Author Archives: Stefan Constantinescu

Hidden permissions manager found in Android 4.3, lets you set the rules

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Hidden permissions manager found in Android 43, lets you set the rules

Installing an Android app brings up a permissions prompt that most folks ignore (though they probably shouldn't). But, what if you could grant applications access to some parts of your smartphone and not others? That's something Android Police have discovered is already baked into Android 4.3, and it's called "Apps Ops." The feature is hidden by default, but can easily be enabled via a third-party app in the Play Store, which brings it to life and allows you to fine tune other apps' permissions to read your contacts, access your location via GPS, or even read your call log. This is a buried feature and we have no idea if and when it'll be officially activated, but it looks like Google's pledge for better privacy could mean more than just an incognito mode.

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Source: Android Police, Google Play Store

Sony names devices that will (eventually) see Android 4.3

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Sony confirms Android 43 is coming to its flagship devices

With Android 4.3 being less than 24 hours old, it's nice to see manufacturers already addressing concerns about whether all those under-the-hood tweaks will reach their devices. On Sony Mobile's website, the company confirms that the Xperia Z, Xperia ZL, Xperia ZR, Xperia Tablet Z, Xperia SP and Xperia Z Ultra will get Android 4.3, though a concrete timetable hasn't been provided. Furthermore, if you own an Xperia ZR or Tablet Z, then consider yourself lucky, because you'll see Android 4.2 hit your device next month, making the wait for 4.3 that much more bearable. So yes, a Nexus might get its updates quicker, but can it receive them in the bath?

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Source: Sony Mobile

Guinness finds NFC’s killer app: free beer

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Guinness finds NFC's killer app, free beer

After nearly nine years of writing about near field communication (NFC), we honestly thought the tech had maxed out with things like baggage tracking and business cards. Not so, however: Guinness, the company that produces some rather tasty Irish stout, is running a promotion in the UK that gives Android and BlackBerry users with NFC enabled devices the chance to win a free pint. As a bar patron, you simply tap your phone on the Guinness logo at one of twenty participating pubs, fill out some information on your phone, and if you're lucky, you get one on the house. Technology is rarely this frothy.

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Via: NFC World

Source: Guinness

Utah ISP breaks silence over government server installed on its network

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Utah ISP talks about the server the government forcibly installed onto its network

When the government comes knocking on your door, you kind of have to cooperate with them or face the consequences. That's the situation Pete Ashdown, CEO of Utah ISP XMission, was faced with in 2010 after receiving a warrant under the Foreign Intelligence Service Act (FISA). The warrant, coming in at just three or four pages, was perfectly clear: install a rack-mount server on your network to track every last bit going in and out from one of your customers, and don't say anything to anyone about this. Ashdown's lawyer said the request was indeed legit, and the box stayed there for a little over half a year. So why talk about it now? Because Pete, like the rest of us, wants a bit of transparency, even if there's a risk the G-Men will come "come back and haunt" him.

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Source: BuzzFeed

HTC Desire 500 launching in Taiwan next week, boasts ‘energy of the young’

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HTC Desire 500 launching next week in Taiwan

Despite HTC launching the Desire 200 and Desire 600 earlier this year, it looks like there's still a bit of room left for the Desire family to grow. According to an invitation we've just received from the anxious Taiwanese smartphone maker, it'll be launching a device called the Desire 500 next week, on July 23rd. The text in the invite has the slogan "Energy of the young, imagination of the boundless," which makes us think this might be a lower-end device targeted at first-time smartphone owners. We saw a leaked document from a European operator referencing the Desire 500 earlier this month, so this phone may very well launch outside of Asia. If it doesn't, though, we'd happily settle for a Butterfly s.

