TECH FLASH

 British regulators fined Sony 250,000 pounds ($396,100) on Thursday for having insufficient security measures to prevent a cyber attack on its PlayStation Network.  The attack in April 2011 targeted credit card information through Sony's PlayStation Network and put millions of users' personal information - including names, addresses, birth dates and account passwords - at risk.  Britain's Information Commissioner's Office said Thursday that security measures in place at the time "were simply not good enough." It said the attack could have been prevented if software had been up to date, while passwords were also not secure.  David Smith, deputy commissioner and director of data protection, acknowledged that the fine for a "serious breach of the Data Protection Act" was "clearly substantial" but said that the office makes "no apologies" for that.  "There's no disguising that this is a business that should have known ...

Excited about Samsung's upcoming rival to Apple iPad mini? Now you can also get a glance at the rumoured device. An image of the yet-to-be-unveiled tablet has been leaked online. The photo has been tweeted by a user with Twitter handle @ClasificateArg. The image shows the front and rear views of Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0, along with a few hardware specifications. The design language of the tablet is similar to the introduced with Galaxy S III. The front camera is placed on the right side and the rear panel only has the camera, while the loudspeaker grille is missing. Previously, tech new website SamMobile said that the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 will have an 8-inch Super Clear LCD display and S-Pen stylus compatibility. The big draw will be Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean) out-of-the-box, considering that Google's latest mobile OS is available only on Google Nexus 10, though a few other models can be upgraded later. Galaxy Note 8.0 will be available in 16 and 32GB variants with ...

STMicroelectronics has revealed the latest generation of its switch ICs for vehicle electronics such as lights and body modules, which it said provide enhanced intelligent features, improve protection and reliability, and are up to 40% smaller than competing alternatives. Pioneered by ST, intelligent high-side switches * provide a more reliable and efficient replacement for conventional relays. For several generations, ST’s VIPower family has offered advantages such as a common package style for many devices in the range. This allows tier-one suppliers to build several module variants using the same basic hardware and software so car makers can address differing requirements in international markets and offer various model specifications and options cost-effectively. The common-package approach has become widely adopted among high-side switch vendors. In the seventh generation of ST’s VIPower family, the M0-7 series announced today, 75% of family members are availa...

Research in Motion will look into strategic alliances with other technology companies once it has launched its new BlackBerry 10 models, its chief executive told a German newspaper. German-born CEO Thorsten Heins told daily Die Welt in an interview published on Monday that the group's strategic review could lead to the sale of RIM's hardware production or the sale of licences to its software, among other options. "The main thing for now is to successfully introduce Blackberry 10. Then we'll see," Heins was quoted as saying. RIM hopes its re-engineered line of Blackberry 10 touchscreen and keyboard devices will win back market share lost to rivals such as Apple's iPhone and devices powered by Google's market-leading Android operating system.

Micromax has claimed that it shipped more phablets - the Android phones with a screen size of over 5 inches - than Samsung in the last three months in India.  At an event, where the company announced a new phablet called Canvas HD, Micromax said that it imported over 1.98 lakh phablets in India in the months of October, November and December. In comparison, the company claimed that Samsung imported around 1.89 lakh Galaxy Note and Galaxy Note II tablets during the same period. Other players brought in over 38,000 phablets.  Deepak Mehrotra, CEO, Micromax, added, "We plan to launch 30 smartphones this year."  With a screen size of five-inches and a resolution of 720P, Micromax Canvas HD is aimed at consumers who like 'phablets' such as Samsung Galaxy Note II and HTC Butterfly but consider them too expensive.  For its price, the device packs in impressive hardware. Apart from the high resolution screen, it has a 1.2GHz quad-core processor made by Media...

A Malaysian student has invented a sling bag with a built-in device for charging electrical gadgets using solar energy.  The PhD student Noor Shah Iwan Ismail ofUniversiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) says that the solar bag would benefit those on the go who needs to charge numerous gadgets quickly, the Star Online reported.  The 25-year-old student explained that the invention would reduce dependence on static electrical sockets to charge gadgets with fast-depleting batteries.  He added that the '80 per cent completed product' has received cooperation from SI Gobal Resources Sdn Bhd, who will be responsible for designing and marketing the bags.  SI Global Resources managing director Effendy Zulkifly said that the product, which will be marketed in March, is expected to attract the interest of the youth with its flexible design and durability.

Since passwords have become an increasing problem for many, Google could be set to replace them entirely and is experimenting with USB keys, mobile phones and even jewellery that can act as a physical "key" to give users access to their account.  The search giant's security bosses are set to publish their findings next month and say they could soon be commonplace.  The Yubikey, which is believed to have been tested by Google, can automatically log users onto all their accounts without ever asking for a password by placing it into a Google laptop.  The tiny key can be used in any machine with a USB drive, and acts as a physical "key" to unlock the user's account.  It can automatically log users in to all of their accounts, and even into their favourite websites, without ever asking for a password.  In the upcoming issue of IEEE Security and Privacy Magazine, Google Vice President of Security Eric Grosse and engineer Mayank Upadhyay are set to det...

