Category Archives: iPhone

Microsoft Office 365 lands in US iPhone App Store

Office Mobile is only available for iPhone, iPad users can use Office Web Apps for now, Microsoft said

Microsoft released a version of its office suite for iPhones in the U.S. that is only available for Office 365 subscribers.

Microsoft released the Microsoft Office Mobile suite for iPhones Friday. The software is compatible with iPhone 4, 4S and 5, and the iPod Touch (5th generation) and requires iOS 6.1 or later, according to the iTunes release notes.

Mobile Office allows users to access, view and edit Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel and Microsoft PowerPoint documents, according to the release notes. Because charts, animations and SmartArt graphics and shapes are supported, documents look like their originals, Microsoft said, adding that formatting and content remain intact when edits are made.

iPhone users can access Office documents that are stored on SkyDrive, SkyDrive Pro and Sharepoint.

“Office Mobile is cloud-connected. The documents you’ve recently viewed on your computer are readily available on your phone in the recent documents panel,” Microsoft said. It is also possible to view and edit documents attached to email settings.

Documents can also be edited offline. Changes will be saved online when the device reconnects with the network, Microsoft said.

When opening a Word document from SkyDrive or SkyDrive Pro on an iPhone, “it automatically resumes at the place where you left off reading, even if you last viewed the document on your PC or tablet.”

While the app is free, an Office 365 subscription is required to use it, Microsoft said. The subscription version, called Office 365 Home Premium, costs US$99.99 per household annually. The app will also work with a 365 trial account, Microsoft said, adding that using the Office Mobile app for Windows Phone does not require a subscription.

The app is only available in the U.S. for now. “Office Mobile for iPhone will be available in 29 languages covering 135 markets.A The international rollout will occur over approximately 4-5 days,” Microsoft said in a blog post.

The app is not available in an optimized version for the iPad. “Like all iPhone apps, Office Mobile can work on iPad, either small or ‘2X’ scaled up, but you’ll have a more satisfying experience using Office Web Apps,” Microsoft said.

Office for iPad is reportedly scheduled for release in October 2014.

 


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The 5 worst mobile threats of 2012

New types of mobile malware make headlines every day, but what are the most prevalent threats out there? The team at Nominum decided to find out by analyzing Domain Name System (DNS) data of approximately half a million users from various countries.

Most malware uses the DNS to communicate and our technology processes about 30% of the worlds’ DNS traffic, so we were able to identify the top five mobile-only malware threats.

We defined greatest threat as the most widespread malware that meets a baseline level of risk to the end user — for example, malware that attempts to steal a person’s identity and/or money. What follows is a summary of the current mobile malware landscape and a short description of each malware threat, along with some thoughts on what can be done to protect end users.
But how bad is it, really?

The mobile malware threat is real with a significant number of infections in existence today that are capable of stealing mobile phone users’ identity, and this number is growing everyday. Our research shows that Android remains the top target of malware writers.

Despite that finding, our data was not extensive enough to prove just how prevalent threats were in the U.S. specifically, but recent research has shown that malicious links within text continue to be the biggest concern for mobile device users in the U.S. with 4 in 10 American users likely to click on an unsafe link.

Although Androids topped the list of mobile malware targets, there are still major regional differences in mobile malware prevalence. For instance, “Notcompatible” has a much higher infection rate in Latin America, while “SMSPACEM” and “Netisend” are much more prevalent in the Asia Pacific regions.

These regional differences may be explained by end users’ personal networks. Like a cold or virus in the real world, once someone in a community gets infected with a mobile malware, they are more likely to spread it to others in that community — instead of a sneeze, it is through SMS. As the mobile malware area is less mature than its fixed counterpart, it may take more time for mobile threats to “jump” networks; this will change soon, though, as malware threats get more sophisticated.

Mobile malware writers are leveraging many of the same social engineering techniques (e.g., spreading through end users’ contact lists) and technical capabilities (e.g., rootkits) to spread and make money they’ve used on the Fixed side for years. As the proliferation of smartphones continues and the mobile ad market matures, the incentive of higher profit possibilities will encourage malware writers to write more sophisticated malware.

