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Thursday 04 August 2011

Pegatron To Ship The iPhone 5 In September? [ 04-08-2011 18:34 ]

Author: Irina Turina Source: DigiTimes Translation by: Paul Smith

Another small update in the endless iPhone 5 rumour mill for you. DigiTimes are reporting that Pegatron, one of Apple's manufacturingpartners, are set to start shipping iPhone 5 units come September. Pegatron will be manufacturing the iPhone 5 alongside Foxconn and have managed to secure an order 10 million strong for themselves. Pegatron are also rumoured to have signed a deal with Apple to manufacture the iPad 3 although rumoured component shortages may hinder the launch of that device.

If Pegatron is shipping the iPhone 5 in September it would seem to pour cold water on recent claims that the iPhone 5 won't make an appearance until October. Indeed almost all the chatter over the past few months has centred on a September launch for the device.

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Android Malware That Records Your Calls [ 04-08-2011 18:11 ]

Author: Irina Turina Source: via IntoMobile Translation by: Paul Smith

Malware is nothing new in PC land, but it is still relatively unknown to smartphone users and some may be surprised to learn just how bad some of the smartphone malware can get. Take, for example, a discovery by CA Community, which found a piece of Android malware that can record your phone calls. Yes seriously folks, it can actually record your phone calls.

The malware in question, upon installation, apparently asks for a avriety of permissions to function, but those permissions, we are led to believe, don't look like anything out of the ordinary. Perhaps the more expert amongst us might spot something amiss and question what the app is doing, but for most people a second thought probably wouldn't be spared and the app would be installed with the user none the wiser. The malware records voice calls and then stores them in the 'amr' format.

CA Community haven't stated whether this particular piece of malware in currently in the wild, in the Market or how they accessed it. It certainly sounds like a scary piece of software so keep your eyes peeled for anything suspicious looking, whether it be this app or something else that could harm your phone and data.

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Microsoft Fires Back At Google [ 04-08-2011 17:45 ]

Author: Irina Turina Source: via TechRadar Translation by: Paul Smith

Google have been taking the bull by the horns today, claiming that Apple, Microsoft and others are in cahoots to bring down Android. Well Microsoft isn't taking it lying down and have responded in kind.

One of the claims made in Google's blog post today was that Apple and Microsoft sought to buy up Nortel's patents so as to prevent Google from acquiring them. That's Google's story and for the moment they appear to be sticking to it. Microsoft's Frank Shaw, their head of corporate communications, has scrambled his keyboard and taken to Twitter to get a response to this out to the masses.

That response is a screenshot of an email from Kent Walker, Google's general counsel. The email shows Google declining to join the coalition of companies buying Nortel's patents. Microsoft claims that they asked Google to be in on the deal and the email would seem to support that with Google replying:

After talking with people here, it sounds as though for various reasons a joint bid wouldn't be advisable for us on this one.

The deal itself involved Apple, Microsoft and Oracle teaming up to buy Nortel's patents. The end cost was a cool $3.5 billion more than had been predicted.

So what does this reply from Microsoft tell us about the situation? Well not much to be honest. It's one email and really provides little background to the overall picture. It does accomplish one thing though; it makes Google's earlier charges of a 'hostile, organized' attempt to 'strangle' Android look a bit rash.

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Google Claims Apple & Microsoft Have 'Hostile, Organized Campaign' Against Android [ 04-08-2011 17:26 ]

Author: Serge Novikov Source: Google Translation by: Paul Smith

Google have opened up a new front in the seemingly never ending patent dispute wars that plague the tech industry. Senior Vice President and Chief Legal Officer at Google David Drummond has come out fighting for Google's corner today, launching an a wide ranged attack against various companies he says are trying to stifle Android.

The attack came in a post on Google's official blog entitled 'When patents attack Android'. If the title isn't exactly subtle then the contents of the post were straight in your face. Drummond accuses Microsoft, Oracle, Apple and others of a "... hostile, organized campaign against Android ...". Note the use of the word 'organized'. That's a pretty serious statement to make, but Drummond cites the example of Microsoft and Apple teaming up to buy Nortel and Novell's old patents as proof of this. He says that this shows how they are attempting to "strangle" Android by making sure Google didn't get its hands on those patents.

Drummond goes on to cite other examples such as Microsoft's attempts at exacting a $15 license fee for each Android handset and of course lawsuits directed against Barnes & Noble, HTC, Motorola and Samsung. Drummond likens this behevaiour to Microsoft trying to "tax" Android devices to make them more expensive.

It's certainly some fiery rhetoric, but isn't this just bluster from Google? Well perhaps not, after all Android is now the dominant smartphone platform around the world, a osition both Apple and Microsoft would love to be in, but one that seems rather distant for both of them. Simply put Android has proved incredibly popular and despite the best efforts of both companies to promote their own products neither looks to be in a position to seriously challenge Android's lead in the foreseeable future. Sure the iPhone is doing very well, but in global terms it is still a way behind Android and Android shows no sign of slowing its growth.

What is also clear is that patent disputes and legal wrangles have intensified recently, especially between companies producing Android handsets and Android's competitors. Coincidence? Perhaps, but Drummond categorises this as an 'anti-compettive strategy', which is "... escalating the cost of patents way beyond what they're really worth ..."

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