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Top 10 Awesome Android Features that the iPhone Doesn’t Have

Yet  another Android review

1. Alternate Keyboards

From text predictors like Swiftkey to the innovative like Swype and the downright adventurous like 8pen, you have a lot of different keyboard choices on Android. Typing on a tiny phone keyboard isn't anyone's idea of fun, so it's great that Android provides so many options to make it as painless for people as possible, and super easy to install. The iPhone has other keyboards, but they're usually separate apps that require you to import text to another program—it's just the kind of system-level functionality that's hard to get around.

Android Smartphones not so safe as we expected. 99.7% leaking information!

A whopping 99.7% of Android smartphones are leaking login data for Google services, and could allow other access to information stored in the cloud, so claim German security researchers Bastian Könings, Jens Nickels, and Florian Schaub from the University of Ulm.

The problem is in the way that applications which deal with Google services request authentication tokens. These tokens are handy in that they eliminate the need for the user to login to the service, but as the researcher discovered these tokens are sometimes sent in plaintext form over wireless networks. This means that anyone who happened to be eavesdropping on the WiFi network could grab these tokens.

What’s worse is that tokens are not specific to the handset, which means that a token destined for one handset could be used on another.

The implications of this vulnerability reach from disclosure to loss of personal information for the Calendar data. For Contact information, private information of others is also affected, potentially including phone numbers, home addresses, and email addresses. Beyond the mere stealing of such information, an adversary could perform subtle changes without the user noticing. For example, an adversary could change the stored email address of the victim’s boss or business partners hoping to receive sensitive or confidential material pertaining to their business.


To make matters worse, tokens are valid for a long period of time (14 days for Calendar tokens), which means that someone grabbing your token could have two weeks worth of access to your data.

Grabbing these tokens would be trivial:

To collect such authTokens on a large scale an adversary could setup a wifi access point with a common SSID (evil twin) of an unencrypted wireless network, e.g., T-Mobile, attwifi, starbucks. With default settings, Android phones automatically connect to a previously known network and many apps will attempt syncing immediately. While syncing would fail (unless the adversary forwards the requests), the adversary would capture authTokens for each service that attempted syncing. Due to the long lifetime of authTokens, the adversary can comfortably capture a large number of tokens and make use of them later on from a different location.

So, if you rely on your Android handset and Google services to get your work done, what can you do? The researchers offer up three suggestions:
Upgrade your handset to Android which offers HTTPS for Google Calender and Contacts sync. However, you may have to wait weeks or months for this update from your carrier, or worse still you may never see it (Like Verizon customers, who are stuck on Android 2.2.2 despite the fact that it contains multiple known vulnerabilities). - NOTE: This update still leaves Picassa Sync vulnerable.
Switch off automatic sync when using open WiFi.
Better still, avoid using affected apps on open WiFi connections.

Seems like Android and Google together aren’t doing a good job of protecting user’s data.

Microsoft buys Skype. High cost but what profit?

Microsoft announced an $8.5 billion acquisition of the Internet telephone service Skype Technologies SA from eBay and a group of private equity investors including Silicon Valley heavyweights Silver Lake Partners. The deal is Microsoft's largest cash purchase in its 36-year long history.

"The combination will extend Skype's world-class brand and the reach of its networked platform, while enhancing Microsoft's existing portfolio of real-time communications products and services," according to Microsoft's press release on the deal. "With 170 million connected users and over 207 billion minutes of voice and video conversations in 2010, Skype has been a pioneer in creating rich, meaningful connections among friends, families and business colleagues globally."

But, the big kicker as The Daily Ticker's Aaron Task and Daniel Gross discuss in the accompanying video is the fact that Skype makes no money. In 2010, Skype had revenues of $860 million and posted a net loss of roughly $7 million.

Why would Microsoft dole out nearly $10 billion -- or ten times revenues -- for a company that makes zero profit?

Because the company has a terrible predicament not uncommon to very mature tech companies, according to both Dan and Aaron. Microsoft simply has so much cash it doesn't know what to do with and, for whatever reasons, paying bigger dividends and buying back stock are just not options.

Microsoft may also hope the deal will increase its competitiveness against both Apple and Google in the mobile platform arena by allowing it to upgrade its suite of products.

