iPhone 4 Launching In 17 New Countries Today

Posted on July 29, 2010 by Andy.
Categories: Uncategorized.

TUAW giveaway: Fusion of Ideas StealthArmor for iPhone 4

Posted on by Steven Sande.
Categories: Uncategorized.

Filed under: ,



Here at the TUAW giveaway headquarters near Denver, Colorado, we get a lot of fun items to give away to readers. So many, in fact, that sometimes we neglect to give away some of the items until they reappear from the bottom of a pile.

With sincere apologies to the wonderful folks at Fusion of Ideas, that's what actually happened to the four StealthArmor for iPhone 4 kits they sent to us. For iPhone 4 owners who want to resolve the "grip 'o death" issues without an Apple bumper, StealthArmor provides a classy solution.

Each of the four kits we have to give away comes with a set of parts. There's a nano-fusion scratch-resistant screen protector, a set of custom-cut corner and side bezel pieces, and then an industrial-grade back cover. Unlike the bumper and most cases that are on the iPhone 4 protection market, StealthArmor adds very little weight and bulk to your device -- but does add a lot of protection. The kits also come with complete installation instructions, although you might want to view the video (above) before attempting the install.

The four kits we're giving away are each a bit different:
  • Matte White back with clear corner and side bezel pieces
  • Carbon Fiber back with brushed aluminum corner and side bezel pieces
  • Woodgrain back with clear corner and side bezel pieces
  • Tungsten back with brushed aluminum corner and side bezel pieces
To enter the giveaway, leave us a comment telling us which of the four kits you'd most like to win. We can't guarantee that you'll get the one you want, but we'll try our best. Here are the official rules:
  • Open to legal US residents of the 50 United States, the District of Columbia, and Canada (excluding Quebec) who are 18 and older.
  • To enter, leave a comment telling us which of the four StealthArmor kits listed above you'd like to win.
  • The comment must be left before midnight on Sunday, August 1st, 2010, 11:59PM Eastern Daylight Time.
  • You may enter only once.
  • Four winners will be selected. All will receive one Fusion of Ideas StealthArmor for iPhone 4, valued at $35.
  • Click Here for complete Official Rules.
Good luck!

TUAW giveaway: Fusion of Ideas StealthArmor for iPhone 4 originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 29 Jul 2010 22:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)TUAW giveaway: Fusion of Ideas StealthArmor for iPhone 4 originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 29 Jul 2010 22:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

iPhone live podcast 110: MossChad

Posted on by Rene Ritchie.
Categories: Uncategorized.

White iPhone delays, state of the bumper give-aways, jailbreak gets nice and legal, Apple TV going with TiVo? 17 more countries about to get iPhone 4. And the death-grip videos. Just. Won’t. Stop. Can’t attenuate this folks, it’s iPhone live!

Credits

Thanks to the TiPb iPhone accessory store for sponsoring the podcast, and to everyone who showed up for the live chat!

Our music comes from the following sources:

iPhone live podcast 110: MossChad is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog


Apple Magic Trackpad review

Posted on by Rene Ritchie.
Categories: Uncategorized.

Apple brings full-on multitouch to desktop with Magic Trackpad

Your fingers glide effortlessly along the expansive, glass-but-not-quite-glass-feeling surface. The cursor flies from edge to edge. You pause, press down, feel and hear a satisfying click, and then glide on. A double swipe sends the gallery hurtling down until it stops under the weight of its own virtualized momentum. A double twist rotates a photo. A click in the right corner brings up the contextual menu, a click in the left selects copy. A triple touch grabs the window and moves it aside, a quadruple swipe switches you to email and then another right click, another left, and the photo is pasted into the message. Your fingers pull clear of the Apple Magic Trackpad and you smile. Computing is fun again.

Apple went all-in on multitouch for the iOS-based iPhone, iPod touch, and now iPad, and they’ve been slowly extending that back to their Mac platform as well, first with MacBook trackpads, then the Magic Mouse, and now the Magic Pad.

