mobile

Google's Android does a lot more these days than just smart phones and nifty mobile gadgets. An Internet pioneer is using the platform to launch a interplanetary Internet protocol on Earth that could harden wireless networks against delays in data transmission.

ATMs have done their part to keep us off long teller lines since the first one was installed in the U.K. circa 1967. Now we stand on ATM lines instead. An upcoming upgrade to USAA bank’s iPhone app could cut those off, too; the app will allow bankers to deposit checks from their iPhone by sending two images of the check (one front and one back).

Its hard enough getting digital TV from an antenna in your house. Forget about in a car. But Samsung and LG aim to change that. In a scary reminiscence of Blu-ray vs. HD DVD, the two companies had been developing similar but incompatible standards (called AVS-B and MPH) for digital TV that can be delivered on the road.

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Meet the ultra-mobile PC, a.k.a. UMPC: a seven-inch screen, Windows XP Tablet PC operating system, plus Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, all in a book-size package that weighs less than two pounds. It´s the vision of the Origami Project team at Microsoft, which recently unveiled design concepts and software for the devices. All Origami-certified UMPCs will feature the Touch Pack, a
finger-friendly add-on to Windows XP with shortcut keys, large program icons and a split

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If it´s a smartphone,
you bet. In 2004, virus writers released Cabir, the first proof-of-concept virus that could infect smartphones through
an open Bluetooth connection.
So far, Cabir and the 175 other smartphone viruses in the wild haven´t done enough damage to warrant headlines. But it´s only a matter of time before there´s enough financial upside for criminal hackers to begin seriously attacking smartphones. And then, watch out.

Few places are more materialistic than Las Vegas, with its grandiose hotels and stacks of cash. But at last week's CTIA (Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association) convention-which showcased several acres of upcoming cellphone and wireless technology-the focus was less on material goods than on what you can do with them. The exhibits boasted no gotta-get-it-now phone, but they did promise many ways to do more with the phone you already have. From file-sharing to postcard-making, the latest possibilities go far beyond mere talk.