Nokia E6-00 gets turned on in spy shots showing new Symbian UI

Mobile Phones

The Nokia E6-00 may struggle to get people excited, given Nokia's decision to start making Windows Phones in the not-too-distant future. Still, it's exciting enough to get its own spy-shot on a blog in Northern Cyprus -- not a sentence we find ourselves writing often -- which shows off its touchscreen and Qwerty keyboard combo.
The E6-00 appears to be a successor to Nokia's E72, with a focus on messaging thanks to that physical keyboard. Previously leaked specs suggest it will have a 640x480-pixel VGA display, HSDPA and Wi-Fi connectivity and an 8-megapixel camera.
Mobilesguruji has the new spy shot, which shows the E6-00 running the latest version of Symbian, with four dots at the bottom of the screen indicating the ability to swipe between homescreens.
Although it's impossible to tell from just one shot, the phone looks pretty final, which could mean an announcement soon. Previous leaked photos have shown the E6-00, but the latest shot is the first to actually have it turned on.
Nokia didn't unveil any new phones at Mobile World Congress this year, to keep the attention on that Microsoft deal. Several other companies have shown off Qwerty candybar phones in the last month though, including the HTC ChaCha, INQ Cloud Q and Samsung Galaxy Pro.
You might wonder whether buying a new Symbian phone is a good idea, if Nokia is winding the OS down ready for its first Windows Phones later this year (or early next, if some rumours are to be believed).
It's a fair question, but at MWC Nokia was keen to stress that it's not abandoning Symbian. At the Microsoft announcement, Nokia's statement talked about Symbian becoming "a franchise platform, leveraging previous investments to harvest additional value" -- yes, dreadful corporatespeak -- while promising to sell 150 million more devices before the OS is laid to rest.

Mobile Proximity Marketing launched in Malta

Innovative Solutions Ltd, a subsidiary of Mailbox Services Group has launched Mobile Proximity Marketing on the local market - a new marketing platform that allows the wireless distribution of advertising content through a localised broadcast, targeted to mobile phone devices in a particular area.

The technology of Mobile Proximity Marketing (also known as location-to-mobile) allows brands and content owners to reach mobile phone users through devices that use localised wireless connections like Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and NFC. This kind of content enables new communication channels with mobile phone users that go beyond any traditional or digital media.

“Mobile proximity marketing is the latest innovation in intelligent marketing,” said Keith Abela, Group Marketing Manager at Innovative Solutions. “Mobile Proximity Marketing technology enables interaction between brands and consumers, allowing brands to send advertising content to potential customers in the right place and at the right time.” Mr. Abela emphasized that the technology behind Mobile Proximity Marketing, is invaluable for marketing professionals because the system’s advanced reporting allows measurement and assessment of the success of marketing campaigns in real-time.

During Innovative Solution’s recent business presentation, Mr Ray Grech, Chairperson of the International Advertising Association Malta Chapter said that “Innovation and Creativity are primarily driven by technology and mobile proximity marketing is a prime example of this”.

Sales Manager Chris Briffa explained how the technology behind Mobile Proximity Marketing works. “The hardware system is installed at various points in the targeted location and advertising content is managed from the office using campaign management software. Content messages are sent through the system via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi to all mobiles in the area and customers receive the content on their mobile phones within seconds”.

A wide variety of content can be transmitted through proximity marketing via a system that can be installed in a wide range of locations ranging from airports, hotels, bus stages to buses, heritage sites, supermarkets, shopping malls, bars, cinema theatres and event locations. Products, services or events can be advertised by sending images, videos, animation, product catalogues or games. Discount coupons and vouchers can also be sent whilst the customer is in a store, and which can then be redeemed at cash points. The system can also send instant prizes through a text message to mobile phones in a localised area.

Innovative Solutions backed by Futurlink, the Spanish IT company behind the technology, has already installed mobile proximity marketing systems at Pavi, Smart, The Point and Vodafone’s Valletta branch and mobile kiosk. The system is being used with success as a new advertising platform to induce impulse buying within these heavily frequented shopping areas. The power of this medium lies in the fact that advertising reaches directly the right segment and decision maker at point of sale bridging potential distortion between traditional advertising visible elsewhere and the purchase decision at point of sale.

Mr Joe Cuschieri, Head of Commercial Operations at Vodafone Malta, gave praise to the technology being introduced by Innovative Solutions and said the solution provided to Vodafone was proving very effective. Vodafone had seen more walk-ins at their shop in Valletta during last December and their customers were able to receive their Christmas promotional messages on their own mobile phone.

