Category: Android

Coin Credit Card Has Failed Their Backers

onlycoin

The revolutionary credit card game changer Coin, has hit a snag in their rise to changing the card swiping ecosystem. If you don’t know what Coin is, the card is a place where you can store all of your credit cards, gift cards, and any other cards onto one slim device, and use them wherever you go. The creation of Coin was crowd funded and has been backed by thousands of people. The problem that Coin has run into is that the card still has some kinks to work out, not to mention the 85% success rate at card swipes. According to droid-life, Coin was ready to ship to backer a couple weeks ago and that the Android app would release on September 25th, just a month after the iOS release.

With the issues that have arisen with Coin, the company only plans to invite 10,000 people for what they call “Coin Beta.” So what about the rest of the thousands upon thousands of backers that invested in this product? Unfortunately, they will have to wait until the Spring of 2015 to get an invite to what Coin calls the “Gold Standard” edition. Thats a one year window that backers will have to wait to finally try Coin. It sounds a bit frustrating due to the fact that Coin promised a time and now they have to push it back due to issues with the device.

If you were a backer and actually got the Coin Beta invite, then expect a lot of problems as well. Remember, Coin has an 85% success rate. That means when you go out for your morning cup of coffee, you may or may not be able to pay with Coin because the card may get declined. Also, another lacking beta feature of Coin is the “Left-Behind Alerts.” The feature alerts a Coin holder if they have left their card behind at a restaurant or anywhere that they used to pay with the device. When the Gold Standard Edition releases, the left behind alerts should be available, along with a 99% success rate.

The troubles that Coin has run into don’t sound too exciting. Many people were looking forward to having a new experience when paying, now a lot of people are going to have to wait. If you got to be the lucky person that got picked for Coin Beta, tell us about your experience. If you are the unlucky person that has to wait until the Spring of 2015 for  the “Standard Gold” edition, share with us your frustrations and what Coin should have done to avoid this problem.

HP releases iPad Mini lookalike

I’m not sure if HP is asking Apple to sue them but with this new release I doubt Apple will look past this. HP’s new tablet called the HP 8, looks identically like the iPad mini. It even looks to have the same 7.85-inch IPS 1024×768 display.

It has a reasonable price, sitting at $170. The tablet as an Allwinner quad-core ARM chip, 1GB RAM, 16GB storage, a microSD slot (supporting up to 32GB cards) and running Android 4.2.2 (Jelly Bean). It also has a 3,800mAh battery that promises up to seven hours of use.

Sound appealing yet?

Boeing announces secure, tamper-proof Android ‘Boeing Black’

Boeing today officially announced a new Android smartphone with a number of innovative security features. The phone is called “Boeing Black,” a device that will mostly be marketed towards government officials and other organizations that prefer to keep their data secure. The Tamper-Proof devices comes with a lot of key features like encrypting phone calls and wiping itself clean if someone were get a hold of the phone. Here’s a more detailed description from Boeing’s website:

Boeing Black’s security is powered by the Boeing PureSecure architecture, which was designed from the outset for the mobile environment. Our architectural foundation is built upon layers of trust from embedded hardware, operating system policy controls, and compatibility with leading mobile device management systems. The device’s hardware roots of trust and trusted boot ensure the device starts in a trusted state, enabling maximum security of data. Hardware media encryption and configurable inhibit controls are embedded to protect the device, its data, and the transmission of information, significantly reducing the risk of mission compromise due to data lossBoeing Black’s security is powered by the Boeing PureSecure architecture, which was designed from the outset for the mobile environment.

Our architectural foundation is built upon layers of trust from embedded hardware, operating system policy controls, and compatibility with leading mobile device management systems. The device’s hardware roots of trust and trusted boot ensure the device starts in a trusted state, enabling maximum security of data. Hardware media encryption and configurable inhibit controls are embedded to protect the device, its data, and the transmission of information, significantly reducing the risk of mission compromise due to data loss

Some of the key security features, according to Boeing’s website, include:

Key Features:

  • Android™ Operating System: Convenient smartphone for Android usage
  • Disk Encryption: Encrypted storage for sensitive data
  • Hardware Root of Trust: Ensures software authenticity
  • Hardware Crypto Engine: Protects stored and transmitted data
  • Embedded Secure Components: Enables trusted operations
  • Trusted Platform Modules: Provides secure key storage
  • Secure Boot: Maintains device image integrity
  • Hardware Modularity: Endless modularity capabilities

Boeing as not released any pricing but they are currently in talks with potential customers.

Samsung unveils Gear Fit

Its rumored that Apple is getting into the Health and Fitness game but it seems that Samsung has beat them to the chase. The device is called Gear Fit. It features a 1.8-inch Amoled curved display, a water-resistant design, and three-four days of battery life on a single charge. The wearable device also features  fitness coaching, can count your foots steps and also can measure your heart rate. Pretty neat if you ask me.