Personal communications

RIM launches BlackBerry podcast service

Taking a bite out of Apple's playbook, Research In Motion has unveiled a new podcast service for its BlackBerry mobile customers.

Launched on Wednesday, the free BlackBerry Podcast service lets BlackBerry users find, download, and subscribe to audio and video podcasts created by a host of providers, said the company.

Mobile customers can search the podcast catalog by keyword, category, and other criteria, and then preview any podcast before deciding whether to subscribe. Podcasts can be downloaded to the BlackBerry's microSD card where they can be played through the phone's media player or removed and played on … Read more

Just say no to Ma Bell-era Net neutrality regulation

Editors' note: This is a guest column. See the bios of Berin Szoka and Adam Thierer below.

The announcement this week of Google and Verizon's proposed compromise framework for Net neutrality regulation seems to spell an end for the old "hands off the Net" consensus. But is such Internet regulation really needed?

Hard-core Net neutralists like the group Free Press insist that this deal isn't sweeping enough to protect the "free and open Internet." But in fact, the Net continues to do just fine without heavy-handed regulation. As Paul Misener, Amazon's vice president for global public policy, explains, … Read more

Study: iPhone grippers have more sex than Android clutchers

Droid Doesn't. Or it could be that Droid Won't. Or even Can't.

But the statistical evidence is clear. The numbers do not claim to have been working late at the office. They merely expose a suspicion that has been harbored by many in the bars and bordellos of our nation.

Yes, in a deep and sonorous study by the dating site OkCupid, there seems to be no doubt: iPhone owners have more sex than BlackBerry owners and a lot more sex than the worthy, solemn, dedicated purchasers of Android phones.

The numbers for women might leave some … Read more

First SMS-sending Android Trojan reported

Security experts warned on Tuesday about what is believed to be the first Trojan targeting Android-based mobile devices that racks up charges by sending text messages to premium-rate numbers.

The Trojan-SMS malware, dubbed "Trojan-SMS.AndroidOS.FakePlayer.a," is being distributed via an unknown malicious Web site, said Denis Maslennikov, senior malware researcher at Kaspersky Lab.

Users are prompted to install a "media player application" that is a little bigger than 13 kilobytes, but which is hiding the Trojan inside, according to Kaspersky and mobile-phone security company Lookout, which analyzed the threat.

Like all Android apps, the … Read more

What the Google-Verizon proposal really says

Editors' note: This is a guest column. See Larry Downes' bio below.

The Google-Verizon Net neutrality proposal, announced on Monday during a conference call with Google CEO Eric Schmidt and Verizon Communications CEO Ivan Seidenberg, at last puts to rest swirling rumors of a private treaty between the two parties to divide up the Internet and its users.

The reality is, thankfully, much more modest. The two companies have issued what they call a "legislative-framework proposal" for Net neutrality, with the hopes of breaking the legislative logjam that has paralyzed policymakers.

The framework is no more and no … Read more

Verizon announces Droid 2, available August 12

It wasn't the most well-kept secret in the world, but the news is nonetheless exciting, as Verizon Wireless finally announced the Motorola Droid 2 on Tuesday.

The Droid 2 will be available for presale on Verizon's Web site starting August 11 and will be in stores August 12 for $199.99 with a two-year contract and after a $100 mail-in rebate. As expected, the smartphone will ship running Android 2.2, which among other things includes support for Adobe Flash Player 10.1. The Droid 2 can also be used as a mobile hot spot for up to … Read more

Saudis call off BlackBerry ban

The BlackBerry is still open for business in Saudi Arabia.

The Saudi communications regulator said Tuesday that it has decided to call off the ban on BlackBerry messenger services following efforts by Research In Motion to satisify some of the country's regulatory requirements.

The decision came because of "positive developments in the completion of part of the regulatory requirements on the part of service providers," the country's Communication and Information Technology Commission, or CITC, said in a statement e-mailed to The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) and other news sources.

The agreement between the two parties … Read more

AT&T snaps up Sony Ericsson Xperia X10

Of all the major U.S. carriers, AT&T's lagged a bit on the Android front but has recently beefed up its selection of phones with the HTC Aria, the Samsung Captivate, and now the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10.

Long rumored for AT&T, the Xperia X10 will finally be available starting August 15 for $149.99 with a two-year contract. Much like the unlocked version, the smartphone has a 4-inch WVGA capacitive touch screen with Sony Ericsson's User Experience Platform, which includes the Timescape and Mediascape apps. The former acts as a feed for all … Read more

Microsoft shows off prototype mobile phone

Microsoft apparently has no intention of letting its failure with Kin keep it out of the smartphone market.

The tech giant is working on a touch-screen phone under the codename "Menlo," according to a Microsoft Research paper titled "User Experiences with Activity-Based Navigation on Mobile Devices," (PDF) about Menlo. From that paper:

"Menlo is a prototype mobile device with a capacitive touch screen (4.1" diagonal, 800x480) running Microsoft Windows Embedded CE 6.0 R2 which incorporates a Bosch BMA150 3-axis accelerometer and Bosch BMP085 digital pressure sensor (barometer)."

The paper, which was … Read more