1. http://www.google.com/profiles/playboyp
Just the good stuff
A mobile application which connects Android phone owners to their representatives in the U.S. Congress has just been released by the non-profit, non-partisan organization Sunlight Labs, a group dedicated to government transparency. After months of public beta testing, the newly finished application is now a comprehensive toolset that helps you stay on top of congressional activity, voting records, new bills and laws, and more. It even provides one-touch access to your Congressional representatives, allowing to you to call their office directly from within the application, watch their YouTube videos or read their latest updates on the microblogging social network, Twitter.
The Android application is similar in some ways to its iPhone counterpart, Real Time Congress, released at the beginning of the year. Like the the Apple version, the Android app makes it easy to see what's happening inside Congress in a timely fashion.
However, unlike the iPhone app, the Android version offers a greater focus on your representatives and their activity. This is something which iPhone users already had access to, explained Sunlight Lab's Clay Johnson back in January: there are "at least a half-dozen" third party applications for iPhone that do the same, he said . But in the Android Marketplace, there's only the one: Congress.
From the app's main screen, Android users can enter in their location, either by tapping into the phone's GPS or by manually entering a State or zip code. Search functions for finding a particular representative or committee are also present and, at the top, there are sections for tracking votes and nominations.
Each representative has an easy-to-use profile page where their office's phone number is prominently featured. Here, you're also one tap away from voting records, sponsored bills, committee details, news articles, Twitter updates and YouTube videos, assuming your rep participates on social media. The rep's own webpage is also linked by way of an icon found next to their profile picture.
For mainstream users who don't try software in beta (aka "we're still testing it") format, Congress for Android may be their first peek into the power of mobile combined with the power of open data, specifically open governmental data. The application was built using the Sunlight Congress API and GovTrack.us, the former a tool to programmatically access basic information on members of Congress, and the latter a civic project for tracking Congressional activity.
Like all Sunlight projects, Congress is open source software, meaning other developers can view and reuse the code, stored here on Github.
Since the app's launch into public beta late last year, over 250,000 Android owners have downloaded it. Now that the app has officially and publicly launched, that number is sure to rise.
In the future, the app will be updated to support real-time notifications and other "exciting features," says Sunlight Labs. Those interested in downloading the app can do so now from the Android Market: just search for "Congress."
Yesterday, new exemptions were added to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), and much of the Web and the blogosphere went a bit wild over the new legality of jailbreaking the iPhone.
Today, Apple wants to reinforce that, while no longer a potential breach of the DMCA, jailbreaking your phone will void your warranty. The thing is, restoring your iPhone to factory conditions is simple and jailbreaking your phone lets you do a lot of things that Apple, for one reason or another, doesn't want you to do...without paying.
For those of you unfamiliar with the term, to "jailbreak" a phone is to hack a smartphone in order to gain access to additional features or install unapproved applications. Up until now, however, Apple claimed that jailbreaking an iPhone allowed people to install unapproved apps and should not be permitted. That claim has been rejected, with the Copyright Office saying that jailbreaking is actually fair use.
An Apple spokeswoman told Cult of Mac's Leander Kahney that, aside from possibly degrading the user experience, jailbreaking can void the warranty.
Apple's goal has always been to insure that our customers have a great experience with their iPhone and we know that jailbreaking can severely degrade the experience. As we've said before, the vast majority of customers do not jailbreak their iPhones as this can violate the warranty and can cause the iPhone to become unstable and not work reliably."
While Apple has a valid point - that jailbreaking the iPhone and installing unverified third-party apps "can cause the iPhone to become unstable and not work reliably" - there is something bigger at stake here. Apple is saying it wants to preserve the quality of the user experience, but it also wants to protect its assets.
