Google's Android One smartphones to help bolster Facebook's growth in India

NEW DELHI: Even as Google prepares to pry open larger chunks of the Indian market with an array of cheap smartphones as part of its Android One programme, it will also willy-nilly help rival Facebook grow its India numbers.



Next Monday, Google is widely expected to launch a range of Android One smartphones, mostly priced under Rs 6,000 ($100). These have been developed in partnership with local mobile phone manufacturers including Micromax, Karbonn and Spice. They are expected to be loaded with topend features such as dual core chip, 5 MP camera and 4.5-inch display.

But, as these cheap and powerful smartphones flood the market, Facebook will benefit as much as Google as new smartphone users will also log into the former's popular social networking and messenger applications.

Facebook has 108 million users in India active monthly, of which 94 million access it on a mobile.

"A low-cost smartphone which allows a good user experience will accelerate adoption of Facebook," says Jessie Paul, CEO, Paul Writer Strategic Advisory, a marketing consultancy. "In fact, it could take Facebook's access on mobile devices to 100 per cent from about 93 per cent at present."



are now looking forward to one billion users in India. That is a different focus and challenge," Javier Olivan, vice-president, growth & analytics, Facebook, had told ET in a March interview. Google's Android One will make the challenge easier.
Google, Facebook and much of the Internet companies ecosystem are often referred to as 'frenemies'. They are friends in the sense that the success of any one company invariably yields spin-off benefits for others; enemies because all of them compete for the same users and online advertising dollars.

Google's Android One program will not only benefit Facebook, but the entire gamut of social networking companies including Twitter, Instagram etc, all of which will gain more smartphone users. But Facebook could gain more than others, since it has the largest user base in India. CEO Mark Zuckerberg has crafted a mobile first strategy for Facebook and has publicly admitted the company's biggest mistake was "we burned two years not working on mobile."

"Every service will benefit, be it Facebook, Whatsapp or Skype," says Katyayan Gupta, analyst, eBusiness & Channel strategy, Forrester Research. Google and Facebook declined to comment on this story.

Android One is tipped to be a game changer in the smartphone market, delivering a better experience to users.

"Low-cost Android smartphones have poor touch screen, poor camera and poor memory. This impacts user experience be it Facebook or Google docs," says Forrester's Gupta.

"But Android One will provide a consistent user experience across all devices," he adds. Adds Mohammad Chowdhury, leader, telecom, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC): "Android One will shake up the low-end to midtier smartphone market," Google finished the second quarter with $14.3 billion in advertising revenues compared to Facebook's $2.68 billion.

Facebook's mobile ad revenues accounts for more than 60 per cent of its overall ad revenues, while Google's earns only 12 per cent of its advertising dollars from mobile.

Google Hangouts for Android updated with Google Voice integration, free VoIP calls

It’s finally all coming together. As many suspected would eventually happen, Google Hangouts is finally—in an update rolling out over the next few days—going to be getting integration with Google Voice. The latter service seemed to definitely be getting neglected by Google as of late, with much of the company’s focus going to its Hangouts platform. But it appears that Voice may even moreso eventually become a thing of the past because, starting today, Google is putting it straight into Hangouts as part of a new update to its apps across Android, iOS, and the web.

On the Android side, you’ll find that the new app is getting redesigned to live up to the upcoming standards of Android ‘L’ and its Material Design scheme. It has long felt like the Hangouts app on Android was leagues behind that of iOS—which to some made no sense at all—but version 2.3 is rolling out starting today and it appears that today’s update is a big one with a few key interface redesigns. On Android, you need to install a separate, accompanying dialler to turn on voice calls.

Notably, for these users, Hangouts calls can now come from your Google Voice number. Features long part of the Google Voice app, including voicemail text transcriptions and text messages that were sent your Google Voice phone number, will now be integrated straight into the Hangouts app. And for text messages, users can decide between replying to each message from the number that received it (Voice or cell number), or you can pick one static number for all replies.

On iOS and the web, you’ve long been able to make voice calls, but it’s kind of been a feature that Google didn’t put much emphasis on. Today, Google says that you’ll voice calls available “the next time you open the app,” but we already knew that. Now, Google offers free VoiP calls to all phones in the U.S. and Canada across all three platforms.

Lybrate launches two dedicated Android apps for doctors and patients

Doctor directory and clinic management system Lybrate has launched two healthcare apps: Practice Management for doctors and Find Best Doctors for patients. The apps are currently only available on the Android platform although the company claims iPhone and Windows apps are coming soon. Lybrate had secured $1.225 million in investment last month from Nexus Venture Partners.