“Wait, this is an iPhone and iPad blog, why are you talking about a Mac peripheral?” Because. That’s why. iOS comes from Mac OS and if Apple has shown us anything over the years it’s that they’re the best in the business at leveraging advances back and forth between the two. With rumors of Apple TV going iOS and my persistent fantasy that Apple will replace DashBoard and Front Row with an iOS layer, what they do with multitouch for Mac is definitely something I want to keep an eye on. Two actually, as often as I can spare them. So if this isn’t something you’re personally interested in, no worries, hit up the next post. If it is, if you think like I do that nothing Apple releases exists in a vacuum, then hang on to your pinches and swipes; the review starts after the break.

Unboxed. Literally.

Magic Trackpad doesn’t come in a fancy glass container like its magic mouse cousin. It comes in a box akin to what Apple uses for their software packages. The front shows the Magic Trackpad itself, the back describes the multitouch gestures you can do with it. Inside is the same as out, you get the trackpad and a the plain paper pamphlet that tells you about it. Yes, it includes batteries, and they’re already installed.

Hardware

Clearly designed to sit side by side with the Apple Aluminum Keyboard — especially the newer, numeric-keypad-less version — the Magic Trackpad has the same look, the same angulation, the same round battery housing. “Look” being the key word because the surface of the Magic Trackpad isn’t aluminum at all, it’s glass like the MacBook Trackpad. It’s mixed and coated — according to what Apple has previously said about said MacBook Trackpad — to provide just the perfect feel and friction. That’s hyperbole, of course, and I find both to be usable enough if strangely desensitizing over time. Perhaps that’s just the result of to much Stoneloops on the iPhone, however…

What’s interesting is that Magic Trackpad feels cooler than my MacBook Pro trackpad, no doubt because it’s not sitting on top of a furnace-hot Intel chipset.

As with most things Apple, the fit and finish is spectacular. Every edge is clean and crisp, every line straight and every curve precise. The power button on the right clicks perfectly, the battery door on the left screws smoothly and securely.

And yes, the little rubber feet are the buttons. Push down on the Magic Trackpad and just like the MacBook trackpad (and the BlackBerry Storm, of course), you get an audible, tangible, click.

So it looks great, it feels great, but how does it work?

Setup

Setup is simple. You need the latest version of Mac OS X, 10.6.4, and the Magic Trackpad software update if you don’t have it already (MacBook and MacBook Pro users might — so don’t worry if you don’t see it available). Once you have those, just hit “Bluetooth set up device”, detect the Magic Trackpad, and it just works.

Preferences

If you’re familiar with current generation MacBook trackpad preferences, then you’ll feel right at home with the Magic Trackpad. If not, Apple makes it very easy. Go to Settings, chose Trackpad, and you’ll be presented with a series of speed sliders, feature checkboxes, and movie to show you what those features do.

Apple magic trackpad preferences

Tracking speed, double-click speed, and scrolling speed can all be adjusted from slow to fast. Between work and home, desktop and laptop, I use enough machines that I’ve just found it simpler to stick with the defaults. They work fine to me. If you like to tweak, though, you have the option.

One finger gestures include tap to click, dragging, drag lock, and secondary click (assignable to either bottom right or bottom left corner). Two fingers let you scroll (with inertia — I heart inertia), rotate, pinch to open and close, screen zoom (with toggle key, move preferences, and image smoothing checkbox), and secondary click. Three fingers let you swipe to navigate (think going from one picture to another in Photos) or dragging (moving windows around). Four fingers let you swipe up/down for Exposé and left/right to tab-switch between apps.

##Usage

I’ve been using an iPhone and Macbook since 2007, I currently use a 2009 Magic Mouse and a 2010 iPad and MacBook Pro. I spend 12 to 18 hours a day using some form of Apple multitouch. So, needless to say, I had zero learning curve with the Magic Trackpad. (I’m using it to write this review, right now). That’s one of the huge advantages you get if you’ve sold your soul to Apple hardware — they’ve brought you along, trained you, and made you accustomed to their technology step-by-step, year after year.

I tried to capture the feeling of using Magic Trackpad at the beginning of the review. If I grant that I’m an anomaly, a freak, or a fanboy, however, then let me break it down into the tangibles.

The Bluetooth connection is good. I’ve experienced no lag, no loss of signal, no interruption in interactivity. The throw is excellent. A swipe from side to side sends the cursor flying from edge to edge. Gestures are quick and precise. I can tell nary a difference between my MacBook Pro’s built-in trackpad and this Bluetooth one.

