It's seldom the case that we get to look at world smartphone market share on a national level, but Kantar WorldPanel has given a rare peek that might give Windows Phone fans some good news to crow about. Even though things haven't always gone well for the Microsoft camp, Nokia phones like the Lumia 800 sparked a minor Renaissance in some countries in the three months leading up to mid-April: Windows Phone was up to between three and four percent in France, Italy, the UK and the US. The Metro interface must also be sehr gut for Germans, which nearly doubled Windows Phone's local share to six percent in that short space of time.

Kantar is eager to point out that it's still mostly a tale of Android and iOS successes, though. Google took extra ground in Australia, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the UK and the US, while Apple was on a tear both on its native soil and in the UK. HTC's upbeat predictions may have played a significant part in Android's continued rise -- the One X cracked the British top 10 list despite having only been in shops for a few days. About the only underdog story not going well in early spring was RIM's, where the BlackBerry's share of the US was cut to a third of its year-ago glory at three percent.

Kantar: Windows Phone clawing back share thanks to Nokia, but Android still rules the roost originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 May 2012 02:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

RIM's latest on-screen keyboard effort may bear a passing resemblance to Swiftkey, but it also has us itching to see how the rest of the BlackBerry 10 UI will turn out. It looks like we're not the only ones, as Octopus Keyboard aims to bring the same slick prediction interface to jailbreaking iOS users. Swiping up will access suggested words depending on which letters are pressed, while the keyboard will also memorize new vocab like the iOS original. You can see how it works in real life -- and gauge whether it's worth the jailbreaking rigmarole -- in a quick walkthrough video after the break.

Continue reading BlackBerry 10's predictive keyboard gets transplanted with Octopus Keyboard for jailbroken iOS devices

BlackBerry 10's predictive keyboard gets transplanted with Octopus Keyboard for jailbroken iOS devices originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 14 May 2012 19:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Maybe it was inspired by the other app's most recent update, or perhaps by Zuck's newly-minted commitment to mobile applications. Regardless, Facebook's redesigned its iPhone / iPod and Android apps along with its pocket-sized site, clearly taking some design tips from none other than its fresh acquisition, Instagram. As you can see in the image above, the news feed is now showing one large post rather than the usual two or three (at least on the iPhone / iPod variant), this mainly due to pictures now being up to 3X larger than before. Facebook didn't note any other major changes, and there was no mention on when, or if, this snap-driven design will make its way onto some of those not-so-mobile devices. Be sure to keep an eye out for the redesign, as it's said to be rolling out as we speak.

Facebook redesigns mobile site and apps, takes a tip (or two) from Instagram originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 14 May 2012 18:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The Macintosh is an impenetrable fortress of malware-free computing, right? In recent years, we've certainly seen that image eroded a bit, thanks to a number of nasty outbreaks. And if you listen to Nikolay Grebennikov, the CTO of security software maker Kaspersky, things have the potential to be much worse. The executive told British site Computing that the company was invited to improve Cupertino's security, only to discover that, "Mac OS is really vulnerable." Grebennikov also had some rather unfortunate news for all the iPad and iPhone owners out there, telling the site, "Our experience tells us that in the near future, perhaps in a year or so, we will see the first malware targeting iOS."

Update: So, this is turning into a whole "he said, they pubbed" situation. We reached out to Kaspersky earlier and just received a comment from the security company, which claims that the whole thing was simply taken out of context. Here's the statement. It's a doozy.

On Monday, April 14, computing.co.uk published an article titled "Apple OS 'really vulnerable' claims Kaspersky Lab CTO" that includes an inaccurate quote regarding Apple and Kaspersky Lab. The article reports that Kaspersky Lab had "begun the process of analyzing the Mac OS platform at Apple's request" to identify vulnerabilities. This statement was taken out of context by the magazine - Apple did not invite or solicit Kaspersky Lab's assistance in analyzing the Mac OS X platform. Kaspersky Lab has contacted computing.co.uk to correct its article.

Please refer to the statement below from Nikolay Grebennikov, Chief Technology Officer, Kaspersky Lab, which clarifies this misrepresentation:

"As Mac OS X market share continues to increase, we expect cyber-criminals to continue to develop new types of malware and attack methods. In order to meet these new threats, Kaspersky Lab has been conducting an in-depth analysis of Mac OS X vulnerabilities and new forms of malware.

This security analysis of Mac OS X was conducted independently of Apple; however, Apple is open to collaborating with us regarding new Mac OS X vulnerabilities and malware that we identify during our analysis. Kaspersky Lab is committed to providing the highest level of security for all of our customers, including Mac OS X, and we will continue to enhance our technologies in order to meet the ever-changing threat landscape. "

Kaspersky exec calls Mac OS 'really vulnerable' (update: clarification from Kaspersky) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 14 May 2012 11:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Looks like Apple's going to add more than just banner notifications to iCloud.com in the near future: a randomly available beta.icloud.com page has shown Notes and Reminders alongside familiar iCloud fixtures like email and Find My iPhone. If that wasn't enough, some skulking about in the HTML code of the beta page showed for a time that access to the new features requires signing in to the "iOS 6 beta," a fairly strong indicator that a web refresh will go hand-in-hand with a new mobile platform at this year's WWDC. What else is in store will likely have to wait until the developer event next month, but we at least know now that our iPhone's grocery lists will survive on the web.

