zaterdag 30 augustus 2014

ORA-1 Glasses to Put Android On Your Face

ORA-1
Existing smartglasses like Google Glass put some neat camera and voice recognition features right in front of your eyes, but they have a ways to go before they provide true augmented reality experiences. Optinvent is looking to move closer to that future with its ORA-1. This Android-based pair of smartglasses promises rich AR experiences and wide app compatibility. A developer version of the wearable has hit Kickstarter, where you can pre-order a unit starting at $300.
The ORA-1 packs a bit more bulk than Google Glass, sporting thick frames that house a pair of see-through photochromic lenses that darken when exposed to sunlight. A panel on the right side hosts a trackpad, camera and light sensor, with the device's battery stored on the left.
One of ORA-1's standout features is its ability to run lots of Android apps natively. The current list of ORA-1 ready apps includes dedicated AR experiences like Wikitude, Layar and AR Invaders, as well as common smartphone social apps like Twitter, Facebook and Foursquare.
Another highlight is the headset's dual modes. You can use the ORA-1 in Augmented Reality mode to get a view full of your apps and notifications before your eyes, or lower the projector for Glance mode, if you'd rather the AR content not distract you and only occupy the bottom portion of your field of view.

donderdag 28 augustus 2014

Apple iWatch release date, news and rumors

Apple iWatch release datum en prijs


iWatch kunnen afgeven op het nippertje van de tijd om te concurreren met Android Wear
Verwante verhalen
Update: De nieuwste Apple iWatch geruchten suggereren dat de iPhone-compatible smartwatch zal verschijnen in september de iPhone 6 launch event.
Stel je overduidelijk inferieur, niet-Apple smartwatch voor 9 september, de geruchten datum voor de iPhone 6 launch event en misschien wel een Apple iWatch aankondiging.
De Cupertino bedrijf heeft gezinspeeld op " nieuwe productcategorieën "voor 2014 en, bijna negen maanden, zijn er niet geweest geen nieuwe ontwikkelingen van de divisie hardware.
Daarom verwachten we de beruchte Apple kijken naar de volgende grote "een ding" verrassing aan het worden bevestigd september evenement .
Met de deur in
Wat is het? Een iOS 8 -vriendelijk horloge dat lekker speelt met je iPhone
Wanneer is het uit? Geruchten zeggen 9 september
Wat kost het? Niemand weet
Eerste draagbare gadget van Apple kon bundel boodschappen, vereenvoudigde apps en Siri om onze polsen, waardoor het niet al te vaak hoeft te nemen uit onze apparatuur om voortdurend te controleren meldingen.
Het gaat vooral handig geworden om de alle-maar-bevestigde 4.7-inch en nog grotere 5,5-inch iPhone 6 zak in je jeans, en altijd op te bergen de volgende 9,7-inch iPad Air 2 in een zak later dit jaar.



Op hetzelfde moment, hebben iWatch lekken wees naar Nike FuelBand SE geïnspireerde fitness-tracking en biometrische sensoren. Apple zou kunnen nemen meer signalen uit de sneaker maker in plaats van haar smartwatches rivalen.
Dit is de reden waarom de Apple iBand theorie, die we over gesproken in de laatste TechRadar Show , is nooit helemaal uitgestorven. Apple set zeker het podium voor dit en meer met zijn gezondheid app op de WWDC 2014 .
Releasedatum
Voor een gadget die zogenaamd houdt de tijd, hebben de iWatch release datum geruchten al over de hele plaats. Zij wijst op het feit dat niemand buiten Apple heeft de volledige scoop.
De meest recente rapporten suggereren dat iWatch haar op het podium maakt debuut op 9 september , de dag dat Apple zal naar verwachting een paar grotere iPhone 6 handsets onthullen.
Eerdere rapporten gekanteld in de richting van een oktober lancering met massaproductie dacht te zijn gestart in de zomer. Maar het openbaren van de iPhone-compatibel horloge met de iPhones in september zinvol.



