Sunday, July 31, 2011

Vital Cell Phone Tech News Update: Your iPhone 4, 3GS are Spying on Your Every Move

iphone spy on youThis has not told by the marketing team of Android, it is according to security researchers Pete Warden and Alasdair Allan, your iPhone or iPad is keeping a record of every step you take, storing this data and sharing it with the devices that sync with the iPhone or iPad. What’s troubling is that this information is unencrypted and can be accessed and viewed by anyone.

According to The Guardian, Warden and Allan discovered that devices running iOS 4 keep a record of time-stamped coordinates in a file called “consolidated.db.”

When the iPhone or iPad is connected to a laptop, this sensitive file is copied from the portable device to the laptop. Anyone who opens the file can scroll through and see a history of where you’ve been.

The pair have set up a site explaining their discovery. From their description:

Cell-phone providers collect similar data almost inevitably as part of their operations, but it’s kept behind their firewall. It normally requires a court order to gain access to it, whereas this is available to anyone who can get their hands on your phone or computer. [...] By passively logging your location without your permission, Apple have made it possible for anyone from a jealous spouse to a private investigator to get a detailed picture of your movements.

Why are these Apple devices storing users’ geolocation data? The answers are not immediately apparent.

“One guess might be that they have new features in mind that require a history of your location, but that’s pure speculation. The fact that it’s transferred across devices when you restore or migrate is evidence the data-gathering isn’t accidental,” Warden and Allen say on their site.

They also believe that Apple may be the only company whose devices are storing customers’ geolocation data.

“Alasdair has looked for similar tracking code in [Google's] Android phones and couldn’t find any,” Warden told The Guardian. “We haven’t come across any instances of other phone manufacturers doing this.”

Warden and Allen have developed an iPhone Tracker app that maps the location data stored in the iDevice. You can watch a video (below) to see a visualization of an iPhone owner’s trip from Washington D.C. to New York City and back.

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Digital Camera & Gadget Technology News Update: Here is The World’s Smallest HD Camera

smallest_HD_camera

There is no doubt that Japanese are the leaders when it comes to gadgets, so by following there tradition the Tokyo-based Thanko, has showed up with the world’s tiniest high definition digital camera. Designed for people with really tiny fingers, this camera may be minuscule, but it certainly isn’t a joke.

Dubbed the MAME-CAM DX, this little 14g (.03 lbs) digital camera can take brilliant JPEG photos with a whopping resolution of 3,264 x 2,448. This translates to a megapixel rating of 8, which is pretty high for even regular digital cameras, not to mention a miniscule one.

Not only can it capture great pictures, but it can even record videos in AVI at a 1,280 x 960 resolution. Admittedly, this isn’t that great of a resolution. It’s actually just a bit better than XGA. But the key here is that it records it at 30 frames per second, which is a really nice frame rate.

What really separates this tiny toy from any similar mini cam on Earth is that it supports microSD and SDHC cards up to 32GB. And it includes a USB port for transferring your photos to your computer. It’s like a Panasonic camera that’s been compacted.

If you’d like to buy it for $99, check out Thanko’s store. If you, however, prefer something more exciting, then consider taking a look at Thanko’s silent keyboard, waterproof spy watch, and USB-powered neck tie.

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smallest_HD_camera

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2011 Cell Phone Tech News Update: Now Here Comes Tiny HP Veer (www.drmobiles.co.nz)

HP-VeerThis race will never over, now here comes the Veer! Is the world ready for a 2.6-inch touchscreen phone? Who knows! That’s the fun part.

HP just sent out invites to a May 2nd “Launch Party” which, as the name suggests, is likely for the launch of the Veer. However, Monday May 2nd might not be the day the Veer hits the general retail market although the first week of May sounds about right. Now this doesn’t seem like a press event — at least we didn’t get an invite.

Instead it seems that this is for retail associates of some level because after registering, a note pops up indicated that a Best Buy or AT&T ID or business card is required to attend. AT&T, eh? Yeah, the small phone hitting the ol’ telephone & telegraph company.

Of course the rest of the pertinent launch info is missing. Pricing and exact launch date isn’t mentioned in the invite. Hopefully HP and AT&T doesn’t price this phone out of its likely niche market. Anything more than the $50 iPhone 3GS will doom the Veer in a Kin-sort of way.


