Collen Kriel
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U.K. banks introduce Touch ID access to mobile apps, security expert has doubts
In an industry first for the country, two U.K. banks, RBS and NatWest, have announced that they will introduce Apple Inc.’s Touch ID login support for their respective mobile banking apps. RBS and NatWest told the BBC that customers wishing to use Touch ID to access their banking apps must use existing security information to activate the ...
New patent provides further evidence that Apple may enter VR headset market
Apple Inc. has been awarded a patent for a head-mounted device that houses an iPhone as the display for what appears to be a virtual reality (VR) headset. On Tuesday, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office granted Apple U.S. Patent No. 8,957,835, entitled “Head-Mounted Display Apparatus for Retaining a Portable Electronic Device with Display.” That ...
Apple Watch news: 5M units in production, forecast to sell 20M, but health features cut
As we draw nearer the April launch of the Apple Watch, it’s to be expected that more and more rumors, speculation and ‘expert’ opinions will surface. This week we learned that Apple Inc. has placed a sizable production order for its new wearable, that it may become “the most successful smartwatch ever”, and that not ...
Light-based wireless network delivers speeds up to 224 Gbps, says Oxford researchers
Researchers at Oxford University are working on a system that uses light fidelity (LiFi) to transmit data to a device across a room at speeds up to 224 gigabits per second (Gbps). LiFi is an experimental and faster alternative to Wi-Fi, which currently maxes out at 7 Gbps. Transmitting data via light is nothing new ...
Toshiba touts prototype camera modules for Project Ara phone, has big plans for the platform
Google Inc.’s Project Ara, a modular smartphone with interchangeable components, is based on an open platform that allows third-party vendors to create modules for the phone. One such third-party vendor, Toshiba Corporation, has unveiled its plans for interchangeable camera modules for the platform. The camera on Google’s Ara modular smartphone is a self-contained module that ...
Steve Wozniak thinks Apple Watch will sell millions from the start
Co-founder of Apple Inc., Steve Wozniak didn’t sound like a big fan of the upcoming Apple Watch when he referred to it as a “luxury fitness band” in an interview with CNNMoney late last year. The remark came after he admitted to being an early-adopter when smartwatches first came out. “I kept saying that I’d ...
LG to unveil upscale LG Watch Urbane at MWC 2015
Mobile World Congress (MWC) takes place in Barcelona, Spain March 2 – 5 and we expect to see a lot of new products on show, particularly in the wearables space. In anticipation of that, LG Electronics today announced that it will unveil its latest smartwatch offering, LG Watch Urbane, at MWC 2015. The LG Watch ...
Chinese taxi-hailing apps Didi Dache and Kuaidi Dache join forces
China’s two market-dominating taxi-hailing apps, Didi Dache and Kuaidi Dache, confirmed last week’s rumors when they officially announced a merger on Saturday. The merger will create the largest taxi-hailing mobile app service in the world. A report by Xinhua, China’s state-run news service, said that the companies will retain their own brands and operate as ...
Xiaomi enters U.S. market without its smartphones
Xiaomi Inc., the fast-growing Chinese smartphone maker, has announced its cautious entry into the U.S. market. At the company’s first ever press event on U.S. soil in San Francisco yesterday, Xiaomi said that it will start selling its products online in the U.S. via its e-commerce website, mi.com. The online store will not carry the ...
Apple adds two-step authentication to iMessage and FaceTime, security expert says it’s not enough
Apple Inc. has rolled out two-step authentication to users of its messaging app, iMessage, and its video chat app, FaceTime, on iPhone, iPad and Mac. (via The Guardian) Two-step authentication aims to protect users from hackers attempting to access their accounts and the information stored and shared via the apps. With two-step authentication in place, ...