Nokia X Android Smartphones Won’t Launch in US, Canada, Japan or Korea – Huh?

Company executive confirms rollout of Nokia’s first Android-powered Smartphone range, which for some reason excludes some of the world’s most important markets

The Nokia X has been one of the longest-rumored devices to crawl out of the woodwork for some time. Seriously – there was once a time when the idea of an Android-powered Nokia seemed about as likely as the iPhone 6 running Tizen, but as we’ve learned time and time again it’s impossible to know what a tech firm will try out when facing turbulent times.So now we’ve had the official announcement of the Nokia X, the Nokia X+ and the Nokia XL, confirming that there is indeed a place for Android in the Finnish firm’s future. All very exciting stuff of course, but the whole affair has been tinged by the slightly sour matter of availability…or distinct lack thereof, as the case may be.If you’re looking to take home a piece of Nokia and Android history – and an affordable one at that – you better hope you don’t live in one of the regions that aren’t invited to the party. It’s not unusual for certain markets to be overlooked for one reason or another, but in the case of the Nokia X…well.

According Nokia’s Mobile Phone marketing VP, Jussi Nevanlinna, you’re wholly out of look if you’re waiting for the X to launch in Canada, South Koreas, Japan and….yep, the US.Technically you’ll still be able to pick one up internationally or from a reseller here in the US, but that will of course mean paying well over the standard price of about $150 or so…which sort of defeats the purpose.Is there a method behind Nokia’s madness? Perhaps a second wave of Android-based handsets in the running for a US launch later this year?

We’re having a bit of trouble figuring out the logic in this one…

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Beware of employees' cheap Android phones

A VPN bypass flaw discovered last week in Android Jelly Bean 4.3 also exists in the latest version of Google's mobile operating system, KitKat 4.4, Israeli researchers say.Ben Gurion University researchers found the initial bug and then did further testing to determine its existence in KitKat. The researchers published their latest findings on the university's Cyber Security Labs blog.Google did not respond to a request for comment, but security experts said Wednesday the bugs in both versions of Android should be fixed quickly.

"I believe this is a serious issue," Paul Henry, a senior security instructor at the SANS Institute, said. Because of differences in the OS versions, the same exploit code cannot be used, the researchers said. However, what can be accomplished by malware is the same.The flaws make it possible for a malicious app to bypass a VPN (virtual private network) configuration and redirect the secure data communications to a different network address. The data is rerouted before it is encrypted.The KitKat flaw is somewhat similar to what the same researchers found last December in Samsung's Knox security platform. That vulnerability could let a malicious app intercept files on Samsung S4 devices before they are stored in a secure Knox container.Google and Samsung dismissed the reported Knox flaw, saying in a statement that the researchers' exploit "uses legitimate Android network functions in an unintended way to intercept unencrypted network connections from/to applications on the mobile device."In essence, the researchers demonstrated a "class man-in-the-middle attack," which could be launched at any point on the network to capture unencrypted data, Google and Samsung said. The researchers did not exploit an actual vulnerability. If the latest vulnerabilities prove to be real, then they should be fixed quickly, John Pirc, chief technology officer for security software tester NSS Labs, said. However, if Google finds that the flaw is in the network stack, "that is not trivial to fix."

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Google’s Project Tango: the Android phone that maps your world in real-time

Imagine a 3D world fully realised on your mobile phone, but not as you know it. Project Tango is the world around us, superimposed into our mobile phones. Now, the video makes it look like a game-changer and after looking at the facts, we’re convinced that it will be. Project Tango’s goal? To make our smartphones look and understand the physical environment. There are 200 development kits and Google aims to ship them all by March 14 2014.Currently, this takes the form of a prototype Android phone fitted with custom hardware that tracks the 3D motion of the device and maps the environment for good measure. The embedded sensors produce more than a quarter million 3D measurements every second to produce an accurate model of the world around the phone. With Java, Unity Game Engine, C/C++ and Android support, Tango is a dream project for any developer, who can sign up directly on the website if they wish to be involved in future projects – just not South Africa, Belgium, Venezuela or anywhere out of America really because “due to regulatory and export control issues, we are unable to send devices to certain countries.”

Google wants developers to work on projects like single or multiplayer games that use the 3D physical space around us, indoor mapping and even create new algorithms for processing sensor date. Or let’s put it like this – imagine the Oculus Rift, a virtual reality unit, combined with Project Tango. It would produce a realtime, 3D world mapped out as you walk and later, the same route could be explored in VR while safely at home. Real adventuring, with actual physical topographical data that’s unique to us. What an incredible thought.These are all technologies we’ve seen before, but what Project Tango does is combine them to create something unique.So what’s next? Nothing palatable or consumer-based. Project Tango is deep underground in the secret Google research centers. “We are still in the early days as this technology begins the transition out of research labs into the hands of millions of people. While we may believe we know where this technology will take us, history suggests we that should be humble in our predictions. We are excited to see the effort take shape with each step forward.”

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