Hasta La Gadget!

ASUS’s freshly announced docking PadFone 2 phone/tablet hybrid will arrive in Europe and Asia before the end of December, complete with a newly-designed dock that can hold the smartphone even if shaken violently. The clever bay – even though it lacks the protective door of the first-gen PadFone – is the result of 2.5 years of development time, and can withstand being bumped, smacked around, and generally mistreated. Check out the video demo of that after the cut.

The switch between phone use and tablet use takes just over a second now, the layout of the screen automatically changing to suit the larger, 10-inch panel of the tablet, or the smaller 4.7-inch panel of the phone itself. Together, they’re just 649g, and the tablet section has a battery capable of recharging the phone three times over.

Inside, there’s a 1.5GHz quadcore Snapdragon S4 processor paired with 2GB of RAM, up to 64GB of flash storage, and DC-HSPA+/LTE for getting online. The phone has a 13-megapixel camera capable of 1080p HD video recording, and there’s Corning Fit Glass on top of the 4.7-inch 1280 x 720 Super IPS+ phone display.

Europe (Bulgaria, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden) and Asia (Hong Kong, India, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, U.A.E) will get the PadFone 2 before the year is out, with availability in other countries following on after that. Pricing is €799 for the 32GB model – for phone and tablet – with another €100 getting you twice as much storage.

ASUS PadFone 2 super-shake dock test demoed ahead of December release is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

European data protection regulators have demanded Google change its privacy policy, though the French-led team did not conclude that the search giant’s actions amounted to something illegal. The investigation, by the Commission Nationale de l’Informatique (CNIL), argued that Google’s decision to condense the privacy policies of over sixty products into a single agreement – and at the same time increase the amount of inter-service data sharing – could leave users unclear as to how different types of information (as varied as search terms, credit card details, or phone numbers) could be used by the company.

“The Privacy Policy makes no difference in terms of processing between the innocuous content of search query and the credit card number or the telephone communications of the user” the CNIL points out, “all these data can be used equally for all the purposes in the Policy.” That some web users merely interact passively with Google products, such as adverts, also comes in for heightened attention, with those users getting no explanation at all as to how their actions might be tracked or stored.

“EU Data protection authorities ask Google to provide clearer and more comprehensive information about the collected data and purposes of each of its personal data processing operations. For instance, EU Data protection authorities recommend the implementation of a presentation with three levels of detail to ensure that information complies with the requirements laid down in the Directive and does not degrade the users’ experience. The ergonomics of the Policy could also be improved with interactive presentations” CNIL

In a letter to Google [pdf link] – signed by the CNIL and other authorities from across Europe – the concerns are laid out in full, together with some suggestions as to how they can be addressed. For instance, the search company could “develop interactive presentations that allow users to navigate easily through the content of the policies” and “provide additional and precise information about data that have a significant impact on users (location, credit card data, unique device identifiers, telephony, biometrics).”

Ironically, one of Google’s arguments for initially changing its policy system was that a single, harmonized agreement would be easier for users to read through and understand. It also insisted that the data-sharing aspects were little changed from before.

“The CNIL, all the authorities among the Working Party and data protection authorities from other regions of the world expect Google to take effective and public measures to comply quickly and commit itself to the implementation of these recommendations” the commission concluded. Google has a 3-4 month period to enact the changes requested, or it could face the threat of sanctions.

“We have received the report and are reviewing it now” Peter Fleischer, Google’s global privacy counsel, told TechCrunch. “Our new privacy policy demonstrates our long-standing commitment to protecting our users’ information and creating great products. We are confident that our privacy notices respect European law.”

Google must change privacy policy demand EU watchdogs is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

While the board of executives from both Deutsche Telekom and MetroPCS have given the deal their blessing, we guess there were some shareholders who weren’t too pleased about it. It seems that some of MetroPCS’ shareholders have filed a lawsuit against T-Mobile USA, Deutsche Telekom (T-Mobile USA’s parent company), and MetroPCS for apparently undervaluing the company.

The deal is expected to bump share prices to $12.48, which apparently the shareholders of MetroPCS feel is too low since a stock analyst has recently pegged MetroPCS’ shares to hit $18. The plaintiffs of the lawsuit are also claiming that the deal was made so that only Deutsche Telekom could bid on MetroPCS and essentially blocks other parties from attempting to make a bid of their own. (more…)

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: MetroPCS said to be frontrunner in buying AT&T’s assets, T-Mobile/MetroPCS merger expected to be completed by June 2013,

It wasn’t all that long after Google consolidated most of its privacy policies before people wanted clarification on what this meant to users. Even then, EU regulators weren’t satisfied, asking the search giant to hold up a little while it took a proper look at the implications for European citizens. The result of that investigation? Well, Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding previously declared it to be in breach of European law, and now the EU is commanding that it be reexamined. The assertion comes in a letter to Mountain View from the EU’s data protection regulators, who feel that consolidating so much personal data into one place creates untenable risks to privacy, and was signed by 24 member states (plus Liechtenstein and Croatia). The regulators also outlined 12 recommendations for Google to follow to bring its policy back to the favorable side of the fence. No official word from Google at this time, but we’ve reached out for comment.

Update: Peter Fleischer, Google’s global privacy counsel issued the following statement: “We have received the report and are reviewing it now. Our new privacy policy demonstrates our long-standing commitment to protecting our users’ information and creating great products. We are confident that our privacy notices respect European law.”

Filed under: Internet

EU regulators urge Google to modify privacy policy, offers 12 recommendations (update: statement from Google) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 16 Oct 2012 05:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AT&T has announced that it has new AT&T Connection Kits that are aimed at emerging device developers. The kits that are available include new models from Sierra Wireless, Telit Wireless Solutions, and ZTE. The new Connection Kit program promises the tools and environments that developers need to streamline device development and to optimize their performance for the AT&T network.

The Sierra Wireless Connection Kits use the AirPrime SL8080, and SL8090 embedded wireless modules. Those modules address both consumer and industrial applications. The SL8090 is also claimed to be one of the smallest high-speed HSPA+ modules in the industry and features voice, antenna diversity, and GPS support.

Telit Wireless Solutions’ kit uses the Telit HE910 modules supporting EDGE, HSDPA, and HSPA+ connectivity, GPS, and more. The ZTE Connectivity Kits include the MF206A and the MF212 appropriate for low power consumption and integration in consumer or industrial applications. The kits support EDGE and HSDPA connectivity, GPS, and antenna diversity.

All the new AT&T Connection Kits include AT&T SIM cards, data capacity for testing, and access to the AT&T Control Center. These new Connection Kits build on AT&T’s program for emerging device developers that has been available for a while. The kits start at right under $1000.

AT&T announces new Connection Kits for emerging device developers is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.