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Android malware woes

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Android Marketplace, the application store of the number one operating system in the world today, has more than twenty applications infected with a new type of malware, according to NetQin Mobile, a smartphone security and productivity application developer.

The infected mobile applications include QQ Doudizhu, Voice SMS, Drag Racing, Trader, Donkey Jump, Jungle Monkey and Gold Miner. The malware makes calls and send out messages without the users’ knowledge, pushing up their bills.

Named BaseBridge, the malware can be embedded in legitimate applications. When the applications are being installed, the malware prompts the user to upgrade and once the user chooses to upgrade, the malware is installed in the device under the software name ‘com.android.battery’.

Another pop up then asks the user to restart the to run it, and the malware is formally activated upon restarting. The malware has also been known to block messages from the service provider pertaining to high usage or payment so that the user is unaware of what the malware is doing.

Google very recently removed some applications from the Market, which had been found to be associated with suspicious activity on Android devices.

More than two dozen such applications were found to have malware, and these have been removed by Google; while between 30,000 and 120,000 phones are expected to be affected by these applications, reported Lookout, a mobile security company.

In March, a similar application by the name of Droid Dream was discovered and deleted by Google, followed by remote deletion from the affected smartphones.

There might also be many more such malicious applications online, so it is recommended that only applications from known and trusted sources be installed. The user should also check for the permissions the application is asking for and keep the anti-virus program updated.

Apple iWork app now on iPhone, iPod touch

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Smartphones available in last couple of years were looked up on to support the desktop based productivity suites like Microsoft Office or OpenOffice. Just like Microsoft has implemented tighter integration of Microsoft Office to Windows Phone 7, Apple too has done the same in its arena.

Apple productivity suite iWork’s applications – Keynote, Pages and Numbers – were already supported on iPad since last year. Now the company has made the Keynote, Pages and Numbers available for iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS and iPod touch (3 and 4 generation) at $9.99 each (Rs 450 approximately).

With this, users can easily export or import their work files from iWork for Mac/iPad and Microsoft Office suite. Users can easily work on their files and share them without leaving the apps.

Keynote is an equivalent to Microsoft PowerPoint and lets users create wonderful presentations including charts and transitions with their fingertips. Create, edit and organise all your data with tables, functions, and charts in the spreadsheets using the Numbers app which is similar to the Microsoft Excel.
Work on text documents imported from Microsoft Word using Pages application. The smart zoom feature in the platform version of iWork apps allows users to zoom in to the text as well as cells for proper data editing and viewing.

Keynote, Numbers and Pages for iPhone and iPod touch also allow taking printout of the files wirelessly using the AirPrint technology.
Today, we can say that Apple has added one more feature to its hat of creating iPhone as a modern smartphone that truly supports all productivity features.

Free cross-platform messengers for smartphones

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Research In Motion’s BlackBerry smartphones have become quite popular in India in recent months. While the dispute between RIM and the Government of India persists, BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) has become a popular application that keeps the majority of BlackBerry owners busy, texting their contacts, friends and relatives.

The primary reason for BBM’s popularity is that it is integrated with the BlackBerry operating system and is a light-weight that is economical in its consumption of resources. Users can send and receive text, photos, audio and video, and can receive real-time delivery confirmations. BBM’s chief purpose is that it enables people to converse with their contacts live at minimal cost.

One of the best parts of BlackBerry Messenger is that it can be used free under the basic BlackBerry plan from mobile operators. Several users have shifted from sending SMSs to sending ‘pings’ on BBM. Users can add friends based on PINs (alpha-numeric personal identification numbers,) and can also create groups. Despite these benefits, the BBM has one major limitation – it can be used to send messages to other BlackBerry smartphones only.

A number of services with and without push notifications have cropped up since last year to compete with BBM. However, only a select few of them are available on at least two different mobile platforms.

Today we’ll take a quick look at the free real-time messaging services for popular platforms: Google Android, Apple iOS, BlackBerry and Symbian. The following apps have been chosen for their features and popularity:

WhatsApp

It is one of the most popular cross-platform apps and is known as the BlackBerry Messenger alternative. WhatsApp Messenger is free to use on iOS, Android, BlackBerry and Symbian platforms.

For the time being the app is available free on and BlackBerry but you may have to pay for it later. Because it is cross platform you can communicate with a wider number of contacts who might be using iOS, Android, BlackBerry or Symbian devices.

