Articles about Smartphone

Twitter today announces a number of key changes to the way its messaging system works. Until now it has only been possible to exchange a private Direct Message with another user if you both follow each other. This all changes as Twitter introduces the ability to DM anyone as long as they have the feature enabled on their account.

Just last week, Twitter announced that it will use a Dublin-based branch to handle all non-US account data but today's news is all about communication. If you're happy to receive DMs from anyone on Twitter, you can flip the switch on a setting that makes this possible.

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A new study of nearly 14,000 information security professionals worldwide shows that two-thirds of respondents are concerned about the addition of multiple security technologies, often referred to as sprawl.

The Global Information Security Workforce Study (GISWS) produced by (ISC)² a not-for-profit membership body of certified information and software security professionals worldwide, is largest study of the information security profession ever conducted.

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Microsoft thinks that typing on a mobile device is difficult. At the same time it understands that "you love to discover images" on the very same devices. To help make your mobile searches a little easier to conduct, the company is introducing a number of tweaks and changes to the iOS and Android Bing app.

Of course it is not possible to entirely eliminate the need to input words in order to conduct a search, but Microsoft has taken steps to reduce it to an absolute minimum. How has this been done? Enter simple search terms and you're provided with a couple of new ways to drill down to exactly what it is you're looking for with just a few taps.

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Becoming reunited with your lost phone just got a whole lot easier. It doesn’t matter if you're alone and don't have access to another phone to ring your cell to see if it has slipped down the back of the sofa. To make life a little easier, Google is rolling out a feature that enables you to conduct a Google search for your phone.

Whether you have mislaid it in the house, or somewhere further afield, Google will help you to track down your beloved handset. You just need to make sure that your phone is updated with the latest version of the Google app and you're ready to go phone hunting. It's a bit like an extension of the feature found in Android Wear, so how does it work?

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Following on from yesterday's confirmation that Nokia was in talks with Alcatel-Lucent regarding a possible buyout, the Finnish company has now gone ahead with the purchase. Nokia is paying €15.6 billion ($16.6 billion) for the French telecoms equipment manufacturer. The deal is expected to be finalized in the first half of 2016, subject to shareholder approval.

The coming together of forces is very much a forward-looking venture. Nokia says that the combination of Nokia Technologies and FutureWorks with Alcatel-Lucent's Bell Labs will allow for "unparalleled innovation capabilities". Nokia also announced that it has initiated a strategic review of its HERE business, but it is not yet clear whether this will ultimately result in its sale.

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To compete in the low-end smartphone market, Windows Phone vendors have opted for the sensible approach of prioritizing cost over features. As a result, there are plenty of affordable options to choose from that can be had for much less than $100 off-contract. The downside is that the low-end Windows Phones that more demanding consumers might want to buy are few and far between.

Those smartphones may cost more -- much more compared to an entry-level Microsoft-branded offering like Lumia 435 -- but they are also much more enjoyable, and better equipped for long-term usage. And the new Lumia 540 Dual SIM that Microsoft just unveiled more than fits the bill.

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At the beginning of the week rumors started to creep out that Nokia was interested in buying Alcatel-Lucent. The story started with a report on Bloomberg and -- rather surprisingly for such rumors -- Nokia decided to not only comment on the rumor, but confirm that it is true.

Details are still rather thin on the ground and there's no hint at a possible timescale for a buyout of the French telecoms firm. What the statement does do, however, is open up the interesting possibility that Nokia could be on the verge of re-entering the smartphone market after offloading the handset side of its business to Microsoft.

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Enterprise data can be put at risk from DDoS attacks, but whilst larger businesses have the resources to guard against these attacks smaller ones sometimes struggle.

Security company Imperva is committed to protecting data for all sizes of business with the release of its latest Imperva Incapsula cloud-based application delivery service.

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Intel has managed to shrink its depth-sensitive RealSense 3D Camera to the extent that it could be used in the next generation of cell phones. This is about more than just 3D photography, this is about taking photographs and changing the focus afterwards, as well as bringing Kinect-like gesture support to mobile devices.

Talking at an event in Shenzhen, China, Intel CEO Brian Krzanich demonstrated a much smaller version of its existing technology. So far we have only seen the RealSense 3D camera in laptops such as the Acer Aspire V 17 Nitro, but the miniaturization means that it could be a feature of your next phone or tablet.

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HTC today revealed a new interpretation of its One M9 flagship. Dubbed One M9+, it is slightly bigger, powered by a different processor, offered with a proper fingerprint sensor on the front and fitted with a Duo Camera setup on the back. Oh, and it's also hideous.

There's no sensible way to describe how One M9+ looks. HTC has taken One M9, enlarged it so it fits a marginally bigger display and that fingerprint sensor, and called it a day. The ugly HTC bar above the BoomSound speakers is still there, and so are all the soft navigation buttons. Clearly, the company's designers haven't put much thought into One M9+.

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Announcing a new top-of-the-line smartphone around the same time rival manufacturers are also showing off their latest flagships is not an inspired move, which is why LG has decided to unveil its upcoming G4 after MWC 2015, leaving HTC, Samsung and the like fighting for the public's attention.

So, the new G4 will debut later this month, at a dedicated event that LG is holding on April 28. The flagship will arrive 11 months after its predecessor, G3, and, unlike its rivals, the South Korean maker has already revealed some details about the camera and software.

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Enterprise security is a constant battle between good and evil which means that businesses can't afford to be complacent when it comes to guarding against threats.

Networking specialist Cisco is unveiling a number of new capabilities and services designed to give security professionals the edge in protecting against and dealing with attacks.

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Every new high-profile smartphone is subjected to a bend test nowadays. It's become a tradition following the launch of iPhone 6 Plus, which has been found to easily bend under pressure. So, naturally, when it came time to test Samsung's new Galaxy S6 edge and HTC's new One M9, SquareTrade chose Apple's phablet to serve as the basis for comparison.

Galaxy S6 edge appears to be more fragile compared to Galaxy S6, due to the rounded screen which minimizes the level of protection offered by the surrounding metal frame. Meanwhile, HTC's One M9 has a more traditional form factor, similar to last year's One (M8), which should help it fare better. So how easily do they bend?

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Samsung finally seems to have got things right in its flagship smartphone. After receiving flak for years for using stale design language and cheap plastic material in its Galaxy smartphones, the South Korean technology conglomerate took to the stage last month to announce the metal clad Samsung Galaxy S6 with glass panel at both front and back ends. But if the $679 off-contract retail price seemed exorbitant to you, there is a clone of the S6 out there costing just $169 from a shady Chinese smartphone company.

Called the Goophone S6, the handset resembles the Galaxy S6 and comes in four color options -- golden, white, black, and blue. From the chassis to the design, to the logo, the resemblance is uncanny. As for the hardware, the smartphone comes with a dual-core MTK6572 processor clocked at 1.0GHz or a quad-core MTK6582 clocked at 1.3GHz (if you're happy to shell out an extra $40), and 512MB and 1GB RAM options. The phone runs on Android 5.0 and comes with enticing air gesture control, and heart rate monitor features. Needless to mention that the Goophone S6’s offering is nowhere close to the powerhouse Samsung has launched.

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Google says that it is keen for Android to be a secure platform for developers and end users alike. It's not a unique claim; Apple would likely say much the same about iOS, and Microsoft about Windows Phone/Windows 10 for Phones.

To demonstrate how fervently it has been working away at improving security and introducing new security-focused features, Google today published a report looking back on Android security in 2014. Dubbed the Android Security State of the Union 2014, it makes for interesting reading. It includes the revelation that nearly 10 million Android devices have potentially harmful apps installed.

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