Facebook Aims to Bypass Apple, Become Big Mobile Player

Facebook is reportedly working
on an optimized website for
Apple ’s Safari browser, bypassing
Apple’s strict platform controls,
as the social networking giant
looks to become an even bigger
player in the mobile industry.
The Palo Alto, Calif.-based social
networking giant ’s new mobile
platform is called Project Spartan,
according to reports, and the
system uses HTML5 standards
that allow it to run on Apple ’s iOS
devices like its iPhone and iPad.
Rather than adhering to Apple’s
tight control over iOS, Facebook
has turned to the Internet, rather
than the App Store. Because
Facebook ’s platform will be web-
based, Apple cannot implement
the rules it has for developers
creating apps for its devices. The
Internet, on the other hand, has
no governing body and few rules
companies must follow, allowing
Facebook more freedom in its
project.
Facebook hopes to attract
customers to use the iOS-
optimized Web site, and steer
them away from Facebook
applications offered in the Apple
App Store. The social network
company plans to offer its own
applications for the Web-based
platform, which would also not
go through the rigorous
approval system.
This latest move is part of
Facebook ’s plan to enter the
mobile market. Earlier this year,
the company said it would begin
to purchase mobile start-up
companies in an attempt to
compete with rival Google.
“We’re really focused on
acquisitions,” said Bret Taylor,
Facebook’s chief technology
officer. “Every investment we
make is aligning ourselves with
the vision of being a platform
company. ”
Following suit, two months later,
the company purchased mobile
app developer Snaptu, which
creates programs that give
“ feature phones,” or older
devices not running mobile
operating systems, a
smartphone-like feel and
experience. According to
research firm Nielsen, 70 percent
of phone sales are still non-
smartphone devices, so
Facebook stands to make money
from those who want
smartphone-like devices but
cannot afford them.
In February, Facebook and phone
maker INQ Mobile unveiled two
smartphones running on
Android that offer deep
Facebook integration. These
devices allow users to access the
site ’s more advanced functions,
such as viewing news feeds with
images and videos, chatting on
the page and posting location-
based check-ins.

Has the Time Come for anAndroid Market Drug Test?

The Android Market, the single
largest repository of Android
software, is open to all sellers.
That openness is part of the
Android platform's appeal, but
it comes at a price. There have
been several instances of
malicious apps being
distributed in the Market, and
they've raised questions about
what responsibility, if any,
Google has to ensure the wares
in its store are safe.
Android apps are becoming
more popular as the Android
operating system gains ground
in the mobile market.
IDC expects Android to take more
than 40 percent of the
worldwide smartphone market
in the second half of 2011.
However, with Android's
growing popularity comes a
growing risk of malware attacks.
Malware has hit apps in the
Android Market on at least two
notable occasions this year, in
March and then in early June,
forcing Google (Nasdaq: GOOG)
to pull about 75 tainted apps in
all.
Improper coding also affects
users of Android apps. Motorola
(NYSE: MOT) CEO Sanjay Jha has
commented, in essence, that bad
apps are behind 70 percent of
the returns of Motorola's Android
devices.
Google's open approach to the
Android Market plays a part in
these problems. Unlike Apple
(Nasdaq: AAPL) and Microsoft
(Nasdaq: MSFT), Google doesn't
test or pre-vet apps submitted to
its apps market.
Is it time Google clamped down
and began testing Android apps
before letting them into the
Android Market?
Google's Malware Problems
There are about 300,000 apps in
the Android Market, and this
number is expected to hit
425,000 by the end of August,
Research 2 Guidance has
predicted.
Meanwhile, In-Stat's research
shows that Android and Apple
users are "significantly more
likely" than BlackBerry users to
download mobile apps.
The two malware attacks that hit
Android apps this year used
variants of the same code.
Lookout Mobile Security, which
discovered the attacks,
christened the malware
"DroidDream."
It's not clear exactly how many
people were impacted in all, but
Lookout Mobile estimates the
June attack ht between 30,000
and 120,000 victims.
Sink, Swim or Go With the Flow
"The ubiquity of Android and its
flexibility creates a real systemic
risk if it's not managed with
care," Tom Kellerman, chief
technology officer at AirPatrol,
told TechNewsWorld.
Android "has a very innovative
model and takes extensive
measures to make the system
secure and control access to
private information," said Alicia
diVittorio, a spokesperson for
Lookout Mobile Security.
While both Apple's iOS and
Google's Android platforms "have
a level of systemic risk, Google
has opted for an open model to
give users more choice, and with
more choice comes more
responsibility," diVittorio told
TechNewsWorld.
Where Does the Buck Stop?
Google's response to both
DroidDream attacks was to pull
the infected apps from the
market.
Should it have taken a more
proactive approach, possibly by
having apps pre-vetted? Perhaps
that approach could have
prevented some bad apps from
reaching phones, but no net is
100 percent effective.
"There is no authority on the
Internet that keeps users from
downloading malicious
applications from any source,"
Stephen Gates, director of field
engineering at Top Layer, told
TechNewsWorld.
"So why should we blame Google
if we download a malicious app
onto our Droid smartphone?"
Gates asked.
User responsibility is a major
factor in security, suggested Fred
Touchette, a senior security
analyst at AppRiver.

