What's new

The downside to fragmentation (1 Viewer)

Hanson

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Nov 1, 1998
Messages
5,272
Real Name
Hanson
Who ya gonna call? FUDBusters!

http://www.androidauthority.com/google-hosted-malware-on-its-play-store-during-q3-but-how-much-131309/



Quote:
In F-Secure’s clarification it actually points out that of the 51,447: 28,398 were malicious samples and 23,049 were potentially unwanted software (PUA) samples. What does F-Secure mean by potentially unwanted software? What it means is that these apps are not harmful in themselves but they could be used for harmful purposes. For example, one of the PUA’s listed by F-Secure is “AccuTracking GPS Tracker” a program designed to turn a phone into a GPS tracker! It has had between 100,000 and 500,000 downloads and has received over 200 reviews on Google Play. One user wrote “I am glad the service is finally on android – we pay $7.99/month for each of our 10 trucks – full real time tracking with history, speed alerts to management, and geofence – this is by far the least expensive option to track fleets of trucks – it is a bulletproof great service.” However, according to F-Secure it is a PUA. The security company does admit that the app is “not malicious in itself” but it does introduce “a potential risk for misuse with malicious intent.”
 

Sam Posten

Moderator
Premium
HW Reviewer
Senior HTF Member
Joined
Oct 30, 1997
Messages
33,674
Location
Aberdeen, MD & Navesink, NJ
Real Name
Sam Posten
This is now how you deal with Malware:
http://www.zdnet.com/microsofts-droidrage-twitter-campaign-goes-painfully-wrong-7000008450/
MS seems incredibly tone deaf these days...
 

Sam Posten

Moderator
Premium
HW Reviewer
Senior HTF Member
Joined
Oct 30, 1997
Messages
33,674
Location
Aberdeen, MD & Navesink, NJ
Real Name
Sam Posten
This is a must read. Disregards all the fragmentation and cheerleads that the that it's all over.
http://communities-dominate.blogs.com/brands/2012/12/android-won-windows-lost-now-what-the-battle-of-the-century-is-decided-microsoft-relegated-to-ever-s.html
 

Hanson

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Nov 1, 1998
Messages
5,272
Real Name
Hanson
So is this guy more or less believable than the people who have been saying that fragmentation and malware and bad UI will cause Android users to abandon the platform and buy iPhones instead? Even with the iPhone available on Verizon then Sprint, Android adoption keep rising. The author is kind of kooky, but then again no one expected Android to own two thirds of the smartphone market in such a short time. Look around the HTF - iphone users are migrating to Android and not vice versa.
 

ManW_TheUncool

His Own Fool
Premium
Senior HTF Member
Joined
Aug 18, 2001
Messages
11,906
Location
The BK
Real Name
ManW
I could probably get an iPhone for company phone now, but the form factor just doesn't appeal to me at all. It was always too small for doing all that much web access beyond what works w/ apps (based on my iPod Touch days), looks too small next to the GS3, and that much more so next to the GN2, which makes a very substantial leap for web access. If only my company would just let me pay for the device while they pick up the tab for the monthly fees, I'd gladly spend the $300 on the GN2...
And all that besides what I may not be fond of w/ iOS 6...
_Man_
 

Patrick Sun

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Jun 30, 1999
Messages
39,660
I got an iPhone about 3 weeks ago, but it's still in the box. I'm just having an issue of having to deal with the Apple ecosystem/iTunes for my migrating own media files from my blackberry to the iPhone. I just hate the thought of making that switch, but it's inevitable because my company chose not to support any android device (mainly due to so many models out there, from an IT support perspective). Bah!
 

ManW_TheUncool

His Own Fool
Premium
Senior HTF Member
Joined
Aug 18, 2001
Messages
11,906
Location
The BK
Real Name
ManW
Oh joy! Now that Google and Apple reconciled to release Google Maps for iOS 6, TomTom and/or Google is duking it out now thereby killing Google location search w/in the TomTom app. :f Sigh! :rolleyes:
Now I wonder... Does this new version of Google Maps for iOS include Navigation???
_Man_
 

Hanson

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Nov 1, 1998
Messages
5,272
Real Name
Hanson
According to the pundits, the iOS Google Maps is actually better than the Android version. The only thing it's lacking is the ability to save offline maps.
 

