Apple iOS 5 features showdown

Several features have been allegedly "inspired" from existing ones on other platforms and third-party applications available on App Store. 

At the Worldwide Developers Conference 2011, Apple executives gave a sneak peek into the upcoming iOS 5 update that is scheduled to arrive later this year. The iOS 5 update boasts 200 new features and 1,500 new application programming interfaces (APIs) to support the iPad 2, iPad, iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, and iPod touch 3rd and 4th generations. Several new features were demonstrated on stage and many found those features similar to ones offered by other mobile operating systems.

Android continues to suffer from malware

Despite removing several malicious applications researchers find nefarious DroidKungFu malware that can take control of the device and even turn it into a bot.

A few days ago we reported that Google had removed more than two dozen malicious applications from Android Market. This number now turns out to be far from sufficient.

According to North Carolina State University researchers, assistant professor Xuxian Jiang, and Ph.D. student Yajin Zhou, a new malware called DroidKungFu has been found in certain apps being circulated outside Android Market. DroidKungFu malware possesses advanced techniques that make it capable of bypassing mobile anti-virus software and also enable it to install a backdoor that allows the hacker to take complete control of the device.

Google Wallet is first off the mark — Now What?

At this time, it is just a pilot run in which two cities and some retailers are participating, but if it succeeds, the potential is huge.

Like every other new idea, Google Wallet also has attracted its fair share of detractors who don't think the service will succeed. This is obvious as in case of any new service as most people don't know how it works, and how it may go on to succeed.

Many companies were thinking of using mobiles for making payments, but with Google Wallet, Google turned out to be the first company to make a major move on it. 

Popular video game emulators disappear from Android Market

Following complaints from game manufacturers, Google acts against console emulators on Android Market.

Popular video game emulators like the Nesoid, Snesoid, Gensoid, Ataroid and many others have reportedly been removed from Android Market by Google.

Google had in the past also removed a few emulators from the marketplace following a complaint by game and device manufacturer Sega.

Easy to check in and easier to rate: Google Places

Google's latest Google Map update for the Android devices adds easy check in facility for the users along with a one touch access to rate the place as well.

Google has announced yet another update for its Maps service which enables easier check in and rating of places. Google Places is a service in which users can access Google Maps to find out information about a particular place or places near them. 

The new Google Maps 5.5 allow users to get one touch access to check in and rating the place in Google places with up to 5 star rating.

The location history database, which was added to the Google latitude check in sometime back, has also been improved. Also included in the history dashboard are buttons that allows users to quickly change their office and home location with just a single touch. 

Hardware buttons missing from next Google phone

The next Google phone is being tested on both CDMA and HSPA+, and it appears to have the front facing camera on the top left.

Google's upcoming Nexus 3 smartphone will have no physical buttons on it and will just have a touchscreen in the front, a technology website has revealed.

The phone will use Android Honeycomb operating system, which is meant for tablet PCs. Honeycomb will enable the phone to work smoothly even without physical buttons.

This plan seems very much in line with Google's vision to combine the tablet and smartphone operating systems in a single device. Users won't need hardware buttons simply because all they need will be available on the screen itself.

Acer BeTouch E210 touch and type Phone

After BlackBerry Acer unveils it's Touch and Type smartphone for the Indian market based on Android.

After Nokia and BlackBerry, Acer has announced a new touch and type interface based Android smartphone for India, named as BeTouch E210.

The new Acer BeTouch E210 is a 3G capable phone based on Android 2.2 Froyo and has a full Qwerty keypad along with a 2.6 inch big capacitive touch screen that supports multi touch gestures like pinch to zoom and more. 

The next big thing in feature phones: Cloud

Users will benefit from the low cost of phones because they won't need to store apps on their phone and will be able to access apps from a cloud server.

We keep hearing about new smartphones, but it appears Samsung and Motorola are going to surprise us with a new concept — cloud based mobile phones.