With multiple mobile operating systems and a vast array of devices, device-based anti-malware software alone isn’t a scalable solution to the problem. The DNS enables a network-based approach for preventing malware that works regardless of what type of device is infected.

The DNS is primarily thought of as a functional technology to navigate the Web, as its original role was to facilitate ease of use of the Internet. DNS eliminates the need to type in long strings of numbers (IP addresses) to access content and translates the numbers into words. Due to its history, DNS has become an often-overlooked layer but it is essential to the network running. As network activity has advanced (think the proliferation of applications, mobile banking, etc.), the DNS layer has evolved into an efficient network infrastructure tool that guides high-performance transactions.

In the case of mobile malware threats, the DNS layer can be analyzed to detect and mitigate suspicious activity. Accordingly, solutions have been invented that enable mobile carriers to layer security applications upon their pre-existing DNS network. These applications can conduct a number of roles from detecting and thwarting hackers’ efforts to alerting users of potentially dangerous mobile websites.

Compared to other solutions, utilizing the DNS layer allows for a faster response time and cost-effective options — both important benefits to a mobile carrier and its subscribers. The DNS’s ability to secure networks should be a part of the modern mobile operator’s security playbook because the mobile malware problem is only going to get worse before it gets better.

Here are the top threats that we’re up against:

* NOTCOMPATIBLE — The worst of all malware created in 2012 is a drive-by Trojan which can infect Android phones via their mobile Web browsers. When a browser’s download is completed, it will ask for user permission to install as depicted below. After infection, the Android phone can work as a proxy. It is widespread and growing every day. [Also see: “For the first time, hacked websites deliver Android malware”]

* SMSPACEM — This is the second-most widespread malware for Android phones in 2012. It will change a phone’s wallpaper and send anti-Christian jokes by SMS to all the user’s contacts. Here is an example: “Looks like Jesus is a no-show, maybe Judaism was on to something Cannot talk right now, the world is about to end Just saw the four horsemen of the apocalypse and man did they have the worst case of road rage Prepare to meet thy maker, make sure to hedge your bet just in case the Muslims were right.”

* LENA — This Android-based malware is capable of taking over a user’s phone without asking permission by using an exploit such as gingerbreak or appearing as a VPN app. Once gaining root access, LENA can start to communicate with its command an control site, download additional components and update installed binaries.

* NETISEND — An information stealer on Android phones, it can retrieve information like IMEI, IMSI, model information and installed applications. After downloading, the malware will ask permission to connect to the Internet and open a backdoor with its C&C domain site.

* BASEBRIDGE — It can get an Android phone root access by exploiting netlink message validation local privilege escalation vulnerability. Once infected, Basebridge can disable installed AV software, download additional malware components and open a backdoor with its C&C site. It will steal IMSI, manufacture and model info. It can also send SMS messages, delete SMS messages from inbox and dial phone numbers.

These five mobile malware threats are just the tip of the iceberg. New types of mobile malware are designed everyday by ill-intentioned individuals, and hardware-based security is just a temporary Band-Aid to defend against sophisticated mobile threats. Staying aware of what is out there and abreast of the latest threats is the first step in protecting yourself, but a joint effort is necessary and carriers will soon need to start arming their networks with security layers for their customers’ sake too.

Nominum is the worldwide leading provider of integrated subscriber, network and security solutions for network operators. Nominum is the provider of the N2 Platform that leverages more than 1 trillion DNS queries daily and enables the rapid development and seamless integration of applications that leverage DNS data. These applications are generated by the Nominum IDEAL ecosystem, an open ecosystem of application providers. The combined value of the N2 Platform and the IDEAL ecosystem provides network operators with the ability to deliver a differentiated subscriber experience with cost efficiency and agility. Nominum is a global organization headquartered in Redwood City, Calif.


