Tech Roundup: Sept 9, 2012

It’s official! Apple is all set to announce its new iPhone at an event in San Francisco on September 12 10 AM PT at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. With almost every component leaked by now (unless the entire thing is an elaborate hoax and Apple really has some trick up its sleeve), the upcoming iPhone running on iOS 6 is rumored to be taller and thinner than the iPhone 4S and is likely to have a 4-inch display, 1GB RAM, a shrunken dock connector, 4G LTE, and support for nano-SIM card.

See the '5' there?

Going by the press invite, the foreground shadow traces the number ‘5’. Is it just an attempt to set the tongues wagging or is there any truth in it? Of course the ‘5’ could mean iPhone 5, or 5 years of iOS (it was announced back in 2007 if you recollect) or even that the device is 5 inches big. Let's anyways wait for another couple of days, no matter how difficult it’s going to be!

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The new iPhone from Apple will not see the light of day until next week, but it is already facing a potential lawsuit from a Chinese phone manufacturer GooPhone. According to Neowin, GooPhone has released an Android phone GooPhone i5 that exactly resembles the way the leaked iPhone 5 shots so far and if the next-gen Apple phone actually ends up looking like the leaks, GooPhone is planning to sue Cupertino for copying their designs. See it for yourself.

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The Apple vs. Samsung case has taken a new turn in the Netherlands, where both the tech giants are fighting over a multitouch patent which Apple claims Samsung is infringing on. To counter this argument, Samsung has said that multitouch in Android isn't that good as in Apple's. While this might be equivalent to calling its own product as inferior, a win for Apple in the Dutch court could lead to a EU-wide ban of its Galaxy devices.

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One million iOS unique device identifiers (UDID) – unique 40 character alphanumeric strings used to identify every single Apple iOS device – have been allegedly stolen from an FBI agent laptop and posted on the web application Pastebin. The cybercriminals, belonging to the Antisec hacker group, seem to be in possession of 12 million UDIDs along with personal information like names and email addresses obtained by hacking the agent’s laptop using a vulnerability in Java. However, only a portion (1 million) of the file has been published so far.

FBI has issued a statement stating there was no evidence ‘that an FBI laptop was compromised’ and that there was no need to gather such data. The Next Web has put up a tool in which you can check if your iOS device is in the list. The file named ‘NCFTA_iOS_devices_intel.csv’ references National Cyber Forensics and Training Alliance, a partner organization to FBI and makes one wonder what an FBI agent is doing with 12 million Apple users’ information. Meanwhile, Apple has also denied it gave the device IDs to FBI and that the latter had not requested for such information.

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Current users of Windows Phone devices would know that they need to use a software called Zune to transfer multimedia content between their phones and PCs. As per Microsoft's new plan, it’s switching to something new called Xbox Music to subscribe to music and videos, and in tandem it’s coming up with a new ‘companion app’ to manage all the content – photos, documents, music and video – for Windows Phone 8 devices on Windows 8 PCs. In addition, it is also preparing a backup option on WP8 where SMS, MMS message and your phone settings (themes, browser bookmarks etc.) will be synced to your Hotmail or Outlook.com account, while multimedia files would be uploaded to the SkyDrive cloud service. I think this option should be available now, so that existing users planning to upgrade from a WP7.5 to WP8 phone will not be left in the lurch.

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We know that almost one-seventh of the world’s people use Facebook. But do you want to know your usage patterns on the social network? Then Wolfram Alpha, the popular computational knowledge engine, is your answer. Head straight to this link http://www.wolframalpha.com/facebook/ and authorize access; you will be shown a detailed Facebook report of your complete Facebook activity ranging from total likes to comments to average post length to what not, ‘the time of the day you use (it) the most’. You can also search for your ‘Facebook report’ or ask for specific details like ‘my friends on FB’, ‘my social network on facebook.com’ or ‘my facebook activity’.

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There is an interesting development in the midst of all this. I guess it could apply all music lovers out there who purchase music on Apple iTunes. Thanks to actor Bruce Willis (reiterating the fact that nobody bothers to read the terms and conditions!), it has recently come to light that there is no way by which you can bequeath your music collection to your children in the event of your death. Currently the Apple policy doesn’t allow such a provision and so nobody gets to inherit your assemblage. As Dan Gillmor of the Guardian puts, when you are buying digital content, “you are only buying a license to use the material yourself, and legally that's all.”