The gestures, while not intuitive, work well once you get used to them. If you have an iPhone but have never used a MacBook trackpad, it will be mixed bag of hurt. Some things are similar and others different. That creates a level of mental overhead you don’t experience with the very different mouse. One finger will move you around but not select or swipe. Two fingers will scroll (like the iPhone does in frames) but everywhere. Three and four fingers you’ll just have to learn.

In my Magic Mouse review I complained Apple left a lot of gestures out. Obviously, those gestures are all here for Magic Trackpad.

Rechargeable-ish

Apple is also selling a re-charger along with a pack of 6 NiCad batteries that you can use with Magic Trackpad, Magic Mouse, Apple Aluminum Keyboard, or pretty much anything else that takes AAs.

That’s great. I’d still like a real, rechargeable peripheral from Apple. Shove a LiOn battery inside and have the door open into a micro USB port and let me plug it in when I need and want to. That way if the battery goes dead in the middle of podcast, I’m not scrambling, I’m just plugging it in like an old fashioned peripheral.

Magic Pad vs. iOS apps, Magic Mouse, and Wacom

Does it invalidate iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad trackpad apps? Not at $69. If you already have one of those devices, and one of the trackpad simulating apps, as long as you don’t find it too cumbersome or battery draining to keep launching and using the app, you’d be trading functionality and flexibility, convergence and coolness for the convenience and independence of a dedicated device.

Does is supersede the Magic Mouse? For anyone but die-hard mousers, for anyone who doesn’t need to grip and move a physical object around, yes it does. It requires less desk space and offers more gesture support. While I was initially worried, trained perhaps by iPhone fingers, that there was no way the Magic Trackpad could be as precise, as pixel perfect, I haven’t had the slightest problem so far. (And I live in Photoshop).

Should Wacom be afraid? Yes and no. While newer Wacom devices offer multitouch support their history and tradition is in pen-based, sensitivity-based, angle-based input. If you need that pen, if you need to produce that kind of art or design, you need to stay with Wacom, much as if you need the feel of that mouse you need to stay with the mouse. If iPhone and iPad have made your fingers do the working, however, then you can safely say goodbye to Wacom and hello to Magic Trackpad. (Bamboo touch users, you have a choice — Apple matches look and feel, Wacom offers a stylistic alternative).

Conclusion

Magic Trackpad has just launched. I’m really, truly loving it so far but like any launch-timed review I’ve only used it for a short time. For now, it’s replacing my Magic Mouse and it’s replacing my iOS apps for controlling my Mac from the couch. I think it’s going to stay that way but I’ll come back after a week, and again after a month and update to let you know.

For now Apple has done with Magic Trackpad what Apple does best — pushed technology further and faster by wrapping it up in gorgeous form and simple-enough function.

Apple Magic Trackpad review is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog


Apple to Begin Taking Orders for New Mac Pro on August 9th


Several readers have informed us and we have confirmed that Apple Store representatives are telling potential buyers of the company's new Mac Pro announced earlier this week that the updated models are set to become available for ordering on ...

Ballmer: Microsoft-Powered Tablets Are ‘Job One Urgency’


Steve Ballmer demoing Windows-based HP slate at CES in January 2010
CNET reports on comments from Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer today at the company's conference for financial analysts revealing that Apple's longtime rival is continuing ...

New Zealand fails to launch iPhone 4?

Posted on by Rene Ritchie.
Categories: Uncategorized.

We’re getting email and tweets from New Zealanders about ready to sharpen their pitchforks and light their torches as the iPhone 4, supposed to launch today, is nowhere to be found.

Apple’s saying nothing. Vodafone is saying nothing. And no one is getting anything.

[Thanks @psychorn for the pic!]

New Zealand fails to launch iPhone 4? is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog


Apple ditched Skyhook and Google, rolled their own location database

Posted on by Rene Ritchie.
Categories: Uncategorized.

TechCrunch went through the fine print and noticed that, with iOS 3.2 (iPhone 3.2 for iPad) Apple switched from using Skyhook and Google’s location database to using their own, home spun, solution.