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Intel sneaks out quad-core Core i7-3820 Sandy Bridge-E processor for under $300

If Intel’s six-core Sandy Bridge-E CPUs were too rich for your blood (and wallet), the chip giant is now giving you a more affordable option. The Core i7-3820 sports only four cores, but it also carries a much lighter price of $294. The new chip has a higher clock speed than its siblings at 3.6GHz, but […]

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If Intel’s six-core Sandy Bridge-E CPUs were too rich for your blood (and wallet), the chip giant is now giving you a more affordable option. The Core i7-3820 sports only four cores, but it also carries a much lighter price of $294.

The new chip has a higher clock speed than its siblings at 3.6GHz, but its Turbo Boost maxes out at 3.9GHz like the Core i7-3960X. It also has only 10MB of cache, while the 3960X comes with 15MB and the i7-3930K includes 12MB.

The 3820 is priced lower than the Core i7-2600K, despite having some key advantages (support for quad-channel memory and PCIe 3.0), though it requires a new, pricey X79-based motherboard. Would you rather get the new CPU and motherboard, or go with the older processor and cheaper LGA 1155 motherboard? Let us know in the Talkback section.

Bill Gates: I’m cool with Steve Jobs dissing me

Some relationships become competitive. And some have competitiveness at their core.

The latter surely was the case between Microsoft’s Bill Gates and Apple’s Steve Jobs. So no one could have imagined that Jobs would have offered too many conciliatory quotes in Walter Isaacson’s biography.

In an interview with ABC News, Gates says he’s thoroughly and utterly cool with Jobs tossing zingers his way.

“None of that bothers me at all,” he told ABC. He added a finely generic eulogy: “Steve Jobs did a fantastic job.”

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The thing is that, even in the Isaacson book, Gates offered flaming daggers of his own. He called Jobs “weirdly flawed as a human being.” I thought it flattering that he included the “human being” part.

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Jobs, in turn, told Isaacson of Gates: “He’d be a broader guy if he had dropped acid once or gone off to an ashram when he was younger.” Yes, he’d have rather that Gates had been more like, well, him. He also accused Gates of “shamelessly ripping off other people’s ideas.”

Gates insisted to ABC News that wafting off to India was not, in fact, a prerequisite for entrepreneurial success. However, you couldn’t get anywhere in life if you weren’t good at math. (I exaggerate, but only by 0.04 per cent.)

Gates added of Jobs: “Over the course of the 30 years we worked together, you know, he said a lot of very nice things about me and he said a lot of tough things.” Jobs was, indeed, mercurial.

Gates couldn’t resist a little, well, Gatesian perspective. He would like to remind everyone just how much Jobs struggled in the face of Microsoft’s pleasantly left-brained onslaught.

He explained: “He faced, several times at Apple, the fact that their products were so premium priced that they literally might not stay in the marketplace. So the fact that we were succeeding with high volume products, you know, including a range of prices, because of the way we worked with multiple companies, it’s tough.”

Critics of Microsoft might offer that Gates still rejoices in the idea that he simply muscled Jobs out of the market. But for Jobs, Microsoft stood for everything he most disdained– not mass production in itself, but a mass lack of taste.

These were two men who simply thought differently. As Isaacson offered to the New York Times yesterday, Gates was the epitome of what academics regard as “smart”, while Jobs was pure ingeniousness.

You couldn’t imagine them hanging at parties together. Or art galleries for that matter. Though they did– once– play nice in 2007.

In the end, though, both must have known that each secured victory within his own sphere of thinking. Gates dominated the left brains, while Jobs dominated the right.

Apple employees to celebrate Jobs, stores to close

Apple is holding a private memorial service for employees to celebrate the life of company co-founder and former chief executive Steve Jobs.

The service, announced to Apple employees in an email by CEO Tim Cook, is scheduled for 10 a.m. Wednesday at company headquarters in Cupertino.

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It will also be webcast to employees worldwide.Apple plans to close its retail stores for several hours so employees can watch the service online, according to a person familiar with the matter. The person was not authorized to speak publicly about the issue, and spoke on condition of anonymity.

