New Windows Mobile Security Apps Available on APPcraft

Three new security apps has just been added to Appcraft’s software download site in the category Windows Mobile and Pocket PC. These software solutions are aimed to protect SMS files, photo files and documents on smart phones.

One of this new apps is titled “WMkits SMS Encryption“, a text messages encryption software, developed for smart phones which running on Windows Mobile or Pocket PC operating systems. This tool allows to hide and encrypt existing SMS in the file folders and can do the same task in future incoming SMS and outgoing SMS in real time as well.

The other two new added apps are called “WMkits Photo Encryption” and “WMkits File Encryption“. Both software tools can be used either to decrypt photos of common formats or documents such as Text file, Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, XML and PDF documents. The files are search-able on the phone and a AES 128-bit encryption technology are included in order to ensure users data safe.

Appcraft.org Launches New iPhone Friendly Site

The team of AppCraft launched a new web site optimized for iPhone and iPod Touch devices, offering the ability to browse for news from Mobile Magazine, view blog posts, browsing the application catalog, to getting access of exclusive coupons. The site is specially designed for iPhone and iPod Touch, and makes use of the rotating screen and touch navigation. Mobile devices with related screen size and internet connection should be able to browsing this site in good style also.

Appcraft CEO Wolfgang Schmuck says “that mobile e-commerce is becoming a multi-billion dollar business by reason that consumers are rapidly adopting mobile shopping as a way to buy physical and digital goods”.

Developed and coded by WebinCode Studio, the WordPress based site has a handy design and allows Visitors to finding links to download-able software, mobility news, coupons to getting apps cheaper or they can try the search engine tool from the menu also.

This mobile website version of Appcraft also allows for RSS feeds to be viewed as links, giving greater access and functionality to mobile browsers, and tying in nicely with their latest RSS feed for mobile site discovery. Along with a site updating and a new running tab of the number of mobile friendly sites they’ve indexed it looks like very professional.

Appcraft’s main business is to offer digital software downloads and information for mobile and desktop computers, as well as free downloads and software purchase powered by RegNow! and eSellerate, supported by e-commerce partners which are specialize to help customers in providing quick and easy electronic purchase transactions.

With smart phone sales up near by 50% in the first quarter of 2010, never before has it been so easy to browse the internet on the go, anywhere, anytime from the palm of your hand. For more information about this mobile-friendly version, interested individuals are invited to visit the web site m.appcraft.org.

The History of The Smartphone

From Don Robers: Top mobile phone moguls' state that there is no precise definition of a smartphone and agree that with the industry developing so fast, what we call a smartphone now may be very different in a year's time.

In 1992 IBM produced arguably the first ever smartphone. As a blue sky campaign they created Simon, a concept product exhibited at the Las Vegas trade show Comdex. Simon pre-emanated every Blackberry, iPhone and Android you see now, by boasting a plethora of features including email, fax, world clock, calendar, calculator, address book and even a touch screen. However it did, rather unfashionably resemble a brick.

The next attempt was in 1996 by Nokia with their mobile device called the Communicator. Other than sounding like a bad 80s sci-fi villain, the Nokia Communicator 9210 model was the first smartphone with an open operating system. Unfortunately the astronomically expensive price bracket alienated the majority of the general public who were limited by their more modest salaries. After this the idea of third party applications was introduced, when in 2001 Handspring released the Palm OS
Treo which also featured wireless web browsing, email and contact organiser.

A year later the company Research in Motion launched the original Blackberry and it was at this point that the smartphone reached a wider market. It was still confined to business executives that wanted to take their office everywhere with them, however for the first time there was a mobile device that was optimised for wireless email use and it was this model that set the trend for the rest of the smartphones.

In 2007 Apple released the iPhone, with its intuitive touch screen this was the device that revolutionised mobile web browsing. It was easy to use, enjoyable to navigate with and looked far sexier than all its predecessors. In 2008 the Apple application store was launched for both fee and free apps downloadable to your iPhone handset. Now the store has more than 50,000 applications and well over 1 billion downloads.

