Google’s redefined privacy policy lets ads follow you everywhere
In 2007, Google bought online advertising network Doubleclick with the assurance that they would prioritize user privacy as they developed new ad products. They’ve kept that promise, dividing their massive database of web browsing data from the personal info collected from Gmail and other parts of its product suite. Until last summer. That’s when the search giant quietly asked account owners to opt-in to sharing more data, an oblique request for permission to bundle user browser activity with personally-identifying information to better cater ads. In essence, signing up lets Google’s ads know who you are no matter where you go across different devices.
That means DoubleClick ads following users from site to site can further cater to them based on whatever information they entered in Gmail. Google can build a complete profile, tying names and email details to browsing habits and search attempts, providing ads that are minutely suited.
New Google accounts are automatically opted in to this level of data sharing, while existing users were asked if they’d opt-in to “receive new features for your Google account.” Thus far, that’s just led to more closely-tailored ads and the ability to view activity tied to your account across multiple devices — in other words, getting a much more detailed user history.
Google insists that they had adjusted their ad policy to adapt to the smartphone era. In a statement provided to ProPublica, a spokesperson said that opting in lets Google deliver much more precisely-catered ads to users based on their activity across all their devices. Which seems harmless enough: Opt-in if that sounds like your fancy.
To be fair, users who have opted in to share their data with Google can opt out at any time. They can find the opt in/out toggle by selecting “My Account” from the tile menu on any logged-in Google page, then clicking “Ad Settings” under the “Personal info and privacy” tab. Google has even helpfully highlighted the changes made to their privacy policy since the June policy change. The new settings usefully gathered a lot of previously-scattered privacy toggles into one place, as we noted at the time.
The issue lies in crossing the streams of your personal data and your activity, which is, if users opt out, properly anonymized. Google’s DoubleClick serves you ads that match what you do, but not who you are, or what your other accounts on other devices have done. Even being able to opt-in is a violation of privacy, advocates maintain, and combining those data pots endangers user ability to stay anonymous on the internet.
What they fear is encroachment as tech giants renege on promises, even ones they made a decade ago. It’s the same outrage they had back in August when WhatsApp announced they would be forking over personalized user data to parent company Facebook, breaking their promise to users they made when getting acquired. At least Google is allowing account holders to select whether they keep their personal data separate from that collected when they roam around the search giant’s other products.
Source: ProPublica
Now LG is planning to abandon modules with new G6 phone
It seems like modular phones aren’t the future of smartphone technology.
Google abandoned its Project Ara modular initiative earlier this year, and according to the report from Korea’s Electronic Times, LG plans to do the same with its G5 strategy. The modular G5 was not as successful as LG had hoped. The company had big plans, launching it with a handful of modules, along with the promise of a fuller ecosystem. But the phone wasn’t well received.
- LG G5 review: Modular misfire?
One of the major complaints was the inability to hot swap some modules, which is what happens when you try to remove a component, but doing so interrupts operation of the phone. By June, it became apparent the phone wasn’t doing well, and then in September, Google cancelled Project Ara. Does nobody want a modular phone? The idea seemed interesting, but it failed to catch on.
Keep in mind Lenovo and Motorola still offer the Moto Z, which offers snap on extensions such as an extra battery, projector, and a speaker. It’ll be interesting to see if the Moto Z continues to be developed into a full ecosystem. As for that promised G5 ecosystem, it’s now being reported that next year’s LG G6 will not feature modular components.
That means LG G5 owners shouldn’t expect new modules (aka “friends”).
Farewell, module smartphones. We hardly knew ye.
Reebok Liquid Speed shoes use 3D drawing for a better fit
We’ve seen a number of limited release shoes built using 3D printing, but now Reebok is coming in with its own attempt to rethink the traditional molding process. Reebok’s Liquid Factory draws the frame of these shoes in three dimensions, using a special “high rebound” liquid created by BASF. According to Head of Future Bill McInnis, this helps “create the first ever energy-return outsole, which performs dramatically better than a typical rubber outsole.” Also, the Liquid Speed’s winged frame wraps up and over the shoe, making for a tighter fit in all directions.