These are cheaper phones that will run on software stored in a remote server, or cloud. Usually, the data accessed by smartphones resides on the phone itself, thus raising the cost of the device. Cloud phones, on the other hand, will have no need to carry data with them. Rather, users can just pluck data from the cloud and use it as per their convenience.

Google to launch Street View in India, starting from Bengaluru

Street View maps offer not just directions but also complete pictures of streets.

Google has announced that it will begin collecting images in Bengaluru for its Street View feature in Google Maps. This is the first time that the internet giant will provide the service for any Indian city.

Google cars and Trikes will today begin driving and taking street level photographs of public locations around the city. The images will be made available at a later date in Street View on Google Maps.

Google set to introduce mobile wallet in Android devices

Apart from Android phones, iPhones are also likely to have mobile payment technology embedded in them. Analysts believe that near field communication based mobile payment systems are likely to be the next big thing in commerce.

Google is set to reveal its digital wallet feature in New York on May 26. The digital wallet will allow users to pay for items through their Android phones. According to a Reuters report, the service will initially be available on phones from Sprint Nextel Corp.

The mobile payment system from Google will be powered by Near Field Communication (NFC) technology and will help users reduce dependence on credit cards for shopping. The technology enables mobile phones to transmit data to other devices from a distance of about four inches. 

Google Maps now available on mobile browser

Now Android and iPhone users can access Google maps through their device's browser, without having the need to install the application itself.

Google has launched its maps service for Android and iOS devices which can be accessed even without installing the application. 

Google Maps is by far one of the most used maps and location services used across the world as it is available free of cost across various platforms. 

Sharp announces a 16 mega pixel Android smartphone

The smartphone features a 16 mega pixel camera, Android 2.3, and is waterproof as well to keep things from getting wet.

While Sony Ericsson might still be planning to pump some life in its Cyber Shot brand, Japanese electronics manufacturer Sharp has become the world's first handset maker to launch a smartphone with a 16 mega pixel camera. The device is called Aquos Hybrid 007SH and runs on Google's Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) operating system. The smartphone is perhaps the world's first clamshell Android smartphone. 

It will have a 3.4 inch LCD display capable of reproducing 3D imagery though its stereoscopic vision, which means that users will not be required to wear glasses to view the 3D content on this phone. 

The manufacturer has also made this phone waterproof to protect it in various situations, but the idea behind making it a clamshell phone is still unknown. 

Google fixes security flaw

The security flaw in Android 2.3.3 or older versions allowed hackers to gain user's login ID and passwords when unencrypted was sent by the user over a public WiFi network.

A flaw in the Android operating system, which allowed hackers to gain unencrypted data of a user over public WiFi networks, has been fixed up by the Google, the maker of the OS.

The security flaw was highlighted by a group of German developers and was reported by The Mobile Indian earlier too. 

It was found that Android devices running on 2.3.3 or older versions are particularly susceptible especially when the one uses services such as Google Calender and Google docs to be sent over-the-air unencrypted over a public WiFi network. This may allow hackers, present in the network, to gain the user's login ID and password. 

Google search app for iOS improved

Google has upgraded its recently launched search application for iOS devices, making it faster and easier to operate.

Google has announced an update to its recently launched search application for iOS devices. The new update promises to fix issues related to search speed and accuracy while adding a brand new interface, which will make the search process a lot easier.

The company had introduced voice-based search in the previous version of this application along with the 'Just Talk' feature, which enabled iOS users to perform voice search by directly speaking into the microphone without having to press any buttons for the operation.

The 'Just Talk' feature, which used to get turned on automatically, resulted in large numbers of false searches while the user was performing another search.

Android finds a way to curb piracy

Android has introduced Market License Server which gets pinged by both genuine and pirated apps so the developers can find out and remotely deactivate the app or charge the users.

To counter the scourge of piracy of applications, Android has come up with a way, called Market License Server, through which the app developers can actually verify whether the app running on a smartphone is a legitimate one or not. 

