Samsung

There’s an Official Fix Coming For the Crazy Samsung Phone-Bricking Exploit

There’s a crazy exploit sneaking around that could brick your Samsung phone and break into your physical memory to steal your data. But don’t freak out; Samsung says it’s aware of the problem and is working quickly on software fixes. https://gizmodo.com/crazy-new-exploit-can-brick-samsung-phones-or-steal-all-5968879 Samsung confirmed to Android Central suspicions that the problem is an Exynos processor vulnerability…

Samsung’s New Galaxy Grand Doesn’t Quite Live Up to Its Name

Samsung’s latest addition to its Galaxy line-up—the Grand—has just been announced. Sadly, it’s not clear that it entirely lives up to its name. That does, of course, depend on how you interpret its monicker. If the word Grand makes you think of all things large, then you won’t be disappointed: this phone has a 5-inch…

Apple Has Been Denied a Permanent Sales Ban on the Samsung Phones and Tablets That Infringed on Apple’s Patents

Though Apple won a fresh billion dollars in the US patent infringement case that saw Samsung basically lose everything, Apple won’t be able to kill Samsung products dead. Judge Lucy Koh, the federal judge that presided over Apple v. Samsung, has denied Apple a permanent injunction against Samsung. Samsung can still sell the products that…

10 James Bond Gadgets That Actually Exist—And One That Needs To

There have been 23 Bond movies made In the past 50 years—full of lethal, handy, futuristic, awesome, and sometimes funny gadgets. Most are still too fantastic to be real, but some have transcended the silver screen to become naturalized residents of the Real World. These are our favorites. Homing beacon, Goldfinger (1964) Tracking devices are…

That Samsung Sex Tape Ad Is Way Creepier When It’s Santa

We all remember that time Samsung made a Galaxy S III ad that promoted the healthy exchange of sex tapes between mature adults, right? Like all good things, it’s received its mandatory holiday tie-in. One that manages to ruin your childhood. https://gizmodo.com/samsung-suggests-you-make-and-share-sex-tapes-in-latest-5954764 On the one hand, sure, I’m glad that Santa and Mrs. Claus still…

Crazy New Exploit Can Brick Samsung Phones or Steal All Their Data

Got a Samsung Galaxy SIII? Maybe a Galaxy Note? Well listen up because there’s a new boogeyman on the loose. According to a thread at XDA Developers, there’s an exploit out there that can let Android malware apps get at all your physical memory, for the purposes of stealing your data or deleting it or…

Samsung Denies New Claims of Underage Workers In Its Supplier Plants

Following allegations that a Samsung supplier used child labor in its factories, and an audit by Samsung which turned up no such thing, the claims are back. According to China Labor Watch there were definitely at least three underaged girls working for Samsung supplier HTNS Shenzhen Co. Samsung says otherwise. https://gizmodo.com/report-underage-children-abused-in-samsung-factories-5932504 The three workers in…

South Korea Rules That a Samsung Chip Plant Gave Its Employee Cancer

Just when it thought allegations of poor working conditions were grounded, Samsung has been accused by the South Korean government of running a chip plant that causes cancer. https://gizmodo.com/samsung-audit-finds-no-underage-workers-but-some-serio-5940185 The Korea Workers’ Compensation and Welfare Service claims that it was working at a Samsung Electronics factory that caused the breast cancer of a worker who…

The Most Important Laptops of 2012

2012 was a big year for laptops. Windows 8 came along with its touch-centric worldview, Intel kept plugging away on its ultrabook crusade, and Apple finally started pumping out Retina MacBooks. Here’s our list of the most important machines of the year. 10. Acer Aspire S7 11-inch https://gizmodo.com/acer-aspire-s7-review-this-is-how-windows-8-should-fee-5952833 This is a statement of intent from…

Samsung Galaxy Camera Review: Android Franken-Camera, You Are Absurd and Almost Wonderful

“Android camera.” It doesn’t even sound like a real thing. That’s why the Samsung Galaxy Camera could easily have been a nonsense concept—two desirable things hurled together in hopes that the result will be a revolutionary hybrid, and not a catastrophe. But forget all that, because it’s neither. Instead, the Galaxy Camera is a deftly…

Samsung’s Chief Strategy Officer Prefers to Use Apple at Home

By day, he heads up Samsung’s technology strategy. By night, he’s a closet Apple fanboy. Young Sohn, Samsung’s Chief Strategy Officer, admitted to Technology Review in an interview that he can’t get enough of Apple’s products. From the interview: I use a Mac, actually, at home. I’ve always used Mac, an iPhone, and an iPad……

Reason #5,482 That Smart TVs Are Dumb: They Can Get Hacked

Televisions with apps are already a little superfluous; the updates are slow, the interfaces are borish, they think you actually want to tweet from a 55-inch screen. But now it turns out that they’re also vulnerable to hackers. Great. In the video above, security consultants demonstrate just how deep into a Samsung TV they can…

Apple, Samsung, Nokia, and Others Urge Congress to Free Up Spectrum

A band of tech giants, including Apple, Samsung, and Nokia, has sent a letter—yes, a letter!—to Congress, urging it to free more spectrum for mobile data. The Hill reports that the companies explained to congress that “authorizing new spectrum auctions is timely and relevant” to current debates over the “fiscal cliff”. They went on to…

The Samsung Galaxy Camera comes to Verizon on December 13th for $550. That’s 50 bucks more than on AT&T.

The Most Important Phones Of 2012

The smartphone market of 2012 has seen some heated competition. The usual contenders all released solid hardware. But the dynamic between them changed, too—Windows Phone arrived as a serious third OS option, and 2012 ended with exciting new models of iPhone and Android devices. Here’s a look at the best new products people put in…

Apple-Samsung Judge Longs for “Global Peace” Between the Two

Judge Lucy Koh is getting into the Christmas spirit early. In the courtroom yesterday, while presiding over the eternal Apple-Samsung case, she called for “global peace” between the two companies. Perhaps understandably, the statement reportedly caused its fair share of laughter in the court room. But Lucy Koh, she doesn’t take any shit. She quickly…

This Is the Document Outlining Apple’s Settlement With HTC

Or at least, what you can read of it, because vast swathes have been redacted. Still, there are bits you can actually read, so let’s take a look. https://gizmodo.com/apple-tells-samsung-how-much-its-10-year-htc-license-is-5962756 A few interesting things that we can learn from the document: Both Apple and HTC are getting a nonexclusive, nontransferrable and non-sublicensable license to some of…

What’s the Point of Android Skins?

Manufacturers just can’t leave Android alone. When they build Android devices, they’ve got to customize. There’s Samsung’s TouchWiz, Motorola’s MotoBlur, HTC’s Sense, and others. These customizations have come to be known as skins. Skins are a touchy subject. Enthusiasts howl about how much better a phone would be if it didn’t even have a skin—if…

32 Amazing Photos Taken On Phones

It’s starting to feel silly to point out: You no longer need a great dSLR to take a great picture. Still, we made you prove it. Here are the best entries from this week’s Shooting Challenge, cellphones. https://gizmodo.com/shooting-challenge-cellphone-redux-5963985 You know what’s the best part of these cellphone Shooting Challenges? The entries are so incredibly diverse.…

Galaxy SIII owners, rejoice (if you’re on AT&T)! Today, your long-awaited Android 4.1 Jelly Bean update arrives. Enjoy.