All eyes on the new $199 Amazon Kindle Fire tablet

 

At $199, the price of Amazon's Kindle Fire tablet is a tempting purchase for some iPad owners, who are wondering whether the tablets will coexist or compete.

Amazon on Wednesday introduced its first tablet, the Kindle Fire, which is now available for order on Amazon's retail site. The tablet has a 7-inch multitouch LCD display and Google's Android OS, and provides easy access to Amazon's application store and music, video and cloud services.

Kindle Fire joins a tablet market dominated by Apple's iPad, which is projected to have a 73.4% market share by year end, according to research firm Gartner. While some analysts have argued that Kindle Fire could pose a competitive threat to the iPad, others have argued that Amazon's tablet is more of a threat to other Android tablets, which cannot compete with Amazon on services, entertainment and cloud offerings.

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The iPad has an established following that's hard to shake, said David Daoud, research director at IDC. But at $199, the Kindle Fire is $300 cheaper than the entry-level iPad 2, and could be an attractive companion device.

Beyond the price, some potential buyers cited Kindle Fire's browser, called Silk, which uses a cloud service to pre-process Web pages to make browsing faster.

Dave Winer, one of the pioneers of RSS and podcasting, and now a visiting scholar at New York University, has already ordered the Kindle Fire. He is appreciative of Amazon's investment in making the Web better and creating a new browser.

"They've really worked well to make the Web work on this device," Winer said.

Winer noted that Apple's lack of Flash support doesn't help browsing on the iPad, which he uses for Web activity and email, among other tasks.

Winer found Kindle Fire's price economical, but he already owns an iPad and is not really sure how the two tablets would compete head-to-head. The Kindle Fire has yet to be tested, so it's hard to set expectations for the device, but he is an active customer of Amazon and also a member of Amazon Prime, which offers unlimited instant movie and TV show streaming as one of the benefits.

"They are offering competition for Apple, and that's good. Maybe users will come out ahead," Winer said.

Combining Silk with Kindle Fire will speed up browsing, said Michael Vorel, CEO of Vastplanet. Vorel already owns an iPad and wants to buy the Kindle Fire tablet.

"I never enjoyed reading on the iPad; I think [Kindle Fire] would fill in as a way to read books, but, number two, I really like the cloud integration," Vorel said. With the iPad, Vorel felt trapped with content on one tablet and having to use iTunes to sync. Amazon has said it will offer free cloud storage for Amazon content, and Vorel said he likes the idea of having content available anytime through the cloud.

But Vorel believes the two tablets can coexist. The iPad is "hands down" great for entertainment, Vorel said, and he would like his daughter to have the iPad on a trip. At the same time, Amazon's Kindle Fire will provide access to Amazon's cloud and video services, which is valuable, Vorel said.

Rick Mathieson, a noted writer and creative strategist, said at $199, the Kindle Fire might be a good purchase as a media consumption device for his family.

But as cool as the Kindle Fire might sound, he loves the iPad, and is keeping that for himself.

"I own an iPad 2 and nothing's going to replace that," Mathieson said.

The Kyocera Milano is Free at Tao Wireless

Sprint’s Kyocera Milano has been available for less than two weeks at this point, yet Tao Wireless is busy prepping the smartphone’s first ever price drop. Not that the Milano was expensive to begin with though. It launched with a price tag of $49.99 (with a new two-year contract naturally).

Today Tao Wireless will give you a brand new Kyocera Milano for free! Look around but you wont find a deal like this one. So if you like lower-midrange Android smartphones with physical side-sliding QWERTY keyboards, this one may just be for you. Get it now at Tao Wireless.

 

15 Free Mobile Phone Antivirus Software

Mobile devices that access the Internet and receive or send text messages are prone to virus and malware. Such smart-phones are infected by viruses while downloading and installing an application via internet. Mobile viruses can even spread to contacts that users have stored on their mobile phones. In enterprises, these viruses can pose a serious threat to the network and can contribute to loss of service and productivity. With the increasing spread of the MMS-transmitted CommWarrior and Bluetooth-based Cabir viruses many antivirus solution providers have launched antivirus solution. Below is the list of Antivirus softwares for mobile phone that are available for free.

