Important announcements
BlackBerry’s global phone market share is now 0%
New data from research company Gartner shows that of 432 million devices shipped in Q4 2016, just 207,900 of them were BlackBerry OS products. The research also found that Google, which allows Android to be used by phone makers for free, has 81.7% of market share. Apple, meanwhile, secured 17.9% of market share for its iOs.
You can read more here.
PC microphones were used to steal hundreds of gigabytes of data from Ukraine organizations
The cyberattack, called “Operation BugDrop” targeted at least 70 victim organizations and stole huge amounts of sensitive information using a number of methods including the PC microphone, which is very difficult to guard against. According to CyberX, Operation BugDrop, so named because the microphones of target PCs were “bugged”, used compromised Microsoft Word documents to install malware capable of eavesdropping and capturing hundreds of gigabytes of data.
More info are available here.
Apple acquires iCloud.net domain and shuts down associated Asian social network
Apple reportedly paid $1.5 million but there is currently no word on the official price. Previously, this domain was associated with a small-scale social media platform called “iCloud Social Network,” which allowed users to share activities, pictures, music, videos, and other content. The social network is expected to go offline by the end of February and is currently giving users some time to remove their accounts.
You can read more here.
Top new products
The LG G6
The phone will have two 13 MP cameras on the back with wide-angle lens. It will also come with a 5.7-inch “QHD+” display, Snapdragon 821, water resistance and Google Assistant.
More info here.
LG X400
The phone will have a 13-megapixel rear camera, a 5-megapixel front camera and a 2800mAh removable battery. Also, X400 will come with a 5.3-inch HD display and an octa-core MediaTek MT6750 processor.
More info here.
Meitu T8
The phone comes with a deca-core MediaTek Helio X MT6797 processor, a 5.2-inch AMOLED display and 4GB of RAM. It will come with a 21 megapixel camera and a 12 MP front-facing camera.
More info here.
Top interesting info
Apple patents screen technology capable of reading fingerprints without dedicated sensor
Apple has been granted a patent for an “interactive display panel with IR diodes”. This technology could replace the physical home button because would allow Apple devices to read fingerprints directly through the screen, instead of by relying on a dedicated fingerprint reader.
You can read more here.
EU insists Microsoft must do better on Windows 10 privacy
European Union data protection authorities continue to have privacy-related concerns about Microsoft’s Windows 10 operating system, despite the fact that Microsoft has modified the privacy settings for users of the OS after criticism and concerns were raised last year. Concerns have focused on the volume of data being gathered by default on Windows 10, and whether Microsoft obtains fully informed consent from users to collect and process their data.
More info can be found here.
Sony has announced the fastest SD card in the world
According to the company, the SF-G Series UHS-II cards will be the fastest in the world, coming in at 300 megabytes per second read speed and 299 Mbps write speed. “The quick write speed supports maximum performance of digital imaging devices, contributing to longer continuous shooting of high-resolution images with UHS-II supporting cameras,” the Sony announcement said.
You can read more here.
