Nokia Connects has a list of 10 Snake facts to celebrate the event.

Snake first appeared on a Nokia device in 1997 on the Nokia 6110. It was adapted for Nokia devices by Taneli Armanto, a design engineer in user interface software.

Snake was one of three games introduced in 1997, with the others being Logic and Memory. I remember playing Memory far more than Snake, but that was because I was bad at it. Logic was just stupid, but that’s because it was far too complicated for my 8-year-old mind.

The game is on over 400 million mobile phones and is now on its ninth version.

A fun fact is that Nokia 7110 players could play multiplayer Snake via the phones’ infra-red connections.

The most interesting fact, for me at least, is the maximum number of points on level one is 312 and on level nine is 2008. Nokia Connects lays out the scoring formula as: “bits on screen (212) X level (1 through to 9) + 100 bonus points for completing the level.”

A nice tribute is that Windows Phone now has a Snake ‘97 app that emulates the original game perfectly for those feeling up for a nostalgia bomb today.

I remember asking to see the family cellphone just so I could play Snake on long rides to see family. I didn’t realize it until today, but Snake is pretty influential on gaming as a whole. It started the mobile gaming craze that’s focused on simple, easy to understand games.

We at WebProNews tip our hats off to Snake for the many hours of fun its provided us and for the many more hours of fun it will provide to countless other people.

Happy birthday, Snake!

One video that has been making the rounds lately is an example of the best way to handle such an interruption. Performing at a synagogue in Presov, Slovakia, Lukas Kmit was finishing up his viola performance when someone’s phone began chirping the famous Nokia ringtone. Kmit recognized that the ringtone was actually a selection from Gran Vals, a piece written by Spanish composer Francisco Tárrega in 1902. Apparently familiar with the piece, Kmit decided to wrap up his performance with a brief encore. Check out the video below:

Remarkably, most of this growth has come after Nokia’s decision to re-release Symbian under an open source-like license, a decision which followed shortly after the company’s choice of Windows Phone as its “primary smartphone strategy.” Thus while Symbian’s global market share remains strong, Nokia’s committment to the platform appears less so, leaving the future of the world’s single most popular operating system in doubt.

Incredibly limited, to be exact.

According to The Verge, Nokia will only be making 40 of the Windows Phone 7-powered “Dark Knight” Lumia 800s. As in, 40 for the entire world. Needless to say, if you want to get your hands on one of these gems, get ready for some serious eBay bidding action.

As indicated, the TDKR phone is a dressed-up version of the well-reviewed Nokia Lumia 800, which is actually now available in the United States. Unfortunately, there’s no word on when the Dark Knight version will be available. Whatever the case, the package the phone arrives in is pretty cool, too:

There’s also a video of the phone in action, just to entice you that much more:

In an interview with Pocket-lint, Nokia’s Director of Portfolio, Product Management & Sales Niels Munksgaard laid out his beliefs on why the Windows phone is better than its competitors:

“What we see is that youth are pretty much fed up with iPhones. Everyone has the iPhone,” he said. “Also, many are not happy with the complexity of Android and the lack of security. So we do increasing see that the youth that wants to be on the cutting edge and try something new are turning to the Windows phone platform.”

Basically, the “anti-another brick in the wall” advertising strategy, coupled with the “that’s too hard” advertising strategy.

He goes on to (presumably) refer to iPhones as “black mono-boxes” in a “sea of sameness”:

“The marketplace is extremely crowded. I refer to it as the sea of sameness. When you walk up to a retail shelf at Phones4U and see the number of black mono-blocks sitting on the shelf, it is very confusing to the consumer. We want to deliver services and phones that are different.”

His solution to this is in part, the Nokia Lumia 800. Now, I haven’t had the chance for a hands on with that device, but it has been getting pretty solid reviews around the web. It’s no dig at the Windows-powered Nokia Lumia 800 when I say that this argument is hilarious.

To say that the “youth” (whatever broad range that informs) is fed up with the iPhone is kind of a stretch. Not only do recent reports earlier this year suggest that teens love their iPhones, but your average, everyday, unscientific sniff test tells you that the iPhone is still mighty popular with the kids.

I don’t know where to begin on the “complexity of Android” argument.

All I know is that it doesn’t look great when a company selling an OS that is desperately trying to compete with giants starts saying that nobody likes said giants anymore. In September, HTC’s president Martin Fitcher said that iPhones weren’t cool anymore, and kids don’t want them because their dad’s have them.

My head hurts…

Android app developer Trevor Eckhart posted a video to his YouTube account on Monday in which he claims to have discovered a hidden app in the handsets of several carriers. Eckhart claims that the app, Carrier IQ, collects a wide variety of user data, including keystrokes, location data, and text messages.

It remains unclear what the software does with the data it collects. While at least some of it is forwarded on to Carrier IQ’s servers, no one is quite sure how much. Regardless of what is done with the data, the fact that it is collected at all by a hidden piece of software with no option to opt-out is enough to unsettle many.

