It's frustrating that I pay $100 a month for my requisite AT&T (NYSE: T - News) wireless plan when my iPhone has essentially become a pricey iPod that I use to send text messages. And I'm not alone: Cities like New York and San Francisco are swarming with iPhone users who can't get a signal.
So I was intrigued by HTC's Droid Incredible, the newest smart phone on the block to utilize Google's (NASDAQ: GOOG - News) increasingly popular Android operating system and Verizon's (NYSE: VZ - News) more reliable wireless network.
The Incredible costs $200 with a two-year Verizon contract and mail-in rebate, and the service plans runs between $90 and $120 a month. It is light and rectangular-shaped, with a 3.7-inch touchscreen and vivid, colorful graphics. The device has four simple buttons: the menu key, search key, return key and "Leap" key, which displays thumbnails of seven different customizable screens. The spacious touchscreen keyboard was easy to use to type email, but BlackBerry owners who love their keyboards may disapprove (but don't they always?).
I found plenty of Android apps to play with, including Flixter and Shazam, two of my iPhone favorites. However, I was disappointed that the Android store didn't have as many of my favorite news apps as there are in the Apple store, such as The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and CNN apps. Still, reading the news and browsing the Internet with Google's operating system was amazingly fast. Google's own programs, such as Voice Search and Maps, were seamless.
Indeed, it was the Incredible's zippy efficiency that won my heart. The Incredible served up new emails instantly, whether I was in my apartment or walking among the skyscrapers of midtown Manhattan, places where my iPhone typically would stall for several minutes. Websites loaded at lightning speed, and browsing online felt more like using a computer than a mobile phone.
Verizon's wireless coverage was excellent. I enjoyed a 30-minute conversation with an old friend while relaxing on my couch, which is impossible to do on my iPhone without the interruption of a dropped call.
I also loved the 8-megapixel camera, complete with zoom, flash, and video. It made my iPhone's 2-megapixel, zoomless, flashless camera look weak. In fact, the Incredible's photos were comparable to a digital camera, but my iPhone's pictures only turn out well if they're close-ups and in the daylight.
However, the Incredible's Sense interface, which gives users the seven different customizable screens based on themes like work and travel, felt too busy and not nearly as intuitive as my iPhone. The graphics were bright and beautiful, but I often found myself overwhelmed by the options for widgets and folders, and didn't necessarily think that so much customization was helpful.
I did like the "FriendStream," which merged my Gmail, and Facebook and Twitter friends into a single list, allowing me to see everyone's status updates in one place. The phone also created a special list of my "friends" that was pretty much right on target about who are my nearest and dearest (turned out it was culled from my most frequently Gmail contacts). It saved me the time and effort of creating a list of my "favorites" among my contacts.
Music-wise, I wasn't impressed with the Incredible. I liked the built-in radio, but the Incredible's software isn't Mac-compatible, and I couldn't load songs purchased from Apple's iTunes. Instead, I had to transfer tracks from Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN - News) using a miniSD card. The company said that an advantage to supporting mp3s purchased from Amazon.com is that because they aren't copyright protected, they can be loaded onto multiple devices. Even so, for me, it won't replace my iPod.
The biggest downside to the Incredible was its short battery life. The company says that battery life will vary on individual usage and that typically a user can make it through a full day on a single charge. But when I was running multiple apps at once, I burned through the battery in about four hours. Granted, that's pretty much the same as my iPhone, but I expected better performance.
So, is HTC's Droid Incredible worth it? For me, and doubtless others who have a love-hate relationship with the iPhone and AT&T, the Droid Incredible offers a competitive alternative. Though lacking in the music and battery department, it offers loads of apps, Google's strong computing power, and Verizon's superior wireless coverage. At about the same price, the Droid Incredible gives the iPhone a run for its money.
SAN FRANCISCO – Facebook's plan to spread its online social network to other websites could be detoured by regulators looking into privacy concerns that have raised the ire of federal lawmakers.
Four senators said Tuesday that Facebook needs to make it easier for its 400 million users to protect their privacy as the site opens more avenues for them to share their interests and other personal information.
The Federal Trade Commission already had been examining the privacy and data collection practices of Facebook and other social networks, the agency confirmed Tuesday.
Then last week, Facebook announced a proposed expansion that irked Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., and, he says, many Web surfers who called his office to complain.
