In an attempt to evade U.S. prosecution, Julian Assange’s investors are said to be in the process of moving Wikileaks’s servers offshore, according to Fox News. Multiple unnamed sources spoke with the news network and said Assange’s financial backers have been going through the logistics of moving the servers to international waters. “They can keep running Wikileaks and nobody can touch them,” a source told Fox News. “If you get a certain distance away from any land then you’re dealing with maritime law … They can’t prosecute him under maritime law. He’s safe. He’s not an idiot, he’s actually very smart.” Read on for more.

Wikileaks’s servers are currently located in Sweden and Iceland, among other locations. The company is reportedly eyeing a move to the Principality of Sealand, a World War II-era former anti-aircraft platform in the North Sea off the coast of England. Due to a 1968 British court ruling, the facility is outside the jurisdiction of the United Kingdom, with Sealand’s owners declaring the facility a sovereign state.

Others have dismissed the idea, however, claiming that simply moving servers would not protect Wikileaks and its members from prosecution. “Where the data resides isn’t what determines jurisdiction,” said Jim Dempsey, vice president of public policy with the Center for Democracy and Technology. “You prosecute real people, you don’t prosecute servers. So if the Wikileaks people want to live on a platform in the North Sea and educate their children there … for people who have lives, that doesn’t make sense.”

Assange, who is currently facing extradition for sexual assault charges, announced last week that he would be hosting his own talk show and will be a guest on the 500th episode of The Simpsons.

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With Apple set to unveil its next-generation iPhone(s) on Tuesday, the rumor trough is overflowing with more Apple juice than even the most dedicated fans can handle at this point. According to the mill, Apple is set to unveil about a dozen various iPhone models this week, ranging from a modest update to be hawked on the cheap to a teardrop-shaped overhaul that will feature a 4-inch display and a unibody aluminum design (perhaps similar to the mock-up seen above). In fact, all leaks accounted for, we’re looking at a tweaked entry-level iPhone 4 with 8GB of storage and a budget-friendly price tag, an iPhone 4S due in black and white with 16GB and 32GB variations, and an all new iPhone 5, also in black and white, with 16GB, 32GB and maybe even 64GB capacity options. Oh, and that’s all in addition to a 3G-enabled iPod touch with iPad-like data plans.

Totally plausible, right?

If you’ve been snoozing this weekend, here’s a quick rundown of what you missed:

• Here it is, folks — the somewhere-between-free-and-$350 8GB iPhone 4, model N90A, that’s ready to decimate the entry-level, mid-range and prepaid smartphone competition. Maybe. Gizmodo Brasil has images of parts reportedly taken inside Foxconn’s Brazilian factory.
• Wondering if “iPhone 4S” is just a name dreamed up by blogs as a placeholder for Apple’s supposed A5′d iPhone 4? Nope — apparently it’s real, and 9to5Mac found references to the device in the latest iTunes beta.
• Well if there’s a new cheaper iPhone 4 and an iPhone 4S, that means the mythical redesigned “iPhone 5″ is nothing but a pipe dream, right? Wrong again! Engadget has a screenshot of RadioShack’s inventory system, which clearly now includes 16GB and 32GB iPhone 5 models headed to AT&T, Verizon Wireless and Sprint. They should fit nicely in the iPhone 5 cases now appearing in AT&T’s inventory system.
• Also, TUAW snagged a couple screenshots of a Cincinnati Bell snafu; the regional carrier accidentally posted entries for the iPhone 4S and iPhone 5 in its prepaid phones section. That’s right, not only is Apple pushing its new iPhones to regional carriers now — but still not to T-Mobile — but the new handsets will also all be available with prepaid plans.
• Oh, and once these dozen or so iPhones hit the market this month alongside iOS 5, we can also look forward to “Assistant” voice controls and iOS app rentals. Sweet.