iWatch zou precies op tijd zijn. Google's eerste Android-Wear smartwatches zojuist zorg van de Samsung Gear Live , LG G horloge en 4 september-gebonden Moto 360 . Geen werk met iPhones.
Maar ten minste een analist gelooft dat de Apple iWatch is uitgesteld tot november met massaproductie beginnen zo laat september.
Dat is nauwelijks voldoende fabrikant de beoogde 10 miljoen smartwatches die zijn voorgesteld voor de iWatch lanceringsvenster.
In plaats van een vertraging in 2015, hoewel, we vermoeden dat het zal een beperkt aanbod in dit najaar betekenen - net als dat moeilijk te vinden,-buzz genereren gouden iPhone 5S vorig jaar.
Prijs
Een nog lastiger vraag dan "wanneer zal het komen?" is "hoeveel zal de iWatch kosten?" Er is echt gewoon nog geen precedent voor een premium SmartWatch prijs.
Dat beruchte Apple belasting zou het prijskaartje duwen tot $ 250 (AU $ 266) of zelfs $ 300 (AU $ 320), gezien de geruchten productie problemen en onderdelen betrokken.
UK prijzen kunnen zelfs hoger zijn, ten noorden van £ 175 tot £ 200, zoals Android Wear smartwatches een straight dollar-to-pond conversie ook niet hebben ontvangen.
Apple heeft ook aangeworven high-profile mensen in het horloge en biometrie-industrie die waarschijnlijk tot zijn wond op zijn iWatch team. Dat talent komt op een prijs.
Dan is er een van de verborgen kosten. Terwijl een gesubsidieerd iPhone 6 is goedkoper upfront, winkels maken het verschil met contract smeergeld. Niet zo met een smartwatch. Winkels hebben een cut ook.


Hoeveel gaat het nieuwe kosten in de doos?

Omwille van de vergelijking, goedkopere opties Android Wear zijn de Samsung Gear Live op $ 200 (£ 170, AU $ 250) en de LG G Horloge op $ 230 (£ 160, AU $ 250).
Maar de grootste en meest stijlvolle concurrentie van Apple is van Motorola, en de Moto 360 prijs waarschijnlijk tot $ 250 (ongeveer £ 146, AU $ 266, maar weer meer kans £ 175 - £ Prijzen 200, AU $ 275 gegeven van zijn concurrenten) zijn.
Apple wordt gedacht te worden gericht voor luxe, maar de uiteindelijke iWatch prijs kan sterk afhankelijk zijn van het display en de specs die het aankruisen.

maandag 25 augustus 2014

Nikia Becomes the fourth largest smartphone brand in the USA In Q3 2013

After years of struggle in one of the most premium and important smartphone market in the world, USA, Nokia is finally seeing its smartphone strategy and hard work bearing fruits. During Q3 2013,Nokia became the fourth largest smartphone brand capturing a record high 4% market share in a market which is a virtual duopoly dominated by Apple & Samsung.
According to our Market Monitor service, Apple & Samsung were in neck and neck capturing 33% market share each and together controlling almost two-thirds of the smartphone shipmentsduring the pre-holiday season quarter. However, Apple led the market shipping slightly more iPhones than Samsung’s Galaxy range helped by the portfolio refresh with new iPhone 5s & 5c  in September. iPhone 5s immediately became the best selling smartphone model in September . Meanwhile, LG maintained the third spot but saw its share dip slightly to 9% from 10% in Q2 2013.


Q3 2013 USA Market Share Table - Counterpoint Research
Source: Market Monitor : USA Smartphone OEM  Share in Q3 2013
On the other hand, the leading Windows Phone based smartphone manufacturer in the world, Nokia, captured the fourth spot for the first time since the iPhone launch, overtaking Motorola, HTC, BlackBerry,  Huawei, ZTE & other brands. The key reason for this growth  can be attributed to the big change in the Finnish vendor’s approach and go-to-market strategy towards selling its new phones in this highly operator-controlled US market  compared to the less flexible attitude during the time when iPhone was launched. Nokia has thus in the last few years of post-Symbian transition has worked more closely with multiple operators offering them highly differentiated exclusive products with targeted and unique value propositions. This extra effort has helped Nokia steadily  build its Lumia portfolio as well as win more shelf spaces at multiple carriers to reach at this inflection point.
to note, Nokia now has five Lumia models at AT&T and will add more (e.g. Lumia 1520), two models at Verizon Wireless, three models at T-Mobile and one model each at prepaid carriers - MetroPCS and Aio Wireless. Thus after a long time Nokia’s product portfolio looks broader,deeper and highly differentiated built by leveraging its head-turning design expertise, engineering experience, imaginglocation, media assets along with Microsoft’s Windows Phone platform, services and support.
Lumia 520/521& 920 were the top-selling models this quarter for Nokia followed by contributions from Lumia 925 & Lumia 928 at T-Mobile/AT&T and Verizon respectively. Looking forward, with its entry into the premium tablet & phablet space with Lumia 1520 and uniquely positioned Lumia 2520, Nokia should see its premium portfolio growing and help drive marketshare, valueshare and mindshare  in the US market.

