Malware chasing down Android users quadrupled between 2011 and this year, F-Secure, a Finland-based mobile security company said in its recent Mobile Threat Report Q1 2012. The popularity of Android, which is now installed on 56.1% of all smartphones worldwide, is to blame for the increase in malware targets. “Since its debut, Android has quickly claimed significant market share in the mobile market,” F-Secure said. “Unfortunately, such popularity (amongst other factors) makes Android a lucrative target for malware authors.”

The firm warned that the number of malware variants is continuing to grow, too, and isn’t going to slow down any time soon. There were 10 new malware families and variants during the first quarter of 2011 and that figure jumped to 37 different variants during the first quarter of this year. “A comparison between the number of malicious Android application package files (APKs) received in Q1 2011 and in Q1 2012 reveals a more staggering find — an increase from 139 to 3063 counts,” F-Secure explained. The company said the growth is largely due to the number of malware authors that are specifically building their infected APKs to skirt around anti-virus software applications.

“The most interesting malware trend over recent months has been the increase in Trojans that deliver on their promises,” F-Secure analyst Sean Sullivan said in a statement provided to Forbes. “This makes it harder for victims to know they have been victimised as there is less for them to detect.” Thankfully, most users can avoid malware by sticking to Google’s Play store instead of downloading apps from third-party marketplaces.

[via Forbes]

Before you decide on picking up that rumored MacBook Pro with a Retina Display, you may want to wait to hear how much it may cost.

Rumors have been coming from all over of a MacBook Pro update with a Retina Display.  While it may sound awesome to see your laptop with double the resolution, one thing no one has mentioned thus far is how much more this could potentially end up costing you. DisplaySearch Senior Analyst Richard Shim spoke with CNET about how much more the 13.3-inch and 15.4-inch panels might cost, and it wasn’t pretty.

According to [Shim's] estimates, adding a Retina-quality panel in Apple’s 15-inch MacBook pro would cost Apple about $160 versus the $68 the company spends on its current models. It’s $134 for such a panel on the 13.3-inch model, compared to the $69 Apple pays right now.

The gains in display quality would definitely be noticeable to the consumer, but the question is how much of the higher cost to achieve that would be passed on to the consumer.  Apple would of course get a volume discount, but even with that the wholesale price won’t drop to anything close to what the company is paying for the current generation of displays.

If the rumors hold true and we see these new models rolled out during the WWDC in June, we’ll know soon enough, but for now, you may want to prepare yourself for sticker shock.

[via CNET]

The one thing that makes me salty throughout the course of this behind the scenes clip, and I’d venture to say that a lot of gamers will agree, is the insistence upon calling the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 next generation consoles. They are not next gen hardware, they are current gen hardware. While they offer a different host of features when compared to the Wii, they do not offer up a new generation of tech. The Xbox 360 is approaching seven years on the market.

A minor gripe, to be sure, but I hope the marketing team puts the kibosh on all of this next gen business ASAP.

I will, however, give credit to the folks at Junction Point. Warren Spector and his team are exceptionally passionate people, and they love the Disney brand a whole heck of a lot. Let’s hope that translates to an awesome sequel.

Motorola Droid 4 owners hoping to get a taste of Ice Cream Sandwich are now one step closer. A test build of Android 4.0.4 for the Droid 4 has surfaced which shows that Motorola appears to be working on an official build for its keyboard sporting device. The build is available to download and install on your rooted device, but as with all unreleased software, you run the risk of your device performing the paperweight mod. Not to deter your exploratory hopes, but you may also want to keep count of your Google Music authorizations, because Google sure is. However, if you’re still up to the task, you’ll find a full install guide with the needed downloads via the source link below.

[DroidForums]

When Verizon did away with its $30 per month unlimited data plans back in July, grandfathered customers held on for dear life. However, all good things must come to an end and times they are a-changin. While speaking at the 40th J.P. Morgan Technology, Media and Telecom conference, Verizon Communications CFO Fran Shammo said that Verizon will be moving grandfathered unlimited 3G data customers that wish to move to LTE to its upcoming data share plan.

While data share plan pricing details remain unknown, Shammo says that Big Red will leverage its 4G LTE services to sway existing customers to its new service, which is expected to launch sometime this summer. This new strategy will likely ruffle a few of Verizon’s customers’ feathers, as the majority of the carrier’s new handsets are LTE devices. This means that if you’re looking to upgrade to a new handset, odds are that you’ll have to make the move to data share.

It should be interesting to see how customers take to Verizon’s new approach and if they find it beneficial. Shammo definitely sees this strategy as a gain for Verizon “A lot of our 3G base is on unlimited,” he said. “When they migrate off 3G they will have to go to data share. That is beneficial to us.”

