Apple charging hack bug to be fixed in iOS 7

Apple's upcoming iOS 7 operating system version would bring a fix for the charging station vulnerability that was discovered in the iOS 6, according to a report .

The vulnerability was discovered by three computer scientists earlier this year who had also alerted Apple about the problem. Responding to the issue, Apple said that the fix for this has already been implemented in the iOS 7 that has been seeded to the developers for further improvements.

One of the developers, Billy Lau also demonstrated the same during the Black Hat hacking convention in Las Vegas on Wednesday. The developer used a custom charging station embedded with a tiny computer designed to get access to devices resources when the device is plugged in for charging. The developer had programmed the computer to make a call to him which was executed without any issues. While this was just a demonstration the real world applications can be unthinkable, this can be easily executed at public places such as café's and station where users are generally seen charging their devices.

Apple has already gone a step ahead with the iOS 7 and as reported, the device will now alert the users by telling them if they are connected to a computer in place of a regular charger so that necessary precaution can be taken by the users.

87% Indian teens love to share mobile videos: survey

Indians, particularly teens, love to share videos through their mobile phones, according to a survey of Vuclip.

As per the survey, 87 per cent of the teens questioned admitted that they share mobile video regularly. When it comes to gender, more men than women in India share mobile videos at 67 per cent and 59 per cent, respectively.

Also, notwithstanding the brouhaha over social networking, SMS was found to be the more popular means of sharing among Indians than Facebook or Twitter.

"SMS emerged as the most popular means of sharing among global respondents. 20 per cent of the total lot chose SMS over Facebook and Google+. Reflecting this trend, 38 per cent of Indian respondents use SMS to share mobile video, giving Facebook a backseat at 12 per cent. Also notable is that although only 4 per cent of people say that Twitter is the most common way they share mobile video, that core group of tweeters is extremely active," Vuclip said in a press release.

"We live in a hyper-connected world where people enjoy sharing their views and experiences on the go. On Vuclip as well we make sure that consumers can share the videos they like quickly and easily. More than 65 per cent of video views occur as a result of social sharing," said Arun Prakash, chief operating officer, marketing and content, Vuclip.

The survey also said that more than 50 per cent of Indian respondents between 18 and 35 years said they watch movie trailers on their mobiles.

Microsoft launches Office 365 for Android devices

Microsoft has announced the launch of its Office 365 software for Android devices .

The new application comes with cloud connectivity allowing users to access documents edited and created on Office 365 application on a computer or a tablet as well. Also users can access their recently used or edited documents right form the cloud, so no matter which platform you are on the application would help you to access your documents.

Along with this the Office 365 comes with fair share of document creating, editing and presenting capability with Word, Excel and PowerPoint applications. Also users can use a connected device as a presenter with the inbuilt presenter mode of Microsoft PowerPoint presentations.

But as all good things the Microsoft Office 365 for Android also comes with a catch and that is, only the current subscribers of Microsoft Office 365 on computers would be able to use this application on their Android device. The application versions include Office 365 Home Premium, Office 365 Business, Office 365 Enterprise and Office 365 trial subscriptions.

Google Catalogs app will be axed on August 15

Google has quietly announced that it will pull its Catalogs app from the Google Play Store. Many will raise their brows at the Google Catalogs app that has existed for eons at the Play Store but is seldom publicised. The Catalogs app stands for its name - it has catalogs of various products presented in a tablet friendly and visually appealing format. AndroidPolice spotted the alert message about Catalogs' planned shut down on August 15.

Amongst a couple of services that will cease to exist, Google Catalogs app also joins the club. Google Catalog basically pulls in data from various online merchants. The product information data is presented in a catalog format -easy to go through and easy on the eyes. To purchase this particular product, the app takes the user to the merchant's website or it shows if the product is available near the user's location.

The Catalogs app would have been perfect for countries like India where several multi-brand stores are offering apparel, jewelry, home products, gifts, beauty products and fashion stuff online at decent discounts.

As of now, there is no hint on whether Google is planning to replace this app with something else.

Google Catalog app exists in the Google Play Store and you may check it out before August 15.