Apple and AT&T started offering wifi tethering at $20 per month in June. With a jailbroken iPhone, 10 spare minutes and $10, you can turn your iPhone into wifi hotspot and avoid the monthly fee. There are even other tethering apps that are completely free (though we've found MyWi to be reliable). How about those apps that Apple will only let you run over wifi connections, like FaceTime? Apps for jailbroken iPhones, such as My3G, allow users to run wifi-only apps over 3G. There are even apps to block Apple's new "iAd" advertising on jailbroken phones. It's even feasible that, with jailbreaking officially off the DMCA list of offenses, alternatives to programs like Apple's MobileMe could enter the market at less than the $99 per year pricetag.
In essence, a jailbroken phone is something that Apple can't closely control and it's a threat. Apps that would never make it through the App Store, for any number of reasons, can be installed onto a jailbroken phone. Say "hello" to third-party browsers, porn, bittorrents, direct-downloaded podcasts and TV shows and more.
The reality, so far, is that only a small percentage of iPhone owners have jailbroken their phones, but the flip-flop in legality could change this. As Kahney suggests, maybe "legitimate software companies will publish jailbreaking software, instead of shady rings of underground hackers" and maybe a "healthy market for unofficial and banned apps" will come from all of this.
Oh yes, the warranty. While Apple is quick to say that jailbreaking an iPhone will void the warranty, there's one thing - it's but a simple step to restore your iPhone to its original condition and have that be that. As ReadWriteWeb's Sarah Perez writes in her latest jailbreaking guide, "if you have a jailbroken phone, you can't get support from Apple for any issues you may have. However, jailbreaking isn't permanent. You can revert your phone to its factory settings at any time via iTunes with no one the wiser."
Our suggestion? Go backup all your data and jailbreak that iPhone. There's a million reasons you should, it's not illegal and, if you run into trouble, you can easily restore everything to a clean slate.
Software developers say move is step towards removing ‘handcuffs’ Apple places on app market
U.S. owners of the iPhone will be able to legally unlock their devices so they can run software applications that haven't been approved by Apple Inc., according to new government rules announced Monday.
The decision to allow the practice commonly known as “jailbreaking” is one of a handful of new exemptions from a 1998 federal law that prohibits people from bypassing technical measures that companies put on their products to prevent unauthorized use of copyright-protected material.
For iPhone jailbreakers, the new rules effectively legitimize a practice that has been operating in a legal gray area by exempting it from liability. Apple claims that jailbreaking is an unauthorized modification of its software.
Mario Ciabarra, founder of Rock Your Phone, which calls itself an “independent iPhone application store,” said the rules mark the first step toward opening the iPhone app market to competition and removing the “handcuffs” that Apple imposes on developers that want to reach users of the wildly popular device.
Unless users unlock their handsets, they can only download apps from Apple's iTunes store. Software developers must get such apps pre-approved by Apple, which sometimes demands changes or rejects programs for what developers say are vague reasons.
Mr. Ciabarra noted that Google Inc. has taken a different approach with its Android operating system, which is emerging as the biggest competitor to the iPhone. Google allows users of Android phones to download applications from outside the Android Market.
Although Apple has never prosecuted anyone for jailbreaking, it does use software upgrades to disable jailbroken phones, and the new government rules won't put a stop to that. That means owners of such phones might not be able to take advantage of software improvements, and they still run the risk of voiding their warranty.
Apple spokesman Natalie Kerris said Monday that the company is concerned about jailbreaking because the practice can make an iPhone unstable and unreliable.
“Apple's goal has always been to ensure that our customers have a great experience with their iPhone, and we know that jailbreaking can severely degrade the experience,” she said.
In addition to jailbreaking, other exemptions announced Monday would:
— allow owners of used cell phones to break access controls on their phones in order to switch wireless carriers.
— allow people to break technical protections on video games to investigate or correct security flaws.
— allow college professors, film students, documentary filmmakers and producers of noncommercial videos to break copy-protection measures on DVDs so they can embed clips for educational purposes, criticism or commentary.
— allow computer owners to bypass the need for external security devices called dongles if the dongle no longer works and cannot be replaced.
— allow blind people to break locks on electronic books so that they can use them with read-aloud software and similar aides.
