All Posts in Android

|In: Android|Last Updated:

Let’s face it- we have all done it! We’ve all been part of a massive war with someone or the other- the war of Android v/s iOS and iPhone. We all love our smartphones more than we love our partners, parents and kids! With every passing month, the market gets flooded with newer phones that are getting bigger, sleeker and more advanced!

With 4 months gone, let’s take a look at the winning smartphones till now

Samsung Galaxy S6

Samsung finally entered the sleek and shiny league of smartphones with this beauty- a phone with Gorilla Glass protective covering and real aluminium. Its Octa Core processor with an HD touch 2560 X 1440 display with a 5.1 inch screen makes it an object of envy! A high end 16 MP camera with image boosting and image stabilization is sure to capture perfect photos in any kind of settings. The phone comes in attractive colours of White Pearl, Black Sapphire and Gold Platinum. Samsung removed certain features like air gestures and Air View and have fine-tuned this model by enhancing its sound and audio.

This phone is sure to blow your mind as well as of those around you- get one now you’re guaranteed to love it!

Apple iPhone 6

Apple has once again given us a winner with its latest addition to the iPhone gallery- the Apple iPhone 6 with a sleek finish and an HD retina display. It boasts of a high pixel resolution of 1334 x 750 and a ppi of 326. It has a 4.7 inch multi touch screen with IPS technology. Apple finally provides a phone which can take beautiful photos with this offering- its 8 MP iSight camera with five element lens will sure give any other phone a good run for its money. It also offers a finger print scanner in built into the Home Button.

Moto X

With a 5.2 inch edge to edge display and 1080p HD display this phone is hard to resist! It’s a state of the art phone delivering quality performance because of its Chipset Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 Processor. It’s 13 MP rear camera provides 4x zoom to catch even the tiniest of movements which is enhanced with a Dual LED Ring Flash. With a battery of 2300 mAh it promises a talk time of upto 17 hours!

Get this sleek and stylish phone today! It’s worth buy.

OnePlus One

This is an epic phone providing you with an amazing battery life and a sharp and clear display. It comes with a tonne of features at a very reasonable price with a full HD display and an awesome 13 MP camera and a 2.5 GHz  quad core Snapdragon 801 Processor.

The phone boasts of a Cyanogen Mod interface which makes the icons and home screen appear flatter giving it a more appealing look. This interface also offers higher security and gives your apps a variety of control on how they should be protected. It offers the best of Samsung and LG at a fraction of their cost!

It’s a tough battle out there with each smartphone trying to win you over with their amazing features and enhanced quality. With so much variety to pick from, go get the best phone that suits your budget and meets all your whims and fancies!

|In: Android|Last Updated:

Ringo, a unique international calling app, that provides high quality low cost international calls without using the internet, now allows its users to make free international calls to any mobile or land-line in the world by providing them ways to earn free calling credit.

Ringo

The newly launched “Offerwall” section enables users to earn free Ringo credits within the app by installing various recommended advertiser apps including games and productivity tools. Each third party app a user installs can earn them up to Rs. 20 in free credits which instantly reflects in their Ringo account. 

Bhavin Turakhia, CEO & Founder, Ringo says  

Many of our users spend up to Rs. 50 each month on making international calls using Ringo which would have typically cost them as high as Rs. 450 had they been using their mobile operator’s network. So, we are already helping our users save immensely on their international calling costs. But now, with the introduction of Offerwall within the app itself, many of our users can eliminate their entire monthly expense of staying in touch with their family or friends abroad through just a few easy clicks. This aligns well with our vision of making high quality international calls affordable for the masses.

Ringo now has close to half a million users worldwide & given the expanding base, the company is also committed to user privacy and security. Ringo screens every offer before including it in the Offerwall to ensure that none of the sponsored apps are malicious in nature, collect any information about the user or ask for sensitive information like credit card details. None of the offers require any payment or any data from the user to avail of the free credit.

