Logitech announces Harmony Elite remote control
We are in the golden age of television and entertainment. True, some of the best comedies are in our past, such as Seinfeld, All In The Family, and Family Ties to name a few, but shows such as The Walking Dead and Game of Thrones are some of the most riveting entertainment ever. Of course, YouTube is also home to some wonderful videos from people like PewDiePie.
If you want to easily control all of this entertainment in your living room, investing in a solid remote control is a good idea. A coffee table littered with remotes is not only unsightly, but inconvenient too. Logitech's Harmony line of remotes have been wildly popular, and for good reason -- they are well-made and work brilliantly. Not to mention, some models can handle home automation and connected-home appliances. Today, the company announces the latest such remote, Harmony Elite. This is perfectly timed for football season!
Microsoft to kill Zune services on November 15
Remember Microsoft Zune? Yeah, the last ounce of it is set for a demise later this year. The company has announced that it will be retiring the Zune music service on November 15.
The company's attempt to take on Apple's iPod music players, will not allow users to stream or download content from Zune after November 15, says Microsoft. Content purchased with DRM might not also have playback support if the license of it could not be renewed, but MP3 files you own should mostly work without an issue.
Apple could soon allow you to remove unwanted stock apps from iPhone, according to Tim Cook
Apple CEO Tim Cook has addressed one of biggest annoyances in the otherwise excellent iPhone. Cook has said that the company is aware that not everybody is a big fan of several stock apps -- more popularly known as junkware, crapware, bloatware -- in the iPhone lineup, and it intends to step back and (almost certainly) give users the ability to remove them.
In a wide-ranging interview with BuzzFeed News, the company's chief executive talked about privacy concerns with the new iPhones, the company's claim of iPad Pro being a desktop replacement, and more importantly, why it doesn't allow users to remove stock apps -- for example, Calculator, Stocks, Tips, Watch -- from their iPhones or iPads.
Popular travel apps have inadequate security
Travel apps have evolved to make life easier for users, with regular updates and enhancements to features and usability. But new research highlights inadequate security in the 10 most popular mobile apps for travel on both Android and iOS devices.
The study by self-defending app specialist Bluebox looked at more than a dozen security parameters in the 10 most popular travel apps on the App Annie iOS Top App Charts and Google Play Top App Charts and revealed that critical flaws were present in all of the apps examined.
Ultimate Ears announces UE BOOM 2
Listening to music on a smartphone speaker is passable, but to truly enjoy your tunes you should invest in good headphones and/or a Bluetooth speaker. While I enjoy bobbing my head while wearing my Beats Solo 2 headphones, sometimes I want to relax on my couch, lawn chair, or bed with nothing on my head. For this, I connect to one of my favorite portable Bluetooth speakers, the UE BOOM.
Today, Ultimate Ears announces a successor to that portable Bluetooth speaker -- the unimaginatively named UE BOOM 2. Yes, this popular speaker is getting an upgrade. The best part, however, is that the price stays exactly the same. Sweet!
Why are non-iPhone makers so stupid?
The first weekend of iPhone 6s and 6s Plus preorders are behind us, but Apple already looks ahead. This morning, the company presumably sought to quell last week's Wall Street jitters in statements to CNBC, Financial Times, and MarketWatch, among other news services popular with investors. This is perception-management at Apple's finest, and it is metaphor for success selling smartphones and why most competitors flounder by comparison.
I didn't receive the statement and so cannot attest to its veracity. But presuming esteemed financial news services accurately report, misdirection isn't much better than this. Apple doesn't give an exact figure, instead stating: "We are on pace to beat last year's 10 million unit first-weekend record when the new iPhones go on sale Sept. 25". How circumspect is that? Ten million the first weekend two weeks later?
Moto X Play review
Motorola’s Moto range for 2015 includes two variants on the standard Moto X. The Moto X Style is focussed on how it looks, and this phone the Moto X Play is aimed at providing a good entertainment experience.
To that end it has a large 5.5-inch 1080p screen, a standard version of Android and a 3,630 mAh battery that promises plenty of use between charges. There’s a 1.7 GHz octa-core processor, 2GB of RAM, 16GB of onboard storage (a 32GB version is available too), plus 21 MP rear and 5 MP front cameras. Naturally it’s 4G and has dual-band Wi-Fi.