The Practice Management app pretty much imitates the features the Lybrate website provides doctors. It will allow doctors to add new patients, track payments, create appointments and record patient treatments among other things. It features a searchable patient history, can send appointment reminders to patients, displays clinic performance stats and has a complete billing module. Premium subscription to the app will also allow doctors to send SMS reminders to patients for due payments, appointments, dental checkups etc. The subscription plans are common for both the web-based service and mobile apps, which start with a free plan and range up to Rs 849 per month.

The Find Best Doctors app is also similar in functionality to what the website offers patients. A user can search for nearby doctors listed based on ratings by real patients and select from available times to book an appointment. The app offers some unique features over its web-based platform though, like finding the nearest ambulance, sharing medical documents even with people without the app and a “danger” button, which triggers messages to assigned contacts by pressing the power button. This app is available for free.

Competition:

- Online generic drug search engine HealthKartPlus.com had revamped its app and expanded its service to Bangalore and Chennai in July last year. The company also appointed former Zynga executive Gaurav Agarwal as its CTO and head of products in December.

- Healthcare startup eVaidya had raised Rs 3.5 crore from existing investors in February this year. eVaidya also offers some kind of management system for doctors which stores patient health records and offers remote consultation. The startup had launched an Android app last year.

- New York-based ZocDoc has apparently had a data operations head in India for over two years operating from Pune and is currently looking to hire a General Manager for the country. So, is the company looking to expand into India?

- HelpingDoc, an online doctor appointment service had raised Rs 10 crore in a Series A round of funding last month.

- UberHealth, a Delhi-based startup had launched a preventive health care service for senior citizens in April. The paid service includes scheduling appointments, transportation, medical tests and check up, processing of paperwork and online reports.

- DocSuggest had raised an undisclosed amount from Google India MD Rajan Anandan and other existing investors in April 2013.

- Other competitors include BookMyDoctor, Practo, Eatherway and DrSupport among others.

Viber introduces videos calls to its mobile chat apps for Android and iOS

Viber  the mobile messaging app bought by Japan’s e-commerce giant Rakuten for $900 million, is spreading its wings beyond voice calling on mobile after it introduced video calling to its Android and iOS apps.

The service has offered video calling from its desktop apps for some while, but Viber CEO Talmon Marco tells TNW that it is now ready to replicate the experience on mobile, after two years of work and testing. Marco says that the service is robust enough to support video calling even on the most basic network connections, but obviously a weak signal won’t produce an HD-quality experience.

In addition, Viber 5.0 for Android and iOS introduces QR codes for sharing contact details — so if you meet someone new and want to share details, it’s as simple as scanning their code using your phone.

Marco, who tells us that he remains very hands-on despite Viber’s lucrative exit, says that the company is preparing three more “big” releases before the end of the year. One will be games, he says, and we suspect another might be the integration of Rakuten’s e-commerce service — something that Rakuten thinks can “completely change” its business.

“Our mission isn’t over,” Marcos says. “Now that you can make video calls from your phone as well as on your PC and Mac, you can always talk in the way that’s most convenient for you, wherever you happen to be. ”

Viber isn’t the first messaging app to support voice calls — Line, WeChat, and Kakao are among the plethora of rivals that already offer the service.

Microsoft's MSN-Branded Bing Apps Coming to Android and iOS Soon

Microsoft will soon re-brand its Bing suite of apps to MSN apps and will introduce them on Android and iOS platforms in the coming months. The company has however not mentioned the exact dates when the apps will reach the other platforms.

"In the coming months, we will release a suite of MSN apps across iOS and Android to complement our corresponding Windows and Windows Phone apps. You only need to set your favorites once, and your preferences will be connected across MSN, Cortana, Bing and other Microsoft experiences," stated the official Microsoft blog post.

Once synced across platforms and devices, the service would show user's preferred selections from MSN Food & Drink, MSN Sports, MSN Money or any other sections "at your PC at work, on your iPad in the living room, or on your Android phone when you are on the go."

Notably, the Bing apps that are re-branded to MSN apps are Travel, Weather, News, Health & Fitness, Finance, Food & Drink, and Sports. These apps are currently available on Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 platforms only, but will be made available individually on Android and iOS platforms.

Microsoft has also redesigned its MSN website giving access to the re-branded apps on the top bar along with easy access to other services including Outlook, Office, OneNote, OneDrive, Maps, Facebook, Twitter, and Skype. Users can see the new MSN website by going at preview.msn.com. The latest move by Microsoft falls under the company's "mobile-first, cloud-first" vision which Satya Nadella, Microsoft CEO, had detailed earlier this year.

