addresses.

via The Times of India

Google unveils instant translation application on mobiles

Google Translate can use devices running its Android operating system to allow translation of English to Spanish and vice versa

Google has unveiled a mobile phone application that allows users to translate chats instantaneously.

Google Translate can use devices running its Android operating system to allow translation of English to Spanish and vice versa.

Users will have to punch a key to activate the translation between sentences, but Google expects the service to operate in real-time within 18 months.

Read Also | Android's Rumoured Music Store a Picture Closer to Being Reality

It uses technology similar to the updated Googles application, which uses a phone's camera to snap images of sudoku puzzles and, via internet, whiz back the solution in seconds, the Daily Mail reports.

Google Translate works by recording the user's speech, sending the recorded words to the company's vast servers, which then send back an audio translation.

The 'Alpha' trial version works only in Spanish and English but Google expects to add new languages soon.

In December, an iPhone application called WordLens became an internet sensation after a video demonstrated how it uses the iPhone's inbuilt camera to recognise text that is viewed through the lens. It too only worked with Spanish and English.

Read Also | 10 apps to boost your finances using Google's Android OS

Google already has an online text translator and while early versions of it sometimes produced little more than gobbledegook, it's ever-growing database of words has now enabled it to achieve far greater accuracy.

It now covers more than 52 of the world's estimated 6,000 languages.

As with automatic text translation, Google hopes the technique will become more sophisticated with the help of millions of users around the world.

via ciol

Verizon iPhone to Curb Android Sales, but How Much?

Most high-tech analysts in the free world agree the CMDA-based Verizon iPhone 4 will impede both AT&T's iPhone sales and the growth of Google Android handsets on Verizon Wireless' network.

Few agree, however, on just how much Android will be affected. EWEEK found some analysts who have some insight into the Verizon iPhone speculation.

Gleacher Co. analyst Mark Mckechnie, who estimated Verizon accounted for 7 million of the 14 million Motorola Android phones shipped in 2010, said that number will likely fall to 5 million through 2011.

That's quite a hit, but not catastrophic, particularly one when one considers Samsung sold 10 million Galaxy S Android units in just half a year. Remember that HTC, Sony, LG and others also make Android models for all four U.S. carriers.

Many analysts expect Verizon to ship 9 million to 15 million iPhone 4s this year, minus the benefit of a full year of sales because the device won't hit stores until Feb. 10.

Yankee Group analyst Carl Howe is going with 16.5 million Verizon iPhone 4s sold in 2011. However, Howe also believes that despite the cachet of Apple and its iPhone, Android will weather the Verizon iPhone storm well on sheer diversity of handsets.

"Android provides a lot of choices that Apple doesn't," Howe told eWEEK. "Want a hard keyboard? You're not going to be buying an iPhone. Want a 4G device? Not available on the Apple platform today. There are still lots of ways to differentiate other than with the OS."

Forrester Research analyst Charles Golvin takes a slightly dimmer view of Android's prospects as a result of the Verizon iPhone coming to the market

Golvin believes that the majority of Verizon's iPhone sales will be to its existing customers, some of whom may be trading in their Blackberry or Droid to get an iPhone.

"It's also reasonable to assume that a high percentage of those who will migrate from Sprint, T-Mobile, and smaller carriers are already carrying a phone running another smartphone platform," Golvin said. "All told, this means that Android will see some actual losses in share as well as lost sales opportunities."

"You may have some customers who will switch from an Android phone to an iPhone but we will also have many who are perfectly satisfied with the device they are using. One of the advantages we have is our stores will be stocked with both so customers can not only look but touch before making their decision."

Yankee's Howe added that there's room for Apple, Android, RIM platforms, if not more, such as Microsoft Windows Phone 7.

via eweek

Android's Rumoured Music Store a Picture Closer to Being Reality

Google's Android has been planning to have its own cloud based music service a la iTunes for a while now. Recently, a picture emerged showing a screen shot of a syncing list in what looks like a Gingerbread build. Among syncing contact and Picasa albums, there is also an option for syncing music. While many third party applications available in the marketplace already provide music services, this picture hints that Android will have its own music software integrated into the device.

The sync screen with the reported Gingerbread build. Photo via GizmoFusion

Even without a music store itself, the synchronization aspect could imply over the air synchronization. At Google's I/O last year, they demonstrated technology that would allow Android users to stream music from their desktop PCs directly to their phones. While most rumours point to this being a service of Gingerbread, skeptics think that Google will wait and make this service happen only in time for Ice Cream (Android 2.4).

via tech2

BlackBerry Dakota Image, Details Leaked

Sports 2.8-inch touchscreen, Mobile Hotspot and 5MP camera with HD recording

Mobile World Congress 2011 is exactly a month away and we anticipate several new smartphones to be unveiled. Before that, we'll certainly have a few weeks full of leaks, grainy photos and speculations. Jonathan Geller, blogger at BoyGeniusReport, has got an interesting piece of information about an upcoming BlackBerry handset codenamed BlackBerry Dakota.

BlackBerry Dakota bears a close resemblance to the BlackBerry Bold handset. This feature-rich handset also seems to be the thinnest BlackBerry handset with a 10.5 mm thin profile. Dakota has a 2.8-inch VGA capacitive screen to let you touch and interact with the BlackBerry OS. Apart from that this smartphone sports a Near-Field Communication chip, like the one found in the recently released Nexus S device, which could be used for various location based e-commerce services.

The Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE and Tri-band UMTS supporting Dakota will let you turn it into a 3G Mobile Hotspot. So RIM indeed is following in the footsteps of Android and Apple (with iOS 4.3 update). Dakota will come pre-loaded with BlackBerry OS 6.1 that would bring its own sweet set of features. Mobile Hotspot feature for BlackBerry devices would come with BlackBerry OS 6.1 update.

BlackBerry Dakota would be yet another device to get a 5 megapixel camera with HD video recording after the BlackBerry 9780. The full specifications are listed below:

- Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE
- Tri-band UMTS
- 5 megapixel camera with HD video recording, flash, and image stabilization
- 4GB of built in storage, 768MB of RAM
- 2.8-inch VGA 640 x 480 capacitive screen
- BlackBerry OS 6.1
- WiFi 802.11b/g/n on 2.4GHz and 5GHz frequencies
- 3G mobile hotspot
- MicroUSB port
- Bluetooth
- Near Field Communication
- Magnetometer
- Accelerometer
- Proximity sensor
- 10.5mm thin

via techtree