india

Gmail, Skype now in India's crosshairs

After temporarily setting aside its BlackBerry ultimatum, the Indian government has shifted its focus to Gmail and Skype, according to the AFP.

India is apparently taking issue with any communication service that doesn't give it easy access to data. It has a problem with Google-owned Gmail's heavy encryption and with the inability to listen in on conversations over VoIP with Skype.

"If a company is providing telecom services in Indian, then all communications must be available to Indian security services," a government representative told AFP. "If Google or Skype have a component that is not … Read more

RIM sidesteps BlackBerry ban in India

Research In Motion, the maker of the popular BlackBerry smartphone, has averted yet another ban of its e-mail and messaging service, according to news reports Monday.

The Indian government said it will not shut down the service for at least another 60 days as it evaluates proposals RIM has offered that would allow the government to monitor wireless subscribers' communications.

Indian officials said earlier this month that the company had until the end of August to come up with a solution that would allow them to monitor e-mails and other electronic messages from BlackBerry users in the country.

One of … Read more

RIM extends olive branch to Indian government

Research In Motion is hoping to find a solution to its drawn-out security battle with India by creating an industry forum to address the government's concerns.

RIM says it wants to create a forum where the company and other mobile firms could work with the Indian government to support "the lawful access needs of law enforcement agencies, while preserving the legitimate information security needs of corporations and other organizations in India."

RIM hopes to find a middle ground with India, which has said that if the company doesn't loosen security on its e-mail and instant-messaging services by the end of the month, RIM's messaging tools will be blocked by the country's wireless service providers. The Indian government, like those of United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Indonesia, contends that RIM's security encryption is too strict and limits the government's ability to monitor potentially dangerous communication.

In a statement, RIM said it believes the Indian government should value "the integrity and security of sensitive corporate information." If the government banned the encrypted communication, RIM said, it "would severely limit the effectiveness and productivity of India's corporations."

RIM is staying strong in the face of the Indian government's demands and indicated that it's not planning on giving in.… Read more

ComScore: Facebook has passed Orkut in India

New ComScore figures show that Facebook now has a traffic advantage over social network Orkut in India, one of the Google-owned site's long-lasting strongholds and a major target for Facebook.

Use of social networks in India grew 43 percent from July 2009 to July 2010, the numbers show. More than 33 million people in India (15 and older) are now using social-networking sites. That's 84 percent of all Internet users in that country. Traffic firm ComScore found that with 20.9 million users in India, Facebook now has a slight edge over Orkut, which has 19.9 million … Read more

B&N launches Nook app for iPhone

Links from Tuesday's episode of Loaded: India threatens to block BlackBerry Adobe moves on from Apple Barnes & Noble e-reader apps Windows Phone 7 Xbox Live games China Unicom gets iPhone, iPad

India prods wireless providers on BlackBerry ban

The Indian government has sent letters to the country's major wireless service providers informing them that if BlackBerry maker Research In Motion does not meet its demands to loosen security by August 31, then they must block e-mail and instant messaging services.

The government informed RIM last week that if it was not given access to users' e-mail, IM, and Web browsing that it would have the service shut down on the final day of the month.

Now it looks like the country is starting to make good on its threat. Tata Teleservices, one of India's largest cell … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 1291: The Playboy app: it's just for the articles (podcast)

On today's show, you can finally tell people that you read Playboy for the articles ... and have it be the truth! At least if you shell out $5 for the Playboy iPad app. Also, Oracle sues Google over Android, and it doesn't look good for Google. Plus, the brewing Apple vs. BBC cage match. Our prediction: Apple wins. Apple always wins.

India threatens to shut down BlackBerry service

BlackBerry maker Research In Motion has until August 31 to satisfy India's security concerns or get booted out of the country.

India's government is the latest in a long list of national governments that have recently threatened to shut down BlackBerry services over security issues. The United Arab Emirates has said it will halt Blackberry Messenger, e-mail, and Web browsing starting October 11. Indonesia and Saudi Arabia also threatened to block BlackBerry Messenger service. Saudi Arabia reached a deal with RIM over the weekend, and a ban that was to go into effect starting Monday was lifted.

Meanwhile, … Read more

Early take on India's $35 tablet: 'Fairly impressive'

Remember that $35 tablet out of India we told you about last month? If you want to see the much-talked-about prototype in moving color, a gadget show on Indian television just featured an exclusive hands-on that could help dissipate some of the skepticism about the device.

"Everybody actually said, 'It cannot happen, a $35 tablet,' and not only does it exist, it works and it works brilliantly," said Rajiv Makhni, co-host of the show "Gadget Guru," who took the computer through its paces with show cohort Vikram Chandra and then talked all aspects of the gadget … Read more

RIM CEO castigates countries over BlackBerry ban

"If they can't deal with the Internet, they should shut it off."

That was just one of the comments that RIM co-CEO Michael Lazaridis made in an interview published Wednesday in The Wall Street Journal. In the interview, Lazaridis repeatedly took aim at the countries looking to ban the BlackBerry over what they are labeling national security issues. The governments want the ability to access and monitor customer communications.

"This is about the Internet," Lazaridis told the Journal. "Everything on the Internet is encrypted. This is not a BlackBerry-only issue. If they can't … Read more