This robot valet will park your car

In Germany, high tech has come to airport parking.

Last week, Düsseldorf airport (DUS) introduced robot valets to take the hassle out of parking for travelers.

Travelers can leave their cars at the arrival level of the ParkingPLUS structure. As they leave, they confirm on a touch-screen that no one is in the car. The robot valet, nicknamed "Ray," takes it from there.

The robot measures the vehicle, picks it up with a forklift-like system, and takes it to the back area, where it will position it in one of the 249 parking spots reserved for automated valets. The machine is capable of carrying standard cars weighing up to 3.31 tons.

The robot valet is even connected to the airport's flight data system, and by checking customer trip data with the database, Ray knows when the customer will return for the vehicle. A traveler can note any itinerary changes in a parking app, which is available for iOS and Android.

Düsseldorf's airport is relatively small, and officials touted the convenience of heading to the terminal from the parking structure entrance. Ray "makes the distances between planes and passengers' vehicles even shorter," according to a statement from the airport.

"Our product is especially appealing to business travelers, who arrive at the airport shortly before the flight, seek efficient parking, and return within a few days," said Thomas Schnalke, the airport's managing director.

The introductory rate for robot valet parking at Düsseldorf is 29 euros ($39.59) per day or 4 euros ($5.46) per hour. Although the airport is targeting business travelers in a hurry, the service is open to anyone.

If airport customers use the robot valet, airport officials said they would consider expanding the system.

Ray was produced by Serva Transport in the Bavarian town of Grabenstätt. Serva previewed the robot valet in 2013; Düsseldorf is the first installation of the system.

Watch this video

 

Samsung's Galaxy S5 can be tricked by the same lifted fingerprint hack as the iPhone 5s

Remember in my previous post when a couple of researchers figured out how to bypass the iPhone 5S' fingerprint lock with a fancy fake rubber finger?
Turns out, the fingerprint sensor on Samsung’s new Galaxy S5 falls victim to the very same trick. They didn’t even have to make a new mold.

While the executions are nearly identical, the end result is somewhat more severe in Samsung’s case. Apple limits fingerprint-authenticated payments to the App Store, whereas Samsung’s PayPal tie-in (allowing users to log in to PayPal with their fingerprint) potentially puts a user’s larger financials at risk. But of course, tricking either phone’s fingerprint sensor opens up access to any email account configured on the device and really, that’s about as bad as it gets.
The big lesson here: a fingerprint password is better than no password at all, but it’s not bulletproof. If you’re a secret spy shuttling important documents around on your phone? Maybe pick something else.
For the curious, here’s the original iPhone 5S video that shows the entire finger-faking process:

Hackers Bypass Apple's Touch ID with Lifted Fingerprint

Fingerprint scanners have always been vulnerable to hackers who are willing to go the extra mile to bypass them. Over the years, we've seen everything from peoples using sophisticated techniques to bypass these biometric scanners. It's not really a surprise them, that Apple's Touch ID fingerprint scanner on the new iPhone 5s is vulnerable to these kinds of hacks as well. As Germany's Chaos Computer Club (CCC) announced last September, it has managed to bypass Touch ID by creating a fake finger that uses lifted prints to fool the scanner into perspective. Getting this ti work isn't quite as easy as CCC hackers make you think it is in their press release or this video:

First you need some kind of colored powder or superglue to lift the fingerprint. Then you have to scan the fingerprint, invert it and print it with a resolution of 1200dpi or more onto a transparent sheet. After that, you build your fake finger by smearing pink latex milk or white wood glue into the pattern that the toner created onto the transparent sheet and wait for it to set. Finally, the CCC writes, “the thin latex sheet is lifted from the sheet, breathed on to make it a tiny bit moist and then placed onto the sensor to unlock the phone.” This method should work for virtually every fingerprint scanner on the market today.
If somebody is willing to go through all of this to break into your phone, chances are you have bigger issues than fingerprint security. Also, given that most iPhone users probably don’t even use a PIN code to secure their devices today, Touch ID still marks a massive step forward in smartphone security — even given the remote chance that somebody would lift your fingerprint and go through the trouble of bypassing it.

