Android Market

According to a new report from German firm Research2guidance there is a significant gap between the growth of Android Market and Apple’s App Store. The research forecasts that in August 2011 Android Market will overtake Apple's App Store.

Google has confirmed that it removed some malicious apps from its Android Market on March 1 and now it has reached out some users over the airwaves to remove the applications from their devices as well.

Over 50 Android applications last week were found infected with software known as DroidDream. Google immediately removed apps from the Market. But it was only last Saturday when the company provided official information on the matter.

The latest rumors in the media sources suggest that PayPal will be offered as a payment option for users of Android phones who purchase something at the Android Market. Google is about to reach an agreement with eBay, as reported by Scott Moritz of TheStreet.com.

Google and eBay have been direct rivals in payment industry for a long time. The search giant always tried to downplay the role of PayPal and instead to promote its own payment product Google Checkout.

Security software vendor warns that a gaming app in Google’s Android Market which disguises itself as a video game in fact traces users’ whereabouts and secretly transfers the data to third parties.

The free app known as Tapsnake every 15 minutes uploads the user's GPS coordinates to a server that can be monitored by people running a separate $4.99 app known as GPS Spy, which is made by the same developer shop.

A new report from SMobile Systems who specializes in security issues on mobile phones and in the wireless infrastructure, 20% of the available applications on Android Market allow third parties access to personal information of users.

The report says that 20% of Android applications enable third parties to access private or sensitive information that could be used by crooks for malicious purposes including identity theft, mobile banking fraud and corporate espionage.