Report: Android will leapfrog the iPhone by 2012

Watch out, iPhone—Android's nipping at your heels.Researchers at Gartner (via AppleInsider) are predicting that the global market share for Google's Android mobile OS could overtake the iPhone's in a little over two years, with Android poised to leapfrog Apple into the No. 2 spot.

That would leave the iPhone in the No. 3 position—right where it is now, behind BlackBerry and Nokia's Symbian OS, according to Gartner. The industry researchers believe that by 2012, Research in Motion (the company behind the BlackBerry) will have lost 7 percent of its market share, causing it to slip into fifth place (behind even Windows Mobile). Android, meanwhile, will get a 12.9-percent boost to become the No. 2 smartphone platform in the world, with Symbian still safe in the No. 1 spot (with a dominating, although dwindling, 39 percent of the global market).

Those are just analyst predictions, of course, and two years is an eternity in the wireless world; after all, two years ago today, we were still getting used to the first iPhone.

That said, I think the gist of Gartner's prediction—that Android is poised to take the wireless market by storm—is spot on, and we've seen evidence of that in the past few months and weeks.

Google's open-source Android platform—which boasts one of the finest touchscreen interfaces out there, iPhone included—came slow out of the gates in fall 2008 with the solid, if uninspiring T-Mobile G1. We had to wait almost a year for the next Android phone in the U.S., but we finally got one this past August with the G1's follow-up, the HTC-made myTouch 3G (also on T-Mobile).

Soon after, what started as a trickle quickly became a flood. Sprint trotted out its first Android phone, the eye-catching, touchscreen HTC Hero, and then T-Mobile followed suit with the Motorola Cliq, its third Android handset ... followed by the Samsung Behold II just a few days ago. On Tuesday, Verizon Wireless announced it would launch a pair of Android phones before the end of the year, while Sprint announced its second Android phone—the Samsung Moment—a day later. Oh, and now there's rumors that Dell wants in on the Android action, with a new handset possible slated for iPhone carrier AT&T.

Let's see, that's ... one, two, three, four ... five new Android phones in in the past few months, with two more—and possibly even a third—due by the end of the year, from two (or maybe three) different manufacturers and three (possibly four) carriers. Some will be better than others, but consumers will have plenty of models (and carriers) from which to choose.

Of course, a bunch of new phones on the market doesn't mean diddly unless someone buys them, and for now, Apple has a solid 10.8- versus 1.6-percent lead over Android in terms of global smartphone market share. But Apple is the only company making iPhones, while the open-source (and high-quality) Android platform is available to all manufacturers and carriers—and from what we've been seeing, they're taking the ball and running with it.

Related:
Multi-phone Android platform seen overtaking iPhone by 2012 [AppleInsider]

Apple Tablet Most-Watched Product of 2010, But By Whom?

There is no question that PC pundits are eagerly awaiting Apple's supposed new tablet, but what about customers? This is a high-risk game and Apple must know it.

Apple is widely believed to be working on a tablet for introduction in early 2010, though the timing may be more flexible than recent rumor suggests.

The company needs to be very sure it has a hit or should start managing customer expectations. If not, anything it does will that falls short of perfection will be considered a failure.

For all the talk, a key mystery remains: What will it take to get people to purchase them? Apple is in the best position to know, based on its experiences with the iPhone and iPod touch and 2 billion downloaded applications.

The challenge is building a device that matches a thin form factor with a color screen, large memory, powerful processor, and long battery life. In addition, it needs to sell for a "popular" price, which seems to be in the $500-$800 range.

It is a tall order and if Apple has any doubts, it would be better to again delay its tablet dreams--as the company has repeatedly done according to the New York Times

My take: Key will be finding applications, such as entertainment, that lend themselves to what amounts to a giant iPod. I have preferred using the term "media pad" to describe what Apple is doing and am coming back to that usage.

Using a tablet as a media player makes good sense and may be enough to sell a couple of million new Apple tablets. Key will be hitting form factor, performance, and battery life expectations. Steve Jobs knows this and has reportedly shelved earlier prototypes.

Apple tablet hype is beginning to spin out of control. If the company is concerned the new device will not live up to incredible expectations, it has not shown it. Maybe it will be perfect, but if it isn't, Apple needs to start telling us what to expect.

David Coursey tweets as @techinciter and can be contacted via his Web site.

One Piece 559, Naruto 466 and Bleach 376

posted by hyko - 2 days ago (last edited yesterday)

  One Piece 559 is up now, thanks to FrankyHouse!!

Also Naruto 466 and Bleach 376 by SleepyFans are now up too!

Anti-Wi-Fi paint keeps your wireless signal to yourself

Don't like the idea of your neighbors rudely snooping on the wireless signal you slaved to pay for from the lazy comfort of their living room? It's not just about slowing down your connection; while they're downloading Mad Men via bittorrent, you could be on the hook for their actions.

Wireless security and encryption systems are fraught with problems and insecurity, and other methods to restrict your signal to a small area are cumbersome at best.

Enter a new solution: Anti-Wi-Fi paint.

The idea is simple: Use a special paint on walls where you don't want wireless to pass through (say the exterior of your house). The secret is mixing aluminum-iron oxide particles in with the paint. The metal particles resonate at the same frequency as Wi-Fi and other radio waves, so signals can't pass through the thin layer of pigment. Outsiders would simply be unable to access your wireless network, just as you, inside the house, won't be able to interlope on anything beamed on the outside.