Samsung Galaxy S5

Samsung has just announced the Samsung Galaxy S5 and it is going to be released on April 11, 2014. As with the S4, the S5 is an evolution of the prior year's model, placing a particular emphasis on an improved build quality, dust and water resistance, a more refined user experience, new security features such as a fingerprint reader, and an updated camera now with 16MP back camera and 2MP rear camera. It has a powerful hardware with the System chip in Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 8-core Exynos 5422, 2.5 GHz quad-core (Snapdragon variant) processor and an Adreno 330 GPU.  It also helps you support a healthier lifestyle with the S Health and the Heart Rate sensor.

I'M BACK!

For almost 2 months of not posting, I'm BACK! Stay tuned for tech updates and tech stuffs and if you have some questions or if you want some requests please don't hesitate to email me or pm me on facebook. :)

Do smartphones really need a 1080p or 2K resolution?

Mobile phones are devices which you use in communicating other people by sending a text message or receiving calls from different people. Right now, mobile phone have evolved, it now has a camera, a powerful hardware, nice GUI, and more. Manufacturers are in a fierce battle in the field of smartphones. There are now manufacturers that built  a smartphone with 1080p. Some of the manufacturers says that they are going to build a phone with 2K display and that is rumored for the Samsung Galaxy S5.

If you compare this phones to Nokia 3310, they are still related. They are still phones. So if you want a phone with 1080p or 2K display if you want to watch videos, just buy an UHDTV or HDTV and a DVD. You can have a better experience with it in your living room. If you want a phone with a 1080p or 2K display if you want to play games, just buy a UHDTV or HDTV and a PS3 or PS4. You'll enjoy your games using those. I'm not saying that a phone sucks because it has a good display, but for me it will just be stupid to have it for a phone. This is just my opinion. No hard feelings.

What's you opinion about smartphones with 1080p or 2K resolution?
Just comment below! Thanks!

7 things you'll hate about the iPhone 5S

1. It's even more expensive

The iPhone has never been the most affordable smartphone, and the iPhone 5S is the most expensive yet; it starts at a whopping $749.18 US dollars for the 16 GB which is $27.26 more than the outgoing iPhone 5.



2. It's ruined the trade-in value of your iPhone 5
Here's how the smartphone Circle of Life is supposed to work. Apple unveils a new thing, you trade in last year's new thing, you put the money towards the new thing. Easy.

Here's how it worked this year. Apple unveiled the iPhone 5S and discontinued the iPhone 5, causing recycling sites to rush to their computers and brutally slash their iPhone 5 trade-in rates so severely that a mint iPhone 5 will soon be worth less than a pocket of mints.

And as I've mentioned, the iPhone 5S got a sneaky price hike too, which adds to the injury.

3. It should be scratch-proof, but it isn't

Apple can call the dark colored one Space Grey all it likes, but its real name should be Scratchy McRubbish, that anodised aluminum casing is so prone to scratching that you can scuff it by playing an episode of itchy and Scatchy in iTunes.

The white one's a bit better, but only because white is closer to the color of bare aluminum and as a result, the scatches aren't as obvious. The gold one should be fairly resistant too, because gold is comparatively easy to anodise.

4. Apple's gone bling

iPhone, iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPhone 5. What do they all have in common? That's right. None of them are GOLD.

There's a reason for that, and that reason is simple, gold things are for magpies, old people and idiots. Sit back and imagine the kind of people who would just love a gold iPhone.

5. There's a bigger, better one due next year

The networks would really like you to take you iPhone 5S in a two-year contract, but we all know Apple's modus operandi by now. The big hitters come out every two years with a new design and lots of new goodies, and the S models are relatively minor upgrades released in the years in between.

This is an in-between year, an "S" year, and we know what that means. A bigger, better iPhone 6 this time next year that will make you rue the day you put a cross in the box of a two year contract. Just imagine what it might do.