Having built one of the Web's most popular hangouts, Facebook is trying to extend its reach through new tools called "social plug-ins." These enable Facebook's users to share their interests in such products as clothes, movies and music on other websites. For instance, you might hit a button on Levis.com indicating you like a certain style of jeans, and then recommend a movie on another site. That information about the jeans and the movie might be passed along to other people in your Facebook network, depending on your privacy settings.
Facebook says all this will help personalize the Web for people. It stresses that no personal information is being given to the dozens of websites using the new plug-ins.
Still, it means that information that hadn't been previously communicated could get broadcast to your friends and family on Facebook.
And Facebook is indeed sharing some personal information with three websites that Facebook hopes will demonstrate how online services can be more helpful when they know more about their users. The sites with greater access to Facebook's data are business review service Yelp, music service Pandora and Microsoft Corp.'s Docs.com for word processing and spreadsheets.
Facebook users who don't want to be part of the company's expansion have to go through their privacy settings and change their preferences.
Schumer thinks the onus instead should be on Facebook to get users' explicit consent, a process known as "opting in."
"They have sort of assumed all their users want their information to be given far and wide, which is a false assumption," Schumer said in an interview.
Schumer sent a letter calling for simpler privacy controls to Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. The concerns were echoed by Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo; Sen. Mark Begich, D-Alaska; and Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn.
Facebook tried to assure Schumer that its latest idea won't invade users' privacy.
"We welcome a continued dialogue with you and others because we agree that scrutiny over the handling of personal data is needed as Internet users seek a more social and interactive experience," a Facebook vice president, Elliot Schrage, wrote in a letter to Schumer.
Schumer called Facebook's response inadequate and said his staff planned to meet with the company Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the FTC indicated it will weigh into the debate at some point.
"Our plan is to develop a framework that social networks and others will use to guide their data collection, use, and sharing practices," said Jessica Rich, deputy director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection.
Schumer pledged to introduce legislation that would expand the FTC's powers over Facebook and other Internet social networks if the regulatory agency doesn't feel it has the authority to require more straightforward privacy controls.
The political pressure could undermine Facebook's ambition to create a more social, open Web that could make it easier to aim online advertising at consumers based on their presumed interests. Facebook would probably thrive in a more communal Internet because it has amassed a huge database of personal information since Zuckerberg set up its website in a Harvard dorm room six years ago.
If Facebook's plans pan out, it could change the way people think of social networking. Instead of communicating on a closed website, Facebook's users could interact with one another over the entire Web. More sharing could spawn more customized websites that look different to each person visiting, depending on their friends and preferences.
While Zuckerberg has likened his vision to an online nirvana, critics see another hole in the crumbling walls of online privacy.
Facebook is moving from being a social network about sharing with friends "to a service that is about collecting and sharing information about you with advertisers so they can more closely tailor ads to you," said Ginger McCall, staff counsel at the Washington-based Electronic Privacy Information Center.
SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) – Google said Tuesday that fake software security programs rigged to infect computers are a growing online threat with hackers tricking people into installing nefarious code on machines. An analysis of 240 million Web pages by the Internet search giant during the past 13 months revealed that fake anti-virus programs accounted for 15 percent of malicious software it detected.
"The Fake AV threat is rising in prevalence, both absolutely and relative to other forms of Web-based malware," Google said in its findings.
"Clearly, there is a definitive upward trend in the number of new Fake AV domains that we encounter each week."
Fake anti-virus (AV) peddlers rig websites to frighten visitors with pop-up messages warning that supposed scans have found dangerous malicious software on machines.
The scam goes on by selling victims programs that hackers claim will fix the purported problems but which in fact usually plant nefarious computer code on machines.
Such transactions can also leave credit card information in the hands of cyber crooks.
"Surprisingly, many users fall victim to these attacks and pay to register the Fake AV," Google said.
"To add insult to injury, Fake AVs often are bundled with other malware, which remains on a victim?s computer regardless of whether a payment is made."
Google has refined tools to filter out booby-trapped Websites and hackers have evidently responded by flitting from one domain name to another.
(CNN) -- Apple Inc. hasn't said how much future generations of the iPhone will cost, but an editor of a technology blog said his site shelled out $5,000 to get its hands on a possible prototype.
Gizmodo Senior Editor Jesus Diaz said his blog paid "a source" $5,000 for the phone, which was shown in a video on the blog Monday.
