Jul 23
Nokia’s
Jul 22
Canonical — makers of the Ubuntu distribution of Linux — is asking geeks to collectively cough up $32 million dollars in the next month to crowdfund a Linux smartphone.
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Jul 22
In spite of iOS and Android’s quest towards world domination, it’s easy for us overprivileged first-world residents to forget that the spread of the smartphone doesn’t affect everyone. In fact, only half of all mobile phones shipped in 2013 are expected to be smartphones. The rest are the slower, clunkier, and exponentially cheaper devices officially known as feature phones but more commonly dismissed as dumbphones. Careful, though. They’re smarter than you think.
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Jul 22
Android Police has gotten ahold of the alleged specs of Motorola’s upcoming Moto X smartphone, and they’re not very impressive. But at least that means you can afford it.
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Jul 19
Cell phone data collection by law enforcement requires warrant, rules New Jersey
Posted in: Today's ChiliNew Jersey saw a bill proposal surface last month that would allow law enforcement to confiscate a cell phone at the time of a crash to investigate whether a driver was distracted, leading to the incident. Such a proposal caused quite a bit of backlash, but at least one area in the state’s battle between police needs and consumers’ privacy has been resolved: a warrant must be obtained to get cell phone location data, according to a ruling.
The ruling came down from the New Jersey Supreme Court today, and with it is a requirement for law enforcement to acquire a warrant in order to get tracking information about a cell phone from the owner’s carrier. Montana was the first state to require such a measure, and California nearly became the second before it was vetoed by the governor under the grounds that it didn’t meet the needs of both law enforcement and citizens.
According to the state’s supreme court, which ruled unanimously in favor of requiring a warrant, by entering into a contract with a carrier, the subscriber can “reasonably expect” that the private data resulting from their handset usage will remain private. Part of the ruling came in part from a US Supreme Court ruling in 2012 declaring it unlawful for law enforcement to place a GPS unit on a car without having a warrant. Says New Jersey, a smartphone functions in the same way.
Chief Justice Stuart Rabner said: “Using a cellphone to determine the location of its owner can be far more revealing than acquiring toll billing, bank, or Internet subscriber records. Details about the location of a cellphone can provide an intimate picture of one’s daily life and reveal not just where people go … but also the people and groups they choose to affiliate with. That information cuts across a broad range of personal ties with family, friends, political groups, health care providers and others.”
The case cited one example where tracking information from a cell phone was used by law enforcement without a warrant, leading to the arrest of an individual discovered in a motel room with the goods he had stolen from various homes. The court has pushed the issue of whether an “emergency aid exception” to the ruling will be admissible to an appeals court.
SOURCE: The New York Times
Cell phone data collection by law enforcement requires warrant, rules New Jersey is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2013, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Jul 19
This is one of the crazier camera rumors we’ve heard in a while. According to some "top sources" at Sony Alpha Rumors, Sony is developing a unique set of lenses that actually contain their own sensors and batteries. Whoa.
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Jul 19
When you walk into a brick and mortar retail store like a Nordstrom, Cabela, or even Family Dollar, you’re being tracked around the store. Not by an over-suspicious security guard, but by the store’s wireless network, using your phone’s Wi-Fi. The store then uses your phone to track you around the store, determine if you’re a repeat visitor, see what departments you visit, and more. Here’s how they do it, and how to stop them.
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Jul 18
We’re still waiting to hear something official from Motorola and carriers about when the Moto X will be making its way to consumer hands, but a leak has surfaced suggesting that it won’t be too much longer. On the Moto X forums over at Android Central, a picture of an internal US Cellular document has surfaced with all the data blanked out except for two dates, with one showing the handset’s launch.
According to the leaked image, the Moto X will be launched on August 26, with the carrier receiving the “Motorola X Launch Kit” the day before that. The image specifies the launch on that day will be “Wave 1, 2, & 3″, which is being suggested as possible US Cellular retail stores in various markets. If that is true, certain other markets could see a delay in getting the handset.
The Moto X has been seen in numerous leaks, with everything from specs to videos and back again. Earlier this week, a video surfaced showing an official Rogers promo for the Moto X, giving a look at its functionality, including its voice commands capabilities and a brief look at the camera software. The video seems to confirm what we already heard – that in Canada, it will be a Rogers exclusive.
Aside from many images that have cropped up said to be of the handset, it was spotted in use by Google’s Eric Schmidt. We’ve also already seen the purported launch dates for the flagship offering on Verizon, which is pegged at August 23. You can see the rest of the (quite numerous) leaks in our Moto X tag portal.
