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    NVIDIA reveals Kepler GPUs going into ultrabooks, Acer Timeline M3 Ultra gets first dibs

    Gadgets Team
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    NVIDIA reveals Kepler GPUs going into ultrabooks, Acer Timeline M3 Ultra gets first dibs

    NVIDIA’s next generation of GPUs (code named Kepler) is apparently going into next generation ultrabooks. In a blog post in the company’s site, Rene Haas revealed that Acer’s latest model, the Timeline M3 Ultra, would be carrying NVIDIA’s GeForce GT640M that uses the 28nm Kepler architecture. While there’s no solid performance numbers available for NVIDIA’s Kepler line of GPUs According to Legit Reviews, NVIDIA’s GeForce GT640M is about ten percent faster than the old GT 555M in Battlefield 3 benchmark tests. Rene promises that “you can have high-end graphics performance and the best battery life on the planet.” Other features of the Acer Timeline M3 Ultra include a 15-inch screen, optical disk drive and a thin, 20mm chassis.

    Source: NVIDIA, Legit Reviews

     

     

    Samsung Series 5 Ultra outed, specs and prices inside

    Gadgets Team
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    Samsung Series 5 Ultra outed, specs and prices inside

    Samsung’s ultrabook offering, the Series 5 Ultra, was announced late last year. After a couple of months of waiting, the Korean company’s ultrabook offering was officially unveiled yesterday at Privé Luxury Club at the Fort. The new ultrabooks will be available in two versions – one 13-inch variant that comes with an Intel Core i5 processor with 4GB of memory, and a 14-inch variant with a Core i7 processor with 6GB of memory. Unlike other ultrabook offerings, the Series 5 Ultra uses a hybrid hard drive setup – it has a traditional HDD installed (500GB for the 13-inch version, 1TB for the 14-inch version) which is paired with an 16GB SSD ExpressCache system which Samsung says gives the Series 5 Ultra a fast, 20 second boot time. The 14-inch version is also the first and only ultrabook currently out in the market that has a built-in ODD. Additionally, the 14-inch version also sports discrete graphics via an AMD Radeon HD 7550M GPU.

    The Series 5 Ultra sports a slim profile of only 14mm (20.9mm for the 14-inch version) and carries a bright, 300nit HD LED SuperBright screen equipped wtih with the company’s Image Enhancer and anti-reflective technologies. Samsung says that the Series 5 Ultra is able to go for about 6.4 hours without a charge.

    The Series 5 Ultra will be available for Php 44,900 for the 13-inch, Core i5 version, while the 14-inch, Core i7 variant will retail for Php 59,900.

    [album: https://gadgetsmagazine.com.ph/wp-content/plugins/dm-albums/dm-albums.php?currdir=/wp-content/uploads/dm-albums/[email protected]/Samsung Series 5 Ultra/]

     

    Review: HTC 7 Mozart

    Gadgets Team
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    Review: HTC 7 Mozart

    By Francis Tan

    From the huge, chunky Windows PDA phones of yesteryears, Microsoft has managed to pull off a complete 180-degree turn and completely revamp its image to a new modern, trendy platform that is Windows Phone 7. HTC, on the other hand, is known to deliver some of the most fine-looking smartphones in the planet that boasts of style and performance. Combine these two and we have the HTC 7 Mozart, the first Windows Phone 7 device to be released in the Philippines.

    The HTC 7 Mozart is complete eye candy, built from a dark aluminum unibody construction. The 3.7-inch LCD touchscreen is as beautiful as it gets, occupying the entire front of the phone, which lacks any physical keys. The multitouch-enabled screen is one of the most responsive we have tested thus far, and the Windows keys are no exception. It has a 480×800 WVGA resolution that is satisfyingly bright. This makes the display absolutely clean and crisp down to the last pixel. Conversely, the volume rockers are in an awkward position; a bit too low compared with the standard, which makes it especially hard to reach for people with a predominant left hand. Overall, the phone feels absolutely great on the hand—hold the device and you can easily tell that it’s not one cheap gadget.

