This article titled “Apple’s iPad bonanza triggers race to launch copycat tablets” was written by Richard Wray, for The Guardian on Wednesday 11th August 2010 06.01 UTC

Last week, Microsoft released tantalising pictures of its latest device which got bloggers talking about a tablet. The division of Microsoft behind the account, however, makes keyboards, webcams and mice so it’s more likely that the flat matt black device in the photos is Microsoft’s rival to Apple’s recently announced trackpad. Also Microsoft has a patchy record when it comes to consumer trends. While the Xbox has taken a valuable place in the games console market, its Zune portable music player is still years behind Apple’s iPod in terms of sales.Last month chief executive Steve Ballmer said developing Windows-based tablet computers is “job one urgency” for the software group. He added “we have got to make things happen with Windows 7 on slates” but while the firm’s latest PC version of its software has touch capabilities, analysts have warned that putting the whole operating system on a tablet will mean manufacturers will have to use a lot of memory and fast processors on the device, which will increase its price. Also they question whether Microsoft still has the tablet market wrong: consumers do not want to do everything they can do on a desktop on a tablet. It is not merely a new form factor, it is a new kind of device. Some manufacturers are looking at whether its Windows Phone software – which also enables touch as well as the viewing of Microsoft Office documents – is not a better system on which to base Microsoft tablets. Either way, Ballmer said Microsoft is working with partners including Hewlett-Packard, Lenovo, Asus, Dell, Samsung, Toshiba, and Sony on tablets. Many of those firms, however, also have other software in mind.

Google, meanwhile, has long been rumoured to be working on its tablet computer, most recently in conjunction with Verizon (that story, however, may have been a confusion of the recent news that Verizon is actually working with Motorola to produce a tablet device aimed at the home entertainment market and running Google’s Android software). But there are questions as to why Google needs an own-brand tablet while many manufacturers are to produce their devices based on its Android. The company was planning a smartphone called the Nexus One because it feared that the iPhone was running away with the market and the industry needed to be shown what could be done with Android. But now that a plethora of good quality Android devices are appearing, Google has halted the Nexus programme. The real question among technology watchers is whether Google will work closely with one or two tablet manufacturers to create devices based on its Chrome OS software, which is aimed at web-enabled laptops and is due out later this year.

The handset makers

Several mobile phone manufacturers are already working on tablets based on Google’s Android. First out of the blocks will be a tablet from Samsung. The Korean hardware company is expected to give more details today but it will run Android and have a 7 inch screen, making it smaller than the iPad, but including a camera and accept memory cards. There is also talk of a second device with a tablet screen on one side and e-book reader on the other. While its first tablet is likely to use Android, Samsung also seems to want to use its new Bada operating system – which is used by its recently launched Wave mobile phone – for tablets. It remains to be seen whether consumers will want yet another operating system to deal with. Domestic rival, LG, is also working on an Android-based tablet which is scheduled for launch by the end of the year.

RIM, the company behind the BlackBerry, is rumoured to be working on a rival to the iPad, dubbed the BlackPad, which is scheduled for launch in November. Nokia, meanwhile, tried to enter the so-called netbook market with its own 3G Booklet last year. It ran Windows 7 and was hardly a success. Since then, the Finnish mobile phone company has teamed up with Intel to develop software better suited to laptops and tablets, under the MeeGo banner. The first device is likely to be a smartphone which could be out for Christmasand Nokia seems to be in no rush to produce a tablet.

Motorola is working with Verizon on an Android-powered tablet. The question is whether HTC will follow up its success in the Android-powered smartphone market with a tablet.

The PC manufacturers

Tablets running Windows have been in the market for some time from manufacturers such as France’s Archos while Lenovo, HP and others have released laptops – called convertibles – whose screens swivel to turn them into tablets. Taiwan’s Acer and China’s Asus are preparing tablets with Microsoft software. The latter will also release tablets using Android. But many consumers will prefer a household name when they take the plunge into tablets. One of the first was the Streak from Dell, but it is smaller than the iPad and seems more like a smartphone. BT, wants to get in on the tablet act and is developing a touchscreen version of the traditional landline telephone, which raises the unwelcome spectre of Amstrad’s failed eMailer device.

Toshiba has produced a dual-screen tablet running Windows 7 and is working on a single screen tablet called SmartPad, which may run Android. Hewlett-Packard, meanwhile, is believed to have been working on a device called the Zeen which runs Android and looks more like an e-reader. Tech watchers reckon HP’s real push into tablets will come on the back of its recent acquisition of smartphone designer Palm. The e-reader market, of course, already has the Kindle from Amazon – which has just been upgraded – and the Sony e-Reader, although both are likely to be superseded, over time, by tablets.

