Thursday, June 11, 2015
Prices On The Black Market For Gold iPhones Are Completely Insane
Apples inability to supply the insane demand for the new gold iPhone 5S has created a second-hand iPhone price bubble on eBay and a black market of gold iPhone scalpers in China.
One gold iPhone just sold on eBay for $10,100.
Its not clear why Apple cant give everyone who wants one a gold iPhone. Officially, online orders with Apple wont be fulfilled until October. We noted over the weekend that the gold iPhone never actually existed in some stores, countries, and among some wireless carriers. The flagship Apple Store in San Francisco, for instance, only ever had 20 gold iPhones.
With the gold iPhone completely unavailable to ordinary consumers minutes after it went on sale, some have turned to eBay, where gold iPhones are selling for as much as $4,600 at the time of writing (pack of three). Thats the highest ask, but in active auctions gold iPhones are seeing brisk bidding all the way up to $2,247. One single gold iPhone eventually sold for a staggering $10,100.
In China, a gold iPhone on the "gray market" will cost you the equivalent of $1,634, about twice the price of retail. Scalpers were buying gold iPhones in Hong Kong on the day of sale for US$1,161, still more than the $721 original price tag.
Lastly, a company called Gold Genie is selling a real gold-plated version of the iPhone starting at $2,850. An actual iPhone 5S isnt actually gold, of course. Its colored aluminum. Gold Genies version is actual gold plate:
goldgenie
Data source: via BI (ByJim Edwards)
Tuesday, May 26, 2015
Two iPhone 6 Concepts One with a 4 5 inch Curved Glass the other with a 4 7 inch Bezel Free Sapphire Display Videos
We bring you two new concepts for the upcoming iPhone 6.
The first is a concept from Arthur Reis (video by Ran Avni) which shows 4.5-inch iPhone 6 with a curved sapphire screen, better camera, higher performance and all-new design.
Source: Youtube
Source: Youtube
Read also: iPhone Air Concept Features 17% Larger Display but the Device Just 8% Larger (Video)
Monday, May 25, 2015
Touch ID Bypass Detailed Average Consumer Shouldnt Worry
Over the weekend, the Chaos Computer Club announced that it had bypassed Apple’s Touch ID sensor using a photograph of a fingerprint to create a fake fingerprint model.
The full fingerprint emulation process has now been detailed in a new video from CCC member Starbug and replicated by security expert Marc Rogers, who believes the average consumer has nothing to worry about.
As seen in the video, the CCC uses a fingerprint taken from the screen of the iPhone 5s and then uses a complicated multi-step process to convert it to a usable print. According to Starbug, who spoke to Ars Technica, the process "was way easier than expected," taking just 30 hours to complete.
I was very disappointed, as I hoped to hack on it for a week or two. There was no challenge at all; the attack was very straightforward and trivial.
The Touch ID is nevertheless a very reliable fingerprint system. However, users should only consider it an increase in convenience and not security.
While Starbug suggests that the hack is "very easy" and can be completed with "inexpensive office equipment like an image scanner, a laser printer, and a kit for etching PCBs," Marc Rogers, who also completed the bypass, disagrees, noting that it requires "over a thousand dollars worth of equipment."
But, the reality is these flaws are not something that the average consumer should worry about. Why? Because exploiting them was anything but trivial.
Hacking TouchID relies upon a combination of skills, existing academic research and the patience of a Crime Scene Technician.
Rogers goes on to explain the process, which requires an unsmudged, complete print of the correct finger and a way to “lift” the print using cyanoacrylate (super glue) fumes, fingerprint powder, and fingerprint tape. The lifted fingerprint must then be photographed, edited, and printed onto transparency film, where it is converted to a usable fingerprint via a PCB board or a laser printer.
Even when all of these steps are created, using the fake fingerprint was "tricky" and prone to failure.
Even when all of these steps are created, using the fake fingerprint was "tricky" and prone to failure.
So what do we learn from all this?
Practically, an attack is still a little bit in the realm of a John le Carré novel. It is certainly not something your average street thief would be able to do, and even then, they would have to get lucky. Don’t forget you only get five attempts before TouchID rejects all fingerprints requiring a PIN code to unlock it.
However, let’s be clear, TouchID is unlikely to withstand a targeted attack. A dedicated attacker with time and resources to observe his victim and collect data, is probably not going to see TouchID as much of a challenge. Luckily this isn’t a threat that many of us face.
With Touch ID able to be bypassed through a fake fingerprint, it remains unclear how the system functions. According to Apple, the sensor uses advanced capacitive touch and takes a high-resolution image from the “sub-epidermal layers” of skin, a process that, theoretically, should render a fake fingerprint useless. Starbug speculates that this is due to Apples desire for usability over security, noting that the sensor will be defeated if the fake fingerprint is "sufficiently close" to the characteristics of human tissue.
