Mobile Apps Could Be Exposing Your Personal Data
July 31, 2010
Lookout, a mobile security company, embarked on an completely huge study that analyzed the code of some 300,000 Android and iPhone apps. Dubbed the App Genome Project, it looked at a large cross-section of mobile apps and found that an unsettling number of them were accessing your personal information, and sometimes without alerting you. According to Lookout, 33-percent of iPhone and 29-percent of Android apps accessed the phone’s location data, while 14-percent and 8-percent of iPhone and Android apps (respectively) were accessing contacts stored on the device.
Making these numbers even more worrisome is the fact that 47-percent of Android apps and 23-percent of iPhone apps included third-party code that could easily expose personal information or contain security flaws, even without the developer’s knowledge. This reusable code (often from advertising or analytics networks) is also very difficult to patch and can cause trouble for numerous programs. Revelations like these highlight the growing importance of mobile security, which is, of course, the very business that Lookout is in. The company sells mobile malware scanning and data backup tools, so it certainly has something to gain from a little bit of paranoia. But as they state, just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they’re not out to get you. [From: Lookout, via: New York Times and Venture Beat]
Filed under: Cell Phones, Google, iPhone
Mobile Apps Could Be Exposing Your Personal Data originally appeared on Switched on Thu, 29 Jul 2010 09:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
V-Swing Camcorder Records and Analyzes Your Golf Swing
July 31, 2010
Golfers are notorious for dropping thousands of dollars on swing coaches to lower their scores, but a new camcorder claims to render those pricey lessons unnecessary by making you the coach. According to DVICE, the V-Swing is a hands-free camcorder that attaches to a golf bag and records your swing as close as six feet from the tee. The $350 device has a wide-angle lens mounted on a long, adjustable neck. You can watch your swing in full-speed, slow-motion or even frame-by-frame on the V-Swing’s 3.5-inch screen. Once golfers are done at the course or range, they can review their wobbly swing mechanics with the help of the included V1 motion-analysis software, which lets users upload their videos to the Web for critique by community golf pros.
Sure, you can’t share a beer at the clubhouse with the V-Swing, but it’s cheaper than a human coach, and, best of all, it doesn’t berate you when you slice into the water hazard for the third consecutive time. [From: DVICE and V-Swing]
Filed under: Cameras, Summer Fun
V-Swing Camcorder Records and Analyzes Your Golf Swing originally appeared on Switched on Thu, 29 Jul 2010 08:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
BlackBerry OS 5.0 For Download
July 31, 2010
Looking to get OS 5.0 on your BlackBerry Bold or BlackBerry 8900 Well, thanks to a couple of leaked firmwares online, you’ll be able to download them and give it a try. Do bear in mind that not all applications are going to work on OS 5.0 at this point in time. As usual, remember to always backup your data and settings beforehand.
Permalink: BlackBerry OS 5.0 For Download from Uberphones | Good deals | Hot: BlackBerry Storm
V-Swing Camcorder Records and Analyzes Your Golf Swing
July 31, 2010
Golfers are notorious for dropping thousands of dollars on swing coaches to lower their scores, but a new camcorder claims to render those expensive lessons unnecessary by making you the coach. According to DVICE, the V-Swing is a hands-free camcorder that attaches to a golf bag and records your swing as close as six feet from the tee. The $350 device has a wide-angle lens mounted on a long, adjustable neck. You can watch your swing in full-speed, slow-motion or even frame-by-frame on the V-Swing’s 3.5-inch screen. Once golfers are done at the course or range, they have the ability to review their wobbly swing mechanics with the help of the included V1 motion-analysis software, which lets users upload their videos to the Web for critique by community golf pros.
Sure, you can’t share a beer at the clubhouse with the V-Swing, but it’s cheaper than a human coach, and, ideal of all, it doesn’t berate you when you slice into the water hazard for the third consecutive time. [From: DVICE and V-Swing]
Filed under: Cameras, Summer Fun
V-Swing Camcorder Records and Analyzes Your Golf Swing originally appeared on Switched on Thu, 29 Jul 2010 08:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Zynga shutting down Street Racing game, offering credit for in-game buys
July 31, 2010
Zynga told Develop that it wouldn’t be offering refunds on the money spent in-game, opting instead to give credits equivalent to the cost of any purchase made in the last 90 days, plus an extra 100 units of virtual currency, all usable in other Zynga games. Which is really going to satisfy the people planning to cease playing Zynga games when Street Racing goes away.