The process used to make the shoes is proprietary, designed in a collaboration between Reebok BASF and Rampf Group in Michigan, while final assembly of the shoes took place in Massachusetts. The shoe company says it’s opening a Liquid Factory manufacturing lab in early 2017.
While these $189 shoes are available only as a 300 pair limited run on Reebok.com and Finishline.com, it sounds like more are on the way, and soon, since as McInnis put it, “One of the most exciting things about Liquid Factory is the speed. We can create and customize the design of shoes in real time, because we’re not using molds – we’re simply programming a machine.”
Source: Reebok (Businesswire)
Android Pay no longer works if you unlock your bootloader, and that’s a good thing
Yes, Google has blocked Android Pay if you unlock your bootloader. My biggest question about it all is ‘why did it take so long?’
Quietly and without any fanfare, Google disabled the ability for Android Pay to make payments on phones with unlocked bootloaders; landing in line with its previously held policy of not allowing rooted phones to access the payment system. It’s frustrating to some, but it’s the right move and it’s in line with Google’s vision for the security of its platform and services.
Android, as built by Google and not modified or having native security features disabled, is really secure. Security chief Adrian Ludwig speculates that one day we’ll see U.S. presidents use Android (thanks, Obama) because it’s safe and you have complete control over where and how your data is shared. But all that goes away once you start changing settings, enable USB communication or unlock your bootloader.
An unlocked bootloader is not secure, and when money is involved security is paramount.
It can be frustrating for a power user or enthusiast, but it’s time we realize that Android is not built just for us. It’s built for everyone — including people who may have unlocked their bootloader without understanding the implications of it all. These are the people who need to be protected from something on their phone that might be able to get access to their bank account or credit card information.
This doesn’t just protect the person with the unlocked bootloader, either. When a bank or card issuer has to eat the cost of a fraudulent charge, it doesn’t happily consider it a fact of doing business — it wants to limit these instances as much as possible. Interest rates and service fees are how the banks and card issuers make money from us, and raising one or the other (or both) is what happens when the expenditures column get’s bigger due to fraudulent charges from insecure systems. In some cases, the banks and card issuers just skip payment methods like Android Pay altogether before they get to that point. By keeping Android Pay from running on potentially compromised phones, it helps Google get more companies on board. For example, Chase took forever to join Android Pay — and there are plenty of other banks yet to join. Not doing everything possible to make the service secure would be a great way to scare them off and keep it from happening.
Thankfully, you don’t have to unlock your bootloader to manually update your phone since you can sideload update packages if you’re impatient. Maybe one day developers will make use of Android’s native app data backup service so we won’t have to use Titanium or something similar to keep our app data in place. In the meantime, if we unlock the bootloader we lose Android Pay. It’s that simple.
Google’s not trying to stop anyone from unlocking their phone’s bootloader, nor is it trying to turn Android into something that’s not “hacker friendly” (the good kind of hacker). We can still unlock the bootloader to root or to run a different version of Android or just because we want to, but we can’t use Android Pay — a service owned by Google and never intended to be open — if we do it.
Daily Briefing: Can you see this, America?
Grab a beer and a whiskey, it’s Friday, October 21st. Here’s what’s making news today.
It’s crappy outside, a typical fall day in Toronto. Leaves strewn everywhere, a bitter winter chill in the air. I almost turned the heating on. Instead I put on a nice, warm sweater and spent the day on the internet.
Except the internet had a very bad day. I couldn’t stay in touch with half of my colleagues due to an ongoing denial of service attack on a single DNS company, likely perpetrated by a coordinate botnet aimed at a central point. A lot of security researchers are going to be up late tonight examining what happened, but suffice it to say, this doesn’t bode well for the reputation of the many embedded devices that were reportedly hacked to perpetrate this attack. I’m no conspiracy theorist, but perhaps this will be a wakeup call for manufacturers to, you know, add the protective measures necessary to ward off easy infection. Scary stuff. Quite appropriate for around Halloween!
And with that, today’s big news stories!
