All Eyes May Be on Security in Samsung's S5

Mobile device security is a major issue for the enterprise as the BYOD trend gains momentum, because personally owned mobile devices increasingly are being used to access enterprise systems and cloud-based data, according to the Cloud Security Alliance. The leading mobile threat is data loss from lost, stolen or decommissioned devices, it found. Information-stealing mobile malware is second.

RRumors that Samsung will include iris-recognition technology in its forthcoming Galaxy S5 smartphone, widely expected to be launched in April, were given a boost on Thursday through a Bloomberg interview of Lee Young Hee, executive vice president of Samsung Mobile.

People are "fanatical" about iris recognition technology and Samsung is "studying the possibility," Lee said, but he would not confirm its implementation in the S5.

The S5 will be paired with the successor of the company's Galaxy Gear smartwatch, which has not fared as well as hoped.

The chances of Samsung's implementing iris-scanning technology are fairly good as smartphone manufacturers keep introducing innovative security features in their ongoing battle for market share.

"We're seeing a race among manufacturers, particularly between Samsung and LG in Android phones, which are inherently secure, and between Apple, BlackBerry and Samsung on the others," Rob Enderle, principal analyst at the Enderle Group, told TechNewsWorld. "Samsung has been particularly aggressive."

The Galaxy S5's Rumored Specs

The S5 reportedly will have a metal frame, unlike the plastic mold used in earlier models.

There is speculation that Samsung is working on a Quad HD screen, which has a display resolution of 2560 x 1440 pixels -- four times as many as in the 720p HDTV video standard.

Samsung reportedly began production of a 5.25-inch QHD display for the S5 back in December.

The S5 will trail behind China's 6-inch Vivo Xplay 3S smartphone, which was released with a QHD display in December.

Everything Old Is New Again

Reports that Samsung might implement iris scanning in the Galaxy S5 first surfaced in October.

Patentbolt in November published Samsung's patent application on iris scanning, which gave credence to the rumors.

Many Asians do not have sufficient melanin pigments in their eyes to use a general flash for illumination in iris scanning, so a separate built-in infrared ray source of illumination is necessary, Patentbolt said. That would increase the weight and bulk of a mobile device.

Samsung's technology gets around this by using a proximity sensor.

The company's patent application illustrates a smartphone that includes standard features such as a camera, light-emitting and a light-receiving units, and a power supply. It also includes an illustration of an iris-sensing unit.

The input unit may be a soft button, a virtual button, or an icon of a touchpad or touchscreen; a keyboard; a microphone; or an action or gesture sensor.

Samsung's patent was filed in the U.S. in Q2 2013, and in Korea one year earlier, Patentbolt said.

Samsung and Smartphone Security

Samsung's earlier effort to provide security for mobile devices in the enterprise, the Knoxservice, has been troubled.

Initially scheduled to be preloaded with the Galaxy S4, which was unveiled in March, Knox's launch was pushed back to the end of 2013. Then security researchers discovered a critical vulnerability in the devices that made it easy to intercept data communications.

That caused the U.S. Department of Defense, which had approved Knox-based mobile devices for deployment on its networks in May, to investigate the claims of vulnerability.

"Samsung has this nasty habit of bringing out stuff before it's ready, like the Galaxy Gear, so the first implementation [of iris recognition] will likely be problematic," Enderle remarked. "It will either be insecure or won't work properly."

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Samsung's New Galaxy S5 Might Ship Bathtub-Ready

ot everyone wants to go swimming with their smartphone -- but everyone wants a smartphone that can survive the occasional dunk or deluge. Samsung may fulfill that desire with its Galaxy S5, expected to appear next week at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Neither rain nor snow nor a sudsy kitchen sink or bubbly bathtub would do it in. Still a good idea to keep the toilet lid down, though.

 all the Samsung Galaxy S5 rumors to hit this week, the one that had me sit up straight and pay close attention is the rumor that the new Galaxy S5 may be both waterproof and dustproof.

