Customers of the iPhone that have “jail broken” their phones are under attack from a cyber worm that acts like a “botnet”. “Jail braking” refers to phones that have been modified to enable users to run non-Apple approved software. Breaking into the handset software invalidates the Apple warranty precisely because of the risk of viruses etc.

The latest virus is targeting people in the Netherlands who bank online with ING. When the user logs in they get redirected to a similar login page. The phones at risk have SSH [secure shell] installed which allows other apps to remotely connect to an iPhone. One of the functions of SSH is file transfer, which uses a default password “alphine”. Clearly this default password leaves the door wide open for potential hackers, so this needs to be changed.

Unlike the first “ikee” worm this new cyber worm is overtly malicious and is potentially very harmful. At present the number of infected handsets only amount to a few hundred but this could expand exponentially as phones pass on the infection by using the same WiFi hotspot.

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As was announced last month O2’s exclusive right to sell the iPhone will come to an end in November. Orange will now be selling both the iPhone 3G and 3GS handsets from 10th November.

Orange’s offer will give their customers the handset for free when they take out a 24 month contract. Orange’s tariffs are similar to O2’s in that the cheapest 24mth contract will be £34.26 compared to O2’s £29.36. Since the iPhone launch in the UK by O2 in 2007 there have been over a million handsets sold.

- correction: Orange are charging for the 3GS. You can however get a free 3G if you take out a 24 month contract.

UK Phone Comparison

Amazon have just launched a really good electronic book. You can download books, magazines and newspapers and read them where ever and when ever you wish. The 3G device gives you free downloads because Amazon pays for the wireless connection. You can also read Wikipedia online. Read more about the Kindle Reader

Latest Update:
Following yesterday’s announcement that Orange would be offering the iPhone in the Uk it has just been announced that Vodafone will also be selling the Apple iPhone. This is likely to lead to a price war in the run up to Christmas. According to The Telegraph, the Vodafone iPhone 3GS is likely to be £100 cheaper.

Up until yesterday morning O2’s exclusive right to sell the Apple iPhone in the UK came to an end. Now the Oranage Network will be able to sell the phone thereby bringing an end to O2’s monopoly.

Just as Apple masterfully marketed the two versions of the iPhone, the marketing of this story has been equally clever. By using social networking sites this news item became one of the top stories of the day. Giving the contract to Orange at this late stage is also very logical. Apple has benefited by only O2 selling the phone because it gave the phone a bit of exclusivity and O2 pumped loads of money into marketing the phone. Now that the phone has been around for two years and the shine has come off the product, giving it to Orange will mean an extra shot in the arm to the phone’s marketing.

Now that there are two Networks selling the phone it’s likely a price war will ensue by Christmas. Tariffs are hardly going to fall by a great deal because of the big subsidy operators hand over for a handset such as iPhone.

O2’s reaction to yesterday’s news was to say: “We’re proud that we’ve been able to offer an exclusive iPhone deal to our 20 million customers for the last two years”. They then immediately released news that they are now going to be offering the Palm Pre.

The question is; should orange be so elated of now being able to sell the iPhone? In Strand Consult’s recent report “The Moment of Truth: A Portrait of the iPhone” they attack what they say are the 10 myths about the “miracle” Phone:

“1. The iPhone drives data traffic into mobile operators networks
2. The iPhone helps operators attract new customers
3. The iPhone is good business for mobile operators
4. The iPhone is dominating the mobile services market
5. App store is a huge success that has revolutionised the services market
6. There is money to be made by developing applications for the iPhone
7. It is iPhone customers that are generating the majority of online mobile surfing traffic
8. The iPhone has a large market share
9. The iPhone was the first mobile phone with a touchscreen
10. The iPhone is a technologically advanced mobile phone”

Should these criticisms be true should Orange be so happy with the new iPhone?

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Operation Vortex has been in force across Devon and Cornwall several times, but now police across the South West are joining the initiative in a concerted effort to improve road safety.

Within the first two days, Operation Vortex saw officers issue 15 Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs) for mobile phone related offences.

Police are carrying out patrols in unmarked vehicles on hot-spot roads across Avon and Somerset, enforcing the law and offering road safety advice to drivers.

Sgt Mark Whitfield said: “The number of drivers that still insist on using their mobile phone is worrying. It is inherently dangerous, reduces drivers’ concentration and will inevitability lead to a collision”.

“Research has shown that mobile phone use reduces a driver’s reaction time by over a third when using or texting on a phone”.

“The use of plain patrol cars is essential in detecting mobile phone offences, as those who habitually use a phone whilst driving will immediately hide it on seeing a marked car.”

The punishment for using your mobile phone whilst driving has been doubled recently to a fine of £60 and three penalty points on your licence.

Among the routes to be patrolled will be the A30, A38, A303, A46, M5 and M4 , as well as the A380, A361, A374.

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Vodafone announced they will begin to upgrade their mobile broadband network to a massive download speed of 14.4Mbps making it the fastest high speed downlink packet access (HSDPA) network.

Vodafone say the average offering for 14.4Mbps will be between 1Mbps and 4Mbps. The maximum theoritical downlink speed will be 10.8Mbps. The reason for this is the fact that the 14.4Mbps is almost impossible to achieve in practice due to different factors, with the two main ones being the distance from the nearest base station and the number of subscribers using the same station. This results in much lower speeds.