Image Credit [Flickr]


1) NetQin Mobile Antivirus

NetQin Mobile Anti-virus is recommended by nokia.com and is the first Symbian platinum partner in China’s security field, along with the important partner of Windows Mobile in security area. NetQin Anti-virus supports almost all mobile phones across the world. Download NetQin Mobile Antivirus.

2) BitDefender Mobile Antivirus

It is designed to protect mobile devices against malware. BitDefender Mobile Antivirus works with Windows Mobile Pocket PC versions 2002 and higher, Windows Mobile Smartphone versions 2002 and higher, Symbian Series 60 and Series 80 Smartphone.

The product comes along with two independent modules:

1. BitDefender Mobile Antivirus:It runs on the mobile device
2. BitDefender Mobile Antivirus Update Module: It runs on the PC. This module installs and updates the BitDefender Mobile Antivirus on your mobile device.

Installation Instructions-

1. Download kit here
2. Install the kit on your PC. During the installation you will be prompted to select the type of mobile device that you own.

Install BitDefender Mobile Antivirus on your mobile device.

3) F-Secure

If you are having S60-based mobile device then F-Secure Mobile Anti-Virus(TM) is the perfect antivirus solution for you. It automatically scans all files in the background, both in the device and on the memory cards. When an infected file is detected it is immediately quarantined to protect all other data in the system. The antivirus database is updated invisibly in the background when connected to internet. Currently, there are three versions available, one for S60 1st Edition (Nokia 3650, 3660, 7650, etc), another one for S60 2nd Edition (Nokia 6600, 6630, 6680, N70, N90, etc), and the last one for S60 3rd Edition (Nokia N71, N80, E60, E61, E70, etc). Make sure that you download the correct version to secure your cellphone against viruses and malware.

5 Smart Mobile Security Tips

Security firms have long predicted that cybercriminals would focus efforts on smartphones and tablets. Well, this year that prediction might finally come true for mobile users.

The increasing importance of smartphones and tablets in the lives of consumers and workers has made the devices more attractive to attackers. In 2010, for example, more mobile devices--such as smartphones and tablets--were sold than PCs and laptops, according to Forrester Research.

