Over 300 Flash bugs were discovered (and fixed) this year

Adobe Flash was in news for all the wrong reasons this year - as you might know, a lot of Flash vulnerabilities were discovered this year. If you're wondering exactly how many, here the number: 316. Yes, a total of 316 Flash bugs were discovered (and fixed) in 2015. For those doing the maths, that's around 6.1 fixes per week. The last quarter of the year, especially, saw the company fixing a total of 113 bugs, which is roughly 1.5 per day. It's worth mentioning that Facebook's chief security officer Alex Stamos called for an end to Adobe Flash support back in July this year. His comments came just a week after hackers compromised an Italy-based spy software company's systems, revealing a major Flash vulnerability. Oh, and by the way, a new - and yet another - Flash vulnerability was recently discovered, and Adobe has released a patch for it. Head to the Adobe link below to know more about it. Via |...

Source: http://www.gsmarena.com/over_300_flash_bugs_were_discovered_this_year-news-15780.php

Sidecar as we know it is shutting down

San Francisco-based ride-sharing service Sidecar is shutting down on December 31 (at 2PM Pacific Time). This was announced by the company's co-founder and CEO Sunil Paul in a blog post on Medium. Image credit: Hayne Palmour IV U-T San Diego "Today is a turning point for Sidecar as we prepare to end our ride and delivery service so we can work on strategic alternatives and lay the groundwork for the next big thing," Paul said. "This is the end of the road for the Sidecar ride and delivery service, but it's by no means the end of the journey for the company." For those who aren't in the know, founded in 2011, Sidecar was one of the first start-ups in the ride-sharing and car-hailing market, which is currently dominated by the likes of Uber and Lyft. It managed to raise a total of $35 million from investors including Union Square Ventures and billionaire Richard...

Source: http://www.gsmarena.com/sidecar_as_we_know_it_is_shutting_down-news-15778.php

New Samsung Gear S2 update is aimed at improving battery life

Samsung has started rolling out a new update to its Gear S2 smartwatch that is primarily aimed at improving the battery life of the device. Weighing in at 4.85MB, the update bumps the software version to R730TUVU1AOL3. A quick look at the change-log (see image below) suggests that the What's new section only lists "Battery life has been optimized". However, the update could also include some regular bug fixes and stability improvements. To install the update, open the Samsung Gear app on your phone and head to Settings. Once there, go to the About Gear option, and then tap the Update Gear button. This should do the...

Source: http://www.gsmarena.com/new_samsung_gear_s2_update_is_aimed_at_improving_battery_life-news-15776.php

iPhone 7c mass production expected to start next month, report says

Earlier this month, there were reports that the rumored Apple iPhone 7c will be launched in September 2016. However, a recent China Mobile roadmap revealed an April launch. While there's still no confirmation on the launch time frame, a new report is suggesting that the device will go into mass production soon. As per the report, Apple is already done with a small-scale trial production of the smartphone, and the mass production is expected to begin in January. In addition, it was also revealed that the handset will be similar to the iPhone 5s in shape and size, and will also come in three color options just like the latter. Finally, the report also notes that the iPhone 7c (or iPhone 6c, or whatever it is called, as the name is also not yet confirmed) will pack in a 1,642 mAh battery. As for the price, the device is rumored to carry a tag of somewhere between $400-$500, presumably off...

Source: http://www.gsmarena.com/apple_iphone_7c_mass_production_expected_to_start_next_month_report_says-news-15779.php

New lawsuit claims Apple slows down older iPhones on iOS 9

A new lawsuit is demanding $5M in damages from Apple for intentionally slowing down performance of legacy iPhones. The plaintiff claims that Apple has been engaging in deceptive business practices of purposely slowing down 100 members' iPhone 4S's. After performing the upgrade in software, these iPhone 4S's have apparently become so bogged down that they have become unusable in day-to-day conditions. Both first and third-party app loading delays are significantly longer with reported freezing and crashing as well. This bogging down of software performance is said to encourage users to upgrade their old devices to newer iPhones. The lawsuit continues by also claiming false advertisement from the installation notes for the new update. While these notes mention faster performance, enhanced security, longer battery life, and new app features, these same notes lack a warning of possible compatibility issues on older devices like the iPhone 4S. The same lawsuit is aimed at Apple's ecosystem saying that rather than upgrading to another phone OS, Apple's business structure of apps and music is more likely to keep people from jumping ship to avoid losing the investments of money spent on apps and...

Source: http://www.gsmarena.com/new_lawsuit_claims_apple_slows_down_older_iphones_on_ios_9-news-15777.php

Xiaomi Mi Pad 2 (64GB variant) sells out within a minute on launch day

Announced last month in China, the all-metal Mi Pad 2 tablet from Xiaomi comes in both 16GB and 64GB memory configurations. While the former has been available for purchase, the latter was launched in the country this week, only to be sold out in just 60 seconds. That's right. According to a report out of China, the device was out of stock within a minute of going on sale. Not only the 64GB variant, but the standard 16GB model was also sold out on that day, the report notes. It isn't, however, clear whether the sell out was due to a strong demand of the tablet or limited stock. For those who aren't already aware, the 16GB Mi Pad 2 costs RMB 999 ($155), while the 64GB variant carries a price tag of RMB 1,299...

Source: http://www.gsmarena.com/xiaomi_mi_pad_2_64gb_variant_sells_out_within_a_minute_on_launch_day-news-15775.php