87% Indians teens love to share mobile videos: survey

Indians, particularly teens, love to share videos through their mobile phones, according to a survey of Vuclip.

As per the survey, 87 per cent of the teens questioned admitted that they share mobile video regularly. When it comes to gender, more men than women in India share mobile videos at 67 per cent and 59 per cent, respectively.

Also, notwithstanding the brouhaha over social networking, SMS was found to be the more popular means of sharing among Indians than Facebook or Twitter.

"SMS emerged as the most popular means of sharing among global respondents. 20 per cent of the total lot chose SMS over Facebook and Google+. Reflecting this trend, 38 per cent of Indian respondents use SMS to share mobile video, giving Facebook a backseat at 12 per cent. Also notable is that although only 4 per cent of people say that Twitter is the most common way they share mobile video, that core group of tweeters is extremely active," Vuclip said in a press release.

"We live in a hyper-connected world where people enjoy sharing their views and experiences on the go. On Vuclip as well we make sure that consumers can share the videos they like quickly and easily. More than 65 per cent of video views occur as a result of social sharing," said Arun Prakash, chief operating officer, marketing and content, Vuclip.

The survey also said that more than 50 per cent of Indian respondents between 18 and 35 years said they watch movie trailers on their mobiles.

Top 5 free keyboards for Android smartphones

Most Google Android based smartphones have a custom keyboard based on the modifications implemented by the handset maker. Typing on the touchscreen can be cumbersome especially if you have to type out an email, share a quick social network update, or talk to someone overseas.

The software keyboards available in the Google Play Store allow more than the conventional typing-only input. Users can swipe, slide and type all kinds of whimsical things on phones. Try out any of these five keyboards one at a time:

Sony updates Xperia Z and Xperia ZL, improves performance

New firmware updates are now available for the Sony Xperia Z and Xperia ZL. Both new ROMs bring similar improvements over the system, signal and touch sensitivity, bug fixes and are still based on the Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean.

There is no official change log on the updates, but some users have already compiled a list of all the notable changes.

• More smooth Boot animation


• Efficient RAM management


• Home launcher is smoother, no more lag


• Update Center has new UI


• 3G Signal strength improved


• Touch response is improved a lot


• Faster sleep and wake


• Low-light image quality improved


• Changes in car mode app


• High resolution image snapping while recording a non-HDR video


• No screen flickering


• No unusual battery reading bug

Our tipster mentions unusual heating when running the AnTuTu benchmark, but there's no confirmation of that from other sources.

The updates are available both over-the-air and via the Sony PC companion.

Sony recently updated the Xperia Z and ZL with Android 4.2.2 but the ROM contained some bugs and it seems Sony was working hard to fix them as fast as possible. As you can see some new features made it with the update as well that weren't probably ready in time for the previous 4.2.2 major update.

Anyway, it's good to see Sony is taking good care of its flagships and is pushing faster than ever firmware updates.

Thank you, Jean Bassil, for a great tip!

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Samsung outs dual-mode LTE Galaxy S4 and S4 Mini versions

Samsung has made big claims regarding its readiness to support developing LTE markets, and its most recent announcement of two new Galaxy S4 and Galaxy S4 Mini variants supporting both FDD and TDD LTE networks confirms that sentiment.

As global LTE coverage expands, many markets are adding support for TDD-LTE networks, particularly in places where FDD-LTE technology is already in place.

The two dual-mode variants of the Samsung flagship and its compact counterpart are able to seamlessly switch between different types of LTE networks while maintaining uninterrupted voice and data communications.

Samsung's head of Mobile and IT JK Shin elaborated that the first commercially available dual-mode LTE handover devices will "will allow customers to fully enjoy the benefits of fast mobile data communications no matter where they are."

Samsung is vested in the LTE market more than simply through handsets. Through developing LTE infrastructure, its network gear division grew by some 30% since 2010, and is one of Samsung's more profitable ventures.

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HTC One mini goes on pre-order in the UK for £370

HTC One mini is now available on pre-order through various UK retailers. The lowest price for the SIM-free device we were able to find is £370 and it's offered by Expansys.

