Peter J Lennartsson | Sighenz

Docomo announce two new Android devices that support NOTTV

Docomo NOTTV Devices — Docomo Devices for V-High Broadcasting Services

TOKYO, JAPAN, February 16, 2012 — NTT DOCOMO, INC. announced two Android™-compatible mobile devices. One is a smartphone called the AQUOS PHONE™ SH-06D, and the second is a tablet called MEDIAS TAB N-06D. The two devices are the first in Japan that are compatible with the V-High multimedia broadcasting service. Users of the two devices will be able to watch mmbi, Inc.’s NOTTV, a mobile multimedia broadcasting station that will begin operating on April 1.

NOTTV is a new terrestrial broadcasting service and its stakeholders include Docomo and Dentsu, and also private-sector broadcasters. This service will use frequencies that became available when the broadcast of analog TV ended in July 2011. During the first year NOTTV will be available mainly in the Tokyo, Nagoya, and Osaka areas, but there are plans to then gradually extend the coverage.

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ESA’s new launcher Vega scores success in maiden flight

ESA's Vega Launch — ESA's new launch Vega take off

ESA’s new launch vehicle Vega is now ready to operate alongside the Ariane 5 and Soyuz launchers, after a successful qualification flight this morning from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana.

The launch was initially planed for the end of January as previously reported on this site, but has been plagued with delays through out its journey. The new launcher passed its final hurdle on Saturday at Europe’s Spaceport, the Launch Readiness Review, and was finally cleared for take off. The first Vega lifted off at 10:00 GMT (11:00 CET, 07:00 local time) from the new launch pad, and conducted a flawless qualification flight.

The first mission, designated VV01 has a payload that consists of two Italian satellites – ASI’s LARES laser relativity satellite and the University of Bologna’s ALMASat-1, as well as seven picosatellites provided by European universities: e-St@r (Italy), Goliat (Romania), MaSat-1 (Hungary), PW-Sat (Poland), Robusta (France), UniCubeSat GG (Italy) and Xatcobeo (Spain).

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NASA looking to go green, seeking new propellant technology

NASA going green — NASA seeking green propellant technology

NASA is now looking for alternatives to be more environmentally friendly, and seeking technology proposals for green propellant alternatives to the highly toxic fuel hydrazine used today. Hydrazine is an efficient and ubiquitous propellant that can be stored for long periods of time, but at the same time it is also highly corrosive and toxic. The fuel is used extensively both on commercial and defense department satellites, as well as for NASA science and exploration missions.

In a way to minimize environmental hazards and pollutants, and also lower costs for rocket launches, NASA is now looking for innovative and transformative fuels that are less harmful to our environment. “High performance green propulsion has the potential to significantly change how we travel in space”, said Michael Gazarik, director of NASA‘s Space Technology Program at the agency’s headquarters in Washington. “NASA’s Space Technology Program seeks out these sort of cross-cutting, innovative technologies to enable our future missions while also providing benefit to the American space industry. By reducing the hazards of handling fuel, we can reduce ground processing time and lower costs for rocket launches, allowing a greater community of researchers and technologists access to the high frontier.”

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Google Wallet security flaw also on non-rooted devices.

Google Wallet Security Issue — How secure is Google Wallet?

Two days ago security firm, Zvelo, discovered and reported to Google that the security PIN system that Google Wallet users have to enter to verify transactions, could be compromised. The wallet application saves your PIN in an encrypted file on the phone itself, and not the secured NFC chip, so if your phone falls into the wrong hands, that person could lift your PIN file from the phone and simply crack it using a bruteforce attack. If successful this person would then have full access to your Wallet account.

Because of the Wallet’s security architecture, the change will require a fundamental rejiggering of the security protocols, according to Zvelo. Google responded and said that “The zvelo study was conducted on their own phone on which they disabled the security mechanisms that protect Google Wallet by rooting the device”.

So if you haven’t rooted your phone you should be fine, right? Turns out this is not so, because now a new method shown at thesmartphonechamp.com. Because of a security vulnerability in Google Wallet that effects all users, regardless of if they are rooted or not, someone can get access to your Google Wallet without even the need for bruteforcing.

