Smartphones

Researchers have developed an artificial intelligence (AI) system that can accurately classify skin disorders, predict malignancy, and suggest primary treatment options, an advance that may be integrated with smartphones to act as a diagnostic aid for clinicians. The study, published in the Journal of Integrative Dermatology, noted that the diagnostic accuracy of dermatologists as well as the general public can be significantly improved by using this system. According to the researchers from Seoul National University in South Korea, skin diseases are common, but visiting a dermatologist to distinguish malignant from benign conditions is difficult in several parts of the world. "Recently, there have been remarkable advances in the use of AI in medicine. For specific problems, such as distinguishing between melanoma and nevi, AI has shown results comparable to those of human dermatologists," said study co-author Jung-Im Na from the Seoul National University in South Korea. … [Read more...] about Researchers develop AI smartphone tool to better diagnose skin cancer, disorders

Cybersecurity researchers have discovered that a large number of mobile phone applications contain hardcoded 'backdoor secrets' allowing hackers to access private data or block content provided by users. "The study's findings: that the apps on mobile phones might have hidden or harmful behaviours about which end users know little to nothing," said study author Zhiqiang Lin from the Ohio State University in the US. "Typically, mobile apps engage with users by processing and responding to user input. For instance, users often need to type certain words or sentences or click buttons and slide screens. Those inputs prompt an app to perform different actions," Lin added. For this study, the team evaluated 150,000 apps. They selected the top 100,000 based on the number of downloads from the Google Play store, the top 20,000 from an alternative market, and 30,000 from pre-installed apps on Android smartphones. They found that 12,706 of those apps, about 8.5 per cent, contained something … [Read more...] about Most smartphone apps have ‘backdoor secrets’ for hackers: Researchers

Google has stopped the sales of Pixel 3 and 3XL smartphones from its online store, as per a report by Android Police. The landing pages of both the devices on the Google Store are currently inaccessible. The Phones section on the Store currently displays only one phone: Google Pixel 3a. A Google spokesperson confirmed to Android Police that the company has completed the sales of all the smartphones in its inventory and is no longer selling more. The phones may still be available with other online retailers but Google Store has said goodbye to them for now. Google Pixel 3 and 3XL were the company’s flagship smartphones of the year 2018 and were the first phones to ship with Android 9.0 Pie. The Pixel 3 was priced at Rs 71,000 (64GB) and Rs 80,000 (128GB); while Pixel 3 XL came with a price tag of Rs 83,000 (64GB) and Rs 92,000 (128GB). The smartphones were launched in three colour variants with unique names: Just Black, Clearly White and Not Pink. Both the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3XL … [Read more...] about Google Store has stopped selling Pixel 3 and 3XL smartphones

— Andy Rubin (@Arubin) March 27, 2017 An earlier report by Bloomberg notes that at least one prototype of Rubin’s phone featured a screen larger than the iPhone 7 Plus (5.5-inches) but with a smaller footprint, thanks to the reduced bezels. The team is also said to have been testing an industrial design with metal edges and a back made of ceramic. … [Read more...] about Android co-founder teases his upcoming bezel-free smartphone

Smartphones in India are set to now cost more with increased GST and a weak Rupee to US Dollar rates. The government of India has decided to increase the GST on smartphones from 12% to 18% starting April 1, 2020. After Xiaomi, Samsung and Oppo announced a price hike, Chinese smartphone brand Realme too announced that it will be increasing prices of its handsets. “The recent COVID-19 pandemic has highly impacted the smartphone industry, leading to a price hike of components and supply shortage. Further, the Indian Rupee rate has been continuously fluctuating and facing depreciation currently. This has impacted the overall cost of the smartphone device, therefore many smartphone brands have already increased the price of smartphones in 2019 and 2020. Despite all these issues, realme hasn't increased the price of our smartphones since H2 2018,” said Realme in a statement. “The COVID-19 pandemic has adversely impacted the mobile phone ecosystem globally and India. This … [Read more...] about Realme increases prices of smartphones after GST hike