Since finding reports of security problems with the Android OS — the favorite of every Korean cellphone maker — a new era of security nightmares appears to be coming. An Android virus has been discovered in Russia and an iPhone virus in Japan that affects all generations, jail-broken or not.
The Coming Deluge . . .
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{ 23 comments… read them below or add one }
April Fools?
(Its August)
But I don’t doubt that iphone users get more sex.
Wait until you get your iPad. It’s a great conversation-starter.
Are you lining up and plowing through the birds there, Brendon?
So is that means these who purchased iPads be watching porns from their iPads? iTouch/iPhone wasn’t enough?
cmm — No, my iPad isn’t dropping panties in and of itself. However, all kinds of people — not just ladies — want to talk about it, and lay hands on it. Definitely, until everyone has one, iPad is a terrific business and social tool.
I’d really like an ipad myself. I saw one that seemed smaller than I’d imagined they’d be. Are there more than one size?
Also, how much will in run me in KRW to get one with sufficient memory and speed? And how much are the monthly payments to get internet service anywhere in Seoul? I met someone carrying an “egg” device that gave the ipad the connection. Is that the only way to do it, with a separate device?
I would bet that Korea will become the hub of Android botnets in the near future since there is already a real problem with such thanks to the abundance of Windows OS here. The Android OS will probably offer a far larger pool of potential network hacking than Windows machines.
Partially related (up to you Elgin) but interesting, the last Gartner report:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-08-12/nokia-loses-market-share-as-growth-in-smartphones-extended-gartner-says.html
Nokia appears to be on the way to become a GM of Europe and am i the only one who had a really shitty experience with a LG device ?
I had some kind of LG quasi-smartphone 2 years ago (forgot the model): one day it simply froze when i turned it on
Max – they aren’t released yet in Korea, and to my knowledge KT hasn’t got a 3G coverage plan for them. The egg, which takes the Wibro signal and functions as a portable wireless router is an option for that, but getting an iPad into Korea is expensive. Not sure when it’s to be released in The Korea, but you can have a friend in the USA send you one. The price of the different types of iPads are on the apple store (apple.com). Add about $150 (FedEx) for shipping and insurance, and about 9만원 for Customs taxes. I recently ordered three for some friends and coworker (boss). Delivery from apple was 3 to 4 weeks, despite the ordering page stating that it would ship in 10 days (a blatant lie). So depending on options, it’s about one month and $1000 all together. Once it’s here, you have to find lots of work-arounds to use the Korean internet. As of yet, there is no built-in 한글 keyboard, and no flash on the browser. Yet everyone that I helped get one has since become completely addicted to the thing. They claim they go home early, wash their hands, and get lost in the thing for the rest of most nights. Beware.
Max — I have no idea what price Apple will release iPad at in Korea. However, based on experience, price will very closely approximate the US retail price, after taking into account import duty, VAT, and exchange rate. Many Apple products are even a few dollars cheaper here than in the United States.
However, it is also possible that Korea Telecom will sell iPad 3G on a similar basis as iPhone, which is to say a subsidy to the consumer if the consumer signs up for a long-term contract. If so, wow!
The iPad 3G service plan, if the carrier is KT (and logic says it probably will be), could be rolled up into a combo plan with your iPhone, NESPOT, and home Internet service.
I agree with cmm that if you’re a typical Korean user, a US-version iPad, parallel imported or smuggled in a suitcase (like mine!), is not going to be an optimal experience. There isn’t a hangul input method accessible in iOS 3.3, and iOS 4.0 isn’t released for iPad yet. It doesn’t run Flash, and about 99% of Korean websites are primarily implemented using Adobe’s bloated Flash technology because Koreans lurve animated bits and nobody here has heard of CSS 2 or 3, HTML 5, or even JQuery. They are trapped in 1997′s Internet, and in 1997 there was no iPad, no Firefox, no CSS/XHTML or HTML5, and — to be perfectly honest — no Mac.
The great thing about Android is that Android uses WebKit as its browser, just like iPod/iPhone/iPad and the Mac. That means the shitty Korean web doesn’t run on Android devices either, and that means the problem cannot simply be attributed to your foolish choice to buy an Apple product.
Is that any consolation Brendon when Android has gaping security holes in it?
It is more like having Windows on a phone if it is as hackable as I suspect it is. Who will take care of security for this portable nightmare? Version 2.2 already has a root-kit:
http://www.mobileburn.com/news.jsp?Id=10196
Elgin — If Android frightens you so much, don’t buy one. Buy an iPhone. Its moderated App Store model prevents almost all malware from getting onto your phone. So far, the only security hole I know of on iPhone is admittedly a gaping one, as malicious PDFs can jailbreak the phone; an updated version of iOS has been released today patching this hole.
But fundamentally, anyone who gets bitten by the malicious jailbreaking PDF is a goof — you have to open and view the offending file in order for it to execute. As for me, I don’t open strange attachments on my iPhone or my Mac and in the seven years I’ve been using Mac OS X instead of Windows I’ve been blissfully secure. Actually, when I was using Windows as well I only got hit once, in the computer lab at the University of Washington where the Word macro virus Wazzu was all over the place. From my perspective it’s kind of a non-issue.