Apple Inc.'s control over its iPhone and other devices via its iTunes store was undercut Monday by a federal ruling legalizing jailbreaking, or altering the devices to install unapproved software, a practice used now by a small number of customers.
The Library of Congress, which helps oversee copyright law, removed a legal cloud over altering of iPhones, iPads and iPods, to install and run software not purchased from Apple.
Jennifer Granick, civil liberties director at Electronic Freedom Foundation, the digital-rights organization that pushed for the change, said the ruling could open the door for third-party app stores. "Innovators now know that there will be customers for them," she says.
It's unclear how many companies will take advantage of the ruling, which affects a law called the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. By one estimate just 8% of iPhones have been altered to allow such downloads.
"I don't think it's that big a deal," said Charles Golvin, an analyst at Forrester Research Inc. "The mainstream iPhone customer isn't complaining about apps they can't get because of Apple's restrictive policies."
Apple has reviewed and maintained veto power over apps for the iPhone since it opened the device to outside developers in 2008. These apps can only be downloaded from Apple's App Store. Monday's ruling applies to other smartphone makers but only Apple now restricts what apps can run on its devices.
Computer experts have found ways to get around the code that tethers iPhones to the App Store, however, allowing device owners to download and run programs that haven't been approved by Apple. The legality of the practice was not clear, so it hasn't caught on widely.
Mario Ciabarra, president of Rock Your Phone Inc., which sells apps for jailbroken iPhones, says close to $2 million worth of about apps for about four million iPhones have been downloaded from his store. He said the company felt that what it was doing was legal, but was not eager to argue that point in court. What this ruling does "is make it very clear that it is okay," he said.
Apple, which says it has sold about 50 million iPhones worldwide, has discouraged jailbreaking. A spokeswoman did not address the ruling directly, but explained the company's policy.
"Apple's goal has always been to insure that our customers have a great experience with their iPhone," she said, adding that "jailbreaking can severely degrade the experience" of the iPhone and that it "can violate the warranty and can cause the iPhone to become unstable and not work reliably," she said.
In 2008 the EFF, asked the Library of Congress to authorize jailbreaking, arguing that the rights of Apple and other smartphone makers wouldn't be infringed because any changes to the devices are for the personal use of the phone owner. Apple disagreed, arguing that jailbreaking its iPhone would open up consumers and Apple to harm and that the practice was a violation of the law.
The U.S. Copyright Office, a unit of the Library of Congress, on Monday said that Apple's objections appeared to be rooted partly in the potential "harm to its reputation" which isn't protected by copyright law.
It said that phone owners have the right to run whatever legal programs they want on their devices and that "modifications that are made purely for the purpose of such interoperability are fair uses."
The action was in the form of a final rule, which would require a legal challenge to overturn.
The Library of Congress also ruled that it was legal to modify software on a used phone so that it can run on a different carrier's network, although other technical barriers make it difficult to use an iPhone with networks other than that of AT&T Inc., the sole carrier authorized by Apple in the United States.
The government said the use of snippets of DVDs and other videos for use in universities and schools have fair use protections under the law. However, it rejected other applications for fair-use protections, including a request that consumers be allowed to use their own software to access streaming online video from Netflix Inc. or other providers.
A lawsuit alleging that Apple and AT&T secretly formed monopoly with their exclusive iPhone agreement has received class-action status, meaning the plaintiffs now represent everybody who’s bought an iPhone in the United States.
Judge James Ware of the U.S. District court for the Northern District of California on Thursday granted class certification of plaintiffs’ antitrust claims seeking damages and injunctive relief for the complaint titled “Apple & ATTM Antitrust Litigation.” (.pdf)
In an interview Friday with Wired.com, Mark Rifkin, lead counsel representing the plaintiffs of the suit, highlighted that the terms of AT&T’s two-year customer contract say that customers have the option to terminate whenever they wish for a fee to switch to another carrier.