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This article titled “Oracle sues Google over Android OS” was written by Josh Halliday, for guardian.co.uk on Friday 13th August 2010 08.45 UTC

Software company Oracle has filed a lawsuit against Google, accusing the search giant of patent infringement with the Android mobile operating system.

The legal complaint, filed in California, concerns Oracle’s Java software, which it acquired through the purchase of Sun Microsystems earlier this year.

In a press statement, Oracle spokeswoman Karen Tillman said: “In developing Android, Google knowingly, directly and repeatedly infringed Oracle’s Java-related intellectual property.

“This lawsuit seeks appropriate remedies for their infringement.”

A Google spokesman said he could not comment on the lawsuit as the company had not had a chance to review it yet.

Google’s Android platform has enjoyed a rapid ascent in the smartphone market due to the multiplicity of devices now running it. Figures released yesterday by analyst Gartner show Android is now the leading smartphone platform in the US, overtaking BlackBerry manufacturer Research in Motion.

In the months leading up to Android’s release, industry insiders speculated about its possible effect on the Java programming language.

Now Oracle is said to be seeking an injunction to stop Google from further building and distributing Android, plus higher monetary damages for willful and deliberate infringement.

Part of Oracle’s complaint focuses on a piece of software included within the Android operating system called Dalvik. It is a virtual machine which is used to run some applications on Android devices.

Malik Saadi-Kamal, principal analyst at Informa Telecoms &; Media, told the Guardian: “This is similar to when Microsoft was mandating the integration of Internet Explorer as a default browser, which raised some concerns among competitors.

“But the problem I can see coming is the fact that Google is mandating the use of Dalvik as the main java runtime for Android and device vendors can’t really substitute this runtime against another Java Runtime complying with Java Me or not.”

Writing on the company blog, Brian Prentice, a research vice president at analyst Gartner, said Oracle is “not a company that has made a sport” out of actions like this:

“[...] before we write off Oracle’s action against Google as another attempt to obtain a tidy little license agreement, let’s realise that we could be dealing with an IP pit bull here.

“If Oracle sees Android as being as much a strategic threat to their business as TomorrowNow was, then this has a higher probability of making its way to the courts than your average infringement action. If it does, and if they prevail, then look out Google.”

Ben Wood, director of research at CCS Insight, told the Guardian: “Given that over one billion mobile phones are sold every year, even a few pennies per mobile phone can add up to a big revenue. On this basis it is unsurprising that Google’s Android has emerged as a target for intellectual property claims.

“Google is likely having discussions with lots of patent owners on this topic and given Java’s long history in mobile phone application development Oracle may feel that it has grounds to claim infringements.”

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This article titled “Android attacks uncovered” was written by Josh Halliday, for guardian.co.uk on Wednesday 11th August 2010 14.23 UTC

Two new attacks on Android mobile phones and other devices have been uncovered by security firms.

One, a piece of malware posing as a movie player, sends text messages to premium-rate numbers, collecting charges applied to the user. Kaspersky Labs, which found the program, claims it is the first SMS-based malware attack on mobiles running Google’s Android operating system. It is thought to be most prevalent among Russian users; the threat to worldwide users is said to be low.

Prior to installation, as required by Android’s application permissions, the “Media Player” asks users to confirm permission for the application to run “services that cost you money (send SMS messages)”.

A statement released by Google said:

“Our applications permissions model protects against this type of threat. When installing an application, users see a screen that explains clearly what information and system resources the application has permission to access, such as a user’s phone number or sending an SMS.
“Users must explicitly approve this access in order to continue with the installation, and they may uninstall applications at any time. We consistently advise users to only install apps they trust. In particular, users should exercise caution when installing applications outside of Android Market.”

This application is not thought to have been available in the Android Market, so affected users would have had to change a default setting on their handsets to allow installation of it from an external website.

Meanwhile, the British security firm MWR InfoSecurity has found a flaw in the internet browser of Android versions 1.6 to 2.1, allowing an attacker to remotely access a user’s internet history – including sites visited, cookies, usernames and passwords – by code injected in a compromised website, or through an unsecured Wi-Fi network.

The vulnerability was reported to Google’s Android team in May this year, according to the security firm. A fix present in the latest version of Android, 2.2 Froyo, eradicates the problem, while Android is said to be working on a patch for previous iterations.

Alex Fidgen, the MWR commercial director, advised users simply to avoid using unsecured Wi-Fi networks. He said: “This is one of the most serious implications in mobile technologies to date and calls into question fundamental assumptions about mobile phone security.

“The best way an attacker could affect this is to mimic an unsecured network or spoof an access point – this has been around years. [Attackers are] all using techniques that have been around years now.

“This is a really serious problem, there’s no two ways about it. Mobile companies are not incorporating security enough while smartphone adoption is increasingly widespread.

“The flaws could have been ‘fixed’ when the mobile phone companies issued new operating software recently but they did nothing.”

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