Banned: iPad Wi-Fi too hot for Israel

Israel has banned imports of Apple's hottest new product, the iPad, citing concerns the powerful gadget's wireless signals could disrupt other devices.

Israeli customs officials said they have already confiscated about 10 of the lightweight tablet computers since Israel announced the new regulations this week. The ban prevents anyone - even tourists - from bringing iPads into Israel until officials certify that they comply with local transmitter standards.

The US Federal Communications Commission allows devices with Wi-Fi capability in the US to broadcast at higher power levels than are allowed in Europe and Israel - meaning that the iPad's stronger signal could throw off other wireless connections.

"If you operate equipment in a frequency band which is different from the others that operate on that frequency band, then there will be interference," said Nati Schubert, a senior deputy director for the Israeli Communications Ministry. "We don't care where people buy their equipment. But without regulation, you would have chaos."

Some Israelis successfully got the popular devices into Israel before the ban.

Amnon, a software developer who took an iPad into Israel legally but asked that his last name be withheld to avoid potential government repercussions, said he and other high-tech businessmen needed the iPad to develop new applications for the device.

"There are several hundred people in Israel who make their livelihood developing apps ... and there are going to be companies that suffer, because they can't deliver the services they're supposed to be delivering," he said.

The iPad combines the features of a notebook computer with the touch-pad functions of the iPod. It went on sale in the US on April 3. Apple this week delayed its international launch until May 10, citing higher than expected demand.

Israeli officials said the ban had nothing to do with trade and was simply a precaution to make sure that the iPad would not affect wireless devices already in use in Israel.

Although Israeli standards are similar to those in many European nations, Israel is the only country so far to officially ban imports.

Schubert said he expects the problem to be resolved as Apple moves closer to the international release.

In the meantime, confiscated iPads will be held by customs - for a daily storage fee - until their owners leave the country or ship the gadgets back to the US at their own expense.

Apple's chief distributor in Israel, iDigital, declined to comment on the decision, and messages left at Apple's headquarters in California were not returned.

Source: smh.com.au

New HTC Android Device planned.

Want more news of a "planned" Android device with little to no details? Well you got it! The Bluetooth SIG group have registered the HTC Fiesta which is a handheld phone (predictably) that is going to run Android! The details are so sparse that we can only tell you that it'll run Android, it'll be released in Asia, Europe, and North America and oh yeah, it'll have Bluetooth.

There was no mention of the HTC Fiesta in HTC's 2009 leaked product line so maybe we'll see this device in 2010? Or is HTC keeping this one heavily under wraps? Only time will tell. In the meantime...FIESTA!

Twitter Worm Created by bored 17 year old.

As a second Twitter exploit began circulating on the micro-blogging site Sunday, a teen-ager from Brooklyn told CNET News he created both worms because he was bored and wanted to draw attention to the Twitter flaw. 


Much like Saturday's StalkDaily worm, the "Mikeyy" worm posts unwanted messages to users' pages. The "Mikeyy" worm began spreading on the micro-blogging site early Sunday, posting messages such as "Mikeyy I am done...," "MikeyyMikeyy is done.," and "Twitter please fix this, regards Mikeyy." 

Brooklyn resident Michael "Mikeyy" Mooney, 17, told CNET News in an interview that he created the worm "out of boredom." 

"I thought about it later and basically did it because I was bored," he said. "And I didn't think Twitter would fix (the flaw) very soon. But I didn't think it would spread as far or as fast as it did." 

Mooney, a high school senior who said one day he hopes to get a job as a security analyst, said he has been creating worms for about three years. He added that the worms he creates aren't designed to do much damage but that this will likely be his last worm. 

"I'm done with Twitter," he said, adding that he was feeling a bit overwhelmed. "I've been getting too much attention lately." 

Mooney said his site has has been live to the public for about two weeks and has 905 members, but that it "is growing quickly because of the worm." 

The messages circulating Saturday promoted StalkDaily.com, a short-messaging site similar to Twitter. While initially denying any responsibility for the worm, StalkDaily.com posted a message saying, "I have came clean and have accepted the responsibility for the worm..." 

Twitter said it has closed the hole that allowed the worm to spread. 

"We've taken steps to remove the offending updates, and to close the holes that allowed this 'worm' to spread," Twitter said in a statement Saturday. "No passwords, phone numbers, or other sensitive information were compromised as part of this attack." 

