Articles about Mobile

GIFs are, sadly, here to stay. We've come a (relatively) long way since the days of animated GIF adverts that adorned countless web pages through the 90s, but the animated image format is still highly divisive -- and I'm not just talking about whether it is pronounced with a hard or soft G sound.

Some people loathe GIFs with a passion that knows no bounds, while for others they are the perfect means of communication. If you fall into the latter camp, Twitter has some good news for you -- a 'GIF search' button is making its way to the web, as well as the iOS and Android apps.

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While I love iOS when it comes to mobile devices, Linux is my true love on the desktop. Android used to be my choice for mobile, but I jumped ship due to scary exploits and untimely (or nonexistent) OS updates. Linux should be synonymous with security, but Google's mobile OS has tainted that, sending me into Apple's loving arms.

Luckily, Google is not the only Linux player with mobile -- Canonical is still moving ahead with Ubuntu. True, it is a long shot to ever meet or exceed iOS or Android in market share, but fans of Linux and other open source software should pay attention. Today, Canonical announces the Meizu PRO 5 Ubuntu Edition -- a premium and luxurious smartphone.

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Generally speaking, biometrics refers to the measure or statistical analysis of a person’s physical or biological characteristics. However, increasingly the term is being defined more narrowly, at least in a business context, to refer to biometric security.

Although passwords can be guessed and network vulnerabilities exploited, overcoming biometric security protocols is significantly more challenging. For example, how would a cybercriminal go about duplicating a fingerprint or an iris scan? As a result, the unique aspects that make up our physical features are increasingly being utilized for authentication methods by businesses all over the world.

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Technology to previous generations involved radio, TV, record players and perhaps even 8-track tape players, but today's youth have smartphones and tablets and are connected all of the time. Messaging apps have replaced phone calls and social interaction takes place via the internet.

On the heels of the gift-giving season, which likely featured a few iPads and the like, Logitech has looked into the prospect of young children with these devices. The survey includes both US and UK parents.

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At a time where cyber security is infiltrating the consciousness of consumers and businesses alike, finding the right balance between security and convenience has never been more important.

To that end, digital identity and credentials firm Intercede has launched RapID, a new security solution that delivers password and token free access to cloud services from mobile applications.

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Companies looking to market to mobile users rely on being able to reach users at the times and places when they're most receptive.

A new report from mobile advertising company AppsFlyer looks at the behavior of app users and how it differs between operating systems and around the world.

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Shopping via mobile phones is now the default in the UK, a new research by market intelligence company SimilarWeb suggests.

According to the research, 64.54 percent of all website visits, by UK shoppers to retailers, was made via a mobile device this year. With these figures, the UK has now surpassed the US (55 percent), Germany (43 percent) and France (35 percent). It is still, however, lagging behind India, a country with 65 percent of mobile shoppers.

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Facebook is closing down Parse, its mobile development platform, just three years after acquiring it for $85 million. The shutdown comes as something of a surprise as it is not long since Facebook was talking about using Parse to make giant steps into the Internet of Things.

But it seems that Facebook's IoT future is going to be one that is Parse-free. The shutdown will take place over the course of the next year, but starts with immediate effect. As of right now Parse is in wind-down mode, and will be fully shuttered by January 28, 2017. Believed to power tens of thousands of mobile apps, the killing of Parse will see Facebook diverting funds to other ventures.

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The way in which we work has changed significantly in recent times. It was not that long ago that your standard office job meant being tethered to your desk from nine to five, glued to your PC screen. The rise of smartphones and web apps, however, have disrupted these traditional ways of working, granting employees more freedom than ever before. But this new mobile workforce also poses challenges for the modern business, particularly regarding security.

Of course, organizations cannot afford to restrict workplace mobility, as this would see them overtaken by a more flexible and innovative competitor. Therefore, businesses are tasked with enabling mobility without introducing vulnerabilities into the workplace -- which is where mobile device management comes in.

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Smartphones are a hot commodity, meaning thieves want them, but they are also relatively small and easily lost or forgotten. There's an app for that. Well, several apps in fact. Creating ways to find misplaced or stolen phones has become a cottage industry, but these products have limitations.

Locating a device isn't an exact science. It's more just narrowing down an area and then making it a guessing game through triangulation via cell towers -- although using GPS works rather better.

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We've heard endless talk about our phones being tracked by the government and law enforcement, all done without a warrant. In other words, it's a massive gathering of data "just in case it's needed". That's a very broad swath, and likely most of it is never used for any reason, though there may be scans for certain keywords -- bomb, would be a good example.

The rules for this data gathering have been challenged in court and the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is at the forefront of this battle.

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There’s been a new twist in the litigation between Oracle and Google over copyright infringement, after Oracle claimed Google breached copyright by inappropriate use of Java in Android.

A lawyer representing Oracle has now made the astonishing revelation, in court, that Google revenue from Android, since 2008, is $31 billion. This staggering figure relates to $22 in profit derived from Google’s two Android revenue streams, advertising on mobile Android platforms and the revenue it receives from sales on Google’s Android app store.

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Cryptography has become popular in the post-Edward Snowden era. Everyone seems to be worried about being spied upon and is looking for ways to avoid it. While the majority of users likely have nothing to hide, it's still a creepy feeling to know that someone can, and possibly is, checking what you say and do.

There has been a lot of talk about adding backdoors, mostly from those who want to spy and those who simply don't understand the technology. The latest of this is currently taking place in New York.

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The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has given BT the go-ahead for a takeover of EE. The merger of the largest mobile provider in the UK with the country's largest landline provider creates a giant that rivals are concerned about.

The newly conceived communications behemoth has fingers in not only mobile and landline pies, but also TV and broadband. While the CMA's decision is not a surprise, rivals such as Vodafone, TalkTalk and Sky have voiced their disapproval, saying that the merger will have a negative impact on competition.

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2015 was a year for the record books in information and cyber security. Dozens of new vulnerabilities were uncovered, and government organizations, businesses and individuals continued to find themselves victims of high-profile data breaches.

As we settle into the new year, we don’t expect this trend to slow down. We foresee more security issues on the horizon that must be addressed in order to ensure privacy for companies and consumers in the year ahead. Here are our predictions on what’s coming in 2016:

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