Protect your Android device against theft, viruses with McAfee Mobile Security (Appolicious)

Smartphones aren't cheap. That's why it makes good sense to want to protect your investment.

McAfee Mobile Security is a service that protects your phone from viruses, backs up your data (contacts, photos, videos, call history, etc.) and even allows you to locate your phone on a map in case it's lost or stolen.

After a seven-day free trial, if you decide this is something you need in your life, you can buy a one-year subscription through the app's website: www.McAfeeMobileSecurity.com for $29.99.

You've probably got a pile of paid monthly services stacking up (Netflix, Hulu, The New York Times digital subscription, Pandora, etc.), which might make it difficult to justify spending even more cash. I look at McAfee Mobile Security, though, the same way I look at my AAA auto insurance. You might not think about it or use it very often, but when you need it, you're really glad you have it.

If your phone is lost or stolen, you can see where you phone is on a map. You can access your phone's data at any time through the app's website. The app also tracks when a new SIM card has been inserted into your device, and tracks your phone's call log. If you're still not able to get your phone back, you're able to wipe all of your phone's data — to prevent friends and family from being harassed, or embarrassing text messages and photos from being shared with strangers.

Like I mentioned earlier, the app also does a bit of preventive maintenance to make sure you don't pick up any viruses or lose any valuable information. McAfee has its own color-coding system, which is designed to alert you to potential viruses, browser exploits or other malicious websites. This way, you know which sites to avoid.

I have used McAfee on my own computer for years, so I was already a bit familiar with how this program works. Even so, the average user won't have any issues figuring this out. You mostly just follow the step-by-step directions through setup. Even better, this app works so you can set it and forget it. It takes care of the hard parts all by itself.

Download the free Appolicious Android app

Protect your Android device against theft, viruses with McAfee Mobile Security (Appolicious)

Smartphones aren't cheap. That's why it makes good sense to want to protect your investment.

McAfee Mobile Security is a service that protects your phone from viruses, backs up your data (contacts, photos, videos, call history, etc.) and even allows you to locate your phone on a map in case it's lost or stolen.

After a seven-day free trial, if you decide this is something you need in your life, you can buy a one-year subscription through the app's website: www.McAfeeMobileSecurity.com for $29.99.

You've probably got a pile of paid monthly services stacking up (Netflix, Hulu, The New York Times digital subscription, Pandora, etc.), which might make it difficult to justify spending even more cash. I look at McAfee Mobile Security, though, the same way I look at my AAA auto insurance. You might not think about it or use it very often, but when you need it, you're really glad you have it.

If your phone is lost or stolen, you can see where you phone is on a map. You can access your phone's data at any time through the app's website. The app also tracks when a new SIM card has been inserted into your device, and tracks your phone's call log. If you're still not able to get your phone back, you're able to wipe all of your phone's data — to prevent friends and family from being harassed, or embarrassing text messages and photos from being shared with strangers.

Like I mentioned earlier, the app also does a bit of preventive maintenance to make sure you don't pick up any viruses or lose any valuable information. McAfee has its own color-coding system, which is designed to alert you to potential viruses, browser exploits or other malicious websites. This way, you know which sites to avoid.

I have used McAfee on my own computer for years, so I was already a bit familiar with how this program works. Even so, the average user won't have any issues figuring this out. You mostly just follow the step-by-step directions through setup. Even better, this app works so you can set it and forget it. It takes care of the hard parts all by itself.

Download the free Appolicious Android app

Android OS and tablets get another rival with HP TouchPad (Appolicious)

Android’s facing some serious competition when it comes to the tablet market, and it’s still an area Android has yet to dominate. With the iPad still top dog, HP officially launches the TouchPad today, adding another device and operating system to the competitive tablet space. The TouchPad has garnered mixed reviews already, with a lack of apps as just one of several ticks for the “cons” column when compared to the iPad.

That means there’s still plenty of opportunity for Android to make gains in the tablet space, as the summer season heats up with releases and announcements for autumn launches. The Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 was made available for pre-order this week, with 4G support amongst its biggest perks. Sony Ericsson, HTC, Acer and Sharp are all lined-up for tablet releases this year, with Acer in particular looking at the creation of a slide tablet. Android’s platform is also an attractive means of specialized tablet production beyond manufacturers, with both Amazon and Cisco looking to the Android OS for media and enterprise solutions.

The downsides of Android popularity

The expectation is that Android will eventually pick up steam in the tablet market, as it did with the smartphone sector. Google won over consumers with a range of devices that vary in price as well as carrier availability. But as Apple applies similar tactics to its iPhone lineup, Android sales may be plateauing. A recent Nielsen report indicates that Apple is gaining steam while Android sales begin to level-off, though Android remains the dominant OS. The report pushes the notion that Android’s smartphone shares have peaked, as another recent study from Needham analyst Charlie Wolf noted last week.

