Android Claims 38,000 Apps But What of Quality?

Google's Android Market is getting crowded, with 38,000 apps in total according to the company's latest earnings call

Considering that Android gained roughly 8000 apps since last month, the mobile OS is on pace to top 100,000 apps by the end of the year. But like any app store, the Android Market has a quantity vs. quality issue, and it's getting harder to ignore as Google beats its chest over app counts.

Wallpapers, ringtones, and glorified RSS feeds all boost the Android Market's numbers, but offer little value compared to, say, a great utility app such as Locale. As with the iPhone, which hit the 100,000 app mark last November, it's worth questioning how many Android apps are actually useful.

Android's situation differs from the iPhone because Apple restricts developers, but Google does not. So while Apple cuts down on apps built from templates that merely pull content from the Web and purges "overtly sexual apps," the Android Market can grow in any way it pleases, for better or worse. That's not to say the iPhone doesn't have its share of junk, and with OS 4 adding wallpaper support this summer, you're bound to see worthless wallpaper apps spring up in droves, as they have for the iPad.

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Apple Leaks! 3MP Cams in iPhone and New Tablets

Image via CrunchBase

Finally we get to read some Apple leaks again! And it's not just about the iPhone mind you, we'll be talking about the iPod and another possible Apple gadget that may take the tech world again by storm. Will this mean that the next year is going to be Apple's year again?

3MP Cams in iPhone 4 Gen and Future iPods?

If Digitimes wrote it right, they just inadvertently spilled the beans that the iPhone 4Gen and the next sets of iPods will be having 3.2 Megapixels over the old 2 Megapixels they have today:

"The sources said OmniVision has secured 5-megapixel CIS orders for the next-generation iPhone model, which will hit shelves sometime during the second half of 2010. OmniVision snatched 3.2-megapixel CIS orders for Apple's iPhone 3GS, beating out Aptina Imaging which supplies the 2-megapixel CIS solution for the iPhone 3G."

Hopefully this means better camera shots and videos coming out of the iPhone 4Gen and iPods in the next year.

Apple Tablets are coming!

According to Boy Genius, they're certain that a 7 inch Apple Tablet is in the works and will be announced next month.

"Our connect said there is 100% a 7″ Apple tablet, to be announced in January, and whether this is in addition to a 10″ model, they don’t know. Would we bet the farm on this? No, but they’ve been amazingly accurate for us in the past..."

So we're actually waiting on TWO tablets? Wow! How will this affect current Netbooks? Will the tablets be better than the Mac? Are Apple shooting themselves in the foot?

Source of New 3MP Cams
Source of Apple Tablets

iPhone Worm is Rick Astley's Face

Rick Astley used to be a big star in the 80's but now, thanks to some people in YouTube, have become some sort of a joke because of the Rick Roll'd phenomenon. It seems to have died a natural death around late 2008, but it seems to have made a comeback, in a somewhat sinister way: he's become a worm for jailbroken iPhones.

"Apple iPhone owners in Australia have reported that their smartphones have been infected by a worm that has changed their wallpaper to an image of 1980s pop crooner Rick Astley.

The worm, which could have spread to other countries although we have no confirmed reports outside Australia, is capable of breaking into jailbroken iPhones if their owners have not changed the default password after installing SSH. Once in place, the worm appears to attempt to find other iPhones on the mobile phone network that are similarly vulnerable, and installs itself again."

What a way to have the iPod Touch/iPhone's first worm: an image of an 80's star.

If your iPod Touch/iPhone has it, fret not as all it does is install Astley's wallpaper. To remove it, you need to change your root user password and delete "LOCKBACKGROUND.JPG" from (VAR/MOBILE/LIBRARY).

What's interesting here is that the creator has a message for those who got the worm.

Is this for the users who have brazenly jailbroken their iPod Touch/iPhones or for Apple? Nevertheless, this is proof that the iPhone 3G's security is really bad.

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iPod beats the iPhone 3GS anytime!

Image by Steve Rhodes via Flickr

When the first generation iPhone was sold and the iPod Touch came after, a lot of people suddenly felt their iPhone was just an iPod with a phone feature. Now it looks like it's happening again when it was confirmed that the iPod 3rd Gen is faster than the iPhone 3GS.