Skeptical that all these leaks paint an accurate picture of the iPhone landscape come Tuesday? You’re not alone. There have been enough rumors, leaks and plants this time around to make anyone’s head spin. The only thing we can safely say for sure, of course, is that the mystery will be behind us shortly after 10:00 a.m. Pacific, 1:00 p.m. Eastern on Tuesday. Be sure to tune in to BGR on Tuesday for all the official iPhone news as it breaks.

The infamous group of “hacktivists” known as Anonymous Operations on Thursday launched a new tool to aid its digital crusade against targeted governments and corporations. Dubbed “HackerLeaks,” the new site is a tool hackers can use to distribute data anonymously, and it adopts the model popularized by WikiLeaks. Hacker groups like the now-defunct LulzSec used a variety of tools to disseminate the spoils of their cyberattacks, but Anonymous explains that their tool has a number of benefits. “Anonymous and the [People’s Liberation Front] have already established connections to the media outlets that can help better expose important data, and that they hope to also provide ‘unique and enlightening analysis,’” the group said in a statement. HackerLeaks it the latest addition to Anonymous’ movement known as “AntiSec,” which is aimed at “exposing corporate and government data and humiliating security firms.”

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Two Hon Hai employees and a MacTop Electronics executive have been found guilty of leaking information about Apple’s iPad 2 ahead of its release. The trio was arrested in December last year following an investigation by authorities in Shenzhen, China. Xiao Chengsong, general manager of Shenzhen MacTop Electronics Co., former Hon Hai employee named Hou Pengna, and Lin Kecheng, a Hon Hai research-and-development employee, were all sentenced on Tuesday in a Chinese court. Hou was sentenced to one year in prison and fined 30,000 yuan, Lin was sentenced to 14 months and fined 100,000 yuan, and Xiao was sentenced to 18 months in prison, and fined 150,000 yuan.

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On Tuesday, Sony issued an update explaining the recent PlayStation Network and Qriocity outages. The company said it has discovered that between April 17th and April 19th, someone broke into its network and stole user information. In an effort to stop the security breach, Sony temporarily killed access to its PlayStation Network and Qriocity services, hired a security firm to investigate, and started beefing up its security measures. However, the leaked information may be alarming to PlayStation network users. Here’s part of Sony’s statement:

We believe that an unauthorized person has obtained the following information that you provided: name, address (city, state, zip), country, email address, birthdate, PlayStation Network/Qriocity password and login, and handle/PSN online ID. It is also possible that your profile data, including purchase history and billing address (city, state, zip), and your PlayStation Network/Qriocity password security answers may have been obtained.

Sony said that it doesn’t think credit card data was taken, but that it will not rule out the possibility, and says that it’s possible credit card numbers – excluding the security codes – may have been obtained by the intruders. The firm advises that its customers “remain vigilant” by closely monitoring credit statements. Sony says the services will be reactivated as soon as possible and that customers can dial 1-800-345-7669 with any questions. Hit the jump for Sony’s official statement.

Valued PlayStation Network/Qriocity Customer:
We have discovered that between April 17 and April 19, 2011, certain PlayStation Network and Qriocity service user account information was compromised in connection with an illegal and unauthorized intrusion into our network. In response to this intrusion, we have:

1. Temporarily turned off PlayStation Network and Qriocity services;
2. Engaged an outside, recognized security firm to conduct a full and complete investigation into what happened; and
3. Quickly taken steps to enhance security and strengthen our network infrastructure by re-building our system to provide you with greater protection of your personal information.

We greatly appreciate your patience, understanding and goodwill as we do whatever it takes to resolve these issues as quickly and efficiently as practicable.

Although we are still investigating the details of this incident, we believe that an unauthorized person has obtained the following information that you provided: name, address (city, state, zip), country, email address, birthdate, PlayStation Network/Qriocity password and login, and handle/PSN online ID. It is also possible that your profile data, including purchase history and billing address (city, state, zip), and your PlayStation Network/Qriocity password security answers may have been obtained. If you have authorized a sub-account for your dependent, the same data with respect to your dependent may have been obtained. While there is no evidence at this time that credit card data was taken, we cannot rule out the possibility. If you have provided your credit card data through PlayStation Network or Qriocity, out of an abundance of caution we are advising you that your credit card number (excluding security code) and expiration date may have been obtained.