Brendon, I use “Skim” for PDF files as well (OSX) and it prevents that problem as well as running better than the Acrobat Reader.
Okay, Brendon, come clean: Exactly how many Apple products do you currently own and/or use? My intuition says you’re likely using a Mac at work, and have one at home, plus also have an Airbook, an iPhone and now an iPad. Am I far off?
gbnhj:
Brendon IS an Applebot
Uh oh…
At home I have a G4 Cube, two G4 Mac minis, a Core Duo Mac mini (these are all on the shelf now, honestly), Core 2 Duo Mac mini Snow Leopard Server, two white MacBooks, a MacBook Air, a 15″ MacBook Pro i5 (with the high-resolution anti-glare screen option), a 27″ iMac i5, an iPhone 3GS, and an iPad WiFi 64GB. At the office it’s a 24″ iMac, which now feels like a lead anchor in comparison to the sweet, sweet 27″ iMac. My kids get iPods every Christmas.
My workshop has a bunch of non-Apple computer stuff too but most of that is on the shelf as well.
This may seem excessive, and potentially is excessive, but inasmuch as my first job at age 11 was in fact working at an Apple ][ reseller in Columbia, Missouri and Apple has given me a lot of money for my services every year as long as I’ve been a lawyer, I ought to eat their dog food. Microsoft has great stuff too, and I guess Linux is okay if you have unlimited time, but given where I get my income it seems right to recycle some of the cash.
It helps that the dog food is really good. My family has always had computers coming out of our ears since I was about 7, and I love technology. As a technology enthusiast and computer hobbyist for 34 years, I can unabashedly praise Apple as the best thing going right now. Other choices are just fine, and if I were pushed or pulled back to Windows it wouldn’t kill me (I really like Windows 7 now), so your mileage may vary.
Without knowing exactly who works where in the valley building these two OS’s, it’s fair to assume Apple has an enormous expertise advantage in that area, whether it be security or GUI design. Moreover, it’s almost eerie how much this all parallels the initial Mac-Windows showdown. We are probably approaching the point where Android begins to resemble the soiled backseat of a taxi that the entire Windows platform has long since been. Apple will gladly sell fewer units and sacrifice market share in order to maintain the integrity of both the platform and device itself, minus the er… antennae. While Steve is most likely not the total genius he’s purported to be, he’s not dumb enough to hit the mat the same way in nearly-identical bouts.
And I have not seen this mentioned here, but the build quality of the Galaxy S leaves much to be desired. It feels flimsy at best.
Lastly, does anyone doubt the sales figures cited in the Korean media? 850K iPhones and however many Galaxy S’s… sometimes it seems like there are that many of the former on one subway car in rush hour alone. Moreover, I just do not see that many of the latter out and about.
Holy crap on a cracker! I’d never have guessed the addiction ran so deep~
@ 9 & 10
thanks for the info. hmm… I do want an “optimal experience” but if I wait for the Korean 3G version will it be usable outside of Korea? I’m in and out of the country quite a bit. And does a 3G version also have wifi? Noobish questions prolly, but am a bit of a luddite . When it comes to phones I’m used to SIM cards. Man, I love ‘em. When I travel, one phone, pocketful of SIMs and pick up charge cards as I go. No service providers, no contracts, no roaming fees. Why couldn’t it be that easy with ipads?
Brendon the Korean version won’t run Flash will it? other than the hangul input and the possibility of a money saving KT contract, is there anything the Korean version will have over the US one?
cmm how do i get on your xmas list?!
Not sure about the conveniece of 3G roaming, just that the 3G iPads have a SIM of some design or another. Maybe Brendon and definitely Google can tell you more about the SIM situation. And rest-assured, every iPad is wi-fi equipped.
I’ll field some of Brendon’s Q’s: The Korean version won’t run Flash. That’s about as likely as it is for Korean web developers to stop using Flash. There are some non-free apps that supposedly enable Flash functionality, but I have no experience with them. The “Korean version” will be nearly identical to all other “versions,” if not completely functionally identical. The manuals will be in Korean. Before being released in Korea, expect that the OS (of all iPads in the world) will be upgraded to include a hangeul keyboard. I don’t expect the Korean version will have anything over the US one, except possibly it could be easier to get serviced locally if it breaks?
To get on my xmas list – You have to be a very good boy or better yet a very naughty girl.
cheers, will continue to look into it. i think i see an ipad in my near future.
hmmm, following the flow of conversation, it seems what you’re saying is, you’re looking into being a very good boy or a naughty girl for cmm, with consequent rewards in the very near future (Xmas)…
It turns out that certain folks are working on or have already created a means for snooping on messages from the Android platform as well. Considering the ongoing news of how different countries like UAE and India are threatening to ban Blackberrys (RIM) because they want to spy on messages and how much focus has been put on Google and how much effort China has put into parlor tricks like infecting Blackberrys through WiFi so as to facilitate snooping, any OS for smartphones is going to be less than perfect and noone more than the Android OS.
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