Macworld’s tests show some impressive gains. Boot went down from 31 to 19 seconds. Launching apps went from 12, 20, and 10 seconds to 7, 15, and 5 for Peggle, HR Battle, and Rolando 2 respectively. Web page rendering for the NYT site was down from 34 to 15 seconds, and the Sunspider JS test went from 34.2 to 15.6 seconds.

Well, it shouldn't be news to most iPhone and iPod fans but even the iPod 2nd Gen was much faster than the iPhone 3GS. What's worse, is that not only is it faster at loading but faster at everthing!

But it’s not just in benchmarks such as these where the new iPod wins out. Just as the iPhone 3GS was faster than the iPhone 3G at everything, the new iPod touch feels much faster at any task you throw at it: applications launch (and quit) faster, Web pages load more quickly, processor-intensive games and programs perform better—you name it.

Is it time to change to a cheaper and faster iPod third gen, sell that iPhone 3GS, and just buy a really cheap mobile phone? Depends if you're happy with what you got. If you ask me I'll take the iPhone anyday whether it's slower or not.



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Security vs. Convenience

Being a techie blog, we always strive to ensure that our readers are well informed of what gadgets they bought or will buy in the future will affect their lives. One of them is a user's information security: how will your mobile phone protect your information from people or parties that want to take it from you? Wired Magazine and New Consumers covered this a few hours ago and we'd like to discuss it here as well.

Being connected to the Internet whether it be through a laptop, desktop, or your mobile phone requires giving up some personal data in exchange for something else. This is where security comes in and if your device or medium seems to have a problem with it, then this is where the dilema begins: do you ditch that device or continue using it and hope the hackers won't target you next? This is the situation that's presented by the seeming lack of security in the iPhone 3GS.

According to Jonathan Zdziarski, an iPhone developer and a hacker who teaches forensics courses on recovering data from iPhones,:
“It is kind of like storing all your secret messages right next to the secret decoder ring. I don’t think any of us [developers] have ever seen encryption implemented so poorly before, which is why it’s hard to describe why it’s such a big threat to security.”

And here are the videos to prove it:





...and that's without even jailbreaking the phone. According to him, one only needs to use free hacking programs to do this. He demonstrated how easy it was to get info from the iPhone without the need of a passcode and how to delete a passcode. However, some people will risk it anyway.

According to Lance Kidd, chief information officer of Halton Company, an industrial equipment provider:
“Your organization has to be culturally ready to accept a certain degree of risk,” Kidd said. “I can say we’ve secured everything as tight as a button, but that won’t be true…. Our culture is such that our general manager is saying, ‘I’m willing to take the risk for the value of the applications.’”

If your decision is to continue using the iPhone 3GS despite this massive flaw, the decision is yours, we hope that Apple patches this up immediately.

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iPhone Loving: iLuv earphones and DSLR

The iPhone 3GS has practically changed a lot of the way we look at mobile phones today. It's no surprise then that a lot of peripherals and accessories are rolling out of production and being offered up to most of the consumers. We'll take a look at some now.

iPhone 3GS camera improvements

If you feel that the camera's 1 megapixel isn't enough for your needs then it may be best to check out the Factron Quattro for your iPhone 3GS. Besides the exquisite looking duraluminum casing, it also has lenses that can be set up to 40mm. A bit of warning though as the costs range from $200 up.

On the application side, if you don't want to spend that much on a camera lens, then the next best solution for you would be Zoom. It gives your iPhone the capability to 4x zoom. The cost? $2.

iLuv earphones

Another reason to show your love for your iPhone 3GS is to buy it some new and spanking earphones. What's the use of having a cool phone and yet have crappy earphones? We know that the Apple bundled earphones are of a better quality than most, but if you can afford something better, why not? Here's some for you: the iEP515.



iEP515 specs

Product Description

iEP515: Premium Earphone with iPod Microphone Remote

General Features

• Fully control your iPhone 3G S or iPod with in-line remote
• Hands-free for all iPhone
• Record voice memos in your iPhone or iPod through built-in microphone
• Precision-engineered driver for audio reproduction of a full range of music
• Sound isolating design

Compatible with iPhone/iPod

• iPhone 3G S, iPod touch 2nd generation, iPod nano 4th generation, iPod classic 120GB, iPod shuffle 3rd generation

What's included

• Large, medium, and small size ear tips

As with everything: quality comes with a price. In this case, it's worth $30.

