Oracle buying Tekelec for network signaling software
Oracle is filling out its product stack for communications with the acquisition of Tekelec, which provides network signaling, policy control and subscriber data management software for mobile data networks. Terms of the deal, which is expected to close in the first half of this year, were not disclosed.
The explosive growth of smartphones and mobile services has put new strains on mobile networks, and Tekelec's products can help providers manage these workloads as well as optimize profits, according to its website.
Oracle plans to roll Tekelec's capabilities into its communications product portfolio and will combine them with products gained through the pending acquisition of network equipment vendor Acme Packet, according to a statement. Read more...
Facebook says mobile ads successful; analysts say challenges remain
Facebook seemed to answer at least one burning question about its mobile business on Thursday -- it doesn't plan to build its own smartphone -- but it's still not entirely clear how it will capitalize on its rapidly expanding base of mobile users.
"Building out a whole phone wouldn't really make much sense for us to do," said CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Thursday, when asked about Facebook's mobile strategy during a conference call to discuss its first financial report as a public company.
The number of people who access Facebook's service from mobile devices is expanding rapidly. The company had 955 million monthly active users at the end of June, of which 543 million accessed Facebook from a mobile device, the company said Thursday. That was up 67% from the same quarter last year, it said. Read more...
Fate of U.S. may hang on winner of iPhone-Android war
The mobile operating system you choose may determine the fate of the U.S. presidency in the November election. Certainly, it's likely to dictate whether you're bombarded with pro-Barack Obama ads or pro-Mitt Romney ads as you browse the mobile Internet this year. A new study from Localytics found that 70 percent of the states with the most active iPhone users vote Democratic, 70 percent of the states with the most active Android lean Republican, and critical swing states are clustered in the middle.
The presidential candidates' respective campaigns may use those nuggets of information as we head toward Election Day, Localytics predicts: "With the Obama and Romney campaigns seeking every advantage, targeted smartphone advertising will be useful when trying to reach Democratic and Republican voters and volunteers in swing states, which cluster around the average iPhone and Android distribution." Read more...
Google sharpening Analytics’ tracking of mobile applications
Google is readying a new set of Analytics usage reports designed specifically for mobile applications, the company plans to announce at its I/O developer conference on Friday.
So far, Google Analytics has approached mobile application tracking from a perspective that's more tailored to conventional websites, said JiaJing Wang, a Google product manager.
With these new reports, Google Analytics will provide results for iOS and Android applications that include deeper, broader and more specific metrics, he said. Read more...
PayPal unveils mobile payment system for small businesses
PayPal is targeting small businesses, service providers, and casual sellers on the move with its new PayPal Here service which allows vendors to process a variety of payments including checks and cards using their mobile phones.
The new service unveiled Thursday includes a free app and encrypted thumb-sized card reader, which allows merchants with an iPhone, and later Android smartphones, to process payments.
Merchants can accept payments by swiping cards in the card reader, scanning cards and checks using their phone cameras, or by entering card information manually into the app, the eBay unit said. They can also send an invoice and set payment terms, and accept PayPal payments from the app. The check facility is however only available in the U.S. Read more...
Presidential candidates’ mobile websites still works in progress
Despite pronouncements that they are pro-technology, all of the U.S. presidential candidates have made fairly feeble attempts at building mobile campaign websites.
"It's appalling how poorly their mobile websites work," said Joshua Bixby, who has analyzed desktop and mobile websites of the Republican frontrunners and President Obama. Bixby is president of Strangeloop, a Canadian Web software company that has no connection to any of the campaigns.
In a blog post in which he shared his most recent findings about candidates' websites, Bixby said he encountered slow site load times -- some took several minutes on smartphones -- and basic functionality problems. Computerworld performed several of the same informal tests as Bixby did, and in some cases found even poorer performance than he did.
The findings suggest that politicians may not be doing a very good job of reaching out to voters who are using smartphones and tablets in far greater numbers than they were during the 2008 presidential campaign, Bixby said. He joined other election observers in predicting a big upsurge in campaigns focused on mobile device users.
"None of the candidates' sites rose to the challenge of designing for mobile devices," Bixby wrote in his blog. One key ingredient of a good mobile website is that it should offer the ability to link to the full desktop site, not just provide a view of a stripped-down mobile version, Bixby added in an interview. He said surveys have shown that at least one-third of mobile users strongly favor access to a full site from a mobile device. Read more...
Federal body concludes LightSquared can’t work with GPS
A key federal agency involved in testing the proposed LightSquared LTE 4G network has concluded that there is no practical way to solve interference between that network and GPS, possibly dealing a crippling blow to the startup carrier's hopes for a terrestrial mobile network.
In a memo released late today, the National Space-Based Positioning, Navigation, and Timing Executive Committee (PNT ExComm) said the nine federal agencies that make up the body had concluded unanimously that none of LightSquared's proposals would overcome significant interference with GPS (Global Positioning System).
LightSquared last year received a waiver from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) allowing it to operate a terrestrial LTE (Long-Term Evolution) 4G network on frequencies that have until now been devoted to much weaker satellite signals. But the FCC demanded that concerns over interference with GPS be resolved before the network could be launched.
Tests early last year found devastating interference to many GPS devices, so LightSquared modified its proposal. Further testing took place in November, and other tests had been expected to take place soon.
The PNT ExComm has been involved in testing and results analysis at the request of the FCC and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). The body is headed by deputy secretaries of Defense and Transportation and represents other federal agencies and departments. It is charged with coordinating federal GPS activities. Read more...
