Mobile Mobile

Earlier than expected (and a little pricier than we'd hoped), the BlackBerry Q5 will go on sale tomorrow in the UAE. We know that its radios are primed for AT&T 3G and while the build might not rival the flagship BB10 device, it's another option for those who can't relinquish the tactile joys of a physical keyboard. It will launch priced at 1,499 AED (just above $400), which nets you BlackBerry's latest OS spread across a 3.1-inch touchscreen with the aforementioned keyboard nestled below. Interested in hopping on a red-eye flight for the third device since the company's name change? Then we'd recommend reacquainting yourself with our first impressions.

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Anyone who's tried to tether to their iPhone or iPad will recall how iOS manages to craft its own passwords when used as a personal hotspot. The aim is to ensure that anyone sharing a data connection will get some degree of security, regardless of whether or not they tinker with the password themselves. However, three researchers from FAU in Germany have now worked the structure behind these auto-generated keys -- a combination of a short English word and a series or random numbers -- and managed to crack that hotspot protection in under a minute. To start, the word list contains about 52,500 entries, and once the testers were able to capture a WiFi connection, they used an AMD Radeon HD 6990 GPU to cycle through all those words with number codes, taking just under 50 minutes to crack with rote entry. Following that, they realized that only a small subset (just 1,842) of the word list was being used.

With an even faster GPU -- a cluster of four AMD Radeon HD 7970s -- they got the hotspot password cracking time to 50 seconds. The Friedrich-Alexander University researchers added that unscrupulous types could use comparable processing power through cloud computing. "System-generated passwords should be reasonably long, and should use a reasonably large character set. Consequently, hotspot passwords should be composed of completely random sequences of letters, numbers, and special characters," says the report, which outlines the trade-off between security and usability. However, as ZDNet notes, Apple's cycled password approach still offers more protection than static options found elsewhere. Check out the full paper at the source.

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If Vine still leaves you pining for the choppiness of GIFs, Microsoft's got you covered -- on Windows Phone 8, at least. Redmond's Blink app, which helps smartphone photographers capture bursts of images, has hit version 2.0 and scored the ability to create short animated clips, aptly dubbed Blinks. In addition to the bite-sized videos, the latest update bakes in camera settings in capture mode, sharing to social networks and web galleries for shared creations. Microsoft Research also released Blink Cliplets for Windows 8 and RT, which allows users to layer static and dynamic elements atop footage. Hit the break to check out the new release of Blink in action, or jab the first source link for the download.

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No need to envy your iPhone- and iPad-toting friends anymore just because they can catch the latest episodes of Bates Motel or Dance Moms on the go. Streaming apps from A&E, History Channel and Lifetime have just arrived on Android, and you can access content even if you're not a cable subscriber. Naturally, the entire roster of shows and episodes isn't available -- in some cases, you can only watch clips instead of full episodes -- but Comcast or DirecTV subscribers who log in will have more to choose from. Should you need new companions for solitary nights, hit the source links below to download the apps on your device.

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Jelly Bean has been making its way to ever cheaper phones in recent months, and that's very conspicuous with the launch of Virgin Mobile's new Samsung Galaxy Ring. For $180, you're getting Android 4.1 in a price range where 4.0 is still common. You're also getting a surprisingly capable device under the hood -- while there's no LTE, the prepaid handset carries a reasonably quick 1.4GHz processor, a 4-inch screen, a 5MP rear camera and a 1.3MP front-facing sensor. We'd still consider shelling out a little more cash for a future-ready 4G device, but Virgin users determined to scrimp and save can pick up the Galaxy Ring today.

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Today we had a chance to play with Qualcomm's latest MDP devices (tablet and phone) which pack the company's mighty Snapdragon 800 SoC (MSM8974). The tablet is slightly larger than than last year's and features an 11.6-inch 1,920 x 1,080-pixel display, 2GB of LPDDR3 RAM, 32GB of built-in flash storage (with microSD expansion), USB 3.0 support and a 12 megapixel AF rear camera with flash (2MP fixed-focus in front). All of this is crammed into a slim (0.46 inches / 11.7mm) chassis that's powered by a 3,400mAh Li-ion battery and incorporates a bevvy of radios (LTE band 17, WiFi ac, Bluetooth 4 LE, GPS, NFC) and sensors (including pressure and humidity).

The phone shares most of the tablet's specs but swaps the screen for a 4.3-inch panel (1,280 x 720 pixels) and the battery for a smaller (1,500mAh) pack. We put these Snapdragon 800-equipped MDPs through their paces by running our usual suite of benchmarks (plus a few more). The results? Prepare for ludicrous speed! More after the break.

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The pre-order process for the BlackBerry Q10 is already well underway, but AT&T has kept quiet on its official retail and online availability until now. The company has now confirmed to us that the QWERTY-laden device will be ready for public consumption -- both online and in corporate locations -- starting June 21st for $200. If you didn't get your pre-order in but still want to get it hot off the shelves, keep an eye out for it this weekend. Official statement below.

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We knew it was in the works given the sheer quantity of leaks but, with a small sigh of relief, Huawei's Ascend P6 is now official. At the company's London launch, the handset has been revealed with a 6.18mm-thick, all-metal body that weighs in at 120 grams -- only 8 grams more than the iPhone 5, which, for the sake of context, has a thickness of 7.6mm. The 4.7-inch device comes with a 1,280 x 720 in-cell LCD display, 1.5GHz quad-core CPU and 2GB RAM. While users may be dismayed to read that the P6 has a small 8GB of storage, a microSD card slot will let you add up to 32GB more for your media perusal. The phone's primary camera is an 8-megapixel, F/2.0 BSI lens with a 4cm macro, but the vain amongst you shouldn't worry as there's a 5-megapixel shooter up front. The build of Android 4.2.2 will be skinned with Huawei's customary Emotion UI, while AV fans amongst you will be happy to see the handset boasting Dolby Digital Plus sound. A 2,000mAh battery and GSM/UMTS/HSPA+ radios round out the spec sheet, and the handset will be launching in China from June and western Europe from July, with 19 countries covered by the end of that month. A total of 100 nations will have the Ascend P6 by the end of the year, and an LTE version is due sometime in the fourth quarter. You'll be able to pick it up in black, white or pink colors from places like EE, Three, Vodafone, O2, Orange and the Carphone Warehouse in the UK. Most Europeans will have to set aside €449 ($601) for the smartphone; we're still waiting on pricing details for the UK and other countries.

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