09 May 2011

Optus today announced that it is partnering with FetchTV to jointly develop an IPTV service with integrated mobile functionality for smartphones and tablet devices.

The service is scheduled for launch in the second half of 2011 and is part of Optus’ broader TV strategy to develop a suite of converged video services, delivering choice and control for customers whether they’re at home or on the move.

Austin R. Bryan, Director, Optus Digital Media said, “The way people view and engage with video content is changing rapidly. Optus wants to be at the forefront of this change which is why we’re partnering with FetchTV to develop a unique TV offering across multiple devices.

“With its strong content line-up and innovative delivery platform, we believe FetchTV is the best partner to help us develop a service which will provide customers with a fantastic user experience,” Mr Bryan said.

Scott Lorson, CEO, FetchTV said, “FetchTV has spent the past three years developing advanced IPTV capabilities and a compelling catalogue of content. Partnering with an operator of Optus’ scale, brand and reputation is a significant milestone for FetchTV and we look forward to working with Optus to launch a unique and compelling entertainment service.”

Pricing and specific details of the Optus service will be available closer to launch.

Source

For the first time ever, smartphones such as Apple’s iPhone are outselling personal computers, according to a report by research group IDC that was released this week.

Worldwide, consumer electronics makers shipped 100.9 million smart phones in the last three months of 2010, an 87 per cent jump from a year earlier. PC shipments were weaker than expected, edging up just 3 per cent to 92.1 million.

Mobile phone security threats rose sharply last year as a proliferation of internet-enabled mobile devices like smartphones and tablets provided new opportunities for cybercriminals, security software maker McAfee said.

In its fourth-quarter threat report, released this week, McAfee said the number of pieces of new mobile phone malware it found in 2010 rose 46 per cent over 2009’s level.

The AFR required the management of its implementation of a digital pay-wall enabling it to manage subscriptions and enable broader access to its content by users of mobile devices.

We provided the Program Management expertise to implement Methode and integrate it with Think Subscriptions.

The result has been a 53% increase in the number of subscribers over the past twelve months. Source

Think and Methode integration by Khan

Apple says it is “aware” of a security weakness that allows anyone to bypass iPhone 3G and iPhone 4 PIN codes with a few button presses and will fix it in a software update next month.

“We’re aware of this issue and we will deliver a fix to customers as part of the iOS 4.2 software update in November,” Apple Australia said in a statement provided early this morning.

Android has just rocketed past a major milestone: 100,000 applications available in the Android Marketplace.

The announcement was made with just a tweet from the Android Dev Twitter account. “One hundred thousand apps in Android Market,” was all the tweet needed to say to spread the news. The search giant recently expanded the Android Marketplace to 20+ countries in an effort to kick its developer ecosystem in high gear.

Google’s open-source mobile OS has been on a tear, but its rapid growth has come at the cost of OS fragmentation across hundreds of devices. And while Android may be flooding the market at breakneck speed, Apple’s iOS App Store is the dominant mobile store by leaps and bounds. There are more than 280,000 iOS apps available, nearly triple the offerings on Android.

Source

A security flaw has been detected in the popular Apple iPhone that allows anyone to gain access to its phone function without the need to enter a passcode.

The flaw, which this website has attempted successfully but is not able to describe due to legal reasons, involves a user pressing a couple of on-screen buttons and then a physical button, allowing them to bypass the passcode required to gain access.

Microsoft has come back from the dead in smartphones with a slick, fast new phone platform that will prove a worthy challenger to Apple’s iPhone and Google’s Android platforms.

Analysts have said Windows Phone 7 is Microsoft’s last chance to grab a significant piece of the smartphone pie and, thankfully, it’s seized that chance with both hands. There are several glaring omissions, including browser support for online video formats, tethering, copy-paste, Mac support and proper multi-tasking, but many of these should be added in future updates.