However, Mooney said he released the second worm exploiting the original flaw Sunday morning, after Twitter claimed to have closed the holes. He also said that he had not yet been contacted by Twitter representatives.

cnet.com by Steven Musil.  http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-10217684-83.html

Yesterday, Google announced two changes to its search results page that it hopes will help people find what they're looking for without being overwhelmed by too much information. The changes are subtle and consist of extended snippets below the results as well as a handful of links at the bottom of the results page that suggest related searches.

The first change, which extends the description of the result below the blue-colored link, applies only if a person has typed in a long query. Usually when a person searches for keywords using Google, a two-line snippet, with bold keywords, shows up under the result link. The idea is that the snippet puts keywords in context, indicating whether or not the link is a good choice for the user. And the more of a snippet that's provided, the better choice a person can make.

The second change--the added links at the bottom of the page--reveal some of the common search terms associated with the keywords you used. For instance, a search for "vitamin d" results in eight related searches including "vitamin d deficiency" and "calcium."

This isn't the first time Google has changed its interface. Over the years, features like easy, single-click search for images or news items containing keywords, and the ability to promote a search result higher, have crept in to the results page. But since its inception in 1998, Google's search interface has remained relatively static, sticking with a simple formula that's proven successful.

But bigger changes could be afoot. Last year, the company offered an "alternate views" experiment on the Google Labs page that essentially adds three search filters to a participants results page: "Info view," "Timeline view," and "Map View." While it's unclear that any of these features will stick, it indicates that Google engineers are testing dramatically different ways to serve up search results.

Motorola Android Smartphone

In October last year, Motorola confirmed it was working on an Android based smartphone.

Is this what it could look like? Note the 5 megapixel Kodak Branded camera and zenon flash at the back and TV in/out cables.

Microsoft to develop its first patented Smartphone Dock

The Microsoft Corporation is going to develop its first patented smartphone dock that will feature USB ports, a connection for an external display and an Ethernet jack. This device is targeted towards the emerging smartphone markets. Many consumers today are addicted to their smartphone and totally depend on it for their work, entertainment and other day to day tasks. As a result Microsoft has decided to make a universal smart interface for smartphones. It will not only charge the advanced mobile phones but will also provide options to interface the phone to external systems such as larger external displays, networks, printers, input devices and other peripherals.

According to the Microsoft’s patent, “The cost of cellphones is significantly less than computing systems at many levels. However, the cellphone is rapidly evolving into a smart communications device that can provide sufficient computing power and functionality to drive a wide variety of peripherals as well as access network services. A major impediment to taking advantage of this evolving technology in the cell phone, for example, is the inability to connect the phone to peripheral devices and systems.”

The multi-purpose smartphone dock will also feature a lightweight operating system, processor, memory and solid state drive (SSD) to support all the external devices. No word yet on whether the dock will only function with Windows Mobile smartphones, like the Sony-Ericsson Xperia X1, or whether it will work with every kind smartphone. The dock will also bolster the processing power of the phone if the phone’s own processor and memory are not sufficient to carry on some tasks.

Sony Ericsson Xperia X1

More and more manufacturers are specifying high-resolution screens in their top-end smartphones. The much-anticipated Xperia X1 is one of four in this Labs to do it, matching the HTC Touch HD for sheer resolution at 480 x 800.

But we’re not as impressed with the X1 because the screen, at just 3in from corner to corner, isn’t big enough to take advantage. 

At this size, a high resolution can be more of a disadvantage than a boon, especially as it’s Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional that underlies this phone’s fancy-looking finger-driven interface.

And that interface isn’t much help. We liked the fact you can choose between different types of home screen layouts and download new ones for free, but once you go beyond basic program selection, contacts and media management, you’re stuck with Windows Mobile. 

To make matters worse, the touch-sensitive five-way control below the screen doesn’t make it any easier than the touchscreen to navigate around. And those user interface enhancements aren’t particularly snappy, either. 

Taps to the panels often result in a second or two delay, which is frustrating, although pressing the pick-up call button does at least bring up the dial screen instantly.

It’s a shame, since there’s plenty to like elsewhere. The build is solid with a metal back and brushed aluminium-effect keyboard surround. 

And the keyboard itself is pretty good: the keys are well separated, have a good click to them, and the layout is sensible.

The list of hardware on offer is as impressive as most of the other high-end phones here, with HSDPA, assisted GPS, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and an FM radio tuner. 

There’s a good-quality wired headset thrown in – the best here – as well as a 3.5mm headphone socket, and battery life is respectable at 70hrs 42 mins.

But the usability issue just won’t go away and, coupled with a high price, is enough to push this phone well down the list of contenders this month.