LG is giving up on modules
Like a G6, if G6s are plain smartphones without modules. Or something. According to Korean daily ETNews, LG has abandoned its modular approach to smartphones after the gambit did not pay off in the G5. The phone’s successor, ostensibly the G6, will be a bit more approachable. But will it blend?
Verizon Pixel and Pixel XL already have an update waiting for it
Verizon announced today that both the Pixel and Pixel XL will receive an update that helps improve Wi-Fi connectivity. And we thought Big Red would skimp us on software updates.
Android 7.0 making its way to the Moto G4 and G4 Plus
The Moto G4 and G4 Plus are officially receiving their Android 7.0 Nougat update overseas, which hopefully means that your phone is next. More
Android Pay self destructs if you unlock your bootloader
As it should. More
LG V20 pre-orders live at Sprint
The LG V20 is now available to pre-order at Sprint for a ridiculous $33 per month for two years, or $792 outright. It’s not as bad as AT&T, but it’s close. The phone arrives October 28.
Alcatel announces four new unlocked devices under $170
Who likes affordable smartphones? Alcatel has got four coming out. The Alcatel Pop 4S retails for $170 and features a 5.5-inch 1080p display, octa-core processor, and a 2,960mAh battery pack. The POP 4 Plus is the low-end variant, coming in at $120 with a Snapdragon 210 and 720p display. And the PIXI 4 is available in 5-inch and 6-inch screen sizes with quad-core chipsets, and they’re going for $80 and $120, respectively.
GIF keyboards come to the official Messenger app in Android 7.1
If you’re running Android 7.1, you’ve got a few nice features to look forward to over the short-lived 7.0: app shortcuts, circular icons (I guess), and image keyboards. The first of those image keyboards is built right into the official Google Keyboard (version 5.2), as discovered by Android Police. You can only access it right now in the official Messenger app, and even then it’s a bit buried, but it’s a good start!
Instagram is testing live video
Of course it is.
Much of America’s internet stopped working today
A Distributed Denial of Service (DDOS) attack against one of the biggest DNS providers in the country brought down many popular sites in the U.S. today, including Netflix and Twitter. Dyn, the company at the center of the coordinated “strike,” dealt with at least three separate incursions throughout the day, disrupting web traffic from east to west.
Have a great weekend!
The Public Access Weekly: Upgrade ya
So… since the entire Internet is apparently one big Fail meme today, let’s just jump right in shall we? This week, we’re rolling out some of the Public Access upgrades that we’ve been working on which is pretty exciting.
The first of these changes is the landing page that Public Access members see when signing in. Starting today, that landing page will display our rules and guidelines for Public Access members and posts. All Public Access members will be expected to abide by these rules. (What happens if you don’t? That is also detailed on the page!) We want to be sure that we’re being clear and transparent with members about what the rules are, so we’re putting them right up front and center.
The next change regards publishing posts — Starting Monday, there will be two types of membership to Public Access: A full membership, and what we’re casually referring to as a ‘trial’ membership. There is one major difference between the two types of membership and that is that full members can publish articles to Public Access at any time, while trial members will need to submit their stories for approval by an editor.
All new members to Public Access will, be default, given a trial membership. Once a member has published three stories without requiring significant editorial corrections, they will be upgraded to a full membership. Also, and this is important, those who have full memberships and violate our rules can be changed to a trial membership at any time. We’ve updated all the resource pages to include information about creating your post as a trial member, but as always, you can email us if you have any questions!
Lastly, as I mentioned last week, we’re updating the way your article template pages look so starting Tuesday the page where you actually write and create your posts will be streamlined, with larger fields and features and a new color scheme. However, all the commands and functions are still in pretty much the exact same places so you shouldn’t experience any problems.
Looking for something to read? Check out:
One of the featured stories on the Public Access homepage this week comes to us courtesy of Victor Iryniuk, who has written his first post on the reasons why his 5th generation Kindle is still his very favorite gadget. This piece explores what this version of the Kindle did right (doing one thing, and doing it great), and the advancements in e-readers that have detracted from the devices core purpose.