Following in Apples popular footsteps all other major smartphone providers will be opening their own app stores, so expect lots from Microsoft, Nokia and Palm. Research in Motion recently opened its first app store called the Blackberry App World. Whether these do as well as Apple is yet to be seen, but with the high level of competition between the major players, we can look forward to some exciting smartphone innovation in the coming years.

Palm Pixi Plus - The incredible handset of era

Palm Pixi Plus is not only a marvelous integration of HTML web browsing, entertainment and social networking but also multiple messaging from text, multimedia to Google Talk, AIM etc. This compact mobile phone measures 111 x 55 x 10.85 mm and weighs 92.5 grams. This efficient handset's operating system is Palm webOS. It grandly avails dual network of Verizon wireless and AT&T. This mobile phone incorporates a 2.63 inches sub-HVGA display offering 18-bit colour and 320 x 400 resolution. This device has a powerful internal memory of 8GB and 7GB is spectacularly included. It uniquely provides built-in GPS.

Palm Pixi Plus is sported with innumerable apps; Facebook, Yelp, AP Mobile, The New York Times and the irresistible 3D games. In this handset, dates of user's important events get automatically booked in its effective calendar and the contact details of user's favourite spots can be instantly included to the address book of this mobile phone. Moreover, this device offers an easy customization of the email inbox. It covers Microsoft Exchange email, Direct Push Technology, POP3 and IMAP. It has 2 MP camera with LED flash and geotagging. It also equipped with accelerometer, proximity sensors. This handset on one side turns into camera app. and camera and on the other side it becomes a perfect video camera. The user can simply edit photographs as per his or her choice.

Palm Pixi Plus delivers the utmost possible music files. The music files can be invariably copied from computer. Furthermore, there is Amazon MP3 App. The songs of which are DRM-free that means they can be shared with other devices of the user. Videos can be watched on You Tube. The headset avails hands free talk with Bluetooth or wireless technology version 2.1. In addition, Wi-Fi offers ultrafast wireless connectivity speed. Google Maps will pinpoint the location. Handset can be highly converted into Wi-Fi spot with EDR and stereo. This incomparable handset which is compatible with Palm Touchstone Charging Dock is available only in black colour.

About the Author: Lucy Brightly is a content writer and writes about latest gadgets. For information on latest Palm Pixi and mobile phone reviews, you can go to leading online shops.

Palm Pre Smart Phone and WebOS Operating System

With the blessing of the incessant developments in the information and communications technology, most dramatic changes are observed in cellular phone industry. Every now and then, newer cell phones are being introduced in the consumer market packed with useful and functional features. Smart phones are such phones with a host of features and functionality much more than a standard cell phone.

Amongst many of the smart phone brands and models, Palm Inc.’s Palm Pre smart phone stands out unique with some amazing features. It is not just a phone but a versatile communications and entertainment tool all by itself. The elegant design with full QWERTY keyboard and touchscreen gives it an edge over other high quality smart phone brands. Palm Pre smart phone features an efficient multitasking environment which allows you to alternate amongst a number of active screens of schedules, notifications, business e-mail, social networking, maps etc. Signing up with MS Exchange with Microsoft or POP/IMAP access with Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, AOL etc allows you to have up to date E-mail notifications and send replies instantly. The efficient contact and calendar management together with various compatible 3rd-party web applications make your daily tasks a lot easier. You can have your Gmail, Facebook, MS Exchange contacts and calendars arranged in one plain view with automatic update function. Palm Pre works on CDMA2000 (Dual Band) and EVDO (3G) networks.

