Smartphone Apps

The Blackberry PlayBook OS 2.0

21/02 (1920 hrs IST): RIM has introduced its BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0 today.

The OS sports new features like a native email App, which also offers a unified inbox consolidating messages from Facebook, LinkedIn & Twitter along side mails. The update also adds a built-in calendar App which collects information from Social Networks.

PlayBook OS 2.0 also sees the BlackBerry Bridge App updated, providing enhanced connectivity between a BlackBerry Smartphone & the tablet. There's also a “remote control” feature which allows a handset to be used as a wireless keyboard.

**HP's webOS may compete against Android?**

19/02 (1935 hrs IST): Way back in December last, HP had announced that it was planning to open-source webOS. The latter is a mobile phone Operating System (OS) introduced by Palm in 2009 & acquired a year later by HP later. It is available among other devices, on the HP tablet. Many had predicted the demise of the webOS till a few weeks ago when HP had released the 1st pieces of webOS to the open source community.

Now, HP had released the open source Isis Browser, a "core application of HP’s webOS platform written using the Enyo framework."

Writing in a Blogpost, Fred Patton, Editor-in-chief of the HP webOS Developer Portal, said a developer can create an immersive user environment that can be built on any Web platform.

The Isis Browser delivers a blazing fast JavaScript engine & supports Netscape plugins. It has a simple & functional interface which is "written" using the Enyo JavaScript framework.

Shorn of the technical stuff, lets put it this way - one needs to wait & see what competition webOS offers to Google's Android.

Use your phone to control your PC screen

17/02 (1016) hrs IST): A Smartphone App called Clik that can turn you phone into a remote control for any screen with an Internet Browser, i.e. any screen connected to the Internet, has been launched. You need to download this Free App from iTunes or Android Market, & follow the instructions. Then, you need to go to www.clikthis.com & scan the QR code seen there. You are set. Now you can use your phone to control any screen.

Clik works on any iPhone with iOS4.0 or above & any Android Smartphone with OS2.1 & above. Clik will also work on current iPod Touch models that are Wifi-enabled with a camera.

Launched: The Galaxy Tab 2

13/02 (0216) hrs IST): Samsung today announced the Galaxy Tab 2, a sequel to the original Galaxy Tab. The 7-inch tablet was announced at the Samsung Forum in Prague, Czech Republic. The Tab 2 will be available in the UK first starting in March & will then be rolled out globally.

The Galaxy Tab 2 features a 1GHz dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM, 8/16/32Gb of internal storage, a 7-inch 1024 x 600 PSL TFT display, front and rear-facing cameras, Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, plus a host of other features.

**Now, access Android Apps on your computer**

10/02 (0851) hrs IST): Now, there's a way to run Android Apps on your PC. There's a App player called BlueStacks that allows you to access most of the Apps & get their benefits, minus a Smartphone or mobile device.

The player finished its Alpha trials & is now poised to go Beta. The company in January 2012 released a Windows 8-compatible version of its software, integrating more than 400,000 Android Apps.

BlueStacks, said a company press release, was actively collaborating with top PC manufacturers to pre-load the BlueStacks App Player on Ultrabooks, tablets, notebooks and all-in-one desktop PCs. Their newest in a series of OEM partnerships is one with the Taiwanese manufacturer InHon. Inhon plans to release its first Ultrabook in March 2012 with the BlueStacks App Player pre-loaded, followed by a Windows 8 Ultrabook later this year.

More Smartphones were shipped than PCs in 2011

5/02 (2003) hrs IST): This could serve as a wake-up call for computer manufacturers. Analytical firm Canalys has released its Q4 report & 1 notable result was that total annual global shipments of Smart phones exceeded those of client PCs (including Pads) for the 1st time. Vendors shipped 158.5 million Smartphones in Q4 2011, up 57% on the 101.2 million units shipped in Q4 2010.

But the news is here - this "bumper" quarter took total global shipments for the whole of 2011 to 487.7 million units, up 63% on the 299.7 million smart phones shipped throughout 2010. By comparison, the global client PC market grew 15% in 2011 to 414.6 million units, with 274% growth in pad shipments. Pads accounted for 15% of all client PC shipments in 2011. Which means phones outsold computers in 2011.

“In 2011 we saw a fall in demand for netbooks, and slowing demand for notebooks and desktops as a direct result of rising interest in pads,” said Chris Jones, Canalys VP & Principal Analyst. “But pads have had negligible impact on smart phone volumes and markets across the globe have seen persistent and substantial growth through 2011. Smart phone shipments overtaking those of client PCs should be seen as a significant milestone. In the space of a few years, smart phones have grown from being a niche product segment at the high-end of the mobile phone market to becoming a truly mass-market proposition. The greater availability of smart phones at lower price points has helped tremendously, but there has been a driving trend of increasing consumer appetite for Internet browsing, content consumption and engaging with apps and services on mobile devices.”

However, Canalys expects to see smart phone market growth slow in 2012 as vendors exercise greater cost control and discipline, and put more focus on profitability. To understand why, click here to read the rest of the press release.

**A self-modifying Trojan Horse hits Android phones**

4/02 (0443) hrs IST): Anti-malware firm Symantec has said a new SMS Android Trojan horse that modifies its code every time it gets downloaded in order to bypass antivirus detection has surfaced.

Certain parts of the Trojan are modified for this to happen, Symantec engineers said in a Blogpost. Symantec has identified multiple variants of this Trojan horse, which it detects as Android.Opfake. All of 'em are distributed from Russian Websites. However, the malware contains instructions to automatically send SMS messages to premium-rate numbers from a large number of European & former Soviet Union countries.

Opfake performs server-side polymorphism using three techniques: variable data changes, file re-ordering & insertion of dummy files.

"For quite some time, we have observed the technique of server-side polymorphism being used to infect Windows computers around the world. What this means is that every time a file is downloaded, a unique version of the file is created in order to evade traditional signature-based detection," the post said.

"As with malware that affects traditional computing devices, the level of sophistication of the polymorphism used can affect how easy or difficult the threat is to detect," said Vikram Thakur, the principal security response manager at Symantec. "More complicated polymorphism requires more intelligent countermeasures."

So all you Android users out there, be careful if you see anything with Opfake written on it.

Google now has a Bouncer in its ranks

3/02 (1413) hrs IST): Not the types you often get to see outside pubs & lounges. This particular Bouncer is the invisible type, silently scanning the waves for rogues. Security is a worrisome factor in the Smartphones market. Of late, there have been several reports of malware squirreling away your precious mobile phone data.

To tackle security concerns, Google Inc has introduced Bouncer, a service that scans the Android market for malicious Apps. It has been a quiet existence so far because Bouncer has been around since the start of 2011 but it is only now that Google has revealed it. In a Blogpost, it claims Bouncer makes it easier to keep the Android Market safer while maintaining the simple process of uploading new Apps. Google claims that the number of malicious Apps downloads has gone down by 40 %.

The way it works is this - after a developer has uploaded an App, Bouncer scans it for known trojans, spyware & malware & also for extraneous behavior. If any such problem is detected, it raises a red flag.

In addition to using new services to help prevent malware, Google claims that other security features are already working prior to Bouncer to keep malware at bay. These include:

Sandboxing: The Android platform uses this technique to put virtual walls between Apps & other software on the device. So, if you download a malicious Application, it can't access data on other parts of your phone.
Permissions: Android provides a permission system to help you understand the capabilities of the Apps you install, & manage your own preferences.
Malware removal: Android is designed to prevent malware from modifying the platform or hiding from you, so it can be easily removed if your device is affected.