Samsung Galaxy S4 has serious security flaws, research from Israel

Samsung Galaxy S4, best selling smartphone by the company, has such a system that is seriously vulnerable to hacking allowing the malicious software to check the emails and other data, as reported by cybersecurity researchers at Israel’s Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.

This report of security flaw comes after the release of Knox security platform by Samsung Electronics Co. to prospective customers such as those at the U.S. Department of Defense and other government and corporate entities, in order to compete with BlackBerry Ltd., which is popular for security services for its devices.

"The new unveiled vulnerability presents a serious threat to all users of phones based on this architecture, such as users" of the Samsung Galaxy S4, Dudu Mimran, the lab's chief technical officer, said in a statement.

Samsung "takes all security vulnerability claims very seriously" and it will work on the claims by the company, according to a spokesman of the company.

Source:

Samsung Phone Studied for Possible Security Gap - WSJ (http://goo.gl/k2ZHRM)

A holiday gift for Google+ users on the ending of year

Google has already introduced the #AutoAwesome feature in its Google+ enabling the users to see the falling snow through a picture showing some ice or such things in it. Now the company has announced one more feature, the “#AutoAwesome year in review.”

In the feature, Google will automatically sort through the photos, select the best content and develop a slideshow composed of photos and videos from the year of the user. User will be “notified whenever an awesome (and private) version is ready to share.”

“Of course: many people have been saving and sharing their photos and videos on Google+ all year long. And for those select users we’ve got one more holiday gift: an #AutoAwesome year in review. You’ll get notified in the next week or so if you have one of these movies waiting for you.”

Previously, Facebook introduced the Year in Review feature enabling users to see the noticeable moments on their Facebook life.

via +AnilSabharwal

iOS 7’s jailbreak team has been compensated by a Chinese app store

Taig, a Chinese app store written in Chinese, is rumored to sponsor $1 million to "evad3rs" - jailbreak development team - to jailbreak for Apple’s iOS 7.

The jailbreak team has noted in an open letter on its website that they have received compensation from Taig,

“Yes, we have benefitted financially from our work, just as many others in the jailbreak community have, including tweak developers, repo owners, etc. Any jailbreak from us will always be free to the users but we believe we have a right to be compensated in an ethical way, just as any other developer.” And the compensation is rumored to be about $1 million.

Source:

Rumor: Chinese company pays $1 million to sponsor jailbreak for Apple's iOS 7 - AppleInsider (http://goo.gl/2qdJu7)

iPhone 6 and iPad would come in bigger sizes in 2014

iPhone 6 concept design by ADR studio

Apple Inc. would launch iPhone 6 and next generation iPad with bigger screen in May, i.e. sooner than expected, and October 2014, respectively. These changes in sizes and timings are possible as Apple’s CEO Tim Cook has recently planned big changes for the company as noted in a holiday email to employees.

According to the reports of Digitimes, Apple would launch a 5-inch iPhone 6 “phablet”. Moreover, it would have 20nm processor manufactured by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC). The “sources from the upstream supply chain” have also noted that Apple would “release a 12.9-inch tablet in October 2014, targeting North America's educational market”.

Tim Cook noted, "We have a lot to look forward to in 2014, including some big plans that we think customers are going to love. I am extremely proud to stand alongside you as we put innovation to work serving humankind's deepest values and highest aspirations. I consider myself the luckiest person in the world for the opportunity to work at this amazing company with all of you."

Source:

Apple large-size tablet rumored for launch in October 2014 - Digitimes (http://goo.gl/KVGMcu)

Apple CEO Teases Product Shakeup In 2014 - InformationWeek (http://goo.gl/EsKhWk)

Life sized Lego car - "Super Awesome Micro Project"

Credit: superawesomemicroproject.com

You probably used to play with Lego but you would not have seen such as life sized Lego car. This car also called the Super Awesome Micro Project has about 500,000 Lego pieces. Raul Oaida, a 20-year-old from Romania, made this car.

Its engine is also made of Legos and its 256 toy-block pistons run on air. However, the wheels and some load bearing elements are not from the Legos.

This Lego car recently came on the road with the maximum speed of 12-18 miles per hour.

Raul Oaida (@rauloaida) met Steve Sammartino (@sammartino), an Australian entrepreneur, online, and Sammartino crowd-funded the project on Twitter.

Apple and China Mobile have finally joined hands in iPhone deal

A worker cleans glass in front of an iPhone 5C advertisement at an apple store in Kunming, Yunnan province, in this October 27, 2013 file picture.

CREDIT: REUTERS/WONG CAMPION

Apple Inc and China Mobile Ltd. have finally signed a multiyear iPhone deal. Now, China Mobile - the world’s largest mobile network - will sell iPhone 5s and 5C models in its retail stores starting the mid of next month, i.e. January 17, 2014. The phones for China Mobile’s network will also be available in Apple’s retail stores in China.

This deal came after about 6 years of meetings between the CEOs of both companies giving Apple access to China’s 1.22 billion wireless subscribers. The terms of the deal have not been announced and the details of pricing and availability for its iPhone 5S and 5C lines would be available at a later date.

“iPhone still matters a lot for high-end customers,” Tucker Grinnan, a Hong Kong-based analyst at HSBC Holdings Plc, said by phone before the announcement. “One of the main reasons China Mobile is in the position that it is today, in terms of growing revenue at a much slower pace than its competitors, is because they have been waiting for an iPhone deal.”

China Unicom (Hong Kong) Ltd. started offering iPhone in November 2009. It is the nation’s second largest carrier. China Telecom Corp. started offering iPhone in March 2012. It is the nation’s third largest carrier.

Sources:

Apple Signs China Mobile IPhone Deal as Both Seek Market Share - BusinessWeek (http://goo.gl/1SsmFG)

Jailbreak for Apple devices with iOS 7 has been launched

Evasi0n team known as Evad3rs has finally launched jailbreak for iOS 7 to hack the Apple’s latest version of iPhone and iPad software that can give access to a third-party app store called Cydia having many of the unauthorized apps and software. Previously, the same team launched the jailbreak for iOS 6.

Jailbreaking is a very simple process in which the users have to install some software on the computer and then sync it with his/her iPhone or iPad by plugging it in with a USB cable. You can get further information and the software from the Evasi0n website; http://evasi0n.com/.

However, jailbreaking would result in denial of your warranty, so that in case of any problem, Apple has the right to refuse to fix the device for you.

"It is also important to note that unauthorized modification of iOS is a violation of the iOS end-user software license agreement and because of this, Apple may deny service for an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch that has installed any unauthorized software," Apple writes.