The Technology newsbucket: Sony ebooks, HTC profits, the mobile app ecosystem and more

Enjoy the latest smattering of links, as picked by the Technology team Dev aims to get Frash running on iPad >> CNET News Canny developer brings out Frash - an application for jailbroken iPads allowing use of Flash in Safari. We await the tests on battery life etc. Photo by mikealex on Flickr. Some rights reserved Government spends thousands on iPhone apps >> BBC News Freedom of Information request reveals iPhone app development costs ranging from £10,000 to £40,000 - a proposed DVLA "motoring masterclass" app (still in development) costing £40k. On Twitter, a close-knit network >> New York Times Tell all of your friends: 98% of Twitter users are within six degrees of connection from each other. Sony drops eBook reader prices - but UK still sky high >> PC Pro No comment from Sony on why, despite UK price cut, we're still getting a bum deal compared to our Stateside friends. Everything you need to know about the fragmented mobile developer ecosystem >> TechCrunch Vision Mobile's extensive Developer Economics research report has some interesting findings, worth bookmarking for later reference. Interesting findings, for example, like app stores having reduced the average time-to-shelf by two thirds, and reduced the average time-to-payment by more than half. Chrome OS gets ready for gaming >> ReadWriteWeb "Web browsers, like IE, Chrome, Safari and Firefox, haven't traditionally been able to detect which way is up. That may soon change for Google Chrome" The unstoppable "tech support" scam >> PC Pro PC Pro investigate a cold-calling scam reportedly affecting UK PC owners. Strong sales lift HTC profit 33% >> Wall Street Journal Second-quarter unaudited net profit for the Taiwanese smartphone manufacturer was $268m, up 33% year-on-year. Facebook, Twitter, web enrich social lives, says Pew >> eWeek "A survey by Pew and Elon found that 85 percent of 895 "technology stakeholders" and pundits agreed that the Internet has mostly been a positive force in peoples' social lives."