The state of Android security [Q&A]
In recent times Android has come under increasing threat from malware which has led to more people looking to install security software on their phones and tablets.
Mobile security specialist 360 Security recently announced that it had gained 11 places on the Android download charts in August, indicating a renewed interest in protecting devices.
Moto X Play with FHD display launches in India starting at Rs 18,499 ($275)
Motorola today launches the Moto X Play in India. The highlights of the handset are its high-end specifications and an equally interesting price point starting at Rs 18,499 ($275) for the 16GB storage variant.
As for other specifications, the Moto X Play sports a 5.5-inch FHD (1920 x 1080) display offering 403ppi pixel density and Corning Gorilla Glass protecting the screen from scratches. It is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 octal core processor clocked at 1.7GHz coupled with an Adreno 405 GPU and 2GB of RAM.
Microsoft shows increased interest in Android by buying Echo Notification Lockscreen
For a company with its own mobile operating system to worry about (yes, there is a new build of Windows 10 Mobile on the way soon) Microsoft shows an awful lot of interest in the competition. After making an appearance at Apple's iPad Pro and iPhone 6s launch event, Microsoft has made an Android-related acquisition.
The newly-purchased Echo Notification Lockscreen is the second Android lockscreen app that the company now has to its name; Echo Notification Lockscreen joins Microsoft Next. The company says it is about taking "productivity to the next level" and improving users' experience.
Android/Lockerpin.A ransomware holds victims hostage by changing their PIN
The latest ransomware to hit Android users attempts to force victims into coughing up $500 by changing the PIN used to lock the device. Disguising itself as a system patch and then a message from the FBI suggesting that 'forbidden pornographic sites' have been viewed, the Android/Lockerpin.A malware differs from previous examples of ransomware that encrypted data.
The malware is impossible to remove without root access or by performing a factory reset. An interesting feature of the PIN change is that even the attacker is unware of what the new code is -- handing over money really makes no difference. But also worthy of note is the way in which Android/Lockerpin.A manages to gain Device Admin privileges.
Adblock Browser arrives on Android, iOS
After some time in the beta stage, Adblock web browser for iOS and Android is as of today officially available in version 1.0.
"Adblock Browser for Android was in an open beta for a while now, and thanks to the amazing feedback we received there, we were able to evolve it into something we’re proud to release", it says in the official news post following the release.
Google slashes the minimum price for Android apps in India
Google has cut the minimum price for which apps can be sold by a fifth. The price cut currently only affects India, and sees the cost plummet from 50 Rs (around $0.75) to just 10 Rs (around $0.15). It is a decision that has clearly been taken to both entice new customers to Android, as well as discouraging existing users from switching allegiances to Apple -- particularly with the launch of the iPhone 6s.
The lower price point was made available to developers at the end of July, but now Google is starting to promote apps and let users know that there are now many apps available for the reduced price. As well as applying to apps and games in Google Play, the 10 Rs minimum now also applies to in-app purchases.
Avant browser tops the vulnerability charts in the May-July quarter
According to the latest quarterly update from vulnerability management company Secunia, the product with the most vulnerabilities over the three months from May to July was the Avant browser and, once again, IBM is the vendor with the largest number of vulnerable products.
Avant clocked 206 vulnerabilities over the period, and this is partly because it uses both the Chrome and Firefox engines making it open to the vulnerabilities in both. Also Avant's July 2015 update was the first major version since March and will therefore include many of the Firefox and Chrome vulnerabilities uncovered in the meantime.
Yu Yunique launches in India, offers 4G LTE for Rs 4999 ($75)
Yu Televentures, an online subsidiary of Micromax, today launches its third smartphone. Targeting the growing affordable smartphone market, the company introduces Yu Yunique. The 4G capable handset packs in an impressive set of specifications for just Rs 4,999 ($75).
The Yu Yunique sports a 4.7-inch HD (1,280 x 7,20 pixels) display and is powered by a 64-bit capable Snapdragon 410 quad-core SoC clocked at 1.2GHz with Adreno 306 GPU. It has 1GB of RAM, and 8GB of internal storage, with support for a microSD card should you need more storage. On the software front, the handset runs Android 5.1 Lollipop.
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