Tag: Mobile Tech

Nintendo Suing Nokia for Promoting Software Emulation on N900?

According to Edge (the magazine, not the guitar player or the wrestler), Nintendo is considering suing Nokia over a video of the latter’s N900 mobile phone running classic NES, SNES, GBA, and GBC games. The site noted:

Nintendo’s is investigating a potential case of copyright infringement after a Nokia blog post showed a video of the handset maker’s new N900 smartphone playing emulated retro games.

“There’s already a bunch of great retro gaming emulator apps available for you to download,” says the video, which shows buttons that appear to open emulators for systems including Nintendo’s Game Boy, Game Boy Advance, NES and SNES.

Nokia N900

Running emulators to play old games can be a sketchy practice. In some countries, it’s totally legit if you own a copy of the original game you’re emulating. In others, it’s no dice. Either way, it was silly of Nokia to post a video promoting emulation. Why draw attention to a feature that promotes piracy (the software stealing kind, not the Captain Jack Sparrow kind)?

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Malicious Worm Hits Jailbroken iPhones

iPhone 3GS

Nefarious hackers are trying to get extract banking information from people with jailbroken iPhones. The good news is that the problem is currently restricted to ING Bank customers in The Netherlands. The bad news is that it could spread. Engadget Mobile has reported:

It targets jailbroken handsets with SSH installed, but this time adds the ability for the hacker to remotely control and access the phone. By throwing up a purported ING Direct login page, he (or she, or they) can collect your online banking credentials and, presumably, all the cash they are supposed to protect. Presently isolated within the Netherlands, this outbreak may spread further still, as it is capable of infecting other jailbroken iPhones on the same WiFi network.

I’ve always been wary of the whole jailbreaking process. Sure, it frees up the iPhone and allows for all sorts of unofficial apps, but it can also be problematic with official updates and programs. Apparently hackers target jailbroken iPhones too, since this is the second worm targeted towards these handsets. There are lots of cool things you can do with an unlocked iPhone, but it just doesn’t seem worth the hassle (for me).

Any of you using a jailbroken iPhone? Hopefully your banking 411 is safe.

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Gameloft Cuts Investment in Google Android

Google Android

Gameloft, one of the oldest and biggest names in mobile phone games, has cut its development investment in Google’s Android platform. The Washington Post quoted Gameloft finance director Alexandre de Rochefort as saying:

We have significantly cut our investment in Android platform, just like … many others. It is not as neatly done as on the iPhone. Google has not been very good to entice customers to actually buy products. On Android nobody is making significant revenue.

While he has a point about the Android Marketplace not being as “neat” as the iPhone App Store, I think this is an amazingly shortsighted move. Android handsets have only started popping up on three of the four major American carriers this fall. A number of analysts have predicted that Android will be the leading smartphone platform by 2012. Being first and being established on Android would be a wise move for Gameloft, but I’m guessing the bean counters are only looking at immediate returns.

Do you think Android has a big future? Or is Gameloft doing the right thing by cutting the cord early?

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Five Things You Can Expect From Chrome OS Products

Google is making a bold move in 2010, entering the operating system market with Chrome OS. The product is very different from Windows 7 and Mac OS — it’s much more focused and much more limited. For some users, it will work out great. For others, it might not be what you’re looking for. For consumers that are always connected to the Internet, Chrome will be a fantastic OS that will be available on a variety of inexpensive products. If you still need more info on what Chrome is, be sure to check out this article. Once you’re up to speed, here are five things you can expect from Chrome OS products.

Google Chrome

  1. Chrome OS Products Will Be Cheap — Ever since Asus kicked off the netbook craze with its Eee PC line, consumers have been gobbling up inexpensive laptops. Chrome OS will continue the trend and push prices down further. The most popular netbooks today use Windows XP or Windows 7, which means part of the cost goes to paying Microsoft an OS license. Chrome products will not have that burden. Personally, I rather have a more expensive system that can dual-boot Windows 7 and Chrome OS. Hopefully that will be an option that will complement the flurry of inexpensive Chrome OS products that will hit in 2010.
  2. Chrome OS Netbooks Will Boot Crazy Fast — Since the operating system is being designed with flash memory in mind, Chrome OS products will not be bogged down by hard drives. At its announcement event on Thursday, Google showed a Chrome OS laptop booting up in seven seconds. Keep in mind this is an incomplete version of the OS on unoptimized hardware. Final products should be even faster, allowing for the “instant on” experience. This is awesome and way overdue. I’m annoyed that my Windows Vista machine takes a minute to boot. It’s 2009 for fricks sake. Continue reading “Five Things You Can Expect From Chrome OS Products”

Google Reveals More Details on Chrome OS

Google has unveiled details on its upcoming Chrome operating system. This open-source, lightweight OS relies heavily on the Internet for functionality and is being designed for netbooks. Its narrow focus eliminates a lot of the headaches involved with a traditional operating system, but also limits its capabilities. A post on Google’s blog revealed:

It’s all about the web. All apps are web apps. The entire experience takes place within the browser and there are no conventional desktop applications. This means users do not have to deal with installing, managing and updating programs.

Second, because all apps live within the browser, there are significant benefits to security. Unlike traditional operating systems, Chrome OS doesn’t trust the applications you run. Each app is contained within a security sandbox making it harder for malware and viruses to infect your computer.