Nearly two-thirds of US smartphone owners download no apps monthly: comScore


There may be a growing number of apps for smartphones, but people in the US tend to cling to the few they like and shun the rest, an industry tracker says.

Nearly two-thirds of US smartphone owners download no apps monthly, comScore said in its Mobile App Report. Further, the report stated that nearly half of all app — mini-programs — downloads were done by just 7% of smartphone owners in any given month.

Fun, functional or hip apps for smartphones or tablets are seen by analysts as key to the popularity of the devices, and rivals such as Apple, Google and Microsoft work hard to get developers to tailor apps to devices powered by their software.

App Store boasts billions of titles available for users of devices powered by the California company’s software.

While more than half of US smartphone owners accessed apps on their gadgets daily, ‘a staggering’ 42% of time was spent in just their favorite app, according to comScore.

“Americans have a difficult time living without their mobile devices, as evidenced by the vast majority of consumers using apps on their smartphones and tablets nearly every day,” comScore said in the report.

However, nearly three of every four minutes spent using apps was in any of four preferred mini-programs.

According to the report, social networking, entertainment and messaging accounted for much of the time spent using mobile apps in the United States. And further, internet titans Facebook, Google, Apple, Yahoo, Amazon and eBay accounted for nine of the top-10 most used apps. Facebook in fact, has been stated as the top application in terms of audience size and share of time spent by smartphone users.

It has also been observed in the study that people using iPhones spend large shares of their ‘app time’ on general news, radio, photos, social networking, and weather. And those opting for Android-powered devices devoted a greater share of their time to online search and email.

The annual income of a median iPhone app user was $85,000, compared to $61,000 made in a year by a median Android user, comScore reported.

Huawei Is Shaking Up the Smartphone Market





Richard Yu, the head of Huawei's consumer business group Credit is Huawei Technologies
Huawei Technologies Co. may be unknown to many U.S. consumers, but the Chinese company is becoming a threat to Samsung Electronics Co. 005930.SE -1.52% , the world's biggest smartphone maker.



