Author Topic: **SMART PHONES - UPDATES & MALWARE**  (Read 206678 times)

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CharleyO

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Re: **SMART PHONES - UPDATES & MALWARE**
« Reply #495 on: October 25, 2012, 07:59:35 PM »
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iPad Mini Supply Issues Could Limit Launch

Apple’s iPad mini has officially been introduced, but supply chain constraints could limit the number of devices initially available to consumers.


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Apple finally took the wraps off the consumer technology industry's worst-kept secret, the iPad Mini, on Oct. 23, resulting in yet another device that will battle for market share in the increasingly competitive 7-inch tablet market. Sales of the iPad Mini may have more to do with initial supply constrains than any lack of consumer demand, despite a price point for the device, which starts at $329, that struck many critics as too high.

A blog post from NPD DisplaySearch senior analyst Richard Shim, who specializes in notebooks and tablet PCs, said although Apple is expanding its partner base for the iPad Mini, issues with the display panel will limit initial shipments.


Read more at :
http://www.eweek.com/mobile/ipad-mini-supply-issues-could-limit-launch-npd/?kc=EWKNLEDP10252012D


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CharleyO

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Re: **SMART PHONES - UPDATES & MALWARE**
« Reply #496 on: October 25, 2012, 08:45:23 PM »
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Samsung Galaxy Note II: Two Hands On With the 5.5-Inch Phablet



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The Samsung Galaxy Note II, introduced Aug. 29 in Berlin, is finally headed for U.S. shores. It will arrive on Sprint's 4G network Oct. 25, priced at $299.99, and for the same price at AT&T Nov. 9. In the coming days or weeks, Verizon Wireless, T-Mobile and U.S. Cellular will also begin selling it. The Note II runs Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) and a quad-core processor, but its most radical feature is its 5.5-inch (on the diagonal) display. It's a big device, and unapologetically so. Like other Note devices, it also comes with an S Pen—Samsung's smartened-up version of a stylus—making clear that it's as much a small tablet as a large smartphone.


See & read more at :
http://www.eweek.com/mobile/slideshows/samsung-galaxy-note-ii-two-hands-on-with-the-5.5-inch-phablet/?kc=EWKNLEDP10252012A


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CharleyO

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Re: **SMART PHONES - UPDATES & MALWARE**
« Reply #497 on: October 27, 2012, 06:16:58 AM »
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Sprint CEO Dan Hesse Tries to Put Positive Spin on Subscriber Losses

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In a speech in California after the release of Sprint’s third quarter financials Sprint CEO Dan Hesse explained mobile carrier’s net loss of 400,000 subscribers by claiming that it is moving subscribers off its Nextel network, but moving the majority of them onto Sprint’s.

Dan Hesse said here Oct. 25 that the reason the wireless carrier reported a net loss of subscribers in the third quarter is that it is moving subscribers off the soon-to-be-shutdown Nextel network, but it is successfully moving many of them to Sprint’s.

Hesse sought to provide context to news of the net loss of subscribers Sprint reported in the third quarter of 2012 in an address at the Sprint Open Solutions Conference at the San Jose Convention Center. Earlier in the day, at 5 a.m. PT, Hesse joined the conference call on which the company's results were released.

The Nextel network—which Sprint acquired, along with other Nextel assets, in a $35 billion merger of the two companies in 2005—is going to be shut down by 2014, and the spectrum will be used for other telecommunications services, Hesse explained.


Read more at :
http://www.eweek.com/mobile/sprint-ceo-dan-hesse-tries-to-put-positive-spin-on-subscriber-losses/

[As of two months ago, after being an 8 year customer, I was one of those 400,000 customers who left Sprint. The call service was very good but their customer service lacked alot to be desired in recent years.
And, I found practically the same plan I had with Sprint at another company for half the cost.]


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CharleyO

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Re: **SMART PHONES - UPDATES & MALWARE**
« Reply #498 on: October 30, 2012, 06:41:23 AM »
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LG Nexus 4 Details Leak in U.K. in Advance of Google Android Event


With just days to go before Google's Oct. 29 Android event, a U.K. based smartphone retailer inadvertently posted preview details of a new LG Nexus 4 Android phone.

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Speculation continues unabated about what Google will unveil at its planned Oct. 29 press event in New York City, but now the world knows of one item that’s likely to be announced: a new LG Nexus 4 smartphone running Android 4.2 Jelly Bean. 

Details for the new phone, which would be LG's first entry into Google's Nexus line, were apparently leaked by a U.K.-based smartphone retailer, Carphone Warehouse, which inadvertently listed the phone as available for preorders on its Website, according to a report from The Verge.

"An entirely official-looking preorder page has been put up for the handset, whose display is said to measure 4.7 inches diagonally with a 1280 x 768 resolution," reported The Verge. "Other salient features include Android 4.2, still called Jelly Bean, a quad-core Snapdragon S4 processor, NFC and an 8-megapixel camera. Looking into the more detailed spec sheet, the Nexus 4 is listed as being 9.1mm thick and is offered with 8GB of on-board storage."