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Google is certainly the choice for many people when it comes to searching information on the Internet. But does that mean the search giant is abusing its dominance for its benefit? The European Commission (EC) has an ongoing antitrust investigation to see if it is favoring its own products (like shopping and travel) over rivals’ in its search results. And now Foundem, the British search engine company that filed a complaint with EC back in 2010, has warned Google that it faces a ‘tsunami of follow-on litigation’ if it does not alter its search results.

EC is already probing Google to see if Android, the operating system running on more than half of the world’s smartphones, gives an 'unfair advantage' to the company by promoting its services like Gmail, calendar etc. The company is also under the scanner of various countries like Germany, France and South Korea for varying charges spanning its data collection practices to the changed privacy policy that triggered an online backlash not long ago. One may recollect that it recently agreed to pay a record fine of $22.5 million to the US Federal Trade Commission for circumventing Safari browser settings to deposit cookies to track user activity and hence tailor ads accordingly.

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Add one more to the party! September is now really turning out to be jam packed with events. Taiwanese handset maker HTC has also joined the footsteps of Nokia, Microsoft, Motorola, Amazon and Apple, and has announced a September 19 event in New York. Are we possibly seeing the launch of its next generation Windows Phone devices? If so, can it beat Nokia? Stay tuned!

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Motorola Mobility’s new Droid Razr offerings were largely uninspiring and just incremental updates of their last year products. Nokia’s announcements were comparatively much better; their phones beautifully designed and equipped with quite impressive hardware, but investors, who were looking for radically different devices, were disappointed by the company’s tightlipped stance on pricing and availability, sending shares of the Finnish company down by 13%. Analysts have rather been downbeat stating the phones themselves were ‘evolutionary and not revolutionary’. In a recent report by Reuters, Nokia is planning to sell its new phones in November according to 'sources at European telecoms operators'.

The delay, which can be attributed to the late October launch of Windows Phone 8, could be catastrophic for both the companies and comes at a crucial time when its competitors are announcing new handsets amid escalating mobile wars. Motorola’s Razr M is already up for pre-order in the US and others are to arrive soon. Not to forget Apple, whose iPhone 5 – scheduled for launch next week – will also be available within a fortnight of its announcement.

Furthermore, WP8 still lacks the ecosystem that we see with Apple or Android (Amazon is altogether another case!). By ‘ecosystem’ I mean not only the software, but also solid content in the form of apps, books, music, videos etc. That’s one of the major reasons why Apple devices are a hit. You can easily share content across all your iDevices through their iTunes and iCloud software. This is something which Android has also done recently by rechristening Android Market as Google Play and bringing all its offerings under one umbrella. But with consumers already tying themselves tightly with Apple or Android, it’s an uphill task for Microsoft’s WP8 to emerge as a third viable ecosystem.

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Under duress from iPad and Google’s budget tablet Nexus 7, Amazon’s new products were all about offering more for less. It announced a refreshed Kindle Fire but for a $40 less than its one year old sibling (and also Nexus 7). Running on Android Ice Cream Sandwich (though undistinguishable), the company has introduced a slew of new features to cater to a broader audience. Besides the improved hardware, the tablets have support for multiple accounts and parental controls. A new aspect called Kindle FreeTime lets a user with administrative privileges to allot time for others to use the device or its specific features like reading, watching movie etc. and also turns the screen to blue so that it becomes easy keep tabs on the person using it.

Other features include an improved email client, custom Facebook and Skype applications, Whispersync for Voice (allows you switch between text and audio versions of the same book from the exact point you left earlier) and Immersion Reading (a mix of text and audio where you can follow the text while listening to its narration). Already up for pre-order, the Fire models are ad-supported and there is no opt-out unlike the e-readers. Update: Amazon has confirmed that users can opt-out of ads for an additional $15 fee on all its Kindle Fire models.

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Though Oracle has issued a patch for the Java security loophole months later it was identified, it seems the fix is ‘half-baked’. According to Andy Greenberg, security reporter for Forbes, security researchers have found a bug in the critical update and cyber-criminals are currently taking advantage of the flaw to indulge in email phishing campaigns. The article goes on to mention two specific examples that mimic a mail from Microsoft (regarding its updated services agreement) and Amazon. The phishing techniques make use of the Blackhole exploit that was modified earlier to exploit the Java vulnerability. Oracle is already facing a whirlpool of criticism for issuing an update so late, and this ‘half-baked’ fix further exacerbates the situation. You may once again want to consider disabling Java on your browsers until further notice. Follow the complete saga here.

