Sprint's Samsung Galaxy Tab finally makes a fitting price drop to $200 on-contract

Back last fall, the Samsung Galaxy Tab began its descent into the US market by plopping itself on all four major domestic carriers. However, its acceptance wasn’t greeted all that well since its off-contract prices, and even on-contract ones, weren’t considered to be all that competitive.

Already, we’ve seen Sprint drop the price of their variant over the course of the last few months, but its latest slash might finally be enough to garner some attention from customers. Taking a peek at Sprint’s web site this morning, the Samsung Galaxy Tab is now priced at $199.99 with a 2-year contract; $429.99 no-contract.

Now there are many possible reasons why they dropped the price, whether it is due to newer tablets coming to market or just simply a natural price drop due to its shelf life, regardless, it’s definitely at a price that’s finally regarded as presentable. Then again, we may very well see it dropped down the road when the competition starts to make its presence known on Sprint’s lineup.

source: Sprint

Android Trojan horse app uses shame to curtail your piracy

If the threat of a lawsuit or even criminal charges isn't enough to deter you from piracy, then perhaps public shame will do the trick. The 'Android.Walkinwat' app presents itself as a free alternative to the popular 'Walk and Text' app, which uses your camera to let you see ahead while still focusing on your screen. But while 'Android.Walkinwat' doesn't carry a pricetag, it's anything but free.

The app is downloaded from a number of alternative Android app markets, and then works like a Trojan horse within your device. It will first redirect you to the legitimate link to download the paid 'Walk and Text' app. But the real shaming comes when it secretly sends the following SMS to your entire contact list:

"Hey, just downloaded [sic] a pirated app off the internet, Walk and Text for Android. Im stupid and cheap, it costed [sic] only 1 buck. Don't steal like I did!"

After that, the app will bring up a message on your screen, which says ""We really hope you learned something from this. Check your phone bill ;) Oh and dont forget to buy the App from the Market."

AVAST Software, the Czech Republic-based security company, says the app can be traced to Georgi Tanmazov, the CEO behind Incorporate Apps' legitimate version of 'Walk and Text'. Users suggested that the Trojan horse was copying their contact lists, but Tanmazov and Incorporate Apps dismissed the rumors with the following statement:

"We are looking into ways of filing a lawsuit against AVAST from CZECH REPUBLIC, company which has a vast interest in spreading fear in favor of their products! We are denied contact to any officials from that company and our calls are being blocked or ignored."

While we respect the right of Incorporate Apps to protect their copyrighted works, don't you think a Trojan horse shame-fest is a little much? Legality aside, it will put a bad taste in your mouth the next time you consider buying from Incorporate Apps.

source: L.A. Times Tech Blog

Syrian cell networks and Internet are down, citizens claim interference

In Syria, communication networks, including cell phones and Internet, are down. Local residents are claiming that it is a deliberate act of interference by the existing regime, but government officials insist it is merely a technical issue.

The network failures follow a number of arrests of pro-democracy activists. At least 46 people were arrested in government raids, and between 4 and 8 people have been reportedly killed. One witness told the AFP that security forces were using live ammunition to deter citizens throwing stones.

Eight human rights groups jointly condemned the violent manner in which the government handled the peaceful protests in Douma, just north of Damascus: "We condemn this extremely violent and unjustified way the Syrian security services dealt with peaceful rallies in Douma where police used excessive force against demonstrators."

A customer service representative at Syria's mobile and Internet provider told the AFP that the outage "was due to an overload of connections". And given the level of unrest, and their greater dependence on mobile networks vs. landlines, that sounds realistic. But both major Syrian phone companies, Syriatel and MTN, have made their loyalty to the current regime clear by offering free minutes in honor of those who demonstrated on behalf of President Al Assad. Now don't we feel silly for complaining about miniscule dropped call rates?