This is a big deal, because it would be the first major flagship smartphone with wide and popular distribution to be waterproof.

Of course, Samsung last year offered the Galaxy S4 Active, which was a variant of its regular Galaxy S4. The Active version had a slightly bigger case and was IP67 certified: It could withstand a 30-minute submersion down to about 3 feet of water.

Unfortunately, you could still void the warranty if the unit actually failed and water seeped inside, killing your Galaxy S4 Active and leaving you high and dry with no recourse other than shelling out for a new phone.

In fact, there were some reports of Galaxy S4 Active units failing under normal, expected underwater use, which surely didn't help launch sales to true outdoor enthusiasts.

Still, the Galaxy S4 Active was a fine start, and while Sony's Xperia ZR and Z1S are also "waterproof," they aren't nearly as influential as the Samsung Galaxy line.

Bring It to the Bathtub, Baby!

While having a truly waterproof smartphone that you actually could snorkel with -- shooting photos and video of turtles and fish -- would be particularly fantastic, I'm not holding my breath.

For most people, simply being able to use their smartphone in the rain or snow would be a great leap forward. I once dropped an iPhone in a kitchen sink filled with soapy water. Although I snatched it out in time to save its life, my blood pressure skyrocketed while I frantically performed the smartphone equivalent of CPR.

Similarly, drinks get spilled on tables -- and at bars -- and who wants to be the clumsy guy who destroys a US$600 smartphone that belongs to the girl you just met?

Have you ever tried reading an e-book in the bathtub? Old-school paper is a lot less risky. Even so, all those nooks and crannies in smartphones and their cases could use a good dunking every now and then just to wash off the germs.

At the very least, it would be nice for active people who exercise with their smartphones -- just putting a smartphone in a front pants pocket and then hiking can introduce enough moisture from vaporous sweat to void your warranty.

A mostly waterproof smartphone is about peace of mind.

The Rumor and Ramifications

The waterproof rumor comes courtesy of reports from two tech news sites in Samsung's home country: ZDNet Korea and ET News.

Because this rumor comes just days before Samsung's big "Unpacked" product announcement -- set for Monday at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona -- I'm inclined to give it a high chance of being true.

As for effects on the industry, this possible feature carries more weight than a snappier processor, better camera, or even a Samsung fingerprint sensor. Why? Everyone wants their smartphone to be essentially waterproof.

Not only would it add pressure to other Android competitors, it could become an interesting advancement over Apple. After all, if Apple is so obsessed with amazing industrial design, why can't it create a waterproof iPhone, too?

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How To Extend IPhone Battery Life

EXTEND IPHONE BATTERY

The following guide will tell you everything you need to know to extend IPhone battery life.

TURN DOWN SCREEN BRIGHTNESS
Turning down the screen brightness as much as possible will greatly increase battery life for your iphone. Keep in mind that lowering the screen brightness will make it very difficult to view your screen when outside on sunny days.

To adjust screen brightness, click the “Settings” icon, then goto “Brightness”. 

TURN OFF VIBRATETurning off the vibrate feature for incoming calls is another excellent way to help increase battery life. The vibrate feature uses a lot of power and will eat up your battery quickly.

To disable vibrate, goto “Settings” icon, then click “Sounds”, and then set “Vibrate” to “off”.

TURN OFF WIFI AND BLUETOOTH
If you can get away with turning off WIFI or Bluetooth, it can save quite a bit of battery life.

To disable WIFI, goto “Settings” icon, then click “WIFI”, and then set to “off”.

To disable BLUETOOTH, goto “Settings” icon, then click “GENERAL”  ”BLUE TOOTH”, and then set to “off”.

AVOID 3D GAMES AND MOVIES
While using your Iphone on the battery, avoid 3D games and movies which take up a lot of power.

TURN DOWN SOUND
Sound can use up a lot of power and eat up battery life. Use your volume control to turn it down.