The rest of the retailers we've checked so far - Clove, Phones4U, Carphone Warehouse and MobileFun - are taking pre-orders for the HTC One mini at £380.

None of the stores has given a specific launch date for the smartphone, and there isn't official confirmation of the availability in Britain from HTC either. The initial information that we got after the announcement said the international rollout will happen this September, while limited markets will be getting it as early as August.

Both black and silver flavors are available for order. If you are interested in the 4.3" One mini now might be a good time to book your unit. Meanwhile you are welcomed to check our preview of the smartphone.

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Microsoft releases Office Mobile for Office 365 Android app

Last month Microsoft unveiled the Office Mobile for Office 365 for iOS and now the Redmond company is following up with an Android version. It allows you to edit docs on your phone and sync them with SkyDrive.

The user interface looks lifted straight out of the Windows Phone 8 version, but the flat design goes well with Android's Holo looks. The app supports Word, Excel and PowerPoint docs with charts, animations, SmartArt Graphics, shapes and comments.

Better still, the Office Mobile for Office 365 reflows the docs so that they look good on your phone and are easy to edit, but that doesn’t break the formatting on the PC. Speaking of the PC app, the last files you edited will show up in the Recent Documents tab so you can continue editing on the phone right away, even the Resume Reading feature works (it takes you to the point of the document you were editing last).

Sharing is enabled, so you can easily share a doc from your phone when you're done with the corrections.

The Office Mobile for Office 365 (catchy name, isn't it?) is available right now in the Google Play Store, but there are some limitations. For one, the app is available only in the US, but Microsoft is promising to add more countries to the list in the coming weeks.

Also, you need an Android 4.0+ phone. Note phone, not tablet – it's an annoying limitation as people are more likely to edit a doc on a tablet than a phone. Also you need an Office 365 subscription to use the app (you can get a 30 day trial), unlike the WP8 version which is free out of the box. And unlike the iOS version, which also requires a subscription, you can't buy one from the app itself, you need to go www.office.come and get one from there.

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Xiaomi unveils quad-core Red Rice droid as Hongmi

Xiaomi has announced the long rumored Red Rice smartphone. Its official name is Hongmi which is Chinese for... well, red rice.

Xiaomi Hongmi packs a 4.7-inch 720p IPS display with 312ppi density, protected by a Gorilla Glass 2. The Hongmi is powered by Mediatek's MT6589 chipset featuring a quad-core 1.5GHz Cortex-A7 processor, PowerVR SGX544 graphics and 1GB of RAM. Other notable features are the 4GB storage plus a microSD card slot, and a 2000 mAh battery.

Xiaomi Hongmi

The phone comes with an 8MP BSI Samsung-made rear camera with 1.4ųm pixels for improved low-light performance and 28mm wide five-element lens. The Hongmi is capable of shooting 1080p videos. There is also a 1.3MP front snapper for video chats.

Xiaomi Hongmi is dual-SIM handset with support for GSM/3G and TD-SCDMA networks on both SIM slots.

The Hongmi is running on the proprietary MIUI V5 launcher on top of Android 4.2 Jelly Bean.

Xiaomi Hongmi

Here comes the best part of the news - the Xiaomi Hongmi costs only CNY799 which equals a few cents less than €99. The phone is already available on pre-order in China at QZone and is going to start shipping on August 12.

There are three flavors you can choose between - Black, Chinese Red and Metallic Gray. The battery cover is exchangeable and you can opt for additional blue, green and yellow panels.

Unfortunately the Xiaomi Hongmi is highly unlikely to leave China. We'll keep you updated if we hear something about international availability, though.

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Amazon Kindle Fire line-up details surface

Amazon is expected to update its existing Kindle Fire tablet line-up following the launch of the new Google Nexus 7 (2013) tablet. BGR reportedly got tipped by a source about the upcoming Amazon Kindle Fire line-up. Amazon is reported of using a slightly different display with higher resolution and more powerful processors in the new devices. As per the report, both Kindle Fire and Kindle Fire HD devices will be updated to be offered at a lower price than the Nexus 7 (2013).