In-built GPS allows you to use Palm Pre as an effective navigation device. A 3-megapixel camera, accelerometer, ambient light and proximity sensor allows you to have excellent pictures, play 3D games etc. Palm Pre supports almost all popular video and audio file formats which let you use it as an excellent entertainment and media device too. High memory capacity of 8 GB and connectivity to 802.11b/g wireless networks with high end security systems are what make Palm Pre a better choice amongst a number of comparable devices.

Palm Pre operates on it own Palm WebOS operating system platform. Navigation through multi-touch gestures and highly sensitive touchscreen is fast and convenient. Zooming, opening or closing application screens are as easy as tapping on the screen with usual human gestures. Live notifications (e-mails, alarms, reminders etc) flash on the screen as they appear and are stored at the bottom of the screen. You can never miss an important event. The WebOS universal search feature allows you to search for files, folders, media, text or phrases primarily from the phone and then from the web from resources like Wikipedia, Twitter, Facebook or Google Search/Maps. The WebOS also integrates a host of 3rd-party compatible Palm OS web applications to make your smart phone even more powerful. WebOS supports also Palm OS apps emulation to help make the transition from Palm OS to webOS smooth and comfortable

For all these quality features of the phone together with those of its operating system, Palm Pre is an excellent choice for smart people

Video Converter Software

Video converter software is developed to encode video files from one format to another. This software is very helpful for computer user who watches videos on regular basis. There are counter number of formats available but there compatibility with computer is not certain video converter helps to eliminate these problems.

Video converter has user friendly interface with simple procedures so that normal computer user can convert all types of video files effortlessly. Common Input files formats are WMV, IFO, RM, AVI, RMBV, MPG, 3GP, VOB, ASF etc. These input files are then converted into compatible output files like WMV, SWF, FLV, MKV, WAVE, M4A, OGG, WMA, AVI, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPG etc.

There are various key functions of video converter like it also helps in trimming to convert required part of the original video, it also merge different video clips into one single video, it also consist batch converter with this makes multiple video conversion becomes fast, video converter has completely customizable video parameters. Video converter enables batch file conversion fast and simple. Batch list of different formats is selected and then converted to required single format. Converted files are saved into pre-decided folder leaving original files untouched.

High definition video converter is well equipped advance technology. It converts all general videos like WMV, M2TS video etc to HD AVI, H.264/AVC, HD Quick time, HD WMV, HD MPEG2 TS etc. it can also create video from collection of photos. HD video converter enables output on Apple TV, iPod, Xbox, Ps3 and on almost all portable multimedia devices. HD video converter is very user friendly user can adjust various parameters like sample rate, frame rate, bit rate etc as per requirement. HD video converter auto detects CPU and also support multi -core CPU giving high conversion speed. It not only converts video into video formats but also caters conversion of video and audio into other audio formats and also CD decoding. System requirement for HD video converter are operating system should be windows XP, windows vista and windows 7, processor should be 1GHZintel /AMD processor or above, free space on hard disk for installation should be 100 MB, graphics card needs to be super VGA (800x600) resolution, 16 bit graphic card or higher.

HD Video converter is a popular utility which has satisfied million users catering all their needs. HD video converter is rare combination of speed, power, and simplicity, versatility with straight forward and flawless interface.

Soduku Game and Ringtone Maker Software for Blackberry Smartphone

When you are alone, with no company, while you are at the restaurant waiting for your friend to arrive, or while you are riding a bus on a trip, these are times when you will really get bored. You have no one to chat with, and the clock seems to be taking its time while ticking. You have nothing to do since you haven’t brought any paper with you to read, or any other thing to keep you entertained. But wait, there’s this one little thingy in your pocket that you bring with you all the time – your Blackberry Smartphone. However, you have mastered all your games in there, there’s no WiFi in your location, and you have forgotten your earphones. You will really be bored this time.

Theirs is a wonderful game that has plagued the newspapers, magazines and books lately. This is Sudoku. It’s a Japanese number puzzle that has piqued the interest of a lot of people. It has been gaining popularity since then, and even social networks have their own share of games like this. To keep your mind sharp, why not install one in your Blackberry? It will not just keep you occupied, but it would also make you think. When playing, you will not even notice the time that has passed since you were so caught up in the game.