Read more at :
http://www.eweek.com/mobile/lg-nexus-4-details-leak-in-u.k.-in-advance-of-google-android-event/?kc=EWKNLEDP10292012D


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CharleyO

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Re: **SMART PHONES - UPDATES & MALWARE**
« Reply #499 on: November 01, 2012, 07:01:53 AM »
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Sprint Takes Market Risks by Holding Off on Windows Phone 8 Devices

Sprint was conspicuous by its absence from a list of carriers that Microsoft says will start carrying phones running Windows Phone 8 this fall.

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Of the four major wireless carriers operating in the U.S., AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless were all front and center on day one Oct. 29 to say “step right up and buy your Windows Phone 8 gadgets from us.” Sprint’s official response could be summed up as “meh.”

“Sprint is working with Microsoft on plans for Windows 8 devices, including smartphones,” said a Sprint spokesperson in a statement shared with eWEEK Oct. 31. “We do not have specific launch dates to share at this time.”


Read more at :
http://www.eweek.com/mobile/sprint-takes-market-risks-by-holding-off-on-windows-phone-8-Devices/

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CharleyO

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Re: **SMART PHONES - UPDATES & MALWARE**
« Reply #500 on: November 01, 2012, 07:13:55 AM »
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HTC Security Flaw Found on Multiple Android Phones

HTC's Help page advised users of the issue, which can be resolved through an automatic software upgrade, though some users will have to update manually.

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Smartphone manufacturer HTC admitted several of its phones running Google's Android operating system have a security flaw that allows hackers or an application to view and access WiFi security information. The affected phones include the Desire HD, the Glacier, the Droid Incredible, the ThunderBolt, the Sensation, the Sensation 4G, the Desire S, the EVO 3D and the EVO 4G.


Read more at :
http://www.eweek.com/android/HTC-Security-Flaw-Found-on-Multiple-Android-Phones/

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CharleyO

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Re: **SMART PHONES - UPDATES & MALWARE**
« Reply #501 on: November 02, 2012, 03:46:10 AM »
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MetroPCS Launches World's First Rich Communication Services for LTE


MetroPCS was first to LTE, and a day after announcing record third-quarter revenue, it is the first to launch Rich Communication Services on an LTE network.

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MetroPCS was the first U.S. carrier to launch a Long Term Evolution (LTE) 4G network, and on Oct. 31, it announced the added distinction of being the first in the world to launch Rich Communication Services (RCS) on a 4G LTE network.


Read more at :
http://www.eweek.com/networking/metropcs-launches-worlds-first-rich-communication-services-for-lte/?kc=EWKNLEDP11012012E


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CharleyO

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Re: **SMART PHONES - UPDATES & MALWARE**
« Reply #502 on: November 03, 2012, 05:24:03 AM »
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iPad Mini, Microsoft Surface, Nexus 7: 10 Tempting Tablets for SMBs


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Small businesses are always the most cost-conscious of companies, with limited resources to spend on IT, no matter how beneficial. This is especially true in an economy where many small and midsize business owners are concerned about their future growth prospects. On the other hand, emerging technologies such as tablet devices, coupled with the general consumerization of IT and the growing popularity of bring-your-own-device (BYOD) initiatives, is helping small businesses improve productivity, while allowing them to connect with new customers, thanks to location-based applications and cloud-based social networks. In the past few months a number of high-profile tablet devices have been unveiled, namely Apple's latest shiny, happy, people-pleasing device, the iPad mini, as well as Microsoft's Surface tablet, which runs Windows RT, and other convertible tablets optimized for the new Windows 8 operating system. For the small business owner who values mobility over all else, a 7-inch tablet may be the best fit, but companies using tablets in hazardous or rough-and-tumble environments may lean towards a more rugged device. Which one is right for your business? Let's compare some of the more high-profile models coming to market and see where they stand.


See and read more at :
http://www.eweek.com/mobile/slideshows/ipad-mini-microsoft-surface-nexus-7-10-tempting-tablets-for-smbs/?kc=EWKNLEDP11022012A


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CharleyO

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Re: **SMART PHONES - UPDATES & MALWARE**
« Reply #503 on: November 03, 2012, 05:32:44 AM »
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BlackBerry 10 Smartphones Head to Carrier Trials as RIM Loses Pentagon

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Research In Motion CEO Thorsten Heins has announced that 50 carriers are now conducting lab trials with BlackBerry 10 smartphones, suggesting the long-awaited devices and the equally long-awaited new BlackBerry 10 platform they run on, are on track to launch in early 2013, as promised.

"This process will continue in the coming months as more carriers around the world formally evaluate the devices and our brand-new software," Heins said in a statement


Read more at :
http://www.eweek.com/mobile/blackberry-10-smartphones-head-to-carrier-trials-as-rim-loses-pentagon?kc=EWKNLEDP11022012B


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CharleyO

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Re: **SMART PHONES - UPDATES & MALWARE**
« Reply #504 on: November 03, 2012, 05:54:11 AM »
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Windows Phone 8 Faces Uphill Fight to Win Market-Share Battle: IDC


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New sales figures show that the Microsoft Windows Phone operating system holds only a 2 percent share of the global smartphone market based on current OS market rankings, putting pressure on the new Windows Phone 8 to increase that number substantially.