    The back of the phone is just as sexy with a unique design that is truly captivating. There are three partitions, the bottom being a detachable rubber cover with a removable Li-ion 1300 mAh battery and a standard SIM card slot underneath. The memory is not expandable so the micro-SD card slot is nowhere to be found. The camera and flash are completely exposed which makes us hesitant to lay this phone on its back without protection. The speakers are located on the back of the unit as well so naturally, sound gets a bit muffled.

    The inside of the HTC 7 Mozart impresses just as much. It runs on a decent 1Ghz Snapdragon CPU with 576 RAM and 512 ROM, which allows for smooth transitions when switching in and between different apps. It also has 8 GB of storage that—unless you’re a media buff with an elaborate collection of music and video—would pretty much suffice. It has built-in Dolby Mobile and SRS sound enhancement which makes listening to music a real charm—it’s loud and crisp, which is highly commendable considering this is just a phone. The same could be said when making calls. All other standard connectivity features are present: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, HSDPA, and GPS.

    The performance of Windows Phone 7 is simply phenomenal on the HTC 7 Mozart. It’s fast and snappy. I couldn’t feel any noticeable lag whatsoever. There are however, considerable delays when it comes to loading some third-party applications, which I believe is more of a flaw in the OS rather than the hardware. There is much to talk about with the new Windows Phone 7 operating system; it deserves an article of its own so be sure to check our features section for an in-depth review right after. For what it’s worth, it runs splendidly on this device.

    HTC is fond of creating a custom user interface for its devices. But due to the Windows Phone 7 restriction against skinning, HTC had to compromise and came up with the HTC Hub app instead. This is a standard for all Windows Phone 7 devices. This isn’t nearly as remarkable as its Android counterpart as this one is more like a cool-looking weather app with a portal to a handful of HTC apps rather than that the widget-filled custom user interface we are familiar with. There aren’t exactly any note-worthy bundled apps on the HTC 7 Mozart, save for the Photo Enhancer and the Sound Enhancer.

    Among the first batch of Windows Phone 7 devices that have been released, the HTC 7 Mozart has one of the best cameras, boasting an 8-megapixel autofocus camera with Xenon flash, geo-tagging, and 720p video recording. With specs of this magnitude, it deserves a dedicated shutter key for the trigger-happy photographers, which can be found on the lower right side of the phone. Sad to say that it couldn’t impress us beyond what is on paper. The images from the camera are completely washed-out, even when used on good lighting conditions. The camcorder disappoints as well, suffering from frame rate issues and poor color reception.

    We managed to get an average of 7 to 8 hours of battery life with standard use, which is pretty much a standard for a smartphone with these specs. Take note, however, that this is without support for third-party multitasking yet. When the update for multitasking arrives, it may or may not affect the battery life; but based from experience, I’m more skeptical rather than optimistic on this one.

    Currently, the HTC 7 Mozart is only officially available as a bundle with a Smart subscription (free at Plan 4000). It’s not unlikely that this phone will be sold as a prepaid device in the future but we have yet to confirm the actual date of its availability. Interestingly, the device that we tested is not operator locked so we have high hopes for subscribers of different networks as well.

    What’s Hot:

    • Stylish design
    • Robust specs
    • Premium Finish
    • Impressive screen

    What’s Not:

    • Poor camera performance
    • Limited capacity

    Bottomline:

    The HTC 7 Mozart is no doubt one of the most stylish WP7 devices right now but the poor camera performance could potentially be a deal-breaker.

    Buy Meter: 8.5

     

    Tech Specs:

    Display: 3.7” LCD touchscreen of WVGA resolution (480 x 800 pixels)
    Processor: 1GHz Snapdragon CPU, 576MB RAM, 512MB ROM
    Camera: 8 megapixel autofocus camera with Xenon flash, 720p video recording
    Memory: 8GB of built-in storage
    Connectivity: Wi-Fi b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP

    [This review originally appeared in the March 2011 issue of Gadgets Magazine]


     

     

    Globe incubator will help startup businesses become successful technopreneurs

    Gadgets Team
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    Globe incubator will help startup businesses become successful technopreneurs

    Globe Telecom, the country’s leading telecommunications company, has setup its incubator aimed at helping aspiring technopreneurs in launching their own businesses. Although this project has access to the resources that a large company like Globe has, it has its own independent mandate and the needed support from the community to sustain the movement. The Globe incubator will aid tech startup communities in getting off to a faster start and a better path by building an end-to-end support system that unites the ‘hardware’ of big companies with the ‘software’ of mentorship and community partnership.