source: Gulf News via Textually

China's 360buy raises $1.5 billion

SHANGHAI  - China's largest business-to-consumer website 360buy.com said on Friday it has raised a whopping $1.5 billion from a diverse group of investors in its latest round of financing, in preparation for an initial public offering in 2013.
360buy's latest fundraising comes at a boom time in China's e-commerce industry that is set to grow at high double digit rates over the next two years, as rising incomes across China boost consumer spending and the number of Internet users soar.
360buy, which sells branded electronics goods online, said Russian Internet investment group Digital Sky Technologies had put in $500 million. News of DST's investment was first reported by the Financial Times.
DST has invested in social networking website Facebook and discount-buying website Groupon.
"With regard to the rapid development of 360buy and China's e-commerce industry, this round of fundraising will have a very meaningful impact on that," Liu Qiangdong, chief executive of 360buy, said in a statement.
360buy said that Tiger Fund had also invested in the firm. In December, 360buy confirmed that it had secured $500 million in funding from six strategic partners including Wal-Mart Stores Inc.
The company has received $1.1 billion of the funds.
360buy made 11.4 billion yuan ($1.7 billion) in sales in 2010, estimated Beijing-based research firm Analysys International.
China's e-commerce industry handled 520 billion yuan ($79 billion) in transactions in 2010, with about 30 percent of the country's 450 million strong Internet users transacting over the Web. Taobao is the leading e-commerce platform in China with more than 70 percent of the market by transaction value.
"It's still at a very fast growth stage. With more investment it is getting more competitive and we are going to see more development of new business models," said Hong Kong-based JPMorgan analyst Dick Wei.
RUSH FOR GOLD
The soaring number of Chinese Internet users coupled with rising incomes has whet investor appetite for Chinese Internet companies such as Baidu Inc and Tencent Holdings.
Shares of recently listed Qihoo 360 Technology soared in their debut on Thursday, more than doubling its IPO price of $14.50.
Qihoo's $176 million IPO comes on the heels of a rush of similar Chinese Internet companies in the fourth quarter, such as online video company Youku.com Inc and Internet retailer E Commerce China Dangdang Inc.
The shares of both companies also soared in their NYSE debuts in December, rising 161 percent and 87 percent, respectively. Youku has since risen another 34 percent, while Dangdang erased some gains to trade 39 percent above the IPO price.
Wei said the large investment into 360buy could bring competitive pressure to Dangdang and Taobao. On Thursday, Baidu said it will shut its online e-commerce store Youa and migrate users to other platforms.

Anti-depressants linked to risk of heart disease, stroke

Washington, April 3  The drugs used in chasing away blues could also make your arteries thicker, restricting blood flow and upping the risk of heart disease and stroke, a study co-authored by an Indian origin expert says.
Although depression is a risk factor for heart disease, the effect of anti-depressant is separate from depression itself, says study co-author Amit Shah, cardiology fellow at Emory University School of Medicine.
The study suggest that anti-depressants may combine with depression for a negative effect on blood vessels, he says. Shah is working with Viola Vaccarino, who heads the department of epidemiology at Emory.
The study included 513 middle-aged male twins who both served in the US military during the Vietnam War, according to an Emory statement.
Twins are genetically the same but may be different when it comes to other risk factors such as diet, smoking and exercise, so studying them is a good way to distill out the effects of genetics, Shah says.
Researchers measured carotid intima-media thickness (IMT), the thickness of the lining of the main arteries in the neck, by ultrasound.
Among the 59 pairs of twins where only one brother took anti-depressants, the one taking the drugs tended to have higher IMT, even when standard heart disease risk factors were taken into account.
'One of the strongest and best-studied factors that thickens someone's arteries is age, and that happens at around 10 microns per year,' Shah says.
'In our study, users of antidepressants see an average 40 micron increase in IMT, so their carotid arteries are in effect four years older,' adds Shah.
The data is being presented on April 5 at the American College of Cardiology meeting.