"Paying for an exclusive has always been done in the journalism world. There are people who admit they do it and people who do not. We have done it," Diaz told CNN's Gabriela Frias in an interview on CNN en Español's "En Efectivo."
Diaz said the blog's source obtained the phone after it was left in a bar.
"An engineer was in a bar, celebrating his birthday. He drank two drinks too many and forgot the phone," Diaz said.
He said Gizmodo returned the phone to Apple after receiving a letter asking for it.
Video: Is this the new iPhone? "It has come to our attention that Gizmodo is currently in possession of a device that belongs to Apple," says the short letter from Apple's lawyer to the blog. "This letter constitutes a formal request that you return the device to Apple. Please let me know where to pick up the unit."
Gizmodo, which posted the letter on its site, said the letter erases any doubt that the phone is the real deal.
"Just so you know, we didn't know this was stolen when we bought it," wrote Brian Lam, the site's editorial director, in his response. "Now that we definitely know it's not some knockoff and it really is Apple's, I'm happy to see it returned to its rightful owner.
"P.S. I hope you take it easy on the kid who lost it. I don't think he loves anything more than Apple except, well, beer."
Photos of the fourth-generation iPhone prototype first appeared on the tech blog Engadget over the weekend. The site said whoever sent the photos found the phone on the floor of a bar in San Jose, California.
On Monday, Gizmodo said it had obtained the device, but wouldn't say how.
Diaz said the price Gizmodo paid for the phone was worth it, even though editors weren't able to take advantage of all its features.
"It was remotely deactivated by Apple," he said. "But the screen is better, double the resolution of past versions. The quality of the product is much better. ... It is pleasing to touch it."
The find was widely considered the real thing in the tech world.
"At this point we're pretty much certain it is this summer's new model," wrote Wired magazine. "Somebody at Apple is in big trouble."
Daring Fireball blogger John Gruber, who is known to have connections inside Apple's Cupertino, California, headquarters, said on his blog that Apple had reported a prototype stolen.
He also said Apple has a patent out for a phone with a ceramic backing. Some of the images online appeared to show just such a backing.
Gizmodo's photos of the device's internal components show they're labeled as Apple products. The blog also said a computer recognized the device as an iPhone, and the phone apparently runs the yet-to-be-released iPhone OS 4.0.
Apple has not confirmed that a new version of the iPhone exists, though analysts widely expect the fourth generation of the device will be released in the summer. Apple did not return CNN requests for comment.
Even if the new iPhone is real, it's important to keep in mind that the device is just a prototype. It's unclear how many of its features will be available on the new phone.
A quick glance at the photos shows a flatter, less curvy iPhone. The back of the phone is completely flat, unlike the current model, which is tapered to fit the curve of a palm.
The new phone's back is ceramic rather than plastic, and has an aluminum border with two volume buttons instead of just one. Unlike the current model, it has a front-facing camera. It also has a camera on the back, which is larger than the one on the back of the current 3GS model.
Microsoft has launched "Fix It" software that keeps an eye on a PC and automatically repairs common faults.The software basically adds the automatic diagnostics system in Windows 7 to older versions of Microsoft's operating system.
The software, currently available as a trial or beta version, is intended for users of Windows XP and Vista.
The package also tries to anticipate how security updates will affect a PC before they are installed.
Bug watch
Once installed, the software gets updates about known issues with Windows or any connected devices, and regularly checks to see if a host machine has fallen victim. Once fixes become available it will tell users they are ready or attempt to apply them.
The software has onboard fixes for about 300 of the most widely encountered problems that stop Windows working as it should.
The software also maintains a list of the hardware and software on a machine so if the automatic fix does not solve a problem, it will be able to help users supply detailed information to Microsoft's support staff about what has gone wrong.
Those signing up and downloading the Fix It software can use it on several different machines.
The free software can be downloaded from Microsoft's support pages. Windows XP users wanting to use it must have Service Pack 3 for the operating system installed.
The Fix It service began in late 2008, when Microsoft began using the logo to highlight automatic fixes on its support pages that dealt with very common problems.
Anyone clicking on the logo kicked off a download that tried to fix that problem automatically.
Microsoft, like many other software firms, has built a vast database of faults and problems as technology built into Windows reports back about crashes and other bugs that machines encounter.