Amazon currently offers Kindle Fire tablets in three different flavours - 7-inch Kindle Fire, 7-inch Kindle Fire HD and 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HD.

Reportedly, the new 7-inch display bearing Kindle Fire HD will feature 1920x1200 pixel resolution bumped up from 1280x800 pixel resolution. Also the new 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HD will sport 2560x1600 pixel resolution up from the 1920x1200 pixel resolution of the current one. Similarly, we can expect the 7-inch Kindle Fire to sport 1280x800 pixel resolution up from the native 1024x600 pixel resolution.

Both new Kindle Fire HD tablet models will house the powerful quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 mobile chipset and 2 GB RAM to run the updated version of the modified Android operating system with Amazon App Store.

Also, the aforementioned models will feature the dual-band WiFi and dual-driver Dolby Audio Speaker configurations. Hopefully, promised 10 hours or higher battery life would remain the same. Of course, the Amazon Cloud server powered browser - Silk will continue to exist on these devices. Both Kindle Fire HD models will be offered in 8 GB, 16 GB and 32 GB storage options, added the report.

The updated set of specifications for the Kindle Fire line-up certainly is fantastic but we are more concerned about the pricing. If the prices of the new Kindle Fire HD tablets are close to that of the current line-up, users should seriously consider them.

Amazon is now offering the Kindle Fire HD 7-inch model for Rs. 15,999 and 8.9-inch model for Rs 21,999 in India through its official website.

Indian scientist develops hack proof software encryption

India based scientist, Amit Sahai and a team of researchers at the university of California and Los Angeles have devised a new technique by which they can prevent software and applications from being hacked. With the use of a technology, known as Software Obfuscation, the team has managed to achieve a new level of encryption.

With Software Obfuscation, developers can potentially put an end to reverse engineering, by which most of the hacking is done on software.

"You write your software in a nice, reasonable, human-understandable way and then feed that software to our system. It will output this mathematically transformed piece of software that would be equivalent in functionality, but when you look at it, you would have no idea what it's doing," UCLA professor Amat Sahai said in the release.

It is the first time it has been accomplished and in short it complexities the software codes that breaking or deciphering the codes would take ages even with today's computing prowess.

With the use of this technology developers can potentially put an end to the piracy and data leaks that happen when someone gets an access to an application or software. The use of this new technology can be useful for mobile devices as well but the actual implementation still is a far fetched dream. But nonetheless the new technology looks promising and would certainly be helpful in combating piracy.

Spy shots reveal Moto X will be very compact, use nanoSIM

The Moto X phone will be announced at tomorrow's event but the specs won't be a huge surprise as we've seen so many leaks already and today brought a new batch. First off, the phone will use a nanoSIM card, instead of the more popular microSIM as revealed by a photo from Hong Kong.

Moto X will use a nanoSIM card

Why Hong Kong, when the Moto X should be assembled in the US? Here's hoping this means that Motorola will launch the phone worldwide not just the US (Google is usually quite terrible at this).

Other photos have surfaced, comparing the Moto X to the Motorola Milestone 3, which gave us an opportunity to measure the dimensions of the X. The photos are heavily cropped (presumably to hide the identity of the leaker), you can get a better look at the Moto X here.

Moto X sized up against the Motorola Milestone 3

The Motorola Moto X phone measures 8.7mm at its thickest part and just 5.8mm at its thinnest. The other measurements work out to 125.9mm tall and 66mm wide, which sounds amazing for a phone with a 4.7" screen. We got a little suspicious, so we measured the screen size in the first photo and ended up with 4.7".

Other specs on the Moto X include a 720p resolution for the screen, dual-core Krait processor, 10MP camera with an unusual image sensor that can shoot 1080p video at 60fps.

The Moto X will be announced tomorrow and we'll be covering the event, so make sure to tune in for the official specs and (hopefully) availability details.

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Google Views image sharing service launched

Google had introduced clicking the 360 degree panorama style images as Photospheres with the Android 4.2 Jelly Bean update. The Photospheres were a great way to share the entirety of the exact situation around a person but this feature is limited only to Android 4.2 Jelly Bean or higher update devices. To make those spheres easily available to others, Google has announced a new community based site - Views. The Views page links the user's Google+ account and also Google Maps data for the location of the photosphere.