The company says the revamped site fits in with Microsoft's overall strategy of making mobile phones and Internet-based services priorities as its traditional businesses - Windows and Office software installed on desktops - slow down or decline. The changes also come as people increasingly read news on smartphones and tablets rather than desktop computers.

Facebook Messenger for Android Update Lets Users Draw, Type Over Photos

Facebook on Friday has released an update to its Messenger app for Android with ability to draw and type messages on photos that have been selected to send from the device's gallery.

The updated version (varies with devices) of the Facebook Messenger for Android has been rolled out to users on Google Play India. The update was first reported by by Android Police.

With the updated Facebook Messenger app, users will need to tap on the photo icon in the bottom control row, which will bring up a horizontal photo reel. Once a user selects a photo, users will need to tap on the 'Aa' (text) or pen icon, in order to draw or type a message on it. The Android Police team also notes that the app doesn't seem to annotate a photo taken with Facebook Messenger's built-in "selfie cam" directly. Users will need to save it in the gallery and can follow the same procedure to select it.

Last month, Facebook had confirmed that it is currently testing the option to post stickers while commenting on a post. Notably, stickers had until that point only been available via the Facebook Messenger app.

The confirmation had come from a Facebook spokesperson when asked about the issue by The Next Web. "We are running a test which allows you to add a sticker to a comment on Facebook," replied the spokesperson.

The users can add the sticker in the same way they do in the Facebook Messenger app. As seen in one of the screenshots shared by Thodoris Konsoulas, the sticker button is placed besides the camera button in the comment bar. On clicking the sticker button, the option would expand with a number of default stickers and other sticker packs purchased by the user.

E-paper version of ST now on Android smartphone app

The updated ST Android apps let stories, pictures and videos take centre stage. 

BY VINCENT CHANG

Android smartphone subscribers to The Straits Times can now read an e-paper version which looks just like the print version of the English daily.

This feature has been available to ST's digital subscribers on the Web, iPhone, iPad and Android tablet platforms but was extended to Android smartphone users last week. Android tablet subscribers now get an additional perk over smartphone users: They can save a copy of the paper in PDF format to read offline later.

The latest versions of the ST Android apps have also been sporting a new look since last week.

"We had major issues previously with the design of the ST Android apps as they didn't cater to the vastly fragmented nature of the Android platform," said Mr Zuraimie Ismail, who led the redesign efforts. The app would look fine on certain mobile devices and screen sizes, but would not work on others, he said.

Besides fixing these issues, the updated apps look modern and clean, allowing stories, pictures and videos to take centre stage.

ST apps provide free breaking news and push notifications to all readers. They also provide local weather and stock market updates. Subscribers get access to a seven-day archive and the paper's full print content.

This is the first major revamp of the Android apps since their debut. The tablet version was launched in July last year while the smartphone app was released in 2012. Mr Zuraimie said the apps will be updated constantly based on feedback from users.

You can subscribe to The Straits Times smartphone or tablet packages for $26.65 per month.

Boxer’s new Android email app kicks off its enterprise ambitions

Hot mobile email service Boxer launched a much-anticipated native Android app today, but it’s actually just a small part of a larger plan to take on the enterprise.

Boxer, which initially launched on iOS with support for many major email clients, takes the position that your inbox is still the most valuable source of information because it’s where all the lines of communication cross, where meeting dates are confirmed, where tasks originate before getting added to task lists, and the like. However, all that information is usually too chaotic to manage when trying to use stock email apps. Boxer attempts to fix that by speeding up the message information sorting process — allowing you to create to-do lists, assign tasks, respond quickly, and generally use your inbox to its full potential.

And now the startup is going after enterprise-level clients.

“Most companies probably realize that if the tools provided to them don’t have the look and feel of a consumer app, employees will go around them and use something better,” Boxer CEO Andrew Eye told VentureBeat. “From a security standpoint that’s a problem, and as soon as the IT department realizes it, all they have to do is decide to block access.”

The result of this is that employees are essentially less productive than they could be, Eye added.

But Boxer hopes to solve that problem by offering a consumer-like app that integrates with key enterprise software. For example, Boxer’s Salesforce integration allows enterprise-level users to add new contacts directly into the Salesforce platform from Boxer’s email app within seconds. Using a stock email app would take exponentially longer, Eye said.