Huawei's rise is an indication that growth in the mobile-phone industry is coming mainly from outside China—emerging markets where many consumers are still replacing basic feature phones with smartphones. While China's increasingly saturated smartphone market is showing signs of slowing growth, Huawei is expanding rapidly in Africa, the Middle East and Latin America.
As Huawei tries to sell more handsets overseas, among its advantages are its close relationships with mobile carriers around the world. Huawei, whose main business is supplying networking equipment, counts most major telecom operators as its clients. For the past few years, Huawei has been trying to turn its smartphone business into another major source of revenue and profit.
In the second quarter, Huawei was the third-largest smartphone maker in the world, as its market share rose to 6.9% from 4.3% a year earlier, according to research firm IDC. Samsung's market share dropped to 25% from 32% a year earlier, while Apple Inc. AAPL +0.37% 's share fell slightly to 12% from 13%. Huawei's shipments for the quarter jumped 95% from a year earlier, by far the fastest growth among major handset vendors, while Samsung's shipments declined 3.9%. Analysts say Huawei is more of a threat to Samsung than to Apple, since Samsung sells handsets at various price points and most of its phones use Android, like Huawei phones do.
In a recent interview with The Wall Street Journal at the company's headquarters in Shenzhen, Richard Yu, the head of Huawei's consumer business group, talked about the future of the global smartphone industry and how Huawei will compete against Samsung and Apple.
WSJ: Why did Huawei decide to sell consumer devices in the first place, instead of continuing to concentrate on telecom equipment?
Mr. Yu: About 10 to 12 years ago, telecom carriers began to roll out third-generation mobile networks. But 3G phones were still very expensive, and carriers wanted Huawei to design handsets. We made white-label phones (that were sold under the carriers' names). After Apple launched the iPhone, carriers asked us to design smartphones for them. At that time, HTC and Samsung were the main suppliers of Android smartphones, and there were few others.
Our products had good quality. As a white-label supplier, we had to compete against other white-label smartphones that cost less and had lower quality. It wasn't good for us. No brand, no value. That's why we started using our own brand.
WSJ: How is Huawei doing in the smartphone market?
Mr. Yu: There are too many smartphone makers in the market, especially in China. The whole industry is consolidating and some global vendors are disappearing. But even though most vendors are suffering, Huawei is growing, not only in terms of shipments and revenue, but also profit. Last year we became the third-largest supplier by shipment. We shipped 52 million smartphones last year, and our target for this year is more than 80 million.
WSJ: What makes Huawei different? What's your advantage?
Mr. Yu: There are many other brands that are also providing very good products, and some are better-known brands than Huawei. But we are a telecom equipment supplier. We build communications networks around the world, both fixed broadband and mobile broadband networks. Because we have that technology, we can make our mobile devices work better when they connect to the networks. We think we can support the latest network technology better than other handset makers. This is the value we can bring.
WSJ: What is Huawei doing in terms of software for smartphones?
Mr. Yu: User experience is key and we put a lot of resources in software research and development. We build our own user interface software on top of Android. Our software team has roughly 2,000 people, and we are increasing our investment about 20% to 30% every year. To provide better services, we have partnered with some software and Internet companies. The industry is changing and you cannot do everything by yourself.
WSJ: For most handset makers Android is the only option. Is that a problem?
Mr. Yu: It's difficult to say. We have tried using the Windows Phone OS. But it has been difficult to persuade consumers to buy a Windows phone. It wasn't profitable for us. We were losing money for two years on those phones. So for now we've decided to put any releases of new Windows phones on hold. We have worries about Android being the only option, but we have no choice. And we have a good collaboration with Google.
WSJ: Have you ever considered using the Tizen operating system [developed by Samsung and backed by Intel Corp. and others]?
Mr. Yu: We have no plans to use Tizen. Some telecom carriers are pushing us to design Tizen phones but I say "no" to them. In the past we had a team to do research on Tizen but I canceled it. We feel Tizen has no chance to be successful. Even for Windows Phone it's difficult to be successful.
We have no plans to build our own OS. It's easy to design a new OS, but the problem is building the ecosystem around it.
WSJ: Lenovo Group Ltd., another Chinese smartphone maker, is in the process of buying Motorola Mobility. What is Huawei's strategy in terms of acquisitions?
Mr. Yu: Lenovo may gain market share with acquisitions, but different companies have different approaches. We are not so eager to acquire companies. We invest more in research and development. Larger scale can help lower costs and it's important. But it's not the most important thing. Without investing more in R&D, you can't bring better products and more value to consumers.
WSJ: Are you trying to sell more mobile devices to companies and government clients?
Mr. Yu: Our enterprise customers (Huawei supplies equipment to corporate clients and helps build their private networks) need mobile devices. Those customers care about security and efficiency. To meet their demand, our device business is working with our enterprise equipment business. Apple recently announced a partnership with IBMIBM +0.47% and Samsung's Knox business is providing services for enterprise clients. This is an important business for Huawei, too.
Write to Juro Osawa at juro.osawa@wsj.com and Yun-Hee Kim at yun-hee.kim@wsj.com
Résumé
Career: Mr. Yu joined Huawei in 1993 as a software engineer. He held a number of executive positions within Huawei, including head of the European region, between 2008 and 2010, and president of Huawei's wireless product line. He is now chief executive of Huawei's consumer business group, which includes smartphones and tablets.
Education: He holds a master's degree in electronic engineering from Tsinghua University, Beijing.
Hobbies: Mr. Yu enjoys mountain climbing and playing golf. He and his wife have a son and a daughter.

