China Says No Limits on Use of Google's Android

By Joe McDonald

China tried Wednesday to assure mobile phone companies using Google's Android operating system that they won't be hurt by a dispute over Web censorship, saying the technology will be allowed if it complies with regulations.

Google Inc. postponed the launch of its own smart phone in China following its Jan. 12 announcement that it will no longer censor search results. Others also are developing Android-based phones and could be hurt if Beijing tries to penalize Google by barring its use.

"As long as it fulfills Chinese laws and regulations and has good communication with telecom operators, I think its application should not have restrictions," said Zhu Hongren, a spokesman for the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, at a regular news briefing when asked whether Beijing would permit use of Android.

The comments reflect the conflicting pressures on the communist government, which insists on controlling information but needs foreign companies like Google to help achieve its goal of making China a technology leader.

The operating system is one of a mobile phone's most basic elements and changing it after products already have been launched would be costly, said Ted Dean, managing director of BDA China Ltd., a Beijing research firm.

"There's a pretty significant upfront investment in developing a phone on one operating system," Dean said. "So you don't want to change course on so basic a system as what operating system it works on."

In a fresh blast of invective, the Communist Party newspaper People's Daily accused Google on Wednesday of being a tool of Washington's "Internet hegemony."

After seeing its strength eroded by the global crisis, Washington "is shifting its strategic focus from the military to the Internet," the newspaper said. "It is against this backdrop that Google becomes a tool of the country's Internet hegemony."

Google is in sensitive talks with the government, trying to keep an important Beijing development center, a lucrative advertising sales team and access to China's booming market for its fledgling mobile phone business.

A Google spokesman, Jessica Powell, declined Wednesday to comment on the status of talks or confirm whether top managers from the company's Mountain View, California, headquarters were in Beijing.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton plans to bring up the issue of Internet freedom when she meets with China's foreign minister Thursday on the sidelines of an international conference on Afghanistan in London.

"She will reiterate her call that she made in her speech about wanting a transparent inquiry with transparent results," a senior State Department official said on condition of anonymity to preview the meeting.

Last week, Clinton criticized China's Internet censorship and called on Beijing to investigate cyberattacks against Google.

China is the world's most populous mobile phone market and any restrictions on Google might hamper its effort to expand into mobile. The country has more than 700 million accounts and strong demand for advanced services.

State-owned China Mobile Ltd., the world's biggest phone company by subscribers, is developing its own smart phone, the OPhone, which uses a system that has Android as its foundation.

The involvement of such a major state company, a key player in Beijing's technology development plans, could add to pressure on authorities to contain the commercial consequences of the Google dispute.

Zhu gave no indication of the possible fate of Google's own phone, planned with local carrier China Unicom Ltd.

Dell Inc., Motorola Inc. and Samsung Electronics Corp. also plan to sell Android-based phones in China.

Google allows use of Android for free, which might boost costs for manufacturers and phone carriers if they switch systems, Dean said.

Microsoft Inc., Nokia Corp. and others charge royalties for their mobile operating systems.

"It's a significant enough share of the price of a phone that it changes the economies of the smart phone business if you're paying someone else for the operating system," Dean said.

Obama Seeks an End to Business Cell-Phone Tax

By Stephen Ohlemacher

Ever make a personal call on your company cell phone? Did you record the value of that call as taxable income, as required by law?

Join the club, but don't worry. President Barack Obama will propose repealing the widely ignored requirement as part of his 2011 budget plan, a Treasury Department official said Saturday.

The administration made a similar proposal in June, and it was well received in Congress. Lawmakers, however, became preoccupied by the health care debate for much of the year and a lot of their work on tax law was delayed.

Obama is scheduled to release his proposed tax and spending plan on Monday. If the cell phone tax is repealed this year, taxpayers would be off the hook for all of 2010, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the budget had not yet been released.

A 1989 law says that personal use of a company cell phone should be taxed like other fringe benefits, such as a company car. The law, however, was passed when cell phones were referred to as car phones and were considered a luxury. Today, workers increasingly use company-issued mobile devices for texting, e-mailing and browsing the Internet -- sometimes for work, sometimes for personal use.