When reached for comment, Skyhook wouldn’t specifically talk about their relationship with Apple, but they did say that “everyone who has a platform wants to own as much of the location stack as possible. Location data is going the be huge and owning it is going to be the next big war in mobile.“

Indeed. Now roll Apple-acquired PlaceBase and Poly9 Map layer brain-trusts into the equation, and what will we get?

[TechCrunch]

Apple ditched Skyhook and Google, rolled their own location database is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog


Rumor: Sprint working on iPod touch-friendly 4G hotspot called “Peel”

Posted on by Mike Schramm.
Categories: Uncategorized.

Filed under: ,

I was first introduced to the wonders of the mobile Wi-Fi hotspot at Macworld earlier this year -- our own Mike Rose was carrying one around, and it was like magic. A Wi-Fi connection for up to five people anywhere you go? Yes please. I don't think the charges make it necessarily feasible for someone on a budget (say, a humble blogger like yours truly) to carry around every day, but it's certainly handy to have around, especially if you're traveling.

And now Sprint is apparently looking to piggyback one of these devices on Apple's iPod touch. Macrumors reports on new filings to the FCC that show a device that's almost a case; it's designed to be attached to the back of Apple's handheld, providing local Wi-Fi service anywhere you happen to be. It's called The Peel, and it doesn't connect to the iPod touch at all except physically -- it's just a case that wraps around and sets up a Wi-Fi spot whenever it's hooked up.

It's worth nothing that this isn't the first time Sprint has tried to pair up their 4G service with an Apple device -- you might remember the iPad 4G case that came out a while back. Makes a lot of sense -- Apple's devices need a connection, and Sprint has a much better chance of making you get one if you've already got a device to use it with. We'll keep an eye out for an official release of The Peel.

Rumor: Sprint working on iPod touch-friendly 4G hotspot called "Peel" originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 29 Jul 2010 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)Rumor: Sprint working on iPod touch-friendly 4G hotspot called "Peel" originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 29 Jul 2010 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Canadian iPhone 4 launch details emerge: Rogers offers 6GB for $30, iPad sharing for $20 (update: Bell’s iPad deal cheaper)

Posted on by Donald Melanson.
Categories: Uncategorized.
The iPhone 4 may be launching on all the major Canadian carriers tomorrow, but we're only just now starting to get the actual details on what they'll be offering. Rogers is the first out of the gate and, for a change, it looks like folks in the US may just be a tad jealous of their northern neighbors. It's not only offering the iPhone 4 for a further discounted price -- $159 for the 16GB and $269 for the 32GB on a three-year contract (for both new and existing customers eligible for a hardware upgrade) -- but it's bringing back its 6GB data plan for $30 a month as well. On top of that, Rogers is also offering a new iPad sharing plan that will let you share those 6GB between the two devices for an extra $20 a month. Still no official word from the other carriers, but MobileSyrup has turned up a leak that suggests Bell will be offering 6GB for $30 as well, and iPad sharing for just $10 a month -- although that's yet to be confirmed. We'll keep you posted as more plans are announced.

Update: Bell just flipped the switch, and their numbers are largely the same with one notable exception -- iPad data sharing is an additional $10 a month instead of $20, just as had been rumored. Thanks, everyone!

Canadian iPhone 4 launch details emerge: Rogers offers 6GB for $30, iPad sharing for $20 (update: Bell's iPad deal cheaper) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Jul 2010 18:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

iPhone 4 Real World Testing Report

Posted on by iPhoneHacks.
Categories: Uncategorized.

Review: Cross Process for iPhone

Posted on by Beau Colburn.
Categories: Uncategorized.
This well-designed app replicates cross-processing effects on your mobile photos. It's a good single-purpose app, though other App Store offerings allow you to give a cross-processed look to your photos, along with many other popular low-fi options.

Add to digg Add to Reddit Add to Slashdot Email this Article Add to StumbleUpon

iPhone 4 launch takes place in New Zealand, but confusion reigns down under

Posted on by Chris Rawson.
Categories: Uncategorized.

Filed under:

Imagine if Apple's handset prices in the US weren't announced at WWDC, and the subsidy pricing was up to AT&T. Imagine if AT&T told potential iPhone customers that the iPhone 4 would launch on July 30, and pricing info would be released well in advance of that.