Nvidia unveils blazing-fast 64-bit Project Denver processor for Android devices


Graphics chip maker Nvidia revealed the architectural details of its codenamed Project Denver processor for mobile devices.
The custom-designed central processing unit (CPU) combines both processor and graphics capabilities on the same chip. The Santa Clara, Calif.-based Nvidia unveiled the details — which can help figure out how powerful the chip is — at the Hot Chips chip conference in Cupertino, Calif.
Earlier this year, Nvidia took the wraps off two versions of its Tegra K1 processor, which has 192 graphics processing units based on its Kepler architecture. One of those versions has a 32-bit quad-core CPU with an additional battery saver core. The second version has a custom-designed 64-bit dual-core Project Denver CPU, which is compatible with Arm’s v8 processor designs.
“With its exceptional performance and superior energy efficiency, the 64-bit Tegra K1 with Denver CPU is the world’s first 64-bit ARM processor for Android, and completely outpaces other ARM-based mobile processors,” Nvidia said in a blog post.
Eight months after unveiling the 32-bit Tegra K1, Nvidia says that Project Denver is designed for the highest single-core CPU throughput and fast dual-core performance. The chip can process seven concurrent operations per clock cycle. It has several memory caches that keep its cores busy.
It also has something dubbed Dynamic Code Optimization, which optimizes frequently used software routines so they run more efficiently. It doubles the performance of its raw hardware resources by converting ARM-based software code to optimized microcode routines. This adds some overhead to the processing, but Nvidia says that performance gains that result outweighs this drawback.
The chip will go into Nvidia’s high-end products in mobile devices, and it will compete with Intel’s Broadwell chips as well as other chips coming from AMD. Nvidia says its dual CPU cores can achieve significantly higher performance than existing four-core or eight-core mobile CPUs. It will also feature good power efficiency. Nvidia said its partners will launch products with the 64-bit Tegra K1 later this year.

Move to 64-bit Android phones accelerating, says ARM

ARM tells CNET that the shift to
64-bit devices is taking place faster than expected. Part of the reason is that even 32-bit code runs faster on ARM's newest 64-bit chips.

Nexus 5: Could a future version of the Nexus run on a 64-bit Qualcomm processor?Google

Phone and tablet makers are rushing to embrace 64-bit designs, surprising even those executives behind the chip platform.
Tom Lantzsch, ARM's executive vice president of corporate strategy, spoke with CNET after the company reported first-quarter earnings on Wednesday.
ARM supplies virtually all of the basic processor designs for phones and tablets running on Android.
"Certainly, we've had big uptick in demand for mobile 64-bit products. We've seen this with our [Cortex] A53, a high-performance 64-bit mobile processor," he said.
This caught the chip designer's executives off guard, as they believed that 64-bit ARM would only be needed for corporate servers in the initial phase of the technology's rollout.
"We've been surprised at the pace that [64-bit] is now becoming mobile centric. Qualcomm, MediaTek, and Marvell are examples of public 64-bit disclosures," he said.
This echoes comments from a Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. executive last week, who said the conversion to 64-bit has in the mobile device industry accelerated in the last six months after Apple made its 64-bit A7 processor -- also an ARM design -- announcement.
So, when will the transition to 64-bit processors happen for Android phones and tablets?
"We believe the capability will be there for a 64-bit phone by Christmas," he said, referring to phones and tablets with 64-bit bit processors.
Lantzsch could not comment about when a 64-bit version of Android would be released. All software, nevertheless, will run faster, he said.
"Even existing 32-bit code will run more efficiently on [ARM's 64-bit] v8-A architecture than on native 32-bit ARM architecture" he said, referring to the company's newest processors like the Cortex-A53 chip.
"The architecture itself allows for more efficiency in the code. So, that means better battery life, quicker responsiveness, better features," he added.
And when 64-bit software finally does arrive, products could change in a big way.
"There will be early adopters. The applications with the most need will certainly go first. And then the rest will come over time," he said.

HTC Desire 820 teased in the race to become first real 64-bit Android phone






Finally phones catch up with the Atari Jaguar




HTC has outed the HTC Desire 820 early, publishing an image that tells us it'll be the first HTC Android phone to use a 64-bit processor.
Having come from the HTC Weibo account and written in Chinese, we weren't able to translate the leaked advert for the HTC Desire 820 ourselves, but we're told it says the 820 is the "world's first octa-core 64-bit phone," by GSMarena.
The teaser also says we'll know more about the phone on 4 September, which lands just as IFA 2014 kicks off. You don't need to be a tech super sleuth to conclude this means we'll see the phone officially announced during or just before the tech show.
This leak does not tell us exactly what processor the HTC Desire 820 will use, but a little bit of deduction suggests it's the Qualcomm Snapdragon 615.