But worldwide popularity doesn’t come without its haters. Both Oracle and Microsoft are after Android revenue, going to court over patent infringement. Oracle’s high profile case has gained a great deal of attention these past few weeks, especially after Oracle claimed $2.6 billion for Google’s alleged infringement for Java use. Microsoft’s not going after Google directly, but picking-off Android manufacturers one-by-one. Seeking royalties for patents used in Android devices, Microsoft has inked deals with HTC, General Dynamics Itronix, Onkyo and Velocity Micro.

Android Market missing out on game marketing, others fill the gap (Appolicious)

Games have become an integral part of the Android experience, benefiting gamers, developers and Android alike. But as the rivalry between Android and iOS heats up, and third party marketplaces emerge as alternative portals for Android apps, Android games become an important experiment in software marketing and distribution. From fragmentation issues on Android’s operating system to disappointing restrictions on app publishing in the Android Market, game developers have a lot to consider as they hope to monetize their efforts on the Android platform.

Android Market pricing fail

Some interesting pricing rules have been uncovered in the Android Market, disabling developers from charging fees on an app that’s been set as a free product. This means developers can’t have one-day sales on apps, or run a promotion for a new app before making it paid. It’s no wonder you see multiple versions of a given app in the Android Market -- what a confusing demonstration for end users. Game developers in particular may find this Market rule frustrating, as marketing an Android game has become a difficult and disparate experience.

Rivals rule with promos

Not only is the Android Market less structured in terms of promotions when compared to the iTunes App Store, but independent marketplaces are taking advantage of the Market’s shortcomings. The Amazon Appstore, for instance, has made app promotions central to its strategy in gaining users, often offering full version games for free download. GetJar has turned into another important gaming portal, running similar promotions for Android games. Both the Amazon Appstore and GetJar have landed exclusive Android game launches, with publishers waiting several days to make their game available on the Market after a promotion has run its course.

As Appolicious Advisor Marty Gabel points out in his article on the Android Market’s questionable pricing rule, this is holding back Google in the end. The gap is opening up a range of opportunities for third-party services to monetize games, through redeemable codes, in-app purchases or other incentives. Adknowledge, the company behind Super Rewards, recognizes that relying on a single portal is a drawback for game developers, and has launched Social2Web for social game developers looking to expand beyond networks like Facebook. Combining the best of all worlds, Social2Web becomes an agnostic approach to game distribution, across mobile or the web.

HTC myTouch, Samsung Conquer and Galaxy Tab 10.1 lead Android 4G devices (Appolicious)

With all the major carriers rolling out 4G technology, it’s only to be expected that top manufacturers will promote their supporting devices for these high-speed networks. T-Mobile’s sticking with its successful myTouch line, announcing the myTouch 4G Slide. As you may have guessed, the Slide comes with a full QWERTY keyboard that slides out horizontally on the phone. The HTC device also comes with a top-notch 8-megapixel camera, along with specialized video software for additional functions for dealing with focusing, shutter lag and poor lighting. Look for the myTouch 4G Slide to hit stores in July, with a $199.99 price tag (as long as you sign a two-year contract and remember to mail in your $50 rebate).

Samsung Conquer 4G headed to Sprint

Sprint’s broadening its 4G device lineup as well, with news of the Samsung Conquer 4G joining its cousins, the Galaxy S2, and the Nexus 4G. This new guy packs a 3.5-inch HVGA capacitive touchscreen, a 1GHz CPU, 3.2-megapixel rear camera and a 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera. The Conquer 4G will run on Android 2.3 Gingerbread, giving it a mid-entry status, as it lacks a dual-core processor or high-end camera. There’s some 4G-specific features, like WiMAX radio, and the Conquer has a rather nice touchscreen that should be good for graphic-heavy apps. With a focus on media optimization, Samsung’s latest is built for speed and ready for streaming movies and games.

Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 up for pre-order

With so many Android smartphones hitting the market, it’s no wonder there’s 500,000 new devices activated daily. But the Android tablet market has yet to catch up to smartphone status, though Samsung’s hoping to help out in this arena as well. The Galaxy Tab 10.1 is one of the most anticipated Android tablets of the summer, and it’s now available for pre-order on Verizon’s website. One of the Tab’s biggest perks is its 4G support, making it amongst the first of Android tablets to take advantage of newer network technology. Priced at $525 for the 4G 16GB version (with a two-year data contract), Verizon plans to ship tablets out within four to six weeks.

Samsung’s got quite a lineup of devices, but it’s not stopping there. The Korean electronics manufacturer is promoting services for its widening array of devices, including their SmartTV app. This acts as a media hub for streaming content to both the Galaxy S and the Galaxy Tab 10.1, essentially turning them into television sets.

