Best Buy working on its own Android tablet

By Jose Vilches, TechSpot.com
Published: August 9, 2010, 2:50 PM ESTA picture recently shared by Best Buy's chief technology officer and Geek Squad founder, Robert Stephens, suggests the company is working on a tablet to sell under its Rocketfish brand. Not much is known about the device yet other than the fact that it bears a striking resemblance to the HP Slate and it is expected to run Google's Android platform.

The idea to develop a tablet reportedly began with the intention to use it internally by Best Buy employees as a communications tool, but the concept matured into something that could be sold to consumers as well. The decision makes sense given how the retailer is getting ready to launch its own 4G mobile data service early next year. Although we can't say built-in 4G connectivity is on the cards, at the very least they can market it with a portable WiMAX hotspot.



View the Original article

Android hit with first Trojan, racks up charges via SMS

Kaspersky has reportedly discovered the first Trojan specifically aimed at Android-based handsets. Identified as Trojan-SMS.AndroidOS.FakePlayer.a, the malware is disguised as a harmless media player application and prompts users to install a seemingly standard .APK file that weighs just over 13KB. Once installed, the Trojan sends SMSs to premium rate numbers (those that charge) without the owner's knowledge, allowing the criminals to collect money from charges to the victim's account.

Kaspersky notes that the Trojan-SMS category is currently the most prevalent type of malware for cell phones, and the latest has already infected a number of devices. Although this is regarded as the first Trojan to target Google's mobile OS, the security firm notes that spyware first made its way to the platform last year.

It's expected that Android is attracting more attention from hackers, as the operating system has rapidly become one of the most used among smartphones. Kaspersky recommends that users keep an eye on what services applications request to access when being installed -- especially premium rate services that charge to send messages and calls.

#content .subnav li span a

View the Original article