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Alleged Sony Xperia ‘Honami’ specs reveal beefy 20MP camera sensor

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Alleged Sony Xperia 'Honami' specs leak

We're a little more than a month away from a flood of gadget news at IFA in Berlin, and we have a sneaking suspicion that an imaging centric flagship smartphone from Sony called "Honami" is going to be there. We've seen hints of what the phone's camera UI looks like, and now a leak from the Taiwanese site ePrice says the device has a 20.7-megapixel ExmorRS sensor that's the same size as the one in the Galaxy Camera and other point-and-shoots. It's also paired with a "Sony G-Lens," though hopefully not one as bulbous as some others we've seen. Other specs include a 5-inch 1080p display with the same Triluminos technology that's in the Xperia Z Ultra, Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon 800, 16GB of internal storage that can be expanded with microSD and a fairly massive 3,000mAh battery. If the alleged spec sheet after the jump is to be believed, then the Lumia 1020 and GS4 Zoom might have to face some serious competition.

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Source: ePrice (translated)

Sprint’s tri-band LTE modems go on sale this Friday

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Sprint's triband LTE modems on sale July 19th

Sprint announced its first tri-band 4G LTE devices back in May, and now the recently acquired carrier says they'll start shipping on July 19th. The Novatel MiFi 500, Netgear Zing Mobile Hotspot and Netgear 341U USB dongle all support the 800MHz, 1900MHz and 2.5GHz bands. The hotspots will set you back $49.99 with a new contract, whereas the dongle is $19.99 -- that's after a $50 mail-in-rebate, of course. The Zing can roam on GSM networks and has a 2,500mAh battery and, while we don't know how big the battery is in the MiFi, Sprint says it should last 10 hours on a single charge. Plans start at $34.99 per month for 3GB of combined 3G/4G data, with an extra $15 doubling that and another $30 on top of that quadrupling your bucket to 12GB. Sadly, there's no unlimited data option.

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Head of Google China, Dr. John Liu, stepping down after six years

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After six years of overseeing Google's operations in China, Dr. John Liu is stepping down "to pursue other opportunities." During his tenure, we've seen the search engine struggle with censorship, almost get banned in the country and let's not forget the Aliyun OS debacle. Google says Scott Beaumont, who currently deals with European partnerships, will take over Liu's role starting in mid-August, though, it admits he has no experience of doing business in China. As for Google's future in the country, it's not the search leader, but Android seems to be well loved.

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Source: The Next Web

Apple allegedly working with Samsung again on chips for 2015 devices

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Apple allegedly working with Samsung again on chips for 2015 devices

Samsung has been exclusively making chips for Apple's iOS devices since the first iPhone started shipping in 2007 -- we don't need to tell you that makes for an odd relationship. Several months ago, The Wall Street Journal reported that Apple would switch to TSMC for next year's iOS portfolio, but now there's some strange news coming out of Korea. According to a local publication, Apple's 2015 iOS devices will use Samsung's 14 nanometer FinFET technology, starting with the iPhone 7 (not the 6S?). Why would Apple switch to TSMC for just one year and then go back to Samsung? Is Apple planning to rely on both TSMC and Samsung for different product lines? Unfortunately, we'll have to wait until Chipworks breaks out its microscopes to find out what's really going on.

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Via: MacRumors

Source: The Korea Economic Daily

BLU Dash 4.5 offers quad-core Android 4.2 action for $139 unsubsidized

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BLU Dash 45 offers quadcore Android 42 action and a 5MP camera for $139

Cheap smartphones are getting more common, but the BLU Dash 4.5 is redefining the term budget. For $139, unlocked and unsubsidized, you can own an Android 4.2 Jelly Bean handset with a 1.2GHz quad-core chip from MediaTek, 512MB of RAM, 5-megapixel camera, 4.5-inch 854 x 480 pixel display and 21Mbps HSPA+ support for both AT&T and T-Mobile. Though it's not the thinnest device in the world at 11.9mm (0.47 inches) thick, we're willing to ignore that given the price tag. It's $10 cheaper than our current favorite budget smartphone, the Nokia Lumia 520, and you can buy it from online retailers today. We've found an unboxing video in Spanish -- if you're interested, it's just after the break.

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