Analyst thinks Apple should cut iPhone 3GS cost to $0 in September (Appolicious)

Apple’s iPhone is performing well in all its forms for being a single device that recently doubled the number of cellular providers carrying it – to two. But Apple’s iOS platform has nothing on Google’s Android, an operating system that currently dominates the market with better than 50 percent of the smartphones on the market running it.

It’s tough to keep up with Android simply because Apple’s iOS system is limited. The company can’t expect the iPhone to compete with all manner of Android phones, from top-tier to entry level and mid-range. Or can it? One analyst thinks that Apple not only can compete with lower-cost Android phones, but that the company is planning a pricing move in September to do just that.

According to a story from Forbes, RBC Capital analyst Mike Abramsky says he expects Apple to drop the price of the iPhone 3GS to nothing with a two-year contract from AT&T this fall. That’s when Apple is expected to roll out the iPhone 5 (or at least some new generation of its smartphone), and Abramsky thinks a price tag of free could help Apple seriously capitalize on users who are interested in the iPhone but for whom cost has been a limiting factor.

Here’s a quote from the Forbes story:

‘As its entry-level iPhone strategy, Apple is expected to cut iPhone 3GS to $0 (on contract, $399 unsubsidized) in conjunction with iPhone 5 launch,’ Abramsky writes in a research note. ‘This approach is intended to target mid-market smartphone buyers and counter Android’s mid-market expansion.’

A proprietary study from RBC Capital states that a free iPhone 3GS “would double the company’s global market opportunity and re-accelerate iPhone share growth outside of North America,” according to the Forbes piece. Abramsky also expects the iPhone 4 to drop to $99 with a contract in September, and the iPhone 5 to start at $199 on contract.

Can we expect two iPhones in September?

And while we’re talking about markets that the iPhone could expand into given the right circumstances, it’s worth mentioning a rumor one analyst chucked out into the ether recently stating that he thought Apple would break out two iPhones in September – one, a scaled-back, unlocked model called the iPhone 4S, and the other the true design revamp, the iPhone 5.

A few outlets around the Internet reacted negatively to the story, and it sounded like bunk to us too. After all, analyst Chris Whitmore of Deutsche Bank didn’t really have any “facts” to back up his “rumor” of two iPhones. But another analyst, Horace Dediu of Asymco, raises a good point: There are far more prepaid cellular phone users out there in the world than on contracts, and Apple isn’t really serving any of them.

Apple does offer a few unlocked iPhones that can be placed on any carrier, but Dediu writes that there’s still 70 percent of the cellular phone market worldwide that Apple isn’t reaching:

Roughly 1.5 billion [phone users] are post-paid and 3.7 billion are pre-paid. That means that nearly 70% of the world is not being addressed by the iPhone as it currently stands. Put another way, a shift in positioning might result in a 250 percent increase in addressable market.

So maybe all these analysts aren’t too far off the mark when they suggest that Apple might be planning to make some changes with its mobile strategy. It would certainly help in the fight against Android, in which Apple is staying relatively steady but not gaining much ground.

Nook Color surpasses Kindle for the first time in Consumer Report rankings (Appolicious)

Even without all the bells and whistles of the Nook Color, Barnes & Noble (BKS) managed to scrape by Amazon (AMZN) in Consumer Reports’ rankings of e-readers for the first time with its all new Nook Simple Touch Reader. The bookstore’s latest black-and-white e-reader, which is the first e-ink-based reader to feature the Google (GOOG) Android 2.1 operating system, scored just one point higher than the most recent edition of the Kindle and a few points higher than other models.

Updating from previous versions that operated on Android 1.5, the new reader features additional flexibility in “rooting” or adding alternative apps and games for advanced users. The newest version of the Android operating system for the Book offers the support required to run modern day games and applications, even Angry Birds, although it has frame-rate issues, according to the blog Good E-Reader.

The newest B&N device also offers a web browser, which is only available through the search button. This feature was quietly introduced, and is accessible if you type the proper website address in the search field. The device also offers a touchscreen that the Kindle does not, as well as smoother page turns and minimized flashing, according to B&N.

Consumer Reports said the Nook Simple, which is also being called “The All-New Nook,” matches or is modestly better than the Kindle in nearly every aspect of performance, including battery life. Instead of attempting to be a tablet as it did with the original Nook and the Nook Color, B&N brought the new Nook Simple back to the roots of the e-reader, with a focus on reading with fewer extra features. The publication noted that Kindle has the potential to reclaim its top spot with upcoming firmware updates.

Although the Nook Color has given B&N a chance to compete in the tablet space, it took going back to the black-and-white basics of e-reader technology, with a few additional features thanks to an updated Android operating system, for the bookstore to edge out Amazon’s pioneer product.