Last summer, the Internal Revenue Service issued a request for comments on ways to improve compliance with the tax, and there was such a backlash that the administration proposed repealing it.

At the time, IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman said the tax was "poorly understood by taxpayers" and acknowledged it was difficult to enforce consistently.

Some employers have faced big tax bills after failing to comply with the law.

In 2008, the IRS audited two University of California branches, in Los Angeles and San Diego. As part of a settlement, UCLA paid a tax assessment of $238,474 and San Diego paid $186,471.

Tech Showdown: Smartphones vs. Netbooks

By Jay Dougherty

The recent launch of Google's Nexus One may have injected new life into the smartphone wars. But a battle that's just as compelling is the one between smartphones and netbooks themselves. Both appeal to those who want maximum portability in a device that allows them to stay connected wherever they roam, and both are potentially attractive to those who currently have neither. But before ever getting to the question of which smartphone or which netbook to buy, many have to decide whether a netbook or a smartphone makes more sense for their needs.

It's not an easy decision to make -- especially since both smartphones and netbooks help you accomplish many of the same tasks, and they're both typically fighting for the attention of consumers that can afford one but not both. Here's a rundown of where the netbook versus smartphone battle stands.

Portability

There's no contest here: the smartphone wins by a hefty margin. While netbooks are the thinnest, lightest form of notebook computer that you can purchase today -- many can be carried as easily as a small stack of papers -- they are still computers, which means you'll be tempted to haul a power supply and perhaps some accessories, which will only add to the bulk. Smartphones, by comparison, will slip neatly into your pocket. Portability is often the main reason why people get tipped toward the smartphone in the smartphone/netbook debate.

Battery Life

Here the nod goes to netbooks. Today, the best netbooks can squeeze nine hours of continuous use out of a single battery charge -- long enough for those who use the device sporadically to go an entire week without recharging. Smartphone users, by contrast, must constantly keep an eye on remaining battery life.

Although smartphones might advertise as many as 14 hours of standby time, standing by is usually not what smartphones are doing. Heavy data use, Wi-Fi use, mp3 playing, and other activities can knock down real-world battery life to just a few hours. And things get much worse if the weather is cold. It's not uncommon for your average smartphone user to have a charger at home, one in the car, and one in the office -- by necessity, not choice.

Connectivity

Smartphones are usually the easier way to get and stay connected while on the road, since they typically are sold by cell phone carriers with both a phone and wireless data plan. So with a smartphone, you'll be on some carrier's network. Network coverage will be your primary concern, and there you'll need to consult local studies to find out which carrier provides the broadest and best coverage for the areas you need. Pay special attention to network coverage abroad if you'll be traveling out of the country on a regular basis.

Netbooks can provide the same degree of hassle-free connectivity, but you'll probably need to look for -- and purchase -- a separate wireless data plan from your local cell provider. That's because while netbooks are designed for Internet connectivity out of the box, manufacturers do not assume that everyone who purchases a netbook will want or need a wireless data plan. Some will simply want to use their netbooks at home through their wireless router. Chances are good, though, that wherever you buy a netbook today you can also easily add on a wireless data plan.

Usability

If you're looking for a portable device that approximates the experience you have when using your desktop or full-size notebook computer, you'll find it with netbooks. But that doesn't mean that smartphones lose the usability battle outright. In fact, if you haven't used the keyboard -- or touch screen -- on a smartphone lately, you're probably in for a pleasant surprise.

You've no doubt seen legions of people "tapping" on their smartphones around you. You can bet that they're not tapping in agony. In fact, after some initial adjustment, you're likely to find that smartphone keyboards and keyboard shortcuts allow you to be surprisingly productive.

