Military wants advaced encryption for iOS and Android ASAP

The U.S. military is currently in the process of deploying smartphones within its ranks.
However, the Defense Department isn't skimping on security, as a serious lapse could place the lives of U.S. soldiers in danger.
As such, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has kicked off an initiative to develop new technology that supports full system and disk encryption for commercial smartphones.
Understandably, DARPA seems to be focusing its efforts on smartphone running Google’s Android and Apple’s IOS platforms - with encryption envisaged in the form of a custom pre-boot system that loads a secure version of the phone’s operating system.

In compliance with the federal security standard FIPS 140-2, DARPA has emphasized that any such system must - at the minimum - employ the AES-256 encryption algorithm.
To realize its encryption goal, DARPA has tapped universities and industry players to develop and submit a concept paper that details an innovative approach based on existing technology that can realistically be deployed within 90 days.

This is not the first announcement that points to the military’s interest in securing smartphones.
Just a few months ago, the US Air Force was weighing whether commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) smartphones
could be used to securely ransmit sensitive voice and data.

Virtual Zippo app hits Android!

I can remember when I was a kid and we would go to the movies, the Bic lighter commercial would come on and everyone would hold up their lighters and flick them. You can’t do that today, but if you are the sort that finds the need to flick a lighter and you don’t smoke Zippo has a new Android app for you called Virtual Zippo Lighter.


The app has been on the iPhone before and has been downloaded about 14 million times. The app is now on the Android Market and it is free. It is optimized for the Droid, Evo 4G, and HTC G2 according to Zippo. It’s doesn’t seem overly complex so I would think it will run on any Android device.
The app has 28 different designs that you can put on your virtual lighter. As you move your Android device around the flam will move with you and when you blow on your phone the flame will go out. It’s an interesting app, even if it has no real purpose.

Windows Phone 7 Coming Of Age, Skype, Angry Birds, Spotify On The Way

The introduction of multitasking and background processes to Windows Phone 7 in the upcoming ‘Mango‘ update have clearly caught the eye of some big players in the mobile app space, with some new apps being announced today by Microsoft.

The big announcement is the impending release of the platform’s first Angry Birds title with a drop-date of May 25th. Already a huge hit with Android and iOS users, Angry Birds coming to Windows Phone 7 goes some way to legitimizing the handsets in a market where phones can live or die by their apps. Regular users know the brand, and judging by sales numbers they seem to like it!
Also announced were new WP7 apps from Skype, Spotify and Layer with the multitasking enhancements of ‘Mango’ sure to have been key in the decision for the respective companies to bring their apps to the platform.
Microsoft’s Joe Belfiore said:

“We will soon deliver a new set of Windows Phone Developer Tools that will enable developers to create a new generation of apps that are even faster, more capable and better integrated with Windows Phone.”

With updates bringing features such as multitasking and copy & paste to Windows Phone 7 it’s clear Microsoft has listened to the complaints of users and pundits alike. Bringing their OS up to the high standards already set by Android and iOS must be Microsoft’s main priority along with getting key apps to its Marketplace.

Android Provides More Eyeballs to Advertisers, While iPhone Offers Most Revenue to App Creators, Study Finds!

There are many ways of measuring smartphone success and, using almost any metric shows both the iPhone and Android doing pretty darn well.
That said, new numbers from Millennial Media offer up an interesting take–just how are the smartphone leaders doing in terms of making money for others. The report looks at both how many ads are being viewed on various devices as well as how much app revenue is being generated via the various smartphone operating systems.

In terms of advertising impressions, Android is the clear leader, with devices running that operating system accounting for nearly half of all ad impressions shown last month. Measured on that basis, 14 of the top 20 devices run Android, though the iPhone still tops the list and the BlackBerry Curve is the second most common phone model.
However, in terms of app revenue by platform, the numbers are largely reversed, with iOS apps generating 47 percent of revenue, as compared to 36 percent of revenue generated by Android apps. BlackBerry apps accounted for 7 percent of sales, while WebOS, Windows Phone, Symbian and other operating systems combined for just 10 percent of app revenue.
The report is chock full of other interesting stats as well.
For example, non-phone devices such as the iPad, iPod Touch and Galaxy Tab are seeing strong ad growth as well. The number of ads seen on such devices grew 21 percent month-over-month and such devices now make up 17 percent of the total mobile ad market, as compared to 64 percent for smartphones and 19 percent for feature phones.
The iPhone, meanwhile, saw its number of ad impressions grow 17 percent from a month earlier, amid adoption of the Verizon iPhone, which now accounts for 8.2 percent of ads shown to iPhones.
The report also breaks out ad impressions based on the type of phone. On that basis, 59 percent of ads were viewed on touch-screen only devices, 17 percent on models with both a keyboard and touchscreen, 13 percent on phones with a keyboard but no touchscreen and 11 percent on those sad, little phones that have only a traditional phone keypad.