After installation, WhatsApp will ask you to allow the application to send an just for confirming that the app has been successfully installed. Post that, the service and the app is free to use for one year. Just like any other messenger even WhatsApp lets you put up a customisable status message which will be broadcasted to your contacts.

The reason for this app’s immense popularity is that it is cross-platform, doesn’t require creating any sort of – no charges and offline messages. This app converts your contact list into your WhatsApp Messenger chat list. That means, every new contact added to the smartphone’s phonebook will automatically get added to the WhatsApp’s chat list.

Users can send text, images, audio, and video files to their contacts individually or create groups (of up to five people) to send one message to many.

WhatsApp Messenger uses the data connection (internet plan) of the phone and hence you’ll be required to subscribe to one. There’s no additional cost involved to send any message via WhatsApp and in fact it can turn out to be cheaper than your regular SMS or MMS.

Users can find a large group of emoticons by default in WhatsApp. The unique feature of WhatsApp is that it gives a to the recipient of the message and a message delivery confirmation to the sender.
The sender cannot find out whether his message has been read or not, but he can see whether the person he is chatting with is typing a message. The app is simple to use and provides multiple platform presence. It is free and the contacts are restricted to known people, which makes this a favourite application amongst millions.

Kik Messenger

Pretty similar to the WhatsApp Messenger,, Kik is also its closest competitor. Kik Messenger is available for iOS and platforms for free download and usage. It boasts of real-time texting since the service offers sent, delivery and read notifications for text messages. Now that’s something texting fanatics would like to be aware of.

The Kik Messenger app makes use of the phone’s data connection to send text messages and share photos. The app’s chief quality is that it enables real-time conversations amongst friends, and that it is possible to chat with up to 10 people at once. This group chat feature makes sharing files with multiple people easier.

With Kik Messenger you can befriend several users across the globe and you don’t even have to share your phone number with them.

At the same time, Kik Messenger has a feature called ‘Suggested Friends’ in which the app copies phone numbers and emails from the user’s phonebook to upload them on Kik’s server. Then the Kik server creates a cache, checks which of the user’s friends are using Kik and then suggests their names on Kik.

Kik claims that it deletes users’ confidential information from its servers. Read more about that in Kik’s privacy policy.

One cannot share videos or audio clips as yet with Kik Messenger and it takes a while for users to connect with their contacts. Conversations happen in real-time and the user gets notifications at all stages of the communication. Kik can also be used to make new friends using their user names, and for that there is no need to share your phone number or email.

LiveProfile

Fast and free is what recently launched messenger service LiveProfile promises you. LiveProfile is available for iOS, Android and BlackBerry platforms for free download and use.

Just like several others, this messaging app makes use of a connection for communication. Similar to the BlackBerry Messenger, a unique PIN number is generated for every registered LiveProfile user.

LiveProfile scans your address book and lets you know if any of your contacts are using the same service. A slick black themed interface makes the app look neat and appealing.

Once again, the real-time conversation along with push notifications is a highlight of the service. Users can set their profile images, and make use of the emoticons while texting friends. Apart from that, they can share photos and videos simultaneously with multiple contacts.

Faster delivery receipts and receiving push notifications at no or minimal battery usage are what this service promises to texting hounds. It goes one step ahead by integrating two of the most popular social networks: Twitter and Facebook, which means you can post updates from this app itself.

Bubble style chat interface with black background might be pleasing for some while others may have to wait till the service allows a choice of a different theme or background image.

PingChat

PingChat is yet another rich looking free cross-platform messenger that lets you text, share photos, audio and even videos with your contacts. PingChat Messenger is available for Android, BlackBerry, and iOS platforms.

Like the aforementioned applications, PingChat uses the smartphone’s data connection for messaging, and service is free with no hidden charges.

Once you register the PingChat ID, you remain online forever! This is because the app, once installed, modifies certain permissions to make it start automatically when the phone boots up. So your phone may take a couple of seconds more to start and your data connection use would be active in the background unless you are conscious enough to stop the application.

The usual features like emoticons and multimedia sharing are present in this application. PingChat uses its private push servers to send out push notifications to BlackBerry, iOS and Android devices. However, users must be cautioned that PingChat doesn’t have a privacy policy on its official website or even on its developers’ website.

The app’s always-online feature is a reflection of the BlackBerry Messenger but the former has a unique interface and functions of its own.

