Smartphones - Infoworld

Coming soon from BlackBerry: 5 things to look forward to

admin — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 13:05:46 +0000

These are dark days for Research In Motion (RIM) and its BlackBerry brand ... or at least dim ones.

The Canadian company is struggling with an increasingly negative market perception, shrinking customer loyalty as longtime BlackBerry users move on, and stiff competition from rivals, including Apple, Google, and Microsoft, among other things. (Read more details on why 2012 could be a particularly tough year for RIM and BlackBerry.)

Tips and tricks for upgrading your Android smartphone

admin — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 11:00:00 +0000

If you've got an older Android smartphone and want to upgrade to the latest version of the OS, you may be stuck waiting on the manufacturer for a while. Or you could follow these easy steps and do the upgrade yourself

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HTC Android phones can leak Wi-Fi passwords

admin — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 13:18:07 +0000

A group of HTC Android phones is susceptible to an exploit that can steal Wi-Fi credentials and passwords and send them to attackers.

McAfee Mobile 2.0 moves beyond virus protection

admin — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 13:51:40 +0000

Intel-owned McAfee has released Mobile Security 2.0, which allows users of Android-based smartphones and tablets to keep better track of what applications are up to, the company said on Monday.

Today, many of Android's perceived security weaknesses stem from the openness of Android Market, and the availability of rogue applications.

Droid Razr Maxx: An Android smartphone for big talkers

Galen Gruman — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 11:00:00 +0000

Thanks to the proliferation -- and relative similarity -- of Android smartphones on the market, finding the right model to suit your needs is no easy task. But for those looking to bulk up on battery life, enter Motorola Mobility's Droid Razr Maxx.

Released over the weekend, the Droid Razr Maxx is a beefier Droid Razr. Twenty-five percent thicker (0.35 inches vs. 0.28 inches) and 13 percent heavier (4.5 oz. vs. 5.1 oz.), Droid Razr Maxx nearly doubles the battery capacity of the Droid Razr, offering 3300mAh versus the 1780mAh of its slimmer cousin.

Windows Phone 7 sales numbers confound -- again

InfoWorld Tech Watch — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 15:56:55 +0000

It's like deja vu all over again.

RIM's new CEO wants to focus more on consumers

admin — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 16:45:45 +0000

RIM's new CEO, Thorsten Heins, wants the company to improve its product development while also becoming better at marketing, he said during a conference call on today. Heins is taking over from Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie, who had co-CEO roles and will remain with the company.

Apple scores small patent victory against Samsung in Germany

admin — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 12:42:08 +0000

The district court in Mannheim, Germany, has decided that Apple did not infringe on a patent asserted by Samsung Electronics against the iPhone and iPad, as the legal battle between the two companies continues unabated.

Samsung isn't happy with the verdict. "We are disappointed that the court did not share our views regarding the infringement by Apple of this specific patent in Germany," a spokesman said via email.

Android smartphone vendors struggle with losses

admin — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 12:43:21 +0000

Sony Ericsson reported a net loss and a fall in revenue for the fourth quarter, further highlighting the struggles of many vendors who rely on Google's Android to power its smartphones.

Sales for the quarter were approximately €1.3 billion ($1.7 billion), down 16 percent year-on-year. The net loss amounted to €207 million, compared to a profit of €8 million in the same quarter of the previous year, the company said.

Mobile UIs: It's developers vs. users

Neil McAllister — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 11:00:00 +0000

Smartphone OS vendors have a problem. For all their hype about their respective platforms and the amazing features of the smartphones that run them, let's face it: Barring the odd marquee feature such as Siri, all smartphones function pretty much alike.

They all can handle voice calls, text messaging, and email. They can all manage contacts, calendars, and to-do lists. They can integrate with Facebook and other social networks. They can take photos, play videos, and browse the Web.

Oracle offers to drop patent charges against Google, to speed trial

admin — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 12:48:46 +0000

Apparently fed up with delays, Oracle said it is willing to drop its claims of patent infringement against Google if the court will hear its copyright complaints soon.

Apple files new lawsuit against Samsung in Germany

admin — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 17:16:37 +0000

Apple continues to hound Samsung Electronics at the district court in Düsseldorf, and has now filed another lawsuit aimed at 10 models in its Galaxy family of smartphones, according to Peter Schütz, spokesman at the court.

Apple again feels that Samsung's products look too much like its own offerings, Schütz said. Apple has also combined its filings against Samsung's tablets into one case, he added.

ITC investigates patent complaint against mobile device makers

admin — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 17:33:18 +0000

The U.S. International Trade Commission has launched an investigation of patent infringements alleged by patent acquisition firm Digitude Innovations against a who's who of smartphone and tablet makers.

Android device makers chase Apple with cloud strategies

admin — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 13:12:02 +0000

The importance of bundling services and software with mobile devices is finally resonating with Android device makers as they compete with Apple, and some of them outlined their cloud strategies at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

Acer and Lenovo, which make Android-based tablets and smartphones and Windows PCs, will offer cloud and hosting services that make it easier for people to synchronize and access content and documents across PCs, smartphones, and tablets.

How to screw up a BYOD rollout

Galen Gruman — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 11:00:00 +0000

The good news is that more and more companies are letting employees bring in their own smartphones and tablets, acknowledging the BYOD phenomenon. The bad news is that many are doing it badly and often regretting the results. It doesn't have to be that way, but an unhappy outcome seems to be the norm, especially at midsize companies, says Brandon Hampton, a director at Mobi Wireless Management, which provides a management service for mobile devices and carrier plans.

What shocked me was why so many customers are unhappy with the results.

Are there too many smartphones on the market?

admin — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 14:05:03 +0000

Are there too many smartphones on the market?

That and other provocative questions were posed during a CES panel discussion Thursday between journalists for the The Verge and managers for Windows Phone at Microsoft and smartphone makers HTC and Samsung.

Quad-core smartphones coming very soon, Nvidia says

admin — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 13:17:20 +0000

Smartphones using quad-core processors may not have made a splash at this year's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, but the devices will be coming in a few months, Nvidia said at the show.

Fujitsu was the only big company to preview a smartphone with a quad-core Tegra 3 quad-core processor from Nvidia.

Samsung Galaxy tablets, smartphone get federal security approval

admin — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 22:16:07 +0000

Samsung has just received Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) 140-2 standard approval for the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 Wi-Fi, the 4G LTE-enabled Galaxy Tab 10.1 with Verizon, and the global version of the Galaxy S II smartphone.

Intel enters smartphone market after uphill battle

admin — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 15:46:24 +0000

Intel on Tuesday announced its first smartphone customers, signaling the arrival of Intel Inside smartphones after years of uphill struggle by the chipmaker.

Lenovo and Motorola will release smartphones based on Intel's upcoming Atom chips code-named Medfield, said Paul Otellini, Intel's CEO, during a keynote address at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

Do mobile devices really need multicore chips?

admin — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 14:03:29 +0000

Multicore processors for tablets and smartphones are being touted by chipmaker Nvidia and others at the CES trade show, but some in the industry question their value.