Category: Technology News

Wearable technology ban launched in Chinese military

| May 21, 2015

China has now forbidden the members of its armed forces from using smartwatches and other wearables.

Recently, China put a new regulation into place that has banned the members of its armed forces from being able to use wearable technology in the form of any connected device that can be worn on the body.

This, according to several reports that have been made by official sources in the country.

For example, the official military newspaper in China, the People’s Liberation Army Daily (PLA Daily), explained that after one military recruit received a birthday gift that consisted of a smartwatch, there have been concerns that have been steadily voiced about the security issues that could be linked to the use of this type of wearable technology. Now NBC has reported that its own sources have confirmed that a ban has been created and that it has now been put into place.

The PLA Daily story pointed out that the wearable technology had been used to take pictures, which raised alarm.

wearable technology china smartwatchThe military recruit who received the smartwach for his birthday apparently snapped some pictures of his comrades through the use of his wearable tech while he was stationed in Nanjing, a city in the east of the country. Military leaders were alerted about the incident and decided that the restriction on the devices was the appropriate next move. This decision aligns well with the restrictions that have already been in place among the majority of armies when it comes to smartphones and other mobile devices.

In the PLA Daily report, the Chinese national agency responsible for the protection of state secrets also produced a statement about the incident and decreed the following: “The use of wearables with internet access, location information, and voice-calling functions should be considered a violation of confidential regulations when used by military personnel.”

PLA Daily has also reported that the military has already produced teaching materials as well as lists of warning signs that are circulating among military personnel to ensure that they know what they’re looking for in order to spot the use of wearable technology, and what the regulations are in terms of complying with the ban.

Smartphone trends study show increase in US iPhone use

| May 19, 2015

Although the iPhone 6 is already growing in popularity, the 4S is still in use by many Americans.

New data has recently been released by the Consumer Intelligence Research Partners firm, which has examined certain smartphone trends and that has shown that iPhones are being used now more than ever by Americans.

The data revealed that there are currently an estimated 94 million iPhones being used in the United States.

That smartphone trends figure doesn’t represent the number of devices that are owned, but is instead the number that are actually being used by their owners. By the end of march, there were 94 million iPhones in use by Americans. Among them, the estimate was that 38 million of them were iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 plus devices. The Consumer Intelligence Research Partners also estimated that there are also still 8 million iPhone 4S devices still being used within the country. This, despite the fact that that smartphone has been on the market for four years.

The data in this smartphone trends report was based on a survey that was conducted in March among Apple customers.

Smartphone Trends - Woman using smartphoneThe Consumer Intelligence Research Partners surveyed 500 owners of Apple products in the United States. The participants included people who had purchased at least one iPhone, iPad, or Mac computer.

To offer some perspective for this data, it has been compared to another study that was conducted by eMarketer, which estimated that by the end of this year, 184.2 million people in the United States will be smartphone users. This means that 57.3 percent of the country’s population, and 71.6 percent of all mobile device users will have smartphones from one manufacturer or another.

That same firm has also predicted that the smartphone trends will only continue and that by the close of 2018, there will be 220 million smartphone users in the United States, representing 66.9 percent of the population and 82 percent of all mobile device users. This is very promising for Apple as it experienced quite the successful launch of its last two models of iPhone (the 6 and 6 Plus), but now it is up to the company to continue this popularity as the market becomes increasingly saturated.