ManW_TheUncool

His Own Fool
Premium
Senior HTF Member
Joined
Aug 18, 2001
Messages
11,906
Location
The BK
Real Name
ManW
That explains why the TomTom app no longer does Google searches -- I didn't update ours, but the old search function now gives us a message to use TomTom's own search function instead.
This makes me wanna update iOS sooner unless that's not necessary for the new Google Maps. Too bad no offline maps though, but when you said "save offline maps", did you actually mean a new manual function to save or just the old auto caching of maps?
Thanks.
_Man_
 

Hanson

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Nov 1, 1998
Messages
5,272
Real Name
Hanson
The Android version allows you to save maps for offline use. One of those things that's really useful on a tablet that's GPS enabled.
 

ManW_TheUncool

His Own Fool
Premium
Senior HTF Member
Joined
Aug 18, 2001
Messages
11,906
Location
The BK
Real Name
ManW
Hanson,
Still not too clear to me what exactly you mean. Is there a relatively new command/function to save detailed maps for offline GPS now instead of using the old workaround trick to force it to cache maps data?
_Man_
 

Hanson

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Nov 1, 1998
Messages
5,272
Real Name
Hanson
Google Maps will cache data on a limited basis so that you can drive through a tunnel or some other situation where you may lose data connectivity. That's on both versions.

On Android, you can take a big square of map data and save it for offline use. By growing or shrinking the map, you can control how much of the map data you want to store. So if I want just a few blocks in NYC, I can zoom in and save that data. If I want a larger picture, I can zoom out and then save all of Manhattan and parts of Jersey and Brooklyn/Queens. Of course, the more you zoom out, the larger the amount of data that needs to be saved. There is a limit, however. If you're planning on driving to Michigan from New Jersey, it won't let you save all that.

Since GPS works independant of wireless data, you can navigate with the offline map.

So to specifically answer your question, this isn't the workaround where you force the app to cache maps for you. This is honest to goodness offline map data.
 

ManW_TheUncool

His Own Fool
Premium
Senior HTF Member
Joined
Aug 18, 2001
Messages
11,906
Location
The BK
Real Name
ManW
Niiiice! What we've all been hoping for. So the offline maps actually include all the normal details too?
And if it's only available on one platform, I guess I'd rather see it on Android more than iOS... although that's a loss for the iPad Minis I planned on getting for my mother and likely my son...
_Man_
 

ManW_TheUncool

His Own Fool
Premium
Senior HTF Member
Joined
Aug 18, 2001
Messages
11,906
Location
The BK
Real Name
ManW
Well, in part due to the difficulty of procuring a WiFi-only iPad Mini (unless one is getting the 64GB) this time of year, we ended up going w/ the 32GB Nexus 7 (for much less) for my son instead (and probably give him some cash for apps, accessories, etc) -- I'll still give him the option to swap for my maxed out iPad3 if he doesn't like the Nexus 7 enough.
Picked up the 32GB Verizon iPad Mini for my mother OTOH -- gonna finally cancel her overpriced, dial-up service and have her use a Verizon data plan (probably just the 1GB/$20 plan) on the iPad Mini instead as her poorly equipped Dell PC running Win Vista probably wouldn't do her much good even if/when I finally move her to some sort of affordable broadband service anyway. She probably doesn't need more than 16GB, but that wasn't available anywhere unless I was going w/ AT&T or Sprint, and I'd much rather play it safer than skimp on it for her. 32GB would probably make my life easier as I'd be sporadically maintaining the device for her and could more easily share stuff w/ her, including some movie/TV DCs... She'll probably appreciate the GPS capabilities too w/ a cellular model even though she doesn't drive anymore...
BTW, I didn't realize until I started considering the Nexus 7 as an alternative for my son just the day before, but it apparently comes w/ GPS hardware even though it's WiFi-only. That pretty much makes up for the lack of backside camera even though my son won't be driving either. For others who like posting pics/videos, the lack of camera would be more annoying...
_Man_
 

