Posts tagged apple
Apple attempts to patent kill switch that roots out unauthorized users, detects jailbreaks
Aug 22nd
Just about every mobile operating system manufacturer can from the smartphones they help provide, but if a recent patent application is any indication, Apple’s looking to lock down the whole enchilada on future devices. The basic concept is as simple as the diagram above — certain activities trigger the phone to think it’s in the wrong hands — but the particular activities and particular remedies Apple suggests extend to audiovisual spying (to detect if a user has a different face or voice than the owner), and complete remote shutdown. While the patent mostly sounds targeted at opt-in security software and would simply send you an alert if your phone were stolen or hacked, and are also explicitly mentioned as the marks of an unauthorized user, and one line mentions that cellular carriers could shut down or cripple a device when such a user is detected. Sounds great for securing phones at retail, sure, but personally we’d rather devices don’t determine our authority by monitoring our heartbeat (seriously, that’s an option) and we’re plenty happy with the existing .
originally appeared on on Sat, 21 Aug 2010 20:58:00 EDT. Please see our .
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HTC fires back at Apple antenna demo with percentage pew-pew
Jul 18th
Apple’s may have left a bad taste in some , but not all of them are taking Cupertino’s seriously — HTC’s Droid Eris was arguably the most effected by the grip of doom, its bars dropping to zilch when held, but the Taiwanese company keeping its full opinion to itself for now, sharing a simple percentage instead to help clear the air. Whereas Apple claimed over 0.55 percent of customers called AppleCare with reception-related complaints, HTC’s Eric Lin told Pocket-lint the Droid Eris technical support rate was 0.016 percent, nearly thirty-four times lower — though even with a seven-month head start, we have to wonder if the Eris sold close to the iPhone 4′s by the time Verizon .
originally appeared on on Sat, 17 Jul 2010 20:08:00 EDT. Please see our .
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