Has the Time Come for anAndroid Market Drug Test?

The Android Market, the single
largest repository of Android
software, is open to all sellers.
That openness is part of the
Android platform's appeal, but
it comes at a price. There have
been several instances of
malicious apps being
distributed in the Market, and
they've raised questions about
what responsibility, if any,
Google has to ensure the wares
in its store are safe.
Android apps are becoming
more popular as the Android
operating system gains ground
in the mobile market.
IDC expects Android to take more
than 40 percent of the
worldwide smartphone market
in the second half of 2011.
However, with Android's
growing popularity comes a
growing risk of malware attacks.
Malware has hit apps in the
Android Market on at least two
notable occasions this year, in
March and then in early June,
forcing Google (Nasdaq: GOOG)
to pull about 75 tainted apps in
all.
Improper coding also affects
users of Android apps. Motorola
(NYSE: MOT) CEO Sanjay Jha has
commented, in essence, that bad
apps are behind 70 percent of
the returns of Motorola's Android
devices.
Google's open approach to the
Android Market plays a part in
these problems. Unlike Apple
(Nasdaq: AAPL) and Microsoft
(Nasdaq: MSFT), Google doesn't
test or pre-vet apps submitted to
its apps market.
Is it time Google clamped down
and began testing Android apps
before letting them into the
Android Market?
Google's Malware Problems
There are about 300,000 apps in
the Android Market, and this
number is expected to hit
425,000 by the end of August,
Research 2 Guidance has
predicted.
Meanwhile, In-Stat's research
shows that Android and Apple
users are "significantly more
likely" than BlackBerry users to
download mobile apps.
The two malware attacks that hit
Android apps this year used
variants of the same code.
Lookout Mobile Security, which
discovered the attacks,
christened the malware
"DroidDream."
It's not clear exactly how many
people were impacted in all, but
Lookout Mobile estimates the
June attack ht between 30,000
and 120,000 victims.
Sink, Swim or Go With the Flow
"The ubiquity of Android and its
flexibility creates a real systemic
risk if it's not managed with
care," Tom Kellerman, chief
technology officer at AirPatrol,
told TechNewsWorld.
Android "has a very innovative
model and takes extensive
measures to make the system
secure and control access to
private information," said Alicia
diVittorio, a spokesperson for
Lookout Mobile Security.
While both Apple's iOS and
Google's Android platforms "have
a level of systemic risk, Google
has opted for an open model to
give users more choice, and with
more choice comes more
responsibility," diVittorio told
TechNewsWorld.
Where Does the Buck Stop?
Google's response to both
DroidDream attacks was to pull
the infected apps from the
market.
Should it have taken a more
proactive approach, possibly by
having apps pre-vetted? Perhaps
that approach could have
prevented some bad apps from
reaching phones, but no net is
100 percent effective.
"There is no authority on the
Internet that keeps users from
downloading malicious
applications from any source,"
Stephen Gates, director of field
engineering at Top Layer, told
TechNewsWorld.
"So why should we blame Google
if we download a malicious app
onto our Droid smartphone?"
Gates asked.
User responsibility is a major
factor in security, suggested Fred
Touchette, a senior security
analyst at AppRiver.

The Softer Side of Apple

The WWDC keynote has come and
gone, but strangely enough,
Apple gave us no new toys to go
out and buy. There were no new
iObjects gracing the stage this
time around at the opening of its
developer conference -- guess
iPhone 5 will just have to wait
until fall. But WWDC is technically
a software conference, and there
was a lot Apple wanted to talk
about in that category. First was
OS X Lion, which is coming next
month. This new Mac operating
system looks like it has just a few
drops of iOS DNA in it, but don't
think all you're going to see is
row after row of chicklet icons.

Nokia loss another chief

Nokia's chief technology officer
Rich Green has taken a leave of
absence from the mobile phone
giant.
An official Nokia statement said
he had left to resolve a "personal
matter" and gave no date for his
return.
However, a Finnish newspaper
quoted sources inside Nokia
saying he had left because of
differences over strategy and
would not return.
Mr Green was known to
champion the MeeGo mobile
operating system which Nokia
recently sidelined.
That decision was brought about
by Nokia boss Stephen Elop's
decision to adopt Microsoft's
Windows Phone software for its
smartphones.
Tech change
Finnish newspaper Helsingin
Sanomat cited unnamed Nokia
sources who claimed that Mr
Green's departure was linked to
the MeeGo decision. In particular,
it said, Mr Green was unhappy
with Nokia's decision to
abandon plans to produce
phones built around the system.
In its statement, Nokia said Mr
Green's absence would have "no
impact on our product strategy
or our expected product launch
timelines".
Rich Green was known as a keen
supporter of the Meego system
Rich Green joined Nokia in early
2010 following a 19 year stint at
Sun Microsystems where he
latterly oversaw the move of Java
code onto mobile phones.
When he was appointed, he was
Nokia's fourth chief technology
officer in five years. The company
said that Henry Tirri, currently
head of Nokia's research labs,
will take over the post of
technology boss.
The news of Mr Green's
departure caps a rough month
for Nokia in which it announced