By only offering the iPhone on one carrier, iPhone customers are still essentially locked in despite having the termination option, the suit argues.
“The court has allowed [multiple] plaintiffs to represent 20 million consumers who have been forced to use AT&T for iPhone voice and data service, despite an agreement that allows them to terminate at any time and presumably switch carriers,” Rifkin said.
Ever since the introduction of the iPhone in 2007, AT&T has been the exclusive carrier of the handset in the United States. Neither Apple nor AT&T have disclosed official details of their exclusive agreement to carry the iPhone.
Originally filed in 2007, the class-action lawsuit alleged that Apple and AT&T had illegally exerted a monopoly by telling customers their iPhone contract was two years long when in actuality the companies’ exclusivity agreement was for an indefinite, undisclosed amount of time. That means even after iPhone customers’ two-year contracts have expired, they still don’t have the option of switching to another carrier because AT&T is still Apple’s only U.S. partner.
However, earlier statements made by Apple’s legal team noted it was publicly reported in a USA Today article that the agreement was five years long, as first discovered by Engadget, which implied that AT&T would be the exclusive carrier of the iPhone from 2007 to 2012.
In a response filed by Apple’s legal team in 2008, Apple claimed the allegations of monopoly were contrived.
“[T]here was widespread disclosure of [AT&T's] five-year exclusivity and no suggestion by Apple or anyone else that iPhones would become unlocked after two years,” Apple said in a response. “Moreover, it is sheer speculation – and illogical – that failing to disclose the five-year exclusivity term would produce monopoly power.”
Apple and AT&T declined to comment on the latest developments of the class-action suit.
“We’re not going to discuss pending litigation,” an Apple spokeswoman told Wired.com.
When the iPhone 4 was introduced to the world earlier this month, it was discussed how various additions might improve the user experience for mobile augmented reality (AR), including the forward-facing camera, the gyroscope and the high-resolution screen. The most important improvement, however, is the addition of live camera access, and metaio, one of the largest players in the AR space, has already taken advantage of the opportunity. Over the weekend, the iPhone version of the company's AR browser junaio was updated to support for live image tracking and recognition - a first for browsers on the iPhone.
Earlier in June, metaio launched junaio Glue which provided image-based tracking and recognition to the Android version of their mobile AR browser. Image tracking allows users to view and interact with animated 3D objects in virtual space when they point their device at a specific image or barcode. In the past, this kind of experience was only available on desktop or laptop computers, but the growth of smartphone technology has opened the door to desktop-like AR experiences on mobile devices. iOS 4.0 has made this experience available on Apple's wildly popular iPhone, and metaio is the first to implement it.
Want to try it out? Here's how. Live as of right now in the AppStore and the Android Marketplace is an updated version of junaio. In the app you can find the "junaio Glue" Channel either in the "New and Featured" category or in search results for "Glue" in the browser. Then, simply point your phone's camera at the superhero guy you see to the right (click the image for a larger version, it works better) and a 3D model with interactions and animations should appear. By pressing on the model, he will shoot his Metroid-like gun/arm, though no sounds are played when he does so. Also when I tried this on Android the model appeared upside down for some reason.
When I sat down with metaio co-founder and CTO Peter Meier earlier this month, he expressed to me the company's vision for mobile AR. While many mobile browsers have aimed to help people find things outdoors, Meier thinks the promising future of mobile AR is with indoor experiences.
"AR is super cool but not enough to change peoples habits - people aren't going to go outdoors more," says Meier. "Brand experiences are where the money is - sitting on a couch in a warm living room where no one is watching you hold your phone up."
With its Glue image tacking technology, the Munich-based company has a significant head start on other AR browsers. Layar - a browser with millions of users, over one thousand layers of content and a handful of partnerships with handset manufacturers - announced earlier this month that it hopes to include image tracking in its API and browser by the end of the year. By that time, metaio will have been providing mobile image tracking for as many as six to seven months.
