Android platform mobile handsets - Beware!!!!!!!!!!! security issues haunts both Google Android and Apple Iphone !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

After a series of malware haunting the android phones now its time for the secret data that is stored inside these phone that has come to haunt both android.

Both android and Iphone stores the geo information of the phone. However, there have been loop holes in the data that is stored in the phone. In case of android its what the data is used for while for Iphone its the way it is stored (without encryption) that is causing a furore among the users of these mobiles.

In Android, the data stored in the phone is transmitted to the computer whenever it is synchronized. An application has recently surfaced that gives out details on the map along with timestamps where that phone has travelled. On the face of things it looks like this feature can be disabled only if GPS is disabled in the Iphone, although there has been no official communication on this by Apple whether it can disabled at all or not. The most important flaw with the information being stored is that the data is being stored without encryption.

Once the security flaw in Iphone was exposed, similar concerns started flooding the android phones as well. In case of android, the concern was for what purposes the data collected was being used. It was initially thought that the data is being used for google analysis. However, recently it is being claimed that it is used for better advertising. Do you think this is right, using your location data for advertising purposes without your permission.

In an official communication apple today clarified that location data is tracked not of the phone itself but the base station that provides the connectivity and the software has some security flaws.

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Google Android vs Nokia Intel Meego

Here I would like to present the comparison between the two mobile platforms Android backed by Google and the other is MeeGo which is backed by a Mobile Giant Nokia and chipset manufacturer Intel. I would like to go ahead with the comparison even though Android has already established itself and MeeGo is yet to make a début in the market.

First lets take a look at the architecture of the two mobile platforms.

Meego: MeeGo is based on linux. This is the purest form of linux that one can see in the mobile platforms. Most of the modules are taken directly from linux. For application development it makes use of QT like all other Nokia based platforms. Since it is pure linux the applications running on linux will directly work on MeeGo with minimal changes. The customizations made on Linux for MeeGo are minimal.


MeeGo runs on mobiles, netbooks, tablets , connected TVs and in-vehicle infotainment system.

In 2010 February Intel and Nokia merged their open source projects together and formed MeeGo Project. Maemo was an open source project carried out by Nokia and Moblin was an open source project carried out by chip manufacturer Intel. Primary reason for merging Intel’s Moblin and Nokia Maemo is to unify the efforts of both projects and communities and enable a next generation open source platform for smartphones, tablets and other capable devices.

MeeGo Architecture – MeeGo provides a full open source software stack from core operating system up to user interface libraries and tools. Further it offers user experience reference implementations and allows proprietary add-ons to be added by vendors to support hardware, services, or customized user experiences.

Android: Android also has the underlying kernel based on Linux. Android is an open source operating system for smart phones and tablets initially developed by Android. Google took over this company in 2005. Android is developed on Linux kernel. Android has several versions and the latest version as of today is Android 3.0 (Honeycomb). The first android phone was introduced to the market more than 3 years back.


Android has a application market with more than 200,000 applications to run on Android devices. These devices are of different manufacturers like Samsung, Motorola, HTC, LG. All the major manufactures have already released a phone on Android with the major exception being Nokia.

Both are based on Linux so there are a lot of similarities between the two. However you can see the difference when it comes to application level. The core powering two is the same Linux kernel. Android has a custom Dalvik virtual machine which supports Java at the application level and has easily pulled all Java developers into android. MeeGo is based on Linux so most of the linux applications would work on it. Also it has QT framework for developers.

Application development platform:

Android has gone with Java as the development platform and has quickly captured all the java developers and turned them into android application developed. This has been clever move by Google. However, initially to attract developers into Android Google had to come up with Android developer challenge.

Java is a good development platform but it does come with it own disadvantages. The biggest impact is that of performance. This is the reason for android to be launched as a platform for smartphones and doesnt suit meidum range phones.