For your security, we encourage you to be especially aware of email, telephone, and postal mail scams that ask for personal or sensitive information. Sony will not contact you in any way, including by email, asking for your credit card number, social security number or other personally identifiable information. If you are asked for this information, you can be confident Sony is not the entity asking. When the PlayStation Network and Qriocity services are fully restored, we strongly recommend that you log on and change your password. Additionally, if you use your PlayStation Network or Qriocity user name or password for other unrelated services or accounts, we strongly recommend that you change them, as well.

To protect against possible identity theft or other financial loss, we encourage you to remain vigilant, to review your account statements and to monitor your credit reports. We are providing the following information for those who wish to consider it:

U.S. residents are entitled under U.S. law to one free credit report annually from each of the three major credit bureaus. To order your free credit report, visit www.annualcreditreport.com or call toll-free (877) 322-8228.

We have also provided names and contact information for the three major U.S. credit bureaus below. At no charge, U.S. residents can have these credit bureaus place a “fraud alert” on your file that alerts creditors to take additional steps to verify your identity prior to granting credit in your name. This service can make it more difficult for someone to get credit in your name. Note, however, that because it tells creditors to follow certain procedures to protect you, it also may delay your ability to obtain credit while the agency verifies your identity. As soon as one credit bureau confirms your fraud alert, the others are notified to place fraud alerts on your file. Should you wish to place a fraud alert, or should you have any questions regarding your credit report, please contact any one of the agencies listed below.

Experian: 888-397-3742; www.experian.com; P.O. Box 9532, Allen, TX 75013
Equifax: 800-525-6285; www.equifax.com; P.O. Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 30374-0241
TransUnion: 800-680-7289; www.transunion.com; Fraud Victim Assistance Division, P.O. Box 6790, Fullerton, CA 92834-6790

You may wish to visit the web site of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission at www.consumer.gov/idtheft or reach the FTC at 1-877-382-4357 or 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20580 for further information about how to protect yourself from identity theft. Your state Attorney General may also have advice on preventing identity theft, and you should report instances of known or suspected identity theft to law enforcement, your State Attorney General, and the FTC. For North Carolina residents, the Attorney General can be contacted at 9001 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-9001; telephone (877) 566-7226; or www.ncdoj.gov. For Maryland residents, the Attorney General can be contacted at 200 St. Paul Place, 16th Floor, Baltimore, MD 21202; telephone: (888) 743-0023; or www.oag.state.md.us.

We thank you for your patience as we complete our investigation of this incident, and we regret any inconvenience. Our teams are working around the clock on this, and services will be restored as soon as possible. Sony takes information protection very seriously and will continue to work to ensure that additional measures are taken to protect personally identifiable information. Providing quality and secure entertainment services to our customers is our utmost priority. Please contact us at 1-800-345-7669 should you have any additional questions.

Sincerely,
Sony Computer Entertainment and Sony Network Entertainment

[Via Tech Crunch]

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2010 was quite the interesting year for the tech industry and here on BGR, the smartphone was king. Adoption of Google’s Android OS skyrocketed, Microsoft is officially back in the smartphone game, Apple is leading with its iOS devices, RIM is working on a brand new OS to power tablets and handsets, HP acquired Palm, and “4G” finally fought its way to the tip of everyone’s tongue. We wanted to highlight some of BGR’s most popular smartphone-related stories of the year, and they each fell into three main categories: Android, BlackBerry and iPhone. Join us after the break for a run through, and a big thanks to all of the great readers who helped make BGR one of the top tech destinations in the world in 2010. Happy New Year!