    The Globe incubator will provide an advantage for startups by giving them access to a number of platforms that are usually open only to large established companies. These startups can get education and training programs tailored to their needs, one-on-one mentorship from experts in different fields, and peer support from the local startup community. They can also qualify for seed capital to help them launch their company as well as help them scale bigger by giving them introductions to partner companies within the Globe, Singtel, and Ayala networks in the Philippines and abroad.

    Head of Globe New Business Group, Minette B. Naverette, stated that this project will supply the environment and tools needed as well as seed funding, a startup development program, and support for integrating into business networks. She believes that while many Filipinos have brilliant breakthrough ideas for independent businesses and the means to make these scale efficiently through information and communications technology (ICT), web, and mobile applications, many of them don’t have the proper resources to pursue their objectives. In other words, they may be able to launch their business, but they do not have the training, capital, and business network to enable their startup to scale. The Globe Incubator will make facilities available, provide education and mentorship, and introduce entrepreneurs to the people and companies that can help their business develop and succeed.

    Furthermore, Navarette noted that the Globe incubator will provide sufficient funding for aspiring entrepreneurs to quit their jobs and focus on their ambitions of starting up a business. The incubation programs will last from three months to one year before graduation, giving room to other technopreneurs afterwards, while also being open to other strategic or financial partners participating. While technopreneurs can develop new ICT applications, websites, and other tech-related tasks, more traditional businesses can make use of the technology to create a better customer experience, improve operating efficiencies, and expand their reach   .

    Tech incubators have been revived around the world recently, and while there is a lot of funding out there available for good ideas, providing seed capital and facilities are not enough. This is why the Globe incubator aims to deliver more through its mentoring programs, network introductions, and intensive courses on how to launch and sustain a successful business.

     

    Celebrity stylist Liz Uy is stylish with Globe BlackBerry plan

    Gadgets Team
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    Celebrity stylist Liz Uy is stylish with Globe BlackBerry plan

    Liz Uy is certified style royalty. She’s lived up to being one of the most favored stylists to the stars, handpicking the iconic looks of celebrities like Kris Aquino and Bea Alonzo, to prominent political figures like President Noynoy Aquino. Not much goes on in the realm of Philippine fashion and style without Liz at the center of it all.

    Good thing there’s Globe and its whole portfolio of BlackBerry plans, Liz can make the most out of her BlackBerry, allowing her to own her device with flair and style.

    For heavy e-mail users, there’s Globe BlackBerry Messaging that enables you to enjoy unlimited access to push e-mail, BBM and Instant Messaging for only P299 for 30 days. Unlimited push email includes Yahoo! Mail, GMAIL and your office or work-email. Instant Messaging can be enjoyed via YM, AOL Instant Messenger, MSN Messenger, and Google Talk.

    If you’re up to some serious social networking and chatting, then Globe BlackBerry Social is your best buddy. Available for prepaid and postpaid subscribers, Globe BlackBerry Social gives you unlimited access to Facebook and Twitter. It also allows you to stay connected and chat with your friends from anywhere in the world all day via BBM and Instant Messaging.

    Finally, make way for the latest BlackBerry plan from Globe perfect for BBM fanatics, the Globe BlackBerry Chat. Postpaid subscribers subscribed to Globe BlackBerry Chat get to enjoy unlimited BBM access plus a bonus of free 200 text messages to Globe and TM subscribers for only P99 valid for 30 days. Globe Prepaid subscribers can avail of the 1-day variant with unlimited BBM and 100 SMS to Globe and TM subscribers for only P15 a day.

    “We are very excited to offer our roster of BlackBerry Plans to our subscribers, headlined by fashion and style icon Liz Uy as one of our ambassadors,” said Joanna Africa, Head for Portfolio Management of Globe. “We understand that our subscribers’ needs are unique and different from one another, much like one’s fashion sense and style. With our lineup of BlackBerry Plans, BlackBerry users in the Philippines can definitely make, own, and live their style, knowing that they can maximize their BlackBerry device to the fullest.”