Windows 7 – the first major update is here

The first major update for Windows Phone 7 is starting to appear on user’s devices. The process started a couple of days ago and the first step is smartphones, this was Microsoft’s claim. In reality, the update varies from provider to provider. The update is said to contain some new features, as well as improved stability to the Windows Mobile platform.

What’s new in the NoDo update from Microsoft:

• ·         Copy&Paste: maybe the most important change Microsoft made to the platform(and it’s about time if you ask me, Nokia made it possible from version 7.0). This will make browsing the internet much more faster.

• ·         Faster starting time for apps: the time it takes to enter and exit a app is much shorter , also the restart time for apps has reduced noticeable. This is step forward for multitasking, which will come in the near future.

• ·         Wi-Fi: Now it’s possible to see the MAC address of your device. We hope the next update will lat you set a manual IP address.

• ·         Outlook: A much needed update, see attachments from non-exchange email accounts(Yahoo!, Google, Hotmail)

• ·         Facebook/Camera/Audio: tweaks for synchronizing  your Facebook account and photo/video camera use.

     

The next major update is scheduled at the end of this year, cod-name  Mango and it will bring other essential elements such as: multitasking, Twitter synchronization and Internet Explorer 9. Mango will certainly mark the transition to Windows Phone 7.5.

Twitter launched a site where VIP’s can socialize

For their 5^th year anniversary, twitter.com released a new site, for finding VIP’s reader than the usual micro-blogging we are used to. Here, you may find celebrities and other well known people who use Twitter. Visit discover.twitter.com and watch your role-models from IT, showbiz, music, sports and many others.

The site contains 18 categories shown on the bottom of the page.  On the main page is a presentation video of the new service, followed by a VIP user section like Serena Williams and Snoop Dogg. Oddly enough, actor Charlie Sheen who has over 3 million followers is missing from the first page.

For using this site, you do have to have a twitter account.

Unlimited voice calls via Skype Mobile, free of charge!

Even if today’s mobile network operators  throw lots on minutes in your face, SMS’s and internet traffic, not everyone can afford their services. And when it comes to international calling and roaming internet access, few are those who have no worries for their future bill.  Well, Good News!  There are other alternatives.  For example, the SkypeMobile gives you voice calls free of the network operator and their roaming costs. This app requires only a Wi-Fi connection and it gives you unlimited and free calls.

Of course, if you have a mobile data connection, you can use the old fashioned way, but today we’ll be turning our attention to free of costs. To do so, you’ll need three things:

•  Smartphone with  Symbian / Android / iOS / BlackBerry OS;
•  Wi-Fi connection;
•   The Skype app installed on your phone;

We’ve tested the Skype app on a smartphone  with Symbian. The principle is similar on the other platforms(Android, iOS, BlackBerry OS): access the app store(Ovi Store, Android Market, App Store), search and download the app, install Skype Mobile. If you do not have a Skype account, you will have to create one(we suggest you do this from a PC, it’s much faster). If you already have an account, just log in with your username and password.

To begin a conversation, you have make sure  that the person who you want to call has a Skype account(the good thing is that it does not have to be from the same platform as yours). Than, all you have to do is to add your friends to the contacts list and to be sure the Wi-Fi function on your phone is turned on and you are connected to a Wi-Fi network, otherwise, you might connect through 3G/HSDPA which will have an impact on your bill and maybe most important, the poor quality of the service, being dependent on a telephone signal. This is the reason why we strongly recommend Wi-Fi voice calls.

We also tested the app on Android, and surprise! We found out that the Wi-Fi call is slightly better than the old voice call. In tests we noticed that the call receiver heard more clearly that later in the call, but that is most likely because of the Wi-Fi hot-spot signal. On the other hand, in trying the 3G calls, we were disappointed to notice that very few of the calls we made even got to the end, in most cases it just stopped working.

As a bonus to using Skype Mobile, you can IM your friends just like most IM clients (MSN, Yahoo! Messenger) .

Skype also offers an option which can call directly on phone numbers, but the service requires a premium account.

If you are interested in other free call apps, you can also use Fring and Yahoo!Mobile. 
If you are using a PC, the list goes further and further.

Samsung promises 1080p(or more!) resolution tablet PC’s

Samsung, as you all know, is one of the biggest producers of LCD displays in the world. Their products range from LCD TV’s, monitors and all sort of mobile gadgets, but when it comes to tablet PC’s , Samsung has the upper edge: they manufacture their own displays, therefore they benefit first from new technologies they  develop.