Google Android

Google sure isn’t slowing down as far as Android is concerned. At the start of 2010, the OS had plenty of growing up to do but as 2010 draws to a close, the OS is really coming into its own. The writing was on the wall, and we knew the second half of 2010 would belong to Google — especially at Verizon Wireless where a leaked roadmap was sprinkled with several exciting Android devices. The roadmap also reveal a great deal about Verizon’s plans for 4G, which lead to a bumpy road as we accused Verizon and other carriers of flaunting fake 4G. But LTE and similar technologies will still help a new breed of mobile devices move data faster than ever before, and Android will be at the forefront of this new wave. CES will kick off the new year with more Android -powered tablets than you can count, and gorgeous new devices like the HTC Thunderbolt 4G we scooped over the summer.

BlackBerry

RIM’s BlackBerry platform received a major upgrade to version 6.0, and the first devices to get the new OS were the Torch, seen above, and a freaky clamshell device we took an exclusive look at in April. While the world waited for OS 6 to be released for the BlackBerry 9700, Waterloo’s finest was hard at work on the next-generation BlackBerry operating system, based on QNX, which will be its OS “for the next 10 years”. The first taste of RIM’s new OS came in the form of the company’s first Apple iPad rival, the BlackBerry PlayBook, which we explored in depth on video.

Apple iPhone

The single most popular smartphone model in the world evolved a great deal this year, thanks to a string of updates. First came a new operating system bump to OS 4.0, and then we got a hardware update in the form of the iPhone 4. The iPhone wasn’t without its string of controversies, though, and beyond the much reported (and blown out of proportion) “Antennagate” ordeal, we had a report of an iPhone 4 bursting into flames and injuring its owner. But that won’t stop Apple, of course, as it’s widely assumed that Verizon Wireless will be grabbing up Apple’s device early in the first quarter of 2011.

BGR Senior Staff Writer Zach Epstein contributed to this article

French digital journalism monitor OWNI published an interview Monday with former right-hand man to Julian Assange, Daniel Domscheit-Berg. Domscheit-Berg shot from anonymity to the spotlight recently when he announced that he was leaving WikiLeaks and launching a new project called OpenLeaks. “In these last months, the organization has not been open any more, it lost its open-source promise,” Domscheit-Berg said of WikiLeaks. He did not elaborate, but OpenLeaks will apparently be focused on achieving WikiLeaks’ initial vision as Domscheit-Berg saw it. The OpenLeaks website is now live (www.openleaks.org), though no content has been published at this point. It will initially be a vehicle for short essays that will serve as a test for the site “without pressure.” This will be the case through early 2011, and then the site will turn to “bigger media.” OpenLeaks is currently a 10-man operation but those numbers will likely rise with haste; Domscheit-Berg said the team is “drowning in applications” from people who want to join the crusade.

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We’re going to go out on a limb here and say there’s a very, very good chance this is fake, but images of a handset reported to be Nokia’s next touchscreen Symbian smartphone have just surfaced. The source is in China — land of less-than-authentic handsets — so definitely tread with caution. That said, you’re looking at images of what is reported to be Nokia’s successor to the 5800 XpressMusic… The 5900 XpressMusic. Could this be the rumored capacitive touchscreen refresh that had been rumored a while back? Specs are limited for the time being but the source claims a 3.5 inch touchscreen and a 5 megapixel camera are on board along with a 3.5 mm headphone jack and a kickstand. The source also reports a possible lack of 3G which, if true, would definitely be a pretty good indication that the handset is indeed fake. Hit the jump for more shots.

[Via Symbian Freak]

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One of the core issues many people cite when Windows Mobile’s shortcomings become the topic of discussion is the look. We’re not WinMo haters but we must admit, 6.0 and 6.1 do have a bit of a Windows 3.1 look to them. UI impacts the user experience, dramatically at times, so this is one area we’re hoping Microsoft really focuses on in 7. It’s obviously way too early to say how Redmond is doing but a new round of screenshots reported to show various areas of 7′s UI have emerged, and they may give us an idea of where MS is going interface-wise.