Meanwhile, over in the science/space genre, Lindsey Patterson has written a great post on the why Boeing will beat Elon Musk in the race to Mars which includes background on the Mercury Program, the Gemini Program and how SpaceX and Boeing differ in their knowledge and experience.
Discussions about gender equality and tech often overlook the women who are doing spectacular work in the field, and Kamakshi Venugopal’s story about female entrepreneurs in India who are pushing the start-up scene to new heights highlights the stories of five women who are the founders and CEOs of E-commerce, coupon and local service websites.
Looking for something to write about? Mull over:
Big news came out of the Nintendo camp this week with the announcement of the Switch console, which is powered by an Nvidia Tegra processor and purports to allow users to bring a tablet element to their gaming via detachable controllers. Is this a great innovation for Nintendo? Are you excited about it? And is there a place for portable gaming consoles in a world of smartphone gaming?
When Twitter laid off former AngelHack CEO Gregory Gopman this week, he responded with a Facebook post claiming the motivation was his 2013 rant against the homeless population of San Francisco. While Twitter has not confirmed or denied the reasons for Gopmans exit from the company, the news did bring up some interesting conversations in the comments. Should the things you post online haunt you forever? How does one come back from the negative attention that follows a viral social media post? And do you censor what you put online for fear of it harming your abilities to find work? How so?
We reviewed the Google designed Pixel and Pixel XL this week, and found it to be a great smartphone that looks a little dull. Have you gotten your hands on a Pixel or Pixel XL yet? If so, what do you think of the device? Does it live up to your expectations? What is your favorite — and least favorite — aspect of it? And do you think it can fill the hole left by Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7?
Watch Samsung VR’s first scripted series this weekend
Assuming you still have a phone to slot into your Gear VR, you’ll have something new to watch this weekend. Invisible is the first scripted series on the Samsung VR platform, and is helmed by Edge of Tomorrow and The Bourne Identity director, Doug Liman. The way Wired describes it, Invisible sounds pretty cool. The six-episode series follows the lives of an ultra-rich, but reclusive family with its hands in just about everything. The reason for living in secrecy? Well, as you might be able to guess from the show’s name, certain family members can disappear in plain sight.
A handful of the short (all are under 10 minutes) episodes are available on the Samsung VR website right now if you want to give them a look. Or, you can just peep the 360 degree trailer below and call it a day.
Via: UploadVR
Source: Samsung VR
Why the Internet fell apart today
If you were on the internet on Friday morning, congrats! You were one of a lucky few who maintained their connectivity in the face of a massive, nationwide DDoS attack against part of the Domain Name System (DNS), a crucial piece of digital infrastructure which, when offline, cripples our ability to access the internet. But despite its importance, the DNS is often overlooked — much like the rest of the behind the scene mechanisms that make the internet work. So before you go resetting your router to see if that clears things up (hint: it won’t), let’s take a quick look at what the DNS does and how it managed to break so spectacularly earlier today.
In the early days of the networking, routing data between two computers might require that you know the target machine’s IP address, a 12-digit string of numbers like 192.168.1.1. Even in the early 1980’s when the “internet” was still the DoD’s ARPANET project and consisted of just 320 interconnected computers, trying remembering all 320 IP addresses would be like trying to memorize the address and occupant of every house in your neighborhood.
So, the internet’s architects developed the DNS, a giant, decentralized database that translates domain names to IP addresses much in the same way that telephone operators used to manually route calls through their switchboards. So when you type “Engadget.com” (aka the top-level domain or TLD) into your browser, the DNS company that hosts that domain converts “Engadget.com” into the 12-digit IP address and routes your request accordingly, starting with the TLD, so that your computer knows where to look for the website data it’s trying to load. What’s more, the DNS automatically updates these registries so if Engadget ever switches hosting companies and its IP address changes, typing “Engadget.com” into a browser will still work.
The DNS is a hierarchical system. At the very highest level, you’ve got the “root servers”. There are 13 of them in all and they handle requests for information about TLDs. So if you type “www.Engadget.com,” it won’t be able to find the exact listing in its zone files — simple text documents that map domain names to their respective IP addresses — but it will return a record of the “.com” TLD and shunt the request to the next server down, the TLD server.