If an S model can read your fingers, maybe the 6 will be able to read your mind. To be honest, I'd be quite delighted if it just had better battery life and a slightly bigger screen.

6. The irrational fear that somebody's going to steal your fingers, or maybe photocopy them

Now that Apple's embraced fingerprints to unlock your iPhone and authorise iTunes purchases with Touch ID, try not to imagine someboddy stealing your phone and then coming back for your fingers so that they can unlock it.

7. You'll have to wait for it

If you've already ddecidedd you want an iPhone 5S, nothing here will change your mindd, but that doesn't mean you can just order you iPhone 5S todday andd embark on a new life gaddget-fuelledd cosiness.

Nope: you'll have to wait until September 20, or longer still if you don't live in one of the nine launch countries. (US, Australia, Canada, China, France, GErmany, Japan, Singapore and the UK).

Apple iPhone Price: Why is the iPhone so expensive?

Every time Apple announces a new iPhone, there is an inevitable backlash over the huge price. How does Apple get away with charging such a significant premium for its phone when there are plenty of other affordable, quality phones out there? More importantly, why do buyers keep paying so much for Apple's hardware?

The obvious answer to why Apple asks so much is because it can. Anybody would if they could. As for why we continue to pay so much for the iPhone, the answer is a little more complicated. First off, most buyers don't pay $500 for their phones. On contract in the U.S. and other top markets, the entry-level price for an iPhone 5S is just $199. It's the phone carriers that pay the upfront costs, so now the question shifts to them.

Why do so many operators pay so much for Apple's iPhones? When someone purchases an iPhone from a carrier on contract, he or she is more likely to subscribe to a higher revenue data plan as well, which brings in aprofit for the carriers. $10 - 15 of an iPhone owner's phone bill goes to paying off the phone. By the time a two-year contract runs out, the phone has nearly been paid for in full, and that's before adding up other costs associated with owning a smartphone.

Servitization, which is when products begin to become indistinguishable from the services they offer. Apple is not in the business of selling phones. It's in the business of enabling and creating services.

Disadvantages of the iPhone 5S

The iPhone 5S as all of you know has its new Gold version and it is a device accompanying fashion and class. It has similar specifications with the iPhone 5, but there are various improvements in certain aspects such as the camera with a reconstructed flash that can blend its two LED lights to preserve a scene's natural color balance or the Touch ID which is a fingerprint built right into the home button. The iPhone 5s comes with an amazing M7 processor that continuously measures motion data, has accelerometer, gyroscope, compass and enables a new generation of health and fitness apps.

Disadvantages of the iPhone 5S

Battery life is always a major concern in smartphones and is one division of technology that just lacks innovation and improvement. Apple along with other companies in the industry have failed here. The batteries in the 5C and the 5S offer insignificant improvement, with a few extra hours of talk-time and internet use, but it's just not enough of a difference

Motion data can be handled by the M7 processor separately, which is something Apple have shown some sense in manufacturing, making it drain less battery on the 5S, but there is surely more that could have been done. For example, Google's Moto X has managed to chip in more than a day's worth of power from a similar battery by introducing a host of minor improvements including Active Display (notifications that don't mean you have to unlock your phone) and dedicationg processor cores to specific tasks (For example: one for natural language taks and one for "contextual computing").

For short, Apple could have done better in improving battery life, but nonetheless the iPhone 5S is definitely a device worth showing off.

Malware Vulnerability for Android; Increasing?

According to security firm McAfee, mobile malware has made its way in other parts of the world. McAfee discovered almost 700,000 new variants of malware aimed at Android-based mobile devices.

While the Google Play store continues to weed out most malware, countries in the Asia-Pacific region, where McAfee counts a significant number of its mobile-security users, have a far greater problem with infections, Mike Fey, chief of technological officer for McAfee, told eWeek. Approximately 7 percent of all users in the APAC region had a device attacked by malware each month, he said.

