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UK police are using detection dogs that can sniff out USB drives
Devon & Cornwall and Dorset Police have begun utilising special FBI-trained sniffer dogs that have been specifically trained to detect hidden storage devices. Police dogs Tweed, a 19-month-old springer spaniel, and Rob, a 20-month-old black Labrador, are the first dogs outside of the US that will help track "terrorists, paedophiles and fraudsters" by tracing the unique chemicals found in hard drives, USB sticks and SD cards.
Fixed-wing drone lands on vertical surfaces like a bug
Scientists have borrowed a few tricks from Mother Nature in order to create a drone capable of landing flush against a wall. The Multimodal Autonomous Drone (S-MAD) looks like a small airplane and flies like a glider, but on approaching a flat surface is able to change configuration to make a smooth, ricochet-free vertical landing -- much like a graceful bird or a large, unpleasant insect, depending on how this unsettling robotic behavior makes you feel.
Canary improves livestream skills of its home security camera
Smart home security company Canary has unveiled a new range of features to make it easier to keep an eye on your home, including two-way audio, a web app and real-time monitoring. The updates join Canary's existing line of features which include intelligent security alerts, video playback, home health monitoring and incident support. First up is Canary Talk, which connects remote users to people (or pets, if that's your thing) inside the protected property through real-time conversation. This is usually called two-way audio, but Canary's offering allows multiple remote users to log in and chat simultaneously. This feature is available for Canary All-in-One devices today, and for Canary Flex come September.
Samsung inexplicably opens up its Android browser
Samsung has announced that the new version of its browser, Samsung Internet, can be used on any relatively new Android phone, which is good news if you're bored of existing mobile browsers that already do the job perfectly well. The Korean tech giant made its software ambitions known in March when, in response to "many requests", it released a beta version of Samsung Internet (5.4) compatible with Google devices such as the Pixel and Nexus series. Now, the v6 beta version is being released for any phone running Android 5.0, aka Lollipop, or later.
EFF says border control needs a warrant to search your tech
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has submitted a court filing arguing that federal agents at international airports should obtain a warrant before snooping through passenger laptops, phones and other digital devices. Warrantless border searches are currently permissible under an exception to the Fourth Amendment, but as EFF notes, the number of these searches has more than doubled since President Trump moved into the White House.
Nielsen reports that iPad is most wanted this holiday season
Nielsen has released its annual report on which electronic goodies consumers in various age groups are looking for this Thanksgiving. Once again, Apple products are claiming most of the top of the list. Kids in the US aged 6-12 are looking for an iPad as the number one item under their holiday tree this year, and while that's followed by Nintendo's new Wii U system, Apple's iPod touch, iPad mini, and the iPhone fill out the rest of the top five spots. At the very bottom of the list, the Apple TV makes an appearance, too. That's not a device I would expect kids that young to ask for, but apparently so. On the older side, in persons 13 and up, iPad also tops the list of items that are most expected to be purchased in the next six months. Tablet computers and e-readers are also sitting near the top of that list, and since the iPad is the most popular of those (with 21 percent of people expecting to buy it soon), it's not too surprising to see Apple's slate in high demand. The iPhone is also high near the top of that list. It's perhaps also interesting to note that the rest of the list is full of gaming devices like the Nintendo 3DS, PS Vita and the major gaming consoles. Considering that the iPad and the iPhone provide a strong mobile gaming experience and the widest ecosystem of game apps out there, that's an interesting perspective on what people are willing to spend big ticket money on lately. Finally, the Apple TV makes an appearance on the adults' list as well. I think 2013 will be a very interesting year for that device -- if Apple can bring its popular App Store to a non-mobile device, starting with the Apple TV, the core functionality of that little black box may be very different in a year's time. [via 9to5Mac]
iControlPad 2 reaches Kickstarter goal, shipping later this year
I'll be honest: I thought that US$150,000 as a Kickstarter goal for the iControlPad 2 wireless controller was too high, but it turns out I was completely wrong. Not only was the project funded, but backers have pledged $190k and still counting with a few more hours to go. The impressive response emphasizes the demand for a physical, button-based controller for the iPhone and the iPad, not to mention all of the other platforms iControlPad hopes to work with, including the upcoming OUYA console, PCs and Macs, and any other Bluetooth-enabled device. If you want to back the project, there's still time (as of this writing). If the developers follow the same pattern as the first iControlPad, there should be more units to sell later on as well. The devs say they hope to ship by Christmas, and presumably app developers can start supporting the iControlPad 2 as soon as they arrive. Congrats to the team on a successful Kickstarter project. Here's hoping we see the final product soon.