Zynga shutting down Street Racing game, offering credit for in-game purchases originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 31 Jul 2010 03:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Steering Wheel for iPhone and iPod Touch
July 31, 2010
The title explains it all. CDA Digital’s new accessory for the iPhone and iPod touch is a steering wheel that does nothing more than to hold the iPhone or iPod Touch while playing a racing game, giving the gamer a slightly more realistic feel of the game and not to mention a little more style too. The basic version has only the wheel, so the player still has to hold it up in the air in addition to the weight of the smartphone. The second has a base with a suction cup mount that attaches to a flat surface, sparing the gamer some muscle work. Needless to say, it works, and no electronics are involved in the steering wheel and therefore should not cost too much, probably somewhere between $20 to $30.
Permalink: Steering Wheel for iPhone and iPod Touch from Uberphones | Good deals | Hot: BlackBerry Storm
Kindle App for Your iPhone and iPad Gets Dictionary, Search
July 31, 2010
Earlier this week, we reported that Amazon was upping its game with even cheaper versions of the Kindle, but it has also updated the Kindle app on the iPad/iPhone/iPod touch, adding a couple of unremarkable yet needed features.
The Kindle app now has a search function, which was inexplicably absent before. It’s also able to look up words and phrases through Wikipedia and Google, but not within the app itself. (It just moves into Safari, but with fast-app-switching celerity.) We very much enjoy the included 250,000-word dictionary, which takes a minute to download, and runs within the software, so that readers don’t have to lose their places. That’s great news for us, since we still have not grown accustomed to the Kindle app’s bizarre line/page numbering system. [From: iTunes, via: Wired]
Filed under: iPod, iPhone, Handheld Devices, Back to School
Kindle App for Your iPhone and iPad Gets Dictionary, Search originally appeared on Switched on Fri, 30 Jul 2010 13:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
‘Congress’ App Brings Voting Records and Political Tweets to Android
July 30, 2010
There is more than one political junkie on the Switched staff, and the lot of us get pretty excited whenever we see a cool app that makes it easier to keep on top of the happenings in Washington. iPhone owners already have a host of options for tracking Congress, but, until now, Android users have been largely left in a lurch. Thanks to the Sunlight Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to government transparency, that has changed.
The simply entitled ‘Congress‘ app puts nearly any information you could possibly desire at your fingertips, delivering your representative’s contact information, voting record and Twitter handle. While you can manually search for a particular congressperson from the home screen, you can also set the app to pull up your district’s elected rep using GPS.
Continue reading ‘Congress’ App Brings Voting Records and Political Tweets to Android
Filed under: Cell Phones, Downloads, Web
‘Congress’ App Brings Voting Records and Political Tweets to Android originally appeared on Switched on Fri, 30 Jul 2010 07:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
BlackBerry 9630 And 8520 Release Dates
July 30, 2010
Eager to pick up a new BlackBerry device Well, the folks over at BoyGenius have come up with some possible release dates for the BlackBerry Tour 9630 and Curve 8520. It seems that the Curve should be available on T-Mobile sometime in Q4, while the 9630 Tour should be available on Verizon on July 13th. These aren’t official dates, but hopefully they’re accurate and will give us a guideline as to when the devices will be available.
Permalink: BlackBerry 9630 And 8520 Release Dates from Uberphones | Good deals | Hot: BlackBerry Storm
New T-Mobile G1 Render
July 30, 2010
This pictured render of the “G1 v2” phone certainly looks attractive, especially with its sideway-sliding QWERTY keyboard. If the rumors are correct, such a device might be hitting the retail stores for about $150. The device will obviously be powered by Google’s Android. Based on the picture, we’re certainly looking forward to seeing this device in stores.
Permalink: New T-Mobile G1 Render from Uberphones | Good deals | Hot: BlackBerry Storm
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