Mexico flies first plane with bio-fuel

Mexico City, April 3  Mexico has carried out the country's first flight using fuel made from plants in an Airbus A320 plane.
Domestic carrier Interjet and Airbus carried out the demo flight Saturday, said Gilberto Lopez Meyer, Mexico's director of airports and auxiliary services.
One of the two engines powering the aircraft used 30 percent bio-fuel as the A320 plane flew from Mexico City International airport to Angel Albino Corzo of Tuxtla Gutierrez airport in southern Chiapas state, RIA Novosti reported.
The fuel was made from a locally grown oil-producing plant, jatropha.
Jatropha is crucial in efforts to reduce carbon dioxide emission and has the potential to reduce the overall carbon dioxide footprint by up to 80 percent over standard aviation kerosene, according to Airbus.

Cablevision launches iPad app to watch TV at home

 
CHICAGO  - Cablevision Systems Corp is launching an app for customers using its Optimum package to watch television on their iPads at home, the company said on Saturday.
The service, available at no extra charge, will allow the cable operator's more than 3 million customers to watch some 300 channels, search programming by genre and enable customers to record programs.
The system uses Cablevision's digital cable television network to deliver programming to the iPad, so customers do not need to have Internet access on their devices to use the app.
"This application allows the iPad to function as a television, delivering the full richness and diversity of our cable television service to a display device in the home," Tom Rutledge, Cablevision chief operating officer, said in a statement.

Japan quake, tsunami toll tops 12,000

Moscow, April 3 : The toll in the magnitude 9 quake that triggered a giant tsunami in Japan has surpassed 12,000 while nearly 15,500 were unaccounted for, the Kyodo news agency reported Sunday.
The twin disaster that hit Japan March 11 also triggered a number of explosions at the Fukushima nuclear power plant, which caused radioactive leak.
Over 165,000 people have been evacuated from the disaster zone and accommodated in temporary refuge centres across the country.
The Japanese government has said the damage from the disaster could total $310 billion.
Meanwhile, Russian emergencies services said Sunday that radiation levels are within the norm in Russia's Far East and the danger of radioactive pollution in the region following the nuclear crisis at Fukushima is unlikely.

Al Qaeda members hide in Brazil, raise money - report

BRASILIA  - Al Qaeda operatives are in Brazil planning attacks, raising money and recruiting followers, a leading news magazine reported on Saturday, renewing concerns about the nation serving as a hide-out for Islamic militants.
Veja magazine, in its online edition, reported that at least 20 people affiliated with al Qaeda as well as the Lebanese Shi'ite Muslim group Hezbollah, the Palestinian group Hamas and two other organizations have been hiding out in the South American country.
The magazine said these operatives have been raising money and working to incite attacks abroad. The magazine cited Brazilian police and U.S. government reports, but did not give details on specific targets or operations.
The United States has said Islamic militants have been operating in the border region between Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina. Brazil has denied this, while saying it is aware that some members of Brazil's Lebanese community legally transferred funds to the Middle East.
There has been a warming of relations between Brazil and the United States since President Dilma Rousseff took office in January. She has sought closer U.S. ties after her predecessor, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, angered the United States with attempts to mediate over Iran's nuclear program.
Veja reported that a Lebanese man named Khaled Hussein Ali, who has lived in Brazil since 1998, is an important member of al Qaeda's propaganda operation and has coordinated extremists in 17 countries.
He was briefly arrested in Brazil in March 2009 after a police investigation that found videos and texts directed at al Qaeda followers. One email found on his computer and sent as spam to email addresses in the United States incites hatred against Jews and blacks, Veja said.
He spent 21 days in prison on charges of racism, inciting crime and gang formation, but was set free because prosecutors did not pursue the charges in court, Veja said.

Six times to hell and back in Chernobyl, says nuclear "jumper"

 
Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) is trying to get jumpers -- reportedly for $5,000 a day -- to bring its damaged nuclear power plant in northern Japan under control after it was severely damaged by last month's earthquake and tsunami, the world's worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl.
Six times during his 40-day tenure at Chernobyl, Belyakov was one of the hundreds crouching in the covered stairway leading to the roof of nuclear reactors 3 and 4. Outside, radioactivity was so high that it could kill within minutes.
"It was the doorway to hell," he told Reuters, recalling events of 25 years ago. "Right at the door there was an elaborate and professionally done drawing on the wall, like a fresco, which showed you the roof in 3-D.
"The guy (at the door) tells you, you go here, you do this, you go around this, this ladder is not good so don't go there because you may fall with it. You mentally imprint what you need to do, you follow that. Then you run."