Conclusion

Staying connected with friends is the chief reason why one may and should be using a free cross-platform messenger. Text messaging via any of these cross-platform messengers that offer real-time communication can bring down your SMS costs by a considerable amount.

Most of these cross-platform messaging solutions offer an almost uniform user interface and experience despite the several BlackBerry, Android and Symbian handsets they can be used with.

Privacy and security of data and information in the phonebook needs to be considered before opting for any of the above mentioned solutions. Be careful while sharing multimedia with friends via your data connection as it can spike your bills a bit.

To use any of the above mentioned applications you need to download it from your Android, iOS, BlackBerry or Symbian platform’s app store.

Print matters, but e-book readers go beyond

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The first Kindle from Amazon was launched in 2007 and all its stock was sold out within less than six hours flat. Other competitors such as Barnes and Noble also followed with their own Nook Color e-reader in 2009.

There are contrary reports on the popularity of e-books so far. While one study said that just one ebook was sold for every five print books in 2010, Amazon in May said they now sell more Kindle ebooks than all other print books – paperbacks and hardbacks – combined.
Whosoever is true, but the fact here is that e-books are selling well and in good numbers. So after all, why are these e-book reading devices are selling in huge numbers?

While there are power users who like to have all the functionalities of multipurpose devices such as tablets, there is a different segment of users who just want an affordable device for limited media consumption, such as reading books – and Kindle and Nook are targeting these very set of users.

The e-book readers display content in a different manner and not like the print edition of the books. The e-book reading devices allow the users to set their fonts, the size and style – and once it has been set, all the books look the same.

So whether the author has changed or the book’s appearance has changed, it will look the same to the users on an e-book. In contrast, each printed book is different in some sense and gives the user a unique feel. This is the same feature that attracts users to the e-book.

Nobody challenges those who say print book touch and feel experience is missing on e-book readers. It’s just that the functionalities offered by the e-readers are way beyond what users get on the print editions.

The e-books have simply increased the scope of reading for the users. Beside e-books, users can consume websites, blogs, newspapers and do some other reading on these devices.

So overall, the whole reading ecosystem is accessible to the readers, so they can choose to read whatever they want or on any device they want to use.

Google plans to intro in discount service

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The recently launched Google wallet service will soon get another feature which will allow its users to save while shopping using the Near Field Communications functionality on their devices. Google announced the introduction of bargains and deals in its newly launched mobile wallet service during a conference in Southern California on Tuesday.

With this new introduction Google plans to take on bargain and deal services like Groupon and others in various other countries as the service grows over time.

The service will be available automatically to the mobile wallet application users on Android devices, who would be updated about the deals or discounts available. The users then can make purchases through the phone or using the functionality of the Android devices.

Google will start testing this service out in the Oregon city of Portland and eventually expand to New York City and the San Francisco area of the USA as the part of their first phase plan.

There is no information whether this service will be extended or given a worldwide flavour. But looking at the trends related to service launched in the past, Android users in other countries also can expect this service.

As the mobile wallet this discount service will also be a free to use service and is expected to stay like that for the coming times as well.

Android smartphone security tips

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The popularity of operating system has made it an attractive target for the data miners and hackers. The recent reports of Trojans and malware in the Android Market must have made users feel concerned.

The Android smartphone users need to take some simple steps and be careful during their smartphone usage. Especially, they need to think before tapping on unknown links to ensure their devices remain safe all the time.
Most of the users forget to lock their phone screen which is still the first line of defence for all the smartphones. Users just need to go to Settings – Location and Security to lock their screen either through a pattern or a PIN. The lock screen pattern should be unique only to the users so others may not be able to decode it.
Even choosing a screen timeout option works well for the users as it locks the handset whenever there is no activity on the phone for a long time.

Even if the phone is gone, users don’t want their data to be compromised. The passwords should not be stored on a single location through a master password. Those who do set a master password, should make sure the passwords are encrypted. While browsing the web on the phone, it is a good practice to avoid storing username and locally on the phone.

The Android smartphones have the facility to sync the phone with users’ Google account so all the important data can be stored on the cloud as well, which allows the users to access the data later whenever they need it. If the users are not using the sync feature, they may find it difficult to manually enter all the important data all the time.

There are apps available in the Android Market as well, which enable the users to lock individual applications through gestures or passwords. Some of them are free but users should make sure the apps they are using come from a trusted source.