About Ringo

Ringo is an international calling app that uses a unique call flow to provide best-in-class call quality at costs lower than other popular calling apps. Ringo calls do not use the Internet, wi-fi or data and instead relies on regular phone lines. Ringo is unlike any international calling app available today and is unparalleled in cost, convenience, simplicity and reliability. Ringo is available for download on iOS, Android and Windows app stores, and can be also downloaded directly from the website

Image Credit* – indianweb2

|In: Android|Last Updated:

Zoho has launched Inbox Insight, a minimalist mobile app for Zoho Mail that works like a search engine for the inbox. Inbox Insight fetches and displays only relevant messages based on user search queries, rather than bring in a barrage of emails and then sort them, as mobile apps do today. The new app is available for both iOS and Android smartphones.

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Inbox Insight Highlights

Faster retrieval – Inbox Insight presents a simple search box. Users specify criteria, like sender name, subject, attachments or date range. Inbox Insight whips out only relevant emails from the server.

Saved searches – Users can save searches and enable push notifications, so they get notified when new emails match their search. Saved searches are also available when users get back on their web browsers.

Quick sorting – Messages can be sorted quickly by simply swiping left to flag, label, archive or delete.

Learning algorithms – With every use, Inbox Insight learns more about the user and offers suggestions that make searches even faster.

Inbox Insight works with Zoho Mail, the company’s business-focused email application that combines a clean, ad-free interface with powerful features geared for professional users. Zoho Mail is free for up to 25 mailboxes.

Pricing and Availability

Inbox Insight is free and available immediately for iOS and Android smartphones.

For more information on Inbox Insight, please visit the Official Zoho Page

|In: Android|Last Updated:

Broadcom Corporation introduced a new smartwatch platform  at the MWC 2015 that reduces power consumption for Android Wear devices. The platform offers Original Equipment Manufacturer’s [OEM’s] more features including GPS with sensor hub processing & wireless charging support.

Broadcom’s new smartwatch platform reduces power usage by up to 40 percent over the previous generation, driving further improvement on the core challenge of battery drain in wearables. The platform improves function and performance by offering a smaller form factor, enabling OEM’s to add more features or include a larger battery inside their wearable to allow for even longer time between charges.

BROADCOM LOGO

In addition to an advanced Application Processor [AP] & Broadcom’s leading Wi-Fi and Bluetooth combo chip in the new platform, OEM’s can choose to integrate GPS with sensor hub processing, Near Field Communication [NFC], Wireless charging support & camera support based on their product needs. With smartwatches expected to account for more than half of wearable shipments in 2015, there is a significant opportunity for companies to integrate a variety of features and quickly bring products to market.

Speaking at the occasion, Larry Olivas, Broadcom Senior Director, Business Development, Wireless Connectivity Combos said:

Smart-watches represent a big piece of the wearable pie & Broadcom’s new platform expands opportunities for Android Wear developers designing both high-end and affordable devices. As a company that is in a majority of the top smart-watches for 2015, we have the expertise and long-standing connectivity leadership to power the next wave of wearables.

By providing a complete smartwatch reference design including hardware, Android Wear-enabled software, an optimized Bill Of Materials [BOM] & a rich set of features, Broadcom empowers OEM’s to quickly develop robust consumer products to capture the growing market.

Broadcom’s Smart-watch Platform includes:

  • Broadcom wearable system-on-a-chip [SoC] including 4 A7 Application Processor & 2G/3G modem support
  • BCM4343 – Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.2/Bluetooth Smart combo chip
  • BCM4773 – GPS SoC with integrated sensor hub
  • BCM20795 – NFC and secure element support
  • BCM59350 – Wireless charging support
  • Camera support
  • Support for Android Wear OS

Availability

Broadcom’s new smartwatch platform is now sampling.

|In: Analytics|Last Updated:

Announced at the MWC 2015, Ford launched a new app named MyFord Mobile that enables electric vehicle drivers to remotely connect their smartphone with the car to manage charging & even set a chosen cabin temperature before their journey.

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Drivers will be able to use the app and associated website to remotely manage the status of their car, check the range, and plan journeys to include charging.

Taking inspiration from gaming and personal fitness apps, MyFord Mobile shows CO2 savings as exercise balls, or hot-air balloons; reflects the energy efficiency of different driving styles through “Zen” and “Zippy” ratings; and offers tips on how efficiency might be improved.