[via: FierceWireless]

Taking a look at a year’s worth of smartphone user statistics research firm Nielsen has had some interesting findings. According to their statistics, almost one year ago less than 40 percent of U.S. mobile subscribers had smartphones. Today, that figure has drastically changed, with one out of every two mobile subscribers now owning a smartphone. Android and iOS users have more than doubled in the past year, with both platforms accounting for 88 percent of smartphone users who have downloaded an app in the past 30 days.

In a year’s time the number of apps per smartphone has increased by 28 percent from 32 apps to 41. In addition to an increase in downloaded apps, mobile users appear to be using them more than their phone’s web browser, which saw an increase of about 10 percent. Smartphone applications may be on the rise, but the top five downloaded apps have continued to remain: Facebook, YouTube, Android Market, Google Search, and Gmail. Smartphone owners also spend about 39 minutes on apps each day, slightly up from last year’s 37 minutes. Finally, a growing concern in user privacy continues to increase, moving from 70 percent in 2011 to 73 percent in 2012, as more smartphone users have expressed concerns with how their personal data is being used.

[via: Nielsen]

Sprint just confirmed the EVO 4G LTE delay, which we originally reported on last night, in its official forums. The carrier is not able to provide an exact availability date for its brand new 4G LTE flagship smartphone at this time. The phone is currently locked up in U.S. customs where it is awaiting a review that was required after an ITC exclusion order. Sprint’s full statement on the matter, obtained by AndroidCentral, is as follows:

• HTC EVO 4G LTE availability
  The U.S. availability of the HTC EVO 4G LTE has been delayed.  HTC is working to resolve this issue and appreciates your patience as they work to get products into Sprint channels. We can’t provide specific timing for product availability at this time and we appreciate your patience as HTC works to get products on store shelves as soon as possible.
• Pre-order status/availability
  Delivery of products for pre-order are on hold and Sprint will provide a ship date as soon as possible. Sprint will maintain the promise for the preorder customers that they will be among the first to receive their HTC EVO 4G LTE units.

While we’d rather you didn’t cancel your pre-order, there are instructions provided in the backorder email on how to do so.  I’ve pasted them here for your reference:

If you would like to select an alternate product or cancel your backordered item, please call 866-789-8292 between 8:00 a.m. EST to 11:00 p.m. EST Monday to Friday or 9:00 a.m. EST to 9:00 p.m. EST on Saturdays and Sundays.Please note that cancellation requests may not always process successfully due to the speed of warehouse processing.If you cancelled your backordered item but still received a shipment, please refuse the shipment or call us to process a return within 14 days of receipt.

[via AndroidCentral]

GM recently confirmed it has decided to pull its $10 million annual ad campaign from Facebook. The automaker typically spends about $40 million per year getting its brand onto Facebook, The Wall Street Journal explained, but the company will continue to pay the difference for management of its Facebook pages and content. The company made its decision after the marketing department realized that the ads weren’t as effective as expected.

We’re not so sure we agree with GM’s decision, especially since Ford is going to continue its Facebook advertising push. GM doesn’t have as many “Likes” as Ford does, likely due to dilution across its brands, and it may not have been paying enough attention to the social network in order to see a return on its investment. Ford has worked closely with Facebook on targeted and specialized advertisements, including a “Customizer” application, which it said was wildly successful. GM, we’d argue, needs to understand that Facebook is about creating a fan base that will grow up with a brand as opposed to one who will immediately go out and buy a car today or tomorrow. The company, for example, spent more than $15 million on Super Bowl ads last year for a total of 2.5 minutes of airtime. The Super Bowl had 200 million viewers and Facebook has a 900 million user base. If GM takes advantage of Facebook’s advertising correctly, it could target ads at a GM fan and, over time, woo them into making their first (or another) GM purchase.

“It’s about giving the finance people, who are cutting the checks, proof that its ad products work,” chief digital officer of media buying firm PHD told The Wall Street Journal. “Still, many ad executives believe Facebook’s audience is too big to ignore.” Ford is just one example of a company that appears to know how to use Facebook to its advantage.

“We are doing more advertising on Facebook, and it is a growing and critical part of our media mix,” Matt VanDyke, Ford’s director of marketing communications, told Forbes. Another Ford marketing exec, who was not named, took a jab at GM’s decision.  “It’s still the early days of this, and the metrics aren’t defined 100 percent,” the exec told Forbes. “But [social media] are so massive in their reach, and appropriately guided and applied, [advertising on Facebook] can be potent. Wouldn’t you just say to Facebook, ‘We’re not going to spend as much on paid advertising right now, and in order to earn our business, can we come up with something more clever and that is going to meet our objectives?” That’s how most marketers would approach it.”