Since its release, Touch ID has been the subject of much scrutiny. Senator Al Franken has sent a letter to Tim Cook asking a number of questions about the security of the system and the exact fingerprint storage process, and Apple has published an extensive knowledge base article about the benefits of the Touch ID system to alleviate some consumer concerns.
Since its release, Touch ID has been the subject of much scrutiny. Senator Al Franken has sent a letter to Tim Cook asking a number of questions about the security of the system and the exact fingerprint storage process, and Apple has published an extensive knowledge base article about the benefits of the Touch ID system to alleviate some consumer concerns.
Data source: via MacRumors (By Juli Clover)
Sunday, May 24, 2015
Alleged iPhone 6 Manufacturing Mold Points to a 4 7 Inch Display
Click to larger.
In addition to several photos over the weekend surfaced manufacturing molds that being used for the shaping of the iPhone 6, the images were free of the dimentions, so that we could determine or estimate the size of the device. A new photo shared by Nowhereelse.fr shows a nearly identical mold with an iPhone 4s placed next to it for comparison. The report claimed that based on comparison calculations, the mold could in fact yield a device with a display of roughly 4.7-inches, in line with iPhone 6 rumored size.
Some of the holes that were drilled into the block in fact serve to fix the inserts which will form a crude which is then machined housing (finishes) using a CNC milling machine. Thus, and assuming that my theory is correct, the dimensions of the box will be determined by the widest part and not the bottom of the mold.
In this assumption, I started to resize the photo to scale against me in reference to the size of the iPhone 4s. I then measured the dimensions of the widest part of the mold which is approximately 138mm long by 64mm wide.
by superimposing and resizing the image of an iPhone 5s into the mold and aligning it with the wider portion of the depression, Nowwhereelse.fr confirmed that device’s screen would be roughly 12 centimeters or 4.7 inches diagonally.
Apple is expected to launch a 4.7 inch iPhone in September followed by a larger 5.5-inch model shortly after. Jefferies analyst Peter Misek reported that Apple is negotiating with carriers for a $100 price increase on the iPhone 6 as the device gets larger and with more technology into it.
Source: Nowhereelse.fr via MacRumors
- iPhone 6c Concept, with 4.7-inch Display, in a Variety of Colors (Video)
- iPhone Air Concept with Three Different Sizes: Mini, Air, and Pro (video)
Friday, May 22, 2015
Apple Releases iOS 7 1 1 With Touch ID Improvements and Bug Fixes
The new update labled as built (11d201), it comes with additional improvements to Apples Touch ID, the extermination of a bug that was impacting keyboard responsiveness, and fixes a bug involving Bluetooth keyboards with VoiceOver enabled. iOS 7.1.1 also includes Safari support for new top-level domains like photo and camera.
This update contains improvements, bug fixes and security updates, including:
- Further improvements to Touch ID fingerprint recognition
- Fixes a bug that could impact keyboard responsiveness
- Fixes an issue when using Bluetooth keyboards with VoiceOver enabled
You can download iOS 7.1.1 via an OTA update on your device, or through iTunes, or you can grab the version you need in the download links below:
- Apple TV 2G (AppleTV2,1) version 6.1.1 (Build 11D201c), Download
- Apple TV 3G (AppleTV3,1) version 6.1.1 (Build 11D201c), Download
- AppleTV3,2 (AppleTV3,2) version 6.1.1 (Build 11D201c), Download
- iPad 2 (Wi-Fi) (iPad2,1) version 7.1.1 (Build 11D201), Download
- iPad 2 (GSM) (iPad2,2) version 7.1.1 (Build 11D201), Download
- iPad 2 (CDMA) (iPad2,3) version 7.1.1 (Build 11D201), Download
- iPad2,4 (iPad2,4) version 7.1.1 (Build 11D201), Download
- iPad Mini (Wi-Fi) (iPad2,5) version 7.1.1 (Build 11D201), Download
- iPad Mini (GSM) (iPad2,6) version 7.1.1 (Build 11D201), Download
- iPad Mini (CDMA) (iPad2,7) version 7.1.1 (Build 11D201), Download
- iPad 3 (Wi-Fi) (iPad3,1) version 7.1.1 (Build 11D201), Download
- iPad 3 (GSM) (iPad3,2) version 7.1.1 (Build 11D201), Download
- iPad 3 (CDMA) (iPad3,3) version 7.1.1 (Build 11D201), Download
- iPad 4 (Wi-Fi) (iPad3,4) version 7.1.1 (Build 11D201), Download
- iPad 4 (GSM) (iPad3,5) version 7.1.1 (Build 11D201), Download
- iPad 4 (CDMA) (iPad3,6) version 7.1.1 (Build 11D201), Download