Vodafone reported that 80% of the data cards / dongles and 3G mobile phones can take advantage of the new rate.

O2, 3 and Orange are in the process of rolling out technology that could increase their HSDPA speed to 7.2Mbps, half of what Vodafone are aiming for.

According to Vodafone, sites in London, Birmingham and Liverpool have already had the upgrade applied, while the rest of the UK will gain higher speeds on an ongoing basis.

Have a look at our independent mobile phone reviews, UK

Nokia World 2009 has just launched in Germany. It was unofficially brought to the world’s attention in Russia, but it now has the official seal of approaval by Nokia. Like many new devices out there Nokia’s pushing the mobile’s social networking capabilities. The other gimmic is that it’s pushing this mobile as the world’s “slimmest travel companion” owing to it having inclusive Lonely Planet guidebooks. Price wise it will go for about €450 ($639), but it is likely to go for free on contracts in most markets. As for specs, we’re looking at a tilting 3.2-inch touchscreen and full QWERTY keyboard, with the first shipments starting in October.

Quick Review
The N97 Mini is basically a little N97. Unfortunately, whilst it is called mini it is not as small as one would have expected in order to reflect the name “mini”. Owing to the size it also has a smaller memory than the original N97 – now down to 8GB from the N97’s 32GB. Thankfully not all of the features have suffered the chop of being mini. The phone still has: 5.0-megapixel camera, GPS and video recording capabilities.

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Apple has announced the release of its latest software update for their latest business mobile phone, the iPhone, which is version 3.0. Apple have introduced new features such as cut/paste and the ability to send MMS. Whilst they claim these to be advanced new features they are in fact standard on most mobile phones.
• Updates to the media player now alter the streaming video quality depending on the current available bandwidth/coverage.
• MMS send/receive.
• Send multiple images at once.
• Larger landscape keyboard can now be used in Mail as well as Safari.
• Extended search facility.
• Support for Bluetooth A2DP.
• Modem tethering.
• Voice memo interface.
• Cut, copy and paste.

Scott Forstall has said that the client part of tethering would be available in iPhone 3.0, but the carrier segment was still under development with carriers. It’s likely carriers will be concerned about increased bandwidth utilisation (and associated costs) of allowing iPhone users to tether to their laptops. They already have to provide unlimited data on iPhone packages at Apple’s request.

Airtime Manager recommend you look at their BlackBerry for business users as an alternative to the iPhone

Vodafone claims to have achieved one of the fastest 3G data connections possible [at 20 Mbps] during trials of the HSPA+ MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output) technology.

At present Vodafone offers broadband speeds of up to 7.2Mbps, which is among the fastest on the market, but the latest breakthrough could help raise service speeds. “These test results mean that we will be able to derive even more value from our existing 3G infrastructure while raising the quality of service for our customers.”

MIMO technology effectively uses two antennas in both the handset and the base station to split the radio signal into two separate streams enhancing network capacity as well as the user experience even in dense urban environments.

“Breaking the 20 Mbps peak speed barrier in tests through HSPA+ MIMO is yet another key milestone in the evolution of 3G Mobile Broadband technology and raises the prospect of higher network performance for our customers in selected hotspots,” explained Andy MacLeod, Global Networks Director of Vodafone.

Unfortunately deploying 64QAM and MIMO technology will require purchasing new HSPA+-compatible mobile broadband devices so these speeds will not be arriving for the foreseeable future.

Vodafone USB Modems

Vodafone Data Cards

Coming soon to Airtime Manager, the HTC Magic. This busines mobile phone will be available on Vodafone. This phone will have all that you love about the internet and exactly how you want it. This HTC phone will keep you entertained and up to date wherever you are.

Sleek, stylish and exclusive to Vodafone, the Magic is powered by cutting edge technology. It provides the Google suite of services like Mail, Search and Maps geared up for use in the palm of your hand. Further enhanced with video capture and support for tunes via Bluetooth wireless headsets, the HTC Magic is a true entertainment and media powerhouse.

The HTC Magic’s 3.2 megapixel camera shoots photos in sharp focus. You can admire the results on its extra large high-resolution screen. Or upload your photos for your friends to see – with superfast internet, they’ll upload in a flash.

htc magic phone

One-touch access to mobile Internet

Access to your favourite Google applications like Gmail™/Google Mail™, YouTube™, Google Maps™, Google Talk™, Calendar and Google™ Search.

3.5G & Wi-Fi
High-speed 3.5G network connection and Wi-Fi technology with seamless transition to open networks.

3.2 Megapixel Color Camera
3.2 megapixel color camera with auto focus for quality image and video capture.

microSD™
microSD™ (SD 2.0 compatible) expansion slot for all your storage needs.

3.2-inch touch-sensitive screen with HVGA
3.2-inch touch-sensitive screen with HVGA (320 X 480 pixel) resolution.

A2DP
Support for Bluetooth wireless stereo headsets (A2DP).

Summary of the HTC Magic’s features

* HSDPA
* Built in GPS navigation
* 3.0 – 4.0 megapixel
* 3G
* GPRS
* WiFi
* Triband
* Bluetooth
* Built in GPS navigation
* Touch screen
* Vodafone Mobile Internet
* Email
* Games
* MP3 player
* Camera / Video
* Alarm clock
* Calendar
* Handsfree headset
* White
* Touch screen

www.airtimemanager.co.uk