Hauppage releases the HD PVR 2 Gaming Edition, now with HDMI
Hauppage has released the second version of its "Gaming Edition" Personal Video Recorder, which allows you to record streams of video from a television, gaming console or PC directly on to your Mac. We took a close look at the last version of this device, and it worked well, but completely without the benefit of HDMI. This new version, however, includes an HDMI port, which means you can record video on it at up to 1080p resolution. The box is listed at $169, but you may be able to find it cheaper online. The biggest drawback with this unit, however, is that you'll need to buy the software used on the Mac to capture video from it, and that can run you about $29.95. But if you specifically need a Mac to record the video, the box works well, and that added HDMI port means you have even more options (including buying an iOS HDMI adapter from Apple and even recording video straight from an iPhone or iPad).
Wikipad specs revealed, will run Android 4.1 games on a 10.1" screen
The Wikipad is a gaming tablet device revealed at CES earlier this year, and it's slowly moving from idea to reality. The company behind the tablet (also known as Wikipad, go figure) has announced the final specs for the design, and they're hot: The display will be 10.1 inches with a 16:10 1280x800 resolution, the tablet will be powered by an Nvidia Tegra 3 T30 1.4 GHz processor, and it will run with 1 GB of DDR2 RAM, and at least 16 GB of internal Flash memory storage. Android 4.1 will power the OS, and an onboard 23.46Wh battery will go for six hours of gaming and eight hours of video playback.There will be an 8 megapixel camera on the back, as well as a 2 megapixel camera on the front. An early model this year featured a 3D display, but the final version will opt for 2D.For the casing itself, Wikipad is going with a flat-backed shape with rounded corners, both slightly thicker, but also lighter, than the iPad 2. The controller add-on, which you can see above, is similar to a current-gen gaming controller (complete with triggers and buttons on the back) and will come with the unit.A price and release date haven't been officially announced yet, but Wikipad is planning to have its namesake device out later this year.
Gigabyte launches Aivia Xenon dual-mode touchpad mouse
When our eyes first landed upon the device from Gigabyte you see above, it took them a few seconds to work out exactly what they were looking at. There's a reason for that, though, as the Aivia Xenon -- as it is known -- lives a double life. By day, it's an ordinary PC mouse, with support for multi-touch gestures. By night (well, and day too, if you choose) it's a portable touchpad. The hybrid device offers 1000DPI resolution, can be used up to 10 meters away (for presentations etc.) and comes with software that lets you create custom gestures. If you have two birds, but only space for one stone, head down to the source link for more info.
Phone Halo shows off the Cobra Tag and more at WWDC 2012
We talked about Phone Halo a couple of years ago, when the accessory company was making its own product: A little tracking tag that connected up to your keys or anything else you wanted to hang on to and used a free iPhone app to alert you whenever you needed to find them or whenever they wandered out of range. Since we last talked to them, Phone Halo was able to cut a deal with popular accessory manufacturer Cobra (best known for making speedtrap detectors) and has released the Cobra Tag, a branded and updated version of Phone Halo's original device. The company showed the model off to us at WWDC, and it was suitably impressive: The tag is small, well-designed and works over Bluetooth, with any combination of alerts available. You can search for the tag from the phone or vice versa, and you can have alerts set up for "disconnects" (when the tag leaves the iPhone's Bluetooth range). The app, available for free from the App Store, even tracks the GPS location of the disconnect when you flip it into recovery mode. So while you can't track your keys directly, you can at least see where it was you lost them. There's a lot of impressive things being done here: The tag has an LED light built in, so you have audio and visual feedback when you need to track it. And you can completely customize the iPhone's alerts, even down to choosing a song to play when a disconnect happens. The app runs in the background all of time, and it will even override your mute settings so you'll never miss an alert. Facebook and Twitter are integrated as well, If you consistently need to track keys or anything else around your iPhone, the Cobra Tag is a great solution. There is one major issue with the product, and that is battery life. The tag lasts for quite a while, but the biggest drain is on the phone, which needs to keep up a Bluetooth connection constantly, as well as GPS tracking. As you might imagine, that's a solid drain on the hardware. Now, if you really need to track your keys, that might not be a problem. If you usually keep your iPhone plugged in all day, like at the office or while sleeping at home, you probably won't have a big issue keeping your battery going. And if you absolutely need to track something, the extra battery use will probably be worth it. So while battery life can be a concern, it shouldn't rule out everyone on a product like this. The Cobra Tag is available now for about $60 at retail. Phone Halo also showed us something else they're working on: An app that will be able to track any Bluetooth device, not just the Cobra Tag. Using a generic Bluetooth headset or any Bluetooth device, the new app will be able to do all of the same things that the Cobra tag can do. It's very impressive. Phone Halo is still working on that app. It's hoping to team up with a sponsor of Bluetooth products or someone else to be able to provide the functionality to users for free, and still be able to make money off of the product. But however this tech reaches consumers like us, it certainly seems like Phone Halo is working hard on making it as cheap and easy as possible to track external devices from your iPhone.
