Digital Zone 213: iBreach

Posted by Patrick Wiscombe on June 14, 2010 under Tech Podcasts | Be the First to Comment

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In this edition of the Digital Zone, we talked about:

• AT&T iPad Data Breach
• AT&T to issue iPhone credits
• Apple shuts out Google from advertising
• Sprint’s EVO sales retraction
• Who is Richard Dellinger?
• Verizon dumping Microsoft’s Kin phones
• Drift Technologies new HD, 170 degree camera
• Playstation 3 price drop
• New hard drive technology

The FBI says it is investigating a data breach at AT&T that exposed the e-mail addresses of more than 114,000 owners of the Apple iPad, including government officials. AT&T said it had exposed the e-mail addresses through a Web site and had closed the breach. The vulnerability only affected iPad users who signed up for AT&T’s “3G” wireless Internet service. An AT&T Web site could be tricked into revealing an iPad owner’s e-mail address when supplied with a code associated with their particular iPad. AT&T was alerted to the problem by a business customer.

AT&T has unofficially released new details of their iPhone 4 upgrade plan. If somebody recently purchased an iPhone 3GS which sold for $199 for a 16GB model and $299 for a 32GB, the company will be offering a “one-time Customer Price Protection” plan, giving credit for the difference since they now sell for $149 and $199 respectively. People who bought a 3GS between May 7th and the 14th are told they will have to wait until June 14th to visit their AT&T store and claim $50 off the cost of a 16GB phone, or $100 off of a 32GB model. For those who made a purchase between May 15th and June 7th, a 30-day window should be in effect. Alternately, people within either time frame — including buyers of the iPhone 3G — can go without a discount and trade in towards an iPhone 4. The company says they’ll open stores early, at 7AM, for the June 24th iPhone 4 launch. Some restrictions apply, namely that new AT&T customers will only be able to buy one phone and activate one line on that day. Existing subscribers will be able to buy one phone per active number.

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Google was upset with Apple last week because of new rules which it said would effectively prevent the Google and AdMob from placing ads inside iPhone applications. Apple is in the process of developed their own advertising platform, iAd, which allows software developers or ad agencies to embed ads directly into applications being offered for the iPhone, iPod touch, and now the iPad. Apple will sell and host the ads and give developers 60 percent of the revenue while keeping the remaining 40 percent. Microsoft is also being shut out by Apple. iAd will debut on the iPhone and iPod Touch on July 1 and said it has already attracted iAd commitments worth more than 60 million dollars for 2010 from AT&T, Nissan, Disney and other companies.  In a related story, the Financial Times is reporting that U.S. regulators are planning to investigate why Apple is shutting out Google and Microsoft to advertising on the iPhone and iPad.

Who is Rich Dellinger and why should you care?  Well, he’s Palm’s former User Interface Design Architect who invented “the non-intrusive banner notification system used in WebOS.”  He left Palm and went to Apple two months ago which means changes to the iPhone user interface may be coming later and could include system notifications.

Verizon is about to drop the prices on Microsoft’s Kin phones because they’re not selling well.  The Kin Two would drop from $100 to $50 on contract; the Kin One would be even cheaper, falling from $50 to free with a two-year plan.

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PODCAST SPONSOR: The Digital Zone is sponsored by Cliphanger.

The perfect accessory for all cell phones, PDAs, iPods, and MP3 players.
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Drift Innovation has announced their new sport action camera, the HD170, that can record 1080p videos and has a 170-degree wide-angle lens. The lens will also rotate across a 300-degree range, and a side-mounted LCD screen will let users frame their shot with the camera mounted on the side of a helmet or vehicle.  The HD170 can also be put into a continuous photo mode, where a shot is taken every few seconds until the storage space runs out. It shoots 5-megapixel photos, and there is just 32MB of built-in memory. Most recording takes place on SDHC cards up to 32GB.  While an internal microphone is standard, an external microphone is offered for eliminating wind noise when the camera is mounted on the outside of vehicles or other fast-moving objects. The camera is also water resistant up to nearly two feet.  The HD170 ships late in July, priced at $330

Sony may be dropping the price of their PlayStation 3 to $199, a full $100 less than what they’re selling it for today.  Sony hasn’t confirmed or denied the drop.  However, Sony has also said the PS3 is much less expensive to make and could now be profitable even before buyers add games.  The PS3 would still have the Blu-ray and the hard drive.

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PODCAST SPONSOR: The Digital Zone is sponsored by Bluehost.
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