Google™ Phone Takes on the iPhone™ - Let the Mobile Internet Devices Games Begin

by Sarah Harper

Google™, the Search Engine of all search engines, is known for keeping up with web-based technological advances of almost every kind. Mobile Internet Devices (MID’s) are no exception. Last week, in New York, lucky audiences were permitted to preview the company’s latest brainchild: the G1 phone, an HTC phone for T-Mobile. The G1 phone is a much-anticipated advance – according to one previewer – over Apple®’s iPhone™. Is this just another communication device, or are we witnessing the unveiling of the MID of the future? Let the Mobile Internet Devices games begin….

What is the G1?

According to reporter Scott Moritz, reporter for Fortune Magazine who covered the New York City unveiling, the G1 is the first Android-powered phone. As a MID, it possesses capabilities of both a phone (touch-screen with swipe capability, a small trackball-type button for scrolling, clear sound, good reception, and texting) and the Internet (web access, GPS, online interactive maps, and free e-mail without a data plan).

Similarities between the G1 and iPhone™

Both phones have:

A large touch-screen, about the same size as iPhone™ Shifting orientation (useful if the user flips the phone on its side)

Differences between the G1 and iPhone™

Unlike the iPhone™, the G1 phone:

Has a physical keyboard under the screen

Is lighter and thicker (about ¾ inch thick, vs. ½ in. thick iPhone™)

Has different pricing packages and plans

Has a different zoom apparatus

Allows dragging and dropping of pictures and text

Who Wins the Gold Metal?

What better way than to check out the G1 phone for yourself? It’ll be available to the public on October 22, 2008.

Hackers, Sarah Palin, and I-Snooping – Is it Safe to Use the Mobile Communication Devices?

by Sarah Harper

Mobile Internet Devices: Secure Communication Tool, or Invitations for I-Snooping?

Although I tend to believe my life is too ho-hum for someone to want to pry into my business, when I found out about a hacker’s recent intrusion vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin’s email, I began to wonder: are there any truly secure ways to communicate, short of face-to-face correspondence? Email may be out of the question, but can I trust my cell phone, text messaging service, or iPhone™?

Cell Phones and Texting

With texting, or Short Message Service (SMS), you can keep in touch instantly by sending a brief message from your mobile phone. In some cases, SMS gateways can also connect the user with other services such as instant message (IM), the internet, a desktop computer, or a wireless network.

But is texting secure?

In a word, no. There are security devices on the market, such as cryptographic security, that are designed to protect cell phone users against unauthorized data access by SMS intrusion, spying, phone tapping, and interception.

iPhone™

The iPhone™ is perhaps the goddess of Mobile Internet Devices. It is simultaneously a camera phone, portable media player, voice mail, e-mail, internet, Wi-Fi, and text messaging device. Surely, with all these bells and whistles, my iPhone™ will also prevent me from a hacker’s tactics…

Sad but true, iPhones™ are not secure communication devices. First, according to data-forensics expert Jonathan Zdziarski, Apple®-authorized technicians – and hackers – can recover snapshots the phone automatically takes of you every time you press “home”, as well as deleted photos and e-mails. Second, some communication security experts suggest that, although the iPhone™ can only run software with an Apple®-approved cryptographic signature, it is possible to replace this software and break into the phone. Finally, it is not feasible to create third-party security (ie. anti-virus software) to secure the iPhone™.

Is There a Communication Solution?

In the words of John Wayne, “talk [er, type] low, type slow, and don’t say too much”. And consider any electronic correspondence to be as available to the public as the 6 o’clock news.