Live image tracking on mobile phones is a likely catalyst for the proliferation of augmented reality advertising. Vendors like Total Immersion have seen excellent success and terrific revenues on desktop AR ad campaigns, and it would only make sense that these revenues will easily shift to mobile as the technology matures.
The battle seems to be which browser consumers will use to access the content, and Layar and junaio look like the current front-runners for browsers. Metaio will also include live tracking into its Unifeye Mobile SDK that lets third party app developers create their own apps independent of the browser - a competitor to Total Immersion's D'Fusion Mobile SDK. With its presence in both desktop and mobile based solutions, including both mobile browser and SDK offerings, metaio is in a good position to cover a lot of ground for potential AR marketing clients.
Congratulations, you're a new iPhone 4 owner! Now what do you do with it? The iPhone 4 operating system introduces a number of new features, some, like FaceTime video calls, which are entirely unique to the iPhone 4 hardware itself.
Plus, there are several reports now surfacing about issues with the iPhone 4's hardware. Are these credible? Should you be concerned? How do you resolve these issues?
Below, we'll answer these and more of the most burning questions new users may have about their iPhone 4.
Yes. Apple has officially gone on record with a statement that reads as follows:
Gripping any mobile phone will result in some attenuation of its antenna performance, with certain places being worse than others depending on the placement of the antennas. This is a fact of life for every wireless phone. If you ever experience this on your iPhone 4, avoid gripping it in the lower left corner in a way that covers both sides of the black strip in the metal band, or simply use one of many available cases.
This comes after an outpouring of reports from new users, gadget sites and technology news outlets, all discussing the same exact problem with the new Apple phone. Left-handed users have it the worst, due to the antenna placement. (The issue is worst when gripped in your left hand, with your skin pressed against the outside steel band.) Even Steve Jobs himself is now responding to user email complaints with the simple advice: "Just avoid holding it in that way."
What way? The way the Apple commercials show? Yes, that's right. Apple's own marketing material shows people happily chatting on their iPhone 4's while holding the phone in the way that would actually lead to signal loss.
Instead, here is the proper method.
Is there a solution? Of course. Why do you think Apple got into the bumper biz? Reportedly, using a plastic iPhone bumper (the outer rubberized protection product sold for around $30 at the Apple Store) solves the problem.
FaceTime, the video calling feature introduced in the new Apple operating system can only be used on iPhone 4 hardware. Simply upgrading your iPhone 3G or 3GS is not enough - you must purchase the new phone. That's because FaceTime takes advantage of the iPhone 4's new dual-camera system, allowing to you to broadcast your face while watching your screen.
To actually use FaceTime, when you're on a phone call, move the phone away from your face and press the FaceTime button that appears on screen amid the menu of choices (like Keypad, Hold, etc.).
The recipient, assuming they also have an iPhone 4, will receive a request to initiative the FaceTime session, which they can then either accept or deny.
You can also start a FaceTime call directly from your Contacts list. Just scroll to the bottom of a contact card and tap the FaceTime button.
Remember though, FaceTime is a Wi-Fi only application for now (Jobs said it's Wi-Fi only "in 2010," hinting at Apple's future plans), which limits its functionality for the time being. However, FaceTime calls don't eat up your wireless minutes, as we recently found out. You can also test FaceTime out by calling 1-888-FACETIME.
The iPhone 4 operating system (iOS) offers a new feature called multi-tasking. This works on the iPhone 3GS as well, but not the 3G. Not all apps multi-task - they must be designed that way by their developers first. To launch the multi-tasking interface, double-tap the "Home" button (the round button at the bottom of the screen). To kill an app that's running in the background, press and hold the app in the multi-task interface until it starts jiggling. Then, you'll see a red minus icon appear on the app icon's top-left. Tap the minus icon and the app closes. All the multi-task enabled applications stay open after you close them, so this menu can get filled up quickly if you're a heavy app user.
No, it records 720p HD video, up to 30 frames per second.
