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.

Realising the gravity of the situation, Google has released a server side patch that will provide a solution for this issue in no time. Users do not need to do anything for installing this patch, it will be automatically pushed to the device.

The update process has already begun and Google expects the whole process to finalise within a week.

“Today we’re starting to roll out a fix which addresses a potential security flaw that could, under certain circumstances, allow a third party access to data available in calendar and contacts. This fix requires no action from users and will roll out globally over the next few days,” said Google’s spokesperson to Computerworld.

In the latest release of the Android Gingerbread 2.3.4, this issue has been answered and users running the new operating system are not prone to any attacks through this.
However, the percentage of users using the Gingerbread OS is very thin and rest of the population was largely at risk before this patch.

Nokia could soon come out with yet another MeeGo device and it may be named as N9.
A purported video of the device was uploaded on the Youtube. However, the video was removed immediately by Nokia claiming copyright issues.

Notably, the Finnish handset maker had, during the Nokia 2011 Developer Forum earlier this year, announced that it would come out with another MeeGo based device soon.
Built on the same hardware platform as the Nokia N97, the N9 will feature a slide out QWERTY keypad and an angular placed screen along with an extended keyboard.

It likely to have a display of 4 inch or more of 360 x 640 Resolution with a capacitive touch. The Processor is expected to be in the 1GHz category and may feature a totally revamped version of the MeeGo interface.

The teaser video, which was accidentally put on YouTube, reveals that the N9 will come armed with integrated Near Field Communication and Augmented Reality capabilities. Social media will also be an integral part of the new User Interface.

The teaser said that Nokia is ready with the device and it is just a matter of time before it officially announces the device.

Nokia is preparing to launch its new smartphone X7 in the Indian market. The device will feature the latest version of Symbian operating system, called Anna.

“We are planning to launch X7 in this quarter in India,” a Nokia spokesperson told ‘The Mobile Indian’ without divulging the exact date of launch.

Nokia has positioned the X7 as an entertainment smartphone, and has given it a four inch Amoled screen that displays 16 million colours and 640 x 360 Pixel resolution, as well as high quality sound output.

X7 features a brand new look and feel along with an improved interface for fluid gesture movement, which Nokia claims is very responsive.

Symbian Anna has a new Browser as well, which is expected to be three times faster than the existing browser.

X7 will feature a preinstalled 8GB Memory card that can be upgraded to 32GB, and it has 320MB of Internal Memory functioning as its RAM/ROM.

The display is made of Corning’s Gorilla Glass, which protects it from minor scratches and breakage from accidental falls. To add more strength to the phone, Nokia has designed it in a stainless steel shell, which will enhance its longevity too.

The device measures 119.7 x 62.8 x 11.9 mm but is comparatively thin around the edges and weighs 146 grams.

It offers next generation Pentaband 2G/3G network connectivity and 802.11 b/g/n WiFi support along with Bluetooth 3.0 and USB connectivity. The installed 1200mAh battery is expected to give up to 450 hours of standby and 4.5 hours of talk time on 3G networks, and will support the phone for longer on 2G.

The Nokia X7 will cost around 380 Euros, which translates to approximately Rs 25,000.

Vodafone has announced that it will launch an Android phone in Europe for just 80 Pounds (Rs 5,800). The phone, to be called as 858 Smart, will be based on Android Froyo 2.2 operating system with a 2.8 inch resistive touch screen.

Though there is no plan as of now to launch the phone in India, a company spokesperson did not rule out the possibility of the launch at a later date and said to The Mobile Indian “may be couple of months later we might launch it in India.”

The device will be launch in the UK, Germany and Italy first. It will come with regular features of Android such as Gmail, Google Maps, Google Talk, Facebook and Twitter. It will additionally have Prepay Manager App for topping up prepaid accounts.

The device weighing 100 grams will be manufactured by Huawei and will feature a 2MP zoom camera, 3G, WiFi and Bluetooth. It will use a 528MHz Qualcomm Processor and have 130 MB of memory besides a SD card slot supporting up to 32GB memory.

The handset will initially be available in black or white, followed by other colours. Vodafone said it plans to offer an online customisation feature allowing users to choose their own colour and add an image to the back cover.

The handset is very similar (in specification) to the Huawei Ideos, which is already available in India and is selling at Rs 7,500. This means that for Vodafone it will be a tight squeeze if they decide to bring the device to our shores, especially given the Ideos has slightly better specs with a 3.2 Megapixel camera.

With MTS having announced a high-end bundled device with HTC Pulse being available for Rs 1,500 per month bundle, it might not be wrong to expect a similar deal from Vodafone (but this hope is a bit high).

Going by what they have done in the past, the device might just come to India, but not as a much subsidised version but rather a bundling with little bit of freebies like free data plan and some value added service subscription.