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Nokia presents the Lumia 800 in white

White Nokia Lumia 800 — Nokia Lumia 800, now coming in white

The Nokia Lumia 800 was first launched in selected countries in November last year. It was available in strong cyan and magenta colors, and also a more somber and classic black version. The Lumia is now being rolled out all across Europe and the rest of the world, with more countries being added all the time. Thanks to it’s stunning curved design, the device has been turning heads even since.

Now it’s time to add another color to this amazing device. A beautiful pure white that perfectly offsets the uniquely curved ClearBlack touch screen from the smoothly-crafted polycarbonate unibody. The minimalist color scheme emphasize the purity of the phone’s design, really making the colorful Windows live tiles and images on the display come to life. It also adds a fourth choice to the Nokia Lumia 800 package, giving the smartphone a unique presence on the mobile market.

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Spark Linux tablet up for pre-order next week

There’s a new tablet coming soon called “Spark”. Announced at the end of January this new device uses an open Linux stack on unlocked hardware and comes with an open content and services market, and uses KDE Plasma Active UI.

The tablet will be available for pre-order starting next week, and will start shipping worldwide in May. Approximate price will be about $265 USD.

The hardware is based on the Zenithink C71, using a 7-inch (800×480) multi-touch screen, a 1GHz AMLogic ARM processor and Mali-400 GPU. It will have 512MB of RAM, 4GB of internal storage (with a microSD slot for expandability), 802/11b/g WiFi, USB ports, a front-facing 1.3MP webcam, and an audio jack. There are plans to add GPS and 3G functionality in future versions, but for now you will have to manage without.

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HTC Edge equipped with Penta-Core processor?

A very common feature in new mobile phones during 2011 was dual-core processors, and this was most visible among new Android devices. Much like the “megapixel wars” from years in the past, a dual-core processor became a must have for a lot of users, and many times it seemed like users ignored if the system could utilize it or not. In heated discussions some even compared one brand with another and judging them, and sometimes ruling them out based on if they had a phone with a dual-core or not.

The tech world moves fast, and dual-core processors might already be old news. Early talks in 2012 indicated that further discussions for the year would be all about quad-core processors, with a lot of rumors of new devices mentioned both before and after CES. It now seems HTC is bringing one more core to the party, flexing it’s muscles with a penta-core processor.

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LanzaTech turning waste gasses into fuel, secure $55.8M investment

LanzaTech turns waste into fuel — LanzaTech create fuel from carbon monoxide

LanzaTech, a producer of low-carbon fuels and chemicals from waste gases, has closed it’s Series C round with new investment totaling US $55.8 million led by the Malaysian
Life Sciences Capital Fund. New investors include PETRONAS Technology Ventures Sdn Bhd, the venture arm of PETRONAS, the national oil company of Malaysia, and Dialog Group, a leading Malaysian integrated specialist technical services provider to the oil, gas and petrochemical industry.

LanzaTech’s specialty is creating biofuels and biochemicals from factory waste emissions. They use carbon monoxide emissions from steel mills, factories, oil refineries, and other waste sources to create ethanol, and then apply a process called gas-liquid bacterial fermentation. LanzaTech captures the carbon monoxide, pumps the gases into a bioreactor, and mixes with liquid, and uses bacteria that feeds on the mixture. Nutrients are added, and when the process is finished ethanol is produced.

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Malware campaign in Android market may have affected 5 million

Android Market Malware — Malware found in Android Market

What may be the largest ever malware campaign against Android users have been uncovered. The malware discovered was packaged in 13 different apps from three different publishers, and found in Android Market. Dubbed “Android.Counterclank” by Symantec, the attack seems to take a different tactic compared to the more common “repackaging method”. This practice involves repackaging a legitimate app with attack code, then re-release it to the marketplace in the hope that users will confuse the infected version with the real deal. “These aren’t rebundled apps, as we’ve seen so many times before” said Kevin Haley, a director with Symantec‘s security response team.

The 13 different applications have titles ranging from “Sexy Girls Puzzle” to “Counter Strike Ground Force”, and many of the infected apps were still available on the Android Market as of 3 p.m. ET Friday. Symantec estimated the impact by combining the download totals of the 13 apps, arriving at a figure between 1 million on the low end and 5 million on the high. “Yes, this is the largest malware outbreak on the Android Market” said Haley.

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