NZ Indians outraged over 'Indian-hate-slur' host Henry's appointment by MediaWorks

Wellington, Apr 3 : New Zealand's Indian community has expressed outrage at MediaWorks for hiring Paul Henry, the former controversial TVNZ host who had created a controversy ahead of the Commonwealth Games by mispronouncing Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit's name several times in a crude manner, to host a number of shows.
Henry would host RadioLive's drive show, replacing Maggie Barry who left in December, and will also be working on high-profile projects for TV3, stuff.co.nz reports.
New Zealand Indian Central Association Vice President Harshad Patel has said that the Indian community is "hugely disappointed" at his appointment, and that the association has planned to write to MediaWorks to voice its opposition.
"With everything he has done, it's not acceptable to the Indian community. It hasn't just been once, it's been two times, three times... It's insulting to Indians. He is a racist man. Even in India they'll be disappointed by this," Patel added.
He also said that the association was considering boycotting MediaWorks and calling on its sponsors to withdraw their support for the company.
They would also consider taking up the matter with the Indian High Commission, he said.
Henry had no option but to resign from Television New Zealand in October last year after being to the subject of several hundred complaints over racist remarks he made about Governor General Sir Anand Satyanand and Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit.

Gulmarg weaves its magic around tourists

Gulmarg, April 3  A magical mist surrounds this ultimate destination of skiers, sports lovers, honeymooners and adventure- seeking tourists as yet another snowfall changes the landscape in Gulmarg, the world-renowned tourist retreat in Jammu and Kashmir.
Tall pine trees laden with snow and hundreds of acres of golf turf covered with a majestic white blanket in the foreground of the dense forest are picture perfect for both skiers and adventure-loving tourists who throng Gulmarg these days.
The tourist season, which began here in December with its first snowfall, is to continue well into June.
Ishwar Singh, 45, of Delhi, who is here with his wife and two children, is predictably excited.
The family is part of a 19-member group of tourists visiting Gulmarg for the first time.
'It's simply breathtaking. I have heard a lot about Gulmarg. The very name brings in a refreshing feeling when the temperature soars back in Delhi,' Singh said.

UK refuses to hand over Musharraf to Pakistan in absence of extradition treaty

Rawalpindi, April 3: The British government has refused to hand over former military ruler Pervez Musharraf to Pakistan in connection with the Benazir Bhutto assassination case, owing to the absence of any extradition treaty between both nations.
The Joint Investigation Team presented a written report of the British Home Department, which was forwarded by the Pakistan High Commission, to the Anti-Terrorist Court (ATC) in Rawalpindi hearing the Benazir murder case.
As per this report, the arrest warrants for Musharraf could not be executed because no formal extradition treaty existed between Pakistan and the UK.
The arrest warrants for Musharraf issued by the court were sent to the British Home Department and the Pakistan High Commission through the Foreign Ministry, The News quoted Chief Prosecutor Chaudhry Zulfiqar, as saying.
The Pakistan High Commission had intimated Musharraf's address in London and arrest warrants were also sent to that address.
Meanwhile, the ATC showed annoyance over the failure of the JIT to serve the arrest warrants, and summoned Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Director Wajid Zia, who is also the JIT chairman, to appear in the court on the next date in person to explain the reason behind the delay in serving warrants on Musharraf.
The court warned that it was the last chance for the FIA to produce the former president on the next date, and issued strict orders to the team to serve warrants on Musharraf and produce him before the court on the next date of hearing at all costs.

Myanmar warns no 'decadent' dress for New Year's

Myanmar is warning that revelers who wear "decadent" clothing during the upcoming New Year's celebrations can face up to a month in prison.
The four-day festival that starts April 13 is one of the few times when Myanmar's citizens can cut loose under the watchful eye of the repressive regime.
Revelers in the impoverished country splash one another with water and dance in the streets, despite annual warnings of proper etiquette from the country's repressive leaders.
The weekly News Watch journal on Sunday issued the government's warning for merrymakers to "avoid wearing dress that is contrary to Myanmar culture."
It said those caught "wearing decadent attire" can face a fine or one month in prison.