Check Point Sharpens Focus On Software 'Blades'

The idea of being prepared for anything is working out for Check Point Software Technologies (CHKP),  a security vendor that has delivered double-digit earnings and sales growth the past seven quarters.
The company, which is in the latest IBD 50 ranking of top stocks, sells clients a way to centrally manage their network security, yet only buy what they need for the moment — and then scale up and/or purchase additional features.
Known for methodical execution on strategy, a big cash cushion and a cautious approach to acquisitions, Check Point sports an operating profit margin of more than 50%. That's far and away the highest of IBD's 17-company Computer Software-Security industry group.

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Programmer Gil Shwed co-founded the company in 1993 with two others after serving in the Israeli military, where he linked top-secret computer networks. The software firewall he invented made Check Point a big player in network security.
Shwed recently spoke with IBD about the approach Check Point is taking. It involves selling what the company calls software "blades" that do different functions such as network policy management, virus prevention, data loss prevention and mobile protection. Check Point describes each blade as a "logical security building block." Companies can install these building blocks onto their own servers or onto an appliance they buy from the company.
IBD: How is the blade approach helping Check Point?
Shwed: We're selling broader solutions with more blades, and each customer becomes a larger customer. For customers, the cost of implementing a solution with our bladed architecture can in many cases be 90% lower than a stand-alone product. A large company will need multiple blades. Each blade costs a few thousand dollars. It can amount to around a few tens of thousands when a stand-alone deal would've been hundreds of thousands.
Beyond the products and the strategy, the U.S. economy has been pretty good in the past year. In some parts of the world we had a very good focus on large accounts, and that helped.
I think we've given pretty good guidance (for 2011): 10% or slightly more growth. (Revenue rose 19% last year and earnings per share 21%.)
It's a balanced sort of projection. On one hand I think there's definitely potential for more — and the future always has a lot of unknowns coming out of a strong year. You'd say yes, we want to continue that momentum. On the other hand, you say maybe that won't happen.

It's All About Simple: RoboRSVP Launches New Scheduling Software

It's All About Simple: RoboRSVP Launches New Scheduling Software RoboRSVP.com releases new software enabling course/class scheduling and event management. While there are many solutions in the marketplace, RoboRSVP offers simplicity and tracks results for a significantly lower price than the competition. Wichita, KS, March 13, 2011 --(PR.com)-- Sometimes the best solutions are based on need. RoboRSVP.com is a new web software application offering users a 30 day free trial period after creating an account on the website. While the basic concept is several thousand years old, the new application provides speed and flexibility to an age-old problem. "We looked around on the market and realized there were a lot of solutions, but they were more than people wanted to spend and didn't offer the functionality many of our clients needed," said Ben Voth, Lead Developer at RoboRSVP.com. RoboRSVP is module-based and is available inclusively as a subscription-based service for $29 per month for the initial calendar operator. Additional administrators for the account can be added for a mere $5 per admin. Regardless of the number of events or people signing up, the price remains unchanged. Get Paid Easily, Retain More Revenue and Respondents In addition to the functionality of the software, RoboRSVP.com provides a straightforward deposit/class registration module allowing people to make payments through the calendar directly to the calender administrator or recipient identified by the admin. There are no fees charged by RoboRSVP.com for this functionality, making roborsvp.com truly unique in the marketplace. "We reviewed numerous sites and realized we wanted a flat-fee pricing model where there were no additional fees for use, because we would prefer to have thousands of users as opposed to a few hundred paying far too much in fees," commented Nathan Williams, President of RoboRSVP. Online Scheduling = Functionality Plus Simplicity RoboRSVP provides detailed reports pertaining to registered attendees, those that haven't responded, and also allows the calendar administrator to control autoreminders and more. The Class Module is designed to allow for as few or as many spaces available for a given class session. Recurring sessions are easy to configure; includes monthly calendar views, optional instructor bios and requirements for the course. Optional items also include overflow “wait list” tools, automated reminders/confirmation requests and more. The event module is perfect for weddings and event planners. Send them to your website to confirm they will be attending. No need to rely on snailmail for your wedding, and with the fully-functional features of the RSVP tool, you will have the ability to send email updates to everyone if things change. RoboRSVP.com is a privately held company offering class scheduling, event management and scheduling solutions for businesses. For more information, please visit: http://roboRSVP.com. ###

With hacking, music can take control of your car

IDG News Service - About 300 years ago, the English playwright William Congreve wrote, "music has charms to soothe a savage breast, to soften rocks, or bend a knotted oak." This week we learned that it can also help hackers break into your car.