Above, a reported image of Windows Marketplace for Mobile displays a pretty minimalist UI with clean lines and angles. Below, a screenshot of Windows IM maintains the same overall feel, and then a shot of the podcasting app goes in a completely different direction. That’s all fine of course, but if you compare all of the shots we have so far something catches the eye. Look at the battery, signal, and volume placement in each of the shots — they’re constantly moving. Battery switches from the bottom left (Marketplace and IM) to the bottom right (maps) and whatever it is that is represented by that triangle / “Y” icon does the same; hell, the icon itself changes. Moving readings around like that is a horrible, horrible idea as far as UX goes so this leads us to believe one of three things: 1) Microsoft’s UX architects have blown a gasket, which is doubtful. 2) These shots are of various builds and Microsoft is playing with the placement of these UI elements and their icons. 3) The screenshots are fake. You be the judge — hit the jump to check out the rest of the new shots along with two old ones.

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When it rains, it pours — and if this newly leaked deck turns out to be the real deal, it’s definitely pouring over at Sprint right now. Phone News claims to have gotten its hands on a roadmap revealing the entirety of Sprint’s upcoming line up for the first three quarters of 2009 and, well, things are looking pretty good. We have no reason to doubt the authenticity of the slides for the time being so we’ll let the deck do the talking. Highlights include affirmation of a Q2 Palm Pre release (shown above with model number P100), the BlackBerry Niagra dropping towards the end of Q3 and a handful of Samsung and HTC handsets that should keep the Windows Mobile crowd happy. Hit the jump for the complete collection of slides.

Thanks, Rusty!

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When it comes to a launch that has been delayed as many times as Sprint’s Treo Pro release, you can never be too sure. For those of you don’t believe it until you see it types, feast your eyes. One of our ninjas came through with indisputable evidence that the Treo Pro is indeed beginning to touch down in Sprint stores in preparation for availability one week from today. Siiiiigh. So, Sprint fans, if you’re looking for a handset that can wear the “Palm’s sexiest phone” sash until the Pre is finally released, the Pro is definitely your ticket. Hit the jump for more shots.

Thanks, Teck!

Rumored to be a portion of a stock sheet from Best Buy a “major national retailer”, this image above is reportedly reveals the release dates of a variety of upcoming handsets. No, there’s nothing too exciting there but if the source is reliable it does indeed fill in a few question marks that have been looming — namely the E71x release date. So let’s have a look… Starting with AT&T, the document lists both the Samsung i627 “Jackfrost” and blue Samsung A767 “Propel” as becoming available on March 29th. Next up is the Nokia E71x, listed as “E71 Charcoal”, finally arriving on April 1st and the LG Xenon, which was apparently delayed so long it’s now called “Zenon”, arriving on April 10th. Moving along to Verizon, it looks like the Nokia 7205 Intrigue will hit store shelves on March 15th along with Sprint’s Palm Treo Pro which has been delayed more than a connecting flight in Atlanta. Sure, the more exciting handsets of 2009 won’t be out until the Summer months and beyond, but there are a few nice looking pieces of kit here to tide us over in the meantime.

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What happens when you cross a blurrycam special with a complete lack of image editing skills? Behold, an appalling 8 bit-looking Photoshop job that reportedly depicts Sanyo’s upcoming new addition to the Sprint lineup. Of course we can understand why this Sprintusers forum member would be overly cautious but dude, seriously. Moving on, Sanyo’s upcoming offering allegedly sports a QWERTY keyboard, 1.3 megapixel camera, Bluetooth and integrated GPS — Palm Pre eat your heart out! Ok so it might not be the most impressive offering Sprint might issue this year, but text-hungry users seeking an affordable entry-level QWERTY handset will surely give the SCP-2700 a gander. For the time being, no release date or pricing info is available. Hit the jump for bigger shots.