McAfee's Q3 threat report noted an ongoing increase in the number of malware of samples that use a digital signature to attempt to evade operating systems' defenses. More than 1.5 million samples, nearly 8 percent of the total, were signed using a digital signature.

The amount of malware aimed at computers running Mac OS X grew at the same rate as the previous quarter, with only about 300 new threats detected in Q3, according to McAfee's report.

A New iPad this year?

Could an iPad Pro be launching this year? It seems likely, but the form factor of the device is anyone's guess. A series of reliable sources has pegged the iPad Pro's screen size at 12.9". Would such device be in Apple's best interests? After all, Apple CEO Tim Cook recently dismissed this very idea during a keynote presentation that unveiled the new iPad Air and updated iPad Mini. "They're confused, they chased after netbooks. They tried to make tablets into PCs and PCs into tablets". Without naming names, it was clear that Cook was talking about rival Microsoft and their Surface tablet lineup. The Surface features an HD display with some beefy components inside, like a laptop grade processor and a lot of RAM. The tablet can be used with or without a variety of optional keyboard surfaces.

Whether or not the iPad Pro will feature a keyboard, this device will be marketed to K-12 schools across America and the global learning community. iPad rollouts in schools haven't gone smoothly in the past, but a device that supports an Apple-branded keyboard might end up being infinitely more functional. Essays could be written on the iPad itself and automatically synced to the teacher to critique. Furthermore, class projects could be pushed from the iPad Pro via AirPlay to a projector screen or TV.

What specifications will the iPad Pro likely feature beside its enormous 12.9" display? Two Pro models may be released. The flagship model, if you will, is rumored to feature a bleeding edge 4K display. The other iPad Pro would ship with a 2K panel. 2K displays have a wider pixel array than the current Full HD standard. A speedy A8 chip would power the many millions of pixels the Pro displays.

Cult of Mac rounded up a few interesting rumors including a report suggesting that the new iPad will not feature ultra high-resolution "retina" displays. But, the eye-tracking technology could make its way into Apple's Pro tablet lineup. A fingerprint scanner hasn't come up in any of the rumors mentioned today. Perhaps eye-tracking is the future?

Would you buy an iPad Pro? Why or why not? Let me know in the comments section.

Sony Smartwatch 2 vs. Samsung Galaxy Gear

Sony Smartwatch 2 and the Samsung Galaxy Gear

Smartwatches are the future. As the growth in the smartphone market slows, especially at the high end where companies have been making a killing. Consumer electronics giants need to look elsewhere to bolster earnings growth. For Samsung, Microsoft, Google, Sony, LG and maybe even Apple, that "elsewhere" is wearable computing.

And now, it's time that we compare these smartwatches and lets see which of them is better.

Universal Compatibility: This is an obvious point in the plus column for Sony's SmartWatch 2.

When the Galaxy Gear launched it worked only with the Galaxy Note 3. One... single... smartphone. The situation has improved since the launch and the device now works with several Samsung phones like the Galaxy S4, Galaxy S III and the Galaxy Note 2 thanks to some updates.

Sony's SmartWatch 2, on the other hand, works with every modern Android phone out there. In other words, Sony's SmartWatch 2 works with every recent Samsung smartphone on the planet while Samsung's own smartwatch only works with a handful of Samsung smartphones.

Price: This one is straight forward.
Sony's SmartWatch 2 costs $199.99. Samsung's Galaxy Gear costs $299.99. $199.99 is less than $299.99.

Battery life: Another area that is quite straight forward
Sony SmartWatch will last between three or four days of battery life per charge while Samsung's Galaxy Gear smartwatch lasts for a little more than one day on a full charge.

Standard microUSB charging port: This one is huge for me.

The Galaxy Gear ships with an awful clam shell cradle that is needed to charge the device. There's a standard microUSB charger that plugs into the cradle, and then the cradle is closed around the watch to charge it.

It's a very bad design, and owners get a painful reminder of how bad it is each and every day since the Gear needs to be charged daily.