The service will take place in the campus’ outdoor amphitheater, according to Cook’s email.

The celebration is for employees to “take time to remember the incredible things Steve achieved in his life and the many ways he made our world a better place,” Cook wrote.

The event follows a memorial at Stanford University last Sunday for friends and family. That service at Memorial Church reportedly brought out tech titans including Oracle chief Larry Ellison and Microsoft’s Bill Gates, as well as politicians including Bill Clinton. U2 frontman Bono and Joan Baez reportedly performed.

Jobs died on Oct. 5 at age 56 after a battle with pancreatic cancer.

iPhone 4S users seeing yellowish screen tint

Some new iPhone 4S owners are saying that their screens display a yellowish tint, prompting a few of them to dub the alleged defect “yellowgate.”
Posting messages at the Apple Support Forum, several of the users say that the screen looks washed out and that the whites look more yellow, especially when compared with the iPhone 4. Some say the issue is specific to the black iPhone 4S, noting that the display in the white version looks fine.

 

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As a possible explanation, a couple of commenters said they believe the yellowish display is the result of the glue used to put the screens together not having fully cured or hardened. One poster noticed the same problem with the iPhone 4 last year and said it took about two weeks for the yellow tint to disappear.
However, a couple of other users countered the glue argument by pointing out that the screen appears washed out, which wouldn’t necessarily be caused by the glue not having hardened.
Summing up the issue, one person wrote that “my 4S screen is less contrasty, and the whites are more yellow (beyond ‘warm’) compared to my iPhone 4 screen. The colors are less vibrant, and some are pretty washed out. I’ve also noticed that the screen is more directional than the 4 screen, and in some viewing angles it’s more yellow, and in others it’s more contrasty. I’m really hoping this is a glue issue, which could improve. I don’t think I’ll be able to get used to this.”

Yellow tint is an issue that has affected Apple devices in the past. Some iPhone 3G users complained of this problem, which one researcher said was caused by certain cases blocking the light sensor. A round of iPad 2 owners reported a similar glitch earlier this year, which was attributed to the glue not having hardened. And as indicated in the support forum, new iPhone 4 users ran into the same issue last year, complaining of a yellow discolored area or yellow tint on the screen. In most of the cases, Apple offered to replace the phone.
Assuming it’s a glue issue, the problem should resolve itself before too long. If it remains, then affected iPhone 4S owners will want to drop by their local Apple stores to talk to the techs at the Genius Bar.
Have any of you new iPhone 4S owners run into the same display issue? If so, please chime in via the comments section.

Stallman on Steve Jobs: Tasteless or Incisive?

“I appreciate all RMS has done,” said Mobile Raptor blogger Roberto Lim. “I appreciate what Steve Jobs has accomplished. I appreciate what Dennis Ritchie has achieved. In the end, all these great inventors and innovators together with many others one-upping each other is why I can send this [email] to you half a world away.” Bottom line? “We are now one man down. It is just unfortunate that RSM cannot seem to appreciate this.”

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Well it’s starting to look like 2011 is just going to be one, long roller-coaster ride. No sooner does the prospect of a quiet day loom on the horizon than something happens to turn the world on its ear once again.

In the past two weeks, of course, we’ve had to endure the loss of not just one but two leading figures in the technology world: Steve Jobs and Dennis Ritchie. That’s been upsetting enough, but — as if we needed any more turmoil — we’ve also had free software guru Richard Stallman expounding his views on Apple’s (Nasdaq: AAPL) former CEO, causing widespread outrage in the process.

“I’m not glad he’s dead, but I’m glad he’s gone,” wrote Stallman, quoting former Chicago Mayor Harold Washington. “We all deserve the end of Jobs’ malign influence on people’s computing.”

One could argue that it might have been a good idea to let a little more time than just a day pass after Jobs’ death before expressing such opinions; then again, this is RMS we’re talking about.

‘What Everyone Is Too Polite to Say’

Not surprisingly, talk about RMS is just what bloggers have been doing ever since, too — and not always in the most understanding of terms.