[via The Wall Street Journal, Forbes]

If your rooted and constantly re-ROM’d Android device gets its music fix from Google Music, then you might wanna slow things down a bit. Those crafty chaps over at XDA Developers have combed through Google’s terms of service and have uncovered a stipulation that limits the number of de-authorizations to four per year. This potentially affects rooted users that like to switch up ROMs, as each time you flash your device it counts as a new authorization in the eyes of Google Music. So, if you’re an Android fan sporting a tablet or smartphone, you may want to pump your brakes on the heavy ROM swapping. Either that, or find a new mobile music medium.

[via: XDA Developers]

Samsung’s market cap took a $10 billion hit on Wednesday following a report that Apple will contract Japan-based Elpida, a different chip maker, for DRAM chips for its next-generation iPhone and iPad. The report was originally published by DigiTimes, which said Micron is currently interested in scooping up Elpida, which filed for bankruptcy in early 2012. Samsung typically provides the DRAM for Apple’s products and at least one analyst thinks Apple could switch to Elpida in order to ensure Samsung doesn’t dominate the chip market. “Apple wants to maintain its bargaining power by keeping Elpida running,” Choi Do-yeon, an analyst at LIG Investment & Securities, told Reuters. Another analyst believes that a Micro/Elpida merger could be a huge threat for Samsung and another firm, SK Hynix.

“Samsung shares were already facing pressure since offshore investors began cutting back on risk during the latest streak of sell-offs, but the news surrounding Elpida was the straw that broke the camel’s back,” an analyst with Hyundai Securities explained to Reuters.

[via Reuters, DigiTimes]

Want a free iPad? Just buy a Cadillac equipped with the new touchscreen CUE system and Bob’s your uncle. All 2013 Cadillac XTS owners get a free iPad with their new car that’s loaded to the brim with CUE training activities, courtesy of the CUE training application. Owners can “test drive” CUE on the iPad before driving the car, hopefully to prevent oodles of touchscreen-based accidents.

If that’s not enough, Cadillac dealerships nationwide will feature a resident technology expert, which will most likely be a member of the Geek Squad who owns a suit and golfs a lot as opposed to one who wears cargo shorts and plays World of Warcraft when not inside a Best Buy.

An iPad is a perfect fit for the new XTS, as the car features Magnetic Ride suspension and a 360-degree network of cameras and sensors in addition to the technology of the CUE system.

Android’s growth doesn’t appear to be slowing down any time soon. According to a new report released by Gartner on Wednesday, Android currently has a 56.1% share of the global smartphone OS market, followed by iOS with a 22.9% share, Symbian with an 8.6% share and RIM’s BlackBerry OS with a 6.9% share. Android’s market share increased from just 36.4% during the first quarter of last year, too.

Samsung remains the world’s largest vendor of mobile phones; the company sold 86.6 million devices during the first quarter of 2012 and maintained a 20.7% market share. It was followed by Nokia with a 19.8% market share and 83.2 million devices sold, Apple with a 7.9% market share and 33.1 million devices sold and ZTE with a 4.2% market share and 17.4 million devices sold.

Gartner said that global mobile phone sales declined a total of two percent year-over-year from the first quarter of last year. The last time that happened was during the second quarter of 2009. “Global sales of mobile devices declined more than expected due to a slowdown in demand from the Asia/Pacific region,” said Anshul Gupta, principal research analyst at Gartner. “The first quarter, traditionally the strongest quarter for Asia – which is driven by Chinese New Year, saw a lack of new product launches from leading manufacturers, and users delayed upgrades in the hope of better smartphone deals arriving later in the year.”

[via Gartner]

Everyone and their brother seems to have crafted an elaborate tale around Apple’s next iPhone, but today’s report comes from a legitimate source that claims Apple’s next iPhone will pack a display with a minimum size of 4-inches. “[Apple], which is expected to launch its next-generation iPhone later this year, has ordered screens from its Asian suppliers that are bigger than the ones used in iPhones since they debuted in 2007,” The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday. Apple is expected to begin production of the 4-inch new iPhone in June, which lines up with reports that suggested Apple is scaling back production of its current iPhones in preparation of a new model. LG, Japan Display and Sharp will reportedly supply the new display. A separate report from Reuters also reiterated the same 4-inch screen size.

[via Reuters, The Wall Street Journal]

With just two days to go before Facebook stock is public, the company has decided to increase the number of shares it will offer up.