    Register to any of the Globe BlackBerry plans by dialing *143# on your BlackBerry phone. For more details, visit www.surf.globe.com.ph or text BB INFO to 8888. Want to get styling tips from Liz Uy? Check out her BlackBerry video by visiting www.surf.globe.com.ph/tutorials.

     

     

    Yahoo sues Facebook for alleged copyright infringement

    Gadgets Team
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    Yahoo sues Facebook for alleged copyright infringement

    Some major news out of Silicon Valley today, where Yahoo has just initiated a patent suit against social networking behemoth Facebook. The suit covers ten patents all in all, which includes the technology driving mobile advertising and privacy. In a report with All Things D, Yahoo said that “Yahoo! has invested substantial resources in research and development through the years, which has resulted in numerous patented inventions of technology that other companies have licensed. These technologies are the foundation of our business that engages over 700 million monthly unique visitors and represent the spirit of innovation upon which Yahoo! is built. Unfortunately, the matter with Facebook remains unresolved and we are compelled to seek redress in federal court. We are confident that we will prevail.”

    Facebook, in its part, is puzzled with the suit, and said in the same report that “We’re disappointed that Yahoo, a longtime business partner of Facebook and a company that has substantially benefited from its association with Facebook, has decided to resort to litigation. Once again, we learned of Yahoo’s decision simultaneously with the media. We will defend ourselves vigorously against these puzzling actions.” Yahoo has been in troubled waters as of late, with the search and content company being assaulted at all sides with tech powerhouses like Google and Facebook. You can see the official complaint in the link below.

    Source: All Things D 

    Asus Ultra-light HD P1 Portable LED Projector now available in the Philippines

    Gadgets Team
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    Asus Ultra-light HD P1 Portable LED Projector now available in the Philippines

    The award-winning P1 Portable LED Projector easily fits in the palm of your hand and delivers an accurate, clear, and brightly colorful image. Whether your job entails a lot of presentation or you want to watch movies on a bigger scale at home, the P1 fits the bill perfectly.

    It’s rated at 200 ANSI lumens and projects visuals in HD 1280 x 800, meaning that whatever is seen on the projection will precisely match the original content from your computer. It sports a mercury-free Eco-LED light source with a lifespan of up to 30,000 hours (about 20 years if used 4-hours daily), and it does away with long warm-up times as it can be set up in as little as 5 seconds from power-up. At 125.5 x 33.5 x 130mm in size and 415g in weight, the P1 also sports an adjustable flip-down stand for quick height adjustments. At one meter away from the screen, users can enjoy HD projections the size of a 40-inch display, while its Auto Keystone Correction feature can detect the P1’s orientation and automatically correct distorted trapezoid images resulting from an angled projection. Its projection distance reaches as far as 3-meters, creating a display size of about 120-inches, and the device also comes with 7 different video modes: standard mode, black board, white board, dynamic mode, game mode, scenery mode, and theater mode.

    Compatible with most Asus notebook AC power adapters, it can be had at an estimated price of USD $499 (approximately Php 21,000)

     

    First Impressions: HP Folio 13

    Gadgets Team
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    First Impressions: HP Folio 13

    Ultrabooks just keep on coming to our Gadgetslab, and today we’re taking a quick peek at HP’s offering, the HP Folio 13. While somewhat late to the local ultrabook party, HP’s making a splash with their gorgeous 13-inch offering that has a quoted battery life of 9 hours.

    Like other ultrabooks currently out in the market, the HP Folio 13 promises excellent battery endurance and no-compromised performance in a body that’s only 18mm thin.

    As you can see, the Folio 13 is nice to look at and sports an aluminum lid that gives it that premium feel. This 13-inch ultrabook uses a 13.3-inch diagonal HD BrightView display that has a resolution of 1366 x 768. The Folio 13 uses an Intel Core i5-2467M processor, much like other mid-tier ultrabooks currently floating around in the market.