According to leaked specs, the handset will feature either a 4.3- or 4.7-inch 720p display, as well as Bluetooth 4.0 + EDR and support for 802.11AC wifi. The Android on the device is said to be either stock or near stock, according to some leaks, and, of course, the handset will be available with numerous customization options, including engravings and different colors.
SOURCE: Android Central
US Cellular’s Moto X launch date leaks as August 26 is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2013, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Jul 18
The government has called on handset makers to implement technology that will potentially reduce the instances of smartphone thefts, which are increasingly on the rise. Several makers were sent an open letter months ago by New York Attorney General Schneiderman, as well as District Attorney George Gascón of San Francisco, criticizing them for not taking a more proactive approach to the issue.
Now two of those companies – Apple and Samsung – are having their anti-theft technology put to the test at a meeting under the Secure Our Smartphones (S.O.S) Initiative. The devices being tested are Apple’s iPhone 5 and its Activation Lock, and Samsung’s GALAXY S 4 and its Lojack for Android. The meeting was underway today in San Francisco.
Said the two in a statement: “While we are appreciative of the efforts made by Apple and Samsung to improve security of the devices they sell, we are not going to take them at their word. Today we will assess the solutions they are proposing and see if they stand up to the tactics commonly employed by thieves. Together, we are working to ensure that the industry embeds persistent technology that is effective, ubiquitous and free to consumers in every smartphone introduced to the market by next year.”
The meeting includes reps from the Northern California Regional Intelligence Center, more commonly known as NCRIC, according to the statement. Under the test, the smartphones in question will be “treated” like they were stolen, presumably with the security features being utilized to demonstrate what the result would be. There’s no word yet on whether either of them satisfied the state and federal ambitions for the technology.
Although California and New York are being most vocal about the move, the S.O.S Initiative is a national coalition that is enjoying participation from public safety activists, various DAs and AGs, city comptrollers, law enforcement, and consumer advocates. All of this follows the launch of a stolen cell phone database that went live in the US in October 2012.
SOURCE: NY AG
iPhone 5 and GALAXY S 4 anti-theft technology put to test is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2013, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Jul 18
Late last year, allegations had surfaced regarding Chinese handset makers ZTE and Huawei, with claims being tossed around that they were spying on behalf of the Chinese government. Both makers rejected the claims, and Huawei went on to offer unrestricted access to its software code in an effort to prove its innocence. Nearly a year later, and now former CIA boss Michael Hayden has spoken out, stating that Huawei did provide information to the Chinese government.
On October 17, a source had cropped up over at Reuters claiming that a White House review in the matter found no evidence indicating that Huawei was spying for China. The probe, according to the sources, had found risky vulnerabilities with the maker’s products, but no evidence that espionage was taking place. It was never specified whether those vulnerabilities were believed to be intentional.
All was quiet on the matter for awhile, but now former CIA boss Michael Hayden has spoken up about the issue in a lengthy interview with the Australian Financial Review. When asked specifically about whether he’d ever had any “direct exposure” with Huawei, Hayden responded:
Two or three years ago Huawei was trying to establish a pretty significant footprint here in the United States. And they were trying to get people like me – as the former head of NSA and the CIA – to endorse their presence in the US. To serve on their local board, or to have some other kind of commercial relationship with them.
I reviewed Huawei’s briefing paper, which said all the right things. One could almost honestly judge that were actually trying to genuinely put my mind at ease.
But God did not make enough briefing slides on Huawei to convince me that having them involved in our critical communications infrastructure was going to be okay. This is not blind prejudice on my part. This was my considered view based on a four-decade career as an intelligence officer.
My conclusion was that, “No, it is simply not acceptable for Huawei to be creating the backbone of the domestic telecommunications network in the United States, period.” And frankly this is where I think the state has a role to play – to ensure we don’t make decisions that compromise the foundations of our national security.
Following a brief discussion about the telecommunications industry, Hayden was asked outright whether he felt Huawei was a threat to the security of the United States and Australia, he said that he does. He also states that he believes there is “hard evidence” showing that the maker has engaged in espionage for China. He says it is his belief that, at a minimum, Huawei provided China with “intimate and extensive knowledge” on the telecommunications systems it works with.
When asked if he knew of any instances of backdoors and other specific things, he repeatedly claimed being unable to provide answers and direct knowledge. What he does reveal, however, is very interesting, not only the topic of Huawei, but also of other recent happenings, including the PRISM leak and how it is viewed from someone who was so deeply entrenched within the system. You can read the entire interview yourself, which is fairly long, over at the AFR.
VIA: Financial Times
SOURCE: Australian Financial Review
Huawei accused of spying for China by former CIA boss is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2013, SlashGear. All right reserved.
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