Yahoo News is reporting today that as many as 1 million Chinese mobile phone users are infected with a new SMS trojan. The target operating system has not been mentioned in any of the reports (we'd guess Android or Symbian), but the effects of the virus are well reported. Once a phone is infected, it transmits the contact list to the virus authors, then begins sending out spam SMS messages to contacts with links leading to malware. It also sends messages to premium rate numbers. This has apparently racked up $300,000 bills in some cases.

To add insult to injury, the virus is masquerading as an antivirus app to lure in new victims. Chinese authorities have tracked down the company that allegedly made the antivirus app, but they claim no involvement with the trojan. They insist they are victims of the evil-doers as well. 

As if things couldn't get worse, other malware authors have begun copying this virus to create their own mobile cash machines. The day might be coming when antivirus apps are an unavoidable necessity on smartphones.

According to some new numbers for iSupply, the total number of wireless subscriptions in the world will reach 5 billion this month. That's the equivalent of nearly three-quarters of the world's population. Of course, some people will have multiple lines, perhaps business and personal, but the number is still huge. “If the importance of an event can be measured by the number of people it affects, then the proliferation of wireless communications stands out as one of the most significant phenomena in the history of technology,” said Dr. Jagdish Rebello of iSupply.

Not all regions are equally saturated with mobile phones. Africa and the Middle East have the lowest penetration with only about 50%. On the high end is Western Europe where cell subscriptions out number people; about 157% penetration. Many Europeans have multiple low-cost subscriptions to enable calling when traveling to other countries. 

It's often said that phones are the computing platforms of the future. These new numbers really drive the point home. People that could never hope to afford a computer can manage a cell subscription. iSupply feels this trend will continue to encourage the technology supply chain to shift away from traditional computer hardware, and toward mobile devices.

Image via iSupply

A few months back Google let it be known that they would stop selling the Nexus One directly through the Google.com/phone portal. Today The Big G announced they had received their last shipment of Nexus One phones. Once they are sold out, that's the end of Google's noble experiment.

The Nexus One was intended to move both mobile hardware, and purchasing ahead. According to Google, they believe the hardware push was successful, but consumers did not take to the new sales model. Frankly, who could blame them? Even those willing to buy the phone with a T-Mobile contract were restricted to one plan. Additionally, CDMA carriers Sprint and Verizon chose not to authorize the Nexus One on their networks.

The venerable Google phone is not completely gone. It will still be available for purchase to anyone registered as an Android developer. Google also hinted at the phone being available direct from carriers depending on  “local market conditions”. Support for existing Nexus owners will continue. Are you sad to see the Nexus One fading into the background? Was its 7 month run too short?

Microsoft's pseudo-smartphone, the Kin, was just launched six weeks ago, and it looks like its days might already be numbered. In a statement Redmond has confirmed that the Kin phones will not be rolling out to Europe as planned, and the entire Kin team is to be integrated into the Windows Phone 7 team. This is also where Microsoft will be focusing their efforts.

The Kin was the spiritual successor to the Sidekick, and was in development for a number of years. The operating system was designed as  vertical experience built around social networking. There were no games, and some features (like a calendar and IM) were missing. The launch was plagued by pricing issues. Both the hardware and the monthly service were judged as too expensive by many. Verizon Wireless charges the full smartphone data rate of $30 per month for the Kin phones.
 
There were rumors that only a few hundred Kins were sold, but Microsoft never confirmed that. At the end of Microsoft's official statement, they say that they "will continue to work with Verizon in the U.S. to sell current KIN phones." It's not clear if that means they will just be selling off inventory. Is it best that Microsoft cuts their losses, or should they have iterated the software before giving up?