Snapdragon goes 64-bit

The Snapdragon 615 is an eight-core 64-bit processor intended for mid-range phones, sitting below the Snapdragon 808/810 and above the Snapdragon 410.
It fits the bill perfectly, and given all of HTC's recent mid-range Desire phones use Snapdragon CPUs rather than – for example – Mediatek ones, it's the only likely candidate.
64-bit phones are likely to be one of IFA 2014's big themes, as Android Lwill soon bring native 64-bit support to the system.
There have been Android devices that use 64-bit compatible processors to date, using Intel Atom CPUs. But these use a special kernel that lets them work, rather than really unlocking all that 64-bit goodness.
This is one Apple got there first on – the iPhone 5S and iOS 7 are already 64-bit. But 64-bit Android will let phones make use of even more RAM, for more serious data crunching.
We'll have to wait to see whether it'll just be used to shame us into upgrading, or whether there'll be some truly worthwhile applications for ordinary folk.

zondag 24 augustus 2014

LG's Google Watch presentation coming soon

Na de  aankondiging van de Android-Wear platform  vorige week al hoorden we over was sexy ronde SmartWatch van Motorola, de Moto 360 . Maar de LG G Kijk ook gedemonstreerd in Google's video's op hetzelfde moment, zij het ​​met veel minder publiciteit beelden en geen spinnen GIF naar houden ons gebiologeerd. Tuurlijk, kan de G Kijk niet zo op zichzelf staan, een ontwerp als de Moto 360, maar je kunt op je laatste cent wed dat de G horloge zal een heel stuk goedkoper, en nu hebben we een beter idee van hoe het eruit ziet op de pols.   
gwatch lg teaser
De G Horloge ziet er eigenlijk heel slim op de pols. / © LG
LG postte de bovenstaande afbeelding op hun Twitter-account van gisteren, samen met het bericht Coming Soon. U kunt verwachten dat de nieuwe SmartWatch bij Google I / O op 25 juni worden gepresenteerd. LG heeft zeer nauw samengewerkt met Google op de G Watch, tot het punt dat de G Watch is praktisch afkorting voor Google Watch. Dat brengt ons bij het ​​volgende punt: is de G Bekijk een Nexus-apparaat? Het antwoord op die vraag is ja, zelfs als de G Bekijk de Nexus bijnaam niet dragen.  
AndroidPIT Rond Vierkant Smartwatches
De ronde vorm factor kan meer populair zijn op dit moment, maar het eenvoudige ontwerp werkt voor mij. / © AndroidPIT / Motorola / LG
De G horloge zal worden geprijsd op een zeer aantrekkelijke prijs, bedoeld om 'met een lage toetredingsdrempel voor ontwikkelaars en bieden de beste Google-ervaring voor gebruikers': dat zeker klinkt als een Nexus-apparaat voor mij. Waar veel andere smartwatches beneden het nogal lelijk en onhandig ontwerp route zijn gegaan, de G horloge lijkt een eenvoudige display module zijn, net als de Nexus 5 , waar het ontwerp van het apparaat smelt weg, zodat u zich kunt concentreren op de interface. Als de G Horloge komt zoiets als een pols-opgezette Nexus 5, zal veel van ons zijn erg blij. 
Bent u op de G Horloge verkocht? Denkt u dat de Moto 360 zal net zo Googley?

Hacking Gmail with 92 Percent Success


UC Riverside assistant professor is among group that develops novel method to attack apps on Android, and likely other, operating systems


RIVERSIDE, Calif. (www.ucr.edu) — A team of researchers, including an assistant professor at the University of California, Riverside Bourns College of Engineering, have identified a weakness believed to exist in Android, Windows and iOS mobile operating systems that could be used to obtain personal information from unsuspecting users. They demonstrated the hack in an Android phone.
The researchers tested the method and found it was successful between 82 percent and 92 percent of the time on six of the seven popular apps they tested. Among the apps they easily hacked were Gmail, CHASE Bank and H&R Block. Amazon, with a 48 percent success rate, was the only app they tested that was difficult to penetrate.

