By Satish |

Friday, February 26, 2010

• New Google Mobile App adds Voice Search support for iPod
• Microsoft to WinMo 6.5 devices: You want WinPho 7? You can't handle WinPho 7!
• Help, iPod jailbreaker, call the police!
• LG Arena made official at AT&T
• Should mobile phones be subject to warrantless police search?

New Google Mobile App adds Voice Search support for iPod Posted: 20 Feb 2010 02:57 AM PST Google has submitted a new version of its Google Mobile App for the iPhone platform (iTunes link), and the fresh app now finally boasts built-in support for Voice Search on iPod touch devices (2G or newer). Version 0.4.5.3281 also brings improved stability when using Voice Search on 'restrictive networks' and is also said to make Search by Voice completion detection function a bit better. Other than that, the update brings a number of bug fixes, one that fixes pasting into the search box and one that should prevent the app from crashing when you do a search for '@'. In case you're keeping count: Google Voice Search hit the iPhone mid-November 2008 and landed on Android at the beginning of February 2009.

Microsoft to WinMo 6.5 devices: You want WinPho 7? You can't handle WinPho 7! Posted: 19 Feb 2010 02:29 PM PST Earlier this week we told you guys that Windows Mobile 6.5 was going to stick around after Windows Phone 7 hits the masses. It would even take on a new name — Windows Phone Classic. With everyone sticking around and playing nice at this party, you'd think that maybe current WinMo 6.5 handsets might get a little Windows Phone 7 love. Sorry to burst your bubble. Microsoft Mobile Communications Business Director Aaron Woodman told CNET Asia, "I don't know if any Windows Mobile 6.5 device today meets those specifications." It sounds like your average Microsoft move: if you want the new software, you'll also have to get new hardware because your old junk just isn't gonna cut it, baby. The new handsets are getting primo parts such as Qualcomm's 1GHz Snapdragon processor (no Tegra, sorry). WinPho 7, being a fresh OS and more intensive than its predecessors, will undoubtedly need hardware resources that most 6.5 devices just don't have, but don't fret. Unlike everyone staying on Windows XP when Vista came out, upgrading to WinPho 7 out of WinMo 6.5 is definitely a move in the right direction. WinMo 6.5 is going to stick around for enterprise and developing countries, so unless you're tied to the OS for those reasons, I'm sure you wouldn't mind ditching your current 6.5 handset for a shiny new WinPho 7 device when it comes out.

Help, iPod jailbreaker, call the police! Posted: 19 Feb 2010 12:07 PM PST If you've jailbroken your iPhone or iPod touch with little to no regard for the law, maybe it's time you reconsider your evil ways. Apparently, jailbreaking your iDevice will get the cops on your back if you're not careful. Not knowing any better, a fellow who goes by the name of hotrod1964 (whom we shall call Mr. Hotrod henceforth) on Twitter says he made the mistake of walking into an Apple Store armed with a jailbroken iPod touch. According to Mr. Hotrod, after showing the iPod touch to an employee, insanity ensued. When he popped into the store to kill some time, he was apparently accosted by an Apple Store employee who was trying to get him to buy an iPhone. Good ol' Mr. Hotrod said he would "have no intention of paying for an iphone [sic] if apple [sic] is going to handcuff me." Bravo! Fight the Man! The word "handcuff" there might have triggered a chain of events because the next thing you know, the manager was accusing Mr. Hotrod of shenanigans! "I was informed you have an ILLEGAL iTouch," said the manager and ended up calling the police! When the cops finally arrived, they were luckily of the more sensible variety. The police told the Apple Store that no laws were being broken and there really was no reason for them to be there. Was this just an attempt by the evil corporation to confiscate a device which was being used in a matter not intended? Perhaps it was just a case of overreacting or incompetent employees? Maybe this story was all made up! What do you think?

LG Arena made official at AT&T Posted: 19 Feb 2010 11:11 AM PST Part of me feels like saying, "LG Arena! Last stop, AT&T!" After all, this handset has been announced well over a year ago and it's been available in other countries for quite some time. Of course, if you've been keeping up you'll know that Best Buy is getting the Arena very soon for a modest price with a contract. Need a reminder for the perks and features that come with this phone? The Arena is going to come packed with AT&T's Mobile TV, which includes ABC, Comedy Central, ESPN, NBC, MTV and a whole lot more. I suppose that's good news for you TV junkies. It's also capable of HSDPA 7.2Mbps, but that won't concern anyone for a while since AT&T's network can barey handle 1.5Mbps on speedy handsets like the iPhone 3GS. LG has slapped on its S-Class 3D user interface to make navigation a little prettier. It has a 3-inch WVGA display and it can shoot DVD quality videos. If you want to pick one up at AT&T, it's $199.99 with a two-year contract after a $50 mail-in-rebate. I say you just pick one up at Best Buy for $50 less without the hassle of rebates.

Should mobile phones be subject to warrantless police search? Posted: 19 Feb 2010 09:12 AM PST At what point do you consider something "unreasonable"? Let's say you're pulled over while speeding—do the police have the right to search your mobile phone? And let's say they do, and they find other verboten material on the phone? Should you also be on the hook for that, on top of your speeding ticket? It's a pretty important debate, and it's one that going on right now. A judge in San Mateo county, in California, is in the midst of a just such a case. A man there went to buy 30 BlackBerry phones, something that piqued the curiosity of the store clerk. The clerk called the police, and he was arrested on charges of felony identity fraud. His iPhone was confiscated, too, There's a case going on right now in California where a man was arrested at a store for felony identity fraud. His phone was later confiscated and searched by police without a warrant. There's really no law on the books that says police can or cannot search your phone during an arrest. Some people make the case, "Well, if the police can search you wallet, then why shouldn't they be able to search your phone?" What if you password protect the phone—do the police have the right to crack the password? I think the overall issue when you deal with the intersection of high technology (let's just consider your mobile phone to be "high technology") and law is that law simply hasn't evolved to the point where it adequately takes technology into account. Let's say there's a law that covers wire taps on phone lines—does that cover mobile phones? What about Skype, or instant messages? IRC? Message boards? Can a police officer sit outside a café while running something ettercap, capture you planning some sort of bank heist, then arrest you on the spot? I actually had this conversation with an Electronic Frontier Foundation senior staff attorney at CES. The gist is, yeah, law simply doesn't take into account of all the complexities of today's technology. Let's say you're brought to court by the one of the record labels, and you try to argue your case in front of a 70-year-old judge who wouldn't know the difference between "upload" and "download" if his life were on the line. It's going to take quite a while before people with more than a basic understanding of technology are sitting on courtroom benches.