Nexus 5 Images Leaked Again: Nexus 5 Revolution Be Ready

Nexus 5 Images Leaked Again: Nexus 5 Revolution Be Ready

Case maker SPIGEN leaked the Nexus 5 images yet again with a photo showing back of the device. The recently leaked image shows the large camera sensor at the back of the device which is supposedly a 8 MP camera as per the manual that leaked out previously.

According to an earlier leak by SPIGEN, the Nexus 5 will launch on October 31, but the latest information shows October 30 is the date. Earlier this month, the rumored Nexus 5 showed up with leaked battery, pricing and storage details. The report showed us that the 16 GB Nexus 5 model will supposedly be priced at $299, while the 32 GB Nexus 5 might be priced at $399.

However, the rumoured specifications of the Nexus 5 are a 4.95 inch full HD IPS LCD display, supposedly the device will be powered by a 2.3 GHz Quad-Core processor with a Snapdragon 800 chipset along with a 2 GB of RAM, 8 MP camera, a 1.3 MP front facing camera. The device is believed to be run on Android 4.4 KitKat. While these are some leaked specification, the official news should not be away. Stay tuned!

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Google Chrome Saves Sensitive User Data In Plaintext

Google Chrome browser may be storing sensitive data in such a way that it would be relatively easy for a malicious third party to dig it up and steal your identity, among other things.

Security researchers at Identify Finder said they performed a series of deep scans on several employee computers using the latest version of Sensitive Data Manager (SDM). The scans revealed a bunch of Google Chrome SQLite and protocol buffers storing user information such as names, addresses, email addresses, phone numbers, bank account info, credit card details, and even social security numbers.

“We confirmed with each employee that sensitive data, such as social security and bank account numbers, were only entered on secure, reputable websites,” claims Identity Finder.

The data is not protected in the cache, which means that anyone with access to it can extract the information. This does not necessarily mean local access, as malicious software running on a user’s computer, and even social engineering, may yield the same results.

Handing over the computer to a computer repair shop, sending it in to the manufacturer, or selling it may provide third parties with access to sensitive information stored by the browser.

Google Chrome is the world’s third most popular web browser with a 16% market share; Firefox has a 19% share and Internet Explorer holds a 58% share, according to Net Applications.

This is the second finding of a profound Chrome shortcoming in three months. Last July, NSS Labs analyzed the privacy mechanisms built into Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome and Safari and found Chrome offering the poorest privacy protection.

A statement by Google on The Verge reads : 

Google Chrome is the most secure browser and offers you control over how it uses and stores data. Chrome asks for permission before storing sensitive information like credit card details, and you don’t have to save anything if you don’t want to. Furthermore data stored locally by Chrome will be encrypted, if supported by the underlying operating system. For example, Chrome OS encrypts all data stored locally by default. We recommend people use the security measures built into their operating system of choice.

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Google Play To Feature “Designed for Tablets” Apps Section From November 21st

In an obvious move that should have coincided with the release of the Nexus 10 last year, Google plans to make ‘Designed for tablets’ the default view for tablet users browsing the Play Store.

Starting on November 21st, users will find their app selection limited to just those apps that have been optimized for large-screen usage. Non-tablet apps will still be downloadable, but will have the caption “Designed for phones” appended to its Play Store release.

Android tablet users can of course still switch views so they can see all apps or games. Yet Google is clearly confident enough now that there are enough tablet apps out there to make bring the section to the forefront.

Google claims that over 70 million Android tablets have been activated, though it’s unclear how many of them are still being used or capable of running modern apps and games. Many Android tablets have substandard hardware and older versions of Android that render them incapable of performing optimally with tablet-optimized apps.

At the same time, companies are weary of spending time and resources creating tablet-optimized apps. Though the number has exploded — 70 million activations sounds like a great number — substantive data continually shows Android behind iOS in terms of actual usage. Building great tablet apps should bridge that gap somewhat, but Google needs to ensure that the experience is consistent throughout its ecosystem, on any number of screen sizes and resolutions.

