Mobile Nations Weekly: Security, Xbox, a new BlackBerry, and more security

Author: Category: Greg's Blog

Welcome to Mobile Nations Weekly, a look back at the important stories of the week in mobile tech and mobile life.

The week that was brought us news, rumors, speculation, fear mongering, and opinion valid and not from all across the mobile space. On the Android front they’re dealing with the Stagefright compromise and the rapid response of manufacturers to patch the exploit as well as checking out the awesome-at-twice-the-price Moto G 2015 for under $200. BlackBerry launched their new BlackBerry Passport Silver Edition and saw another leak of the Android-powered Venice slider.

Android wasn’t alone in dealing with security issues — Apple had to grapple with blown-out-of-proportion coverage of exploits named ThunderStrike 2, DYLD, and Masque. Thankfully there’ll be a new iPhone soon enough to distract all the pundits. And speaking of Apple stuff, Microsoft open sourced their software to port iOS apps to Windows Phone. There was also Gamescom with buckets of Xbox news, Windows Central’s ever-expanding guides to Windows 10, and a new peak at an upcoming Lumia flagship phone.

iMore — iPhone 6s cometh and security theater

The iPhone 6s is just one month away! Until then, we’re suffering from bored reporters trolling the security conference speaker topics and publishing anything that lets them cram Apple into the headline. Witness ThunderStrike 2, DYLD, and the non-return of Masque Attack. Meanwhile, technology continues to make real lives better.

Android Central — Stagefright, security and really good (cheap) phones!

Android security (or lack thereof, depending on your Chicken Little quotient) dominated the news this week. But do you really need to worry? The Stagefright compromise is still making the rounds, and while it’s bad, it’s not as scary as it has been made to seem, and the manufacturers and carriers are working to make sure as many phones get patched as they can. But there’s a good chance that not everybody will see an update.

We’ve also posted our review of the new Moto G from Motorola. Normally we’re more excited by the expensive flagship phones, but this one is simply astoundingly good for costing less than $200 unlocked. If you’re on a budget, it’s seriously worth considering. Unsurprisingly, the Moto G 2015 tops our list of the best unlocked Android phones.

CrackBerry — Passport Silver Edition, Android Secured and Smart Hospitals

This week started off with the official unveiling of the brand new BlackBerry Passport Silver Edition and just kept rolling from there. In typical CrackBerry fashion, we went all out on the announcement with hands-on videos, photos and more. From there, BlackBerry revealed what they were doing buying Android-based domain names by launching the Android Secured portal plus, we we got to take a look at how BlackBerry and Mackenzie Health are working together to redefine the healthcare experience by creating secure, Smart hospitals.

Windows Central — Gamescom, Lumia 950 leaks, and porting iOS apps

This week Microsoft dominated the European equivalent of E3 at Gamescom 2015. Many new titles were announced along with forthcoming DVR support for the Xbox One for over-the-air TV. You can read the recap of all of that news in our wrap-up article.

Windows 10 for PCs is still chugging along including the first major patch coming out on Wednesday. We also documented the most common errors that users are facing when upgrading to the new OS including some fixes. Of course, you can hit our main help and how-to page for all our Windows 10 coverage.

Windows Phone is still here too. In fact, we got our first glimpse of Microsoft’s new flagship phone, which is either the Lumia 950 or Lumia 950 XL. A second image came out later revealing a different perspective of the device, expected for October. Microsoft also detailed ‘Project Islandwood’, a set of tools for developers to easily convert iOS apps to Windows 10. Going further, Microsoft open-sourced the project in an attempt to crowdsource features and bug fixing.

Kicked

This week on Kicked, we look at some cool guitars made to look like retro oil cans. We also feature a camera, ice machine, space-age rice cooker and a folding electric bike. Plus take a guess at whose pretty face Dan thinks would look great in 4K. This will be the last you see of him for a while as he leaves the show for a month to travel abroad. (Although he may call in from Thailand as long as we accept the charges.)

For the coolest crowd funding projects you need to know about (along with a few weekly antics) be sure to subscribe to the Kicked TV YouTube channel and follow us on social media. We’re active on Twitter, Facebook and of course Instagram.

Connectedly

This week on Connectedly we take a look at some of the best connected tech gadgets and devices including: Garage control from your phone, the best pocket camera ever made, how the Lexus Hoverboard really works and much more.

KM

Kevin’s been having too much fun driving around his Tesla Model S P85D. Anybody would — it’s a car with insane mode, after all! But he’s taken a few minutes out to outline his 11 favorite features (why stop at 10?) of the all-electric sports sedan, and, well, it’s pretty awesome.

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