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Nearly 1,500 comments appeared on Slashdot alone, but not before even more fuel was added to the fire. Namely, none other than Eric Raymond spoke out in defense of Stallman, while “What Everyone Is Too Polite to Say About Steve Jobs” was a headline that appeared over on Gawker.

So, which is it? Did the free software community’s key spokesman put his foot in his proverbial mouth in a big way, or was he just telling it like it is? Linux Girl encountered arguments on both sides on the streets of the blogosphere.

‘He Has Become a Liability’

“RMS needs to understand RIP better rather than rant about DRM,” said Slashdot blogger yagu. “I think he’s wrong here. He can rant as much as he wants, but in my opinion his rants after Jobs’ passing lack class. Not nice.”

Similarly, “RMS needs to just go away,” consultant and Slashdot blogger Gerhard Mack told Linux Girl. “It’s not that he was wrong about what he said, but you don’t just go and say something like that while people are mourning.

“I met him a few years ago, and the impression I got was that he is someone who has spent so much time in his little bubble that he has no idea how normal people do things,” Mack added. “At this point he has become a liability to the cause he has been working so hard for. He really needs to stop talking to the press and leave talking to someone more articulate.”

‘An Open Sore and a Laughing Stock’

Indeed, “there’s a time and a place,” agreed Barbara Hudson, a blogger on Slashdot who goes by “Tom” on the site. “Urinating on the open grave of someone you did not know personally, with no consideration for their friends, family, or co-workers, is simply not done.”

Stallman’s “zealotry” has blinded him to reality, Hudson added, causing him to “brand anyone who doesn’t agree as evil.”

Not only did his approach “put the focus on the messenger instead of the message,” but it also “devalued both,” Hudson asserted. “And because it was so public, those who disagree have two choices — condone it by our silence, or speak out against both the message and the perp behind it.”

In short, “Stallman is like that old comic with one schtick, which he continues to milk because that’s all he’s got,” she said. “He is a kindred spirit to Fred Phelps and Westboro Baptist, demonizing anyone who disagrees with him or his values.”

Ultimately, “he’s become both an open sore and a laughing-stock,” Hudson concluded. “Either the FSF gets rid of him, or they will suffer the same fate.”

‘It Shows RMS Has No Taste’

Slashdot blogger hairyfeet took a similar view.

“It shows RMS has no taste,” hairyfeet said. “What kind of talk is that? Whether you liked his product or not, the man had just died. Hadn’t anyone taught RMS that if you don’t have anything nice to say, say nothing at all?”

The episode underlies a bigger problem, however, hairyfeet ventured — specifically, “RMS and his elitist, arrogant attitude.

“You see, with RMS, it isn’t just that he offers free software, it is that he wants you to have NO CHOICE BUT free software,” hairyfeet explained. “I’d say that makes him just as bad or worse than anybody you can name.”

‘Jobs Deserves to Be Respected’

Chris Travers, a Slashdot blogger who works on the LedgerSMB project, is “ambivalent about Apple in general,” he told Linux Girl. “Where I think RMS errs is in blaming Jobs specifically” for the opacity and lock-in of the company’s products.

More open platforms probably wouldn’t be “half of what they are today” without the resulting competition, so “I suppose I end up disagreeing with RMS despite the fact that I totally understand and even to a slight extent sympathize with his points,” Travers explained.

“Jobs deserves to be respected for who he was in relation to the Free and Open Source Software worlds: A serious, capable, and generally honorable adversary worthy of the highest respect,” Travers concluded.

‘Those Crazy Prophets’

Along similar lines, “Richard M. Stallman is entitled to say what he thinks,” Roberto Lim, a lawyer and blogger on Mobile Raptor, told Linux Girl. “We are all entitled to our opinions.”

At the same time, “as much as I like the open source community, sometimes I think some of them act like those crazy prophets predicting the end of the world,” Lim added. “Actually, those guys are less insane — one day the world will actually come to an end.