Location services, which use information from the phone's GPS, cellular and Wi-Fi data to determine your location, are used in applications like Maps and Compass, as well as in other Apple apps like Camera and any number of third-party applications, too. If the Big Brother-esque tracking has you worried, you can turn location services off using the global switch located in Settings > General > Location Services. Otherwise, you can use the settings below this switch to individually shut off location services for select apps.
The multi-tasking interface is now revealed when you double-tap the home button, but your playback controls are still there. Just swipe to the right from within the app switcher to reveal them.
Follow the instructions in step six above to reveal the playback controls. To the left of the controls is a black icon with an arrow making a circle. Tap this button to lock the screen into portrait or landscape mode. You'll know the screen is locked because an icon appears next to the battery meter at the top right of your screen.
Given disk space, you can theoretically install up to 2,160 applications on your iPhone now, using the new "Folders" feature. Folders let you organize apps into folders simply by dragging one app on top of another and then providing that folder with a name of your choosing (or keeping the suggested name that appears).
The antenna issues plaguing the iPhone 4 have infuriated many iPhone users (and rightfully so), but have you ever wondered how Apple is training its employees to deal with the fiasco? Well thanks to one of our Apple connects, we now know the exact procedures AppleCare reps must follow when dealing with any reception complaints regarding the iPhone 4. Hit the jump to check them out.
1. Keep all of the positioning statements in the BN handy – your tone when delivering this information is important.
a. The iPhone 4’s wireless performance is the best we have ever shipped. Our testing shows that iPhone 4’s overall antenna performance is better than iPhone 3GS.
b. Gripping almost any mobile phone in certain places will reduce its reception. This is true of the iPhone 4, the iPhone 3GS, and many other phones we have tested. It is a fact of life in the wireless world.
c. If you are experiencing this on your iPhone 3GS, avoid covering the bottom-right side with your hand.
d. If you are experiencing this on your iPhone 4, avoid covering the black strip in the lower-left corner of the metal band.
e. The use of a case or Bumper that is made out of rubber or plastic may improve wireless performance by keeping your hand from directly covering these areas.
2. Do not perform warranty service. Use the positioning above for any customer questions or concerns.
3. Don’t forget YOU STILL NEED to probe and troubleshoot. If a customer calls about their reception while the phone is sitting on a table (not being held) it is not the metal band.
4. ONLY escalate if the issue exists when the phone is not held AND you cannot resolve it.
5. We ARE NOT appeasing customers with free bumpers – DON’T promise a free bumper to customers.
Clearly Apple is taking the position that nothing is wrong with the antenna, although that’s not surprising since most companies will never willingly admit their flagship product is potentially suffering from an unfixable flaw. But does anyone else find it interesting, if not troubling, that there is no mention of an impending software fix?
Via:Mashable
If you haven’t yet had a chance to upgrade your device — or you’re waiting until later this week to get an iPhone 4, we’ve got a full walk-through of the new version of iOS and its biggest features in a video below.
We’ve also created an extensive gallery that shows what’s new and different in iOS 4. What do you think of the upgrade?
As smartphones and the applications that run on them take off, businesses and consumers are beginning to confront a budding dark side of the wireless Web.
Online stores run by Apple Inc., Google Inc. and others now offer more than 250,000 applications such as games and financial tools. The apps have been a key selling point for devices like Apple's iPhone. But concerns are growing among security researchers and government officials that efforts to keep out malicious software aren't keeping up with the apps craze.
In one incident, Google pulled dozens of unauthorized mobile-banking apps from its Android Market in December. The apps, priced at $1.50, were made by a developer named "09Droid" and claimed to offer access to accounts at many of the world's banks. Google said it pulled the apps because they violated its trademark policy.
The apps were more useless than malicious, but could have been updated to capture customers' banking credentials, said John Hering, chief executive of Lookout, a mobile security provider. "It is becoming easier for the bad guys to use the app stores," Mr. Hering said.