Web Browsing

There's no doubt that browsing the web is easier on a netbook. While a growing number of web pages are designed to be viewed easily on a smartphone -- those ending with the .mobi extension are made for "mobile" devices such as smartphones -- most smartphone users have to employ tricks such as panning and zooming when viewing conventional web sites. A number of applications are being developed that reformat certain types of web sites for smartphone users. Tapatalk, for instance, is available for iPhone and soon other smartphone users who want to browse and respond to posts on web forums. But the fact that such applications exist is testament to the problems that smartphone users have in browsing the web. Advantage: netbook.

Office Applications

If you're looking for the ability to use typical office applications in an ultra-portable package, then netbooks win out in this category. You won't be tempted to work on complex spreadsheets on a smartphone, although there are spreadsheet-like applications available for most. With netbooks, though, you can fire up just about any traditional application that runs under Windows or another operating system, although you may still be hampered by the very small screens and limited horsepower of the processors used to power today's netbooks.

If e-mail is your primary need while on the road, a smartphone -- especially one from BlackBerry -- will prove very satisfactory, however, and will make more sense than a netbook because of its portability.

Cost

Here the advantage would seem initially to go to netbooks, but the cost factor is highly dependent upon how you intend to use your smartphone or netbook.

In terms of device acquisition, both smartphones and netbooks cost about the same. But with smartphones you will want not only a cell phone plan but also a data plan. Total cost of ownership over a two-year period -- generally the length of the contract you will sign with a carrier -- can easily cost more than a high-end desktop computer.

Netbooks can be substantially less expensive over the same period of time, particularly if you do not purchase a wireless data plan that allows you to roam as you can with a smartphone. If you do purchase such a plan -- which is really what you'll want to make the netbook work as intended -- then cost of ownership approaches that of a smartphone.

Bottom Line

Your decision about whether to choose a smartphone or a netbook should come not from tallying the scores in the categories above but by knowing the strengths of each device and weighing those against your own priorities. If you'll be using a netbook primarily to catch up on e-mail, then a smartphone is probably the better choice, even if you're concerned that a smartphone's keyboard won't be comfortable enough. If you need maximum computing flexibility in a very portable package, then a netbook very likely makes more sense than a smartphone, despite the wide range of applications available to smartphone users today. In the end, before you invest in either of these devices, you can avoid a potentially costly mistake by getting some extended hands-on experience with both.

Will Business Users Buy Into the iPad Without Multitasking?

By Jennifer LeClaire

As with many new Apple products, once the initial hubbub dies down there remains a single question: Is it ready for the business market? It didn't take long for analysts to start trying to answer that question as it relates to the yet-to-be-released iPad.

Of course, Apple is positioning the iPad as a business-appropriate device, complete with its Microsoft Office-compatible iWork productivity suite and the iPad's VGA output that sets the stage for business presentations. There's also support for Microsoft Exchange and the device was designed with security in mind.

All that being true, some, like Charles King, principal analyst at Pund-IT are skeptical. He describes the iPad as a sort of Swiss Army tablet that only allows users to open one blade at a time. That, he said, puts Apple at a disadvantage in the traditional tablet market of doctors and other mobile professionals.

"While the company should be commended on the iPad's lightness and form factor -- it easily qualifies as yet another company product design triumph -- the keyboard, docking station, and peripherals required to make the iPad a more truly useful business productivity tool undermine its vaunted form and portability," King said.

The Missing Features

Some of the iPad's strategic shortcomings, as King called them, include the GSM microSIM cards and the lack of multitasking capabilities. The multitasking issue may be the iPad's biggest flaw because it prevents the device from fully qualifying as a notebook replacement.

"At heart, Apple's new device is designed more for the passive consumption of digital content than its active creation. That does not mean the iPad will only be used for web-based entertainment. People write novels on cell phones and smartphones are quickly becoming increasingly powerful handheld computers," King said. "But traditional notebooks and even netbooks remain far better tools for conducting serious business and performing key work tasks."

What's more, King said, companies are beginning to worry about how easy access to social networking and other online distractions is affecting employee productivity. How likely is it that those organizations will invest in a device designed specifically for those sorts of activities? Not very, King said.