In the 17 minute video, posted below, Eckhart demonstrates the app recording his keystrokes and intercepting network data, even when sent via secure HTTPS protocol. In a public posting, Eckhart accused Carrier IQ’s software of being a rootkit – spyware designed to bypass certain operating system requirements. Eckhart noted that the app never asks permission to record user data, and is well hidden on most phones. On some, he said, the app has even been renamed so as to be undetectable.

The app was initially found on a variety of devices across carriers – Android, Blackberry, and Nokia phones all appear to have the app installed. Initial reports excluded iOS devices in the litany, though information has surfaced this morning that the app is in fact present on iPhones, but in a much tamer form. While in other handsets the software is active and recording at all times, with iPhones it appears only to activate when the phone is placed in diagnostic mode.

Though Carrier IQ seems reluctant to directly reply to requests for comment from the media, they have issued a statement on their website, wherein they claim that the app does not record keystrokes or location information, but rather tracks performance data in order “to assist operators and device manufacturers in delivering high quality products and services to their customers.”

Eckhart’s announcement comes on the heels of Carrier IQ withdrawing its threat of legal action over a post in which he originally called the software a rootkit. Carrier IQ threatened to sue, but withdrew and apologized when the Electronic Frontier Foundation took up Eckhart’s case.

Twitter backlash against the company has been strong. One user pointed out that the level of spying engaged in by Carrier IQ pales in comparison to the scandal caused by Apple’s location data controversy last year.

While another warns that Carrier IQ and the major carriers should prepare for legal backlash.

Grant Paul, a well-known figure in the iPhone jailbreak community, is the one who discovered references to the software in iOS. He posted the news to his Twitter account.

In another curious twist, the Verge is reporting this morning that although the Carrier IQ software is installed on a variety of Android-based devices, it is not present on Google’s own Nexus devices, nor on the first generation Xoom tablet.

Other Twitter users note that at this point, there appear to be fewer phones without Carrier IQ than there are with it.

We will continue to update you as this story unfolds. Meanwhile, let us know what you think in the comments. ]]> http://www.webpronews.com/carrier-iq-collects-data-on-millions-of-phones-2011-12/feed 0 http://www.webpronews.com/free-smartphones-butterfingers-with-nokia-gift-machine-2011-09 http://www.webpronews.com/free-smartphones-butterfingers-with-nokia-gift-machine-2011-09#comments Thu, 22 Sep 2011 15:08:30 +0000 Josh Wolford http://www.webpronews.com/?p=76637 What if your Foursquare check-ins and Twitter shares gave you more than a sense of accomplishment – what if they could get you free stuff?

That’s the concept behind the “Nokia Gift Machine,” a special vending machine that was created for Social Media Week in Glasgow by social firm 1000heads. Available until September 23rd, the machine dispenses free gifts for the simple act of social media sharing.

Here’s how it works – All you have to do it check-in the the “Nokia Gift Machine @ SMW” on Foursquare, using the hashtag #NokiaConnects. Hopefully you already have your Foursquare and Twitter accounts synched up, because you must share your check-in on Twitter to get your prize. Once you do, out pops either a candy bar, Nokia accessories or even a brand new phone. Over the course of the week, there are 1,000 items to be dispensed via the machine.

When a user checks-in the machine registers that unique log-in and releases one gift. For the remainder of that day, the user may not check-in again until the following day (one check-in per user). Inside the machine are random gifts, ranging from Butterfinger chocolates to Nokia smartphones .

There’s no word on any plans to develop a machine like this outside promotional purposes for this special event. But you can imagine the possibilities – rewarding people for doing social media advertising for your company. It definitely sounds like a workable concept for companies, albeit an expensive proposition to give away phones. Maybe they could set up some sort of check-in based lottery machine.

Anyways, here’s a YouTube video of the thing in action –

The “Nokia Gift Machine” is reminiscent of an advertising campaign we told you about back in March that awarded Foursquare check-ins with free samples…of dog food. German pet food company GranataPet set up billboards that dispensed dog food samples when owners checked-in to the billboards on Foursquare.

And the idea of a “social vending machine” has been thrown around before as well. In April, Pepsi introduced a prototype for a “Social Vending System” that allowed people to gift sodas to friends by pre-purchasing them at the machine. The lucky recipient of the gift would get a text with a message and a code redeemable for their free beverage. The machine even allowed short videos to be recorded as messages.

What do you think about the concept of social vending? Should companies utilize Foursquare, Twitter and Facebook in this way to promote social media advertising? Let us know what you think.

The mobile powerhouse has launched the Nokia Tune Remake contest. Contestants began submitting their compositions yesterday, and people will be able to submit as many compositions as they wish until October 5th.

On October 5th, ten finalists will be selected. Five of those finalists will be chosen by an official panel of judges, comprised of “some of the most respected names in the audio branding industry.” The other five finalists will be selected based on “likes” and “shares.” The winner from those 10 entries will be selected by the judges.

