Google has officially announced that Honeycomb will not be coming to Android based smartphones. Android 3.0 Honeycomb was specifically made for Tablets according to a Google spokesperson. Although, certain features that are present on Honeycomb will become available over time on Android smartphones. Google [...]]]>

The rumors have been quashed. No Honeycomb for smartphones:

Google has officially announced that Honeycomb will not be coming to Android based smartphones. Android 3.0 Honeycomb was specifically made for Tablets according to a Google spokesperson. Although, certain features that are present on Honeycomb will become available over time on Android smartphones. Google has not offered any information to what features will be ported over specifically.

via Google says Honeycomb will not come to smartphones » TekGoblin.

“Nokia is asserting its control over the Symbian OS that runs many of its smartphones, taking the tasks of [...]]]>

Nokia has announced that it will take over development of its operating system while the Symbian Foundation shifts its focus to licensing. The Symbian website will shut down December 17th. As posted on  Slashdot:

“Nokia is asserting its control over the Symbian OS that runs many of its smartphones, taking the tasks of developing the operating system away from the independent Symbian Foundation, which will now focus on licensing and intellectual property issues. Of course, this also illustrates Symbian’s importance to Nokia’s smartphone plans, even though the company is also developing phones that run the Linux-based Meego OS.”

via Nokia Reasserts Control Over Symbian OS – Slashdot.

Among current smartphone owners questioned by Nielsen, the survey results out today show [...]]]>

It should come as no surprise that Apple and Android are the two “most desired” smartphone systems, according to a new Nielsen survey of mobile phone users. But the results vary a bit based on the people who were surveyed.

Among current smartphone owners questioned by Nielsen, the survey results out today show that 35 percent are looking to buy an iPhone as their next device, while 28 percent plan to go for an Android phone. But among those who currently own a feature phone and want to upgrade to a smartphone, 25 percent are eyeing an iPhone and 28 percent will likely opt for an Android device.

via Apple, Android ‘most desired’ smartphone systems | Apple – CNET News.

Face Cash is an interesting payment concept. It behaves a lot like paypal, you transfer funds into a secure account, and use it to pay for things and sent money to other people. Where it differs from paypal is that essentially it makes your Android handset a [...]]]>

Anyone suggest this for appWatchdog yet?

Face Cash is an interesting payment concept. It behaves a lot like paypal, you transfer funds into a secure account, and use it to pay for things and sent money to other people. Where it differs from paypal is that essentially it makes your Android handset a credit card and electronic wallet. A quote from the Face Cash site:

via Buy that $5.00 Footlong with Your FACE! | AndroidGuys.

In an effort to expand software compatibility for its upcoming Fusion chips, Advanced Micro Devices on Monday joined rival Intel’s efforts to develop the open-source MeeGo OS.

AMD “will provide engineering expertise intended to help establish the technical foundations for [...]]]>

Wow, ARM must be really killing these guys to bring them all together.

In an effort to expand software compatibility for its upcoming Fusion chips, Advanced Micro Devices on Monday joined rival Intel’s efforts to develop the open-source MeeGo OS.

AMD “will provide engineering expertise intended to help establish the technical foundations for next-generation mobile platforms and embedded devices,” the company said in a blog post on its website. Joining the development effort could help expand market opportunities for its Fusion chips, the company said.

via AMD joins Intel’s MeeGo OS effort – processors, operating systems, non-Windows, mobile linux, MeeGo, Linux, Intel, Components, Advanced Micro Devices – Mobility & Wireless – PC World Business.

Jobs moved on to attack Google’s characterization of Android as a more open platform than Apple’s as a disingenuous attempt to obfuscate the reality of how Android differs from the iOS.

“Google loves to characterize Android as ‘open’ and iOS and iPhone [...]]]>

Steve Jobs’ take on the Android v. Apple open platform debate:

Jobs moved on to attack Google’s characterization of Android as a more open platform than Apple’s as a disingenuous attempt to obfuscate the reality of how Android differs from the iOS.

“Google loves to characterize Android as ‘open’ and iOS and iPhone as ‘closed.’ We find this a bit disingenuous, and clouding the real difference between our two approaches,” Jobs said. “The first thing most of us think about when we hear the word ‘open’ is Windows, which is available on a variety of devices. Unlike Windows, however, where most PCs have the same user interface and run the same apps, Android is very fragmented. Many Android [manufacturers], including the two largest, HTC and Motorola, install proprietary user interfaces to differentiate themselves from the commodity Android experience. The user’s left to figure it out. Compare this to iPhone, where every handset works the same.”

via Jobs lashes out at Android, RIM, tablets | Tablets | iOS Central | Macworld.

RIM has built its business on providing mobile e-mail and messaging services to corporate users. Thousands of [...]]]>

Research in Motion’s BlackBerry may soon lose its lock on the enterprise market, as companies look to add support for more consumer friendly smartphones–like Android and iPhone devices–and the BlackBerry’s vaunted security features become less unique.

RIM has built its business on providing mobile e-mail and messaging services to corporate users. Thousands of companies use BlackBerry exclusively for mobile communications. And the company dominates the market with well over 60 percent market share. Much of the corporate loyalty stems from the company’s reputation for strong device management and security. But a major shift is underway as IT departments are no longer dictating which mobile devices workers can and cannot use. Instead, employees are bringing their own smartphones and tablets into the office and finding ways to work them into their professional lives.

Forrester Research recently issued a report concluding that the iPhone and iPad are “secure enough,” with the right policies and technical controls.

“The choice of which mobile device to support in a company is no longer happening in the CIO’s office,” said John Herrema, senior vice president of corporate strategy at Good Technology, a company that offers enterprise class device management and mobile security solutions. “It’s happening at a retail store one consumer at a time. It’s a big shift, and companies have to adapt.”

While RIM is still considered the gold-standard when it comes to security, CIOs say they can no longer ignore the needs and demands of their workers, who want to use their personal cell phones for work.

via iPhone posts – Wireless – CNET News.

So, as company’s loose control over what devices employees are using to communicate, how can they keep control over security of their data? If employees are using their iPhones and Android devices to send company emails  — and in the process sending along company data — organizations are going to have to start looking for ways to ensure the security of their data through these devices.

Researchers from Intel Labs, Duke University, and Pennsylvania State University have created a tool that analyzes how Android apps handle the [...]]]>

As apps become more and more abundant, security concerns are also on the rise. How do you know what data is being accessed by an application? And is that data being shared?

Researchers from Intel Labs, Duke University, and Pennsylvania State University have created a tool that analyzes how Android apps handle the data they access on smartphones. Results from experiments on 30 apps might surprise some people.

The researchers pruned a list of popular Android apps in the main categories down to those that had access to potentially sensitive information, such as location and device identification, and then randomly selected 30 apps to experiment on.

… Specifically, the researchers found that two-thirds of the 30 apps in the sample used sensitive data suspiciously, half share location data with advertising or analytics servers without requiring “implicit or explicit user consent,” and one-third expose the device ID, sometimes with the phone number and the SIM card serial number. In all, the researchers said they found 68 instances of potential misuse of users’ private information across 20 applications.

via What’s that Android app doing with my data? | InSecurity Complex – CNET News.

Stay tuned to viaForensics as we dig into this issue and introduce new mobile application security tools.