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Upcoming Nexus 5 Poses In Latest Leak Today

Google nexus 5

The Nexus 5 release date should be sometime next month as pictures of the device hit the internet this week. The photos were taken by a MacRumors user who happened to encounter the device while out and about. He released a brief report detailing his experience with the Nexus 5. “Got to handle the Nexus 5,” he said. “It is smaller than the G2. Didn’t actually measure it, but holding it in the hand it is smaller. It does feel good holding it. The black back cover feels like my Nexus 7. The screen was ok, didn’t wow me like the Note 3. The bezel is very small.” This is another solid and somewhat clear view of the back plate, albeit partially obstructed by another device at the bottom (likely to cover up any identifying information), that shows off the vertical “Nexus” logo and large camera pod in the top left corner. The back seems to be of a similar material as what we’ve seen before, but giving the lighting we can’t be sure. The device that appears in the new pictures closely resembles the handset seen in the Android 4.4, KitKat software unveiling photos. This enhances the possibility of the Nexus 5 sporting this same design seen in both pictures when it launches later this year. Documents at the FCC confirmed a few specs: display of 4.96-inches, 2,300mAh battery, 2GB of RAM, 16-32GB of internal storage, LTE connectivity, 13MP rear camera and a 2MP front-facing camera.

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Google To Pay €300,000 Fine for Privacy Violations to a French Agency

Google To Pay €300,000 Fine for Privacy Violations to a French Agency
France’s National Commission on Computing and Freedom (CNIL) threatened Google with a €300,000 fine due to the company’s lack of compliance with a June decision aimed at protecting users’ private data. The French agency that regulates information technology says Google had not satisfactorily responded to its June decision giving the company three months to be more upfront about the data it collects from users.

In a statement Friday, France’s National Commission on Computing and Freedom, known as CNIL, said:

Google hasn’t made requested changes, including specifying to users what it uses personal data for, and how long it’s held. CNIL said it will now launch formal sanction proceedings, a process that could take months.

On the other hand, Google spokesman Al Verney said:

Our privacy policy respects European law and allows us to create simpler, more effective services. We have engaged fully with CNIL throughout this process and will continue to do so going forward.”

The National Commission on Computing and Freedom said five other European countries are also taking similar steps in a staggered offensive against Google’s privacy policy between now and the end of July. It said Google has largely ignored earlier recommendations from European regulators. Similar actions are underway in Spain, Germany, Britain, Italy and Netherlands.

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Google Improves Search Accuracy Via Hummingbird Update Rgyaan

Google Improves Search Accuracy Via Hummingbird Update

 

Marking Google’s 15th birthday, the Hummingbird update was release which is the biggest change to the inner workings of the world’s most popular search engine since Google’s “Caffeine” update in 2010, which sped up Google’s indexing of sites and delivery of search results.

The Hummingbird update focuses more on Google’s Knowledge Graph – an encyclopaedia of about 570m concepts and relationships that allows Google to anticipate facts and figures you might want to know about your search term.

When you search Google it no longer just searches for individual keywords; it can now respond to questions and statements in the same way a human might, by looking at the whole query – even if it doesn’t have an exact answer. 

Apart from ‘Hummingbird’, several other updates have been announced, with most aiming at providing the data more concisely to allow people not to navigate to another website to find out more – which can prove difficult on small smart phone screens. 

“Remember what it was like to search in 1998? You’d sit down and boot up your bulky computer, dial up on your squawky modem, type in some keywords, and get 10 blue links to websites that had those words,” Senior vice president Amit Singhal wrote in a separate blog post. 

“The world has changed so much since then: billions of people have come online, the web has grown exponentially, and now you can ask any question on the powerful little device in your pocket.” 

These changes mainly affect the ‘Knowledge Graph’, a box that appears on top or alongside other search results. In particular, its new version will be able to compare the attributes of two different things. ‘Google Now’, a virtual assistant that provides for the user the information about his interests and location, will start flagging new developments – for example, in the life of a celebrity – that interest the user. 

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AirPlay Mirroring From an Android Phone Demonstrated

Koushik Dutta VP of Engineering  at CyanogenMod just posted a video showing off AirPlay Mirroring from an Android phone(HTC One). There are other apps in the Play Store that connect Android devices over AirPlay, but the mirroring support integrated into the Operating System is something new.

He is been working on Android streaming support to various protocols/devices for the “AllCast” media streaming app since Google’s changes cut it off from the Chromecast, and Apple’s screen sharing feature is the latest target for him. AllCast support is already in place for pushing media to Roku and DLNA-compatible hardware, and he further says this mirroring feature is “coming soon to a CyanogenMod near you.”

