Google flips Android kill switch, destroys a batch of malicious apps

When 21 rogue apps started siphoning off identifying information from Android phones and installing security holes, Google yanked the lot from Android Market, and called the authorities to boot. But what of the 50,000 copies already downloaded by unwitting users? That’s what Google’s dealing with this week, by utilizing Android’s remote kill switch to delete them over the air. But that’s not all, because this time the company isn’t just removing offending packages, but also installing new code. The “Android Market Security Tool March 2011″ will be remotely added to affected handsets to undo the exploit and keep it from sending your data out, as well as make you wonder just how much remote control Google has over our phones. Yes, we welcome our new Search Engine overlords and all that, so long as they’ve got our best interests at heart, but there’s a certain irony in Google removing a backdoor exploit by using a backdoor of its own — even one that (in this case) will email you to report what it’s done.

Google flips Android kill switch, destroys a batch of malicious apps originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 06 Mar 2011 13:19:00 EDT.

Verizon Xoom teaser ad will eat you up (video)

Verizon’s first Xoom ad is out leaving little doubt about how the company plans to market Motorola’s new tablet. While the Honeycomb slab might lack the Droid branding, VZW looks set to maintain the overtly machismo tone that helped sell so many Android handsets over the last year while dismissing any of that cerebral nonsense preferred by Motorola. And really, who amongst us, man or woman, can resist the temptation of strapping on an $800 jetpack come thursday?

Verizon Xoom teaser ad will eat you up (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 22 Feb 2011 02:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Skype Access expands, now unlocks over 500,000 hotspots

We can’t all have 3G or 4G wireless wherever — sometimes we need to get friendly with a plain ‘ol hotspot. Skype is making that a little easier, expanding Skype Access in partnership with eight international WiFi pushers:

• BT Openzone
• Fon
• M3 Connect
• Row 44
• Skyrove
• Spectrum Interactive
• Tomizone
• Vex

Fon will probably be the most familiar if you’re in America, but combined the program covers 500,000 hotspots, including 500 hotels. Users will be able to pay for WiFi by the minute using Skype Credit, with prices ranging from a nickel to $.19 per currently. No word on whether that will be changing with this new announcement.

Skype Access expands, now unlocks over 500,000 hotspots originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 15 Feb 2011 14:49:00 EDT.

iPhone 5 to feature a bigger 4-inch display?

Thus far we still know surprisingly little about the next generation iPhone (or iPhone 5 for lack of a better name) expected this summer in keeping with Apple’s traditional launch cycle. We’ve heard that the completely redesigned handset will boast a next generation A5 processor and Qualcomm chipset that will unify the CDMA / GSM / UMTS radios. Others have heard that it’ll also feature NFC integration along with the possibility of a “universal SIM.” But what about the display? How will it size-up to the existing iPhone 4′s rather puny 3.5-inch display and the smaller and lighter iPhone model that the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg say is in the works? Well, if DigiTimes and its chatty “upstream component suppliers” are to be believed then the next generation iPhone will be sporting a 4-inch display. While DigiTimes can, at times, be a suspect source for Apple information, the idea of a larger 4-inch iPhone flagship to help differentiate itself from a smaller iPhone nano and legacy iPhone 4 (that becomes the budget model) does make some sense.

iPhone 5 to feature a bigger 4-inch display? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 15 Feb 2011 01:48:00 EDT.

WSJ corroborates the mini-iPhone, says Apple may make MobileMe free

The Wall Street Journal has weighed in on rumors of Apple’s smaller iPhone, and citing “people familiar with the matter” the publication says that the rumors are likely true. One such familiar person reportedly saw a device half the size of the iPhone 4, bearing the codename “N97,” and said that the handset will be only about half the size of the original, and at only around half the price too. Amazingly, those anonymous sources continued to divulge information, expressing the idea that Apple could finally make its MobileMe cloud service suite free, and that it just might be the platform from which Apple could finally launch a streaming music platform and lessen the need for all those gigabytes of flash storage in your pocket. We’ll let you know if or when any of that happens, okay?

WSJ corroborates the mini-iPhone, says Apple may make MobileMe free originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 13 Feb 2011 14:51:00 EDT.