When shopping for a Sudoku game for Blackberry, there are a lot of options that you can choose from. RealDice’s Sudoku Pack would be the best product that you need for your Blackberry. It has more than 100,000 Sudoku tables along with thousands of unique grids. There are four difficulty levels that goes from easy to extreme. It has a pencil marks support where you can switch between pencil notation and number entry. It has three different skins, so you won’t get bored of the view on your screen. There is an undo feature that you can use when you feel like the one you previously entered is wrong. And lastly, you can save your game and then continue later when you have time. This certainly is great for your phone, and it would be your best company when you are all by yourself.

Feeling bold with creating your own ringtone? You can do so when you have the time, especially when you’re alone so that you can really concentrate. But, you cannot do this on your Blackberry without a software. Surely there are lot of softwares available out there but the thing is, you have to choose the best one with the most appealing features. Xilisoft Blackberry Ringtone Maker would be the perfect one for that. This can convert MP3, WMA, WAV, RA, M4A, and other files into Blackberry ringtone, in MP3 format, and then transfer the converted files into your Blackberry smartphone immediately. You can also cut down any cut down any music video fragment and then put it as your ringtone. It also allows you to customize unique ringtone durations, and then synchronize the converted MP3 ringtone to your Blackberry mobile phone memory.

With the RealDice’s Sudoku Pack and the Xilisoft BlackBerry Ringtone Maker installed in your Blackberry, you are sure to never have a bored day. These two enjoyable things will surely keep you working when you are not doing anything.

Design and Deploy your own iPhone and iPad Application

Finally, you have that phone-sized or pad sized gadget where you can browse the internet on hours, play music or watch videos wherever you are, take pictures anytime and share all of these whenever you want. Your new toy is as lovely as its manufacturer has promised with its multi-touch screen, downloading ability that is faster than a personal computer and automatic switch of view from portrait to landscape depending on how you handle it. But, while exploring the widgets installed, don’t you wish to personalize it more by designing and deploying your own application?

There is of course the choice of paying iPhone or iPad application programmers to do the job as you specify. You just have to be financially prepared as this entails paying thousands of dollars that many would probably choose to buy ready-made applications rather than customizing their own. Appcraft.org is a website that offers a wide variety of downloadable applications. Each product has reviews which may serve as your guide if the app will be beneficial to you or not.

Anyway, it may seem that to design and deploy your own application is possible only in your dreams especially if you are not versed with SQLite database and other programming-related software, let alone know how to use them. However, this is not just a dream anymore with AppWizard. This is a website distinguished as an iPad and iPhone app creator. It allows its users to build their dream application then modify it as needed 24-hours a day,7 days a week. The site does not leave their clients to discover the simple way of creating their own app. It will assist with every step of the designing process from the colors you will use to the name and icon you prefer. It even provides the choice to develop applications entirely from scratch or turn a regular website into an iPhone app. Note that the iPhone apps you created through this wizard is compatible to your iPad as iPhone apps or you can open them through iPad Safari.

Moreover, AppWizard will not leave you after perfecting your application. It will let you install your app and make sure it runs just the way you like it, or deploy it in technical terms. It will host your app and monitor it with its dedicated server. AppWizard will also assist you in launching your work in AppStore using their Apple Account or you could pay an additional fee for it to be published in your very own Apple Account. Whether your work will be available for free or with a free depends on you.

Using this iPhone app creator is as easy as click, drag and drop with a minimal price that is incomparable to hiring programmer firms. Another reason for this choice is that it allows clients to subscribe for the creation only or up until they want to. Long term users though are free to edit their products as they wish.
So what are you waiting for? Subscribe now and get started creating that dream app then publish it in AppStore in a matter of minutes. With the newest iPhone version being talked to come out this summer and the AppWizard iPad Edition available soon, creating your own app will let you enjoy your iPhone and iPad experience better.