“Nobody wants to spend an entire minute to pull up Salesforce, pull up an email with all the contact information from a message, and then manually enter it. It usually just doesn’t happen, and people end up having to constantly search the inbox when they want to reach that contact instead,” Eye explained.

Boxer now offers a decent set of integrations with other sales and marketing platforms most companies use regularly, such as Box and Salesforce. Additionally, the app also offers enterprise-level client integration with “bring-your-own-device” security services like MobileIron and Airwatch. And now that Boxer is available on Android, pulling in new enterprise clients should prove easier.

Founded in 2012, Austin, Texas-based Boxer has raised $3.8 million in funding to date. The startup, which competes with Dropbox-owned Mailbox, offers both free and premium versions of its mobile email apps. 

Evernote for Android completely overhauled with new look, navigation, Web clipper and more

Evernote has released an updated version of its Android app which ushers in a number of new features and a significant redesign aimed at making navigating the app a bit more efficient.

For version 6.0 of Evernote for Android, the company focused on fully refreshing the feel of the app, so there’s now a floating New Note button denoted by a + sign) to provide faster access to creating all kinds of different new Notes.

You can also now swipe from the left edge to quickly access your notebooks, tags and other shortcuts. Business users will also be able to switch between personal and business notebooks here.

The update also introduces the Evernote Web Clipper found on other platforms to Android for the first time. To use it, simply tap the Share button on a webpage and select Evernote as the destination. Once you’ve done this, the actual clipping takes place in the background so you can carry on with other tasks.

There are a few more changes under the bonnet too, like easier sharing of notebooks with friends and colleagues, an improved search function and an ‘Explore Evernote’ section of hints and tips which point out features you may not be aware of.

Lenovo Vibe X2 With Android 'Lollipop' Teased for September 4 Launch

Lenovo seems set to launch its Vibe X2 smartphone running Android L, with the company sending lollipop-featuring invites for its September 4 pre-IFA 2014 event.

On the invitation, Lenovo shows a big lollipop (appearing to be referring to Android L) with the Vibe X2 name written at its centre. The invite also contains a tongue-in-cheek reference to Apple's September 9 invite, which had said "Wish we could say more." Lenovo on its own invite says, "We can't say anything either."

While we will know more about the Vibe X2 in less than a week's time, recent leaks (via gdgtarena have pointed a 2.2GHz dual-core processor, 5-inch full-HD touchscreen, 2GB of RAM, 32GB inbuilt storage, 13-megapixel rear camera with LED flash, and a 5MP front-facing camera.

Based on the leaks, the Vibe X2 features nearly the same specifications as its predecessor, the Vibe X, except a bumped-up processor. The Vibe X was launched inDecember last year and got a price cut by roughly Rs. 3,000 in May this year - bringing the cost down to Rs. 22,999.

With the Vibe X2 launch invite, Lenovo may just have revealed that the real name of Android L is Lollipop, and not Lemon Meringue Pie as recently reported. Of course, until Google confirms the name - even such a revelation by a Google partner cannot be taken as confirmation.

Lenovo last month added a new phablet to its 'Vibe' portfolio by launching the Vibe Z2 Pro. The key specifications of the handset are 6-inch Quad-HD (1440x2560 pixel) display; Android 4.4 KitKat; quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon (MSM8974AC) 801 processor clocked at 2.5GHz; 3GB of RAM; 16-megapixel rear camera; 5-megapixel front camera; 32GB of inbuilt storage (non-expandable), and 4000mAh battery.

Google Sends Invites for September 15 India Event; Android One Launch Likely

Google has sent invitations for an event in India on September 15. While the invite itself says "More details closer to the date!", it is expected that the much-awaited Android One smartphones will make their debut at the event.

Android One was announced back in June at Google I/O with India's Karbonn, Micromax, and Spice the confirmed launch partners, though more Indian companies have reportedly joined the list since then.

Android One smartphones with their affordable price tag and near-stock Android software are Google's attempts to regain control of the customer experience in the entry-level segment. While the success of the likes of Moto E has made a little bit of a difference, the experience in the sub-Rs. 10,000 smartphone segment has been sub-par for most Android users.

This can largely be attribute to low-end hardware and an OS that often comes pre-installed with all kinds of bloatware due to the marketing deals that many manufacturers sign in a bid to offset some of the costs.

Sundar Pichai, Senior Vice President, Android, Chrome and Apps at Google told NDTV Gadgets that the Mountain View-based company will not subside Android One hardware. Instead, Pichai hoped that the by sharing resources between Google and the OEMs, the companies would be able to keep the total cost of manufacturing in check.