In an amended registration document this morning, Facebook listed that it was bringing the total number of shares it plans to sell to 421 million. This represents an increase of 83.8 million over the original offering and could end up raising $16 billion should the shares sell at the $38 price Facebook has targeted on the high end.

With the addition of these shares, Facebook could definitely be entering into the big leagues of stocks. These new numbers will make it the largest technology IPO ever by a large margin – the previous being AT&T with $10 billion in 2010 according to Fortune – and the third largest ever on a U.S. stock exchange. The top two spots are held by Visa in 2008 with $19.65 billion and General Motors in 2010 with $18.145 billion.

These new shares appear to coming from existing shareholders such as Accel Partners, and do not represent an increase in the overall value of the company.

[via Fortune]

In case you’re wondering, the song being sung throughout the clip is by Hank Williams Sr. It’s “Alone and Forsaken,” and its lyrics and themes clearly apply to the world of The Last of Us.

The Last of Us is a PlayStation 3 exclusive. We expect much, much more to be revealed for the title at E3 this June. TechnoBuffalo will be on the scene then to deliver whatever eyes-on or hands-on previews Sony has in store for the press.

[via PlayStation Blog]

NVIDIA just announced that Sonic 4: Episode 2 THD is available for quad-core Tegra 3 smartphones and tablets. We’ve been playing the game for a bit now and have been blown away by the graphics on both a Transformer Prime and an international HTC One X.

In the game, You’ll work with Tails in an effort to move through each level, many of which require Tails to help carry you around obstacles. New maneuvers can be unlocked as you progress throughout the game, such as “Copter Combo,” which is unlocked after the first level. The levels are beautifully detailed, complete with water effects, sun flares and more. Our only gripe is that Tails is as silly and slow as ever, so you’ll need to go back for him frequently if he’s failed to keep up and you require his assistance. That adds to the fun of the game, though, and there’s always a Bluetooth multiplayer option if you want to yell at someone else to keep up.

If you’ve been looking back to your days on the couch playing Sonic on Sega, look no further than the Tegra Zone. Sonic 4: Episode 2 THD is available now for $6.99.

Whether it’s a completely makeover or a simple touch-up, every single screen of the app have been redesigned to be easier to use, faster and more intuitive.

The complete list of changes includes:

Completely new look

• New home screen lets you create and find your notes easily
• Redesigned note list for easier reading and browsing
• Updated notebook list unifies user notebooks with shared notebooks
• New contextual Action Bars for easy access to functionality

Swipeable navigation

• Swipe right from your note and note list to show the home screen
• Swipeable navigation to go from Notebook to Tag to Place views

As always, Evernote is completely free to download, and free to use. It’s compatible with Android 1.6 and above, and you can download it now from Google Play.

While Android user interfaces from the likes of HTC and Samsung have continued to evolve alongside the Android operating system itself, LG’s Optimus UI has been struggling to keep up. But today the Korean company has unveiled Optimus UI 3.0, which provides LG smartphone users with all sorts of new features, and new ways to interact with their handset.

The latest release brings a new feature called Quick Memo, which performs a lot like the S Memo feature built into Samsung’s Galaxy Note handset. You can make notes on the display using your finger, which you can then share via social networks, text message, or email.

Optimus UI 3.0 also introduces a number of new unlock gestures, one of which allows you to drag anywhere on the display in any direction. Furthermore, the Pattern Lock feature can be customized to automatically launch certain apps — such as the camera — right after unlocking your handset.

The update also brings new voice interactions that allow you to control certain aspects of your device without laying a finger on its touchscreen. One of those is the ability to snap an image without having to touch the shutter button.

Finally, apps are now sorted in order of popularity (the ones you use most are the ones you see first), and you can use your own images for app icons and shortcuts.

Optimus UI 3.0 will make its debut on the LG Optimus LTE II in Korea this week, while the rest of the world will have to wait for the LG Optimus 4X HD in June.

Are you excited about Optimus UI 3.0?

[via The Next Web]

If you’re planning on picking up the new Galaxy S III when it makes its debut at the end of this month, the chances are you’ve probably already placed your pre-order with your nearest smartphone retailer. But if you haven’t, pre-order from Samsung direct in the United Kingdom and you’ll get your handset a day early on May 29.

That’s right — you could be reading news on Flipboard and talking to your Galaxy S III an entire day before most people in the U.K. get their mitts on their handset. The only downside is, the offer is only available through one Samsung store, and that’s the one at the Westfield Stratford City shopping center in London.

Unless you live anywhere near that store, then, it might be best to just hold out until May 30. Though admittedly that’s easier said than done.