IPhone Ringtone Maker: Free Ringtones For Life

Everyone likes getting new ring tones for their iPhone. It's even more fun when the ringtones are free. These can be hard to come by, especially for very popular songs that are currently played on radio stations. Investing in an iPhone ringtone maker can be an alternative to paying for every ringtone that is acquired. This is cheap software that can be purchased for any computer.

Once this computer software has been installed on the computer, most audio and video formats can be converted into a ringtone. Mainstream formats that can be converted included: WAV RA, MP3, MPEG, AVI, 3GP, WMA, and DivX, just to name some of them. The software used to make these conversions can be conveniently downloaded from online sources.

Being able to download the software and use it right away means that there's no waiting period at all. Ringtones can be obtained in a matter of minutes. Depending on how large the music collection is that these conversions are being made from, the number of ringtones available can be virtually limitless.

The iPhone converts formats to the M4R file that it is able to use for ringtones. Most ringtone making software allows for files to be directly uploaded to the iPhone and even fade in and out effects can be added to the ringtone. To make sure that it sounds the way it is supposed to, the new ringtone can be listened to before it is uploaded.

People often think of using only songs for making ringtones, but videos are also able to be converted into ringtones. There is a drag and drop feature that can be used on any type of format that is going to be made into a ringtone for the iPhone. After the selection has been made, the volume level can be adjusted and a name can be given to the new ringtone.

Additional features that some ringtone making software is capable of include; making a personal widget, integrating ringtones with online social networks, and creating ringtones directly from YouTube.

Each iPhone ringtone maker is a bit different. It's best to check each type of software out and see which one has the features you are looking for. The price ranges also vary, but most are very reasonably priced, especially when you consider how much each individual ringtone would have cost. Another important thing to remember is to make sure it will work on your current computer you will be downloading it on.

Want to get new ring tones for your iPhone? You need the iPhone ringtone maker! Get the inside scoop on this great device now on http://iphone.appcraft.org

Mobile Search With Bing

Bing is now available for mobile devices, brings directions, interactive maps, traffic conditions, restaurant reviews, and even flight information to your fingertips! Ready to give it a try? Download it directly from your phone by visiting the Bing for mobile web site (m.bing.com/download). Simply enter your number into the space provided, and Bing send you the link in a text message...or visit m.bing.com with your internet ready mobile device and set as your homepage.

Creepy Looking Five Finger Footgloove

Software Deathmatch - iPhone v Pre

Rik Myslewski, tells you which one you should buy, here is a abstract from his report:
In comparison with software: Before we dig into how software - both apps and OS - is the true distinguishing aspect between the two phones, one overarching caveat: Palm's webOS, although Linux-based, is a whole new ballgame, while the iPhone's OS is not only already on version 3.0, but is also a subset of Mac OS X.

In other words, you should cut webOS a bit of slack for being a version 1.0 (well, 1.03 and 1.04 in our testing), while also assuming that iPhone Software 3.0 is rather set in its ways and may very well not have any major surprises up its sleeve in future versions.

Which, if true, is too bad, because Apple has a few things to learn from Palm when it comes to software.

Multitasking: The Pre's webOS is a full-fledged multitasking OS. With the exception of such niceties as the iPod app's background operation and push notification, the iPhone is a one-app-at-a-time device.

webOS uses a card metaphor to let you move among different apps that are running on the Pre - when you choose to minimize an app, its display shrinks to about one-third size and moves off to the left when you open a new app.

Most apps, even when minimized, remain alive. Rotation still affects minimized photos and web pages, for example, although videos stop running in the background and web pages stop loading.