It is widely believed that Pichai himself will make an appearance at the September 15 event, given the importance of the Android One project to the company.

Micromax Canvas 2 Colours Receiving Android 4.4.2 KitKat Update in India

Micromax on Friday announced the Android 4.4.2 KitKat update for its Canvas 2 Colours (A120) smartphone. The smartphone was launched in April with Android 4.2 Jelly Bean out-of-the-box.

The smartphone manufacturer made the announcement on its Facebook page, asking Canvas 2 Colours users to reboot their smartphone to get the KitKat update notification over Wi-Fi as recommendation. Micromax also posted the announcement again on Sunday with an image providing the changelog for the Android 4.4.2 KitKat update.

The over-the-air (OTA) Android 4.4.2 KitKat update for the Canvas 2 Colours is about 283MB in size and will include Music Album art on the lock screen along with an improved user interface.

The Micromax Canvas 2 Colours (A120) is a dual-SIM (GSM+GSM) device that comes with a 5-inch IPS display with a resolution of 720x1280 (HD) pixels. It is powered by a 1.3GHz quad-core MediaTek (MT6582) processor coupled with 1GB of RAM.

The Canvas 2 Colours features 4GB of inbuilt storage, which is further expandable via microSD card (up to 32GB). It sports an 8-megapixel autofocus rear camera with LED flash, while there is a 2-megapixel front-facing camera also onboard. On the connectivity front, the Canvas 2 Colours includes 3G, GPS, Wi-Fi, Micro-USB, and Bluetooth options.

Last week, Micromax had also rolled out the Android 4.4.2 KitKat update for the Canvas Doodle 3. The Android 4.4.2 KitKat update is sized around 387MB. The smartphone was launched in April this year with Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean out-of-the-box.

The Canvas Doodle 3 features a 6-inch display and is powered by a 1.3GHz dual-core MediaTek (MT6572) processor alongside 512MB of RAM. It also includes a 5-megapixel autofocus rear camera; 0.3-megapixel front-facing camera; 4GB of built-in storage (expandable up to 32GB), and a 2500mAh battery.

Google must make Android safer – our data is at risk

Over the past few months, the Android platform developed by Google and based on the Linux operating system has been having a difficult time. Hackers, with malicious intent and those without, have been investing time in finding out how weak this operating system is.

Android runs on more than four out of five mobile devices. It is popular because it is free and its terms do not dictate to device manufacturers what hardware it must be used on.

The hacking seen so far is partly a result of this popularity. But there also seem to be inherent problems, which experts and hackers have discovered don’t exist on other mobile platforms.

What are the issues?

Android is getting the most attention from malware creators, because it has more than 40,000 different malware compromises. This is worrying especially as the same systems for Windows and Apple phones seem to have only handful such issues (on non-jailbroken devices).

In June concerns arose about an SMS worm that could propagate via Android devices. One of the primary issues is the version control system these devices uses. As new and better versions of Android have been released, manufacturers having committed their development efforts to one version cannot always allow for upgrades. This is commonplace among the lower-priced devices, which tend to be fixed to a specific version of Android. Currently new devices are using the KitKat version of Android, but previous versions, such as JellyBean and IceCreamSandwich, remain in use.

In July researchers published their analysis of Android devices purchased on eBay. Even though these devices had had the information on them deleted, they could recover and analyse it. Naked Selfies among other confidential data were found, exposing a serious flaw in the encryption used by Android. The factory reset option, which should be able to permanently wipe any historical data from the device, seemed not to work well either. (This is the same issue, which was reported earlier in August, regarding the Tesco Hudl tablet, which uses Android as the operating system.)

Now researchers have found a flaw in the Gmail application on Android devices. The flaw makes it easy to create malware to obtain personal information, effectively using the email application as a route to extract all kinds of data from your phones. The researchers have claimed that this is also possible on iPhones and Windows phones. What they neglect to share is that Microsoft and Apple have app stores that undergo a range of stringent security checks before any app is allowed on their devices. This is unlike the Google Play environment, which is not the only source for apps on Android device.

There are many non-Google Android app stores – some legitimate but many not. Worse still, the security community has also exposed issues with the official Google Play store. We can trust almost all applications downloaded on Apple and Microsoft phones, but for any on the Android platform the risk is considerably higher. Unless you have up-to-date anti-malware software and are extremely cautious, chances are that your Android phone may eventually be compromised.

Should I be concerned?