Now, they are working on a new generation of tablet PC’s displays,  benefiting the nVidia Tegra 3 platform,  scheduled to hit the market this year. Even if screen size is limited for ergonomic considerations, the number of pixels can be increased quite a lot, without exceeding the GPU specifications.

Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 is a good example of the status Samsung has when it comes to displays. The image quality of Galaxy Tab 8.9 comes from a 170ppi(pixel per inch) display, while Apple had to satisfy with a 132ppi display for the iPad 2.

Samsung could push the number of ppi’s well beyond 1080p, which is the default ppi for FullHD. A high  resolution in a tight space makes noticing details nearly impossible for the human eye.  Happily for us, the enhanced resolution will improve  the clarity of the image, not just cram more text or other graphic elements on the screen.

Samsung states, the improvements will not shorten the battery life, or the fluidity of the OS.

Malware: worrying growth in the first three months of 2011

The number of threats has grown to a worrying level since last year, the numbers showing a growth of over 26% in the same period as last year – statistics shown by the anti-malware labs of Panda Security. Specialist identified in the first trimester of 2011, a average of 73.000 malware roots, most of which ware found to trojans.

Trojans still remain the most popular form internet threats, consisting in almost 70% of the entire malware. This phenomenon is not surprising, knowing their profitability and easy use by hackers trying to steal money from the users of internet banking.

The main cause of this spread of Trojans is the ease of finding a program for creating one. In just a few moments, a person with no technical background can create one of these cyber-spies.

But not all forms of trojans have signaled a growth, for example: the number of banking trojans has gone down, the number of hackers has remained constant, the number of “false viruses”(rogueware) has also seen a  demise but the auto-downloader programs has seen a significant growth.

The auto-downloader programs are a type of trojans who, after infecting a computer, connect to the internet and download additional malware. Hackers use this method because of the small space it occupies on the hard-drive(the actual program containing only a few lines of code), therefore minimizing the possibility of it being discovered.

Lenovo IdeaCentre A700 - un All-in-one

For some years now, the All-in-one PC market had only one producer, and that, of course is Apple. But now, the other PC manufacturers have turned their eye  on this previously unchallenged market. 

The first one to do so is Lenovo, with the IdeaCentre A700. It’s true that not many people think of less conglomerated desks and buy a monitor with laptop components installed in the same case, mostly because of the higher prices this type of computers have.

In the following, we’ll try to show the advantages a All-in-one PC could have.

Appearance

Lenovo is the former IBM PC division and therefore it has something to live up to. The construction of IdeaCentre A700 is almost impeccable. The display is encased in a black glossy plastic and it fits right in with the glossy display. The metallic back is the most responsible for the 9.7 kg weight of the entire system.

Under the display, the system has two speakers from JBL. For most users, these will be as good as a micro sound system.  A removable optical drive is located on the right side, and on the other side we can find the other connection ports. Also, on the back, we can find more connection ports, partially hidden by the adjustable monitor stand.

On the bottom right corner of the frame, we can see some illuminated touch-sensitive buttons for adjusting speaker volume and screen luminosity. Between the display bottom and the speakers, is a LED-bar, useful for illuminating the keyboard when working during night time.

With the PC, the package contains a fairly large charger, similar with the ones from gaming laptops. The maximum power provided by the charger is 150W.

Specs:

• Display: 23.1", 1920x1080, touch-screen capacitive, LED
• CPU: Intel Core i5-480M, 2,66 GHz, 3 MB Cache, 2,93 GHz Turbo Boost, HT, 35 W TDP
• Chipset: Intel HM55
• RAM: 2 x 2 GB DDR3, 1333 MHz
• Integrated GPU: Intel HD Graphics
• Dedicated GPU: ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5650, 1 GB DDR3
• HDD: 1 TB, 3.5", 7.200 RPM, 32 MB buffer
• Optical Drive: DVD RW
• Network: LAN, 802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth
• Connectors: 6 x USB 2.0, Firewire, HDMI in, HDMI out, A/V in, SPDIF
• Dimensions: -
• Weight: 9,7 kg
• Other: wireless keyboard and mouse, webcam, card reader SD and MS, JBL speaker system

 

Configuration

The Lenovo A700 we tested is not the most powerful model, on the all-in-one PC can be installed a Intel Core i7 processor. Although we did not test the most powerful model, this doesn’t  mean it didn’t run exceptionally . It can be used for video and photo editing, rendering and high processing usage. As opposed to a laptop, the operating system is using the High Performance profile all the time and the integrated Intel GPU is inactive.

