IBM tech finds virus-laden apps before they reach your phone

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2015/03/19/ibm-fights-mobile-malware/

Mobile malware is bad enough by itself, but it's a nightmare at work -- one infection could put everyone's phones at risk, if not the whole business. IBM has a fix, though. A new version of its MobileFirst Protect tool now automatically looks for virus-ridden Android and iOS apps on staffers' phones, and puts any compromised device on lockdown before it can pose a threat to you or anyone else. It immediately limits access to apps and services, and it'll let your IT staff know if there's trouble. The system automatically updates its malware knowledge, too, so it shouldn't be caught off-guard by recently discovered exploits. Yes, IBM's threat tool another form of corporate oversight, but it could prove a lifesaver if it prevents a careless coworker from wrecking your personal phone.

[Image credit: IBM, Flickr]

Filed under: Cellphones, Internet, Mobile

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Source: IBM

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Tag Heuer will make the first 'luxury' Android Wear watch

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2015/03/19/tag-heuer-android-wear-google-intel/

There's been plenty of speculation as to how Switzerland's watch making industry will deal with smartwatches. In Tag Heuer's case, the company has decided that if it can't beat Google, it might as well join it, which is why the firm has announced it'll be the first to produce "luxury" Android Wear devices. In addition to working with the search engine, Tag is also enlisting the services of Intel to help build the hardware that'll power this new wearable.

Jean-Claude Biver, head of watches for the luxury group LVMH -- Tag Heuer's parent company -- revealed a few choice tidbits about the decision. For instance, he told BBC News that rather than build a device that worked with iOS, or partner with Apple more generally, he preferred Google since it doesn't produce a watch of its own. There could also be some bad blood there, since Cupertino did steal former Tag sales and retail VP Patrick Pruniaux in the summer of last year. Biver also told an audience member at the event that the device would maintain Tag Heuer's house style. That falls in line with the previous Reuters report, which said that the new watch would ape the classic Carrera model.

The first watch from the partnership will arrive at the end of the year, Biver mischievously describing that as any time between October and December. The executive also revealed that the features and pricing of the watch are already known, but wouldn't be revealed until much closer to the launch date. Given that this is a Tag Heuer watch, however, we can speculate that the price will run from "a lot" all the way through to "woah."

Filed under: Wearables, Google, Intel

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Source: Intel

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Samsung can put 128GB of storage in your low-cost phone

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2015/03/18/samsung-can-put-128gb-of-storage-in-your-low-cost-phone/

Just because you're not splurging on a top-of-the-line smartphone doesn't mean that you have to settle for a tiny amount of storage. Samsung certainly thinks that way -- it just announced a 3-bits-per-cell flash memory chip that promises 128GB of storage in "mass market" (read: more affordable) mobile devices. It's based on the plain eMMC tech you see in most phones instead of the fast UFS format inside the Galaxy S6, but you probably won't complain about the speed when it can still read sequential data at a very respectable 260MB per second. The one catch? There's no word on when it'll be ready, so you may be waiting a while before you're carrying a budget phone with more drive space than some laptops.

[Top image credit: Samsung Tomorrow, Flickr]

Filed under: Cellphones, Storage, Mobile, Samsung

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Source: Samsung (BusinessWire)

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drag2share: 'Defective' graphene makes for super-efficient fuel cells

source: http://www.engadget.com/2015/03/18/graphene-fuel-cell-membrane/?utm_source=Feed_Classic_Full&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Engadget&?ncid=rss_full

Though graphene is noted for its beautiful symmetry, when you add a few warts and imperfections, it becomes more interesting -- specifically, it has the potential to make fuel cells better and cheaper. Scientists from Northwestern University and other institutions were toying with the material as a hydrogen fuel cell membrane, and found that by knocking out at least four carbon atoms from the normally pristine structure, it performed vastly better. A large number of protons (and nothing else) slipped through imperfections in the atom-thick material in just a few seconds, efficiently generating electricity.

The "defective" graphene membrane transports protons much faster and more selectively than standard fuel cell membranes, which tend to let too many impurities through. That could lead to less complicated, hyper-efficient fuel cell batteries for EVs and wind or solar power plants. The tech could also bring improvements to regular batteries, according to the researchers. Despite being the poster-child for promising materials that nobody uses, Graphene might finally get its day by powering your future fossil-free car.

[Image credit: Murali Raju, Penn State]

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T-Mobile courts the business world with simple pricing, free website

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2015/03/18/t-mobile-uncarrier-9-for-business/

The last few times T-Mobile's CEO went off on an Uncarrier spree, he revealed a way to bank the data people paid for but didn't use, and eased up its credit requirements for new phone buyers. Now, at a cozy studio space in New York City, John Legere has a new Uncarrier 9.0 initiative to show off and it's a little different than what we're used to: It's meant to make pairing businesses with T-Mobile service less of a pain in the ass than than it normally is.

In short: Pricing is dead simple, so companies with less than 20 lines pay $16 per line for unlimited talk, text and 1GB of LTE data. Oh, you're running a bigger operation than that? Lines'll cost you $15 instead, and you can set up business family discounts of up to 50 percent, too.

In the event you need even more data, you can pay additional fees per line or shell out the dough for one big pool that costs $4.75 a gigabyte (naturally, rates dip a little the bigger your pool gets). The icing on the cake: Your business gets a free .com domain and website thanks to a partnership with GoDaddy, plus free Microsoft business email service if just one of your lines has additional purchased data stuck to it. And just like that, T-Mobile just made itself relevant to cash-strapped startups and mom-and-pop operations across the country.

Legere, boisterous as always and with a now-trademark Red Bull in hand, kicked off the event by summing up T-Mobile's big moves in 2014. To hear him tell the tale, the company saw 1 billion free international data roaming sessions, and paid for 1.8 million early termination fees last year, a testament to just how strongly these . More importantly, Legere confirmed once again that T-Mobile was sitting pretty with more than 55 million subscribers at the end of 2014, putting it neck and neck with -- or possibly just a bit ahead of -- its bitter rival Sprint, which Legere just couldn't stop ragging on.

Oh, and in case you were keeping count: It took about 10 minutes for Legere to drop his first f-bomb.

Filed under: Mobile

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