Of course, loading up a lot of apps into the background eats up both RAM and processing power, but in my testing, the Pre was more efficient at handling multiple apps than I feared. I could easily launch a half dozen apps without a noticeable slowdown, and with a dozen up and running things were a bit jumpy, though tolerable

Multiple iterations of the same app can also be minimized when appropriate - multiple webpages, for example. However, my Pre would warn me after ten or so webpages that it wasn't in the mood to open any more - but then it would allow me to open another half dozen. And although it greyed-out ones that I had first opened, they came back to life with a tap. Performance, however, suffered greatly with a dozen open web pages.

This ability to run multiple apps simultaneously gives the Pre a significant advantage over the iPhone, and as more apps become available for the Pre, that advantage will grow. Certainly, many iPhone apps retain their states when you exit them, and then when relaunched, they open to where you were when you last left them - but many do not.

That's not a problem with the Pre. You don't close an app, you merely leave it running, move on to another, and when you return to the first one, all is as it was - each and every time for each and every app, in my experience.

Multitasking advantage: Pre

User interface: The Pre's overall UI scheme takes a bit longer to learn and adapt to than does the iPhone's. At core, the iPhone has three controls: its main hardware button, multitouch gestures, and on-screen buttons and controls. The Pre adds to those an off-screen Gesture Area between its hardware button and the bottom of the display.

Without going into too much detail about how the Pre's controls interact - after all, what are user manuals for? - suffice it to say that knowing when to use the Gesture Area and when to use an on-screen flick can be a bit confusing at first.

More problematic is the Pre's touchscreen. Although it adds one bit of genius - a pebble-in-the-lake ripple effect when you touch the display - items such as hyperlinks take a disconcerting split second to light up after being touched. They also seem to be harder to select than the same links on the iPhone - and not merely because they're smaller due to the display's smaller size. Perhaps the iPhone uses a better proximity-sensing algorithm.

Finally, the iPhone's UI simply seems better thought-out. Using the Pre, I often found myself asking, "Now how to I get out of here?" or "How do I get this thing to do such-and-such?" while searching for buttons and navigation options that weren't there. Apple has been building highly intuitive UIs for years, and their expertise shows.

User-interface advantage: iPhone 3GS

www.reghardware.co.uk

Dell Is Working On Mobile Web Gadget with Android OS

Sources tell The Wall Street Journal that engineers at Dell Inc. have been developing a pocket-sized device for tapping into the Internet, said people familiar with the company's plans.

The gadget would run on Google Inc.'s Android software, these people said. Two people who saw early prototypes described the device as slightly larger than Apple Inc.'s iPod Touch, which is similar to the iPhone but does not have cellphone capabilities.

The development effort is one of the first experiments by a big-name PC maker in a nascent category of products known as mobile Internet devices, or MIDs,which are designed to fill a perceived gap between mobile phones and laptop computers.

New Laptops & Netbooks from HP, Toshiba and Getaway

New SMB (Small Medium Business)-target netbooks and notebooks from HP, Toshiba, and Gateway illustrate the variety of choices available. Choosing wisely for your applications is critical.

There's no recession visible in the parade of new netbooks and notebooks announced this week from three major manufacturers. HP has netbook and 13.3-notebook versions of its stylish ProBook line, Gateway has an 11.6-inch "tweener" netbook, and Gateway debuts a trio of standard 15.4-inch notebooks designed for SMBs and SOHO (Small Office, Home Office) users.

EOS - A New iPhone Threat

Jeff Bertolucci from CIO reports: The Palm Pre may have just debuted at $199 (after rebate), but a cheaper, smaller Palm smartphone may be just around the corner. According to Mike Abramsky, an analyst for RBC Capital Markets, Palm will launch its $99 Pixie -- or perhaps it'll be named the Eos -- as early as Q4 2009.

The Palm Pre may have just debuted at $199 (after rebate), but a cheaper, smaller Palm smartphone may be just around the corner. According to Mike Abramsky, an analyst for RBC Capital Markets, Palm will launch its $99 Pixie -- or perhaps it'll be named the Eos -- as early as Q4 2009.

