Mobile apps' 'hidden threats' to be regulated
Mobile phone applications sometimes pose “hidden threats to consumers” and could be subject to greater control, regulator PhonepayPlus has said. The UK regulator of premium rate telephone services said that it had already taken action on apps which maliciously charge consumers without their knowledge or consent.  In one example, a ‘free battery saver’ app contained malware – identified by PhonepayPlus monitoring – that accessed the phone’s text message function and allowed texts to be automatically sent and received. Text messages were then sent that subscribed consumers to a premium rate subscription service without their knowledge or consent.
The Telegraph

Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc hit by hardware faults
Manufacturer admits cracks are appearing on body of the handset, but insists problem is unlikely to affect performance. Sony Ericsson has been hit by complaints from customers who claim cracks are appearing on the Xperia Arc handset. Several Sony Ericsson customers have contacted Mobile News regarding the cracks, which appear above and below the front-facing light sensor above the Sony Ericsson branding. Messages have also been posted on the Sony Ericsson message boards complaining about the faults, which according to some is not covered under the manufacturer warranty.
Mobile News

Viewers 'much prefer 3D TV'
Viewers prefer 3D TV to 2D, a survey by technology company Panasonic has revealed. Conducted by research firm Frank N Magid Associates during Disney's D23 Expo in August, 71 per cent of people who watched in three dimensions described it as 'dramatically better' than its flatter counterpart. Furthermore, 27 per cent said the 3D experience was 'fabulous', while 50 per cent admitted: 'I wish I had this in my home.' Eisuke Tsuyuzaki, chief technology officer at Panasonic, said the results back up his company's belief that people love 3D TV when they see it.
BCS

Samsung unveils Mango-based Omnia W
Samsung has unveiled the first of its Windows Phone handsets that will launch with Mango, also known as version 7.5 of Microsoft's smartphone platform. The Omnia W, which will hit Italy first at the end of October before being released across Europe and elsewhere, is a sequel to earlier Samsung Windows Phone such as the Omnia 7. However, while those phones need updates to get Mango features such as unified messaging and video calling, the Omnia W will come with these capabilities at launch.
ZDNet

Telcos can use prepaid top-ups to break into m-commerce – study
Global mobile commerce market will be worth US$22.5 billion in 2014, according to new report, providing revenue opportunity for mobile operators. Prepaid mobile top-ups offer operators a useful route into the mobile commerce space, a market that will be worth more than US$22.5 billion worldwide by 2014, up from $5.6 billion last year, according to a new study.
Total Telecom

China police urged to use social media
China has ordered police nationwide to make more use of social networking sites to ensure greater openness and "dispel misunderstandings," the state Xinhua news agency said Tuesday. Huang Ming, vice-minister of public security, delivered the message at a conference on Monday aimed at helping law enforcement officials to use China's hugely popular microblogs--sites similar to Twitter--the report said. "Internet users are one of the major groups of our society and they are not satisfied," Huang posted on the Beijing Public Security Bureau microblog.
Total Telecom

Spotify defends Facebook sign-up requirement
Spotify has defended its link-up with Facebook, which means new users must have an account with the social network in order to join the music service. The move to force music lovers to link to a Facebook account has come under fire from users and industry insiders, but Spotify boss Daniel Ek has claimed the decision was intended to make signing up easier. “About Facebook registrations. We want to remove barriers to sign-up and create a more seamless experience,” Ek said on his Twitter account. “We think our users are social.”
PC Pro

Openness of Internet can't be taken for granted, says FCC
Commission bars content blocking by broadband providers in new Net neutrality rules. The Federal Communication Commission (FCC) has made new Net neutrality rules official, placing restrictions on broadband providers from favouring or discriminating against traffic that travels through their networks. The new regulations allow the FCC to punish broadband providers which slow down service or restrict content for customers. The new rules will go into effect on 20 November. In its report, Preserving the Open Internet, the FCC said that it had initiated a public process to determine whether and what actions might be necessary "to preserve the characteristics that have allowed the Internet to grow into an indispensable platform supporting our nation's economy and civic life, and to foster continued investment in the physical networks that enable the Internet."
CBR

Apple denied trademark on multi-touch
There are signs that the patent system in the US is falling to bits after the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), denied that Steve Jobs was original. Apple applied for a trademark on the term Multi-Touch on 9 January, 2007, the day the iPhone was introduced. Of course there were those who did not believe that such a generic term could be patented, but everyone knows that Apple is the only innovator in the world and if Steve said he coined the term he must have done.
But, Apple was initially refused a trademark for the term and went to the Appeal Board. The board upheld the initial refusal to grant the trademark.
Tech Eye

MySQL.com hacked to serve malware
The website for the open-source MySQL database was hacked and used to serve malware to visitors Monday. Security vendor Armorize noticed the problem at around 05:00 Pacific Time US Monday 26 September. Hackers had installed JavaScript code that threw a variety of known browser attacks at visitors to the site, so those with out-of-date browsers or unpatched versions of Adobe Flash, Reader or Java on their Windows PCs could have been quietly infected with malicious software. By just after 11:00, the issue had been cleaned up, said Wayne Huang, Armorize's CEO. He thinks the malicious code was on the site for less than a day.
Tech Central