U.S. pastor unbowed, vows new anti-Islam protest

GAINESVILLE, Fla. - A militant fundamentalist Christian preacher in Florida whose burning of a Koran triggered deadly riots in Afghanistan was unrepentant on Saturday and defiantly vowed to lead an anti-Islam protest outside the biggest mosque in the United States.
The planned demonstration could further inflame tensions over the Koran burning, which led to two days of protests in Afghanistan that included the killings of U.N. staff and stoked anti-Western sentiment in parts of the Muslim world.
"Our aim is to make an awareness of the radical element of Islam," Pastor Terry Jones told Reuters in an interview at the church he leads in the college town of Gainesville, Florida. A picture of the burning Koran was on his computer screen.
"Obviously it is terrible any time people are murdered or killed. I think that on the other hand, it shows the radical element of Islam."
Jones, a former hotel manager turned pastor who claims the Koran incites violence, said he will go ahead with a protest on April 22 in front of the largest mosque in the United States, located in Dearborn, Michigan.
President Barack Obama denounced the act of burning a Koran but did not mention Jones by name.
"The desecration of any holy text, including the Koran, is an act of extreme intolerance and bigotry," Obama said in a statement released by the White House on Saturday. "However, to attack and kill innocent people in response is outrageous, and an affront to human decency and dignity."
Jones provoked an international outcry last year over his plan to burn copies of the Koran on the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States.

Fighting rages in Ivory Coast, 800 dead in west

 
ABIDJAN  - Soldiers of Ivory Coast's rival leaders battled for the presidential palace, military bases and state TV in the main city Abidjan on Saturday, in a conflict so brutal that 800 people have been killed in just one town.
Advancing soldiers backing Alassane Ouattara, who U.N.-certified results show won a Nov. 28 presidential election, met stiff resistance from fighters remaining loyal to incumbent Laurent Gbagbo, who has refused to step down.
State television came back on air after fighting took it down for a day, showing Gbagbo drinking tea, saying the pictures were from his city residence on Saturday. It was not possible to verify if the images were recent recordings.
It later repeated the same footage, along with that of troops and young militiamen near his residence brandishing their weapons and chanting pro-Gbagbo slogans. The report said he would never give up, although there was no new sign of him.
A Reuters reporter heard sporadic gunfire and explosions from heavy shelling near the presidential palace throughout the day, and clashes also raged around the office of state broadcaster RTI, back in Gbagbo's hands after the rebels had initially seized it, and some military bases in the city.
After a brief lull, heavy fighting also resumed outside Gbagbo's residence, though military sources on both sides said his forces remained in control and showed no signs of giving up.
"We are going to fight to the death. We die or we win," Noel Dago, a pro-Gbabgo militia fighter by his house said by phone.

Coalition "friendly fire" kills 13 Libyan rebels

 
EAST OF BREGA/BENGHAZI, Libya  - A NATO-led air strike killed 13 Libyan rebels, a rebel spokesman said on Saturday, but their leaders called for continued raids on Muammar Gaddafi's forces despite the "regrettable incident".
In the rebel capital of Benghazi the anti-Gaddafi council also named a "crisis team", including the former Libyan interior minister as the armed forces chief of staff, to run parts of the country it holds in its struggle to topple Gaddafi.
The 13 fighters died on Friday night in an increasingly chaotic battle over the oil town of Brega with Gaddafi's troops, who have reversed a rebel advance on the coastal road linking their eastern stronghold with western Libya.
Hundreds of mostly young, inexperienced volunteers were seen fleeing east from Brega towards the town of Ajdabiyah after coming under heavy mortar and machinegun fire.
A contingent of more experienced and better organised rebel units initially held their ground in Brega, but with most journalists forced east, it was unclear whether they had remained inside the town or had pulled back into the desert.