So there we, are some pricey and some not-so pricey apps and gadgets you can use to spruce up your iPhone 3GS with. Happy iPhone lovin'!

Source for iPhone 3GS cam improvements

Source for iPhone iLuv earphones

iPod Touch 3 detected! iPhone has Exit Strategy

Apple's iPhone 3GS and the rumors swirling about the iPod Touch seems to be one of the hotter news today and we'll be covering some of them today.

iPod Touch 3 Spotted?

According to reports coming from Pinch Media, they noticed an “iPod 3,1″ string in their version reporting. Here's more info regarding this string:

• the first time an application using Pinch Analytics was run by a ‘iPod3,1′ device occurred in late April 2009;
• applications using Pinch Analytics were run by ‘iPod 3,1′ devices very infrequently until late May 2009, when the pace picked up slightly;
• As of this date, a few dozen distinct ‘iPod 3,1′ devices have run around two dozen different applications using Pinch Analytics;
• The applications being run on ‘iPod 3,1′ devices have all been the larger, more popular applications using Pinch Analytics, with hundreds of thousands to millions of unique users– other than their size, the applications have little else in common.

Does this signal the coming of the iPod Touch 3 in the near future? We hope so, and when it does, we'll report it right away!

Exit Strategy NYC: an iPhone app that makes your train ride smoother!

Even for those who have stayed in New York for a long time will get lost among all the trains and stops from time to time, resulting in a lot of hairy situations. Don't fret as there's an app available that will make your trip underground smoother. Exit Strategy NYC is here to serve you!

Just pick the line, your stop, and whether you're going uptown or downtown. (Yes, it works offline, since there's no AT&T in the subway, or anywhere in NYC it seems at times.) It shows which subway car is closest to which exit. Like say if you're going to Union Square and want to get off at the 16th St. end, not 14th by the carcass of the Virgin Megastore. Used every time you're on the subway for a year, the hour of time you save not wandering from one end of the subway station to another to get out where you need to easily adds up to $2.

This application will even point you to what car you should take so that once you go down you can head off right into the street you wanted in the first place! How convenient!

Source for iPod Touch 3 spotting
Source for Exit Strategy NYC app

iPhone 3GS Accessories: wood casing and mini microphone

We've seen a lot of activity in the iPhone 3GS accessories market that it's so hard to choose which of them is worthy of getting reported. However, thanks to our old pals at New Consumers we were able to find some of the good stuff for you!

iPhone 3GS Wooden Casing

First up is the wood casing for the iPhone 3GS. It may not appeal for the save the tree people out there, but there must be a reason why trees are there in the first place right? Yes, to serve as casing for tech items is one of their uses.

Designer handmade wooden case for the iPhone 3G(S). This box is made out of Padauk and finished with linseed oil. It is designed to add a natural aesthetic to your iPhone 3G(S), while protecting it from scratches when it is in your pocket, purse or bag. The contours are shaped and sanded to complement the curves of the iPhone and the interior is sized to hold it snugly. This one-of-a-kind case would make a wonderful gift for the iPhone user.

Prices range from Prices range form $24 to $199. Quality always comes with a price.

Flexible Mini Capsule Mic for the iPhone 3GS

Next on our list is something that most people who use their iPhones as voice recorders or for video: the Flexible Mini Capsule Microphone for the iPhone 3GS from Brando.

Try out the NEW Flexible mini capsule microphone which is especially designed for new iPhone 3.0. It enables you to record better sound quality. Instead of receiving sound from the iPhone speaker at the bottom, your iPhone can receive sound from any direction. It is especially useful while shooting video as the microphone and the camera can be pointed to the same direction. Bend and turn the microphone to the desired direction to focus sound source.