Before installing any app, users should read all the access and permission requests. Most of the users make the mistake of not reading the agreement and grant the access to the without thinking. For example, if a calculator app is being downloaded, and is asking for access to the Internet, it doesn’t make sense. Even the permission levels should be looked into and if any app is asking for root access, it should be promptly deleted because root access can let the app play havoc with the phone.

At the same time, when it is being suggested to avoid those apps which are asking for root access, it is advisable that users should root their devices only when they are absolutely sure. If there is any iota of doubt about anything, it’s better not to root (make changes to system files) the device – because rooting always opens up the core resources of the phone to anyone, which is not a healthy digital lifestyle.

Many users tend to use their smartphones on WiFi more to keep the data costs under control and speed up their browsing. The problem is they begin to feel safer on WiFi whereas the same risks faced by personal computers are faced by smartphones too while being used on WiFi networks. Any online banking service or financial tracking should be avoided if the users are not on a secure network.

All the apps being used on the phone and the operating system itself should be up to date, which means the latest versions should run on the phone. Keeping the software up to date is important because many new methods of gaining unauthorised access to the Android smartphones are discovered all the time, so the more up to date the phone software is, the more difficult it is to gain unauthorized access to data in it.

Last but not the least, it’s always good to depend on the official Android Market or reputed app stores for the apps. As far as physical security of the phone is concerned, there are no tips for that – and no substitute to being careful either.

Sony Ericsson Xperia Pro expected in July

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After launching Xperia Play and Xperia Arc recently in India, Sony Ericsson is all set to introduce its latest handset, the Xperia Pro, in the country.
The smartphone aimed at heavy texting users and social media enthusiasts. Sony Ericsson has started taking pre booking orders from users in the United Kingdom from today, which is an indication that the Sony Ericsson Xperia Pro might be announced in India soon after the launch in UK.

Sony Ericsson had launched the Xperia play and the Xperia Arc in UK first before their India debut, and we hope that the company will follow the pattern this time also. If all things work well, then we might see the Xperia Pro as soon as the beginning of the next month.

Sony Ericsson Xperia Pro is a full keypad based Android smartphone with 1Ghz Qualcomm Snapdragon system on chip or Soc as found on the Xperia Play and the Arc. The display of the Xperia Pro is a slightly smaller at 3.7 inches back-lit capacitive touchscreen LCD. An 8 megapixel camera capable of recording 720p high definition videos has been included in this and it also has a 32 expandable memory slot.

The official price of the free or the contract free version, which can be used with any service provider, has been kept as 349.99 Euros that translates to Rs 26,000.

But by the time it reaches Indian shores, it should be expected with a price tag of almost Rs 28,000 to 30,000 after taxes and duties.

Mobile phones: A helping hand for impulsive buyers?

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It doesn’t matter which income bracket one belongs to, we usually tend to spend more than our income. Many users often find it difficult to control their impulse purchases.

However, our cellphones, which we tend to associate with expenses, can be good helping hand for controlling our expenditures.
For example, Spenz, an application that help the users stick to a budget. The application also rewards those who spend within their limits.

The expenses can be entered in the phones through the even while they are on the move. It also tracks the necessary expenses such as car instalments and rent as well as impulse purchases such as coffee, movie and other such expenses.

Mobile coupons are another good method for the users to save money. According to a research report from Exposure2, users tend to redeem about half of the coupons issued through cellphones. Whereas, paper coupons have a poor redemption rate at just 2 per cent or even less.

The mobile coupons are delivered directly to the phones of the users, but then these coupons also encourage impulse purchases, hence suitable only for those who have higher disposable income.

It does, however, help users connect better with their friends and relatives because they can forward these mobile coupons to them. Procter and Gamble has used mobile coupons to great effect in India during the promotion of Olay Total Effects. The Olay mobile coupons drove users into the stores to collect their free sample of new product by Olay. The campaign ran for three months and 27 per cent of the users who got the coupons responded positively by visiting the stores.

Even the purchase behaviour of travel products has undergone a change. The change began with the popularity of Internet and mobile has only added to it. Earlier, whenever the users intended to visit a city, they had to buy guide books, go to the travel agent or even visit the library. For the users, it was just like traveling blind. Now the users can check the city photos or the images of the hotels even when they are on the move. Now they can make sure they get the best rates by comparing rates of different hotels.
There are several airlines which offer mobile boarding passes to their customers who just have to flash them before the airport staff to board their flights.