  Ten Google Android mobile phone applications, including the Angry Birdsgame, have been found to extract personal information of users like their location, contacts and device identifying details. The other nine applications include Toss It game, Talking Tom virtual pet, Backgrounds HD Wallpapers, Dictionary.com, Mouse Trap game, Horoscope, Shazam music, Brightest Flashlight and Pandora Internet Radio, the Daily Mail reports. The list, compiled by Carnegie Mellon University researchers, in Pittsburgh, US, was released after analysing the 100 most popular Androidapplications. Dr. Jason Wong, a faculty at the university's Human-Computer Interaction Institute, said that although applications such as Google Maps were expected by users to take their personal details, the Angry Birds and the Brightest Flashlight applications came as a complete surprise for a majority of people. Dr. Wong, who reviewed this list with his colleague, Professor Norm...

The cloud storage provider MediaFire has finally launched its Android mobile app, and to commemorate the occasion, it is offering users 50 free gigabytes of storage space. The service already offered an iOS app for Apple users on top of its desktop app, both of which also offer the free 50GB. The app offers a handful of features that simplify using the cloud storage service. The MediaFire Android app includes ads if the user is under a free account, although they can be eradicated with a cheap monthly subscription at $1.50 per month. Still, one can’t complain too much considering the very large amount of free storage the service offers. MediaFire does have a limit on how long it will store files on inactive accounts, however, though users will receive ample time and notifications before the files are purged. As notes PC World, the app does have some downsides that might make it less than ideal for certain types of users, including those who often batch upload. The MediaFir...

Smartphone battery running low? You are not alone. With millions of mobile devices handling more tasks, batteries are draining faster, forcing the industry to look for solutions including wireless charging, which can give consumers a power boost on the go. Many solutions to this problem were on display at the Consumer Electronics Show this week, but consumers may be confused by the number of competing platforms and standards. The Wireless Power Consortium, which includes some 100 companies and has 130 products certified under its standard known as Qi (pronounced chee), has been using the CES to promote the concept this week. The consortium works with makers of smartphones and producers of charging pads, furniture and automotive consoles that enable a consumer to simply place a device on top for a charge -- without worrying about plugging in. "This is the only consortium that has real products on the market," said CJ Moore of Fulton Innovation, one of the ...

Researchers have developed a new software that makes the technology of opening car and home doors using smartphoneapps more secure and versatile. Researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute for Secure Information Technology SIT in Darmstadt, Germany, will be demonstrating their ShareKey software, a solution to popularise the method. "In essence, ShareKey offers two new functions: users can issue digital keys remotely and assign these keys certain user permissions. For instance, I can grant the building superintendent access to my apartment for a short period so that he can open the door for the gas metre to be read while I'm at work," said Alexandra Dmitrienko from the SIT. "The solution is built around modern security technologies and can be easily integrated into existing access control systems," Dmitrienko said in a statement. ShareKey sends electronic keys directly to the user's mobile phone, in the form of a QR code attached to an e-mail or MMS. "Re...

Internet and other components of information communication and technology (ICT) industry annually produces more than 830 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2), the main greenhouse gas, and is expected to double by 2020, a new study has found.  Researchers from the Centre for Energy-Efficient Telecommunications (CEET) and Bell Labs explain that the information communications and technology (ICT) industry, which delivers Internet, video, voice and other cloud services, produces about 2 per cent of globalCO2 emissions -- the same proportion as the aviation industry produces.  In the report published in journal Environmental Science & Technology, researchers said their projections suggest that ICT sector's share in greenhouse gas emission is expected to double by 2020.  They have also found new models of emissions and energy consumption that could help reduce their carbon footprint.  The study said that controlling ...

Panasonic has unveiled a slew of new digital cameras and camcorders at CES 2013. One of the more interesting new products in the manufacturer’s camcorder line is the A100 point of view lifestyle wearable full HD camcorder. The camera itself has an ear hook allowing users to put the camera on the ear for point of view shooting when not wearing a helmet. The camera can also be mounted to a helmet or to a backpack. The camera is designed to be waterproof with an IPX8 waterproof design allowing the camera to shoot in water up to 5 feet deep for 30 minutes. The camera is also dustproof to protect sensitive electronics from sand. The camera has integrated Wi-Fi connectivity making it easy to live broadcast streaming video using Ustream in full HD resolution. The A100 is designed to interface with a smartphone or tablet for watching video and users can start or stop recording using the smartphone as well. Panasonic equips the camera with a F2.5 lens for performance in low ligh...

Kingston Announces “World’s Largest-Capacity” 1TB USB 3.0 Flash Drive is a post by Shawn Ingram from Gotta Be Mobile. Today at CES Kingston unveiled what it claims is the “world’s largest-capacity” USB 3.0 flash drive that comes with up to 1TB of storage space. The new flash drive, called the Kingston DataTraveler HyperX Predator 3.0, comes in capacities of either 512GB or 1TB. The 512GB model is currently available, and Kingston expects to ship the 1TB model in the first quarter of 2013. The release will make the drive one of the first terabyte flash drives available on the market. Kingston says the new DT HyperX Predator 3.0 is the company’s fastest USB 3.0 flash drive yet. The drive boasts read speeds of 240MB/s and write speeds of 160MB/s, which is faster than the typical USB 2.0 flash drive, but still slower than most hard drives, including SSD drives. Like all other USB 3.0 flash drives, the DT HyperX Predator 3.0 is also compatible with USB 2.0 ports in older compu...