TLD server then looks for “www.Engadget.com” in in its zone file. As before, the TLD server won’t find the full “www.Engadget.com” listing but it will find record of “Engadget.com”. With that information in hand, the request is kicked down to the domain-level servers.
By the time that a request reaches a Domain-level server, it’s only one step away from being fully routed to its destination website. These servers are essentially “the guy who knows the guy” you’re looking for. Domain servers look at the record for Engadget.com, determine that the domain should be www — as opposed to ftp, for example — and then looks up the site’s IP address in their zone files before completing the routing operation.
Normally this all happens on the backend and the process is completely seamless from the user’s perspective. However, hackers can (and just did) attack the companies that run these DNS services. When a service is knocked offline, every site hosted on that DNS goes down as well, unless you know that site’s specific IP address of course.
This is is what US authorities believe happened Friday morning. A group of unknown cyber-attackers launched a huge Dedicated Denial of Service (DDoS) attack — in which small streams of data are funneled to create an unrelenting tide of traffic that overwhelms a site’s servers — against Dyn, a major DNS service. They shut Dyn down for hours. This, in turn, caused a swath of sites that Dyn works for — including Twitter, Spotify, the New York Times, Reddit, Yelp, Box, Pinterest and Paypal — to go dark on Friday morning until the company was able to recover.
Unfortunately, defending against DDoS attacks and the botnets that are used to launch them, is not a particularly easy task. The most common solution, according to CISCO, are firewalls, which act as the network’s watchdog, inspecting data packets and determining their source. If a firewall detects suspicious network activity it will alert the rest of the system. Networks may also incorporate load balancers — systems that spread network traffic out over multiple servers so that no one unit is overwhelmed. Remotely triggered blackholes (RTBH), instead, reroute and drop malicious traffic before it can even enter the network in the first place. Or, if you’re savvy like Pornhub, you’ll simply host your network on multiple registered DNS servers so that even if one goes down, traffic will simply be rerouted to a different service.
That said, there’s no such thing as a perfectly secure network. DDoS attacks like these will continue to occasionally occur for the foreseeable future. But with proper network design and implementation, we’ll be able to mitigate their debilitating effects.
Facebook employees argued to ban Trump’s posts over hate speech
Some Facebook employees fought to remove posts from Donald Trump in which the Republican presidential candidate called for a ban on Muslims entering the United States, arguing that the comments violated the website’s rules on hate speech, The Wall Street Journal reports. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg eventually ruled on the issue and directed employees to not delete any of Trump’s posts. Zuckerberg said it would be inappropriate to censor a presidential candidate, according to the WSJ.
After Zuckerberg’s decision, some employees tasked with reviewing content on Facebook threatened to quit, and more still continued to complain that the company was bending its rules on hate speech for Trump. According to the report, more than a dozen Muslim employees discussed the policy with their managers and one Muslim employee asked Zuckerberg himself at a town hall meeting how he could approve of Trump’s message. The WSJ reports that Zuckerberg admitted Trump’s comments did amount to hate speech, but he said the consequences of deleting the posts were too drastic.
A Facebook spokesperson provided a statement to the WSJ that said content reviewers consider the context of each flagged post before deciding whether to remove it, including the comment’s value within political discourse. “Many people are voicing opinions about this particular content and it has become an important part of the conversation around who the next US president will be,” the statement reads.
On Friday, Facebook announced it would implement new rules for allowing graphic, yet newsworthy content on the site. This was a result of the scrutiny Facebook received after it censored the Pulitzer Prize-winning “napalm girl” photo in September.
Zuckerberg decided to keep Peter Thiel, a fervent Trump supporter and bankroller behind the case that bankrupt Gawker Media, on Facebook’s board of directors amid calls for Thiel to be removed. In a post leaked online, Zuckerberg said the move was to support diversity.