    The aluminum treatment extends to the palm rest and other select parts of the device, and while it uses a mainly plastic chassis, build quality is fantastic – no creaks anywhere in the unit. The keyboard is a backlit, island-type affair, which is surprisingly fantastic to type on.

    We’ve griped about trackpads without visible separators before, but thankfully the Folio 13 doesn’t fall in that particular category. Our initial tests with the Clickpad was very promising, to say the least.

    Like most ultrabooks, the device doesn’t have a whole lot of ports to use, but it does have most of the important ports on hand – Ethernet, 2 USB ports (one on each side) and a full sized HDMI port.

    The device is equipped with a 128GB SSD drive that ensures relatively quick boot-up times – our unit booted up in less than 20 seconds.

    That’s it for now. Check back in about a week or so to read our full review on this beautiful ultrabook.

    Garmin releases GPS-enabled gadgets in the Philippines for fitness and travel

    Gadgets Team
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    Garmin releases GPS-enabled gadgets in the Philippines for fitness and travel

    Garmin, a trusted provider of fitness watches and global positioning systems (GPS), has launched a range of GPS-equipped products in the country. The collection of new gadgets suits the lifestyles of those who jog regularly, those who want one in their car, and those who love to travel and go on out-of-town trips.

    The Nuvi 1360 is a GPS device that is preloaded with a road guide Philippine map and features turn-by-turn direction, text-to-speech technology and pedestrian navigation.

    The Nuvi 3760 is also a GPS device, but with an award-winning slim design that also includes pedestrian navigation options, photo navigation, a junction view for lane assistance, and the ability to speak street names. These devices will make sure that you never got lost again.

    The Forerunner 310XT is a GPS-enabled sports watch that monitors weight, body fat, body water, and six other measurements, making it ideal for tri-athletes as it comes with running, biking, cross-country, and swimming modes.

    Another GPS-equipped sports watch, the Forerunner 910XT, includes detailed swim metrics, a heart rate based calorie consumption monitor, and a waterproof design up to 50 meters to name a few.

    The Forerunner 610 sports a touch screen interface and allows users to monitor their time, distance, pace, calories, and heart rate, all while keeping track of their training through GPS.

    You can visit www.garmincenter.com for more information on the company’s products and where they can be purchased.

    Globe and JobStreet helps job hunters out with new Tattoo stick

    Gadgets Team
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    Globe and JobStreet helps job hunters out with new Tattoo stick

    Globe and JobStreet has partnered together to give graduating students and job hunters a way to find their dream jobs. The Tattoo-JobStreet prepaid kit allows jobhunters to access the JobStreet website (www.JobStreet.com) and search for their dream job even if they have zero-prepaid balance. Free access to JobStreet’s website is guaranteed for 1 year, so graduates and job hunters won’t have to worry about spending large amounts of cash to load-up their sticks to see if they’ve been accepted to the job(s) they applied for. The new stick is exclusively available through Globe’s online shop (http://tattoo.globe.com.ph/promos). 

    Smart holds piso sale for mid-end smartphones with Unli Postpaid Plan 599

    Gadgets Team
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    Smart holds piso sale for mid-end smartphones with Unli Postpaid Plan 599

    Here’s your chance to grab an Android smartphone for cheap – Smart is holding a limited piso sale for a bunch of their mid-end smartphones bundled with their Unli Postpaid Plan 599. You’ll be able to take home the Smart Netphone 701 and the Huawei IDEOS for just Php 1, with the Unli Postpaid Plan 599. The plan comes with unlimited SMS and calls to any Smart or Talk ‘N Text number, with the appropriate 24-month lock-in period. If you don’t fancy either of units mentioned, you can try to grab the other phones that’s included in the sale which include the Alcatel OT-506D, Cherry Mobile D13, Nokia 2730c, Nokia C2-01, Nokia X2-01, and the touchscreen Samsung Champ (C3303). You gotta hurry though, the new plan will only last until March 23, and the units are on a first come, first serve basis.

    Nike reveals digitally enabled footwear

    Gadgets Team
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    Nike reveals digitally enabled footwear

    NIKE, Inc.  recently unveiled Nike+ Basketball and Nike+ Training, two new experiences connecting digitally enabled footwear with interactive mobile applications that together deliver a revolutionary sport experience. First unveiled for running products in 2006, NIKE+ has grown into a community of six million digitally connected athletes and is set to expand with the recent launch of the NIKE+ FuelBand, a wrist-based device designed to track everyday activity.

