LG appoints new CEO to revitalize its mobile business

Despite releasing some very capable hardware this year, LG's mobile division hasn't been performing particularly well lately. Although the V20 looks to be off to a strong start in the US, the launch of the G5 earlier in the year saw a 23 percent drop in mobile sales in the previous quarter, which is pretty much a full blown disaster for a flagship manufacturer. To help steer LG's mobile division to brighter horizons, the company is appointing CEO Jo Seong-jin to head up the business.

LG announced a management reshuffle on Thursday, in which the company eliminated its triple-CEO structure and promoted Jo as sole CEO of the mobile business. Jo had previously headed up LG's home and appliance unit since 2013 and oversaw a 25 percent boost to the company's operating profit last year. Despite the reshuffle, LG Electronic's mobile chief Cho Juno will retain his position into next year.

"LG Electronics decided to name Jo as our new sole CEO in recognition for his charismatic decision-making in recent years to launch innovative new products, and his performance has been proven in quarterly earnings," – LG Electronics official.

The reshuffle comes after LG's mobile division reported an operating loss in six consecutive quarters, since Q2 2015. Although much of the focus has been on LG's flagship G5 and V20 releases this year, the company's strategy for the lower end market hasn't been working out either. Budget smartphone launches in the US have failed to grab a significant market share and has ended up worsening the division's profitability at a time when the G5 also posted weak sales.

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LG clearly needs to try something a little different next year, and the G6 flagship is rumored to be packing in plenty of bells and whistles. Hopefully Jo Seong-jin will oversee a return to LG's prime in the mobile market.

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Mods could bring 5G data to the Moto Z series

The Moto Z appears to have been a successful handset for Lenovo this year, and the company is looking to extend the handset's life cycle with more modes for the range over the next year. A new 3,000mAh Mophie battery pack that's available from Verizon will be heading out to more regions, and there are plans for an Incipio car dock charger with a 3.5mm audio output connection too.

Alongside these additions, John Touvannas, senior director of product management at the company, believes that we could eventually see secondary e-ink displays, a baby monitor, and even a 5G modem appear in the Moto Mods line-up in the future.

"Without having to wait for the next-gen phone that can bring the next technology or capability, we can get to that quicker through the mod," – John Touvannas, Motorola/Lenovo

The prospect of something like a 5G modem being available via a modular extension is interesting, as it could mean that customers won't have to upgrade to an entirely new phone for faster data speeds. Motorola's mods can communicate via USB 3.1, as well as to the phone's image and display processors, which would technically be fast enough to handle faster data coming in at 5G speeds. Although the form factor of such an accessory would need to be sleek enough for users to carry round, say a back panel with the required radio antennas and modem. Verizon, a close partner with Motorola, plans to begin its 5G trials in mid 2017.

While some are still sceptical that modular smartphones are nothing more than a gimmick, Motorola's research suggests that around half of all Moto Z owners make use of at least one mod. The battery mod seems the most popular, with users clocking in 37 hours of typical use. 20 percent of users have even stumped up for the expensive camera and projector mods, with the latter being used 10 hours a week on average.

The good news is that Motorola is actively pursuing new mod ideas, rather than letting the idea flounder through a lack of development like a certain competitor. The company is running hackathons and an Indiegogo campaign to entice third-party developers, and the Motorola aims to bring out four new mods each quarter starting from the middle of 2017.

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Popular app Airdroid is riddled with security holes

AirDroid is a popular remote access management tool for Android devices that allows you to check the latest notifications, send and receive messages, and access files directly from your computer. According to the data on Google Play, the app has been downloaded between 10 and 50 million times.

But despite being useful as well as popular, it does have a major problem. Back in May, the security company Zimperium discovered a number of security issues in AirDroid. And although the developer has acknowledged them, the issues are still present in the latest version of the app, six months later.

According to Zimperium, an attacker on the same network would be able to intercept the request check for add-on updates and send a malicious, fraudulent APK to the user's device. In addition, the attacker could also gain full access to the device and see user sensitive data including, among others, the email address and passwords.

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In the official report posted on its website, Zimperium wrote, "AirDroid relies on insecure communication channels in order to send the same data used to authenticate the device to their statistics server. Such requests are encrypted with DES (ECB mode) however, the encryption key is hardcoded inside the application itself (thus known to an attacker). Any malicious party on the same network of the target device could execute a man in the middle attack in order to obtain authentication credentials and impersonate the user for further requests."

