Mikael Ricknäs, Author at NetworkingNexus.net

Mikael Ricknäs

Author Archives: Mikael Ricknäs

Finnish companies join forces to build secure OS for smartphones and tablets

Finnish companies Jolla and SSH Communications Security are counting on their European origins to help sell a secure mobile operating system they are co-developing. The need for more secure mobile communications has been apparent ever since former U.S. government contractor Edward Snowden made his revelations about National Security Agency (NSA) snooping. SSH is best known for the Secure Shell encrypted communications protocol invented by the company’s founder Tatu Ylönen. Jolla, founded in 2011 by a group of former Nokia employees, sells a smartphone running its open Sailfish OS, and will start shipping its first tablet running the OS next quarter.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Finnish companies join forces to build secure OS for smartphones and tablets

Sony’s Xperia Z4 Tablet is light and has two good cameras

By putting its flagship tablet on a diet, improving cameras and battery life, Sony wants to bring back some luster to the tablet market. Unlike HTC and Samsung Electronics, Sony isn’t launching a high-end smartphone at Mobile World Congress, but is hoping to make up for that with a new flagship tablet, the Xperia Z4 Tablet. It has a 10.1-inch, 1600 x 2560 pixel screen and is powered by Qualcomm’s octa-core Snapdragon 810 processor. The Wi-Fi version weighs 389 grams while the LTE version is slightly heavier at 393 grams, and both are 6.1 millimeters thick.+ See our full coverage of MWC 2015 +To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Sony’s Xperia M4 Aqua is full-featured, waterproof and affordable

The mid-range of the smartphone market is getting hyper-competitive, but Sony is betting the waterproof Xperia M4 Aqua will help it make a mark.Well-equipped smartphones that cost US$300 or less is one of the big trends at this year’s Mobile World Congress, and Sony wants in on the action.Last week it launched the Xperia E4g and on Monday it announced the Xperia M4 Aqua.The smartphone will cost about €300 (US$335) when it goes on sale during the second quarter in 80 countries. It has a 5-inch, 720 x 1280 pixel screen and is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 615, an octa-core processor with integrated support for LTE. The processor is a step below the Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 800 family, which is used to power high-end smartphones.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Samsung Galaxy S6 gets 3 things right and 3 things wrong

The Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 edge are two great smartphones, with more power and better screens. But when users get their hands on them starting April 10, they’ll find that the vendor got some things right, and some things wrong.What works:DesignSamsung has been under pressure to improve the design quality of its products after years of using plastic. And the Samsung Galaxy S6 and the S6 edge models have a much more premium look, with metal frames and glass backs. They aren’t quite beautiful, but they are definitely a step up from previous models.SizeTo read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Samsung hopes better looks, more power will make the Galaxy S6 a winner

Using a mixture of metal and glass, Samsung Electronics has found its smartphone mojo again with the launch of the Galaxy S6 and the S6 edge, but the new, more premium design has a few drawbacks. After many teasers and leaks, Samsung finally launched its two new flagship smartphones on Sunday evening at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. It’s no surprise that the vendor worked hard to drum up advance publicity, because it badly needs a hit. The biggest change with the Galaxy S6 and the S6 edge is Samsung’s choice of materials. The regular S6 trades the plastic of previous models for a metal frame and glass on the back. The edge model doesn’t have exactly the same frame, since the screen curves around both edges of the device.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Firefox OS to help Orange boost smartphone use in Africa

Orange is hoping a sub-US$40 bundle of a Firefox OS smartphone with calls, messages and data will help boost smartphone usage in Africa and the Middle East.On the same day that Samsung Electronics and HTC are announcing new flagship models, Orange is launching a smartphone at the other end of the spectrum. The Klif is a 3G smartphone based on Mozilla’s Firefox OS platform. It has a 3.5-inch screen and a dual-core processor from MediaTek.Firefox OS is an open source platform built around applications and a user interface written in HTML5, CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) and JavaScript, and Mozilla Foundation is pitching it as a cheaper and more open alternative to Android and iOS. Orange says it was the only platform to meet its requirements on both price and a good user experience. For now, Android can’t get quite as low, according to Orange.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

