Amazon is rumored to be developing two high-end smartphones, as well as an audio-streaming device, broadening its range of branded hardware products well beyond its current Kindle e-readers and Kindle Fire tablets and its expected -- though as yet unconfirmed -- TV set-top box. The big surprise in the latest rumor is that one of the smartphones might actually support 3D video, using retina-tracking technology to display an image much like a hologram, which would appear three-dimensional at nearly all angles.[More...]
In what is believed to be one of the biggest robberies ever executed, cyberthieves stole nearly $50 million from a pair of Middle Eastern banks. Far from bullying their way into vaults, members of this crime ring reportedly hacked into credit card processing firms and withdrew money from ATMs in 27 different countries.[More...]
Peruse any big consumer electronics box-store aisles, and you can't help but notice a new style of peripherals hugging the displays. App-driven devices are appearing on store shelves that let homeowners manage and monitor home systems like thermostats and security using a smartphone or a tablet. There are sensors, styluses and add-ons. Later this year, we'll likely see a plethora of smartwatches.[More...]
Time, Inc., together with Google, the U.S. Geological Survey and Carnegie Mellon University's Create Lab, on Thursday launched a website featuring timelapse animations depicting changes in Earth's surface from 1984 to 2012. The animations are based on satellite images collected as part of the Landsat program, conducted jointly by the USGS and NASA since 1972.[More...]
The war for gamers is heating up with BlueStacks' introduction of GamePop, a system that will allow users to play thousands of mobile gaming apps on a TV screen. The GamePop custom console and game controller are being offered free through the end of May to subscribers who sign up for the $6.99 per month service. Gamers can preorder the system now, with the console expected to ship in the winter.[More...]
Ren Zhengfei, the founder and CEO of Huawei Technologies, spoke to the media for the first time on Thursday. Ren, formerly a member of the Chinese military, has been the focal point of Western skepticism toward Huawei -- which resulted in the company being barred from a broadband project in Australia, as well as being labeled as untrustworthy in a U.S. House Intelligence report.[More...]
Content aggregation site Klout has expanded its partnership with Microsoft to provide Bing users with access to answers from Klout experts. The site, which pulls data from Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Google+, Blogger and other sources, rates an individual's influence, based on a 100-point scale. Klout seeks out those who have real clout -- that is, who are influential about certain topics.[More...]
There are ways to stop spam, but what do you do about bogus email -- that is, email that appears legitimate but isn't? Fake emails are sent by criminals in order to get your money, or to take advantage of your computer's processing power and Internet connection to launch Web-clogging Denial of Service attacks on other networks.[More...]
Nokia has created a video that shows off the PureView camera in its upcoming Lumia 928 handset and more importantly show how it compares to two of its rivals. The video highlights how the new Lumia 928's 8.7 megapixel camera fares better in low light, and how the optical image stabilization can handle fast movements.[More...]
YouTube viewers curious about what other users are watching across the country can now find out, thanks to a new feature from the streaming video site that displays data about what is being shared and viewed throughout the U.S. The new YouTube Trends Map, which made its debut this week, is an interactive graphic map of the country that displays which videos are the most popular.[More...]
The Obama administration appears to be sending a message to privacy advocates that it's taking their issue seriously by creating a new position devoted to it -- and choosing a high-profile tech lawyer to occupy it. The White House reportedly is tagging Nicole Wong, Twitter's legal director for products, for a top privacy post.[More...]
Police in Beijing arrested 11 suspects believed to be involved with a major high-definition downloading ring. The website, silu.com, was running what has been called an "unprecedented" operation. It reportedly boasted more than 400,000 registered members and offered under-the-table downloads for nearly 19,000 films and TV series.[More...]
Viber, a proprietary cross-platform instant messaging VoIP app for
smartphones, is now available for Windows and Mac OS X desktops, Viber Media announced on Tuesday. The mobile version of Viber runs on Android, iOS, Symbian and some versions of the BlackBerry and Windows Phone OSes.[More...]
Whatever you think of the controversy that periodically springs up over some ratings websites, they are undoubtedly useful for gathering information about businesses, products and services. Here we take a look at some of the best specialist ratings and search apps for iOS. At the top of the list is Yelp, which provides crowdsourced localized search for businesses close by.[More...]
Sony introduced its new line of entry-level laptops on Tuesday. The new Vaio Fit series starts at around $550 with the Fit E, which offers Intel's Core processors, discrete Nvidia graphics processors, and hybrid hard drives, as well as a full-sized keyboard and trackpad. The step-up Vaio Fit, at $649, offers an aluminum chassis.[More...]