PDAs

Analysts believe that handheld computing is in the midst of one of its most dramatic changes since this product category was created. 2005 is considered to continue the trend of connected PDAs with phone capability and push "unconnected" devices - PDAs with Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, but without an integrated cell phone - into niche markets. PalmOne, the quasi inventor of the handheld as we know it today, still earns most of its money with handhelds that do not integratee cell phones. The firm is most apparent to suffer from a trend towards the need of a cellphone in PDAs.

Sony Corp. said on Monday retailers had almost completely sold out of the Play Station Portable on its first day in Japanese stores, marking a strong start for the company's first handheld game machine.

Sony shipped about 200,000 of the sleek black devices to retailers ahead of the early Sunday morning launch in Japan. The PSP, which can play movies, music and games, will go on sale in Europe and North America early next year.

After years of development Microsoft formally announced the introduction of the Windows Mobile Smartphone in late spring of 2002. As of early August, 2004, more than 10 different models were available worldwide, with more on the way. Even the Wall Street Journal predicts that Smartphones are the future of mobile communications!

This article focuses on the features that help differentiate one device from another and lists the pros and cons of each.

l33tdawg: If you're looking for Adam's paper the download is available from http://conference.hackinthebox.org and with much thanks to the folks at Packetstorm Security the downloads are also available from here.

A Polish researcher has found two vulnerabilities in the cell phone version of Sun Microsystems' Java software that under unusual circumstances could let a malicious program read private information or render a phone unusable.

Installing Linux™ on your iPAQ can be a great way to breathe new life into aging hardware or make an existing tool even better, particularly if you are a fan of Linux on the desktop. You can leverage your existing knowledge and enjoy the benefits of familiar (pun intended) free and open source software on the move. In this article, learn how to turbocharge your HP-Compaq iPAQ PDA with Linux.

For the multitudes of people who can't run ministumbler there is a great (yes it's free) alternative, WiFiFoFum (WFFF). WFFF is a program used by wireless enthusiats and hackers alike to scan for wireless access points. The tool now supports multiple GPS log outputs and other enhancements. The latest relase came today and can be downloaded from the website above.

Use of Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) continues to increase as new applications become available for them on almost a daily basis. While the PDA market has not grown as quickly in the last two years as it did in the mid and late '90s, as the U.S. economy recovers, the market will likely get a second wind. If your organization has not taken PDA security into consideration previously, now is the time to do so. While PDA security is often a forgotten piece of the security infrastructure, PDAs have the ability to transmit and receive viruses, and can be exploited in numerous ways.

The peer-to-peer phone program Skype, which lets computer users make free calls to each other anywhere in the world, is going mobile, with a version being released Tuesday for Wi-Fi-equipped digital assistants.

A pair of Indian companies are touting a home-grown handheld, eyeing both the local market and a wider audience. The Amida Simputer, originally developed as a "poor man's computer," is now being pitched as a device that can handle a wide range of business and personal-computing requirements. The Linux-powered handheld combines the functions of an organiser and an MP3 player and has handwriting recognition capabilities.

Traversing the carpeted walkways of the Las Vegas Convention Center last week, Caleb Sima looked like many other programmers at Comdex: young, lean, laid-back and with a taste for earth tones.

What was less apparent is that he also has a penchant for uncovering new security threats.