Among the first vehicles to offer MyFord Mobile in Europe will be the zero emission new Focus Electric that will now feature SYNC 2 voice-activated connectivity, which Ford announced would be available in spring 2015. MyFord Mobile also is available for the C-MAX Energy plug-in electric hybrid vehicle.

Speaking about the app, Don Butler, executive director, Connected Vehicle and Services, Ford Motor Company said

MyFord Mobile makes owning an electric vehicle even more convenient. It displays CO2 savings in terms of objects everyone is familiar with, and shows how further energy efficiencies can be achieved in a way that is easily understood. Electric car drivers want to understand the environmental benefits their vehicle brings, and also to know how they could improve their contribution to help make a better future. MyFord Mobile helps them to do this.

MyFord Mobile

Supported by a dedicated website and available for iOS and Android, the MyFord Mobile app connects to the car via an on-board modem that sends data directly to a remote server.

2015 FORD MYFORD MOBILEAs well as informing drivers when they have made CO2 savings equivalent to that required to fill an exercise ball or a hot-air balloon, badges, pop-ups, and alerts also let drivers know when they have reached certain zero-emission distance benchmarks, such as covering a distance equivalent to one round-the-world trip. Personalized feedback advises how range might be improved, for example, by optimising regenerative braking. Drivers also can track driving habits over time, and monitor how changes in behavior affect energy consumption.

The Go Times feature enables drivers to prepare the car so that it is charged and ready to go with a pre-set cabin temperature, at a specific time and date. Plugged in, it will use energy from the grid, rather than the battery to heat or cool the car.

The app uses integrated HERE maps that can help drivers locate their car as well as plan journeys and locate charge stations. Drivers can personalize the app with car name & color, charge profiles and charge scheduling.

Available in English, Dutch, French, German and Spanish, MyFord Mobile is free for the first five years of vehicle ownership.

Download Links

Android – https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ford.mfm&hl=en

iOS – https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/myford-mobile/id599142823?mt=8

|In: Android|Last Updated:

Intel Security released its McAfee Labs Threats Report: February 2015, including assessments of the mobile threat landscape and the failure of mobile app developers to patch critical Secure Sockets Layer [SSL] vulnerabilities, potentially impacting millions of mobile phone users.  McAfee Labs also revealed details on the increasingly popular Angler exploit kit, and warned of increasingly aggressive Potentially Unwanted Programs [PUP’s] that change system settings & gather personal information without the knowledge of users.

McAfee Labs researchers found that mobile app providers have been slow to address the most basic SSL vulnerabilities: Improper digital certificate chain validation. In September 2014, the Computer Emergency Response Team [CERT] at Carnegie Mellon University released a list of mobile apps possessing this weakness, including apps with millions of downloads to their credit.

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In January, McAfee Labs tested the 25 most popular apps on CERT’s list of vulnerable mobile apps that send login credentials through insecure connections and found that 18 still have not been patched despite public disclosure, vendor notification, and, in some cases, multiple version updates addressing concerns other than security. McAfee Labs researchers simulated man-in-the-middle (MITM) attacks that successfully intercepted information shared during supposedly secure SSL sessions. The vulnerable data included usernames and passwords and in some instances, login credentials from social networks and other third party services.

Although there is no evidence that these mobile apps have been exploited, the cumulative number of downloads for these apps ranges into the hundreds of millions. Given these numbers, McAfee Labs’ findings suggest that the choice by mobile app developers to not patch the SSL vulnerabilities has potentially put millions of users at risk of becoming targets of MITM attacks.

This crimeware package contains easy-to-use attack features and new capabilities such as file-less infection, virtual machine and security product evasion, and the ability to deliver a wide range of payloads including banking Trojans, rootkits, ransomware, CryptoLocker & backdoor Trojans.

Some of the highlights of the report are below:

Mobile Malware

McAfee Labs reported that mobile malware samples grew 14 percent during the fourth quarter of 2014, with Asia and Africa registering the highest infection rates. At least 8 percent of all McAfee-monitored mobile systems reported an infection in Q4 2014, with much of the activity being attributed to the AirPush ad network.

Potentially Unwanted Programs

In Q4, McAfee Labs detected PUPs on 91 million systems each day. McAfee Labs sees PUPs becoming more and more aggressive, posing as legitimate apps while performing unauthorized actions such as displaying unintended ads, modifying browser settings, or collecting user and system data.

