There’s a
lot of great stuff in this issue, including Mark Pickavance’s feature on using
an Android phone in place of a PC, and James Hunt’s intriguing examination of
Foxconn.
However,
what really caught my attention this week was two BBC Breakfast presenters
completely failing to grasp how Google’s targeted advertising actually works.
For those
who missed it, they were talking to a Google representative about privacy
policies, but couldn’t seem to understand that your emails and search term
aren’t passed on to advertisers.
That’s not
to say Google doesn’t need to be closely monitored and that the amount of data
it holds on us isn’t somewhat troubling, but it does show how out of touch some
of those in the mainstream media are.
You can see
the whole embarrassing thing at tinyurl.com/6qykes3.
Android Mobiles in Security Risk
Manufacturers
are still letting us down
Android mobiles at risk
The Mobile
World Congress has brought up another slice of news, and it’s not great for
manufacturers of Android mobile phones.
British IT
security company MWR InfoSecurity has stated that Android mobiles are being
compromised on a daily basis, exposing users to a genuine security risk. The
reason for this is, by all accounts, because those pesky manufactures are not
doing enough to safeguard us all from said risks. Curse them!
The
security problems that exist with Android phones essentially concern exposing
private information – particularly problematic when it comes to mobile banking,
of course. The company has actually identified more than ten vulnerabilities
specific to Samsung smartphones and tablets and has gone so far as reporting
these issues to Samsung in Korea, no less.
So here’s
hoping that the manufacturers start to pull their collective finger out and
sort the security to make the mobile world a better place.
Well, we
can hope, can’t we?
Acer’s Liquid Glow
This
summer, another smartphone is coming to town.
Acer’s Liquid Glow
Billed by
Acer as a handful of friendship and fun, which is comfortably one of the worst
straplines we’ve seen on a product for some time, the Liquid Glow smartphone
has been unveiled at the 2012 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.
The Liquid
Glow is based on Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, and promises to bring ‘a
balance between style, performance and affordability’.
What does
that mean in reality? A 3.7” screen, neat curves, chrome details, a soft-touch
casing and a choice of three colours.
Throw in a
5MP rear camera with an LED flash for low light, a panoramic image capture,
touch focus, plus Android Beam for sharing photos with another NFC-powered
Android device in a single tap, and we’re suddenly far more excited about this
one. Expect it to compete with lots of other phones come its summer release.
Sock-et to Flaky Wi-fi With Power Sockets
Geddit?
Power ethernet Sockets
It’s always
nice to be able to write about a British tech firm, so it’s with a skip in our
step that we bring you news of Brit technology start-up Power Ethernet and its
Power Ethernet Sockets.
The sockets
will cope with the increased demands of superfast broadband, which may appeal
to any multiplayer gamers among you. Based on the HomePlug AV standard for
power-line networking, the Power Ethernet Socket offers four Ethernet network
ports and a filtered power socket in a unit that replaces your standard double
power socket in your wall.
You’ll have
to install two or more sockets for your home network, of course, and if you’re
wondering what it offers over traditional power-line plug-in adaptors, then
Power Ethernet suggests that it’s more robust and reliable, and this is a
permanent solution.
The website
for more details is www.powerethernet.com.