Sam Posten

Moderator
Premium
HW Reviewer
Senior HTF Member
Joined
Oct 30, 1997
Messages
33,674
Location
Aberdeen, MD & Navesink, NJ
Real Name
Sam Posten
Interesting Man-Fai. Had he had his heart set on an iPad or just wanted a tablet in general? Did you consider the Fire instead of the Nexus? I have both the fire and the nexus, I'm think they are pretty evenly matched but not sure about the GPS in the Fire, which I know is a big plus for you...
Anyway, the gap seems to be growing in web traffic. I've mentioned this before and it was mostly discarded. I don't know what to make of it, but the 'tossed in a closet and forgotten' theory still seems the most likely.
http://venturebeat.com/2012/12/27/for-every-100-web-pageviews-on-an-ipad-kindle-gets-5-galaxy-gets-3-and-surface-gets-0-22/
I think the big part of it is gifting. The Fire and Nexus are pretty close to impulse buys for many folks, where the iPad family is a considered purchase due to price. So are a lot of these devices getting gifted to people who really have no big desire for tablets and aren't being used whereas when people are getting the iPads it's cause they really wanted one, got it as a gift they actually asked for or saved up for it, and genuinely want to use it daily? Is that really that big a stretch? Is there a better explanation?
 

ManW_TheUncool

His Own Fool
Premium
Senior HTF Member
Joined
Aug 18, 2001
Messages
11,906
Location
The BK
Real Name
ManW
I don't doubt that's a significant factor, especially here in the USA, Sam. However, if they're only talking about absolute page hit counts vs per capita numbers for 10" tablets -- I didn't read the article -- then I'm not surprised at all. There must be waaaay more fullsize iPads out there than 10" Android tablets, no? Not to mention probably extremely few 10" Androids are sold w/ cellular capability, which severely limits that aspect.
I just don't see many folks whipping out WiFi-only tablets at Starbucks -- they bring laptops, if they plan on spending all that much time there.
RE: the Fire, the core part of the appeal there (beyond gadgetitis :D ) is clearly w/ Amazon, so people might not care that much about general web access w/ it anyway. RE: the Nexus 7, I have no idea what the numbers are at this point. Would be more interesting to compare its web surfing numbers to the WiFi-only iPad Mini me thinks... that is, if we'll ever get the stats on that...
_Man_
 

ManW_TheUncool

His Own Fool
Premium
Senior HTF Member
Joined
Aug 18, 2001
Messages
11,906
Location
The BK
Real Name
ManW
RE: my son's desire for a tablet, he wasn't completely set on iPad, but on the general functionalities (and portability) on one, so switching to the Nexus 7 was always a possibility. We were thinking iPad (or the Mini) mainly because that was the best known option in our case, especially when we first started talking about getting one for him (as far back as when we first got the iPad3 during release week).
After playing some more w/ recent Android devices, including my wife's GN2, I don't think there's much reason why my son wouldn't be just as happy w/ the Nexus 7 as an iPad Mini -- well, the iPad Mini might still be preferred, but he probably recognizes it's not worth the extra cost, etc. for what he actually wants...
The iPad definitely still brings the bling and all -- and is probably easily the better choice for grandma -- but for my early-teen son, most of that won't matter so much... And even though the iPad should be easier to set up, I actually found the process for my mother's new iPad Mini to be one royal pain because of the whole iTunes thing... :f
_Man_
 

Sam Posten

Moderator
Premium
HW Reviewer
Senior HTF Member
Joined
Oct 30, 1997
Messages
33,674
Location
Aberdeen, MD & Navesink, NJ
Real Name
Sam Posten
They were comparing iPad and mini versus all android sizes. There has to be a comparable number of 7" androids in te wild now, aren't they ahead on tablet sales?
For us it comes down to apps, my nieces and nephews have gotten a bunch of and me dwns from both sides of the family... total now includes a nook, an iPad mini, and a fire (plus 2 ipods) nd generally they can get the most popular apps on all 3 but the iTunes Store has much more depth of choices for them.. For me I buy what I want on iTunes and collect te freebies on sale via nexus and amazon app stores... I can't use the web browsers as well on non iOS tho, whether it be snappiness or muscle memory but the iPad is the only one that gels for me. The kids are perfectly fine with em tho...
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Forum statistics

Threads
356,814
Messages
5,123,700
Members
144,184
Latest member
H-508
Recent bookmarks
0
Top