Etisalat
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Mozilla says a slew of carriers and handset makers set to support Firefox OS
Sure it's not as catchy as "Boot to Gecko," but Mozilla's newly-christened Firefox OS has already gained favor with a number of carriers, including Deutsche Telekom, Smart, Sprint, Telecom Italia, Telefónica and Telenor -- as previously reported, Telefonica-owned Vivo is set to introduce the earliest handsets early next year in Brazil. On the manufacturing side of things, ZTE and TCL Communication Technology (Alcatel One Touch) have signed on to make phones based on the HTML5-powered mobile operating system. Firefox OS will be positioned as a low-priced, entry-level alternative to leading mobile operating systems.
UAE carrier Etisalat said 4G iPhone 5 will ship this year, now unsaid (Updated)
Update: Etisalat must have gotten some cranky calls from Apple's carrier relations team, because the company has officially denied any mention of an upcoming iPhone model. SaudiMac reports that a blog post from the carrier now insists "At no point did Etisalat confirm that any new iPhone device will be launched in 2011." Thanks to @mazmohad and @khaled for the heads-up. Dubai's Gulf News is reporting that United Arab Emirates-based carrier Etisalat is in talks with Apple to sell a 4G iPhone 5 later this year. Ali Al Ahmad, Chief Corporate Communication Officer of Etisalat told the Gulf News, "Yes, we are in talks with most smartphone manufacturers including Apple on the rollout of the 4G handset, iPhone 5 later this year. As the first telecom organization to roll out the 4G network, LTE, in the Middle East, we have already started talking to them for the handsets and chipsets in them." However, despite Ahmad's assertion on an LTE iPhone 5 later this year, readers should approach this news with caution. Right now there are no solid facts about the next iPhone. The next iPhone will be the fifth-generation iPhone, but no one can even agree on its name, let alone the telecommunications technology it will have. Some say the fifth generation iPhone will be called the "iPhone 4S," while others say it will be known as the "iPhone 5." However, regardless of the name, there are rumors that the iPhone won't see 4G LTE until the sixth generation iPhone (which could very well be called the "iPhone 5"). It's entirely possible that carrier executives like Ahmad could be confusing the version and name with associated telecommunications technology. But at the risk of fanning the flames, it's also possible that Apple could roll out a 4G LTE-equipped iPhone in the fall. The company is pushing back the new iPhone hardware launch later this year than in the past and the extra time could provide the wiggle room to wait until there are enough 4G chips ready in a slim enough form factor to fit the next generation iPhone without compromising its design -- something current 4G chips can't do.
Telecom Egypt loses revenue, government helps by banning international VoIP
a href= http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100323/tc_afp/egyptittelecominternetskype >VoIP calling as a primary reason, and so what do you do if you're a state-run commercial enterprise trying to make a profit? Why, you make the competition illegal of course.
Etisalat BlackBerry update was indeed spyware, RIM provides a solution
Um, yikes? An unexpected (and unwanted) surprise struck some 145,000 BlackBerry users in the UAE this time last week, when an official looking prompt coerced many of the aforesaid Etisalat customers to follow through with a software update. Rather than bringing about performance enhancements, the SS8-built app enabled the carrier to keep tabs on customers' messages. According to RIM: "Etisalat appears to have distributed a telecommunications surveillance application... independent sources have concluded that it is possible that the installed software could then enable unauthorized access to private or confidential information stored on the user's smartphone. Independent sources have concluded that the Etisalat update is not designed to improve performance of your BlackBerry Handheld, but rather to send received messages back to a central server." Like we said, yikes. The zaniest part is that Etisalat isn't backing down, still assuring the world that the upgrades were "required for service enhancements." At any rate, RIM has made remarkably clear that the update wasn't one authorized by the company, and it's even providing an app remover for those who'd prefer their BlackBerry to be in working order and, you know, not forwarding all their email to some dude in an Etisalat supply closet. Good on you, RIM. Bad on you, Etisalat.[Thanks, Gerald]Read - Confirmation of spywareRead - RIM app remover
BlackBerry update in UAE reportedly surveillance software in disguise
There's not much in the way of official statements on this one just yet, but itp.net is reporting that a recently pushed out update for all BlackBerry users on the UAE-based carrier Etisalat is not a "performance enhancement patch" as advertised, but rather some spyware that could potentially give Etisalat the ability to keep an eye on its customers' messages. The first suspicions about the update apparently arose when users noticed dramatically reduced battery life and slower than usual performance from their phones, which led to a bit of detective work from programmer Nigel Gourlay, who pegged the software down as coming from electronic surveillance company SS8. While it's not switched on by default, the software can reportedly let Etisalat flip the switch on phones one by one and monitor their emails and text messages -- or it could if it hadn't completely bogged down the network. Apparently, the software wasn't designed for such a large scale deployment, which resulted in the slowdown and battery drain as some 100,000 BlackBerrys constantly tried and failed to sign in to the one registration server for the software.[Via The Register]
New iPhone in June? Somebody seems to think so
Apple has a habit of refreshing its iPod and iPhone-type products on a pretty regular schedule, so a new iPhone in June really wouldn't be the surprise of the century, but now we've got word to that effect from the United Arab Emirates. Etisalat is picking up the iPhone 3G over there, along with providing support for existing iPhones sold on the gray market, but the writeup in Business 24/7 makes mention of a brand new iPhone hitting in June, which Etisalat will also get at launch. This could easily be a misunderstanding on the part of the reporter, a misquote, or a combination of signs, portents and omens, but it's certainly an interesting little tidbit. We'd have to think that anyone liable to get this story right would also be aware that a brand new iPhone would be worth more than a passing reference, but we suppose we'll just have to wait and see. Apple Insider also mentions rumblings of an upcoming iPhone having a fairly significant architecture overhaul -- that's mostly conjecture at this point, but might make sense (or room) for an iPhone nano. And you know how we love the iPhone nano.[Via Apple Insider]