Photospheres are basically the 360 degrees panorama images but is available to select devices running Android 4.2 Jelly Bean. The Photospheres are obviously bigger in terms of file size compared to a regular image captured using phone camera. Google has created the new Views page for the public sharing of the Photospheres.

Existing Photospheres can be uploaded directly from the Gallery app of an Android device or through the Google+ Photos from the Views community page. In the Gallery App of the Android device, select the Photosphere image, choose the option to share it and select Google Maps from the popped out list of the apps. Alternatively, users can log into the Views Page using Google+ credentials (Google Account) and upload the Photospheres from the Google+ Photos. These uploaded Photospheres would be publicly available through the Views page and Google Maps.

Google Views page can be accessed here .

BlackBerry 10.1.4 upgrade now available

After releasing BlackBerry OS 10.1 for the Z10 devices recently , BlackBerry has now announced the release of upgrade 10.1.4537.

The upgrade 10.1.4 comes with improved social networking features from Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Along with that the upgrade also brings in two points or two factor authentication for Facebook and Twitter for added security.

As per the new security policy, work and personal accounts will now be allowed to be different on devices. Along with this the upgrade also comes with support for simple passwords, users can now add simplified password from the lock screen and work space for authentication. The simple password feature utilizes a reduced keyboard layout containing only numeric characters and allows users to set a numeric PIN for your smartphone or work space password

The upgrade also bring Next/previous message navigation shortcut with which users can use a simple gesture to quickly move to the last or next message without having to return to the full message list. To do so users have to swipe to the right and then up (like a backwards L), to move back to the previous message and Swipe to the right and then down (like an upside-down L) to move forward to the next message

After the upgrade, BlackBerry world application will have My Wish list feature. Users can add items to their wish list from a content details page and add up to 48 items to your wish list. When the 49th item is added, the first item added to the list will be automatically removed.

The upgrade 10.1.4 release has been released in Asia Pacific, Canada, and EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) and will be making its way to other countries by second week of August.

Large Screen Nokia device with Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 spotted

Nokia is reportedly working on a large screen device with one of the most powerful quad core processors. NokiaPowerUser spotted a mysterious Nokia RX-114 device at the GFXBench benchmark listings. This Nokia RX-114 device is speculated to be the large screen Windows RT based tablet.

Nokia was rumored of working on a Windows RT based tablet and it was set to match with the Windows RT launch schedule. However, that tablet was never talked about.

GFXBench lists the Nokia RX-114 running Windows OS and sports 1371 x 771 pixel resolution. This resolution comes close to the Windows Surface RT tablet. Quite likely that this is the Nokia's Windows RT based tablet.

Nokia RX-114 also packs the top of the line quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 mobile processor with Adreno 330 graphics chip. This high end chipset can easily drive a tablet with HD display.

Bryan Biniak, vice president for app development at Nokia, expressed their frustration with the slow development pace of the Windows Phone platform. Lack of popular apps has been making Nokia miss the opportunity of sale.

With the new Nokia RX-114 Windows RT based tablet, Nokia is perhaps trying to catch up with the existing trends and also bring its portfolio of Lumia Exclusive Nokia apps to the Windows RT platform.

Samsung Galaxy S4 tweaked to perform better on benchmark

Samsung's flagship Android smartphone, the Galaxy S4 has been on top of the benchmarking results charts since day one, which most of us thought is due to its superior hardware. But it has now been revealed that Samsung has tweaked the device's software to perform almost 10 per cent more when running a benchmarking application while regular usage offered lower performance.

A Luxemburg based Samsung Galaxy S4 user, who goes by the name 'Nebuchadnezzar', was benchmarking his Galaxy S4 smartphone when he made this shocking discovery. The user was running applications like Antutu and GL Benchmark on his Galaxy S4. It has been discovered that Galaxy S4's graphic engine has been tweaked to perform at 532 MHz in popular benchmarks while the regular clock speed stays at 480 MHz.

Digging deeper in to the system files developers also discovered a string named 'BenchmarkBooster' which is a clear indication that Samsung has tweaked the device for better results in the benchmarking applications.