Sphero adds first third-party app with Last Fish
Sphero is a little rolling ball robot that's controlled via iOS or other mobile devices. We last covered it when it was being previewed at CES, but it's been available for a while, either online or at a Brookstone store near you. But now the little ball has added a new trick to its repertoire: With a game called Last Fish, Sphero now works as a controller. I'm not completely clear on how it exactly works, but I think you can just roll Sphero around to control the luminescent onscreen fish, which seems like a really good idea. You're effectively translating a 2D screen into actual, 3D space. The game seems very artistic and well-done, if a little simple, but the added charm of using the Sphero device makes it worth checking out. We'll look forward to seeing the Sphero used in other ways in conjuction with third-party iOS apps.
Company sues Apple, others over claim of patent on 3G
This is one of the weirder claims in the already strange area of patent claims going on around cellphone technology lately. A company based in New Jersey named Golden Bridge Technologies has come forward saying that it owns patents on some technologies that were eventually used to create the 3G phone protocol standard, and that it's holding device manufacturers such as Apple, Barnes & Noble, and others accountable for the patents. A complaint filed in California earlier this week says that Golden Bridge's patent covers 3G tech, and that anyone using that tech owes them money. You can find a full copy of the complaint online. This is just the beginning of the legal battle. Presumably Apple and the other companies in the complaint will try to either contest the patent itself or the claim that they used it illicitly.
Roccat introduces Power-Grid, a PC game controller iPhone
I first saw Roccat's Power-Grid, announced today, back at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES). The German-based PC accessory company first showed me its top-of-the-line keyboards and mice (customizable, wonderfully designed), and then asked if I wanted to see something really special. They swore me to secrecy, and then pulled out the Power-Grid setup. It's an iPhone app that works with a special bit of software on your PC, which turns your iOS device into a remote control. Power-Grid goes way beyond controlling audio and document sharing. It's completely customizable and ties into everything Roccat's software can access. That means that you could build a touchscreen keyboard on the iPhone's screen. Any game shortcuts, launch buttons, or anything else you've got programmed there (World of Warcraft ability key shortcuts?) becomes available from a touch of your iPhone's screen. The app also has an "Incoming Center," which lets you take messages, voice chat with other users, or use Facebook and Skype. This is designed for PC gamers. If you're in a game and don't want to tab to a browser for Facebook or pick up a Skype call, just use your phone and keep playing on your PC. This functionality will grow over time, as well. Once you've created a set of keyboard shortcuts that you really like, you can share it as a "grid" with other users. Useful grids will be available for download and use. Roccat plans to make the app free to download, but will eventually monetize by adding extra features, like the option to have more than one swipeable grid (like flipping through icons on an iOS home screen, only with the icons affecting features on your actual PC), or more options for use, like monitoring your PC's temperatures, fan speeds, or uptime on the iOS device's screen. Unfortunately, I didn't actually get to see it in action back at CES. The connection requires a Wi-Fi network, and as you might imagine, the crowded show floor made it hard to find a good one. But Roccat did show the app off at CeBit, and the company is taking beta signups for the program right now. Initially, the app will be iOS only, but Android versions are planned. The Power-Grid is definitely an intriguing idea, and Roccat, though not well known in the US, has a long history of well-made, customizable PC gaming controllers and software. If you use a PC for gaming a lot, and wouldn't mind making some more direct use of your iOS device's screen space while playing, keep an eye out for this one. We'll definitely let you know when the app goes live, and we're able to try it out directly.
