Hasta La Gadget!

This week was packed with news on the mobile front, so it was easy to miss a few stories here and there. Here’s some of the other stuff that happened in the wide world of wireless for the week of October 3, 2011:

• The Pantech Hotshot featurephone (above left) launched on Verizon this week. It’s a full 3.2-inch touchscreen with a 3.2 megapixel camera and video capture. It’s offered for $100 with a two-year contract. [PhoneScoop]
• AT&T launched the Pantech Link II (above right) this week, a follow-up to the popular Quick Messaging Device. It features BREW mobile 1.0.2 and is available for $10 with a two-year commitment.
• Cincinnati Bell launched the HTC Sensation 4G for $250 with a two-year contract and after a $50 mail-in rebate.
• The HTC Amaze 4G is heading north. Canadian carrier Telus has given the device its own piece of real estate on its site, having it listed as “coming soon.” [AndroidCentral]
• According to benchmark tests, the Sony Ericsson Nozumi actually has a 1.5GHz dual-core Qualcomm CPU and uses Android 2.3.5. [LandofDroid]
• Open Range Communications, a WiMAX provider in the Denver area, is laying off more than a hundred employees, shutting down its WiMAX service to new customers and the CEO resigned. [PhoneScoop]
• Prefer the Washington Post over the New York Times? The former has its own Android app now available in the Market for free. [AndroidCentral]
• The Nokia N9 is now officially for sale in Australia, on Telstra. Vodafone and Optus haven’t put the device on sale yet, though both companies have announced intentions to do so at some point. [ComputerWorld]

Mobile Miscellany: week of October 3, 2011 originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 08 Oct 2011 11:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We suspected there’d be a special guest at HTC’s party in London today and here it is: the brand new Sensation XL. You might recognize the mug shot from the many leaks we’ve reported under the Runnymede codename, but this phone also bears a distinct similarity to the recently announced HTC Titan. It’s carved from an almost identical 4.7-inch block of machined aluminum, has the same stunning 9.9mm (0.39-inch) thickness, same 800×480 Super LCD display and even the same eight megapixel rear camera unit. But there are key differences too: for a start, it packs HTC’s vaunted Beats Audio system licensed from Dr. Dre. Oh, and did we mention this thing is an Android rather than a Windows Phone? Those two things alone make the XL a different beast entirely, so read on for our impressions.

Continue reading HTC announces the Sensation XL with Beats Audio, we go hands-on

HTC announces the Sensation XL with Beats Audio, we go hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 Oct 2011 13:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s no back to school roadmap because, hey, you’re already there. Still, this leaked sales sheet from TmoNews shows Magenta stacking its shelves for an abundant fall mobile harvest. So, let’s dive right in as there’s a lot of two-year contracted bounty to cover. Starting things off on October 19th are a trio of high-end, 42Mbps-capable 4G handsets: the HTC “Ruby” or Amaze 4G at $259, Samsung Hercules (that would be this) at $229 and the Huawei Wayne at $99 (which comes pre-loaded with Spaghetti Westerns, we presume). Following just a week later, is Samsung’s Arnold tablet — a.k.a the Galaxy Tab 10.1 — which’ll run along the carrier’s faux-G and retail for $399. But the real wireless bonanza takes place on the 2nd of November, when six new phones will bow. LG’s Maxx QWERTY and Maxx Touch at $129 apiece are the sole 3G-only units in the bunch, leaving the HTC Omega (better known as the Radar) at $199, LG Flip II at $149, Huawei Tallsome slate at $199 and the low-end Samsung “Ancora” to surf along at 4G speeds. Making a late appearance to this Autumn party are the last two of the bunch: Samsung’s Robin (which looks to be the Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus) at $299 and RIM’s Dumoine QWERTY slider. That enough options for you? We thought so.

T-Mobile’s fall roadmap leaks, cornucopia of mobile goods on the horizon originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 04 Oct 2011 22:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Whether you’re a spendthrift or just happened to be down at the shops, Phones4U had an extra early bird special this past weekend. Turns out the mobile retailer had received stock of both the HTC Titan and Radar ahead of the planned October 7th launch date, and did what any good commercial enterprise would — they put’em up for sale. If you’re down with carrier chains, you can snatch both handsets in-store or online gratis, with a contracted monthly fee on Orange, T-Mobile or Vodafone (for the Titan only). For the no SIM attached route, you’ll have to practice a wee bit more patience, and wait until this Friday when Clove will offer the Mango phones at full price — £489 and £329, respectively. Statesiders, take a deep breath, your crack at this first wave of Windows Phone 7.5 devices is close at hand.

HTC Titan, Radar on sale now at Phones4U, blow a raspberry at ‘launch date’ nonsense originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 04 Oct 2011 02:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HTC's Sense-skinned phones will blab to just about anyone who asks. Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.com

HTC’s skinned version of Android contains a serious security flaw which allows any application access to a huge trove of your personal information, according to mobile blog Android Police.

HTC’s proprietary Sense software — which runs on the company’s EVO 4G and Thunderbolt smartphones, amongst others — contains almost everything that happens on your phone in a data file, including GPS location information, phone numbers, SMS data (plain numbers and encoded text), and more. Any app can get access to this data simply through a permissions request.

The problem is due to logging tools that HTC recently added, which gather a huge amount of personal info and usage data. HTC hasn’t provided a reason for adding the tools.

Here’s the process, as described by Android Police:

any app on affected devices that requests a single android.permission.INTERNET (which is normal for any app that connects to the web or shows ads) can get its hands on [the data.]

Worryingly, there is an off-by-default VNC server included in the OS. This could possibly allow remote access, according to Artem Russakovski at Android Police.

Out of all the currently available mobile operating systems, security issues and exploits plague Android the most by far. Because applications submitted to the Android Market are not vetted by Google in advance, malware and insecure applications have a far greater chance of slipping in undetected. In August, McAfee released a report citing Android as the “most attacked operating system,” with Android mobile malware attacks jumping 76 percent in a three month period. In May, the popular Skype app for Android was also discovered to contain a security vulnerability, which could allow malicious apps access to personal data.

But as Android Police says, the Skype loophole pales in comparison to HTC’s security issues. Whereas Apple could deploy a quick fix just a week after its GPS-gate affair (which was little more than location data being cached in the iPhone and not being encrypted during backups), Android OS updates are notoriously slow to roll out. Because the carrier takes care of the updates, it can be months before they are pushed to customers, if at all.

Tech savvy users can root their phones and remove the HTCloggers apk file. The majority of Android users will have to wait for this update.

Massive Security Vulnerability In HTC Android Devices Exposes Phone Numbers, GPS, SMS, Email Addresses [Android Police]

See Also:

• Skype's Android App Could Expose Your Personal Details
• Amazon App Store Requires Security Compromise
• Android App's Data Collection Raises Mobile-Security Questions …
• Google Flips Remote Kill-Switch on Android Apps
• Android Malware Found in Angry Birds Add-On Apps
• Android Malware Explodes, iOS Remains Safe