Though the same general advice applies to securing a laptop as it does for a desktop, the ultra-mobility of smartphones and tablets has led to different threats and different recommendations for securing these smaller devices.
"The only way to truly, fully secure a smartphone is to protect the device, protect the data, and protect the apps on the device," says John Dasher, senior director of mobile security at security firm McAfee. "If you don't do all three, inherently, the device is not secure."
In a report on the malicious-software landscape for the second quarter of 2011, McAfee noted a continued increase in the amount of malware encountered by mobile users, with the Android platform becoming the most targeted for the first time.
With malware on the rise, and lost phones with sensitive data still the No. 1 issue, security experts offer five essential steps to protect popular mobile devices.
1. Lock the device. Lost and stolen devices continue to be the most serious threat for businesses and consumers.
On average, North American and European companies lose 11 smartphones every year, according to Forrester Research. Consumers and companies worried about the sensitive data on the phone should make an easy-to-type password their first line of defense, says Andrew Jaquith, the former Forrester analyst who authored the report and is now chief technology officer for Perimeter E-Security.
However, the password needs to be long enough so "you can pair it with an auto-destruct policy--fail eight times to enter the right password and it deletes the data on the phone--to be sure your data will be safe," says Jaquith.
If the phone can be remotely wiped using mobile-device management software or a similar service, then the auto-destruct policy can be more lenient, he says.
2. Avoid questionable apps. Almost every piece of malicious software that has infected a phone has been a Trojan horse. DroidDream, the most successful malicious app, infected a quarter million Android phones in March by posing as real applications.
Users should download apps only from trusted app stores and stick with the more popular apps, says Michael Sutton, vice president of research for cloud security firm Zscaler.
"Encourage people to install their apps through vetted platforms," he says. "Some are better vetted, such as Google's Android Marketplace and Amazon's and Verizon's app stores."
Although Google's store did offer DroidDream for a time, the software giant can automatically uninstall bad programs and clean up a user's phone.
Android users also can benefit from the wisdom of the crowds by downloading only apps that have a significant number of reviews and comments, says Neil Daswani, chief technology officer of Web anti-malware firm Dasient.
"Trojans don't get to the point where they rack up millions of users, so look at the comments left by the other users," he says.
3. Accept the patches. Similar to PCs, mobile phones need to be patched often to eliminate vulnerabilities found since the phone's release. The good news is that unlike security vulnerabilities in Android, which can take time to make their way to the phone, updates are done over the air. Users should always accept the updates, says Kevin Mahaffey, chief technology officer for mobile security firm Lookout.
"When you are prompted on Android, update," he says. "For iPhone users, it's a bit more complex. You need to plug in and update your apps."
Until Apple's iOS 5 arrives for iPhones, Apple users should synch their device regularly to get updates.
4. Back up your data. Mobile devices are easy to back up, a characteristic users should make the most of.
Users who back up regularly are less likely to lose data even if their company has a strict auto-destruct policy for lost or stolen phones, says Zscaler's Sutton.
"Now that there is over-the-air syncing and updates, it's really easy to restore your phone," he says. "If your phone gets taken or the data deleted, it takes 30 minutes and your phone is back to normal."
5. Stay safely behind bars. Finally, though some compelling reasons exist for consumers to jailbreak their phones, security experts advise users to just say no.
So much of a phone's security is tied to code signing and software sandboxing that jailbreaking a phone--removing the digital-rights management that locks it to a certain carrier--means significantly weakening the security of the device.
"When you look at what happens with the security of your phone, there are some pretty significant consequences from jailbreaking," says William Enck, an assistant professor at North Carolina State University who recently presented research into the Android platform at the USENIX Security Conference.
One step that users may do without: Installing antivirus software.
Many of the functions of antivirus software, such as blacklisting bad applications and giving the thumbs up to good applications is baked into the app market models, Enck says. Until antivirus companies offer more features than just blocking bad apps, consumers can risk not buying the software, he says.
"I don't think it's necessary yet, but I hold the right to change my mind," Enck says.

HTC Says the iPhone is Not Cool!

HTC has decided to thrown some mud in Apple’s direction, mocking their hugely popular line of smartphones. The boss of HTC America, Martin Fichter, has branded the iPhone as a device that is “not cool any more”, despite the 3GS and 4 being the best selling handsets in the US. With the iPhone 5 out in less than a month, will it need to stand out to render Fichter’s comments as merely trash talk?
Is the iPhone “uncool”? Absolutely not, the figures speak for themselves. The iPhone 5 is one of the most anticipated products to ever launch and sales are expected to go through the roof. We expect Apple’s 5th smartphone to be very cool indeed, so why is the HTC chief talking such rubbish? According to Mashable, Fichter undertook an informal survey on his daughter’s college friends and found out which mobile phones they had, the results seem to be the basis of his opinion.
The HTC boss claims that “none of them had an iPhone”, the reason being that it was because their dad had an iPhone. The classic theory of parents and their kids sharing the same interests being uncool looks to have come into play here. Fichter said that many of the students instead had HTC, Samsung and devices from a Chinese manufacturer, as a substitute for the iPhone. Have you opted against Apple’s mobile because your parents have one?

Nexus S 4G Phone For Sprint - Free

We are offering more and more free mobile phones everyday. Today you can get the Nexus S for free! The Nexus S 4G from Google for Sprint offers a pure Google experience. It will be the first phone to run Gingerbread, the latest version of Android yet. Paired with a 1GHz Hummingbird processor and 16GB of memory, the Nexus S 4G is one of the fastest phones on the market today. Another first for this smartphone is its contour display. Using a thin-profile glass panel it gives the Nexus S 4G a unique slim and trim form factor along with comfort in the palm of your hand. The Nexus S 4G comes pre-loaded with the best of Google apps and enabled with new and popular features like true multi-tasking, WiFi hotspot, Internet calling, NFC support, and full web browsing. With this device, you will be the first to receive software upgrades and new Google mobile apps as soon as they become available. Read the full details at Tao Wireless.

Tao Wireless

Tao Wireless have many new mobile phones for free. Go to WWW.taowireless.com