Now imagine the weeks leading up to July 30 went by, and AT&T didn't say a word about the iPhone 4's pricing, even though many other countries had already released handset and plan info. It's July 29, and instead of working with its customers, throwing them a bone, giving them some sort of information, AT&T instead remained utterly reticent and deleted any posts on its forums remotely critical of its handling of the situation. Imagine AT&T followed up by deleting all mention of the iPhone 4 from its website: no pricing info, no pre-orders, not even a "coming soon" link.

Imagine that July 30 comes along, with the usual line-ups happening nationwide. You'll also have to imagine there's no Apple Stores, and AT&T is the only place in the country where you can buy a subsidized iPhone. At eight in the morning on the day the iPhone 4 is supposed to launch, there's no trace of it at any AT&T store, or Best Buy, or Wal-Mart, or anywhere else you might reasonably expect to find an iPhone 4 on the day it's launched. And even in the midst of all this, and with media reports flying about that Apple's partnership with AT&T has been cancelled, AT&T still doesn't have a single scrap of information to spare for its loyal customers. Not a word of explanation. Not a single excuse. Nothing. And no iPhone 4 anywhere in the nation.

Now replace "AT&T" with "Vodafone," and you have a picture of the iPhone "launch" in New Zealand. I put "launch" in heavy sarcasm quotes, because the iPhone 4 is not launching in New Zealand today... and thanks to Vodafone, no one has any idea when or even if it will be coming to New Zealand at a subsidised price. Read on for a textbook example of how to generate a PR disaster, and also an example of how not to treat potential customers.

Update: I just got off the phone with my local Vodafone retailer, and they claim they will be selling the iPhone 4 today starting at mid-day, but only to those willing to sign a 2-year plan; they are not selling unsubsidized handsets, and the iPhone 4 will be available for online sale "in the coming weeks." I'll be heading over there momentarily to try my luck, and will update later whether I'm successful in getting one or not.

Update 2: It turns out the store reps were correct, and my local Vodafone retailer did indeed get a supply of iPhone 4s just before noon. An orderly group of about a dozen customers lined up outside the store while Vodafone employees set up iPhone promotional materials and waited for clearance from corporate to sell the units. In a case of "better late than never," Vodafone sent a text to all iPhone owners at exactly 12:00 telling people iPhone 4 was available in limited quantities. By that time, it wasn't clear if there'd be enough stock to go around for people who may have given up hope earlier in the day, although store employees didn't seem to be worried about having enough iPhones for the group which showed up at mid-day. There's no way to know how many potential early adopters might have gone home with an iPhone 4 this morning, but who will now have to wait for more available stock to arrive.

I now have a 32 GB iPhone 4 syncing with my Mac, thanks in large part to the efficiency and friendliness of the retail staff at my local Vodafone store, who handled the launch with brilliant professionalism. If their company's upper management had handled things half as well as the rank and file, I might not have needed to write this article in the first place.

Continue reading iPhone 4 launch takes place in New Zealand, but confusion reigns down under

iPhone 4 launch takes place in New Zealand, but confusion reigns down under originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 29 Jul 2010 17:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)iPhone 4 launch takes place in New Zealand, but confusion reigns down under originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 29 Jul 2010 17:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Let the iPhone be your guide at New York’s Natural History museum

Posted on by David Dahlquist.
Categories: Uncategorized.
The American Museum of Natural History Explorer app gives visitors a guided tour of the museum, complete with turn by turn directions, and information on exhibits.

Add to digg Add to Reddit Add to Slashdot Email this Article Add to StumbleUpon

First Look: Rocknor’s Donut Factory

Posted on by Erica Sadun.
Categories: Uncategorized.

Filed under:



Rocknor's Donut Factory is due to hit App Store on Monday. It is an iPhone update of a Windows game that was critically acclaimed back when it was released in 2003. It offers terrific puzzles and fun gameplay that's unfortunately hampered on the iPhone by a too-literal transition from the original game.

In this game, you move dough through a factory -- shaping it, cooking it, topping it, and shipping it out -- using a variety of assistive machines. You have to be clever. Some of the factory floor layouts are fiendish. Getting each donut produced to order to meet your quotas isn't as simple as you might think.

