Wednesday 29 February 2012

Google TV Flopping Like A Floppy Flop    [ 29-02-2012 15:17 ]

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

A new report out is painting a very bleak picture for Google TV. First launched back in late 2010 Google TV has been, to put it mildly, less than successful. The CEO of Logitech, for example, called it a gigantic mistake. Not exactly a ringing endorsement from one of Google's manufacturing partners. In the year or so that Google TV has been available there have been fewer than 1 million devices sold.

GigaOm used installed user base data from the Android Market to put out an estimate of between 500,000-1 million units sold. The data for applications that came pre-installed with Google TV backs up that figure. Xyologic, a mobile analysis firm, also released a report earlier his month that again backs up those numbers.

In comparison Apple's Apple TV has sold around 4.2 million units and even then many look upon it as something of a flop. With rumours of an actual Apple TV set on the way that may be moot anyway. For Google it looks like they have an uphill battle on their hands though if Google Tv is ever to be a success and at this stage it's hard to see how they can do that.

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Loophole Means iOS Apps Have Access To Photo Library & Location    [ 29-02-2012 13:42 ]

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

There was a spot of controversey recently over iOS app Path being able to access the address book on iPhones it was installed upon, even without gaining permission from the user. If that wasn't bad enough the New York Times is reporting that the address book isn't the only vulnerable piece of user data available to third party applications on ther iPhone: photos are too. One app developer told The NYT:

After a user allows an application on an iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch to have access to location information, the app can copy the user’s entire photo library, without any further notification or warning.

Gaining access to the user's photo library wouldn't just mean the pictures or videos become available to the app, but also the coordinates the pictures were taken at if they were geo-tagged. That sort of information could allow an app to track where a user had been. With such data able to be uploaded to a third party server Apple then has no control over monitoring it.

The NYT created a test app to see if any of this was borne out, and it was. Their app, PhotoSpy (not submitted to the App Store by the way), was able to access the user's photos and the associated location data. They were then able to upload the obtained information to their own server. It's a worrying development and something Apple should take seriously. Previously leaked photos were pretty much the domain of the celebrity, but as David Jacobs from the Electronic Privacy Information Center pointed out:

We've seen celebrities and famous people have pictures leaked and disclosed in the past. There's every reason to think that if you make that easier to do, you'll see much more of it. Not just celebrities are at risk. A lot of sites are trying to obtain images from everyday people and politicians to post online.

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Chinese Manufacturers Low Opinion Of Windows Phone In China    [ 29-02-2012 13:05 ]

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

Android may be the dominant smartphone platform in the Chinese market at the moment, but that isn't going to stop Microsoft from launching its new Tango update there in an effort to capture some valuable marketshare. However, the local Chinese manufacturers aren't too optimistic about Microsoft's chances according to a report from DigiTimes. Android's aggressive marketing, low cost handsets and ease of app development are all said to be factors that will limit Windows Phone's success in China. Even so Nokia will be at the forefront of the charge into China with new devices set to be released in the first half of this year. Nokia will be joined by the likes of Huawei and Lenovo and ZTE, who all make Android handsets for China at the moment.

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