“I appreciate all RMS has done,” Lim continued. “I appreciate what Steve Jobs has accomplished. I appreciate what Dennis Ritchie has achieved. In the end, all these great inventors and innovators together with many others one-upping each other is why I can send this [email] to you half a world away.”

Bottom line? “We are now one man down. It is just unfortunate that RSM cannot seem to appreciate this,” Lim concluded.

‘A Crime Against Humanity’

As on Slashdot, however, others thought Stallman had a good point.

“RMS has it right,” blogger Robert Pogson told Linux Girl, for example.

“Steve Jobs was an enemy of Free Software and freedom to use PCs flexibly,” Pogson explained. “He was often a ‘partner’ of M$. His ‘walled garden’ approach to software is a blight on the world.

“His exclusion of competitive technology is a horrible abuse if not illegal,” Pogson went on. “His concentration on high-margin markets to the exclusion of those on the other side of the Digital Divide is a crime against humanity. His patent-trolling should be a trigger to eliminate software patents.”

‘Champion of the Rights of the User’

Martin Espinoza, a blogger on Hyperlogos, took a similar view, he told Linux Girl, noting his explanation on Slashdot.

“The time to make the statement is while it is relevant,” Espinoza wrote.

“It is critical that we receive this message — not you and I, maybe, but as many of the wide-eyed legions of Apple as can be reached,” he added. “Because what Apple represents is precisely the same thing that Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) or Sony (NYSE: SNE) represents: a dearth of choice.

“Stallman might be an egotistical ass, but he is certainly the foremost champion of the rights of the user,” Espinoza went on. “Some programmers don’t like that, so they don’t like the GPL, and they don’t like Free Software. They call it a virus and they would prefer to stamp it out rather than have to deal with something so confusing.”

In short, “other people can make the same point in a month, and a year, and reach other audiences, but this point needs to be made now and it needs to be made well,” he concluded. “Stallman has done both.”

Apple sells 4 million iPhone 4S units in first weekend

The iPhone 4S is wildly popular, Apple says.

The iPhone 4S had a huge weekend on store shelves–or more precisely, leaping off store shelves.

Apple said today that it sold 4 million iPhone 4S units worldwide between Friday and Sunday. According to Apple senior vice president for worldwide product marketing, Phil Schiller, that figure is “more than double the iPhone 4 launch during its first three days.” Last year, Apple announced that it sold 1.7 million iPhone 4 units in the smartphone’s first weekend of availability.

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That said, it’s worth noting that at least in the U.S., the iPhone 4S had a bit of an advantage over the iPhone 4. When Apple shipped the iPhone 4 last year, the device was available only to AT&T customers. The handset then came to Verizon Wireless earlier this year and Sprint last week. The iPhone 4S, however, launched with availability on Sprint’s and Verizon’s networks, in addition to AT&T’s service.

Apple’s iPhone 4S, which launched on Friday, features the same design as the iPhone 4, but adds several improvements, including a dual-core processor, 8-megapixel camera, and full 1080p HD video recording. The device also ships with support for virtual personal assistant application, Siri.

Last week, several analysts chimed in on how many unit sales they expected Apple to sell over the weekend. The majority of those folks said that sales would likely hit between 2 million units and 3 million units. However, the Yankee Group thought sales could hit 4 million units.

“The biggest factor driving this is the huge loyalty associated with Apple phones,” Yankee Group analyst Carl Howe said. “They have the highest loyalty of any of the smartphone OSes.”

For the first time, Sprint was a beneficiary of that. The company reported on Friday that as of 10 a.m. PT, it had witnessed a record sales day. But it wasn’t alone: by 1:30 p.m. PT, AT&T said that it had activated a record number of iPhones.

The success of the iPhone 4S in its first weekend of availability seems to eliminate all doubt over consumer reactions to the device. Earlier this month, when Apple unveiled the new iPhone, the company was expected to show off the iPhone 5, as well. That device, rumors suggested, would be the major update consumers were expecting. After it wasn’t revealed, however, many called the event a disappointment. But the smartphone’s early sales figures seem to prove that many consumers had a much different reaction to the smartphone.

