The Bluetooth SIG Officially Adopts a Spec for Bluetooth 5

Back in June of this year, a letter from the Bluetooth SIG was discovered and in it we learned some of the first official details of the version 5 update for Bluetooth. We didn't learn too much though, mainly that there would be an official announcement a week later on June 16th. This date came around and sure enough, Bluetooth 5 was officially announced to the public. In this press release, it was confirmed that Bluetooth 5 would bring four times the range and double the speed compared to Bluetooth 4.2.

That was really all we had heard, officially, about the topic since June though. It takes a while before a spec can be thoroughly tested and made official. Then this week it was confirmed, the Bluetooth SIG officially adopted the Bluetooth 5 spec they announced 6 months ago. We're told the key updates to this version of Bluetooth include longer range, faster speeds, a larger broadcast message capacity and some improvements to interoperability and coexistence for other wireless technologies.

When we get into specifics, the Bluetooth SIG say that Bluetooth 5 will indeed bring four times the range and two times the speed when we compare it to what is available today. The new Bluetooth 5 spec also allows for eight times broadcast message capacity, which will result in improved and more context relevant solutions. The improvements to interoperability and coexistence for other wireless technologies mean that we shouldn't see as much interference from said wireless technologies (such as microwave transmitters, wireless cameras, baby monitors, and Wi-Fi devices).

The special interest group also announces that Bluetooth 5 focuses on improving their IoT performance with a big focus maintaining its low-energy functionality. The first official products that have chosen to go with Bluetooth 5 are said to arrive to the market and be fully available to the public within two to six months.

Source: Bluetooth SIG

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Knuckle Gestures in EMUI 5.0

One of the more useful features on the Honor 8 is the gesture controls activated by using your knuckles. The Honor 8 can tell whether you are touching the screen with your finger or your knuckles. This allows the software to assign different actions to the different types of touches. In this video, TK goes over some of the best gesture controls in the new EMUI 5.0 update.

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T-Mobile Exposes Accounts With “DIGITS” Sign Up Security Failure

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oday T-Mobile announced DIGITS, its long awaited service that would allow you to sync multiple phone numbers to a single device, and multiple devices to a single phone number.

Many have been waiting for T-Mobile to announce this feature to combat AT&T's "NumberSync" system which allows similar control. While all of the details and security implications such as the encryption of messages and data being passed between devices and stored on servers need to be throughouly reviewed, one thing is certain… On the launch day, T-Mobile already violated the security and privacy of its millions of subscribers through a horrible flaw in its sign-up site.

The T-Mobile DIGITS beta sign up page allows you to sign up for one of two services, the ability to sync multiple numbers to a single device or sync a single device to multiple numbers. The one where we have confirmed the flaw personally, is the second one. Upon selecting the sign-up button and logging into your T-Mobile account, the system should display your active numbers and allow you to choose between them to enable syncing. However, a flaw in the site returns seemingly random numbers. But 10 random numbers alone aren't much of a threat, right? Exactly, what happens after you choose the number and click continue IS. Once you click continue you are brought to a page that allows you to view the Name, Phone Number, and Email Address of the incorrect user and owner of the number displayed.

I verified this 7 times, each time displaying a different T-Mobile account.

As of this writing, T-Mobile has taken down this sign up page obviously to correct the issue, as to if they will own up to this error is yet to be seen.

With Privacy and Security being forefront in the news today, one would figure T-Mobile would have its cards straight for a launch such as this. We have yet to hear from T-Mobile concerning the issue and will update this article as more information is disclosed.

Maybe they will handle the actual service with a little bit more security than the sign-up page…

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Unofficial Android 7.1.1 Released for MediaTek MT6752-based Jiayu S3

Within days of the Android 7.1.1 release, the MediaTek MT6752-based Jiayu S3 has received a custom ROM that brings to it the latest version of Android. Check it out!

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U.S. Supreme Court Sides with Samsung Over Apple in Latest Appeal

There are multiple lawsuit cases going back and forth between Samsung and Apple right now. At the end of last month, we learned that Samsung was denied an appeal against Apple in regards to their slide-to-unlock, quick links and auto-correct patents. On this case, Samsung can either pay the $119.6 million, or attempt to take it to the Supreme Court. Now, in a completely separate case, the U.S. Supreme Court has sided with Samsung.

This other case was one that Samsung had lost as well, and was ordered to pay Apple $930 million for copying "key iPhone designs." While the penalty for this specific case was supposed to be $930 million, but it was cut by $382 million before Samsung decided to pay. So last year, Samsung paid Apple $548 million and then decided to take the case to the Supreme Court, hoping they could have that penalty cut again (this time by $399 million).

Generally for patents, it's said that the person or company who violates them will have to pay its entire profits from the sales of products using stolen designs. This is generally known to be true even if the design patents are only for a portion of the overall product being sold. Samsung felt this was unfair and asked the U.S. Supreme Court to weigh in on the issue. They agree with Samsung and feel they shouldn't have to pay the entire $548 million penalty.

Samsung feels they should have that total cut by $399 million, but now it's up to the lower courts to figure out a new penalty total. The thing is, the U.S. Supreme Court did not present a way for the juries and lower courts to come up with this new total. Apple will continue to argue that it was innovative designs that made the iPhone a success (and therefore the majority of a product's profits), while Samsung will continue to say these features are small and do not reflect the overall product.

Source: Reuters

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Universal TA Backup Tool is Available for Xperia Phones

Yesterday, Recognized Developer rayman released a new TA Dump tool for Xperia phones that should work on all recent Xperia phones which are currently vulnerable to the Dirtycow exploit.

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It’s Official, Pebble has been Acquired by Fitbit

It's no secret that Pebble has been struggling when it comes to making enough money to stay afloat. Reports of this started to swirl around the tech community even before they launched the Kickstarter campaign for the Pebble 2, Time 2, and Pebble Core. The crowdfunding campaign was incredibly successful as they were able to bring in over $12 million from over 66,000 backers.

Still, the company hasn't been able to bring in enough funds to meet their own demands.

Reports of this $40 million acquisition began at the end of last month, but even then it doesn't seem like a good thing for Pebble's future. The deal was reported by some to be as low as $34 million, and even that wouldn't even be enough to cover Pebble's current debts. Some said that Fitbit will only be taking on parts of Pebble, owning some of the company's IP like their operating system, watch apps, and cloud services, while leaving them to deal with their current stock and remaining server hardware.

Now, the acquisition is official and we should expect substantial changes because of it. We're told that Pebble will no longer be promoting, manufacturing, or selling any devices. While they are telling us Pebble devices will continue to work as normal, they do make sure to say "functionality or service quality may be reduced in the future." Warranty support for Pebble watches are no longer available, and returns of Pebble.com orders that were successful before December 7th will receive full refunds.

Speaking of Pebble.com, the website will no longer be accepting or fulfilling orders (including Pebble 2 pre-orders). If you purchased your Pebble device from a retail store, you'll have to go by their return/exchange policy instead of contacting Pebble. Kickstarter backers who have yet to receive their product will receive a refund within 4-8 weeks in the form of a chargeback (with no action needed from the consumer).

Source: Pebble

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