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego, and the University of Washington have spent the past two years combing through the myriad computer systems in late-model cars, looking for security flaws and developing ways to misuse them. In a new paper, they say they've identified a handful of ways a hacker could break into a car, including attacks over the car's Bluetooth and cellular network systems, or through malicious software in the diagnostic tools used in automotive repair shops.
But their most interesting attack focused on the car stereo. By adding extra code to a digital music file, they were able to turn a song burned to CD into a Trojan horse. When played on the car's stereo, this song could alter the firmware of the car's stereo system, giving attackers an entry point to change other components on the car. This type of attack could be spread on file-sharing networks without arousing suspicion, they believe. "It's hard to think of something more innocuous than a song," said Stefan Savage, a professor at the University of California.
Last year Savage and his fellow researchers described the inner workings of the networks of components found in today's cars, and they described a 2009 experiment in which they were able to kill the engine, lock the doors, turn off the brakes and falsify speedometer readings on a late-model car.
In that experiment, they had to plug a laptop into the car's internal diagnostic system in order to install their malicious code. In this latest paper, the objective was to find a way to break into the car remotely. "This paper is really about how challenging is it to gain that access from the outside," Savage said.
They found lots of ways to break in. In fact, attacks over Bluetooth, the cellular network, malicious music files and via the diagnostic tools used in dealerships were all possible, if difficult to pull off, Savage said. "The easiest way remains what we did in our first paper: Plug into the car and do it," he said.
But the research shows how completely new types of automotive attacks could be on the horizon. For example, thieves could instruct cars to unlock their doors and report their GPS coordinates and Vehicle Identification Numbers to a central server. "An enterprising thief might stop stealing cars himself, and instead sell his capabilities as a service to other thieves," Savage said. A thief looking for certain kinds of cars in a given area could ask to have them identified and unlocked, he said.

iMovie for original iPad hack discovered

While the iPad 2 is undoubtedly a slick piece of hardware the real magic is in the software, and apps like iMovie for iPad do a great job of demonstrating that. Unfortunately, Apple has decided that first-gen iPad owners can’t share in the iMovie goodness, which is a red-rag to the iOS hacking community. They’ve come up with a method to install iMovie on the original iPad, though right now it’s not entirely polished.



You’ll need the newest version of the iPhone Configuration Utility (available for Mac and Windows) and then to install iMovie manually from the Applications menu on the left hand side. Click to open iMovie first, then hook up your iPad and hit install. First impressions are apparently that, despite having a single-core Apple A4 processor and half the RAM, the original iPad still does a decent job at running the software.
Unfortunately, iTunes isn’t keen on you keeping iMovie on the slate, and will do everything it can to get rid of it. Try to sync your iPad subsequently and you’ll get an error message saying your computer isn’t authorized for apps on the tablet. Clicking “Authorize” simply brings up the error message again, clicking “Don’t Authorize” deletes iMovie and clicking “Cancel” leaves things as they are, until you want to install a new app. Then you get the same problem again. We’re guessing an unofficial fix is being fathomed now.

Google Chrome and Android OS Come Strong at Pwn2Own Hacking Contest

Google Chrome came out strong at this year’s Pwn2Own hacking contest, as well as the software stack Android OS for mobile devices, which withstood hack attacks while Safari, Microsoft Internet Explorer 8 and Apple iPhone 4 fell in the Web browsers category, and  Apple’s iPhone 4 and RIM’s BlackBerry Torch 9800 faltered in the smartphones category.

Held annually, Pwn2Own is a computer hacking contest at the annual CanSecWest security conference, where security experts and hackers try to hack their way into certain devices.



Prior to the competition, Apple and Google were able to release updates on their respective Web browsers; however, despite the last minute update, Safari fell first, and closely followed by Microsoft’s Internet Explorer 8, which did not receive any sort of update before the contest.


Attempts to exploit Google’s Chrome install on a Cr-48 Chrome OS notebook did not push through.



TippingPoint, the contest sponsor, produces a report to an applicable vendor, providing detailed information on the vulnerability and exploitation, which revealed that in the smartphone category iPhone 4 and BlackBerry Torch 9800 faltered in the hands of hackers while Android and Windows Phone 7 remained strong.