Sadly, I think all Android users should be concerned. It is an excellent mobile operating system and has enabled low-cost smartphones and tablet computers to exist in the market place. But Google needs to tighten controls on how applications can enter this device as well as some of its underlying features.

Whenever I meet someone with an Android device, the first question I ask them is if they have any anti-malware installed. They often give me a quizzical look. The reality is that, if they don’t have such security apps installed, the data on their Android is not safe.

Nexus X leak confirms monster specs and new Android L details

Various reports have recently claimed that Google’s upcoming new Nexus device will not be called the Nexus 6 as expected, but instead will get a unique Nexus X moniker.TKTechNews, one of the sources of previous leaks, has returned with more information about the Motorola Nexus X, listing several AnTuTu benchmark screenshots for the handset, which seem to reveal an important new detail about Android L.

The screenshots mention several hardware details for the Nexus X that were rumored before, including a 2K display, 2.7GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 processor, 3GB of RAM, 32GB of storage and 13-megapixel camera.

The images also identify the model as a Nexus X for Google, provide a 35,430 AnTuTu score for it, and list Android version as “5.0,” a detail Google is yet to confirm about Android L.

Considering the major changes coming with Android L – especially the new Material Design lines – Google is expected to move from Android 4.4.x (KitKat) to Android 5.0 (L), rather than make a small jump to Android 4.5. Assuming the images are genuine, this Nexus X benchmark seems to confirm what Google did not say on stage at Google I/O – that Android L will mark it’s move from Android 4.x (used since Ice Cream Sandwich) to Android 5.x.

A different report, extracting information from various sources, revealed that the “L” could stand for Lemon Meringue Pie.

Android App Causes National Weather Service Website Blackout

A single Android application has caused some real performance problems for the US National Weather Service  website over the past 24 hours. If you visited the site yesterday you may have received nothing, partial pages or missing forecast data. The NWS posted a message on their status page stating that an “abusing android app” was impacting their forecasts. Christopher Vaccaro, a spokesman for NWS added “We are actively working with the app developer to resolve an issue with their program which is making data requests from us too frequently”. Yes, you read that correctly. An Android application making frequent weather update requests has killed an important service, quite possibly accidentally (abusive implies malicious intent, but the frequency could just be wrong in the code). I personally suspect it was an accident as NWS did not release the name of the application and I can imagine a developer accidentally putting the update timer in milliseconds instead of seconds , or something equally silly. NWS later updated their status page to say that they have called in Akamai to add DDoS filters to block the offending traffic and resume service. The service is back up and running now, but let us briefly examine what happened and what lessons can be learned.

During this period weather warnings were not accessible and a significant number of the offices switched to distributing their updates via social media instead of the traditional automated channels. Luckily (surprise, surprise) social media sites understand Internet architecture and do pretty well at handling large volumes of traffic. On the other hand this is unfortunately not the first time that this has happened to the NWS. One of the previous communication challenges led to a failure to alert of an incoming tornado. What I find interesting about this situation is that a service that is a key part of critical weather warnings was brought down by an Android app. At a presentation 2 years ago I talked about how smartphones represented an interesting opportunity for cyber criminals as they were high bandwidth , constantly connected and received far less security scrutiny. In this case I am sure it is an accident, but the fact remains mobile phones caused a significant issue to the service.

There are a large number of ways in which weather warnings can be distributed (in severe cases mass general media including TV, Radio, Social Media or even emergency broadcast) but this service does seem to have an important central role. It begs the question why DDoS filters were not already in place (particularly as DDoS has had such a prominent position in the media over the last few years) or why a better structure of API keys (individual tokens that allow individual applications or services access so that they can be selectively revoked) was not used. More fundamentally, if this level of traffic caused a black out imagine what a very large number of people trying to hit the services in a genuine emergency would do . It sounds like the architecture (particularly caching and content delivery channels) needs to be overhauled and services to offices (and other key sites) separated from those used by Android applications. All in all it seems like NWS have more work to do than just calling in Akamai . Though at least for now you can get back to their site to find out whether you need an umbrella or not tomorrow.


If you run a website or online service which provides important (let alone critical) data you should be considering how you would handle such a scenario now, before it happens. Do you have an emergency response plan in the event technical mitigations fail?  Do you have a communications strategy (even reverting to social media, that was not a bad move by NWS)? Do you have the right network security to filter accidental or malicious attacks and most importantly do you have an architecture that can handle large volumes of traffic in the event that they occur? These are questions most of us should be asking ourselves. High visibility sites like the US National Weather Service even more so.