If you do live near that store, you will have to pre-order to get your handset on May 29. Samsung won’t actually be selling the handset then; just allowing those who got their order in early to collect their device. Once you’ve made your pre-order, you’ll be able to pick up your handset after 6 p.m., according to SlashGear.

Third-party retailers will be allowed to sell the handset from 7 p.m. on the same day. However, you’ll have to contact your nearest one to find out whether they’ll be staying open late to do that.

Will you be picking your Galaxy S III up early?

[via SlashGear]

It was disappointing to see Sony’s latest crop of Xperia smartphones launch without Ice Cream Sandwich pre-installed. But fortunately for those of you who picked up the Xperia S, the wait for Android 4.0 is nearly over.

According to a support representative on Sony’s official forums, the update will drop sometime between late May and early June. The rumors you may have been hearing about a June/July launch is simply “speculation”:

Xperia S is planned to get ICS somewhere around late May/early June. That’s what’s been said and that’s still what we’re sticking to. Any other dates (such as “June/July”) is just speculation.

The roll out is, as always, gradual and will not happen over night for all phones. Some phones might get the update in late May whilst other will get in i mid June etc.

That means you only have to stick with Gingerbread for another 2-4 weeks, which is around the same time Sony is scheduled to issue the Ice Cream Sandwich update to its 2011 Xperia devices.

Are you looking forward to tasting Ice Cream Sandwich on your Xperia S?

[via The Verge]

[Via: Detroit Free Press]

The news broke when the Sweden-based studio posted a job listing for an online game programmer. The listing said:

“Looking for a great job creating games? Ubisoft Massive is currently looking for an Online Game Programmer to join us in working with a next-gen project.”

It’s not like it even attempted to hide that this project was going to be developed for next generation consoles. This shows a resemblance to the story we shared earlier this month about Beyond Good & Evil 2 being developed for next generation hardware. The lead developer behind that project was also not shy about revealing plans for the game to launch on a next gen console.

When Ubisoft acquired Massive Entertainment in 2008 it was speculated that the studio would help Ubisoft in the development of massive multiplayer game development. They have also contributed to titles like Assassin’s Creed: Revelations and are currently working on the multiplayer for Far Cry 3. We’re unsure as to what this next gen title is going to be.

While the consoles may not be announced yet, we have to remember that when the launch of the next gen consoles finally does come they need to be readied with a handful of titles to debut alongside the new hardware. So, of course there are going to be developers working on projects a few years in advance. Although inevitable, it still sparks are imagination when we here of these working titles.

We don’t know what these next gen consoles are yet, so hearing them mentioned by developers like Ubisoft Massive can only get us thinking, wondering, and waiting.

[via Gamers Globe]

Award winning screenwriter Aaron Sorkin has been tapped to script the film adaptation of Steve Jobs.

Sony Pictutres announced this evening that is has entered into an agreement with Aaron Sorkin to script the film version of Walter Isaacson’s biography of Steve Jobs from last year.  This is not to be confused with the Ashton Kutcher film that is currently in production, but instead is probably the closest thing we will ever get to an official film based on the Apple co-founder’s life.

Sorkin is best known as the creator of The West Wing, but he was also the screenwriter behind the highly successful film The Social Network that told the story of the early days of Facebook.  No release date for this film has been announced as of yet.

The PS Vita has been on sale in the United States and Europe for ten weeks now, and despite its terrific features, the handheld has been nowhere near as successful as its predecessor when it comes to the U.K. market. In fact, with just 110,000 consoles sold, the device hasn’t even reached a third of the figures achieved by the PSP in its first ten weeks on sale.

According to Dorian Bloch, business group director with research company Chart-Track, the PSP managed to sell 3.5 times as many units as the PS Vita after ten weeks on sale in the U.K. But he notes that there are two good reasons for that.

First, the PSP was launched during the build-up to the fourth quarter, which includes Christmas and is one of the busiest periods for retail. Whereas the PS Vita was launched “at a traditionally quiet time.” Second, there’s a substantial difference in launch prices for the two devices, with the PS Vita marked at around £232 (approx. $372), and the PSP at £178 (approx. $286).

The PS Vita also had big shoes to step into. The PSP holds the record for the U.K.’s fastest-selling console during its first week, as well as the record for the number of weeks taken to achieve one million sales (24). If the PS Vita continues to sell at its current rate, it will take Sony’s latest handheld until late next year to achieve the one million milestone.

However, key titles are expected to boost PS Vita sales before year’s end. First up is Resistance: Burning Skies, which makes its debut at the end of May. And that will be followed by the likes of Gravity Rush in June, and LittleBigPlanet, Killzone, Call of Duty and more over the next few months.

Have you adopted the PS Vita yet? If not, why not?

[via PocketGamer]