Oftentimes, someone comes up with a simple idea that is so brilliant, you can’t help but tell yourself, “why didn’t I think of that?”

One simply brilliant idea that has the potential to be copied all over the world is one that the people at Asahi thought of. The popular Japanese drinks company has implemented what could be described as a moment of extreme ingenuity. The company has turned their vending machines into WiFi hotspots. More →

According to Karsten Nohl, a prominent mobile security expert, All GSM mobile phones are susceptible to security issues that can let other people eavesdrop on their phone calls, send text messages and place calls from the phones of other people. This is a security flaw that can potentially become a big headache for mobile phone users as it could mean them being charged with extremely high fees and charges. Currently, 80 percent of all mobile phones worldwide are GSM phones. More →

The amount of lawsuits that we’ve been reporting here at 901AM is getting to be quite a lot. But then lawsuits are very interesting news to say the least. We’ve reported significantly about the constant exchange of lawsuits between Samsung and Apple. So any new lawsuits are kind of a breath of fresh air.

For example, Research in Motion is also embroiled in some legal kinks. A company, BBM Canada, has filed a lawsuit against RIM claiming the mobile phone manufacturer and service provider is infringing on the trademark of BBM Canada by using “BBM”, which stands for Blackberry Messenger, which is RIM’s very popular mobile messenger service that is used by Blackberry phone users all over the world. More →

Smartphones are getting slowly but surely replacing other devices as it continues to improve on its features and become more powerful. For example, point and shoot cameras and video cameras are being replaced by smartphones. This is according to research conducted by NPD, a market research company.

The NPD study was made on US adults and the data collected revealed that 27 percent of photos taken by the respondents were taken with their smartphones. The usage was up by 10 percent from last year. On the other hand, photos that were taken using point and shoot or stand-alone cameras dropped by 8 percent – from 52 percent to 44 percent. More →

Patent infringement lawsuits are flying all over the place. Aside from Samsung and Apple, who are locked in a constant legal entanglement regarding patent infringement, Microsoft and Motorola are also involved in such a lawsuit.

Just recently, Microsoft won in a patent infringement lawsuit against Motorola. An administrative law judge for the US International Trade Commission made a decision that Motorola’s Motorola Android phones infringed on one of Microsoft’s seven patents. More →

Many businesses are preparing for what experts all calling the “mobile takeover.” The New Year is going to bring more web browsing, purchasing, and researching on the small screen. Technology research and advisory firm Gartner estimates that global smartphone sales will reach 478 million by the end of 2011. Twitter usage also grew to more than 200 million tweets daily according to Search Engine Watch, and the number is expected to grow. In other words, consumers will be relying on their smartphones much more as the New Year approaches. This makes the quality of a smartphone extremely important. While there seems to be nothing a smartphone can’t do, there is one problem that still annoys users: battery life.

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Apple is the acknowledged market leader when it comes to tablet sales. Its iPad has reinvigorated the tablet market and has spurred its growth. Amazon may just have entered the tablet market this year – specifically last November – but it is already making a lot of headway with its Kindle Fire tablet. With the tablet market being dominated by these two companies, along with Samsung, it’s inevitable that another company will want to join in and try to get a slice of the tablet market pie. It isn’t a surprise that one of those companies is Google. More →

Adobe announced that it has released the newest version of its Flash Player for the Android mobile operating system. The new version, 11.1, now supports Android’s version 4.0 (also known as Ice Cream Sandwich) of its popular operating system. The new update is now available for download from the Android Market. Alongside the new Flash Player version, Adobe also announced that it will be releasing a new version of Adobe Air – version 3.1. Adobe Air is a crucial part of the Adobe offerings because it allows various Flash-employed apps to be brought to various platforms. More →

New wireless service provider LightSquared is being wracked by very negative reports regarding its technology. According to test made by the National Executive Committee for Space-Based Positioning, Navigation and Timing, LightSquared’s proposed LTE service interferes with the flight safety system. Specifically, it affects the alerts given to pilots about approaching terrain.

The FAA conducted the test of the flight control systems. The test revealed that LightSquared’s system actually creates a lot of interference in the safety system that was devised to alert pilots if it is going to encounter terrain or any kind of obstructions within its flightpath. More →

Smartphones have exploded in such a huge way. It is now the hottest selling phone type in the world and is slowly but surely replacing feature phones are the preferred choice of phone users. Market research firm Nielsen has proven this trend with its recent report. Nielsen’s latest Mobile Media Report, which covers the third quarter of 2011, reveals that nearly 44 percent of all the phones being used in the United States now are smartphones.

The report also showed the level of market penetration of smartphones. It is highest among young adults, with about 64 percent of people aged between 25 and 34 using smartphones. About 53 percent of people aged between 18 and 24 also use smartphones. More →