This post is sponsored byDr Mobiles Limited
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Future rumours and tech news leak: iPhone 5 Would Feature Curved Glass? www.drmobiles.co.nz, Auckland, New Zealand

Though many expect the next iPhone to look similar to the iPhone 4, a new rumor from DigiTimes suggests that a future version of Apple’s iPhone (perhaps the iPhone 5, perhaps the “iPhone 4S”) may feature a significant design change.

DigiTimes’s “industry sources” with knowledge of the supply chain claim that Apple’s next handset will feature a curved glass display.

“Cover glass makers are reluctant to commit investment to the purchase of glass cutting equipment due to the high capital involved,” the sources said.

DigiTimes also writes that Apple has purchased between 200 and 300 glass-cutting machines, but notes that the company is still working out a production timetable with suppliers and manufacturers. Earlier rumors have hinted at a September release date for the next iPhone.

No word on whether the “curve” will give the phone a more ergonomic feel, like that of the slightly concave Samsung Nexus S, or whether it will resemble the convex display of the previous generation of iPod Nano devices.

This post is sponsored byDr Mobiles Limited
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September 2011: How Different Will Be An iPhone 5? (tech, news, iOS5, leak, preview, mod, modding), Auckland, New Zealand

iphone-5

Phone 5 (or the iPhone 5G, as some are calling it) rumours are flying thick and fast already.
Will the 5th generation iPhone deliver ultra-fast mobile internet? What other specs will it feature?
Let’s raid the iPhone 5 rumour fridge to find the tomatoes of truth amid the stinky stilton of baseless speculation.

iPhone 5 release date

The Apple Worldwide Developers’ Conference 2011 date has been announced as 6 June 2011, so it’s possible we’ll see the iPhone 5 break cover there. However, Jim Dalrymple at The Loop says that this year’s WWDC will be about software, not hardware, with Apple focussing on iOS and Mac OS.
This fits with Apple’s established rhythm of iPhone releases, with new models appearing in late June or early July each year. So it’s a safe bet that the iPhone 5 release date (UK and US) will also be late June or early July.

The usual July release date was mentioned by Engadget’s source too in January 2011 – meaning the standard release cycle looks set to continue.
A new report from China later stated that Q3 (which still includes July) is now the earliest we will see the iPhone 5, after the disaster in Japan pushed back supply of key components.
On 20 April 2011, it emerged that the iPhone 5 release date may now be September 2011 rather than June/July. This date was cited by three sources who spoke to Reuters.
Our colleagues on T3.com have rounded up the latest rumours in the iPhone 5 video below.

iPhone 5 form factor

The Wall Street Journal reported that: “Apple is also developing a new iPhone model, said people briefed on the phone. One person familiar said the fifth-generation iPhone would be a different form factor than those that are currently available… it was unclear how soon that version would be available to Verizon or other carriers.”
This has since been backed up by reports from Engadget we reported on 17 January 2011, which state the design will be a ‘total rethink’.

Of course, since the iPhone 3G was followed by the 3GS it’s possible the new iPhone won’t be a total refresh and we’ll see an iPhone 4S (or iPhone 4GS) before an iPhone 5.

However, reports from China have backed up the larger-screened, metal chassis-sporting iPhone 5 rumours, so the redesign still seems firmly on the cards.

On 22 March 2011, China Times also reported that the iPhone 5 will feature a 4-inch display.
A rumour we covered on 7 March 2011 suggests that the new iPhone will do away with the glass back and opt instead for a metal back which will act as a new iPhone antenna.

And an Apple patent that we reported on on 7 April 2011 suggests that we could see the bezel put to good use on the new iPhone. The patent describes how visual indicators and touch-sensitive buttons could be incorporated to the space around the iPhone screen.

A cheaper, smaller iPhone 5 – an iPhone nano

A prototype version of a smaller iPhone is said to exist, built to ward off competition from cheap Android handsets.

Rumours around an iPhone nano picked up again on 13 February when the Wall Street Journal claimed that the so-called ‘iPhone nano’ exists and may even be on sale later this year.
Those iPhone nano rumours may hold little truth, though. As we reported on 18 February, the New York Times cites an anonymous source who says there will be no smaller iPhone from Apple. “The size of the device would not vary,” says the source.

A white iPhone 5

The Economic Daily News is reporting that white iPhone 5 glass is being shipped, with a supplier called Wintek being the sole touch panel vendor for the white iPhone.

iPhone 5 specs

According to the Chinese Economic Daily News (via AppleInsider), with the exception of Qualcomm chipsets – which would replace the current Infineon chipsets in the iPhone 4 – Apple’s sticking with the same suppliers for the 2011 iPhone 5G components.