MeeGo has gone with QT as the development platform with the intention that applications written in QT works in all plaforms like Mac, linux, Symbian, MeeGo, windows etc. Whether MeeGo will come up with similar challenge or make applications developed for other platforms directly available remains to be seen.

QT is developed in C++ and comes with better performance and more suited to low-end and medium range phones as well. It doesnt remain a platform for high end smart phones.

Application Distribution: 

MeeGo is yet to come up with the complete details on the application distribution mechanism since its platform is still under development. However, initial feeling is that the distribution will be similar to the current Moblin platform. Not sure about how the MeeGo plans of Nokia surface out.

In Android, the application distribution is very simple. Within two days of application submission you can find the application being listed in the market. There are not many stringent security mechanisms in place unlike that of apple market. If  any of the applications in the android market causes harm to your personal data etc then nobody can be held responsible for it. This has been a big issue that has surfaced recently in the android phones. Now that you can use your mobile as your credit card this is all the more important.

How Open is the platform:

Android is the first open mobile platform to be launched in a big way. However, it is still not completely open, in the sense that if you want an update to your mobile then you need to wait for the update to be made available from the particular OEM from whom you have picked up the phone.

In MeeGo, since this is a completely open platform any mobile image that is openly available with compatible hardware can be easily be installed in your phone. This makes you compeletly independent from the phone maker and the support given by the OEM.


Linux Operating system:

Both Android and MeeGo are linux based. The kernel and drivers, middleware etc are based in Linux. However the virtual machine that Android employs is Dalvik virtual machine to support Java development platform.

MeeGo doesnt require any such virtual machine making the platform much better in terms of performance.

Development Support:

For development in android the application developers can make use of eclipse and it comes with a range of tools that makes the life of developers very easy.

In MeeGo for developing in QT the tools available nowhere comparable to android. Only if the set of tools for developers is improved we can expect apps to developed for it. Plans are there to have many tools released soon.


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Android platform mobile handsets - Verizon launches CDMA IPhone

Verizon has announched the launch of the most awaited CDMA version of the IPhone. Till date only AT&T was allowed to sell IPhones. Now that the contract comes to an end Verizon has come up with CDMA version of the IPhone.

CDMA IPhone will be put on sale in the first week of Feb. The pricing is expected to be on similar lines as offered by AT&T. Whether this would affect the sales of AT&T remains to be seen.

The price $199 - 16-GB version
               $299 - 32-GB

Ofcourse, this would also come with a 2-year contract. The exact plans for subscription is expected shortly.

With the CDMA IPhone out in the market the battle for larger market share would be renewed between Android and IPhone. Android phones have steadily flooded the market especially in the last two seasons. Their market shares have been increasing at a tremendous pace. With CDMA IPhone Apple is entering the CDMA market. Android already has both GSM and CDMA handsets. The success of this phone also depends on how well Verizon is able to upgrade its network expecting a huge sales of IPhone.

Android Racing ahead

HP is evaluating Google's open-source Android operating system for use in some its PCs and mobile devices. A spokesperson for HP said that the company is "studying the Android operating system". However, HP stressed that it remains open to considering various operating system options.



Asus, meanwhile, has already announced plans to port Android to its netbook range.





















Commenting on the reports, Google said that it designed Android to be open and scalable for precisely this type of application."Android is a free open-source mobile platform, so anyone can take the Android platform and add code or download it to create a mobile device without restrictions," said a Google spokesman.

LG Electronics has already announced its plans of going to equip two new smartphones with Android, following the footsteps of Samsung and Motorola.

offline gmail

Google demonstrated how gmail can be accessed offline along with its features such as search etc enabled on an iphone. This doesnt require any iphone specific software to be installed. Instead it makes use of HTML to enable this features. This is how it has challenged Apple allowing iphone uses to make use of Google's features at no extra cost. If the same was enabled though a software then apple would have taken a roality for making the application available on its apple store, but this wont be the case.

However, this has not been released in the open market. Anyway, we can expect it to hit the market very soon. Google demonstated this feature recently on iphone and Android G1