sms

Motorola phones will continue to face a ban on their sales in Germany.

On Thursday, the Munich Higher Regional Court rejected an appeal by Google-Motorola to lift the injunction of its Android phones. In May 2012, a German court ruled that the company had violated a Microsoft patent over SMS, ordering a sales ban against its phones in Germany. Google appealed the ruling, but the court was unswayed.

Dubbed "Communicating multi-part messages between cellular devices using a standardized interface," the patent in question relates to text messaging.

"We are gratified the court has affirmed the District Court'… Read more

Yahoo is doing some spring cleaning. The company announced its plans on Friday to shut down several products, including Yahoo Deals, Yahoo SMS Alerts, and the Yahoo Mail and Messenger apps used on feature phones.

It's all about getting rid of the old to make room for the new, according to Jay Rossiter, Yahoo's executive vice president in charge of platforms, who wrote about the changes in a blog entry.

"We want to bring you experiences that inspire and entertain you every day," Rossiter wrote. "That means taking a hard look at all of our … Read more

Apple took a big step in helping Apple ID users in securing their accounts this week with offering two-step verification.

Two-step verification (or authentication as it's commonly referred to) adds an additional barrier of security between would-be hackers and your account. The extra barrier comes in the form of a four-digit code, which will be sent to a device of your choosing via the Find My iPhone app or SMS, after you've entered your password.

Step one: To add the extra layer of security to your account you'll need to visit the Apple ID settings page on … Read more

AT&T, Verizon Wireless, Sprint, and other wireless providers would be required to capture and store Americans' confidential text messages, according to a proposal that will be presented to a congressional panel today.

The law enforcement proposal would require wireless providers to record and store customers' SMS messages -- a controversial idea akin to requiring them to surreptitiously record audio of their customers' phone calls -- in case police decide to obtain them at some point in the future.

"Billions of texts are sent every day, and some surely contain key evidence about criminal activity," Richard Littlehale … Read more

WhatsApp for BlackBerry 10 is now available in BlackBerry World, which means droves of new users will get the ability to send and receive messages without having to pay for SMS.

In WhatsApp for BlackBerry 10, users get the ability to exchange messages with other users, no matter what platform they may be on, all through a carrier data connection or Wi-Fi connection. The app also offers instant push notifications for incoming messages and full integration with BlackBerry contacts.

While Android and iOS users might be scoffing at the news, the addition of another platform should, in fact, affect them, … Read more

Unfortunately, the option to back up your text messages is not built in to the syncing software on Android devices. VeryAndroid SMS Backup offers a very effective solution to this problem: users download the application on their mobile device and a separate manager tool on their PC. The result is a great SMS management system.

The setup for VeryAndroid SMS Backup takes very little time, but it does require installation of the PC software and a brief registration. The application itself is pretty straightforward. The intuitive main screen has only a few buttons with functions such as Backup, Restore, and … Read more

You've played that "no phones at dinner" game and lost. You can't bear ignoring your messages. Well, this bit of bling could be your new best friend.

LinkMe is a digital bracelet that displays the messages, Facebook updates, and tweets that you need most.

Billed as a world first on its Kickstarter page, LinkMe will "display the messages and alerts you choose, making your entire social life available to you with just a glance at your wrist." … Read more

Text messaging is way more subtle than a phone call, but who you text can still get you in trouble. My Sms Interceptor creates a password-protected area for all the contacts you shouldn't be texting. It isn't the easiest to set up, but it will definitely hide things from snoops or prying eyes.

The app appears in your menu, which is unfortunate if you're trying to hide it. The name isn't too revealing, but a less descriptive icon would be nice. Once you're inside the app, you have to navigate through a few annoying ad … Read more

Wickr (download) gained new secure sending and subsequent self-destructing powers in a big update to the encryption and security app today, perhaps not coincidentally Data Privacy Day.

There are four new features in the app. You can now send and subsequently self-destruct images and PDFs from Google Drive, Dropbox, and Box to other Wickr users, which expands the limits of the original send-and-self-destruct feature. You can also send up to three 30-second videos, up to 5 MB, per message. Audio messages, which function like voice mails, have been extended to 30 seconds long, as well.

Wickr can now connect to … Read more