[Via Engadget Mobile]

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Assuming this handset is real and not a crazy Moto-clone, yet another handset that we know very little about has leaked this morning and Motorola is the victim this time around. Thankfully we have a bit more to go on compared to the Samsung S5600 but we’re still missing some relatively key information – you know, the name or model number would be nice info to have. Judging by the look however, it’s safe to say this nameless touchscreen handset will be the next device to drop in Moto’s ROKR line though it seems to have taken a few big steps backward from its predecessor. First and foremost, holy bulk. This baby looks like it might have eaten each of the ROKRs that came before it. It’s tall, wide and way thicker than any handset of its kind should be at this point. The only other detail we can confirm is that this new ROKR will sport a 3.2 megapixel camera. Beyond that, it looks like at least the top row of keys are touch-sensitive and Moto has opted to do away with the ModeShift keypad which is a pretty logical decision considering the presence of a touchscreen. The rest is still a mystery for the time being but we might just be looking at one of the first Motorola handsets that will feature the Android OS — probably the only surprise that would make the new ROKR even the least bit appealing. Hit the jump for a few more images.

UPDATE: Thanks to word from a few sources it looks like this handset is the EM1 / Texel, a Moto handset that was reportedly axed a while back to make room for more solid efforts from Moto. Although it looks a bit different from the initial image of the EM1 that was leaked, it’s a lighting/angle issue – definitely the same phone. Whew. Thanks to everyone else who emailed us.

[Via Unwired View]

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This one has been flying all over the interwebs for the past 12 hours or so, but it looks like the birth of some ridiculously sexy new T-Mobile plans is just a few short steps from moving to confirmed status. As the source of these docs has been a tad shaky at times in the past however, we’ll still have to keep the rumor label on this puppy for the time being. Here’s the deal: T-Mobile is preparing to offer a new line of plans to “loyal” customers. Loyal, apparently, translates to an account that is at least 22 months old and has a solid payment history. Should all go according to, err, plan – the new unlimited options should become available nationwide shortly thereafter. Hit the jump for a breakdown of the new plans and launch details.

Single Line Unlimited Anytime Minutes:

Unlimited Anytime Minutes
Nationwide Service
LD/Voicemail/Conference Calling
Caller ID/Call Waiting/Call Forwarding
1 LINE of Service
$49.99 (before taxes)

FamilyTalk Unlimited Anytime Plan:

Unlimited Anytime Minutes
Nationwide Service
LD/Voicemail/Conference Calling
Caller ID/Call Waiting/Call Forwarding
2 LINES of SERVICE
$89.99 (before taxes)
–> Additional Lines (up to 3): $39.99

You can add $25.00 data features, and/or Unilmited Famliy Messaging ($20) pack to plan if wanted – most of the current add-ons are compatible with this rate plan (eg. WorldClass Roaming and International LD Discount Plan).

Also, any Hotspot@Home capable mobile device may take advantage of UMA service(s) with unlimited usage, per this unlimited anytime minute rate plan; no additional H@H add-on required.

———————–

(Unlimited Bundling Packs – Manual Configs)

Unlimited Voice/Data/Messaging Plan (single line): $84.99
Nationwide Service
LD/Voicemail/Conference Calling
Caller ID/Call Waiting/Call Forwarding
Unlimited Anytime Minutes ($49.99)
Unlimited SMS/MMS/Video/IM ($9.99)
Unlimited Data ($24.99)

-or-

Unlimited Voice/Blackberry Data Services (single line): $84.98
Nationwide Service
LD/Voicemail/Conference Calling
Caller ID/Call Waiting/Call Forwarding
Unlimited Anytime Minutes ($49.99)
Unlimited Blackberry Data ($34.99)

The new plans will supposedly launch first in San Fransisco as a pilot starting tomorrow, February 19th. Now here’s where things get fuzzy: If all goes well, T-Mobile allegedly has a nationwide launch slated for March 1st and will make the plans available to all “new/current T-Mobile customers”. A 10-day pilot program? Really? As nice as it would be to think that these plans will become available across the country just 10 short days after being restricted to “loyal” customers in one small market, something doesn’t add up here. We’ll keep an ear to the ground and update you as more info comes in.

Thanks to everyone who sent this in!

[Via WirelessAdvisor]

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