Techno-Hip Exec Appeal

Still, analysts believe there are a few business scenarios where the iPad could provide value. King sees it as a stylish and highly portable tool for making presentations. It also works well as a means for regular business travelers to catch up on simple e-mail, read documents and e-books, and perform other tasks made easier by the iPad's larger format.

"We also believe that, like the iPhone, if companies initially resist the iPad's charms, next-generation devices will almost assuredly include additional business-friendly features," King said. "In fact, it would hardly be surprising if Apple attempts to address especially vociferous complaints during the two months until the iPad becomes commercially available."

Of course, it's likely that Apple will encourage its App Store developer partners to build some business tools and applications for the iPad. King won't be surprised to see "digital cognoscenti" and "techno-hip executives" toting an iPad, and that could cause the device to catch on in business circles.

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MobilityPass is a Global "Swiss Army Knife" . MobilityPass' communication software combines a free internet phone with the ability to send text messages, faxes, and instant messages, at affordable rates. MobilityPass also encrypts and unifies all services so know you can rely on the fact that all of your information is safe and secure.

INQ Plans New Android Smartphone

by Sascha Segan

INQ, makers of the "Facebook phone," plan to put out a heavily customized Android-based smartphone in 2010, INQ CEO Frank Meehan said in an exclusive interview with PCMag.com Thursday.

"We came to the conclusion that aside from licensing Palm [WebOS], which is a fairly difficult thing to do, Android was really most suited for our plans with touch-screen devices," he said.

While INQ hasn't cracked the U.S. market yet, their phones have a lot of buzz overseas. The company, a spinoff from international megacarrier Hutchinson, makes low-cost feature phones, which tightly integrate with Facebook, Skype, Twitter, and other social networks.

INQ already has a strong strategy for what Meehan calls "the sub-$49 and under market in the U.S.," and they plan to introduce phones here next year. They turned to Android as part of their next move, into "the $79-99-199 on two-year-contract range," which they see as dominated by low-cost smartphones in the future.

A New Kind of Droid

INQ looked at several smartphone OS options before turning to Android, Meehan said. Windows Mobile was too hard to customize properly. LiMo wasn't stable enough yet. Licensing Palm's WebOS seemed like too much of a trial. And Android has a strong, enthusiastic developer community who are just looking for someone to put their house in order, Meehan said.

The company's version of Android might not look a lot like the Android you see on the T-Mobile G1, Meehan said. Android allows manufacturers to customize it heavily, though nobody's done that yet outside China.

That means changing even core Android applications like the phone book, to enable INQ's signature social-networking integration.

"You just make a new set of APIs available, and you link. We're working with some developers already in the Android world to enhance it. They can see what the iPhone is, and they would love to be coding for something like that," Meehan said.

Android Market also needs help, which may mean a new face for the 7,000-app store, or starting an entirely new store, Meehan said.

"We're examining lots of different options, but we've got to fix that marketplace issue," he said. "Google has to improve it, or if they don't, someone's got to improve it for them."

Of course, once you start really reworking Android, you run into the danger of "forking" the code - making your version of Android so different that it can't work with Google's own updates.

"The holy grail is enough compatibility with Google so it doesn't incur too many costs, but certainly shakes up the contact list," he said.

Since INQ comes out of the wireless carrier world, they can speak carriers' language too, Meehan said, helping the carriers offer affordable smartphones with compelling services that don't treat carriers as dumb pipes. That's going to help them in the US market, he said.

"We can beat Nokia and Sony Ericsson and Motorola at this ... we're small, we're nimble, and we're fast," Meehan said.

3G Networks - The Need for Speed

The 3G networks that are available today are providing users with a faster connection and transfer speeds than ever seen before. 3G is a term which refers to cell phone technology. It actually stands for "third generation." As the name implies, it was preceded by two earlier versions. The first generation was developed at the start of the 1980s when the commercial cellular networks were created. Since cell phones did not even exist at this point in time, not many people have ever heard about 1G.