Update: Nik (@hvcco on Twitter) advised me of another example where a product manufacturer accidentally shipped with code that caused a significant denial of service. This example is rather old (and again shows we really should have learned our lessons by now) but is a nice description of the flaw. Most importantly this shows how bad code and accidents happen and malicious intent cannot always be assumed.

Gionee CTRL V4S with Android 4.4 KitKat Listed on Company Site

Gionee seems all set to launch a new CTRL V-series smartphone in India, as the CTRL V4S has been listed on company's India website. Notably, no pricing or availability information was listed alongside.

According to the listing, the dual-SIM CTRL V4S runs Android 4.4 KitKat out-of-the-box and features a 4.5-inch FWVGA (480x854 pixels) IPS display.

The CTRL V4S is powered by a 1.3GHz quad-core Cortex-A7 processor coupled with an ARM Mali 400 GPU and 1GB of RAM. It comes with 8GB of inbuilt storage, which is further expandable via microSD (up to 32GB).

It sports an 8-megapixel rear camera with LED flash, while there is a secondary 2-megapixel front-facing camera also onboard. On the connectivity front, the Gionee CTRL V4S includes 3G, Wi-Fi, Micro-USB, GPRS/ EDGE, GPS/A-GPS, FM radio and Bluetooth 4.0 with A2DP.

The smartphone packs a 1800mAh battery, which according to the official listing, delivers up to 10 hours of talk time and up to 230 hours of standby time on 3G networks. The CTRL V4S measures 134.5x67.7x8.07mm and weighs 85 grams. It is listed to be available in Black and White colour options.

Notably, the Chinese smartphone-maker had launched the CTRL V4 last year in June. It came with a 4.5-inch FWVGA (480x854 pixels) display and was powered by a 1.2GHz Cortex A7 quad-core processor alongside 512MB RAM. It came with a 5-megapixel rear camera and 0.3-megapixel (VGA) front facing camera. The CTRL V4 had included 4GB of internal storage expanded by another 32GB via microSD card. It was powered by a similar 1,800mAh battery as now listed for CTRL V4S.

On Thursday, the company launched its Gpad G5 phablet in India, priced at Rs. 14,999. The phablet is powered by a 1.5GHz hexa-core Cortex-A7 processor and ARM Mali-450 MP GPU coupled with 1GB of RAM. The Gionee Gpad G5 comes with an 8-megapixel rear camera with LED flash, and a 2-megapixel front facing camera. It has 8GB of inbuilt storage with that can be expanded via microSD card (up to 32GB).

Spice Fire One, India’s first Firefox OS phone, challenges Android’s entry-level dominance

            Firefox OS in its earliest avatar 

Mozilla’s Firefox OS as a smartphone operating system has had a negligible impact on the market, but all that could change very soon as the first Firefox smartphone has been announced for India. The Spice Fire One has predictable low-end specifications and a greatly attractive price tag.

At Mobile World Congress, Mozilla unveiled plans to expand to additional markets in Latin America and eastern Europe, and also announced a blueprint for any phone maker to make $25 Firefox OS smartphones, which it has now delivered on seemingly with the Spice Fire One, priced at Rs 2,299.

Many vendors are touting their low-cost Android devices as built for the first-time smartphone buyer. But we think that Android, iOS, BB 10 and Windows Phone are so far advanced for most first-time buyers that they don’t even know how to tap the full capability of the OS. Firefox is meant for just this crowd, making it easier to get apps and simple to use for non-practiced users. Firefox OS is built specifically for low-powered phones, and is optimised to run on hardware as low as a single-core processor, which is what Spice’s Fire One sports.

The phone is expected gives users the basic experience, without the performance overhead. It’s meant to decentralise the app publishing process of the leading operating systems, by giving developers full freedom to publish Web apps. The idea behind Firefox OS is it’s a Web-first platform, and not apps-first. It uses the full suite of Web standards such as HTML 5, WebRTC or RTSP for live video streaming, to bring apps and or to convert web pages into apps. In fact, if you use an Android phone, you can check out how this works as the Firefox broswer app lets you install apps from the Marketplace, like you would a regular Android app.

There’s a handy advantage with this system. Unlike on iOS or Android, where you may have to download apps, with Firefox OS, you have instant access to all apps, since they are basically modified versions of the website or webpage. Firefox says its search-and-launch mechanism will at least partially rid the problem of searching for and installing apps, which is part of the learning curve on any smartphone. This also means that developers don’t have to be bound by app-store rules that most OSes have. A developer could publish any app for Firefox OS on the Firefox Marketplace, just as easily as they would make a webpage.