You can check out the current entries at the official competition site.

According to Nokia, they are “looking for a tune that is fresh, expressive, original, and creative yet distinctively a Nokia Tune.” Contestants are asked to use “elements of the popular original,” but warns that this is “not simply a remix contest.” This is a reworking of the famous melody, but it must show quite a bit of creative character. Entries are limited to 30 seconds each.

The winner of the contest will receive $10,000 and five runner-ups will get $1,000 each. The winning ringtone will come standard on Nokia devices and the runner-up tones will be available for download.

Right now, a sort of futuristic take on the tone called “Progressive Nokia” is in the lead with 1409 likes and 572 shares – but of course this is only day 2 of the competition.

Here’s the original tune, just for reference –

And here’s the original tune as played by an ensemble, just for fun –

The Nokia Developer Forum site suffered the breach, the credit for which is being claimed by a hacker named pr0tect0r, AKA mrNRG. Users that visited the site were met with a redirect that took them to a page containing a Homer Simpson graphic and the title “Owned by pr0tect0r AKA mrNRG.” The page also featured a scrolling message that read –

LOL, Worlds number 1 mobile company but not spending a dime for a server security! FFS patch your security holes otherwise you will be just another antisec victim. No Dumping, No Leaking!!

Nokia has since been able to repair the site but has issued a statement on the community discussion board that outlines the extent of the attack. Apparently, Nokia was unaware of the scope of the attack at first but now admits that user information such as email addresses, usernames and birth dates were compromised. They also took the site down as a precautionary measure.

Here’s the full statement –

You may have seen reports or received an email from us regarding a recent security breach on this developer.nokia.com/community discussion forum.

During our ongoing investigation of the incident we have discovered that a database table containing developer forum members’ email addresses has been accessed, by exploiting a vulnerability in the bulletin board software that allowed an SQL Injection attack. Initially we believed that only a small number of these forum member records had been accessed, but further investigation has identified that the number is significantly larger.

The database table records includes members’ email addresses and, for fewer than 7% who chose to include them in their public profile, either birth dates, homepage URL or usernames for AIM, ICQ, MSN, Skype or Yahoo. However, they do not contain sensitive information such as passwords or credit card details and so we do not believe the security of forum members’ accounts is at risk. Other Nokia accounts are not affected.

We are not aware of any misuse of the accessed data, but we are communicating with affected forum members, though we believe the only potential impact to them may be unsolicited email. Nokia apologizes for this incident.

Though the initial vulnerability was addressed immediately, we have now taken the developer community website offline as a precautionary measure, while we conduct further investigations and security assessments. We hope to get the site back online as soon as possible and will post developments here in the meantime.

This appears to be another attack in a long line of AntiSec attacks that have occurred in recent months. Like this one, many of these attacks serve the purpose of exposing security flaws – a sort of shot across the bow. Some are more serious, like the hack that took down the Playstation Network for weeks and some seem to just want to “prove a point” like the LulzSec attack that defaced the PBS website.

Basically, Nokia has said that Apple was infringing upon its patents, and Apple was saying that Nokia was infringing upon it’s patents. A few months ago, a judge had ruled that Apple had not violated any of Nokia’s patents, but then Nokia quickly filed a complaint with the International Trade Commission (ITC), claiming that Apple infringes upon additional Nokia patents in “virtually all of its mobile phones, portable music players, tablets and computers”.

Now, the two companies are settling. In an announcement, Nokia said that it has signed a patent license agreement with Apple, which will result in settlement of all patent litigation between the companies, including the withdrawal by Nokia and Apple of their respective complaints to the ITC.

The agreement includes a one-time payment payable by Apple and on-going royalties to be paid by Apple to Nokia for the term of the agreement, though the specific terms are being kept confidential.

“We are very pleased to have Apple join the growing number of Nokia licensees,” said Nokia President and CEO Stephen Elop, . “This settlement demonstrates Nokia’s industry leading patent portfolio and enables us to focus on further licensing opportunities in the mobile communications market.”

During the last two decades, the announcement says, Nokia has invested nearly EUR 43 billion in research and development and built one of the wireless industry’s strongest and broadest IPR portfolios, with over 10,000 patent families.  It also notes that the agreement is expected to have a positive financial impact on Nokia’s recently revised outlook for the second quarter 2011 of around break-even non-IFRS operating margin for Devices & Services.

Apple has not put out an announcement on the subject, but AllThingsD did obtain a statement from the company, confirming the agreement’s legitimacy:

“Apple and Nokia have agreed to drop all of our current lawsuits and enter into a license covering some of each others’ patents, but not the majority of the innovations that make the iPhone unique. We’re glad to put this behind us and get back to focusing on our respective businesses.”

Nokia has big plans in the mobile space, having recently partnered with Microsoft and the Windows Phone operating system.