USE A SHORT RING TONE
Use a short ring tone, and avoid using a song or anything that uses a lot of volume or power.

TURN AUTO-LOCK DOWN
The auto-lock feature lets you choose how long the screen will be on after you have pressed a key or touched the touch screen. Turn down AUTO-LOCK all the way down to 1 minute.

To turn down auto-lock, goto “Settings” icon, then click “GENERAL”, then  ”auto-lock”, and then set to “1 minute”.

TURN OFF SCREEN WHEN NOT IN USE
Click the off key once right after you use the phone to turn off the screen.

TURN OFF PHONE WHEN NOT IN USE
Completely power the phone off when you are not using it, which is one of the best things you can do to save battery life. Hold down the off button and slide the red slider to the right to turn off phone.

DISABLE LOCATION SERVICES
GPS location services eat up a lot of battery life, so be sure to turn it off if its not necessary.

To disable location Services, goto “Settings” icon, then click “GENERAL”  ”Location Services”, and then set to “off”.

CHECK E-MAIL LESS
Having the phone check your e-mail less can save a small amount of power.  Every little bit counts, and it is worth changing the settings to check your e-mail less to save some battery life.

To change, Click Settings Icon ,  Mail, Contacts, Calendar , Fetch New Data , Select Your Preference

GET ANOTHER BATTERY AND KEEP IT CHARGED
Having another battery for when your first one goes out will extend battery life by double. Also remember to always bring your charger, and buy a car charger if you are driving often and away from a wall plug.

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The Best Apps For Rooted Android Devices

The trend of Android devices is touching the higher peak day by day. Android devices offer you great hardware and software features that you can take to the next level by rooting them. Rooting frees your Android device from any ominous clutch of your carrier or device manufacturer. It gives you a full control of your device, which should always be the case since you paid money for it.

Rooting Android gadget makes you the real owner of it by giving you full access to it just like admin account has on Windows. Well, if you have rooted your Android then you might be thinking that ‘What’s Next?’ Which apps to download? This post is the answer for you.

Top Apps for Rooted Android Handsets:

ROM Manager
Installing ROM on your Android can be a little bit complex task, if you are newbie in this task. ROM Manager is the app, made for you only. By installing this app on your Android, you can keep the ClockworkMod Recovery up to date and can flash it with ease. You can take backup of entire ROM so as to minimize the harm before going for new ROM installation. ROM Manager can also be used to download ROMs  straight from your phone and to keep updated about the new ROMs. This is must have app for all rooted Android gadgets.
Learn how to root your device from http://geniusgeeks.com, a blog dedicated to help Andorid users.

ES File Explorer
Finding it hard to browse the files in your Android? Use ES File Explorer to ease the task. This popular file manager shows you files in the Windows’ style. You can easily find files of your choice and can easily copy or share them. The cloud service of this renowned application allows you to access your phone remotely from computer over the WiFi connectivity.

Battery Calibration
Changing ROM in your device can cost you the fake measures by your battery. Yes, this usually happens with the Android devices after rooting. Your battery may be showing you 100 percent charged status and in the next moment you phone may get switched off due to low battery power. Battery Calibration is the app that lets you to correct the battery status so that it can’t cheat you anymore. As this problem usually occurs with every Android device after flashing a new ROM, so everyone must download this app after rooting.

ShootMe
It’s screenshot taking app for Android devices. The app is good in response and allows you to take shots of your device’s screen with single click or by little shake. While the app is good for everyone, but the importance of this app becomes even more, if you are a blogger. You can take screenshots with this app to create some tutorials for your blog.

Quickboot
Don’t like the idea of pressing the power and volume buttons simultaneously to enter into Recovery mode? Then this is the app for you. Quickboot allows you to have  easy boot into Recovery mode. No more pressing of power and volume buttons simultaneously.
Don’t forget to download these apps after rooting your Android device. These apps are not only designed for your ease, but can also take your Android use experience on the new ROM, to the next level.

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