Intel promises, teases MeeGo smartphone and tablet for MWC

Lookie here. Intel may have been the jilted bride left at the altar by Nokia, but it’s not giving up on MeeGo just yet. The above poster has been hung up here in Barcelona, in the area us humble journalists still aren’t in allowed yet, and shows a smartphone and tablet running Intel’s Linux variant as their OS. There are plenty of details to pore over, such as the multiplicity of home screen items on the tablet that includes Big Buck Bunny — a favorite for testing HD video playback — in its top right corner. MWC is opening its doors tomorrow, so even if Intel doesn’t announce these devices in full, we’ll snoop its booth out and find out for ourselves.

Intel promises, teases MeeGo smartphone and tablet for MWC originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 13 Feb 2011 09:17:00 EDT.

Sonos Controller for Android with voice search will blow you away (video)

You can exhale Sonos fans, it’s finally happening. The Sonos Controller for Android is official. After almost a year in development, the free WiFi music remote finally gives Sonos owners control over their whole-home audio system from any Android 2.1 and above device with a screen size of HVGA 320 x 480, WVGA 480 x 800 or WVGA 480 x 854. At least it will when it hits the Market at the end of March. Better yet, it trumps the Sonos iOS controller with music controls mapped directly to the buttons on your Android hardware. As such, you can control the volume of your Sonos system with the physical volume rocker on your Desire Z or use the search button on your Droid X to forage for that certain artist, track, or album. Oh, and the Sonos Controller for Android also supports voice search — take that iOS app. Sorry, Sonos isn’t announcing anything related to an Android tablet-equivalent of the Sonos controller for iPad today as the company is waiting to see how that market develops and which screen sizes and resolutions gain the most traction. Nevertheless, we’ll be getting our first hands-on opportunity of the handset controller at Mobile World Congress next week. So, until then, why not wipe the tears from your $349 Sonos CR200 controller and watch the video preview after the break.

Continue reading Sonos Controller for Android with voice search will blow you away (video)

Sonos Controller for Android with voice search will blow you away (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 10 Feb 2011 09:00:00 EDT.

Navigon rolls out iPhone Car Kit for $50

The turn-by-turn navigation specialists at Navigon are pairing up their MobileNavigator iPhone app with an official Car Kit today, debuting at MacWorld out in San Francisco. As you might expect, said kit includes the usual array of car-mount necessities — a USB car charger, an Apple-approved 5-foot iPhone cable, and the suction-style mount itself, which the company describes as “a stylish example of German tech design” featuring a “barely there look” that won’t detract from your car’s sumptuous, indulgent interior. The Kit is available now for $49.99 — $44.99 through February 3rd.

Continue reading Navigon rolls out iPhone Car Kit for $50

Navigon rolls out iPhone Car Kit for $50 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 27 Jan 2011 08:00:00 EDT.

White iPhone rumored as Apple Store goes down globally

It was bound to happen sometime, and today is as good as any other post-holiday day to launch the mythical white iPhone 4. While normally we’d consider a Wednesday night shuttering of the global Apple store to be maintenance-related, a tweet identifying a pair of supposed white iPhone part numbers

– MC604X/A (16GB) and MC606X/A (32GB) — has surfaced, attributed to an established last-minute Apple insider known only as “Mr. X” in various tech forums. Mind you, “spring

” was the last official timeframe for a white iPhone release. But please, we beg you… don’t say that it’s early if it does appear when the Apple Store returns to business later today — we don’t want anyone to get hurt in the comments.

White iPhone rumored as Apple Store goes down globally originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 26 Jan 2011 01:54:00 EDT.

Woman tries, fails to smuggle 44 iPhones into Israel

Sigh. We don’t know whether to congratulate the enterprising spirit of this venture or to bemoan the sad state of a world where a 60-something-year old lady feels compelled to turn into an iPhone smuggler. Either way, Israel’s Ben-Gurion International Airport has given us a pretty good reason for the use of full body scanners, which revealed the woman in question was strapped with 44 iPhone 4s all around her body. Dressed in traditional Georgian attire, the lady had some struggles walking around, which raised suspicion and got the officials to run her through the machines. Guess this gives us a whole new definition to the phrase “stocking stuffer,” eh?

Original image credit: buystoreshelving.com

Woman tries, fails to smuggle 44 iPhones into Israel originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 25 Jan 2011 06:18:00 EDT.