It also appears that some folks are moving to the iPhone 4S from other platforms. In a small, informal poll Reuters conducted on Friday, the news service found that nearly 25 percent of iPhone 4S buyers were ditching a BlackBerry, Symbian, or Android smartphone for Apple’s latest device.

Aside from the iPhone 4S, Apple also said that 25 million users have already started using its new mobile operating system version, iOS 5, and 20 million folks have signed up for iCloud.

Although 20 million iCloud users is impressive in its own right, some analysts believe the service will grow to much greater heights in the future. Over the summer, RBC Capital Markets released a study that found 76 percent of the 1,500 iPhone users it polled planned to sign up for iCloud. By applying that percentage to the entire market, the firm said that it believes as many as 150 million users could sign up for iCloud eventually.

Windows Phone 7 Mango’s social networking beats iPhone and Android

When Windows Phone 7 Mango hits, it will have an unexpected treat: the best built-in app for working with social networking sites including Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. A recently released video shows some very nifty features that surpass what’s built into Android and the iOS.

 

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The core of Mango’s social networking features will be found in the People hub, which will include updates fed from Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. So rather than heading to three individual apps, you’ll be able to check them all from one location.

If you’ve got plenty of contacts, there’s a reasonable chance that you’ll be inundated with updates. So Mango will let you filter, and show updates from any one of those individual social networking sites, rather than all of them.

In addition, the Live tile on the Windows Phone 7 home screen will display any new activity on those social networks, such as whether someone has written on your Facebook wall, or mentioned you on Twitter. From this same location, you’ll also be able to perform a variety of social networking tasks, such as replying to messages, retweeting messages, and so on.

For details, and to see it in action, check out the video from Microsoft, below.

It would be nice to be able to filter not just by service, but by users, searchwords, and so on. Still, what’s built into Mango appears to be a very good app.

This is exactly the kind of thing that can help Microsoft sell Windows Phone 7 devices. Microsoft’s ad campaign for the devices, while clever, takes the exactly wrong tack: It positions Windows Phone 7 as the operating system for those who want to spend less time with their smartphones. Instead, Microsoft should focus on all the nifty things Windows Phone 7 can do — and its social networking features are exactly the kind of thing it should be highlighting.

Six Amazing Phone Technologies We Want in iPhone 5

Smartphones have evolved and the iPhone isn’t as novel as it used to be. If Apple wants to change the game again, here are six techs it should be looking at.

What will Apple’s next iPhone be like? If rumors are to believed, it’s going to be a radical redesign from previous models, mining some of the best features from the current crop of mobile-phone technology. (For a rundown of the most prevalent—and wildest—rumors, check out our roundup here.)

 

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But that’s almost a given. With competitors offering things like OLED screens, NFC communication for mobile payments, and 4G connectivity, Apple has to be at least considering including those things for iPhone 5 (or the iPhone 4S, or whatever it’s going to be called). But what about those wild cards, the things on the outskirts of current mobile tech, which could give the next iPhone an edge over all comers?

Apple’s pulled high-tech rabbits out of its hat before. With the iPhone 4, it introduced two unexpectedly novel features: the so-called retina display and the external antenna. While the iPhone 4’s retina screen still reigns as phone display on the market with the highest pixel density, the external antenna made headlines for all the wrong reasons, leading to “antennagate” after several users posted evidence of the phone’s “death grip.”

Questionable antenna designs aside, there’s no shortage of bleeding-edge phone technologies that could be game-changers. Some have already begun to appear in phones, while others have only been seen in prototypes or laboratories thus far. In either case, their benefits and abilities would give any phone that integrates them an boost in the rapidly evolving world of mobile.

There isn’t a phone manufacturer on the planet right now that’s making plans around NFC and 4G. But how many would introduce radically different screen or camera technologies, a new type of connector, or solar charging? We know almost certainly these features won’t be in iPhone 5, but we can still dream… of iPhone 6.