Tech Roundup: Jul 29, 2012

Previous week, it came to light that Amazon is preparing a 10.1 inch tablet to challenge Apple’s iPad, in addition to an upgraded Kindle Fire successor. The latest dope on this, according to Staples president Demos Parneros, is that the company is planning to introduce 5 to 6 tablets, with at least one having a 10 inch screen. Of course this could mean either that they sport different sizes or different memory storage.

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The iOS in-app hack gained a lot of traction with developer Alexey Borodin extending it to be used with OS X Mac Store purchases as well. But it seems Apple’s workarounds to stem the issue have paid off. Borodin has admitted that the “game is over.” “By examining last Apple's statement about in-app purchases in iOS 6, I can say, that currently (the) game is over,” Borodin said. It may be noted that this high-profile exploit has allowed over 8,460,017 free purchase transactions, according to stats provided by the hacker. CNET adds that if all the purchased items were to be priced at 99 cents – the starting price of apps in the iTunes App Store, the developers would have received a total of $5.82 million. That’s a serious amount of cash!

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The Apple-Samsung patent brawl has gone to such as extent that an Australian Judge termed it as ridiculous! Samsung had filed a case against Apple stating the latter has infringed on three patents involving 3G wireless transmission technologies following Apple’s claims that the Korean company unabashedly copied its tablet designs. “Why on earth are these proceedings going ahead?” Federal Court Justice Annabelle Bennett, who is overseeing the trial, asked the lawyers in court today. “It’s just ridiculous.” A similar dispute between any other two companies would be immediately ordered to mediation, she said.

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Samsung has a mystery event scheduled for August 15. While it’s speculated as to what the device could be, it is as much expected that it could be either the Galaxy Note successor or the 10.1 inch Note tablet. But with BGR stating the phablet (a portmanteau of the words Phone and Tablet, for the uninitiated) boasting of Sammy’s unbreakable plane display technology, 12 MP camera and Android Jelly Bean, it could be the next big thing from the company. But again, it could be just a rumour. In the meantime, screenshots of the Note’s tablet version announced at Mobile World Congress back in February, the Galaxy Note 10.1, have leaked yet again. The spec list is real impressive though - a 1.4GHz quad-core processor, 5 MP rear camera, HSPA+ support, and a slot for its S Pen. In addition, the tablet has support for SMS. Yes, you read right! So, let’s not jump the guns and give it a few days’ time, we will know whether it’s Note II or Note 10.1.

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Last month there were rumors that the next-gen iPhone from Apple is likely to sport a 19-pin dock connector port. Reuters has confirmed this is indeed the case as apparently the headphone jack will be moved to the bottom. But such a change is bound to break the compatibility with currently available docking devices in the market, though an adapter could be used to resolve this. Also, Reuters is calling the device as iPhone 5 and not the new iPhone. Well, well!

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The product of nexus between Google and Asus – the Nexus 7 tablet – which has begun shipping few days back has been irking customers to no end. Charles Arthur of the Guardian writes that “Reports of "loose screens" have begun occurring almost since the devices first arrived. Some users have complained that the touchscreen glass is slightly lifted around the edge of the device. In some cases that means that light seems to "bleed" into the display of a page, while others have said it means the screen actually moves.”

Users have also been complaining that the screen is unresponsive to touch. But that’s not it. People who took to contact Google / Asus to address their issues were let down by slow response from the companies. Google faced a similar problem with its first Nexus phone, Nexus One, back in 2010 after it was clogged with customer requests and complaints. Also, Google has suspended orders in the Play store for the 16 GB version of the tablet following heavy demand. So if you are facing a problem with your Nexus 7 and want to get it replaced, be prepared to wait for a longer time!

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The AIDS Memorial Quilt is considered by many as the largest piece of community folk art in the world. But more than just an art, the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt is actually a tribute to all those who have died from the HIV pandemic. With over 50,000 panels, and weighing more than 53 tons with a combined coverage of 1.3 million square feet, the quilt that is currently displayed at the National Mall appears to be getting bigger and bigger – a sorrowful reminder of the disease’s fate. Thankfully, Microsoft has teamed up with the University of Southern California, and other institutions to bring the AIDS Memorial Quilt online. Check it out here.

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While news of Apple’s iOS in-app exploit is slowly fading away, here comes another one. Only that, it’s the turn of Google’s Android now. Cybersecurity firm Trustwave has identified a potential flaw in Google Play which allows an app verified for malware to be updated with malicious code. Back in February this year, Google announced a ‘Bouncer’ service which scans for malware in the newly uploaded apps to the then named Android Market. Trustwave submitted a legitimate app (an SMS Blocker app) to Google and upon successful verification by Bouncer, it was able to update the app 11 times with code that enabled it to access the phone’s contacts, call records, photos and even launch harmful websites. This is a little different from the list of Permissions shown in Play when the user installs or updates the apps.

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Quarterly Results:
>> Apple’s Q3 quarterly earnings were a hit-and-miss after the Cupertino giant announced an $8.8 billion in profit and $35 billion in revenues. Analysts had forecasted a total revenue of $37.2 billion for the quarter. While the sales of iPhone 4S slumped to 26 million (compared to the previous quarter’s 35 million) ahead of the rumored iPhone 5 launch, iPad sales surged ahead to 17 million from 11.8 million in Q2, 2012.
>> Samsung reports a record quarter, $5.86 billion operating profit and $41.5 billion revenues.
>> Amazon reports $131 million operating profit and $12.83 billion in net sales.
>> Facebook reports its first quarterly earnings post its disastrous IPO debut with $1.18 billion in revenues, now has 955 million users. Shares of the company have dropped to a new low of $23.71 (as of Jul 27) amid renewed concerns of mobile monetization.

Social Media:
MySpace to get a complete overhaul, currently in beta testing.
Twitter CEO Dick Costolo says the company is working on a tool for users to access all their tweets.
Twitter goes down due to an “infrastructural double whammy”, blamed on data center outage.
Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, rubbishes Facebook phone rumors during the earnings call; to emphasize on deeper mobile OS integration.

Google / Android:
Motorola releases Android Jelly Bean for Xoom Wi-Fi.
Google embeds a built-in calculator to search results page.
App piracy rampant in Android, Dead Trigger game, previously sold for $0.99, now becomes free.
Samsung usurps the Universal Search feature from International Galaxy SIII via an OTA update, later does a turnaround; says the feature will be back on the international version in the coming days.
Google Talk IM service goes down, subsequently restored.
Google Fiber with blazing fast broadband Internet launched in Kansas City, announces a DVR Fiber TV in accompaniment.
Google Handwrite for iOS and Android launched; does a Gesture Search to google.
Google admits to not deleting all the Wi-Fi data collected by Street View cars in the UK.

Apple / iOS:
Next version of Apple OS X for Mac, Mountain Lion (OS X 10.8), now available for download from the Mac App Store for $19.99.
Apple buys security firm Authentec for $356 million.

Other:
Microsoft Office Suite for iOS rumoredly in the works.
Vulnerability in Assisted GPS (A-GPS) allows hackers to track and take control of smartphones.
Samsung cements its position as the leading phone manufacturer; ships double the number of iPhones sold during the quarter.

Tech Roundup is a weekly recurring feature on the latest trends in Technology.