Google+ web app adds two new features, iOS and Android soon to follow
Twitter recently revamped its web interface, and now Google has decided to do the same for the Google+ web app, bringing two new features that should be a boon for the Big G's thriving social network. You can now see who's been rolling out +1's to your latest Hello Kitty pics with a simple click of the +1 count near the button. There's also a "What's Hot" stream, a section focused on the most interesting shared content that's accessed by flicking your thumb right on the main Circles timeline. The only casualty from this update was the Incoming feed page, which was replaced due to lack of use according to its creator. The iOS and Android applications are expected to make the jump soon, but in the meantime, the web app should satisfy the need to indulge.
Apple makes EFF's Holiday Wish List
The Electronic Frontier Foundation has released its annual "wish list" for various tech companies and its wishes for their openness, and Apple was only mentioned in one item. The EFF wishes Apple would easily and officially provide a way for users to "get root access" on every Apple device they buy. Of course, there are still ways to get that root access and install any software you want on your Apple device. But it involves jailbreaking, a process that's relatively easy but not at all officially supported. Apple has instead provided a closed-off ecosystem of validated apps, and while that's good for things like security and stability, it's not so great for functionality outside of the officially-provided software. David Morganstern of The Apple Core points out that Apple got off easy in the EFF's wishlist. The EFF's request for easy root access was Cupertino's only mention, and Apple wasn't mentioned specifically in the EFF's request about browser security, which Safari has been kind of struggling with lately. The wish list also mentions cloud backup services (iCloud is one example), but most of the concerns there are about encrypted data and security, which MobileMe and iCloud have been pretty good with so far. Obviously Apple hasn't cared much about providing an official way to install your own software on iOS devices, yet sales continue to hit record levels, so there's not a lot of drive to change that position. Meanwhile, jailbreak solutions are easy enough; even without Apple's approval, there are plenty of ways to make your iOS device do what you want it to.
Windows Phone 7.5 SMS bug breaks messaging hub, hard reset is the only remedy
An SMS message on your Windows 7.5 handset could knock messaging out cold, a one shot kill you can't prepare for. Apparently, WP devices that receive a text containing a certain string of characters will reboot and return with a non-functional messaging client which can only be restored via a hard reset. The flaw is not device-specific and has been found to affect other parts of the OS, locking up your handset if you've pinned a friend as a live tile and that buddy posts the magic bug words on Facebook or Windows Live Messenger. Fixing the problem requires quick tapping fingers, as you've got to remove the pinned tile after rebooting before it flips and freezes the phone again. Before you go abandoning WP7's ship, just know that SMS issues are a known phenomenon and have affected all the major mobile players, iOS and Android included. Until Microsoft releases a fix, cross your fingers and hang tight, but in the meantime, all you mobile masochists can see the bug in action after the break.
Android Market web store update adds user review filters, changes lives
It looks like Google has rolled out yet another update to its Android Market web store, bringing a slew of new filtering features for especially investigative users. In particular, the refresh allows consumers to filter user reviews by a handful of parameters, including star ratings, app version and device model. Best of all, you can use any or all of these filters simultaneously, thereby allowing you to isolate, for example, all five-star reviews of a specific app from users of a specific handset. It certainly sounds like a useful addition, and one you can check out for yourself, at the source link below.
Some Android phones fail to enforce permissions, exposed to unauthorized app access
Eight Android phones, including the Motorola Droid X and Samsung Epic 4G, were found to house major permission flaws according to a research team at North Carolina State University. Their study revealed untrusted applications could send SMS messages, record conversations and execute other potentially malicious actions without user consent. Eleven of the thirteen areas analyzed (includes geo-location and access to address books) showed privileges were exposed by pre-loaded applications. Interestingly, Nexus devices were less vulnerable, suggesting that the other phone manufacturers may have failed to properly implement Android's security permissions model. Google and Motorola confirm the present flaws while HTC and Samsung remain silent. Exerting caution when installing applications should keep users on their toes until fixes arrive. [Thanks, John]
Unlocked Nokia Lumia 800 now available on Expansys, plays nice with AT&T
You could sit there and twiddle your thumbs while you wait for the Lumia 800 to arrive on US shores. Or you could just head over to Expansys, where you can grab an unlocked version of Nokia's new handset, for $789. The Mango-soaked device comes packed with 16GB of internal storage and is primed for use on AT&T, so if you're prepared to shell out the dough, check out the source link below.
