Items tagged with smartphone
It's been no secret that most law enforcement, including the biggest US government agencies, would rather encryption didn't exist outside of its own use. Just this past week, we saw the Department of Justice defend its stance on scooping up user data en masse, and in September, we talked twice about the 'major...
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By 2020, around 90 percent of the world's population over 6 years old will own a mobile phone. Furthermore, smartphone adoption is expected to double up in the same period, with smartphone subscriptions on pace to top 6.1 billion by 2020, according to the latest Mobility Report by Ericsson, a Swedish multinational...
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Facing growing competition from low-end handset makers and a resulting reduction in overall sales and revenue, Samsung has decided to cut back the number of smartphone models it offers next year. Samsung says the move will lower costs and hopes the strategy will slow, stop, or even reverse the profit slide it's been...
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Phew, we can all breathe a sigh a relief that the scooping up of our sensitive mobile phone data -- things like text messages, call records, browsing history, pictures, contact, and more -- is completely legal, or so the government says. Doesn't that make you make feel much better about the U.S. Marshal Service's use...
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If you thought you'd seen the last of the Nokia brand stamped onto handsets, think again. The Finnish company is reportedly looking to re-license the Nokia brand to mobile device makers, even though Microsoft negotiated a deal to use the Nokia name for the next 10 years when it purchased the company's mobile division...
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The Department of Justice's U.S. Marshals Service division has reportedly been employing fake cellphone towers on planes in an effort to stay one step ahead of criminals such as drug dealers and terrorist organizations operating in the United States. Unfortunately for law abiding citizens and privacy advocates at...
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For many years, one thing in particular worked well for BlackBerry: building phones with physical keyboards and fantastic battery life. It's a very different mobile world these days, with BlackBerry trailing almost everyone else in terms of both mind and market share, but that's not stopping the slimmed-down outfit...
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When the topic turns to smartphones and market share, it's usually the same two names that are thrown around -- Samsung and Apple. Fair enough, since the two companies dominate the market, but let's not forget that there are other handset makers continuing to chip away pieces of the market for themselves. Such as LG...
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One of the few ways to feast your eyes on Android 5.0 Lollipop is to pick up a Google's Nexus 6 device, which unfortunately is still out of stock on Google Play (Protip: AT&T is accepting pre-orders online and in-store for the Nexus 6 today). Otherwise, it's mostly a waiting game, though if you own an unlocked...
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Tired of pounding the F5 key on your keyboard in hopes that the next page refresh will finally see the Nexus 6 as being in stock on Google Play? Eventually that strategy will pay off -- whether or not your keyboard survives or carpal tunnel sets in are other matters entirely -- but if you're an AT&T subscriber, or...
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Ah, nothing says "I love you" like...99 iPhone 6 handsets arranged in a heart? Yeah, we think not. Unfortunately, a Chinese programmer somehow came up with the not-so-brilliant idea of spending around $82,000 on the aforementioned smartphones as part of a horribly conceived marriage proposal on November 11, otherwise...
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It looks like a Nokia, and it smells like a Nokia... it must be a Nokia, right? Not so fast. Now that Microsoft has swallowed up Nokia's devices division, it's putting that fabled name to pasture. The Lumia branding remains, but there's no Nokia logo here -- this is the Microsoft Lumia 535. It's the first phone to...
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Just when you thought the ship had sailed for glasses-free 3D displays on smartphone devices, a rumor has surfaced that Apple is toying with the idea of implementing one on its next iPhone handset. As the rumor goes, the "naked eye 3D screen," as it's referred to in a Chinese-language report, would be part of a bigger...
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A new era in the smartphone business is about to begin. Come next Tuesday, Microsoft will fully unveil its first Lumia handset without the Nokia brand attached, a decision the company made by choice rather than being forced into due to any legal roadblocks. In fact, when Microsoft purchased Nokia's mobile phone...
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Cutthroat competition in the wireless space has the big four -- AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, and T-Mobile -- all trying to one-up each other with what seems like a constant roll out of new plans. You can be forgiven for not keeping up with them all -- that's our job, and in case you missed it, AT&T this week...
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Samsung is always talking about the next big thing, though barring any surprises, the company is out of major product releases for the rest of the year. That means the next big thing is coming in 2015, and already there are hints that Samsung is planning to make a big splash with its successor to the Galaxy S5, its...
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Anyone who pre-ordered a Nexus 6 from Google probably feels like a kid on Christmas Eve, only waiting for that magical day when your device will be shipped is even more difficult when you have no idea when it's coming. At least you were one of the lucky ones who managed to get your pre-order in before Google ran out...
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Missed your chance to place a pre-order for Google's Nexus 6 smartphone? You're not alone -- the device sold out in a matter of minutes with no option to get in line when Google replenishes its inventory. That's either a bummer or a blessing in disguise if you're willing to consider alternative options such as...
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As we're seeing in the smartphone wars, size matters these days, but lest you think the segment is growing stale with little else to offer than bigger displays, wait until you see Samsung's forthcoming Galaxy Note Edge. It's the first smartphone of its kind with a functional, curved display that wraps around the side...
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After a recent judge ruling, the ultra-secure fingerprint login feature your smartphone may offer doesn't seem quite so secure after all. Virginia Beach Judge Steven Frucci has ruled that while a person does not have to hand over their phone's passcode so that law enforcement can gain entry, a fingerprint is fair...
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So, how's that Fire Phone working out for you? Oh, you don't own one? Welcome to club. If you're like the vast majority of smartphone owners, you're carrying a handset made from Samsung, Apple, or even HTC. But the Fire Phone? It was supposed to be Amazon's next big thing, like the Kindle, only it wasn't. And if you...
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You've probably noticed that smartphones aren't getting any smaller these days (even Apple caved to the craze with the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus), though one way handset makers can offer bigger size displays without adding to the physical bulk of the smartphone itself is by reducing the bezel. There aren't many...
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