Author: Julie Campbell

Gadgets from LG will soon feature curved displays

| October 14, 2013

These new handsets are slated to be launched in November, in time for the holiday shopping season.

LG Electronics Inc. has announced that it is now beginning to mass produce gadgets that have curved displays, such as in the case of the smartphones that are set to launch next month.

The goal is to carve out a larger portion of the market that is currently held by its larger rival, Samsung.

Last month, Samsung announced that it would begin releasing curved display gadgets as of October. These smartphones were to become available at some point this month from the leading smartphone manufacturer in the world. It made this announcement in order to help to keep ahead of the slowing high-end smartphone market growth.

Curved displays are still in the beginning states of gadget development but could be important to wearables.

Gadgets - smartphone with curved displayThis new type of display can make it possible to have bendable and foldable designs that could make it possible for wearable gadgets and other mobiles such as smartphones and tablets to be able to take on new designs that could dramatically change the look and design of the high end smartphone market.

In the case of LG Display Co. Ltd., they have announced that the gadgets that will use this technology, so far, will include a six inch display smartphone that is curved from top to bottom. This LG device is expected to be launched in November. At the same time, the Samsung handset will be curved from side to side, instead of the top to bottom shape from LG Electronics.

As of January, Samsung had become the global smartphone gadgets leader, after having taken the position from Apple Inc. In that month, it revealed a line of prototype products that were based on a flexible screen as well as a display extending from the side of the device.

According to tech experts, the technology has yet to be manufactured in a way that can be mass produced cheaply, and there is still a need to come up with display panels that are resistant to heat and that are thin at the same time. Curved displays are already available in larger gadgets such as big screen televisions. Both LG and Samsung have been selling these TVs this year.

Mobile security crime report released by Norton

| October 11, 2013

The release revealed that cybercrimes have cost Canadians $3 billion over the last 12 months.

According to the latest Norton Report regarding mobile security, cybercrime in Canada has cost $3 billion over the last year, which is an increase of more than double over the $1.4 billion that had been recorded over the previous year.

The software security maker, Symantec, reported that more than 7 million people have been victims.

The U.S. based company shared in its 2013 security report that more than 7 million people in Canada have been cybercrime victims in the last 12 months, alone. The average cost per victim of these various types of digital crime is approximately $380 percent.

The cost of mobile security crimes per victim has also increased for victims globally.

Mobile Secrurity Report - CybercrimesIt has risen to $113 (USD) over the last 12 months, which means that it cost each victim just over $300. The authors of the report conducted a survey of more than 13,000 people in approximately 24 countries around the world. What it determined was that mobile security, cyber attacks, and the sharing of sensitive information are becoming increasingly common.

This increase in cybercrime is occurring throughout many different channels. It involves issues such as mobile security breaches, unauthorized computer access, open Wi-Fi networks issues and identity theft. The report attributes the rapid growth rate to the rise in the use of smartphones and tablets particularly over open Wi-Fi networks.

According to Lynn Hargrove, the director of consumer Solutions at Symantec Canada, “The move to mobile is really one of the core findings that we’ve seen and as people have tablets and smartphones, that’s where the cybercriminals are going.” She also pointed out that people just don’t seem to be taking this mobile security risk as seriously as it really is. She stated that people aren’t securing their smartphones and tablets as widely as they do their desktops and laptops. Computers are far more likely to have antivirus programs than smartphones.

The online and mobile security report indicated that 60 percent of device users in Canada don’t even realize that there are security programs that are designed for use by their tablets and smartphones. Only one in four smartphone users have some level of free security software and 32 percent of them have experienced a cybercrime in the last year.