Cloud security: is Android the weakest link?

Monday, March 7th, 2011

Much has been written about the security of data in the cloud, and even more about the insecurity of the same. Until now, things have been somewhat quieter when it comes to how we access cloud-based data on the move. That, I suspect, is about to change.

Plenty of effort has been poured into securing online data stores, and plenty is made by the providers of those cloud services in making sure potential customers know about it. Which is why the bad guys are understandably looking for the soft targets, and at the moment that would appear to be Android apps.

I’ve said it before, and I will say it again: the smaller your business, the bigger the benefits of cloud computing. That rings especially true at the ‘free’ end of the cloud scale where the attraction of services such as those provided by Google can offer real bottom-line savings for hard pressed small business concerns. Security within the free or low-cost cloud isn’t somehow automatically weaker than that found at the expensive end of the cloud provision market either.

You can be sure that Google has invested heavily in securing the data at rest within those cloud bases, incorporating all the multi-layered protocols and synchronous replication processes you might expect. But perhaps it needs to invest more at the other end, the smartphone to be precise. What you need to ask yourself is whether Android could be the weak link in the cloud security chain?

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The dual-core ‘phone’ that runs Android and Ubuntu

Wednesday, February 16th, 2011

There’s more than enough glitz and smartphone glamour at Mobile World Congress to keep me writing previews well into next week, but when I dropped in at the ARM stand, it was something a little unusual that drew my attention.

On the edge of a narrow bench sat a rattly-looking development unit – the kind of device phone and chip makers use to test hardware before squeezing it into the shiny, sleek chassis I’ve seen so many times over the past three days. But that’s not the interesting part: ARM was using it to demonstrate the benefits of multicore mobile processors, the sort so many of the new devices this year are set to employ.

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Acer Iconia Smart review: first look

Wednesday, February 16th, 2011

Is it a tablet? Is it a phone? No, it’s giganto-phone. Meet the Acer Iconia Smart, a phone so big that, if you had pockets deep enough, it would reach almost to your knee; so tall that two would make a decent pair of shinpads for a very tiny man.

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HTC Desire S review: first look

Tuesday, February 15th, 2011

The HTC Desire won a coveted PC Pro Recommended award in our recent smartphones Labs, mainly for its winning combination of value and power. Its successor was announced this morning – the Desire S – and it has a tough act to follow.

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HP Pre 3 review: first look

Tuesday, February 15th, 2011

It doesn’t seem that long since we first laid eyes on the Palm Pre 2, but its successor, the HP Pre 3, is already here — or at least it will be this summer.

First impressions of the device are promising. Where the Pre 2 was a slight upgrade from the exceedingly underwhelming Pre, the Pre 3 is a “rip up the plans and start again” job.

To start, it’s a bigger device, with a 480 x 800 3.6in touchscreen, finally bringing WebOS into the world of big-screen smartphones.

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HP Veer review: first look

Monday, February 14th, 2011

Following the heady excitement of LG’s 3D extravaganza, moving on to HP’s tiny Veer might seem a bit of a comedown, but far from it. Of the three devices HP showed-off this morning, it’s the one that had the biggest “oooh” factor.

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LG Optimus 3D review: first look

Monday, February 14th, 2011

Amongst the swathe of identikit, big-screen smartphones here at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, one phone already stands out. It isn’t because it’s super-powerful (although it is), it isn’t because of its industrial design (although it’s quite nice), it’s because it’s the only phone that does something completely different: 3D. 3D screen, 3D camera, 3D video and 3D gaming.

If you’re sighing quietly at this stage and muttering “waste of time” under your breath, I don’t blame you. 3D has hardly taken off in the home yet, and here LG is, cramming it unceremoniously into a device that, only a few years ago, was required for nothing more strenuous than making calls, sending texts and maybe a little email.

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Samsung Galaxy SII review: first look

Monday, February 14th, 2011

Samsung’s Galaxy S has been a rip-roaring success in the past year, so it was no surprise to see Samsung capitalise at Mobile World Congress this year. Its successor, dubbed the Samsung Galaxy SII, sees a number of key changes and upgrades, and we managed to get our mitts on one at the launch event.

Read the full review of the Samsung Galaxy S II here

The first thing that strikes you about the new Galaxy is how thin the thing is. At a mere 8.49mm from front to back it’s a real Posh Spice of a phone, so slender it even out-diets the iPhone 4. It’s light too, at 116g, although the down side to this is it feels a little plasticky and cheap. Still, that didn’t hit sales Galaxy S sales too badly, and it feels pretty well put together otherwise.

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The 10 best Android hacks

Sunday, January 2nd, 2011

The web’s massed fanboy armies will debate the relative merits of iOS and Android until the apocalypse, but there’s no denying Google’s OS wins out when it comes to customisation – and, if you’ve taken the plunge and rooted your device, then a whole load more options will become available.

It sounds like a complex procedure but, for virtually all Android handsets, it’s surprisingly easy: our own Technical Editor, Darien Graham-Smith, explained how to do it back in September, and instructions for major handsets – such as the HTC Desire, Samsung Galaxy S and Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 are easy enough to find, although you’ll be taking your phone and, perhaps, your warranty, into your own hands if you proceed.

Still, that’s not to say that you need a rooted handset to take advantages of some of these tweaks – here are ten of our favourite Android hacks and tricks, rooted or not:

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Poll suggests third of Android owners really want an iPhone

Sunday, November 14th, 2010

Android is on a wave, it would seem, what with Gartner just announcing that the Google mobile OS has a 25.5% global market share. This puts it in second place behind Symbian on 36.6%, miles ahead of Apple’s iOS on 16.7% and RIM on 14.8%. Indeed, Gartner says that 1.4 million more Android handsets were sold in the third quarter compared to this time last year, taking the total to 20.5 million. However, one piece of polling would suggest that not everyone in the Android camp is a happy bunny.

A survey conducted by a mobile phone comparison website called MyPhoneDeals reckons that many Android owners would much rather have an iPhone, truth be told. Interestingly, the reverse is not true. MyPhoneDeals found Android owners some four times more likely to covet an iPhone than iPhone owners were to desire an Android handset. Apparently a third of the Android-owning folk asked said they wanted an iPhone, and 7% of iPhone owners actually said they would prefer an Android model thank you very much.

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