If used, this facility let the apps, even pirated copies, to ping the servers of developers which will in turn find out whether it is a pirated one or not. 

Android phones vulnerable to open WiFi

At the time of logging in the authentication token issued by Google remains valid for 15 days and can be used again on Google Calendar, which doesn't use https. Meanwhile, the username and password can be intercepted.

Close to 99 per cent of all Android devices are prone to data theft, especially of the username and passwords of Google services, German researchers have reported.

It was found that Android devices running on 2.3.3 or older versions are particularly susceptible as the client login authentication process used in these versions is insecure.

In fact, the vulnerability exists not just for Google apps but for any apps that don't use a ClientLogin protocol (the protocol for logging in to your Google account) only on https (secured).

Google Docs for Android renewed

The Google docs allows the users to create and modify documents such as word files, excel files, and presentations while keeping them secure on the cloud, which allows the user to access them anywhere.

Google Docs, a cloud based document storage and editing service, has been updated for Android based smartphones. With the addition of newer features, the Google Docs application allows the user to get the work done in a faster and better way. 

Apart from the visual upgrades, the application also has new functionalities that will go a long way in helping the Android users. 

The Google docs allows the users to create and modify documents such as word files, excel files, and presentations while keeping them secure on the cloud, which allows the user to access them anywhere. 

Google News adds 'news near me' to mobiles

Now get localised news directly on your smartphone with Google news without having to search for them manually.

Google News for mobile has added a new feature into it, News Near You, which will enable users to access localised news. 

For this service, users will not have to enter their location details in the search. Rather, the news service will automatically detect the user's location to serve news to that particular user. 

To use this feature, users need to visit Google News from the browser of his Android smartphone or iPhone. For a new user, a pop-up will ask for location details. If the user agrees to that, news relevant to the location will appear in a new section called "News Near You" at the bottom of the homepage. 

Users can also turn off the feature if they do not want to share their location or they do not wish to read local news by simply adjusting the mobile browser settings.

This application, however, is available only in the US English language.

Google updates Android Market

Google will also be allowing developers to upload bigger files, so the users can expect heavier apps as well. Earlier, hard core gamers couldn't get all the games due to the file size restrictions on the Android apps.

Google has updated its Android Marketplace, which has recently crossed the two lakh apps mark, to make the best and popular applications visible at the top so the users do not face difficulty in locating the apps they are looking for. 

The changes made by Google are simple and intuitive, which mostly use the search capabilities of the company to find out which application is doing well among the users. The editorial category is the only one where human discretion will prevail. The only problem with this is that while popular apps become more visible, users may not even see lesser known applications. 

The web interface of the Android Market has undergone a major overhaul and has included five more categories: Top Developers, Editor's Choice, Related Apps, Top Apps, and Trending Apps. In every category, the apps are presented in a different manner to make the entire process more convenient. 

The developers can upload bigger files, hence users can expect heavier apps for their Android devices as well. This news will gladden the hearts of hard core gamers who were not able to get some games due to the file size restrictions. 

The update will be sent to the Android smartphones and tablets.

Google announces Google Places API

Google Places API is a service that returns information about Places, defined within the API as geographic locations, or prominent points of interest using HTTP requests

BANGALORE, INDIA: Search engine giant Google has announced the availability of Google Places API for developers at the Google I/O 2011, annual developer conference.

Google Places API is a service that returns information about Places, defined within the API as geographic locations, or prominent points of interest using HTTP requests.

"After the launch the Developer preview of Places API at Google I/O 2010, we received overwhelming response from the developer community and amazed by the innovative use cases suggested for the API," said Thor Mitchell, product manager at Google Maps API team.

He added, "We’re very excited to make all of these great Places services available to all of our Maps API developers. We know many of you have been eagerly awaiting access to the Places API, and we appreciate your patience."