ZTE’s Grand S3 smartphone scans eyes for authentication

ZTE is taking biometric authentication in a new direction with its Grand S3 smartphone, which lets users log into their phones with eye scanning.By including fingerprint recognition on its iPhones, Apple helped legitimize biometric authentication for phones. But fingerprints aren’t the only thing that can be used to authenticate, so in collaboration with EyeVerify, ZTE has integrated retina scanning technology in the customized front camera of the new Grand S3.For now, the Eyeprint ID feature only controls log-in, but ZTE has plans to expand the feature to work with apps. The underlying technology works by identifying unique vein patterns in the human eye. It doesn’t take a picture, but shoots a short video to ensure the right person is trying to access the phone.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Samsung and HTC have a lot to prove with Sunday smartphone launches

Samsung Electronics and HTC are going head to head on Sunday with almost simultaneous launches of new flagship smartphones. Both companies have a lot to prove, but for different reasons.“Samsung is fighting for its credibility and HTC for its survival,” said Neil Mawston , executive director at market research company Strategy Analytics, speaking of the duelling events ahead of Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.Mawston thinks Samsung’s critics have been a bit too harsh on the company. Despite the shortcomings of the Galaxy S5, it was the second-best-selling phone last year, beaten only by the iPhone 5S. However, the S5 wasn’t able to live up to expectations, and Samsung is now under pressure to launch something special.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Sturdy design is still Moto E’s trump card

The Moto E’s specification doesn’t stand out from the competition even with LTE and a faster processor. Instead it’s the design that makes Motorola’s new device a good alternative for consumers who want an affordable smartphone.With the 2015 version of the Moto E, Motorola Mobility is again hoping to get more people around the world to buy their first smartphone.Many low-cost smartphones suffer from a toy-like plastic construction, but the Moto E is more substantial, and even if the product doesn’t use any metal it feels more expensive than its $150 price tag.Motorola has made a couple of changes compared to the original model. The company has decided to stick with a rubbery plastic on the back and now also on the sides. The back is no longer removable; instead a band is removed to access SIM and MicroSD card slots. The smartphone still has a non-removable battery, but the battery has grown from 1,980 to 2,390 mAh.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Motorola’s new Moto E is a more powerful LTE smartphone

Motorola Mobility’s new Moto E has LTE and a more powerful processor than its predecessor, but users will also have to make do with a low-resolution front camera that doesn’t measure up to ones offered on competing products.The upgraded Moto E’s arrival less than a year after the first version went on sale highlights the growing competition for unlocked smartphones costing US$200 or less. It will start shipping on Thursday in 40 countries and cost about $150.The new Moto E has a 4.5-inch, 540 x 960-pixel screen and a 1.2GHz Snapdragon 410 quad-core processor from Qualcomm. The original model has a 1.2GHz dual-core Snapdragon 200 processor and a 4.3-inch screen with the same resolution.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

New teaser images and video help confirm details of Samsung’s Galaxy S6

With less than a week left until the event at which Samsung Electronics is expected to launch the Galaxy S6, two new images and a video of the company’s next high-end smartphone seem to confirm its name and the presence of a curved screen.The images, posted by Samsung and network operator T-Mobile U.S., show the smartphone from the side. The T-Mobile image has the tagline “six appeal” and shows the side of the device lit up, all but confirming the name and the expected launch of a device with a curved screen that wraps around one or both edges. Samsung first used such a curved screen on the Galaxy Note Edge, which it announced last year.The T-Mobile image along with another image Samsung has posted on Twitter also tease an improved design, which the Galaxy S6 needs if Samsung wants the smartphone to be a bigger hit its predecessor.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

LG takes aim at Motorola’s Moto G with new Magna smartphone

LG Electronics has announced four new smartphones, including the Magna. The device has a spec that gives Motorola Mobility’s Moto G a run for its money, assuming LG doesn’t screw up the pricing too much.Motorola has had the market for unlocked smartphones costing US$200 or less largely to itself in the U.S. and Europe, helping it regain its footing with the Moto G and the Moto E. But it seems the now Lenovo-owned company will face some tougher competition this year from products like the LG Magna.The Lollipop-based smartphone has a 5-inch, 720 x 1280-pixel screen and an unspecified 1.2GHz or 1.3GHz quad-core processor. The Magna also has an 8-megapixel front camera and a 5-megapixel camera on the back. There’s 1GB of RAM and 8GB of integrated storage backed up by a microSD card slot.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Chip companies working to make Wi-Fi more maker-friendly