The concept behind Chrome OS sounds great and I could totally work with it. The bad news for Google is that there are a lot of people that can’t work with a cloud OS. The bad news for tech geeks like me is that Chrome OS won’t be out until “this time next year”.

Also, the guy narrating the video is a nob, but he’s not nearly as bad as the toolbox that Square Enix hired for its Final Fantasy XIII video. Anyway, let me know what you think of Chrome OS. Is it something you could use? Would you buy a Chrome OS netbook?

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Google’s Own Android Phone Might Be VoIP Only

Google Android

Google is rumored to be making its own Android phone with some pretty beefy specs…but it might not be a phone in the traditional sense. TechCrunch’s sources have told it that the phone will be data only and use VoIP for calling. The site’s Michael Arrington said:

The Google Phone may be a data only, VoIP driven device. And Google may be lining up at least AT&T to provide those data services for the Google Phone, says one person we spoke with today.

Users could still make calls just like a normal phone, of course. The calls would just be over the data service instead. In fact, this is the exact vision Google proposed back in 2007 when they were bidding on the FCC auctions for the 700MHz spectrum.

Presumably, the phone will use Google Voice to handle calls, but the service would have to change to work with a data-only phone. Right now, Google Voice still calls a local number for the “last mile” connection before handing off to VoIP.

While I’m still interested in this handset, being data only limits its appeal. Consumers with poor 3G coverage will likely have problems using Google’s Android phone to make calls. Mobile VoIP over 2G can be pretty poor. Arrington’s source is from AT&T, which has pretty shoddy 3G coverage. Would a data-only phone be feasible for that network? Will the phone have different radios to support other carriers? I’m curious to see how this rumored product pans out.

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Nokia N900 Available Now!

Nokia has announced that the Nokia N900 is available through its flagship stores and will soon be available through retailers. It’s an important product for Nokia and the Maemo operating system. While Nokia is still the global leader in mobile phones, its Symbian S60 OS seems primitive compared to Apple’s iPhone OS, Google’s Android, and Palm’s WebOS. The company has been losing market share in the high-end smartphone market for years. Rumors indicate that Nokia will drop Symbian S60 for Maemo in all its high-end phones by 2012.

The N900 is an exciting product, but it’s definitely for tech enthusiasts and not for mainstream users. Maemo is extremely powerful and versatile, but it’s not (yet) as smooth as competing operating systems. I’m awfully tempted to pick this phone up. The web browsing experience, through the N900’s Mozilla browser, is purported to be the best one out there. The keyboard and screen are supposed to be excellent. Nokia has always had some of the best camera phones out there. There’s a lot I’m loving about this power-user phone.

Nokia N900

The N900 costs $649 through Nokia, but Amazon currently has it for $559. Here are the bullet points from the Amazon listing:

Continue reading “Nokia N900 Available Now!”

Google News: Chrome OS Details and Google Phone Coming!

Google Chrome

There’s a ton of Google buzz floating around the Internet this week. First off, the company is holding an event on Thursday to reveal details on its upcoming Chrome OS. This lightweight operating system will be used in netbooks, MIDs, and other low cost computing devices.

I’m super excited for Chrome OS. While there are other Linux-based operating systems for netbooks available, I expect Google to add a level of polish that’s a cut above what’s out there. Chrome OS netbooks will be cheaper than those running Windows XP or Windows 7. Furthermore, I’m tied to so many Google products that a Chrome OS netbook would work brilliantly for me. Most of my work on RPad.tv is done on Gmail, the Chrome browser, Google Docs, Paint.net, and Skype. A Chrome OS device can handle all of that in a simple and integrated fashion.

But wait! There’s more!!! TechCrunch has learned that Google will be releasing its own Android phone shortly…and it sounds hot! The Google phone will allegedly be armed with:

Continue reading “Google News: Chrome OS Details and Google Phone Coming!”

Verizon Responds to AT&T Lawsuit With Trash Talking

Phoenix Wright slider

Earlier in the month, I wrote about AT&T suing Verizon for its excellent commercials that (rightfully) criticize AT&T’s (shoddy) network. Verizon has filed its response…and it’s awesome. Just look at the intro:

AT&T did not file this lawsuit because Verizon’s “There’s A Map For That” advertisements are untrue; AT&T sued because Verizon’s ads are true and the truth hurts.

Zing!!! Seriously, that’s the coolest start to a legal document I’ve ever seen. It’s straight out of a WWE promo! Awesome.

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(Not a) Review of Gogo In-Flight WiFi Internet on United p.s.

Gogo Inflight WiFi Internet

I’m  writing this blog post on United Airlines flight 27, using Gogo’s in-flight WiFi service. This is my first experience with WiFi on an airplane and I’m very, very impressed.

Setting up an account is easy and is similar to other WiFi services like T-Mobile’s Hotspot. The speeds were way better than I was expecting — faster than the WiFi I’ve used at many coffeehouses and hotels. Obviously there’s nothing blocking the airplane’s signal and there are less people to compete with for bandwidth, but even still, the speeds exceeded my expectations.

The service costs $12.95 for the flight between LAX and JFK. If you’re just tooling around, that’s a little expensive, but if you’re doing work, it’s worth it. Heck, if you’re an Internet addict that enjoys web browsing, instant messaging, social networking, and all that good stuff, $12.95 for five hours of entertainment might be worth. Personally, I can get at least an hour of entertainment using AIM or YIM, saying, “Dude! I’m messaging you from an airplane!!!”

Would you pay $12.95 for five hours of WiFi on an airplane?