Sony's SmartWatch 2 has a standard microUSB [prt that is covered by a connected rubber cap. And if you want to charge the device, pull out the attached rubber cap and plug in any standard microUSB charger. That's it.

Apps: Samsung's Galaxy Gear is very limited when it comes to apps and Sony has taken the opposite approach:  the more, the merrier.

Sony's Smart Connect app manages the connection between the SmartWatch 2 and the user's smartphone, and it also serves as a portal through which users can find both free and paid apps. Apps are actually housed in the standard Google Play Store.

The number of available apps continues to grow slowly but steadily, and there are definitely some decent offerings in there. Also, those who purchase the SmartWatch 2 with the silicon band ($199.99) as opposed to the metal band ($219.99) will get RunKeeper's custom SmartWatch app for free.

Water and dust resistance: The SmartWatch 2 is certified to be water and dust resistant and it carries an IP57 rating. Here's what that means:

An Ingress Protection (IP) rating is given to electrical devices to signify how resistant to water and dust they are. The first digit that follows "IP" represents a device's dust resistance rating and the second digit signifies how resistant it is to water

For dust resistance, the scale is 0 to 6 where 0 would be assigned to a device that offers no protection against dust and 6 would be assigned to a device that is impenetrable.

Sony's rating of 5 means that the SmartWatch 2 is very well-protected against dust.
For water resistance, the scale goes from 0 to 8 where 0 means a device hasn't even been evaluated and 8 means a device can withstand continuous immersion under water. The SmartWatch 2's rating of 7 means a splash of water or heavy rain are no problem at all for the device. In fact, it can be fully submerged for about 30 minutes in up to three feet of water and come out just fine.

Interchangeable straps: Want to sport a different look from one day to the next? The SmartWatch 2 can use a variety of different bands sold by Sony or it can take any standard watch strap that is 24 millimeters wide. Because the Galaxy Gear's camera and speaker are built into the strap, no suck luck on Samsung's smartwatch

Hardware design: The SmartWatch 2 is not an ugly device, but it's no Galaxy Gear.
Aside from the hideous camera lens on the front of the strap, Samsung's Galaxy Gear is a very sleek and well-designed device. The stainless steel case has a great look to it and the exposed screws above and below the face are a very nice touch. The SmartWatch 2 on the other hand, is somewhat bland. It's far better than Sony's previous SmartWatch but it really isn't anything special.

Will 2014 be the start of the era of Wearable Computers?

This is the Google Glass. It is a wearable computer with an optical head-mounted display that is being developed by Google in the Project Glass research and development project, with a mission of producing a mass-market ubiquitous computer. Google Glass displays information in a smartphone-like hands-free format that can communicate with the Internet via natural language voice commands.

 This a Samsung Galaxy Gear. It is an Android-based smartwatch produced by Samsung Electronic. The device serves as a companion for all Samsung Galaxy Smartphones and tablets which run Android 4.3. The Galaxy Gear was released to a generally negative reception. It was criticized for the lackluster design of its interface, the inadequate implementation of some of its software, the few apps available, its poor battery life and its dependency on Samsung Galaxy phones and tablets. This is just the start and I believe Samsung will make some major changes and improvements in the next releases.

iPhone 6 to feature Two Size Options

Apple may release the iPhone 6 with two different size options. The rumored models would come in 4.7-inch and 5.7-inch variants, according to the reports.

Back in 2012 Apple finally broke tradition and released a new iPhone model with a larger display and that is the iPhone 5. But, this was still left behind by numerous Android devices that have been growing larger all the time. Now, though there are again rumors suggesting that the iPhone 6 is to come in two screen sizes for 2014. We could still be a few months away yet before we see a new smartphone from Apple unless the company throws a curve ball and returns to revealing new hardware at the annual WWDC event. Now, according to some alleged Foxconn insiders that got a little loosed tongued at a New Year's party, Apple is going to release two new iPhone models this year with different screen sizes.  These will see a major jump up with one coming in at 4.7-inches and the other matching the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 at 5.7-inches. There is also a chance the new iPhone's will feature an iris scanner that is rumored to also be featured in the Samsung Galaxy S5. But, this is not the first time we have heard screen sizes like this for an upcoming iPhone model, as both of these sizes were mentioned back in the summer of 2013 for the iPhone 6. Apple CEO Tim Cook has recently promised that the company has big plans for this year so whether that was a subtle hint for a supersized new iPhone remains to be seen, and it's open to debate whether many iPhone fans would want to a handset quite so large. Would you like to see an iPhone this big? 

