android
Lookout Mobile Security releases Carrier IQ detector app for Android
With all the fuss surrounding Carrier IQ lately, there may be some of you guys out there who are concerned about whether the software has been installed on your phone, and the good news is that the good folks at Lookout Mobile Security have released an app for Android phones that will scan your mobile phone and check to see if Carrier IQ has been installed.
For those unfamiliar with the whole controversy surrounding Carrier IQ, they’re basically a software company whose tracking and monitoring software has been installed on your mobile devices. According to security researchers, the software keeps track of your every move made on your phone, with some even claiming that the software records keystrokes. The software itself is far from malicious and it was probably designed as an attempt at helping manufacturers/carriers monitor usage and track any problems that users may have encountered.
However with all that tracking data floating around, one can only imagine the chaos that would ensue if a hacker got their hands on it. Not to mention there’s also the issue surrounding privacy that some may feel Carrier IQ may have breached. There is an app called Voodoo Carrier IQ for Android that detects whether the software has been installed on your device, although the developer admitted that it’s not 100% reliable. So if you’d like to give your mobile phone a once over, Lookout Mobile Security’s Carrier IQ detector is free and available from the Android Market.
The Fairphone 2 was first unveiled in June earlier this year, where this particular handset carried a modular design while featuring majority of its components that have been sourced from conflict-free mines. It seems that this particular handset that you can purchase with a clear conscience has begun to ship to those who happen to live across Europe.
Fairphone announced in a blog post, “It’s been almost two years in the making, and some of the earliest buyers have been patiently waiting since July to receive their new phones. As community manager, I want to personally welcome the new batch of Fairphone owners to our community.” The initial 1,000 units are tipped to ship this month, before the other pre-orders follow in January 2016.
In terms of hardware specifications, the Fairphone 2 will run on a Snapdragon 801 chipset, has a 5″ 1080p screen with Gorilla Glass 3 protection, 2GB of RAM, an 8MP camera, with Android 5.1 Lollipop in tow. It will be a dual SIM capable handset with a microSD memory card slot and plays nice with 4G LTE networks, retailing for approximately €525 a pop.
It looks like the upcoming flagship model from Xiaomi will feature NFC support, at least based on a document that was released by China UnionPay. Just in case you are scratching your head and wondering who China UnionPay is, they happen to be the only domestic payment gateway supplier and card organization, and hence, to see them offer detailed support concerning the newly released NFC-based payment system points to the very real possibility of the upcoming Xiaomi Mi 5 featuring NFC capability.
After all, the Xiaomi Mi 3 was also mentioned on the list, which so happens to feature NFC, and there is no mention of the Xiaomi Mi 4 which does not come with NFC. Still, such a new payment system would be the ideal tool to see the reintroduction of NFC to the flagship model.
OnePlus did make an announcement in the previous month that the Ceramic variant of the OnePlus X will be released on November 24. True to their word, they did exactly that – although only a pitiful number of units were made available, and not only that, this was through a charity auction. Thankfully for the rest of the masses who are on the lookout for this device, it has gone on sale officially already.
Needless to say, this particular variant is available only by an invitation, although do bear in mind that standard OnePlus X invites are not good here – you will still need to snag yourself a specific Ceramic variant invite before you make a purchase. OnePlus is also on the lookout to offer additional methods of picking up this smartphone, although no further details were revealed.
The OnePlus X Ceramic will be available only in select markets, where among them include Europe, India, and Hong Kong. To date, we do know that OnePlus had made only 10,000 units of the handset available. A case of the early bird getting the proverbial worm here?