Ransomware

Beginning in Q3, the number of new ransomware samples began to grow again after a four-quarter decline. In Q4, the number of new samples grew 155 percent.

Signed Malware

After a brief drop in new malicious signed binaries, the pace of growth resumed in Q4 with a 17 percent increase in total signed binaries.

Total Malware

McAfee Labs now detects 387 new samples of malware every minute, or more than six every second.

The full McAfee Labs Threats Report: February 2015 can be downloaded from here

|In: Mobile|Last Updated:

Intel Security, announced that it will deliver its McAfee Mobile Security software pre-installed in the first Samsung smartphones running the Tizen open-source operating system, further delivering on their commitment to redefine the consumer security market.

Tizen is an open and flexible operating system built from the ground up to address the needs of stakeholders of the mobile and connected device ecosystem, including device manufacturers, mobile operators, application developers and independent software vendors.

tizen

Recent Intel Security research found that the manipulation of legitimate mobile apps and services has played a key role in the expansion of mobile malware, highlighting the need for robust security options to detect threats across multiple operating systems.

One of the most common behaviors of mobile malware included collecting & sending device data to build a profile of the owner’s behavior. Another threat associated with device hijacking makes the mobile device into a bot and installs other, even more malicious malware.

The latest version of McAfee Mobile Security for Android, iOS & Tizen devices enables consumers to run instant privacy and security scans, as well as allowing users to easily remove the apps that may pose the most significant risks.

Intel Security Tips On Protecting Consumers’ Privacy

In addition to running regular scans of your smartphone, Intel Security offers these tips to help safeguard your privacy either via apps or online:

Prevent unauthorized access – Lock your device with a personal identification number or password

Use comprehensive security software on your mobile device – The sad truth is that malicious apps are not going away anytime soon. So, having security installed on your mobile device that helps protect your privacy and identity is a must. McAfee Mobile Security [free to both Android and iOS users] offers a variety of protections, including ones to help Android users dodge harmful apps

Avoid downloading apps from third parties – By taking this one simple step and only downloading apps from trusted online sources like Apple’s App Store & Google Play, users can lessen your chance of downloading a malicious app

Don’t open a link or file from someone you don’t know – Whether you receive a link or file through email, social media or text message, it is always best to avoid opening attachments from unknown senders

For more information on Intel Security & Tizen, please refer the links [here & here]

|In: Business|Last Updated:

IndiaMART, India’s leading online marketplace for businesses, announced the launch of its Mobile Application for Windows operating system. The Mobile App would assist the Windows users in finding the right business partners, even while on the move. Buyers could easily fulfil their requirements by searching for relevant suppliers, comparing prices, sending enquiries, posting requirements, etc., any-time and anywhere, by using a smart and intuitive, yet simple interface. The Mobile App is available for download on the Windows Store and has been designed for Windows 08 and above.

According to Dinesh Agarwal, Founder & CEO, IndiaMART

The industry has been evolving each day, to drive the customer experience a notch higher every time. As per statistics, India is the second biggest user of Windows phone in the world, with a user base of 7.5%. Having registered over 5 lakh App downloads on the Android & iOS platforms, we strongly felt that the launch of the Windows App was important and inevitable. We are extremely confident that our new initiative would open up an array of business opportunities for Windows users.

 

Mobile has proved to be an important medium for our business, with about 40% of the traffic on IndiaMART coming through mobile. Also, we have found that the average time being spent on IndiaMART Mobile App is more than the average time spent on our mobile site, clearly pointing towards a growing importance and usage of Apps. We are delighted to see a good response for our Windows App so far, with over 20,000 installations already witnessed within a few days of its launch. We expect this to grow further, and help more and more buyers and sellers grow their businesses.

The App also provides various benefits to the sellers, especially to the small and medium enterprises, by facilitating on-the-go business for them. IndiaMART Windows App supports exclusive features for individual seller accounts, as well as detailed product listing view as per categories and sub-categories, among many interesting aspects.

With this new App on Windows, IndiaMART is the only online marketplace, with its mobile application available on all major platforms, including Android, iOS, and Blackberry.

Do give IndiaMart Windows App a spin & share your feedback/comments.