Source: The Wall Street Journal
Nomu S10 and Nomu S30 unboxing initial impressions
We recently received review units to two of Chinese handset maker Nomu’s new unlocked smartphones, the S10 and S30. Launching this week, the devices are powered by Android 6.0 and feature IP68 waterproof protection. Moreover, they each boast a downright insane battery at 5,000mAh capacity. In terms of specs to price ratio, the handsets come in rather aggressively at $100 and $230, respectively.
A Qualifying Statement
We’ve only had these phones in our possession for a few days, so do not look for this to be a comprehensive review. Rather, this will be more of a piece that details what comes in the box, how the devices stack up against each other, and what we think of them so far. A full review will follow in the coming weeks.
Quick Comparison
While the two phones do share a number of features and traits between them, there are are obviously going to be differences. Here’s a quick breakdown of each model.
Nomu S10
- Android 6.0 Marshmallow
- 5.0-inch display at 1280 x 720 pixel resolution; Gorilla Glass 3
- Quad-core Mediatek 1.5GHz processor
- 2GB RAM
- 16GB internal storage; microSD expansion card slot for 32GB
- 8-megapixel (interpolated to 13-megapixel) rear camera
- 5-megapixel front-facing camera
- Dual-SIM
- 5000mAh battery
- 2G GSM：850/900/1800/1900（B5/B8/B3/B2）
- 3G WCDMA：900/2100（B8/B1）
- 4G FDD-LTE：800/900/1800/2100/2600（B20/B8/B3/B1/B7）
- TDD-LTE：2300(B40)
Nomu S30
- Android 6.0 Marshmallow
- 5.5-inch display at 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution; Gorilla Glass 4
- Octa-core Mediatek 2.0GHz processor
- 4GB RAM
- 64GB internal storage; microSD expansion card slot for 32GB
- 13-megapixel (interpolated to 16-megapixel) rear camera
- 5-megapixel (interpolated to 8-megapixel)front-facing camera
- Dual-SIM
- 5000mAh battery
- 2G GSM：850/900/1800/1900（B5/B8/B3/B2）
- 3G WCDMA：900/2100（B8/B1）
- 4G FDD-LTE：850/900/1900/2100（B5/B8/B2/B1）
- FDD-LTE：800/900/1800/2100/2600(B1/B3/B7/B8/B20)
What’s In The Box?
We’re not sure if the review units we received are actual retail model boxes but we suspect they might be. But, with that said, it’s a no-frills experience that doesn’t give you any more than it needs to. The cardboard box is brown and features only the Nomu brand embossed on the top; the bottom has a sticker with the model number and serial number.
Inside you find the phone, a pair of headphones, and a wall charger and USB cable. The outlet plug, for what it’s worth, is not going to work here in the United States. You’ll want to either get an adapter or just use one of your existing units to plug the cable in.
The quick-start guide details the basics of the phone, indicating where all of the ports and buttons are. It does have multiple languages, one of which is English.
Initial Impressions
Taking the phone out of the box and powering it on, you get the sense that these phones are rugged and ready for various conditions. Indeed, the IP68 ratings, utilitarian design, and general aesthetics signal the S10 and S30 are the sort of phones that a construction worker, contractor, or field worker might enjoy having. They’re not unlike what Kyocera is doing with its DuraForce line.
Both models have very distinct and angular corners with rubber edges. The S10 has a little bit more of a rough and tumble build that looks like something out of Battlestar Galactica. Moreover, the orange and black colors look sharp and unlike anything else we’ve spent time with.
The S30, for its part, doesn’t look to be as waterproof or built to spill. In fact, we had to double-check and triple-check that it was IP68 rated before putting it into water. The back of this one has more of a plastic shell with carbon fiber design and silver aluminum/titanium side. It would easily pass for an early generation of Droid from Verizon and Motorola.
Android
Hey look, it’s a nearly stock Android experience! Props to Nomu for not doing much to mess with the look and feel of the phone. It’s easy for a Chinese hardware maker to put a “foreign” spin on things that doesn’t resonate with US buyers. Fortunately, it appears that there’s not much done here to customize the interface.