Unlike Apple or BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd., Google doesn't have employees dedicated to vetting applications submitted to its Android store. Google said it removes apps that violate its policies, but largely relies on users to alert it to bad software. "We check reactively," said a Google spokesman. "There is no manual bottleneck."
As more companies, governments and consumers use wireless gadgets to conduct commerce and share private information, computer bad guys are beginning to target them, according to government officials and security researchers.
"Mobile phones are a huge source of vulnerability," said Gordon Snow, assistant director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Cyber Division. "We are definitely seeing an increase in criminal activity."
The FBI's Cyber Division recently began working on a number of cases based on tips about malicious programs in app stores, Mr. Snow said. The cases involve apps designed to compromise banking on cellphones, as well as mobile "malware" used for espionage by foreign nations, said a person familiar with the matter. To protect its own operations, the FBI bars its employees from downloading apps on FBI-issued smartphones.
The vulnerability of mobile computing is also a concern for the U.S. Air Force, which worries about theft of military information or the use of personal details to scam or extort airmen and women.
In March, the Air Force barred users of all service-issued BlackBerrys from downloading apps. Research In Motion said its technology allows customers to enforce such group-wide security measures.
The move followed a sharp rise in questionable activity aimed at Air Force smartphones, including attacks that tried to exploit mobile Web browsers, said a military official who helps oversee the defense of the Air Force's networks.
About a year ago, the Air Force saw fewer than a dozen attacks targeting its phones each month. In May, the Air Force saw more than 500, the official said, though none of the probes was successful.
"We all see this tipping point coming," said Peter Tippett, who oversees an investigative-response team that studies computer crime at Verizon Business, a unit of Verizon Communications Inc. that serves corporations. "There is a lot of activity to figure out how to make it less likely that a financial transaction would be exploited" on a mobile phone, he said.
The financial services industry says it is working with app-store operators to ensure mobile-banking apps are authentic. "Customers should be able to know who they are dealing with," said Leigh Williams, president of BITS, an arm of the Financial Services Roundtable, a banking industry advocacy group
Some security experts believe Google's Android Market is more vulnerable than other app stores since Google doesn't examine all apps before they are available for users to download.
A Google spokesman said the company has put in place security measures, such as remotely disabling apps found to be malicious and requiring developers to register with its Checkout payment service, and argued there's no evidence for claims that its store poses a greater risk than others.
Apple vets applications before they appear in its App Store, but risks still exist. In July 2008, Apple pulled a popular game called Aurora Feint from its store after it was discovered to be uploading users' contact lists to the game maker's servers. More recently, it yanked hundreds of apps it said violated its policies, some out of security concerns.
"Consumers should be aware that iPhone security is far from perfect and that a piece of software downloaded from the App Store may still be harmful," wrote software engineer Nicolas Seriot in a research paper detailing iPhone security holes that he presented at a computer security conference in February.
Apple CEO Steve Jobs, speaking at the All Things D conference this week, said his company's employees carefully curate the store. "We have a few rules: has to do what it's advertised to do, it has to not crash, it can't use private APIs," or application programming interfaces, he said, adding that 95% of submissions are approved.
"Apple takes security very seriously," a spokeswoman said. "We have a very thorough approval process and review every app. We also check the identities of every developer."
Apple's iPhone itself isn't immune to mobile threats, either. Since 2008, security experts have identified at least 36 security holes in the phone's software, according to a review of the National Vulnerability Database maintained by the Department of Homeland Security. One, identified in September 2009, could have allowed hackers to learn someone's username and password from messages sent to servers when browsing the Web.
Some victims are now more cautious. Sara Dellabella, a car saleswoman in Cuba City, Wisc., said she doesn't download as many apps on her Motorola Inc. Droid phone, which uses Google's Android software, after a malicious game her son downloaded from the Android Market wiped out all of her text messages and personal notes. "It just rips your heart out," she said. "I am being more vigilant now."
1. http://www.google.com/profiles/playboyp
Theme created for Posterous by Obox