You can watch the demonstration below:

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Google Updates Navigation Bar and other Products as well

Google introduced a new navigation bar, which will be rolling out across most Google properties over the next few weeks, Manager(Google), Eddie Kessler wrote in a blog post.

“Getting around Google should be seamless, and once you’re inside an app, you don’t want any distractions,” Kessler wrote. “So we’re introducing an updated Google bar that streamlines your experience across products and devices.”

There will also be a new app launcher from which you can easily access all your Google apps, like Gmail, Maps, Search, YouTube, News etc. The new app launcher is located at the top right of the screen and will also be present on Android devices and Chromebooks.

Google also released a new version of its Chrome Web browser for Apple’s iOS 7. The updated mobile browser sports a new design and makes it easier to switch between Chrome and other Google apps on your iOS device.

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Inventor Of Hashtag Chris Messina Leaves Google

As The Next Web reports, Chris Messina has left Google to join the digital collectibles platform NeonMob. The former developer advocate and UX designer for the search company announced in a blog post that he will be working to build the new startup’s community and service, something he describes as “an important, new platform for digital creatives and art enthusiasts.” An advocate of open social Web technologies, Chris Messina had first joined Google to lead developer relations for the short-lived Google Buzz product. In recent years, he had worked on user experience design on the Google+ team. Since creating hashtags back in 2007 as way of grouping online conversations, he’s spent his time focusing on design and the open web at Google. Perhaps more accurately, redesign. Chris Messina is responsible for the search giant’s revamped brand badges, profiles and +1 button, as well as helping create the Google Developers knowledge base. Based in San Francisco, NeonMob is building a market for digital art. He will be the head of the company’s community and growth starting next week. NeonMob describes itself as : NeonMob is a platform and community for discovering and collecting awesome, original, limited-edition, digital art. For those who grew up collecting comic books, cards, stamps, coins or other collectible paraphernalia, the concept of collecting online doesn’t stretch the imagination. The difference is, NeonMob is online, which makes finding fellow collectors and trading partners much easier – and on NeonMob, anybody can create stuff for others to collect!

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Google's New Android Device Manager Will Help Locate Lost Phones

 Apple’s Find my iPhone has been a very useful feature for those who frequently misplace their gadgets. Or, for those who just enjoy the peace of mind that comes with knowing that Apple has a piece of technology dedicated to securing a lost phone.Android and iOS have been going back and forth battling over feature inclusions for some time now, and it looks like Google’s the follower in this case. The company just introduced the Android Device Manager, which as you may suspect, will help Android users track down lost devices in a similar manner. If you discover you’ve lost your phone, you can go to any computer and log into the Android Device Manager, which will be part of the Google Play Store. All that is required is your Google account login, the same one you used to activate your Android phone. Choose your registered phone and push out a signal to ring at full volume, even if your lost phone was last put on vibrate or silent mode. If this doesn’t do the trick, find the phone as a blip a Google Map. If you discover that your lost Android phone is on the move and you don’t feel safe going into full-on vigilante mode (or are worried it will get turned off soon), delete all data on the device using a special built-in wipe mode in the Android Device Manager, to keep your data safe from prying eyes.

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Google Play Edition Galaxy S4 And HTC One Now Receiving Android 4.3 Update

After updating all the Nexus devices this week, the two Nexus 7 tablets, the Nexus 4 and the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, search engine giant Google’s Android division on Friday rolled out the Android 4.3 Jelly Bean update for the two Google Play Edition smartphones, the HTC One and the Samsung Galaxy S4. When Google announced the Google Play edition of the S4, they promised quick updated along with a stock Android experience. These are two of the main reasons to get these devices over their standard versions that come with OEM customizations and are bound to receive the 4.3 update much, much later. These phones’ updates include most of Android 4.3′s key features—Bluetooth 4.0 and OpenGL ES 3.0 support among them—plus a few handset-specific enhancements. AnandTech reports, for example, that the Google Play edition HTC One’s IR blaster has now been enabled, as has Bluetooth pairing for the Galaxy S 4. Both phones were already using the new stock Camera app included with Android 4.3 on the Nexus devices, but they each come with a few minor cosmetic tweaks of their own. Do you think Samsung and HTC will capitalize on this momentum to help them release the Android 4.3 update for their mainstream devices in a more timely manner? Let us know below!

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