Tech stories of 2011: Jobs, Android, and Anonymous rank in top 10
In 2011, the increasingly mobile and socially networked world of technology became more intertwined than ever with politics and the law. Patent wars shaped competition in tablets and smartphones, hacktivists attacked a widening array of political and corporate targets, repressive regimes unplugged citizens from the Internet, and the U.S. government moved to block the giant merger of AT&T and T-Mobile USA. With the passing of Steve Jobs, the world lost a technology icon who redefined the computer, entertainment and consumer electronics industries.
These are the IDG News Service's picks for the top 10 technology stories of the year:
1. The PlayStation Network hack, Anonymous and the rise of hacktivism
April attacks on Sony's PlayStation and Qriocity networks knocked out service for millions of users for two months, compromised personal data of some 70 million subscribers, and cost Sony $170 million to clean up. The attacks were partly in retaliation against Sony's response to the release of code for its PS3 console that let the device run unauthorized software. Though it's unclear whether members of Anonymous or an affiliated hacker group, LulzSec, were responsible, the stakes have been raised for politically motivated hacking, or hacktivism. Anonymous, the most high-profile hactivist group, this year claimed or was believed to have launched attacks against entities as disparate as security firm HBGary, child-porn sites, Koch Industries, Bank of America, NATO and various government websites. LulzSec, Peoples Liberation, and TeaMp0isoN are among the the groups claiming affiliation with the Anonymous collective. Though police have made arrests in the U.S., the U.K., Spain, and elsewhere, the success of high-profile hacks has assured that politically oriented hacking is here to stay. Read more...
Digital Dilemmas: Help! Constant connectivity is making it impossible to think
Ding! You've got mail. Bing! You've got SMS. Ping! IM incoming. Chirrup! Look there's a tweet with your @name on it. Brrring! Quick, your mobile's ringing. Meep! Someone just tagged you in 100 photos on Facebook. Oh hai! LinkedIn in your inbox again - wanting to hook you up with everyone you've ever emailed.
All this means it's definitely time for a screen break. But hang on, what's that vibrating in your pocket? Hello unread BlackBerry email. Better check what it is - if only to extinguish the flashing LED. But argh! The evil red eye just won't stop winking at me!
Ping! Ding! Bing! Brrrrrrrrrring!
Learn how to silence the digital distractions - before they silence you...Image: Shutterstock
I can't get no sleep...
The digital world never sleeps, and as a result nor, it would seem, can we, the digital workforce. We're assailed on every side by a barrage of connected gadgets and services all demanding micropayment in bits and bytes of our attention.
And it's taking its toll. We're afflicted with digital tinnitus - and it's making it impossible to think. Read more...
Android bakes bitter 20th birthday cake for Linux
As Linux celebrates its 20th birthday, its biggest success – mobile – is turning into its worst headache.
Thanks to Google's Android, and in turn thanks to the success of Steve Jobs' iPhone and iPad, Linux has found a fresh lease of life.
Smartphones running the Android version of Linux account for 39 per cent of the market; Android has given existing phone-makers a fresh opportunity and propelled newcomers. iOS is second to Android on 29 per cent of the smartphone market, coming as it does from just a single OEM: Apple. iOS is number-one on tablets, however, with Android coming second.
The smartphone and tablet have arrived just as it seemed Linux's biggest disruptive days were behind it. Read more...
Researchers find first Android malware targeting Gingerbread
Researchers have spotted the first malware that exploits a critical vulnerability in Android 2.3, aka Gingerbread, finding samples tucked into legitimate apps on Chinese download sites.
Earlier threats aimed at Google's Android, including the widely-distributed DroidDream and DroidDream Light, exploited bugs in older versions of the mobile operating system but were not able to hijack Gingerbread-powered smartphones.
Last Thursday, Xuxian Jiang, an assistant professor in computer science at North Carolina State University, said that his team and Beijing-based NetQin Mobile Security had identified new "high-risk" malware that can root, or completely compromise, Android 2.3. Read more...
Skype gulps group app as it is swallowed by Microsoft
Another Microsoft me-too Web 2.0 project looks to be headed for the chop with Skype's proposed purchase of a mobile messaging start-up.
Skype is buying GroupMe, another app masquerading as a business, that has 20 employees and $10.6m in funding. The service lets you marshal your contacts into groups.
Microsoft itself is in the process of buying the loss-making Skype for a remarkable $8.5bn. This is remarkable in any world but more so when Microsoft could have got away with paying "just" $7bn.
Using GroupMe you can set up private chats, share your location and photos, and also conduct conference calls using boring old voice using its service.
GroupMe works on iPhone, Android, BlackBerry and Windows Phone. Read more...
What a Mobile phone Spy Software Is
Mobile phone spy software is often a stealth system put in in someone’s mobile phone, without having his understanding, to monitor calls and messages sent to and obtained about the phone. There’s a lot of factors why consumers use spy phone software program. Particularly commonly, they wish to understand if their spouses are cheating, or they are mums and dads who wish to keep track of their teenage child’s phone activities. Employers also quite often use spy software program to maintain an eye on their workers, particularly if your telephone is company-owned and intended solely for function purposes. Using the utilization of the spy software, employers, parents and suspicious spouses get to determine messages around the mobile phone, listen in secretly to calls, and track the mobile phone user’s place making use of GPS. Read more...
Android Likely To Lead Smartphone Market This Year
Android's rocketing rise as a mobile platform is about to hit the stratosphere. According to a new report from industry research firm IDC, Google's open-source operating system, currently in second place worldwide, will become the leading smartphone operating system this year.
Ramon Llamas, IDC senior research analyst, said, "For the vendors who made Android the cornerstone of their smartphone strategies, 2010 was Android's 'coming-out party,'" while 2011 will be the "coronation party."
The report also projected that the worldwide smartphone market will grow 49.2 percent this year as consumers and enterprise users continue to move from feature phones. This growth rate is more than four times faster than the overall mobile-phone market. Read more...