Developed by the University of Tokyo, the paint is said to be the first that can block radio frequency in higher spectra where Wi-Fi and other higher-bandwidth communications occur rather than just low-frequency wireless like FM radio. Most Wi-Fi technologies operate at 2.4GHz; the Tokyo paint can reportedly block frequencies all the way up to 100GHz, with a 200GHz-blocking paint now in the works.

The paint isn't just of interest to those concerned about wireless leaking out of the building. Movie theaters have long been interested in finding a legal way to keep cell phones silent during screenings. Electronic jammers that actively block wireless signals are illegal, but passive materials that prevent wireless signals from getting through are not. Since the wireless-blocking paint can also block the lower-frequency signals that cell phones use, addled mobile junkies would have no outlet for reaching the outside world.

Some aren't convinced that anti-Wi-Fi paint makes a lot of sense for a secure situation, though. Says one engineer, "Surely the thought of having to redecorate a building in order to provide Wi-Fi security is more costly and complex than the security functionality available in even the cheapest of Wi-Fi access points..."

Good point.

Homeland Security to hire up to 1K cyber experts

WASHINGTON – The Obama administration has given a green light to the Homeland Security Department to be more competitive and choosey as it hires up to 1,000 new cyber experts over the next three years, the first major personnel move to fulfill its vow to bolster security of the nation's computer networks.
The announcement follows a wave of cyber attacks on federal agencies, including a July assault that knocked government Web sites off the Internet and earlier intrusions into the country's electrical grid.
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, who made the announcement on Thursday, said the hiring plan reflects the Obama administration's commitment to improving cyber security. The move gives DHS officials far greater flexibility to hire whom they want, outside of more stringent federal guidelines. And it will also allow more latitude in pay.
As a result, Napolitano told an audience of cyber industry professionals, the new rules "will allow us to be competitive with you all" in luring quality applicants.
Much of the funding already has been budgeted, but DHS also is working with Congress for more money. Officials refused to say how much money the program would represent.
The hiring push also underscores the administration's ongoing struggle to better organize and manage the country's vulnerable digital defense. President Barack Obama vowed in February to tackle cyber issues, but still has not named a cyber coordinator, a job that experts say will be difficult to fill.
Napolitano said her department does not anticipate filling all 1,000 positions, which will include cyber analysts, developers and engineers who can detect, investigate and deter cyber attacks.
The secretary's announcement marked the start of National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, which reflects the White House goal to draw more public attention to the need for everyday computer users to exercise more diligence in protecting their online security.
In other comments, Deputy Defense Secretary William Lynn said the Pentagon expects to make decisions in the coming weeks on whether to relax restrictions on the use of external computer flash drives and social media Web sites by members of the military and department employees.
The Pentagon banned the use of flash drives last November because of a virus threat officials detected on Defense Department networks.

Therapists join World of Warcraft to treat 'addicted' players

If Dr. Richard Graham has his way, massively popular online game World of Warcraft will soon get an unofficial new character class: the therapist.
According to The Daily Telegraph, the London psychiatrist is spearheading a movement that would let mental health workers join online game worlds as avatars in order to better treat players suffering from game addiction.
Dr. Graham believes the key is reaching at-risk players on their own turf.
"Those affected don't exhibit the same outward warning signs as most teenage anti-social behaviour issues do because they're in their bedrooms most of the time, seemingly out of trouble," he told the Telegraph. "Because of this we can't get through to them in the traditional educational environment or intrude on their actual bedrooms -- we need to turn to the Internet itself to tackle these problems."
The issue of game addiction itself is still quite thorny. The American Medical Association still doesn't consider game addiction to be a legitimate disorder, while other reports -- including a Swedish study claiming that Warcraft is "more addictive than crack cocaine" -- say otherwise.
Graham hopes to launch the project "by the end of the year," and has called on Warcraft maker Blizzard to possibly give therapists free access to the game. He also notes that since most therapists probably aren't Warcraft experts, the project could potentially recruit gamers to act as "peer mentors" and help identify troubled players.

Apple to unveil tablet computer: reports

WASHINGTON (AFP) - – What's next from Apple? According to various reports, the California-based company plans to come out later this year with a portable tablet-sized computer that can surf the Web and may also serve as an electronic book reader.

London's Financial Times was the latest publication on Monday to report on the long-rumored device from the company behind the iconic Macintosh computer, the iPod and the iPhone.
The FT story follows reports in Silicon Valley technology blogs that Apple was developing a new touch-screen computer described by some as a large-screen iPod Touch.
Apple was hoping to offer the tablet computer in time for the Christmas shopping season, according to the newspaper, which said the device would have a screen that may measure up to 10 inches (25 centimeters) diagonally.
It would be able to connect to the Internet like the iPod Touch, allowing access to Apple's online stores, but probably would not have phone capability.
"It's going to be fabulous for watching movies," an unidentified entertainment executive told the FT.
The newspaper said book publishers have also been in talks with Apple about offering books on the new device, which could emerge as a potential rival to Amazon's popular Kindle electronic reader.
Apple, the FT said, is simultaneously working with the four largest record labels -- EMI, Sony Music, Warner Music and Universal Music Group -- on a project codenamed "Cocktail" aimed at stimulating digital sales of albums.
Album sales have fallen sharply as consumers opt for purchases of individual songs from online stores like Apple's iTunes.
"Cocktail" would offer interactive features, such as lyric sheets, photos and videos with music album downloads.
"It's all about re-creating the heyday of the album when you would sit around with your friends looking at the artwork, while you listened to the music," an unidentified executive told the newspaper.
The FT did not reveal any details about the price of the planned tablet computer.
Apple is traditionally highly secretive about projects under development, revealing them only at launch and guarding zealously against leaks.