Please comment your answers. Thanks!

iPhone 5S vs. Samsung Galaxy Note 3

The iPhone 5S and the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 are two very different products. One is a super slim and sleek smartphone wearing an Apple badge while the other is a giant phablet device running the best hardware available. Comparing these two may seem unfair or just strange but keeping the price in mind, these two are neck to neck. 

The iPhone 5s feature Apple's 4-inch Retina Display, a new 64-bit A7 chip alongside a M& Motion Co-Processor and Touch ID. The Galaxy Note 3 features a massive 5.7-inch 1080p display, a 2.3 GHz quad-core processor, a 3GB of RAM, and the famous S Pen for nothe-taking ang interacting with the device. These two devices also run different software software platforms. The iPhone 5S offers iOS 7 while the Galaxy Note 3 features Android 4.3 Jelly Bean and TouchWiz.

If you let the numbers decide, the Galaxy Note 3 is the clear winner but there's a lot to like on the iPhone as well. Please check this video about this comparison. All credits to PhoneDog.

Samsung Galaxy S5 set to one-up iPhone with eye scanner

You know what's cooler than unlocking your phone by scanning your fingerprint? Unloccking your phone by scanning your eyes. And that's what Samsung has planned for this year's Samsung Galaxy S5. The iris scanner is likely to work the iPhone 5S's handy fingerprint scanner, meaning you can use your own unique biometric to unlock your phone and pay for your stuffs too. A reliable, secure eye scanner would be harder to fool than a fingerprint detector, but would need a very high resolution camera.

Some Disadvantages of iPhone's Touch ID

Touch ID is one of the major changes in the iPhone. It recognizes your fingerprint and you can make it as your password. But, this has some disadvantages.

1. Some people see it as being intrusive as it encroaches on anonymity.
2. Like the fragile screen of a phone, the lens of the scanner may also be affected by overuse/impact.
3. The condition of a persons skin may affect the scanner, such as the dryness or oils/dirt.
4. Fingerprints may be affected by injuries, illness or age.
5. When your home button gets scratches, it won't recognize your fingerprints anymore. And here is a video below that shows it.

The iPhone 5s

As we all know the iPhone 5s is made by Apple Corporation. This phone is so similar with its predecessor, the iPhone 5. One of the major changes of the iPhone is its home button. It is already using a sapphire cover surrounded by a mettalic ring. Another thing is the Touch ID, a fingerprint recognition system built direct into the home button which can be used to unlock the phone and authenticate App Store and Itunes Store purchases. It also has an updated camera with a large aperture and a dual-LED flash optimized for different color temperatures. It also introduced the new A7-chip processor, the first 64 bit processor used in a smartphone and it is accompanied by the M7 motion co-processor. This phone has a lot of advantages and disadvantages and I will discuss those things in the next topics.

What I have here below is the review of the iPhone 5s. All credits to tldtoday.

Will 2014 be a prominent year for technology?

Happy New Year everyone!

Let's expect that 2014 will be a big year for technology. There will new releases of smartphones like iPhone 6, Samsung Galaxy S5, Samsung Galaxy Note 3 and many more. Gaming consoles are also expected to have a lot of improvements with the new PS4 and the XBOX One because of the emergence of tablets and smartphones. Another big story is the Google Glass. I think that it's too similar with Jarvis in Iron Man and believe me Google Glass will still have a lot of improvements in the coming years. This year may also be the year of the Smartwatches. It's so cool because you can receive calls, play games and more. And it is also known as Wearable Computers.