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Apple is sure to turn red at this news. Samsung, its most serious competitor, has announced that it has sold 20 million Galaxy S III smartphones three months after launch and one month after it hit the 10 million mark (end of July). No wonder Apple is trying to block its sales in a separate patent infringement suit. Anyway a job well-done Sammy!

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However all is not rosy at the Korean manufacturer. It’s déjà vu time for Samsung after Apple’s turn last year. China Labor Watch (CLW) has found serious cases of human workforce exploitation at six of its factories following a four-month investigation into its practices. The abuses range from long working hours (“100 working hours per month of overtime,” reports the Guardian), unpaid labor, physical and verbal abuse, age and gender discrimination to improper health and safety procedures.

The CLW investigators supposedly entered the factories undercover and spoke to the workers when they were not at the factories to document the 122-page report. In addition, it has also claimed underage workers are being employed in at least three of its workplaces. A case against one of Samsung suppliers’ HEG made headlines recently, but Samsung denied such allegations after an inquiry. Most of the factories are responsible for various Samsung products like TVs, smartphones, displays, DVD players and home appliances.

The company has admitted “that poor working conditions “may have arisen” due to production demands and that a review would take place immediately.” CLW has also stated that Samsung isn’t the only guilty party and that it is already conducting an investigation at various plants that manufacture devices for Dell, HP and Microsoft. It may be noted that Apple drew ire from various quarters (including an appeal to boycott Apple products) late 2011 / early 2012 when a number of worker suicides at Foxconn blew the lid on inhuman working conditions.

In other news:

• Nokia’s augmented reality app City Lens now available in the Nokia Windows Marketplace.
• Microsoft updates its services agreement to allow content sharing across its services; to go into effect on October 19.
• Apple app reviewers reject smartphone app Drones+ citing objectionable content (the app informs users of drone strikes in Afghanistan).
• Popular file-sharing site FileSonic goes offline following piracy complaints from Warner Bros, NBC Universal, and Microsoft.
• App.net gets its solo third-party client on iOS, AppNet Rhino, days after the Android app Hooha goes live; crosses 250,000 posts milestone.
• Russia to build Android tablets for defense purposes; to be out by the end of this year.
• Sony publishes Xperia S binary files (relevant source code to be used by a program) to support Android AOSP initiative.
• Microsoft officially releases Windows Server 2012, the server based OS.
• Nokia planning a Windows Phone 8 phone resembling Zune; to be out next year, reports The Verge.
• Shares of Facebook tank to a new low of $17.55 after analysts revise its price target.
• Google granted patent for multi-user switching on Android phones using facial recongnition.
• Question and answer site Quora gets an Android app; available now on Google Play.
• Google Maps for Android now supports turn-by-turn voice navigation and live traffic updates (Bangalore, Mumbai, New Delhi, Chennai, Pune and Hyderabad) in India.
• Internet subscriber base in India to reach 150 million by the end of this year, reports Internet and Mobile Association of India.
• Google Drive update for iOS and Android to bring in-app editing and folder support respectively.
• Nokia slashes prices of its current Lumia models (15% for Lumia 800); company stocks fall further down by 4.6%.
• Apple reducing its orders for memory chips from Samsung, reports Reuters.
• China’s internet search giant Baidu launches mobile browser for Android in an attempt to win over competition.
• Nokia apologizes for the misleading Lumia 920 smartphone advert following the Verge expose.
• Windows Phone gets PayPal app, now available on Marketplace.
• Facebook completes acquisition of Instagram.
• Android Ice Cream Sandwich nabs 20.8% of Android device share, Jelly Bean gets 1.2%.
• Sweden tops Sir Tim Berners-Lee’s Web Index, a measure of the Internet’s impact on the world; India comes 33.
• Windows Phone 7.8 update for current Windows Phones to bring in more features than just the revamped start screen, reports Neowin.
• Adobe Reader update for Windows Phone adds support for password protected files and new search functions.
• Microsoft Bing becomes the default search engine on Amazon Kindle Fire tablets.
• Google acquires online anti-virus service VirusTotal for an undisclosed amount.

Tech Roundup is a weekly recurring feature on the latest trends in Technology.
First published: Sep 7, 2012