We’d expect the basics of the iPhone 5 specs to get a bump – more memory, faster processor, and more storage.

The specs? A new antenna, 1.2GHz processor (possibly dual-core) and a larger screen: 3.7″ instead of 3.5″. The iPhone 5 may also be made from a new kind of alloy, or maybe meat.

In other rumours which surfaced on 15 February 2011, Digitimes is reporting on information supposedly leaked from component suppliers that claim the iPhone 5 will feature a larger, 4-inch screen. Digitimes quotes the source as saying that Apple is expanding the screen size “to support the tablet PC market as the vendor only has a 9.7-inch iPad in the market.”

We’re also hearing word of a multi-core design, in keeping with the rest of the mobile world, as Apple looks to improve both battery life and performance.

 

The iPhone 5 will also get a massive graphical boost as it moves to a dual-core GPU – this could herald true 1080p output from the new device, according to our news story on 18 January.
UPDATE: On 10 March 2011 it emerged that the A5 chip, found in the new iPad 2, looks to be headed to the iPhone 5, bringing enhanced functionality and dual-core power.

iPhone 5 digital wallet

There’s been some speculation that Apple might include Near Field Communication (NFC) technology in the iPhone 5G, turning it into a kind of credit/debit card. However, as Techeye.net notes, “Apple has looked into NFC before” so this might not be imminent.

However, with the tech being inside the Google Nexus S, the time for NFC may finally be here.
UPDATE: On 24 February 2011, we reported that an Apple patent has revealed an e-wallet icon on the iPhone homescreen. This adds credence to the rumour that iPhone 5 will feature NFC.

However, on 14 March 2011, reports in The Independent cited sources from ‘several of the largest mobile operators in the UK’, who said that Apple told them not to expect NFC in the iPhone 5. So perhaps we’ll have to wait for iPhone 6 for that.

But who to believe? On 22 March 2011 China Times reported that the new iPhone will include an NFC chip.

LTE support

At least one analyst thinks the iPhone 5 will support LTE, super-fast mobile broadband, in the US. That would make the iPhone 5G a 4G phone, which won’t be confusing at all. LTE is certainly coming – AT&T plans to roll out its LTE service in 2011 – but an LTE iPhone has been rumoured for a while. USA Today floated the idea of an LTE iPhone on Verizon last year.

iPhone 5 camera

Speaking at a live Wall Street Journal event, Sony’s Sir Howard Stringer was talking about the company’s camera image sensor facility in Sendai, a town that was recently ravaged by the recent Japanese earthquake and tsunami.
According to 9to5Mac, he said something along the lines of, “Our best sensor technology is built in one of the [tsunami] affected factories. Those go to Apple for their iPhones… or iPads. Isn’t that something? They buy our best sensors from us.”

iPhone 5 price

If the iPhone 5 is an evolutionary step like the move from the iPhone 3G to the iPhone 3GS then we’d expect the price to stay more or less the same, although in the UK higher VAT rates may well mean a higher price tag.

iPhone 5 pictures

A spurious photo of an iPhone 5 front case has been unearthed by a Chinese reseller, suggesting that the next Apple handset will feature an edge-to-edge display. We’re not convinced it’s a genuine

Apple part, though.

On 17 March 2011, we reported on another supposed set of leaked iPhone 5 cases, this time looking remarkably similarly to iPhone 4 cases.

What do you want to see in the next iPhone? Hit the comments and share your thoughts.

 

 

This post is sponsored byDr Mobiles Limited
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> No inspection fee at all!
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> Free 30 min parking
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Honeycomb: Motorola Xoom Review - www.drmobiles.co.nz, Tel: 09-5515344

motorola-zoom-with-dock

This week “Motorola Xoom” hits the UK  market with amid awave of hype as one of the first Android tablets to run Honeycomb, the operating system designed specifically for the larger devices. But can it really challenge Apple’s iPad?

The Good

First things first: the Xoom is a really nice product. Really. It’s well made, in the traditional Motorola ‘I am big macho slab of technology you could probably bring down a charging bear with’ way. It’s quick and powerful, the dual core processor and 10 inch screen delivering a potent multimedia experience. If you’d dropped this into someone’s lap 16 months ago, it’d have blown their mind (and hurt their lap). Even just a few months back, before the iPad 2 was revealed, it was justifiably feted – winning ‘Best In Show’ at CES, and what have you.