Japan nuclear struggle focuses on cracked reactor pit

 
TOKYO  - Japanese engineers grappling on Sunday to control the world's worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl tried to seal a crack leaking radiation into the Pacific sea from a crippled reactor.
The drama at the six-reactor Fukushima Daiichi complex has dragged into a fourth week, unsettling the global nuclear industry and compounding Japan's suffering after an earthquake and tsunami that left about 27,500 people dead or missing.
Radiation has leaked into the sea, food, drinking water and air. It is hindering efforts to cool overheating fuel rods work at the plant and regain control of the damaged reactors.
Experts say that beyond the disaster zone, there is minimal risk to human health further afield in Japan or abroad.
But the nation is staring at months of work to control the plant, followed by years of cleaning up and containment in the worst atomic crisis since Chernobyl in 1986.
"The Japanese people's main concern is when the leakage of radioactive substances will stop," said Goshi Hosono, a ruling party lawmaker and aide to embattled Prime Minister Naoto Kan.
At the weekend, plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) found a crack in a concrete pit at the No.2 reactor, generating readings of 1,000 millisieverts of radiation per hour in the air inside.
The leaks did not stop after concrete was poured into the pit, so TEPCO was turning to water-absorbent polymers to prevent more contaminated water escaping.
The crack may be one source of leaks that have sent radiation levels in the sea soaring to 4,000 times the legal limit.

Ivory Coast: French forces take over Abidjan airport

The Red Cross says the attacks happened in Duekoue in the west

France has sent extra troops to Ivory Coast's main city, Abidjan, and taken control of its airport.

It comes as fighting continued between forces loyal to the UN-recognised president, Alassane Ouattara, and his rival, incumbent Laurent Gbagbo.
The city's pro-Gbagbo TV station called for people to mobilise against the French '"occupation".
An adviser to Mr Ouattara said his forces were preparing a final push to depose Mr Gbagbo, AP reports.
France has sent an extra 300 soldiers to Ivory Coast, military spokesman Thierry Burkhard said, taking the total French force to about 1,400.
The airport had been secured by UN troops since Friday, but the French move meant the airport was now able to re-open, Mr Burkhard said.
He said there were no immediate plans to start evacuating foreigners.
More than 1,500 foreigners are sheltering in a French army camp.
They include about 700 French nationals, some 600 Lebanese citizens and 60 Europeans of assorted nationalities, French media report.
'Lives at stake' Ivorian state TV, which is controlled by Mr Gbagbo, accused the French troops of preparing a genocide like the one in Rwanda in 1994, when more than 800,000 people were killed.
A strap line on state TV on Sunday read: "[French President Nicolas] Sarkozy's men are preparing a Rwandan genocide in Ivory Coast. Ivorians, let us go out en masse and occupy the streets. Let us stay standing."

Froyo is installed in more devices than any other Android build

While fragmentation still plagues Android, it is not the issue that it once was. Thanks to the large number of newly launched Android devices and the number of older models that have been upgraded, Android 2.2 is now installed on 63.9% of Android devices, up from 61.3%. That is followed by the 27.2% of Android phones carrying Android 2.1 after a 2 point drop. Still, that means more than 90% of the handsets are concentrated in just two builds, certainly not what one would call fragmentation.

Surprisingly, 3.5% of  phones running Google's open source OS are still powered by Android 1.6 while 2.7% have Android 1.5 under the hood. But what about the newer Gingerbread versions? Android 2.3 can be found on .8% of Android phones while Android 2.3.3 represents 1.7% of the outstanding handsets. The Honeycomb build, optimized for tablets, is on .2% of Android devices.

As time passes, you can expect the older builds to start dropping off in numbers and as Android users start to replace their older models with newer dual-core, 4G enabled phones, we should see the majority of Android phones running Froyo and higher. Considering the features that Android 2.2 brings to the table, it will be some time before that build starts to drop off significantly, but the percentage of devices running Eclair should drop sharply as 2011 comes to a close.

source: AndroidDevelopers

Android 2.1 and 2.2 together are installed on more than 90% of current Android devices