Rumors of the Pixie/EOS have been circulating for months, and some reports predict the phone will resemble the popular Palm Centro with a touchscreen and a physical keyboard. A shrunken version of the Pre is unlikely, however, without some major design changes. In her review of the Pre, PC World's Ginny Miles praised the phone's interface and touchscreen, but was less than thrilled with its physical keyboard:
Click here to find out more!

"Unfortunately, Palm seems to have sacrificed keyboard usability in the interest of compactness. While I appreciated having a physical keyboard, I disliked the design . . .The keys weren't too tiny for my small hands, but some of my colleagues found them quite cramped."

Another option for a future Pre: Palm could ditch the slide-out keyboard and replace it with a touchscreen version, a la the Apple iPhone. (Today's Pre lacks a touch keyboard.) Certainly, the Pre's best feature is its webOS operating system, which Palm will likely port to other Web-enabled devices next year, Abramsky believes.

Whatever Palm has up its sleeve, it definitely needs a webOS-enabled smartphone to compete with the iPhone 3G. Aggressively priced at $99 and featuring Apple's slick iPhone 3.0 software update, the 3G is arguably the best smartphone value on the market today.

Smartbook?¿ Smartphone Experience on a Larger Form Factor."

Wireless-chip firm Qualcomm maps a 'smartbook' category as Intel rivalry looms.

In a conference call with reporters last month, Qualcomm's vice president of marketing, Luis Pineda, described the company's target device as a "smartbook."

"One of our strategies has been to address the needs beyond the cell-phone market," Pineda said on the call. "A smartbook means the smartphone experience on a larger form factor."

Pineda said there are about 30 such products in development at different manufacturers, with some to come out this year. Toshiba launched its TG-01 handheld at Computex, making it the first Snapdragon-powered device to ship.

Research: The Challenges for New Mobile Gaming Platforms

From ResearchandMarkets: By 2008 the global mobile games market had stagnated. Growth in the operator distributed mobile games market, which peaked at over 50 per cent in 2004 and 2005, had fallen to 10 per cent, and is expected to drop to just 7 per cent in 2009. Device fragmentation, and the top publishers' dominance over operators' portals, had created an ecosystem in which it was difficult for all but the biggest players to generate significant income.

In July 2008 Apple launched its App Store, for which games quickly proved popular. With over 1bn applications downloaded in the first 10 months and 70 per cent of revenues going to publishers/ developers, the iPhone platform and the App Store business model and retail channel have proved that there is a significant market for mobile games outside of operators' portals.

As this business model challenges the relationship between operators and publishers, and smartphones, that can provide advanced gaming capabilities, grow in popularity, more players will try to emulate Apple's success. Two platforms that have the potential to boost the mobile games market outside operators' portals are Nokia's N-Gage, and Google's Android. Though neither of these has yet got the necessary combination of ingredients to be a true rival to the iPhone/App Store combination in the mobile games market.

Despite the growth of new platforms, it is the Java games market that will continue to provide the biggest revenues. As more small publishers, that have been unable to achieve significant revenues with network operators, leave this space, the top publishers will be presented with the chance to increase their dominance of this market.

Key Findings:

- Apple's App Store is already having a significant impact on the mobile games market. Games for the iPhone generated globally over $100m revenues in H2 2008 and it took 10% of the North American mobile games market.

- As device manufacturers, operators and platform providers launch their own stores, seeking to emulate the success of the App Store, Screen Digest expects more mobile games publishers to abandon or reduce development of Java games for operators' portals.

- Despite growth in revenues in 2008, the impact of new platforms meant that the top three mobile games publishers failed to increase their market share.

- While many players will try to mimic the success of Apple's App Store, as yet, none has the necessary ingredients to match Apple. Platform specific and on-device application stores have the greatest chance of success in the mobile games market.