Features:

• Multi-directional adjustment
• Plug and Play.
• High Quality microphone, fine sensibility
• Small, Lightweight and Portable Design with jack cover
• No Battery is required
• Gains 25+ dB

Available at $14 starting end of July 2009. So you'd better get one soon!

Expect that as more accessories come out for the iPhone 3GS, we'll be there to cover it.

Source for Flexible Mini Capsule Microphone for the iPhone 3GS

Source for Wooden Cases for the iPhone 3GS

iPhone 3GS how to: spot real earphones and solution to discolored backsides

Apple's iPhone 3G S is in the news again today (as usual). Here are just some that have piqued our interests:

iPhone 3GS earphone knockoffs: almost as good as the real thing?

We've read some reports coming from New Consumers a few days ago regarding an iPhone 3Gs knockoff, here comes another one that's connected to the aforementioned phone. This time it's the earphones.

Thing is, the $14 copycat is as almost good as the original. It’s nearly physically indistinguishable. The sound is exceptionally good. And the microphone/remote works the same as it does on the genuine article.

Even the packaging is remarkably realistic.

Except there’s a few things that are off — a few minor details that give them away as fakes. Plus, they broke down after a week.

I guess the point here is that eventhough the fake Apple earphones died in a week, it still shows that a near replica, a cheaper one at that, is possible! If Apple will bring down the price of the original earphones, then less people will resort to buying and using fake ones.

More notes and pictures on how to separate the real from the fake earphones here.

How to deal with discolorated backside of white iPhone 3GS

There were a lot of reports saying that the white iPhone 3Gs had discoloration problems after a few days of 3G usage. According to this article, it may not be the iPhone's overheating but rather it was the cover's fault.

- After numerous calls to Apple technical service and maintenance of contact with a level 3 (engineer) the problem seems to come not from a hot 3GS but contact with some covers! This was evident by ourselves on a device with a small sticker (a warning not to listen to music too loud) remained stuck, part of the hull below remained white.

- A simple solution to the problem is to clean the back of the iPhone with alcohol, tested by myself I can confirm that it works and reassure you it is safe for your precious

A simple solution is alcohol solution then. No announcement on what kind of covers do these things, but if you're one of the people who experience this, please change your covers now.

Source for iPhone 3GS Knockoffs
Source for solution to discolorated backs of iPhone 3GS

iPhone 3Gs: Counterfeits and Possible Exploit

According to our friends at the New Consumers Store, there seems to be some phony iPhone 3Gs roaming about in eBay and Craigslist. Not good news for potential iPhone 3G buyers.

It was great then that an eBay buyer went to Mac Medics, a Mac consultancy firm, and gave it to them to study it. Dana Stibolt then took a look at it and took a video of how you can spot a counterfeit iPhone 3Gs.

Here's a small list of what he found out:

• Delay in the reaction time
• Linux icon that goes nowhere
• Video icon that goes nowhere
• Add-ons that look weird: stylus for the iPhone 3Gs?
• Back of the fake is flat

After I shot the below video, I did test some of the other features on the unit. While the icons look very much like the real iPhone 3G, the features were not easy to navigate to. As you can in the video I tried to go back to the “Video” part of the iPod function, and I could not get that navigation link to work in the video. The unit also has a pretty decent FM radio in it. I was fooling around with the different functions and tried the FM radio, and it requested that I plug in headphones. It wanted the headphones in so they could act as the radio’s antenna.

For more details it's best to check out the video below:



We agree with what out friends at New Consumers Store said:

Be vigilant when buying an iPhone. It’s still better if you buy one from an Apple Store rather than from eBay or Craigslist. This way you can be positively sure that what you bought is the real McCoy.

Another piece of news that's been giving the iPhone a bad name is a suspected Short Message Service (SMS) vulnerability on the said phone. It's said that with the right SMS code sent to your iPhone hackers could literally take it over:

...the malicious code could theoretically include commands to monitor the location of the phone using GPS, turn on the phone’s microphone to eavesdrop on conversations, or make the phone join a distributed denial of service attack or a botnet...

All of us are hoping that apple provides an OS update soon and close this gaping hole.

Source for iPhone counterfeit
Source for SMS exploit on the iPhone