With that said, the icons look like something you’d find in an old version of Android, perhaps something around the Ice Cream Sandwich and Jellybean era. It confused us at first, because we though, “wasn’t this supposed to be Android 6.0?” Alas, it does run Marshmallow, but with an interesting approach.
Looking through the settings we see a number of options that don’t come standard with Android. Be it gestures, flip to mute, or other subtle tweaks, it’s a nice mix additional options. And, while they may not be something we specifically use, there’s nothing here that feels out of place. If someone were just getting into Android or smartphones, we see things that would actually appeal to them or make the experience better.
While there are a handful of the major Google apps present on the S10, you’ll have to head to the Play Store to pick up a few of them. Present are Calendar, Chrome, Gmail, Google, and Play Store. You’ll need to manually install others such as YouTube, Hangouts, Drive, Mesenger, or Google+.
The S30, by contrast, had nearly all of the above (no YouTube) as well as Photos, the full suite of Google Play clients, and Android Pay.
Sound and Camera
We tested the speakers out on both models and found the S10 to get really distorted at the higher volumes. Moreover, it was a flat and unappealing experience. Perhaps related to a couple of water droplets that were still on the speaker, we heard some minor rattling or extra noise that should not have been present. The S30, by comparison, was louder and more full.
Same thing goes for the camera. The S10 is so-so, if not a little less than desired, while the S30 comes in with more of what you’d hope for in a smartphone. Keeping price in mind, we can see where corners have to be cut. It’s not always the RAM and storage that makes the difference; sometimes it’s the internal components, too.
In short, the S10 is probably around a 2/5 stars with the S30 closer to a 3/5 stars. We’ll get a better sense for both the audio and camera features over the coming days and weeks.
Waterproof Protection
We’re always reluctant to put phones into water, even when they carry a certified rating. our philosophy is that unless you absolutely have to, there’s no reason to tempt fate. And, while these two phones do protect the ports and speakers, there’s always that slight risk that you could “do it wrong”.
With that in mind, we did submerge both phones into water, albeit briefly. It just so happened that it had rained for two days straight here at the office. Going outside, we found a couple of puddles in which to dunk the phones. Both continued to work immediately after and in the hours to follow.
We are compelled to tell you, however, that the S30 seems to be just ever so wonky at times. It’s hard to say if it’s related to the water or something else in the hardware and software, but the home screen likes to bug out. By that we mean it acts as if you were long pressing on it to change the wallpaper. It flits and flickers and a quick press of the home key brings things back in line. We also saw traces of this when navigating around the device in various apps, too.
A Note About Network Support
One of the best features of most unlocked phones is the almost universal support for GSM carriers. Here in the US we have two major players competing on the GSM 4G LTE front, AT&T and T-Mobile. Verizon and Sprint, for their parts, offer their own 4G technology with CDMA.
Every so often a phone comes along that sounds so appealing on paper that you simply can’t pass it up. That is, until you look closely at the supported networks. Alas, the Nomu S10 and Nomu S30 don’t have the same support for 4G LTE that you might expect or hope for in the US.
While there are a few frequencies allowed for, you’re going to have a tough time getting nationwide coverage, especially at higher speeds. Take a look at the respective carrier bands and frequencies and you may end up with 3G speeds at best.
The last thing we want to do is endorse something that you end up buying only to find out it doesn’t work in your area. After all, a smartphone is rather dumb if it has not data to support it.
Understanding that our readers are not entirely US-based, we are certainly not going to write this one off. There are obviously going to be users who may benefit from such a device. We’ll do our best to put together as thorough of a review as possible in the next few weeks and circle back.
Where to Buy
Already set and looking to pick one of these up? There are a number of places to do so, including Gearbest, Everbuying, Geekbuying, and AliExpress. As part of a launch event, you can head to Nomu’s promotional page to check out more details. As a refresher, the Nomu S10 runs $100-$120 while the Nomu S30 fetches approximately $230.
In the meanwhile, feel free to learn more at the links below:
- Nomu S10: http://nomu.hk/product/s10
- Nomu S30: http://nomu.hk/product/s30
- Nomu Official FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/nomumobile/
AIVAnet 