The second generation came about in the 1990s when cell phones became available. At this point, a North American mobile operator adopted a system called Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA). Many operators in other parts of the world decided upon a different approach with something called Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM). This system is still around today and is the main reason European and Asian phones are so differently designed than North American ones. They use different algorithms to achieve the same effect: multiple cell phone calls can be made on the same radio frequency without disrupting one another.

As data transfer rates continued to increase, 2G morphed into 2.5G. Older service standards converged and improved, higher standards continued to be released. Network evolutions and improvements in data transmission rates led to what today is known as 3G. What that means to you as a consumer is superior voice quality, higher data transfer speeds, video and multimedia capabilities and improved roaming. The fastest 2G phones had the capacity to download a three-minute song in about eight minutes. The 3G phones which are available and on demand now can download that same three-minute song in 15 seconds. 3G phones are so advanced in speed they are practically little laptops that can support video conferencing or streaming from the web, faxing messages and quickly open e-mail attachments.

The fourth generation is in development for a decade or more and is almost coming about now, but it is not yet a standard item. Each upgrade in technology has required advancements that allowed new features to become available on cell phones. Phones from just a few years ago can simply not be compared with the newest phones right now. As technology continues to progress, we can be sure we will be getting more advanced abilities out of our cell phones. To view more extensive information about 3G phones and networks that are available, please visit http://www.mobilitypass.com/ to get more details. Your new phone is waiting for you!

Microsoft warns of IE bug used in Chinese attacks on Google

by Emil Protalinski

Microsoft has issued Security Advisory (979352) after its own investigations into the highly-organized hacking attack in late December, the one that Google earlier this week insinuated came from China, led the software giant to conclude that a Remote Code Execution (RCE) vulnerability in Internet Explorer was used by the perpetrators.

"The company has determined that Internet Explorer was one of the vectors used in targeted and sophisticated attacks targeted against Google and other corporate networks," a Microsoft spokesperson told Ars. "Microsoft continues to work with Google, other industry partners and authorities to actively investigate this issue. To date, Microsoft has not seen widespread customer impact, rather only targeted and limited attacks exploiting IE6."

While Microsoft says it is only aware of limited, active attacks attempting to use this vulnerability in IE6, and has not seen attacks against other versions of IE, the vulnerability is not limited to version 6, according to the security advisory. Internet Explorer 5.01 on Windows 2000 SP4 is not affected, but IE6 on Windows 2000 SP4, as well as IE6, IE7 and IE8 on supported editions of Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, Windows 7, and Windows Server 2008 R2 are all affected.

"The vulnerability exists as an invalid pointer reference within Internet Explorer," the advisory reads. "It is possible under certain conditions for the invalid pointer to be accessed after an object is deleted. In a specially-crafted attack, in attempting to access a freed object, Internet Explorer can be caused to allow remote code execution."

Microsoft did not give any workarounds for the flaw in the security advisory, but it did list five mitigating factors:

• Protected Mode in IE7 on Windows Vista limits the impact of the vulnerability.
• In a Web-based attack scenario, an attacker could host a webpage that is used to exploit this vulnerability or do so via a webpage that accepts or hosts user-provided content or advertisements. In all cases, however, an attacker would have no way to force users to visit these websites and would have to convince them to do so, which is typically achieved via an e-mail or instant message.
• By default, Internet Explorer on Windows Server 2003 and Windows Server 2008 runs in a restricted mode that is known as Enhanced Security Configuration. This mode sets the security level for the Internet zone to High and so is a mitigating factor for websites that you have not added to the Internet Explorer Trusted sites zone.
• An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could gain the same user rights as the local user. Users whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less affected than users who operate with administrative user rights.
• By default, all supported versions of Outlook, Outlook Express, and Windows Mail open HTML e-mail messages in the Restricted sites zone, which should mitigate attacks trying to exploit this vulnerability by preventing Active Scripting and ActiveX controls from being used. However, if a user clicks a link in an e-mail message, the user could still be vulnerable to exploitation of this vulnerability through the Web-based attack scenario.

