Mobile and Tech News

The military has some stealthy new technology in the pipeline it would seem. Micro Air Vehicle (MAV) Technology is a development by the United States Air Force. MAV’s are tiny robotic drones that have been designed to look like a bird or an insect. They can fly into an area unnoticed and spy on the enemy or even be used to fly up to take a deadly shot at an enemy force before they even realize what it is.

MAV technology may become a useful weapon by the Defense Department soon. Relatively massive funds have been put into into the scientific development of these micro flying machines. The Pentagon and Aerospace in particular have been working on these for more than a decade. The Air Force Research Laboratory apparently a projected 2015 date to put these first of their kind MAV’s into military use.

In the research and development of this new technology, the scientist and researches studied small insects, fruit flies and birds to design this tiny new aircraft. It will be very light and will be able to be carried in the soldier’s rucksack.

UAVs or Unmanned Arial Vehicles are already in use by the military but nothing has been used as small as these MAV’s will be.

In the United Kingdo, the Special Forces have been testing a 28inch MAV which they have termed the “Wasp”. They have used it so far to monitor the battlefields in Afghanistan. Now the US Marine Corps have placed an order for them. These particular Wasps may have explosives fitted to them to be used on surprise assaults.

These small MAV’s are being made by AeroVironment, a firm which is currently based in California. The Air Force has had a goal to finish testing the MAV so it can be deployed by 2015. By 2030, the Air Force desires to be able to deploy it. They are formulating the technology of being able to deploy swarms of these MAV’s so that a lot of site data may be gained at one time. There are a ton of non-military uses for these MAV’s as well, such as for search and rescue operations.

One of the most presented item at DemoFall were the iPhone apps, the developers have software that will be invaluable to some iPhone users.

   Some of the new apps that were shown with the iPhone are WebDiet, this will help users with calories, others that will be involved in software apps is Echo Nest, Rudder, SkyData and Telnic. Mapflow is a not app that is not only a mapping software but it also aids drivers in finding people that are looking for rides. It also has safety in mind while doing this and the persons picture will be shown and there is a fee for the riders per mile. This they feel will be an attractive feature while the price of gas climbs. One of the features is the ability to choose they ride with this includes women being able to ride only with other women to feel secure in using this service.

 According to CEO Richard Bryce of Mapflow, the platform of the iPhone is what they feel is the most important project to be working on at this time.

   Most of these apps are not in the App Store yet and some are still being tested, but there are many developers that are now building software around the iPhone platform. All in all I think this is pretty cool stuff.

   Devices for using the Internet have gone from having no way to make a laptop mobile to cell phone hook ups and then mobile broad band cards. It also has become easier to take information with you with the use of USB sticks.

   It is even easier now to take it with you with a virtual machine, with this it is possible to even use a public computer and leave no footprints. With this all of the information that needs to be accessed can be using a Windows based computer and an application virtualization, like Microsoft Application Virtualization or the program by Symantec SVS that is free for personal use.

   Now there is no more trying to fit everything on a PDA for business, because with this all the data and the applications that are on the computer can be taken along and accessed on any computer. The best part it all the information can be carried on something as small as a USB stick. That makes this real desktop mobility unlike any other mobile technology. .

 Apple has sold 8 million iPhones and it looks like they might reach the goal they set for themselves, 10 million by the end of 2008. With several months to go it seems all together possible that they will make their goal of 10 million sold much earlier than expected even as early as September. There are two groups that have been watching this closely, the Observers’s Apple Finance Board and Investors Villiage AAPL Sanity.

 The members of these boards have been tracking the sales of these phones and recording them on a big Google spreadsheet that can be found on the Internet. They are able to do this by using the International Mobile Equipment Identity numbers of the iPhones that have been sold. These sales include the Apple 3G iPhone, with approximately 5,649,000 manufactured and 2.4 million first generation iPhones. Numbers like this show that Apple has manufactured well above 8 million iPhones this year with several months left to go in 2008. This and the complied spreadsheet have iPhone watchers certain that the Apple Corporation will make its goal of 10 million of their phones sold before the beginning of 2009. In other news, Apple has launched it’s product in some twenty nations around the world. In this summer’s second rollout of the iPhone 3G, Apple introduced the smart phone in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Czech Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Estonia, Greece, Guatemala, Honduras, Hungary, India, Paraguay, Peru, the Philippines, Poland, Romania, Singapore, Slovakia and Uruguay.IPhone 3G stocks in the U.S. have increased, according to both Apple’s availability tool and statements by AT&T Inc. Every Apple store that Computerworld checked today, for example, had a full complement of iPhones to sell: the $199 8GB model and both versions of the $299 16GB model.

 When the lock is on the iPhone it will still allow the user to make emergency calls and if the home button is double clicked it will open the iPhones favorite menu. This flaw that has been found means that anyone can use the iPhone to call anywhere and if email or websites are there the person can access them also. Apple has been made aware of it and is investigating this flaw is the latest information on Apple. One way to deal with this flaw for now is to remove the double click function on the iPhone for the home key.  The iPhone according to Apple and Steve Jobs was to be a secure cell phone until this flaw was found it seemed to be the most secure phone on the market.

In international news, the iPhone pay as go model will be made available in U.K. This will be an exciting month for those waiting for a different solution to the iPhone, the Apple iPhone 3G is going to go on the market in the U.K. pay as you go, it is planned to be available on September 16^th and the 8GB and the 16 GB iPhones will both be available. It is set up so that customers of the pay as you go plan will have all the advantages that other iPhone users have with two exceptions. The pay as you go iPhones will not have visual voicemail and call merging available.

 They will have unlimited 3G and Wi-Fi web browsing, this will last with these phones for 12 months. After the first 12 months the iPhone owners will have the choice to carry the plan for an extra fee.

   These pay as you go iPhones are planned to be sold in many locations making it easy for anyone in the U.K. to find the phones. Makers of the iPhone are excited about these pay as you go phones being available to consumers that might not get a cell phone without this advantage of 3G and Wi-Fi along with their phone. 

The iPhone that has been bragged about because of how secure it is, because it is no longer since a new flaw has been found. The phone that can be wiped remotely has now been found to have a flaw that can let the phone be used by anyone.

   When the lock is on the iPhone it will still allow the user to make emergency calls and if the home button is double clicked it will open the iPhones favorite menu.

   This flaw that has been found means that anyone can use the iPhone to call anywhere and if email or websites are there the person can access them also.

   Apple has been made aware of it and is investigating this flaw is the latest information on Apple.

  One way to deal with this flaw for now is to remove the double click function on the iPhone for the home key.

   The iPhone according to Apple and Steve Jobs was to be a secure cell phone until this flaw was found it seemed to be the most secure phone on the market. 

Meanwhile in other iPhone related news headlines, an iPhone To Hook To yourmay soon become a reality. According to reports Steve Jobs supposedly when questions surfaced about tethering laptops to iPhones he replied that this could become a reality soon. One iPhone user that asked this question has stated that Steve Jobs personally answered his queries. He went on to state that they are working with AT&T to make it possible to tether a laptop to the iPhone to surf the net.