Mozilla says its currently making big changes to the OS, which will come to handsets over this year. Among the changes is one for the way users access recently used apps or the notification centre. In a bid to set itself apart from the likes of Android, Firefox is working on a cross-platform sync service with Firefox Accounts, which was introduced with the radical Australis makeover. With Firefox Accounts, Mozilla can better integrate services including Firefox Marketplace, Firefox Sync, backup, storage, or even a service to help locate, message or wipe a phone if it were lost or stolen, according to the company. It would ensure your open tabs are synced across the phone and your PC.

The latest version of the OS, v 1.3, addresses some concerns such as POP3 email support, and NFC connectivity for interfacing and triggers. Firefox has also made improvements to the camera app, with support for continuous autofocus provided the hardware is present for such a feature. It’s surely adding a lot of things that are considered crucial in modern day smartphones, but in its own way.

Of course, the big questions are always about what one can do with the phone, the apps, games and utilities available. Here’s where Firefox OS could come undone. Sure, the Marketplace boasts popular apps such as Line, Twitter, Facebook and even Candy Crush, but it’s still a very underwhelming collection. WhatsApp, for example, would be the first app most smartphone newbies look for, but it’s not yet available on Firefox. That could of course change as more devices and vendors come into the picture. But the hard fact is that Firefox OS is still quite nascent and that’s its biggest drawback. Firefox is hoping it can impress first-time smartphone users with how much can be done in so little, which is something Android has yet to convince anyone about, save for a few exceptions.

Android is clearly dominating the budget segment, and such a monopoly is never a good thing for consumers. Choice is great, and Mozilla and Spice are making options available. Make no mistake, Spice is fully invested in Android; the company’s website does not yet have a page for the new Firefox OS phone, so it’s clearly just the first step to gauging reaction. And at Rs 2,299 for the Fire One, it’s making things way easy for the undecided buyer.

Firefox OS phones might not be so revolutionary that they will change the Indian smartphone market or to dethrone Android; no one thinks Firefox OS is mature enough to do that. But Firefox has the right idea of targetting first-time smartphone buyers, and now we can wait for more manufacturers to follow Spice’s lead, if the first Firefox OS phone is a hit. 

US, German researchers create framework for core Android security modules

International security researchers have offered up a framework for Google's Android operating system that allows users and developers to plug in extra security enhancements.

The researchers, from North Carolina State University and Technische Universitat Darmstadt/CASED in Germany, have developed a modification to the core Android operating system called the Android Security Modules (ASM) framework. The framework aims to eliminate the bottleneck which can prevent developers and users from taking advantage of new security tools, and make it easier for third parties to integrate the latest cybersecurity programs on offer.

The project is described in a paper (.PDF) due for release at the Usenix Security Symposium in San Diego this week.

Dr. William Enck, an assistant professor of computer science at NC State and senior author of the paper commented:

"In the ongoing arms race between white hats and black hats, researchers and developers are constantly coming up with new security extensions. But these new tools aren't getting into the hands of users because every new extension requires users to change their device's firmware, or operating system (OS).

The ASM framework allows users to implement these new extensions without overhauling their firmware."

While the Android operating system's open and free nature makes it attractive for developers and users alike, there are many variations on both smartphone and tablet platforms. This, in conjunction with Android's popularity, means that firmware and patching can be haphazard -- and a potential risk to businesses relying on the OS, or for companies which implement BYOD (bring your own device) schemes. However, with a sufficient security underpinning, Android devices could be more adequately protected -- as well as the data they contain.

The ASM framework is one way to better protect Android-based devices, argues the researchers. Custom security control modules within the framework could receive "callbacks" for security-sensitive operations in the Android OS, which means that the OS contacts the security module directly to determine if an operation should go ahead. Enck said:

"Our ASM framework can be used in various personal and enterprise scenarios. For instance, security modules can implement dual persona: i.e., enable users to securely use their smartphones and tablets at home and at work while strictly separating private and enterprise data.

Security modules can also enhance consumer privacy. The framework provides callbacks that can filter, modify, or anonymize data before it is shared with third-party apps, in order to protect personal information."

Enck says the framework is available now for security specialists, but insists that for widespread adoption, either Google or Android handset manufacturers need to adopt the framework and integrate it within the operating system. However, the framework is unlikely to be a quick fix, as Google would need to alter the core architecture of the OS -- which is no small task.