Droids and rickrolls

09/11/09 posted by Liz Niland

Your understanding of what exactly a “Droid” is may vary depending on how tech-savvy and of-the-moment you are.

If you haven’t heard the word bandied around recently, prepare yourself for the invasion of the Droids. No, I’m not talking about C-3PO and R2-D2, or a Californian hardcore band: the Droid is set to be the biggest battle the iPhone has ever faced.

Launching in the United States last week, Motorola’s Droid is the company’s best offering since their sleek Razr phone you probably toted a few years back. With a higher screen resolution than the iPhone, better compatibility with Google applications and a slide-out keypad, it’s sure to be a contender for the global smartphone crown when it is (hopefully) unveiled to other countries outside the US. Although, like many, I’m still happy to flaunt my iPhone, I am just a little jealous that Droid users will get a super version of Photoshop to upload and edit images. Just a little.

When checking your Facebook and transferring funds with your banking app, you may forget that your iPhone or other internet-capable phone is just as susceptible to viruses and scams as your desktop computer. An iPhone virus is currently doing the rounds affecting handsets that have had a “jailbreak” performed on them. Something the very-techy do to access apps and functions not approved by Apple, a jailbreak is best avoided if you want to avoid such hackings. Although this bug is hardly nasty, (it’s a mere “rickroll”) it does provide solid evidence for users who take their iPhone security for granted. Don't say we didn't warn you.