- Although the application store business model and high-end platforms are attractive to publishers (better share of revenues, more receptive audience, control over pricing and ability to innovate), the operator distributed Java games market will, in the short-to-medium term, remain the largest market.

- Of the top three publishers, Gameloft has best positioned itself to take advantage of the boost new platforms have given the market, though EA Mobile, with its catalogue of popular licensed and parent company games, has the necessary titles to match this success. More

Social Gaming: Twitter's Moneymaking Potential with Super Rewards

Provided by Michael Liedtke from Mobile Gadgets;
Lolplaying, the maker of a new role-playing game on Twitter called 140 Mafia, is trying to explore Twitter's moneymaking potential with Super Rewards, a "virtual currency" service that already has been reaping revenue from various forms of online recreation. Super Rewards gives players of online and mobile games ways to gain the upper hand.

Twitter Inc.'s founders still haven't decided how to cash in on their popular Internet messaging service -- to the delight of a rapidly growing audience. But the deliberate approach may not prevent a gold rush among opportunistic outsiders. More

Motorola Offers Android Smart Phone End Of The Year

Verizon and T-Mobile USA plan to offer Motorola smartphones running Google's Android operating system by the end of the year, according to a report in Tuesday's Wall Street Journal.

Citing "people familiar with the matter," the Journal said the new phones stem from efforts by Motorola Co-Chief Executive Sanjay Jha to revive the company's sluggish handset division. Motorola is hoping Android will help it win a greater slice of the cell phone market.

A Motorola representative declined to comment to the Journal. However, the report said a person familiar with the proposed T-Mobile smartphone described it as having a touch screen with a slide-out keyboard. The Android operating system will offer built-in social networking from providers such as Facebook and Twitter, the person added.

T-Mobile currently has two phones on the market running Android. The company debuted its G1 smartphone last year and recently announced a second phone, the myTouch, to hit stores in August.

Verizon has said it plans to support Android phones that would be available later this year but hasn't revealed further details.

Report delivered by Lance Whitney (Journalist, Web developer, and software trainer)

The Human Factor In Protecting Laptop Data

Organizations often are not able to prove data on lost or stolen computers was encrypted.
Encryption is one of the most important security tools in the defense of information assets. Ponemon Institute has conducted numerous studies on organizations’ use of encryption to prevent the loss of sensitive and confidential information. These studies have shown that encryption can be an effective deterrent. However, our studies also show that in order to be effective, encryption requires organizations and users to take appropriate steps to make sure sensitive and confidential information is protected as much as possible.

The Human Factor in Laptop Encryption to understand employees’ perceptions about ensuring that information assets entrusted to their care are effectively managed in encryption environments, especially the use of whole disk encryption on laptop computers. The study also was conducted in the United States and Canada. The results are published in separate reports.

What we learned is that a high percentage of employees we surveyed in business functions (referred to as business managers in this report) are not taking such precautionary steps as using complex passwords, not sharing passwords, using a privacy screen shield, keeping their laptop physically safe when traveling or locking their laptops to their desks to protect sensitive and confidential data. Further, many respondents believe that encrypted solutions make it unnecessary to take other security measures.

In contrast, their colleagues in IT and IT security functions (referred to as IT security practitioners in this report) are diligent in taking all or most precautionary steps to safeguard the sensitive and confidential information on their laptops. They believe encryption is an important security tool, but believe it is critical to follow certain procedures to ensure that data is protected if a laptop is lost or stolen. Info delivered by Dr. Larry Ponemon




The above chart also shows that 50% of business managers report that someone in their organization had their laptop lost or stolen and 26% say it resulted in a data breach. Only 18% report that the organization was able to prove that the contents of the laptop were encrypted.
There is more confidence among IT security practitioners in the ability of encryption to protect the sensitive and confidential information that resides on their laptops. Ponemon Institute conducted this study sponsored by Absolute Software.