Continue reading First Look: Rocknor's Donut Factory

First Look: Rocknor's Donut Factory originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 29 Jul 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)First Look: Rocknor's Donut Factory originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 29 Jul 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Apple Job Posting Suggests ‘Revolutionary’ New Mac OS X Feature

AppleInsider points to a new Apple job listing that appeared on Monday looking for a software engineer to work on a "revolutionary" new Mac OS X feature.

We are looking for a senior softwa...

App demo: BistroMath

Posted on by Victor Agreda, Jr..
Categories: Uncategorized.

Filed under: ,

if(typeof AOLVP_cfg==='undefined')AOLVP_cfg=[];AOLVP_cfg.push({id:'AOLVP_us_115551290001','codever':0.1,'autoload':false,'autoplay':false,'playerid':'61371447001','videoid':'115551290001','publisherid':1612833736,'playertype':'pageload','width':480,'height':270,'videotitle':'TUAW','bgcolor':''});


It's a tip calculator, check-splitter all-in-one app... and yes, there are a bunch of 'em on the store. Check out the demo to see if BistroMath combines the power you need with ease of use you're comfortable with. Ultimately, that's the differentiator in these calculator apps: usability. If you can't quickly split a bill, or split a bill fairly (say some guy ordered a bottle of champagne just for himself), then the calculator isn't for you. BistroMath seems to do this and more quite easily, so if you're in the market for such a calculator -- and yes, some people use these quite often -- check it out for iPhone or iPad for US$2.99. Try not to confuse it with the other Bistromath, which is not in the App Store.

App demo: BistroMath originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 29 Jul 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)App demo: BistroMath originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 29 Jul 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

iPhone-like BlackBerry can inject new life into RIM

Posted on by Tony Bradley.
Categories: Uncategorized.
RIM is expected to announce details of the iPhone-esque BlackBerry 9800 next week. Tony Bradley of PCWorld looks at what the new smartphone could mean for RIM

Add to digg Add to Reddit Add to Slashdot Email this Article Add to StumbleUpon

Why Apple’s “walled garden” is a good idea

Posted on by Steven Sande.
Categories: Uncategorized.

Filed under: ,

Many developers and users of Apple's iOS devices bemoan the "walled garden" of the App Store approval process, but it appears that the company's measures have prevented mass data theft from iPhones, and iPads.

At the Black Hat security conference being held in Las Vegas this week, mobile security firm Lookout announced that an app distributed in Google's Android Market had collected private information from millions of users, then forwarded it to servers in China. Worse than that, the exact number of affected users isn't known, since the Android Market doesn't provide precise data. Estimates are that the app was downloaded anywhere from 1.1 million to 4.6 million times.

The app appeared to simply load free custom background wallpapers, but in fact collected a user's browsing history, text messages, the SIM card number, and even voice mail passwords, and then sent the data to a web site in Shenzen, China.

This is different from the recent AT&T website leak that could have let a hacker access 144,000 iPad 3G user email addresses, since in this case the data theft actually did happen, was being perpetrated by malicious hackers, involves much more personal information, and affected many more people.

So what's the difference between the security methodologies used by Google and Apple? Apple approves iOS apps only after they've gone through a strict (and frustrating to developers) process, while Google's Android Market simply warns the user that an app needs permission to perform certain functions during the installation. iOS apps must be signed by an Apple-created certificate, which means that malicious developers have a harder time distributing malware anonymously.

Lookout also noted that iOS remains virus-free, since third-party apps can only be distributed through Apple's heavily-moderated App Store, and the apps run in a sandbox environment where they can't affect the system. Lookout chief executive John Hering said that "he believes both Google and Apple are on top of policing their app stores." It's just those odd cases where apps don't do what they're advertised to do that can cause problems for users.

[via AppleInsider]

Why Apple's "walled garden" is a good idea originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 29 Jul 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)Why Apple's "walled garden" is a good idea originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 29 Jul 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Review: Baby Decks DJ for iPad

Posted on by Tim Mercer.
Categories: Uncategorized.
This virtual turntable app isn't inexpensive. But it produces realistic scratching sounds and effectively mimics the look and feel of using real turntables.

Add to digg Add to Reddit Add to Slashdot Email this Article Add to StumbleUpon