Display

The quality of the Lenovo A700 is visible form the very first time you turn it on. The vision angles are wide and the colors are very well rendered. Compared to other all-in-one PC’s  that I’ve tested in the past, the A700 is much more attractive.  The image displayed is not affected by the touch-sensitive filter located on top of the matrix.

A small disadvantage could be the glossy glass display. The image could be affected by light coming from the front of the display, making it a little hard to read in intense light conditions, and being a glass display, it’s not as slippery as other displays.  A stylus would be very helpful for those who want to literally  draw on their display. A important disadvantage is the lack of settings. Besides the luminosity  and three image profiles, other setting for the display are not available.

Performance

Here are some tests we made and some scores we got while testing the system:

• PCMark Vantage 64 bit (Productivity) - 7.145 (6.215)
• 3DMark 06 Basic - 6.962
• 3DMark Vantage Entry (GPU/CPU) - 13.126 (16.168/8.376)
• 3DMark Vantage Performance (GPU/CPU) - 3.614 (3.040/8.337)
• 3DMark11 Entry - 1.744
• 3DMark11 Performance - 1.056
• Cinebench R11.5 OpenGL / CPU - 22,82 fps / 2,33 points

Games

We cannot say the Lenovo A700 is a all-in-one PC for gaming, but the video card can definitely run the latest names in gming:

• Crysis Warhead - 1600x900, Mainstream, No AA - 24 fps
• FarCry 2 - 1920x1080, High, No AA - 29 fps
• CoD ModernWarfare 2 - 1920x1080, Extra, No AA - 45 fps
• CoD Black Ops - 1920x1080, Medium, No AA - 25 fps

Audio System

If you decide to buy a all-in-one Lenovo PC, in the package you will receive a JBL audio system. The sound quality is very good for a integrated speaker and I think most users will be pleased by it.

The power of the speakers is not specified, but they are loud enough for a room. For those who are interested in more, they have at their disposal analog and digital audio ports. For movies, music and games, the JBL speakers are enough and have a excellent fidelity even at 100%.

Wireless kit

The wireless kit provided by Lenovo is one of the best(even if it’s not a Logitech). The connection is made by Bluetooth.  Other wireless kits with Bluetooth capability are a bit expensive. The keyboard has low profile keys, usual for laptops, and the plastic restpad has metallic finish to it.  Power is provided by two AA batteries, and on the left side is the on/off switch. The only issue with the keyboard is the placement of the Fn key instead of the Ctrl key on the bottom lest corner.

The mouse isn’t a usual one(not referring to the Bluetooth connection): it has the capability of being used on a desk and in mid-air,  thanks to a gyroscope installed in the mouse.  On the sides of the mouse you can find two buttons and a mini-joystick. The optical sensor is very precise. Unfortunately, the mouse is not without it’s flaws: here I’m referring to the odd shape it has, making long usage a bit tiring. The power is also provided by two AA batteries.

Other

We were surprised to discover that Lenovo A700 comes with a few pre-installed games who use gesture-recognition. The system is very user-friendly and does not compare with the Microsoft Kinect. The user must stay in front of the computer to fill a predefined contour on the display. The games are simple, and for me, the most interesting was ping-pong.  The same web-cam is used for some other pre-installed applications for automatic luminosity adjustment depending on the ambient light and it even lets you know when you are standing too close to the display.

If you have a gaming console, the Lenovo A700 can be used as a regular LCD monitor. On the back, you can also find a TV antenna port and with the package you receive a remote control for Windows Media Center.   If you want to lose keyboard entirely, the virtual keyboard is very accessible in almost any text area.

Conclusions

Lenovo A700 could be considered a  true all-in-one PC. With above the average performances, touch-sensitive display, powerful video card and  wireless Bluetooth keyboard and mouse. A special stylus will transform it into a painting canvas, kids will have a lot of fun using the gesture-recognition  and the display could be used as a normal LCD monitor at will. As a bonus, the JBL speakers will give you a clear sound and all of this rapped in a beautiful case.