Despite these claims there is though no dispute about Galaxy S4's capability; with an octa core processor, the smartphone is still the best Android smartphone in the market now vis-à-vis raw power. Samsung however has not responded to the reports so far.

Picture credit: Anand Tech

Google to choose LG over Asus for the next Nexus tablet

Just about a couple of days back Google in association with Asus unveiled the next generation Google Nexus 7 tablet for users. But as analyst Ming-Chi-Kuo is suggesting, the Google Asus partnership is going to end with the launch of this product. Apparently Google and Asus will no longer be partners in the making of the next generation Nexus tablet. Google has chosen LG over Asus for its next line of tablet products in the Nexus range.

One of the key reasons as given by Ming-Chi-Kuo is LG's superior display technology, and LG being the manufacturer itself would bring something positive to the table. LG is apparently also one of the key suppliers to Apple for displays that are used on its mobile devices. Also, LG was the first company to use a 700 nits brightness based display on a smartphone-the LG Optimus Black P 970.

The new Google Nexus 7 tablet is the first device with Android 4.3 Jelly Bean update running on it out of the box and it is a significant improvement over the first Nexus 7 based on core hardware, camera, weight and mobile operating system.

Now with Asus out of the game we will have to wait for more news on the next Nexus.

BlackBerry Z10 with Porsche Design

BlackBerry is working on yet another high end smartphone with the Porsche Design. Last year, BlackBerry had introduced the BlackBerry Porsche Design P9981 handset at a premium price. Now the company is planning the BlackBerry Z10 refresh with Porsche Design. As of now, the device seems to be under development and the company might take a couple of months before releasing it to the masses.

Last year, BlackBerry had released the limited edition BlackBerry Porsche Design P9881 with a metallic body at a premium price. This year, the company is planning to do something similar with BlackBerry Z10 as well as BlackBerry Q10 products.

As of now, grainy images of the BlackBerry Z10 with Porsche Design written on the top side bezel have been leaked via the Vietnamese BlackBerry enthusiast website. The device is deemed to run the BlackBerry version 10.x OS.

The website also noted that BlackBerry will work on the Porsche Design bearing BlackBerry Q10 with Qwerty keyboard. We expect the price of these limited edition devices to be much higher than the regular editions. The packaging also includes custom accessories.

Sony Xperia Z Ultra vs HTC Butterfly

Sony has finally launched its Xperia Z Ultra smartphone in India. As is obvious from its price tag, Xperia Z Ultra comes with very high end features. Thus, here we have compared it with another high end Android smartphone, the HTC Butterfly, on the basis of features. We earlier reviewed the HTC Butterfly here .

Design

Xperia Z Ultra is Sony's biggest smartphone. With a 6.4 inch touchscreen, it is also the biggest flagship smartphone of any handset maker. But before you jump to any conclusion about its handling, spare a thought to its dimensions: with 6.5 mm thickness and weighing 212 grams it is definitely one of the slimmest and lightest phablets made till date.

What's more, it is waterproof to up to 1.5 meters and is dust resistant as well. "Both the front and back panels of Xperia Z Ultra are made with durable tempered glass, coated with an anti-scratch film. And the skeleton frame is made of tough glass fibre polyamide. It has superior mechanical strength, and is so strong that it's often used as a metal substitute in cars and electronics," claims Sony.

This means the Sony Xperia Z Ultra is a perfect smartphone for those careless users who drop their smartphone every now and then or love a rain dance.

HTC Butterfly too is a lovely smartphone, but it has a much smaller 5 inch screen (as compared to Xperia Z Ultra. Even so, it looks a lot bigger). HTC Butterfly has a unibody design with tapered edges. This makes it easier to hold. Butterfly has good build quality and feels like a premium device, which it is. The phone weighs 140 grams and is 9.08 mm thin.

In a nutshell, HTC Butterfly may be considered light and stylish by many people, but it is not slimmer than the Xperia Z Ultra. Though the Butterfly is said to be waterproof (IPX-5 certified,) it does not allow users to take pictures under water like the Sony smartphone does.