Texas Instruments and MediaTek have launched new offerings aimed at making it easier to build IoT (Internet of Things) devices with Wi-Fi connectivity.The chip makers have realized that their future isn't just in selling products to big companies, but also to a growing maker community whose products also need Wi-Fi connectivity.This week TI expanded its SimpleLink portfolio with two new modules, which promise to help add Wi-Fi connectivity without requiring any network experience. A similar promise came from MediaTek earlier this month when it launched a new Wi-Fi development platform.INSIDER: 5 ways to prepare for Internet of Things security threats To jump start Wi-Fi development, TI now offers the CC3100 module BoosterPack and the CC3200 module LaunchPad, which include an SDK and sample boards that can be connected directly to a PC.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Nokia, Korea Telecom plan to demo 4G for machines, cars

A slower but more frugal version of LTE that has been customized for the Internet of Things will be demoed at Mobile World Congress next month.LTE was developed to provide high-speed transmission for smartphones and tablets, and has been a success in that regard. But with the growing popularity of connected wearables, smart meters and vehicles, the telecom industry has had to rethink LTE specifications to make it a better fit for related applications.At Mobile World Congress, Nokia and KT (Korea Telecom) will demonstrate a prototype of a customized version, which has been dubbed LTE-M. The alterations include changes to increase battery life and decrease the cost of devices that use it. The latter is in part achieved by decreasing bandwidth, which means less expensive components can be used.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Vendors lay groundwork for 5G with greener and faster mobile networks

A new generation of mobile network equipment comes with lofty promises of better coverage and performance for subscribers, by making it easier for operators to add more capacity and support for new radio technologies.Mobile operators are facing a number of challenges, starting with building networks that won’t get overwhelmed by traffic growth mainly driven by video. The most straightforward way of doing this is adding more spectrum—or lanes, if you will—to their networks. It isn’t a coincidence that the recent AWS (Advanced Wireless Service) spectrum auction in the U.S. was a blockbuster and that operators want to use Wi-Fi frequencies for LTE.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Thinking about buying a refurbished smartphone? You’re not alone

Buying refurbished smartphones will become increasingly popular in the next couple of years, with consumers benefiting from increased competition.That more consumers are considering getting a refurbished smartphone isn’t a surprise. With product innovation slowing down, smartphones that are a generation or two old look increasingly attractive compared to their new counterparts.This will help the worldwide market for refurbished phones that are sold to end users more than double from 56 million units last year to 120 million in 2017, according to market research company Gartner. That’s much more impressive than the anticipated 60 percent growth in sales of new smartphones in the same time period.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Huawei looks to give indoor mobile speeds a boost with LTE-Advanced

Huawei Technologies has conducted a real-world trial of LTE-Advanced that shows that much faster indoor cellular speeds may be around the corner.The telecommunications equipment vendor conducted the trial with Singaporean network operator StarHub, using products capable of download speeds of up to 300Mbps. Early test results were promising, with users getting much faster downloads and better video quality than before, Huawei said without offering any details of the data rates achieved.The speed increase is fueled by a technique called carrier aggregation, an LTE-Advanced technology that allows mobile operators to treat up to three radio channels in different frequency bands as if they were one.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Fair-trade smartphone meant to last longer

Fairphone’s second smartphone will not only be built using conflict-free or fair trade minerals, but also offer better performance and be really easy to repair.After selling 60,000 units of its first phone, the Dutch company is now turning its attention to a new model that will go on sale in the latter half of the year. With the second phone, the goal is still to manufacture a smartphone that doesn’t use minerals from conflict zones, is recyclable and is made by workers who are treated well.Fairphone is also aiming to make product longevity a development goal. The longer a device lasts, the less waste it creates and the fewer resources it requires, founder and CEO Bas Van Abel said in a blog post.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Verizon, T-Mobile and SK Telecom have the hots for LTE on Wi-Fi spectrum

In the hunt for ways to improve coverage and increase cellular speeds, Verizon Wireless and T-Mobile in the U.S., and SK Telecom of South Korea, are considering using LTE over 5GHz, which today is used by Wi-Fi networks.The operators have all taken part in tests conducted by telecommunications equipment vendor Ericsson in Canada and Sweden, Ericsson said on Tuesday. The underlying technology is still under development and hasn’t been standardized, but Ericsson is able to reach 450Mbps while at the same time playing nice with Wi-Fi devices in its labs.Of the three operators, T-Mobile in the U.S. has been most vocal in its support for the technology. It increases peak and average data speeds to smartphones and other devices with reduced packet latencies, CTO Neville Ray said in a blog post last month.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

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