Mobile

Windows Mobile was never just a consumer product; it was also a significant player in handheld terminals, in-vehicle systems, and ruggedized consoles for business and industry. But that whole branch of business-oriented Windows Mobile devices used to be overseen by Microsoft’s Mobile Communications Business group (MCB), the same group responsible for Windows Mobile-powered consumer devices, despite the fact that they were very different. ...

TSince 27 March a new game called 3D Antiterrorist has been cropping up on quite a few international freeware sites offering downloads for Windows Mobile smartphones. As well as the game itself, the 1.5 MB archive contains the file reg.exe which is actually a Trojan that calls premium rate international numbers and leaves smartphone owners significantly out of pocket. As of 8 April this malicious program has been detected by Kaspersky Lab as Trojan.WinCE.Terdial.a. Let’s take a closer look at what happens. ...

BlackBerry users rejoice, Google Maps for mobile just got a huge update that adds support for voice search, Google Buzz and more. Google Maps for BlackBerry has always been a feature rich application, but the additions to Google Maps 4.0 bring it more in line with their offerings for the iPhone and Google’s own Android platform. Here are some of the highlights of the new version: ...

We’re investigating a series of SMS Worms, found in the wild in China. Known as Trojan:SymbOS/MerogoSMS, these worms try to spread on Symbian Series 60 3rd Edition devices. Symbian continues to be by far the most common smartphone operating system in the world. These worms spread by sending text messages to other phones. These text messages contain variable messages (in Chinese), and a link to a website. If the link is followed, user is prompted to install an application – infecting the phone and restarting the SMS spreading. ...

You can now access Google Buzz from your Android mobiles easily using the official Google Buzz widget, that lets you post text and photos with a single tap. The widget lets you choose to tag your post with the location or place from which it was posted. To save time, your posts will upload in the background. ...

Google has rolled out a significant update to the Google Maps application for Android 1.6+ devices, which includes a new search results page, support for multiple accounts, a new Latitude homescreen widget, and a new Maps live wallpaper for 2.1 devices. Previously, when you performed a search in Maps, you would have to choose a result from a list of markers on the map. When you clicked the marker, it would open a page with three tabs: Address, Details, and Reviews. Under the Address tab, there were options to Show the result on the map, get directions to it, call it, look at it in Street View, or add it as a contact. The other two tabs contain exactly what you’d expect, details and reviews. If you wanted to pick a different listing, you’d have to go back to the map view and pick a different marker. ...

Here is yet another example of a company distributing malware to its userbase. Unfortunately it probably won’t be the last. Today one of our colleagues received a brand new Vodafone HTC Magic with Google’s Android OS. “Neat” she said. Vodafone distributes this phone to its userbase in some European countries and it seems affordable as you can get it for 0€ or 1€ under certain conditions. ...

Barcode and QR code reader applications are now standard fare for smartphones and can be commonly found for free in any of the major app stores. But far less common are comprehensive services that let users make their own QR codes for free. This is why Microsoft’s TagReader, which was released in the Android Market today, is worth checking out. It’s similar to any number of barcode scanners available on the Android platform, except that it is designed to read Microsoft’s unique “Tags.” ...

Apple has sued smartphone maker HTC for patent infringement, citing 20 patents related to the iPhone’s user interface, architecture, and hardware, a statement from the company said this morning. A statement from Apple CEO Steve Jobs today said, “We can sit by and watch competitors steal our patented inventions, or we can do something about it. We’ve decided to do something about it. We think competition is healthy, but competitors should create their own original technology, not steal ours.” ...

Popular instant messaging, voice chat, and video conferencing client Skype and Skype Lite are no longer available on Windows Mobile devices. The company says, “We’ve chosen to withdraw Skype Lite and Skype for Windows Mobile because we want to offer our new customers an improved mobile experience — much like the version that has proved so popular on the iPhone, and which is now available on Symbian phones. Our focus is on providing a rich user experience that allows you to enjoy free Skype-to-Skype and low cost calls as easily on the move as you do at your desktop. We felt that Skype Lite and Skype for Windows Mobile were not offering the best possible Skype experience.“ ...