Microsoft says it will continue to monitor the situation and will either post a patch on Patch Tuesday or will release an out-of-cycle security update.

source: http://arstechnica.com/business/

Advantage For Embassy And Foreign Staff

Because working for the government can be demanding, you can exceed expectations by providing yourself with MobilityPass, the best way to establish a wireless Internet connection in real time.

Constant access to the Internet is essential for economic growth and global competitiveness. High tech distance learning, public safety and e-governance require a high speed and constant Internet access for universal networks. Embassy and foreign diplomats and staff who are on vacation are required to have Internet connection to be able to keep track of their work, such as Visa's connected to consulate work, especially because they have to keep contact with people internationally.

With the use of a laptop, you will be able to establish a high speed Internet connection. This has brought a revolution to wireless connection, making it accessible to many. You can go anywhere on the road at any given time, equip yourself with your laptop and MobilityPass which you can place in a handy bag, and you're good to go.

Cost, Convenience and Advantages

MobilityPass is advantageous with the Internet connection that it provides even in places where Internet connection is less feasible or is non-existent. This is accessed through a 3G network that gives total mobility as opposed to WIFI wherein you have to be close to a hotspot in order to connect to the Internet. It allows you to be connected wherever you are, whenever you want to.

The cost is relatively similar when compared to DSL, although a cable line is a bit cheaper. The potentials, however, are a little more different. For instance, you cannot bring a cable line to the park, where you can work and spend time with your family at the same time, whereas you can always use the MobilityPass anywhere, even at home. This gives workers who are always on the go the perfect way to establish a mobile Internet connection that fits well with the nature of their living.

You can easily connect to the Internet using the computer or laptop just as long as the computer has a means of connection for the MobilityPass (such as USB port). Broadband Internet based calls have also been made available today. Foreign staffs and workers use this kind of communication for a faster way to communicate with people, especially those who are connected with the kind of job that they have.

There are no busy signals or dropped connection when you are trying to go online. Working online will be accessible, easy and enjoyable with the MobilityPass. It takes a few seconds instead of a few minutes just to make a stable connection. With the MobilityPass, it is easier to share files or documentations, talk to people using VOIP, or simply stream a video that you have to see. Nothing is more convenient than having MobilityPass with you, wherever you go.

The best thing about this speedy and reliable international roaming Internet connection is that it does not create a hole in your pocket. You will find that it is more convenient and affordable than WIFI hotel rates when you are traveling. Having your own MobilityPass allows you to have your own Internet connection without competing with a bunch of other people just to get a decent speed. You are also ensured that your files are safe. Sharing a single connection with other people can create certain problems that you wouldn't want to happen.

MSI's 10-inch Tegra/Android tablet coming this year for $500

By Ryan Paul

Following Apple's unveiling of the long-awaited iPad yesterday, hardware vendor MSI has revealed that its upcoming Android tablet, which was first shown at CES this year, will debut in the second half of 2010 for $500.

The MSI tablet is built on NVIDIA's Tegra SoC and has a ten-inch touchscreen display. If reports about Apple's A4 are accurate, Tegra's Cortex A9 should put the MSI tablet on equal footing with the iPad in raw computing power.

Based on information about the current prototype, it's clear that the company has been working on some customizations for the Android software platform to adapt it to the larger tablet form factor. It's not yet clear, however, if Android is really well-suited to the higher-resolution display. Key functionality like the onscreen keyboard will have to be adjusted, for one. It's unlikely that an Android-based computing experience will be able to rival the refinement of Apple's user interface, but Android does offer a number of critical advantages, like full support for multitasking, that will give the MSI a solid chance in the market.

In related news, Michael Dell says that his company's 5-inch Android tablet will be ready in "in a few months" and will sell for just over $1,000. It has a 1GHz Snapdragon processor, a 5MP camera, WiFi and 3G connectivity, and Android 1.6. At more than twice the price of the MSI tablet and the iPad, the 5-inch device seems like it might be tough to sell without a carrier subsidy.