And there’s a huge amount to enjoy about the software too. In plenty of ways, Honeycomb totally owns the iPad’s iOS – especially in the two areas where Apple’s software is in dire need of a makeover, notifications and multitasking. Notifications pop up unobtrusively in the lower right hand corner, letting you deal with them at your leisure, while you can switch between recently used apps with ease thanks to a simple button in the bottom left that brings up your last five opened apps. Quite simply, Apple needs to fix this in iOS 5 – because otherwise they’re in danger of getting left behind here.

And there’s plenty of other quality in Honeycomb too. The native Google apps – Gmail, Maps, YouTube and the like – are outstanding, while the pleasingly customisable interface, letting you position apps and widgets how you like, is very user friendly. The browser, an elegantly tabletised version of Chrome complete with tabbed browsing, wipes the floor with most other mobile device browsers. Oh, and it runs Flash – and it actually works. That’s right, no choppy, crashy nonsense here, just your actual proper, smooth, working Flash video on a mobile device. Beware low-flying pigs, people.

And while Steve Jobs’ snide comment that Honeycomb had fewer than a hundred apps designed for it (compared to tens of thousands for the iPad) may be technically true, it does rather miss the point – Android apps are already built to scale well between different screen sizes. As such, you won’t have a problem filling up your screens with perfectly functional, good-looking apps. The standard Android Angry Birds looks better at this size than it does on small screens; the official Twitter client and Tweetdeck work fine, expanding to fill the space (and fit in more tweets); the Kindle app offers a gorgeous full-screen reading experience. Even if some apps look a little weird at first, they still function perfectly well.

The Less Good

Sadly, while it’s excellent in so many ways, the software isn’t without its bugs. We don’t want to jump on the old ‘Android apps force close all the time’ bugbear (if you think iOS doesn’t force close apps for no apparent reason, you haven’t being paying attention – it just doesn’t give you an error message like Android does) but it’s more prevalent on Honeycomb than on any recent interation of the smartphone version.

And there’s a host of other weird glitches as apps try to get to grips with a slightly unfamiliar environment. The Spotify app seems to keep believing that it doesn’t have an internet connection, when it does. Trying to close open apps is inconsistent – shutting them down, either with the onboard app manager or a third party task killer, sometimes simply doesn’t work. Some apps inexplicably don’t scale up to the tablet size, staying as a little phone-sized box on the screen (Drop 7, looking at you.)

And while the distinction between Phone Android and Tablet Android apps is less distinct than in iOS world, it still would be nice if you could navigate the Android Market to seek out only apps that were designed for, or have been shown to work properly, on your device
Lots of these problems will, in all likelihood, be fixed before too long, as app developersupdate their apps and Google work on the next iteration of Honeycomb. But right now, despite its many impressive qualities, the whole experience feels more like a final beta release than a fully polished product.

The Bad

Put bluntly, the Xoom’s simply too heavy and too thick. We thought the iPad 1 was too heavy, frankly – you couldn’t hold it in one hand for any length of time without getting a severe case of wrist-ache. (We still maintain we were right about this, and the 15 million people who bought one were wrong.) And the Xoom is a bit heavier and thicker than even the iPad 1 was. Yes, it’s more portable than even the average netbook – but it doesn’t fulfill the promise of tablets, because you still need to rest it on a surface of some kind, or have metal arms or something. Even if you accept some buggy software – that’ll get fixed in a few months, right? – the Xoom’s ungainly heft seems like a deal-breaker when everyone knows that slimmer, lighter Honeycomb tablets are on the way over the coming months.


This post is sponsored byDr Mobiles Limited
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> No inspection fee at all!
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Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Auckland Apple iPhobe 4 Repair: 2 broken screens and one AT&T network unlock by Dr Mobiles Limited

P2193
Busy morning, within 20 minutes upon opening our mobile phone repair lab. Two units if broken digitizer and one unit for unlocking. All are from different owners.

This post is sponsored byDr Mobiles Limited
1 Huron Street, Takapuna, North Shore 0622Tel: (09) 551-5344 and Mob: (021) 264-0000
Web FaceBook - Localist Posterous - Twitter - Blogger - Flicker  - Map - Email 

Uploaded via Apple iPhone 4!
Why Dr Mobiles Limited?
The only professional repair centre who DOES NOT charge inspection fees on faulty phones.
> No inspection fee at all!
> 1 hour iPhone 4 repair
> Repair while you wait
> Free 30 min parking
> Free loan phone