It's sad to see that the developer hasn't fixed this major security issue despite knowing about it for around six months. Security should be a priority for every developer. Let's just hope that it will be sorted out with the next update. Until then, we advise you to stop or at least limit the use of the app. Safety first.

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Samsung’s Galaxy A series phones may soon feature curved displays

Samsung's Galaxy A series smartphones may soon feature curved displays, according to a report from Korean website etnews. Samsung is said to be developing rigid displays for its mid-to-low tier handsets only, while making use of its curved OLEDs for the remaining devices.

Samsung's Galaxy A series, which includes the A9, A7, A5 and A3, hasn't yet featured a model with a curved screen, as these have typically been reserved for the company's premium range of handsets. etnews claims that Samsung is now seeking to increase the yield of curved OLEDs so that production costs can be decreased.

"Samsung Electronics is already working on lowering models with rigid OLEDs from medium-grade to low-grade models," wrote etnews, adding that the company has now decided to "use dual-edge OLED panels that are mostly used for flagship models for [the] Galaxy A series, which are medium-grade Smartphones."

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The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 was introduced exclusively in a curved display version earlier in the year after previous models featured a flat display. The upcoming Galaxy S8 – and potential variants – are also expected to feature curved displays only.

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OnePlus 3T launches in India; sales start December 14

The OnePlus 3T, which was announced a few weeks ago, is already available in some countries. The Chinese manufacturer first started selling its latest flagship in the US and Canada on November 21. A week later, on November 28 to be exact, the OnePlus 3T started selling in Europe as well.

Now, the company has announced that it's bringing the device to one of the biggest smartphone markets in the world — India. The OnePlus 3T will be available exclusively on Amazon India with sales starting on December 14 (from 12.01am IST). As in other countries, you'll be able to choose between the 64 GB or 128 GB model, which will retail for Rs. 29,999 and Rs. 34,999 respectively.

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Compared with its slightly older brother, the OnePlus 3T brings a few hardware upgrades to the table. It features the Snapdragon 821 processor, an improved 16 MP selfie camera, a larger 3,400 mAh battery and also comes with a 128 GB of storage option. It's the company's most expensive device yet and is available in two color options — the already seen Soft Gold and the all new Gunmetal.

Are you excited to hear that the OnePlus 3T will soon be available in India? Are you thinking of picking it up? Which version are you most interested in?

PRE-ORDER ONEPLUS 3T

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Hearthstone’s Mean Streets of Gagdetzan update goes live

Hearthstone's latest update, Mean Streets of Gagdetzan, has been released. The new expansion introduces more than 130 new cards which play on a 1920's mob theme.

The fictional city of Gadgetzan is home to a turf war between three rival factions, the Grimy Goons, the Kabal and the Jade Lotus, and each card in the set is affiliated with one of those three gangs. You can expect to see characters holding Tommy-guns and wearing fedoras, with card names like "Sleep with the Fishes" and "Dopplegangster."

Blizzard has also introduced tri-card classes which are neutral minions only available to members of their crime family. Watch the cinematic trailer for it below.

The new cards are available now and can be purchased in booster packs the same as always. To check out the full card list, visit the Facebook album here.

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Cyanogen Inc moving project to California without co-founder Steve Kondik

 

Cyanogen Inc. has announced that it is relocating to Palo Alto, California and has separated ties with co-founder Steve Kondik. The post, published yesterday by Cyanogen Inc. CEO Lior Tal on the company blog, sheds further light on the circumstances surrounding the recent closure of its Seattle office.

"The purpose of the change is to improve the communication and performance of the team which will now operate under one roof. This consolidation effort will allow us to build in greater efficiencies and reduce restrictions in our product development lifecycle," wrote Tal, adding, "Understandably some are unable to follow their role and relocate."

The post goes on to reveal that Kondik won't be following the rest of the team to the new location. "Cyanogen has separated ties with Steve Kondik, allowing him to continue to forge his path as he sees fit. We wish him the best of luck in his next venture."

The news follows soon after Kondik revealed problems he'd encountered while working with Cyanogen Inc. and co-founder Kirt McMaster, who recently stepped down from his position as CEO. "I wish I had made different choices and trusted different people," Kondik wrote in his statement.

Tal signed off the Cyanogen post with, "The company is well-funded and will continue to recruit great people to help expand the core functions of our team."

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