10 signs witch suggest you are addicted to your iDevices

If you are reading this, than you can be labeled as a Apple fan who likes his gadgets. But some people really do take it to the extreme and even cross the border to addicted, rather than user of a device.  In the following we will show you 10 thing you have to look for if want to discover if you or some of your friends are addicted to their iDevices:

10. You have named your iDevice of tattooed it on your body

9. You kiss your iDevice good night

8.  You sleep with your iDevice under your pillow, fearing that someone might brake in your house and steal it

7. You do not go out with your friends because you’re playing on your iDevice

6. You argue with anyone who uses your iDevice and rearranges your app's or opens them

5. You have a water-proof cover for your iDevice, just for playing in the shower

4. Your best friends created specialized forums for discussions about Apple products

3. You text people who are in the same room as you

2.  In stead of playing sports, you play sports games on your iDevice

1. Your homepage on the iDevice is a site dedicated for iDevices, This could be the best indicator that you are addicted with your gadget.

These are the most common behaviors you have to look for if you are trying to spot a iDevice addict. The hardest part in this is to spot these behaviors in yourself actually.

How good is Firefox 4

The newest version of the Mozilla web browser, Firefox 4, went through a long developing stage, the firs beta being available since January of last year. Meanwhile the expectations from the users of the old Firefox 3.6 grew higher and higher as specially because the other developers have been very productive and the alternatives are tempting.

Happily , the wait is over! Firefox 4 has lived up to all expectations. The Interface of the old Firefox 3 has been upgraded to a new and much more optimized one.  Behind the flashy interface, we have a completely new browser, the source code has been all but rewritten and it has many optimizations for speed and support for the newest technologies.

The tests show that the browser has a very high compatibility. The Acid 3 is one of the most powerful tools for evaluating the compatibility for web browsers. Firefox 4 does not disappoint , scoring a impressive 97/100 points and is rated higher than Internet Explorer 9 with 95/100 and is at a tie with the newest Opera 11.1, although it didn’t score as much as Google Chrome, who is the undisputed leader  with 100/100 points.

Speed

Using  SunspiderJavaScript Benchmark 0.9.1, who can test very precise the speed of a web-browser. During the tests, we opened more than one tab in every browser.

Sunspider JavaScript Benchmark 0.9.1

·         Internet Explorer 9…... 359.2ms +/- 2.3%

·         Opera 11.01…………...393.0ms +/- 0.3%

·         Firefox 4.0……......…...405.8ms +/- 0.7%

·         Chrome 10………..……424.0ms +/- 1.7%

 Peacekeeper Benchmark

·         Chrome 10…….….……6605

·         Opera 11.01……….…..5991

·         Internet Explorer 9.….. 3662

·         Firefox 4.0……….........2831

As you can see, the benchmarks  placed Firefox 4 almost at the bottom of the list. We can definitely say that Firefox 4 needs some optimizations  if they want to compete with the other web-browsers.

In tests, the speed of the browser is quite good and it behaved just as expected and we did not notice loss of speed when comparing with the other browsers. 

This being said, we can say that in normal user usage, you will not be able to notice any loss of speed.

We now have smartphones for airplanes!

We all know the old problem while flying,  no cell phones allowed.  At lift off, any airline company let’s you know in all international languages, that you must turn off all electronics, including cell phones for the duration of the flight.

In theory, laptops and other devices must stay turned off during the lift off and landing, but cell phones have to be turned off during the entire flight. The reason? They interfere with the flight equipment, but  because of the altitude, they wouldn't work anyway. The cell phones work on a different wavelength anyway.

But now, the situation doesn’t look as grim, actually, the solution to our problems is here, in the form of Aircell. It's the biggest company in the world who gives access to mobile networks from aircraft, and even internet access.  Until now, their phones only allowed to call of be called, but now, faced with bigger and bigger demand for internet access, they released a model who grants you instant internet access during flight.

The phone is based on a Android OS, it has a 3.8 inch(9.65 cm) capacitive screen and the usual connectivity of any smartphone on the market. The design of the phone is simple, classic alpha-numeric touch-sensitive keyboard and the usual android keys(back, home and menu), a big display(compared to other classic phones) and the glossy finish to the case give it a stylish look, suitable to a business class phone.  Of course, we are talking about a business class operator, given the costs at which a network for aircraft operates.