Research released Nov. 1 by IDC shows that just 3.6 million phones running Windows Phone 7 were shipped in the third quarter ended Sept. 30, versus 1.5 million in the year-ago quarter. The third-quarter numbers do not include Windows Phone 8 sales, as devices running it only came out Oct. 29.

The good news is that Windows Phone is the fastest-growing mobile OS in the market with 140 percent growth from the third quarter of 2011.


Read more at :
http://www.eweek.com/mobile/windows-phone-8-faces-uphill-fight-to-win-market-share-battle-idc/


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CharleyO

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Re: **SMART PHONES - UPDATES & MALWARE**
« Reply #505 on: November 08, 2012, 08:20:59 PM »
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Apple's Future Growth Threatened by 10 Companies in Mobile Market


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Apple is viewed as a company that's insulated against hard times. The company's iPhone and iPad are too popular, its brand too appealing and its legion of fans too supportive to ever allow the company to falter.

 There's no debating that Apple is successful and will likely continue to be so for the indeterminate future.

But to view the company as invulnerable fails to acknowledge that it's facing increased competition across its most important markets. In some market segments,


See & read more at :
http://www.eweek.com/mobile/slideshows/apples-future-growth-threatened-by-10-companies-in-mobile-market/?kc=EWKNLEDP11082012A


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CharleyO

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Re: **SMART PHONES - UPDATES & MALWARE**
« Reply #506 on: November 08, 2012, 10:32:58 PM »
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100K Google Android Apps Pose Potential Security Risk: Bit9 Report

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A mobile security report from security vendor Bit9 said that 100,000 applications it examined on Google Play were questionable or suspicious due to the types of permissions they requested, the reputation of the application's publisher and other factors.

Bit9's criteria for defining an application as "questionable" or "suspicious" included permissions requested by the application, categorization of the application, user rating, number of downloads and the reputation of the application's publisher.

In its examination of more than 400,000 Android apps, Bit9 found 72 percent use at least one high-risk permission. In addition, 42 percent of the apps access GPS location data, including wallpapers, games and utilities; 31 percent access phone calls or phone numbers; 26 percent access personal data, such as contacts and email; and 9 percent use permissions that can cost the user money.

"Most consumers are willing to click “allow” for mobile apps in situations they probably would never have allowed on a Windows computer," he said. "This is because people do not yet consider their smartphones as vulnerable or as sensitive as they do their desktops and laptops; even those smartphones are essentially just smaller computers, and debatably store even more personal information than the average laptop."

"Another problem is that there are dozens of different permissions on an Android device," he added. "The disclosure dialog box cannot list or properly explain them all. Even if it could, some are simply too esoteric or technical for an ordinary consumer to understand. If the warning described the possibly risks, not just the permission requested, that might help, but then you would be talking about a dialog box as large as a license agreement—how many people actually read license agreements in full?"

Read more at :
http://www.eweek.com/security/100k-google-android-apps-pose-potential-security-risk-bit9-report/



CharleyO

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Re: **SMART PHONES - UPDATES & MALWARE**
« Reply #507 on: November 08, 2012, 11:26:39 PM »
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Hackers Love Android Gingerbread

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Running outdated software on your smartphone can make you an easy target for malware and viruses. The latest report by Russian security firm Kaspersky Lab reveals that 28% af all Android phones infected by malware are running Gingerbread, the operating system’s 2.3.6 version, released in September 2011.

That high number has something to do with the fact that more than half of Android devices in the market run that version of the software. Ice Cream Sandwich, ranked second, with 23% of the attacks, despite having a market considerably lower than Gingerbread — only one in four Android phones is running this version.

The report also reveals the most common malware, SMS Trojans, which infect a phone and then send text messages to numbers with premium rates, stealing large amounts of money from unbeknownst users.


Read more at :
http://mashable.com/2012/11/08/hackers-love-android-gingerbread/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Mashable+%28Mashable%29


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CharleyO

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Re: **SMART PHONES - UPDATES & MALWARE**
« Reply #508 on: November 29, 2012, 12:22:49 AM »
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Nokia wins patent case against RIM


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Nokia has won its dispute with Research In Motion (RIM) after a year of fighting over its patent-licensing agreement. Nokia and RIM have a history of licensing patents to one another, and agreed a cross-license in 2003 for standards-essential cellular patents.

However, in 2011, RIM claimed the licence had “extended beyond cellular essentials” and took the case to arbitration to renegotiate its deal with Nokia. The move backfired though and the arbitrator ruled RIM was in breach of contract for manufacturing and selling WLAN (wireless local area network) products without first agreeing royalties with Nokia.


Read more at :
http://www.computerweekly.com/news/2240173198/Nokia-wins-patent-case-against-RIM


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