    The new Nike+ Basketball experience breaks down the user’s game to deliver information and measurement, which in turn provides motivation. Nike+ Basketball measures how high, how hard and how quick players play each game.

    Nike+ Training transforms a daily workout from a necessity to something fun. The experience fuses the appeal of gaming with high-intensity fitness to create the perfect training companion to a 24/7/365 lifestyle.

    The technology in both experiences utilizes a new Nike+ Pressure Sensor built into each shoe that collects information about the user’s movement and then wirelessly transmits data to their phone. It is then translated into different metrics delivering previously unknown information about either their workout or their game.

    NIKE, Inc. President & CEO Mark Parker unveiled the new NIKE+ technology at an event in New York attended by U.S. sprinter Allyson Felix, Super Bowl Champion Victor Cruz, and boxing world champion Manny Pacquiao.

    “NIKE+ allows us to connect the physical world of sport with the social elements of digital to create a better sport experience for every athlete,” said Parker.  “It’s about much more than a shoe.  It represents a shift for NIKE from product, to product + experiences.”

    All styles of the NIKE+ enabled footwear will be available and at retail June 29, 2012, in the US, UK, France, Germany and Mainland China.

     

    Awesome Steampunk machine uncorks and pours wine for you with style

    Gadgets Team
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    Awesome Steampunk machine uncorks and pours wine for you with style

    There’s just something awe-inspiring in complicated, mechanical gadgets. The winding gears and whirring cranks of old-timey devices strike a nostalgic chord in our hearts. That’s why we were smitten when we saw the Robb Higg’s needlessly complicated yet awesome Steampunk wine-uncorking-and-pouring machine. Seriously, this 1000 pound amalgamation of metal, springs and awesome takes way to long to uncork and pour wine but heck, it does it in absolute style. Short version is we want the damn thing, even if it takes almost a minute to pour us wine.

    Source: Automata Blog

    Microsoft demos 1ms touchscreen

    Gadgets Team
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    Microsoft demos 1ms touchscreen

    As good as current touchscreen technology is, there’s still quite a bit of lag between your actual finger swipes and the time that it takes for the screen to show what you’ve written. Latency is the enemy here – the lower the latency, the more responsive the screen becomes. Microsoft wants that particular issue to be a thing of the past, and has demoed an ultra-high performance touchscreen with an extremely low latency of 1ms, which compared to typical 100ms touchscreens, is a huge leap forward. Unfortunately it’s not known if Microsoft made the touchscreen as a mere proof of concept device or their actually pushing to get this kind of tech into our tablets and smartphones soon. Until then you can view the astounding performance of the tech in the video linked below.

    Source: Tech Crunch

     

    A single malicious link can take control of your smartphone

    Gadgets Team
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    1
    A single malicious link can take control of your smartphone

    Here’s a tale that’s sure to make you watch what you web links you click on your smartphone: researchers from security firm CrowdStrike has found a way to wrest control of your smartphone away from you via a single bad weblink. Demonstrated at last month’s RSA security conference, George Kurtz demonstrated before a packed audience how he and his colleagues took control of an Android smartphone via one bad link masquerading as a firmware update from a his carrier. Once he clicked on the link, a small program downloaded into his device and rebooted it, and from then on, he and his colleagues had complete control of the device, without the owner being aware.

    The’re able to do this via bugs in the component of Android’s browser that’s present in both the 2.2 and 2.3 version of the mobile OS. If BlackBerry and iOS owners think they’re in clear, think again – WebKit, the the browser component that was exploited, is also at the core of the Web browsers found in Apple’s iPhone and iPad devices, BlackBerry phones, and Google’s TV devices.

    Kurtz said that to prevent attacks like these, mobile providers and OS developers need to make more frequent updates to patch possible security holes. The prevention of a massive data breach like this also falls on the heads of users, which should not click on every link that lands in the mobile device – lest it be the opening that people who want to spy on you are waiting for.

    Source: Technology Review

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