[Thanks, Tommy]

iCloud.com slip-up shows Notes and Reminders, iOS 6 references originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 11 May 2012 14:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Granted, Apple and Google aren't quite the bosom buddies they once were, but how far is Cupertino going to free itself from the Android-maker? Well, Apple's picked up a number of mapmakers and is now reportedly getting ready to unveil a Google map competitor for iOS. 9to5Mac is reporting that the mapping solution will be in-place for the next major version of the mobile operating system, combining technologies gathered with the acquisition of Placebase, C3 Technologies and Poly9. The star of the show is said to be the 3D mode with graphics nabbed from C3. All Things D has "independently confirmed" the forthcoming app reinvention, with sources adding, (hopefully a bit hyperbolically) that it will "blow your head off." According to rumors, we'll be finding out a lot more come WWDC next month.

Update: To add more fuel to this rumor, a TechCrunch source notes that the iOS 6's "Sundance" codename is aptly named after a resort, just as previous versions have. Hit up the more coverage link below for further insight.

Report: Apple dumping Google for own Maps app in iOS 6 (update) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 11 May 2012 13:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Per usual, the Dev-Team whiz-kids have been hard at work trying to make your jailbroken iOS life a tad bit easier. This time around, MuscleNerd & Co. have outed their latest revision of RedSn0w (0.9.11b1), allowing folks using the new iPad, iPad 2 and iPhone 4S to downgrade to lower firmwares for jailbreaking purposes -- a feature others have been enjoying for some time now. As expected, you'd still need those saved SHSH blobs from the previous firmware in order to do so, and if your device depends on an unofficial unlock, it's recommended (with a few exceptions) to steer clear since this method will upgrade your baseband. Speaking of, the Dev-Team also notes you should stick with a previous version of Redsn0w unless you must have the new tidbits. Those of you eager to give it a try can head over to the Dev-Tem Blog to grab yourself a copy.

Redsn0w 0.9.11b1 now allows post-iPad 2 devices to downgrade to an older firmware originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 11 May 2012 10:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Per usual, the Dev-Team whiz-kids have been hard at work trying to make your jailbroken iOS life a tad bit easier. This time around, MuscleNerd & Co. have outed their latest revision of RedSn0w (0.9.11b1), allowing folks using the new iPad, iPad 2 and iPhone 4S to downgrade to lower firmwares for jailbreaking purposes -- a feature others have been enjoying for some time now. As expected, you'd still need those saved SHSH blobs from the previous firmware in order to do so, and if your device depends on an unofficial unlock, it's recommended (with a few exceptions) to steer clear since this method will upgrade your baseband. Speaking of, the Dev-Team also notes you should stick with an earlier version of Redsn0w unless you must have the new tidbits. Those of you eager to give it a try can head over to the Dev-Tem Blog to grab yourself a copy.

Redsn0w 0.9.11b1 now allows post-iPad 2 devices to downgrade to an older firmware originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 11 May 2012 10:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Moving along a similar path to his previous untethered jailbreak for iOS 5.0, hacker pod2g has followed up announcements of an untethered jailbreak for the iPhone 4 and iPad 3 running iOS 5.1 with a quick demo video (embedded after the break) as evidence. The video shows a jailbroken iPad 3 that manages to stay that way even after a reboot, the key difference from the current tethered hack already available. There's still no word on when the community at large may get a crack at the software, although tweets mention "stabilizing the payload" before taking a crack at the recently released iOS 5.1.1, and that the new Apple TV may not be able to come along for the ride.

Continue reading iOS 5.1 untethered jailbreak gets a video demo, not yet ready to meet the public

iOS 5.1 untethered jailbreak gets a video demo, not yet ready to meet the public originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 10 May 2012 21:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

In Insert Coin, we look at an exciting new tech project that requires funding before it can hit production. If you'd like to pitch a project, please send us a tip with "Insert Coin" as the subject line.

Visions of the iPad as a modern-day Etch A Sketch have so far been primarily decorative: they've been more about remembering youth than recreating it. That's why Ari Krupnik & Associates' officially-sanctioned Etcher iPad case project on Kickstarter stands out. Those knobs? They work, and they're Made for iPad certified. And, as the Etcher is a product of the digital era, your creations in the custom-written app can be saved and shared to Facebook, Flickr or even YouTube as a time lapse video. Shaking the Etcher will still erase your image -- it just doesn't have to disappear forever this time.

Your pledge level determines not only what variety of Etcher case you get, but how much control you get over the project. Committing $45 is all it takes for the nostalgic red, but if you spend $60, $75 or $100, you'll have the additional options for blue or a special backer-only color. Those at the $100 level get to vote on what color they and the $75 pledge-makers will see. A $175 outlay will provide early access to the software development kit as well as a say in what open-source license the code will use. Moving up to $210 or $360 will give you that control as well as an accordant five or 10 Etcher cases. If you like what you see, you have just over a month to contribute and make the iPad drawing add-on a reality.

Continue reading Insert Coin: Etcher, the fully functional Etch A Sketch iPad case

Insert Coin: Etcher, the fully functional Etch A Sketch iPad case originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 10 May 2012 08:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.