In an earlier survey conducted by Compete, it was found that users were spending more money right from their smartphones, but many felt bad about the bad mobile website experience. But with time, mobile commerce websites have become better optimised for viewing on mobile devices and users are getting more comfortable with the idea of buying from their smartphones or at least doing research about their future purchases, as mentioned in an earlier The Mobile Indian article.
Even Apple is studying the buying behaviour of its iTunes customers because it already knows the items downloaded by its users, what they have deleted and how much time they spend interacting with the downloaded apps.

The overall trend? Seems the whole purchase experience is shifting into the mobile screen.

Not enough evidence for cellphone usage leading to cancer: COAI

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A day after World Health Organisation warned of possible brain cancer due to heavy mobile usage, the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) has come out with a statement saying that there is not enough evidence to conclude the same.

“It is significant that IARC has concluded that RF electromagnetic fields are neither a definite nor a probable human carcinogen,” said Rajan S Mathews, director general, COAI, in a statement today.

World Health Organisation held an eight-day meeting in Lyon, France. At the end of this meeting, International Agency for Cancer Research (IARC), a part of WHO, announced that the radio-frequency electromagnetic fields generated by mobile phones are “possibly carcinogenic to humans”.

Earlier too, world’s top cancer experts have stated that mobile phones are “possibly carcinogenic”. However, IARC hasn’t given out a conclusion based on its study that mobile phone usage leads to cancer but instead opened up the subject for further research on radio-frequency electromagnetic fields.

Mathews adds, “IARC has only concluded that it may still be possible that RF fields are carcinogenic and has identified areas for further research. It may be noted that that a hazard is possible but not likely. IARC have only assessed the possibility of risk not the likelihood of risk in normal use. Their assessment will now be considered by health authorities who will determine its overall impact.”

IARC had conducted two studies in the last decade which showed a higher risk for those who found to have had most intensive use of mobile phones, an average 30 minutes per day over a period of 10 years.
Jonathan Samet, president of the working group, said, “We simply don’t know what might happen as people use their phones over longer time periods, possibly over a lifetime.”

Kurt Saif, the scientist incharge of editing the IARC reports said, “There is some evidence of increased risk of glioma” and another form of non-malignant tumour called acoustic neuroma. But it is not at the moment clearly established that the use of mobile phones does in fact cause cancer in humans.”

Cell phones have now joined the Group 2B as “possibly carcinogenic” along with lead, chloroform and gasoline exhaust. That means the materials in this group are “not classifiable” because such cancer-causing elements are noted as possibly carcinogenic, probably carcinogenic, or probably not carcinogenic.

The worried souls need to start taking care of their health by keeping a conscious check on their mobile handset usage. Apparently, using non-branded cell phones made from cheaper quality components and poor or no SAR (Specific Absorption Rate) also increases the possibility of being exposed to carcinogens due to prolonged usage.

No change? Get Vodafone recharge instead

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In an innovative move, Vodafone Chennai has introduced ‘Chillarai Recharge’ for the Tamil Nadu based prepaid customers. This recharge comes in smaller denominations of Rs 1 and Rs 2 only, which the small businesses or retailers can use to give their customers when they don’t have change.

Suresh Kumar, chief operating officer and circle head, Vodafone Essar Tamil Nadu said, “Chillarai recharge is an innovative and revolutionary approach to maximise every penny. We at Vodafone have always sought every possible means to assist our customers and Chillarai recharge is one such unique offering. It will not only cut out unwanted applications of the chilara (change) but will also come handy when it comes to instant recharges.”

The customers get 10 local Vodafone night minutes valid for a day for a Rs 1 recharge whereas they get 20 local Vodafone night minutes between 10 pm and 8 am valid for a day for the Rs 2 recharge.
These recharge coupons are intended to make everyday transactions simpler for the Tamil Nadu customers by enabling them to utilise their money better.

In everyday life, the small businesses anyway offer different goods priced at Rupee 1 or Rs 2 whenever they don’t have change. Vodafone intends to make it easier by offering recharges priced at Rs 1 and Rs 2.

Another Vodafone official clarified that this was the first time such a small denomination recharge was being offered to the customers. The shopkeepers can transfer Rupee 1 and Rupee 2 recharges using their usual Vodafone phones.

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