Google Drive spotted on a Google employee’s phone
Google’s cloud storage service, Google Drive, has been talked about for quite a bit. Unfortunately to date there hasn’t been any official confirmation of sorts with the latest rumor suggesting that a launch of Google Drive could be happening as soon as this week. Perhaps that rumor could very well pan out thanks to a Google employee indadvertedly showing off the Google Drive icon on his phone during an Android Developers Hangout on Google Plus. Google promptly yanked the video but not before the good folks over at The Verge managed to grab a screenshot on the developer’s phone (pictured above).
For those unfamiliar, Google Drive is expected to be an alternative to popular cloud storage service, Dropbox. According to the rumors, Google Drive will attempt to lure Dropbox users over onto its service by offering 5GB free at the start which is 3GB more than Dropbox’s 2GB offering. Read more...
Microsoft mum on leaked Phone OS plans
Microsoft has told The Register that it has no comment on an apparently leaked copy of upgrade plans for its mobile phone operating system.
The presentation, leaked to Wmpoweruser.com, predicts an upgrade to the current Mango platform in the second quarter of 2012 – dubbed Tango. Described as “products with the best prices,” this would suggest a low-level stability upgrade to cover the cheap and dirty end of the market, to try and halt Android’s increasing domination of the sector. Read more...
Hands on: Norton Mobile Security protects your Android phone
Worried by the spate of news stories about malware targeting Android phones and tablets? There's a way to get some peace of mind: Symantec's just-released Norton Mobile Security, which promises the same type of security for Android devices that its big brother counterpart offers for PCs. (The app was previously available as a beta.)
Norton Mobile Security comes in free and for-pay versions. The free version (which Symantec labels Lite) includes an anti-malware module and an anti-theft module that lets you remotely lock an Android device if it's lost or stolen.
The malware scan is simple and straightforward. You can scan manually or have Norton scan on a daily, weekly or monthly schedule. You can also scan your SD card -- an option that's turned off by default because it may slow down your system during the scanning operation. On my Droid X, it took 15 seconds to scan normally, and one minute and 56 seconds to scan the SD card as well -- not, in my opinion, a significant difference, and a small price to pay for more complete protection. Read more...
Behind Microsoft’s $15 Samsung Android royalty claim
Microsoft is turning the screws on Google's phone and tablet partners, but what kind of win-win is Redmond really going for?
Steve Ballmer's software company was Wednesday reported to be seeking $15 for each device Samsung ships loaded with Google's Android smart-phone operating system.
Samsung is reported to be trying to lower the payment to $10.
The source for this report is the South Korean Maeil Business Newspaper, which quoted unnamed industry officials.
The Samsung story follows a week in which Microsoft named three OEMs as having agreed to license its patents for devices they make and sell running Android. Read more...
Microsoft explains phone software update delay
Microsoft Corp explained the delay in updating its new phone software on Wednesday, partly blaming handset manufacturers for the problem.
Windows Phone 7, launched last October as Microsoft's attempt to catch up with Apple Inc and Google Inc in the smartphone market, was well received, but criticized for lack of some basic functions such as cut and paste.
Microsoft initially said an update to the software would be available early in 2011, but it has not yet been implemented for many users.
"We had expected it to be earlier than now," Joe Belfiore, head of Microsoft's Windows phone program, said at a software developer conference in Las Vegas on Wednesday. Read more...