Poor Google Wallet and the beating it has taken over the last week. First it was a “vulnerability” if your phone was rooted which was then followed by a non-rooted issue that allowed someone who stole your phone to access prepaid funds. To be fair to Wallet, none of these are actually issues unless you lose your phone and fail to protect it up front at the lock screen. But since attacking a product that is trying to push boundaries makes great headlines, this is where stand. Google has temporarily disabled prepaid cards in Wallet until they can provide a fix that won’t allow a user to simply “clear data” on the app and then re-access your funds.

Again, Google Wallet is still safe for making payments with credit cards, you just can’t use prepaid cards for the time being.

Via:  Google Commerce

Cheers Jim!

According to malware analytics group zVelo, Google Wallet PINs may be vulnerable if your phone is rooted. From their research and the video demo below, you will see that a simple .apk can be installed onto a rooted phone that can access PIN information, opening up your Wallet app to intruders should your phone fall into the wrong hands. The chances of that happening are obviously incredibly low, but we thought that you should all be aware of the situation.

zVelo was kind enough to contact Google ahead of this report and confirmed that this vulnerability does indeed exist. They worked to figure out a fix which turned out to be moving PIN verification into the SE (secure element) of the NFC chip in your phone. While this is apparently not that big of a deal on the fixing front, it could move the responsibility of PIN protection onto banks rather than Google, something that zVelo is not a fan of.

Forget the new Google+ update that just went live, today is all about the fact that Foursquare included Android Beam support in their latest update. Now, when you are out with your crew and one of them checks into the strip chess club before you, a simple butt-to-butt rubbing between your Galaxy Nexii will get you checked in right behind him. No need to put your dollars Rook down for any two-thumbed typing. Bump Nexus, tap to Beam the venue, and check-in.

This is all with me assuming that you know another person that owns an NFC device. Love me some Beam.

Market Link

As Android fans, I know that most of us don’t want to hear it, but if NFC (Near Field Communications) is ever going to take off and be widely adopted, we need the iPhone 5 to support it.

When the Nexus S was released on December 16, 2010 as the first NFC-enabled phone, Google made an early push to get both businesses and consumers into accepting the idea that their phones could share information by simply touching it to objects. The thought of paying for your morning coffee or cab fare without having to dig into your purse or back pocket seemed so game-changing. Since we all make our phones the most readily available item on our bodies at all times, what a brilliant idea this was. 

On Friday, a flashable zip file was made available that would put Google Wallet on your LTE Galaxy Nexus. The process was not all that fun, and even after completing it, some were still running into issues. Well, guess what? An .apk has been released that apparently works flawlessly on any Galaxy Nexus device running Android 4.0.2. There is one thing to note though – if you previously flashed the .zip file from Friday, you may have to return to a backup pre-Wallet or this .apk will not work. For those that were waiting and have not messed with any of the Wallet builds, feel free to give it a go. 

One of the more talked about features from the Ice Cream Sandwich event in Hong Kong was Beam, the NFC-based information sharing tool. If you have a phone with an NFC chip running Android 4.0, you can share information with another phone who has the same capabilities. The possibilities will eventually be almost endless, but for now, you can send things like Maps listings or directions, Market app pages, contacts and even Facebook friends.

Since we have two phones (Galaxy Nexus and Nexus S) with NFC chips and version of ICS, we were able to demo Beam in the video below. It should be fun come Friday when the world is running around beaming info to each other. 

A new version of the PayPal app on Android is available for everyone to download in the market this very minute. You will find a completely revamped UI that makes navigation much easier, improved support for tablets, a Send Money redesign, and more. Upgrades haven’t been just cosmetic though, as a brand new NFC payment widget is also available for the phones with the required NFC chip. Just plug in the amount you want, and tap phones with a friend to receive your payment. Simplicity at its finest. Well, at least simple bill paying by your broke a** couch surfing buddy, that is.

As an avid user of the PayPal app, I can tell you first hand that this update is a serious jump from the version before it. I cannot wait until the entire DL team has a Galaxy Nexus, so that I can rob Kellex of all that he owns at the pool table.

Market Link

Cheers 0mie!

As I looked in my market for app updates this morning, I noticed that Google Maps was listed as having the ability to reduce downloads of maps for different screen resolutions. Seemed pretty minor until I clicked “Update” and noticed that a new permission was included : “Control NFC.” As you may recall from the Ice Cream Sandwich event, the Galaxy Nexus and Beam will be able to share Google Maps information via NFC. Now your G-Maps can too – well, if you have one of the few NFC-equipped phones that is. And not until your phone gets Beam or some other NFC type of app that can utilize this permission. OK, so we got a little too excited over a simple permission. That’s what ICS will do to a person though.

Oh, they also changed the zoom in/out buttons to a more eye-friendly and minimal box layout.

Market Link