- iPad4,1 (iPad4,1) version 7.1.1 (Build 11D201), Download
- iPad4,2 (iPad4,2) version 7.1.1 (Build 11D201), Download
- iPad4,3 (iPad4,3) version 7.1.1 (Build 11D201), Download
- iPad4,4 (iPad4,4) version 7.1.1 (Build 11D201), Download
- iPad4,5 (iPad4,5) version 7.1.1 (Build 11D201), Download
- iPad4,6 (iPad4,6) version 7.1.1 (Build 11D201), Download
- iPhone 4 (GSM) (iPhone3,1) version 7.1.1 (Build 11D201), Download
- iPhone 4 (GSM) (2012) (iPhone3,2) version 7.1.1 (Build 11D201), Download
- iPhone 4 (CDMA) (iPhone3,3) version 7.1.1 (Build 11D201), Download
- iPhone 4S (iPhone4,1) version 7.1.1 (Build 11D201), Download
- iPhone 5 (GSM) (iPhone5,1) version 7.1.1 (Build 11D201), Download
- iPhone 5 (CDMA) (iPhone5,2) version 7.1.1 (Build 11D201), Download
- iPhone5,3 (iPhone5,3) version 7.1.1 (Build 11D201), Download
- iPhone5,4 (iPhone5,4) version 7.1.1 (Build 11D201), Download
- iPhone6,1 (iPhone6,1) version 7.1.1 (Build 11D201), Download
- iPhone6,2 (iPhone6,2) version 7.1.1 (Build 11D201), Download
- iPod touch 5G (iPod5,1) version 7.1.1 (Build 11D201), Download
Source: Apple via MacRumors
Thursday, May 21, 2015
Microsoft wants you to buy their products to start offering cash for iPhones
Earlier in the month, Microsoft -- which would love for you to pick up one of its new second-generation Surface 2 tablets -- began offering iPad owners a paltry US$200 or more for a trade-in in hopes that youd actually fall for the ploy, grab the cash and buy one of their beleaguered tablets. Now Forbes is reporting that Microsoft will be offering you a minimum of $200 for your iPhone 4s or iPhone 5 at some of the US and Canadian Microsoft Stores.
In this case, the trade-in promotion is part of the #timetoswitch campaign, and Microsoft is hoping that youll ditch your nice and relatively new iPhone for a Windows Phone instead of an iPhone 5s or 5c. Not that Microsoft seems desperate or anything, but they also have an online campaign that started a few weeks ago where theyll take any Apple, Android or BlackBerry device in return for a Visa gift card. I wonder how much theyll give me for that third-generation iPod classic thats sitting on the shelf...
Forbes Kelly Clay said it best: "Apples impressive sales figures of the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c in the past few days mean millions of consumers are not only freshly tied into new contracts but overtly prefer the iOS platform over Windows as they waited to purchase the new line of iPhones -- and avoided purchasing a Windows Phone when they had the chance."
Its beginning to look like Microsofts business strategy for the near future is to become the leading vendor of used smartphones and tablets.
Data source: via TUAW (By Steven Sande)
Wednesday, May 20, 2015
Microsoft launches official Remote Desktop app for Apples iOS
Microsoft Remote Desktop is a free application available on the iOS App Store, compatible with both iPhone and iPad. Its a 12.6-megabyte download that requires iOS 6.0 or later.
According to Microsoft, the new application offers access to a Windows PC with RemoteFX. Features of the software include:
- Access to remote resources through the Remote Desktop Gateway
- Rich multi-touch experience with remote desktop protocol (RDP) and RemoteFX supporting Windows gestures
- Secure connection to your data and applications with breakthrough Network Layer Authentication (NLA) technology
- Simple management of all remote connections from the connection center
- High quality video and sound streaming with improved compression and bandwidth usage
- Easy connection to external monitors or projectors for presentations
Word of Microsofts new Remote Desktop apps for both iOS and OS X was made by the company last week. New versions are also said to be coming to Android, Windows, and Windows RT.
The new Remote Desktop application is the latest in a series of gradual software launches for Apples iOS platform from Microsoft. The biggest product still in the works, and hotly anticipated by iPad users, is a touch-optimized version of Microsoft Office.
To review and download Microsoft Remote Desktop on the App Store click here.
Compatibility: Requires iOS 6.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.
FreeApps
Category: Business
Released: 17 October 2013
Version: 8.0.0
Size: 12.6 MB
Data source: via AppleInsider (By AppleInsider Staff)
Category: Business
Released: 17 October 2013
Version: 8.0.0
Size: 12.6 MB
Data source: via AppleInsider (By AppleInsider Staff)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)