Zhiyun Qian, an assistant professor at UC Riverside.
The paper, “Peeking into Your App without Actually Seeing It: UI State Inference and Novel Android Attacks,” will be presented Friday, Aug. 22 at the 23rd USENIX Security Symposium in San Diego. Authors of the paper are Zhiyun Qian, of the Computer Science and Engineering Department at UC Riverside; Z. Morley Mao, an associate professor at the University of Michigan; and Qi Alfred Chen, a Ph.D. student working with Mao.
The researchers believe their method will work on other operating systems because they share a key feature researchers exploited in the Android system. However, they haven’t tested the program using the other systems.
The researchers started working on the method because they believed there was a security risk with so many apps being created by some many developers. Once a user downloads a bunch of apps to his or her smart phone they are all running on the same shared infrastructure, or operating system.
“The assumption has always been that these apps can’t interfere with each other easily,” Qian said. “We show that assumption is not correct and one app can in fact significantly impact another and result in harmful consequences for the user.”
The attack works by getting a user to download a seemingly benign, but actually malicious, app, such as one for background wallpaper on a phone. Once that app is installed, the researchers are able to exploit a newly discovered public side channel — the shared memory statistics of a process, which can be accessed without any privileges. (Shared memory is a common operating system feature to efficiently allow processes share data.)
The researchers monitor changes in shared memory and are able to correlate changes to what they call an “activity transition event,” which includes such things as a user logging into Gmail or H&R Block or a user taking a picture of a check so it can be deposited online, without going to a physical CHASE Bank. Augmented with a few other side channels, the authors show that it is possible to fairly accurately track in real time which activity a victim app is in.
There are two keys to the attack. One, the attack needs to take place at the exact moment the user is logging into the app or taking the picture. Two, the attack needs to be done in an inconspicuous way. The researchers did this by carefully calculating the attack timing.
“By design, Android allows apps to be preempted or hijacked,” Qian said. “But the thing is you have to do it at the right time so the user doesn’t notice. We do that and that’s what makes our attack unique.”
The researchers created three short videos that show how the attacks work. They can be viewed here: http://bit.ly/1ByiCd3.
Here is a list of the seven apps the researchers attempted to attack and their success rates: Gmail (92 percent), H&R Block (92 percent), Newegg (86 percent), WebMD (85 percent), CHASE Bank (83 percent), Hotels.com (83 percent) and Amazon (48 percent).
Amazon was more difficult to attack because its app allows one activity to transition to almost any other activity, increasing the difficulty of guessing which activity it is currently in.
Asked what a smart phone user can do about this situation, Qian said, “Don’t install untrusted apps.” On the operating system design, a more careful tradeoff between security and functionality needs to be made in the future, he said. For example, side channels need to be eliminated or more explicitly regulated.

vrijdag 22 augustus 2014

Nokia rumored to be mulling over an Android future

Although Microsoft has practically divested Nokia of it's smartphone-making business, that doesn't mean that the former Finnish giant is completely out of the running. Pretty soon, it might actually be making a comeback to the device-making business, but this time with Android as its platform of choice, at least based on speculation about the company's recent job postings.

To some extent, the theory behind this rumored move makes so much sense that it almost feels like a done deal. It would only be natural for Nokia to still want a piece of the smartphone market pie, considering how well established its name is in that industry. But it will likely stay away from Microsoft's mobile platform. Nokia's romance with Microsoft wasn't exactly the most popular even from among Nokia's own ranks, some of which left the company and started their own: Jolla. So other than striking it out own their own again, which they already tried and failed, their only recourse is to really go with Android.

Speculation that Nokia might be considering getting back into the mobile device business comes from a few items spotted on the company's LinkedIn job list. It seems that Nokia is hiring people with the engineering and design skills for future mobile devices. The Android factor comes via a very specific skill requirement: the ability to write camera drivers for Android. Taken together, it seems that Nokia might have a few ideas for future smartphones. Either that or it plans to simply harness those skills to improve or create its own mobile apps and services.

That said, if you're one of the remaining Nokia fans dreaming of the return of a legend, don't start holding your breath until after 2 or so years. Due to the Microsoft acquisition, Nokia is practically prohibited from making mobile devices bearing its name at least until 2016, just to give time for the world to get used to seeing Microsoft's brand plastered everywhere. But even then, we can never be sure what old Redmond has planned to ensure that any threat from its former vassal will never come to pass

VIA:  PhoneArena