Mobile Network Comparison

Governments spy. Collectively as a society we have known that for some time, without ever really having proof. The phone tapping and spying scandals that have landed in the US and UK recently have blown the doors off though, and we now know definitively that our government taps into our smartphones to spy. How they do that is not universally known, but a new tool can help teach you to know how those pesky spooks operate.

A UK based security firm spent some time with the BBC and explained the situation, and it all comes down to a simple tool that is popular for spying on devices globally. 4Armed discovered that Hacking Team, a spy tool software sold by an Italian company out of Milan, had been hacked and stolen and upon further investigation the security firm found that it is the tool of choice for spying on mobile phones.

Joe Greenwood, of cybersecurity firm 4Armed, found the source code and ran it to find the full extent of Hacking Team’s capabilities. To say they are extensive is an understatement. The software is able to hack a targeted device (smartphone, tablet, PC) and access just about every nook and see any file or data.

What the software finds (website history, calls, photos, and much more) is displayed on a surveillance console that is being used by the hacker, while this console can also be used to transfer any malware onto the infected device.

“You can download files, record microphones, webcam images, websites visited, see what programmes are running, intercept Skype calls,” he told the BBC.
“We can actually take photos without them realising.

“So the camera in the background is running, taking photos every number of seconds,” he added.

So, why is this software most likely used by governments and not some kid in his bedroom? Well, 4Armed says that despite being simple, the software could cost potential buyers more than £1 million, a figure out of most people’s reach, but easily within the budgets of intelligence agencies working for governments.

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Something quite interesting has happened over the last months in the smartphone market. Two major brands (Sony and Motorola) and one cheeky upstart (OnePlus) have shown that we can get flagship quality for a reasonable price. The Motorola Moto X Style, Sony Xperia M5, and OnePlus 2 bring high end specs to the party while carrying unlocked price tags south of £350. So, is this a new trend we can expect other manufacturers to follow and will you see that value in contracts with carriers?

To answer the first question, it depends. It is unlikely that Apple is going to come out with a specced out blockbuster that costs £350 to £400, although the rumoured iPhone 6c will still be a premium metal device. Likewise Samsung, the market leader may well think that its Galaxy A7 and Galaxy A8 smartphones already fit the premium and affordable category. Perhaps they do, but not in the same way as the three aforementioned devices.

Moto X Style

Motorola have already confirmed that the Moto X Style will be coming to the UK. If anything, this ups the flagship quality another notch with its huge 5.7-inch Quad HD screen, Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 (six cores) chipset, 3GB of RAM, 32GB native storage, micro SD card support, a 21MP rear camera, 5MP selfie shooter, and Android 5.1.1 Lollipop. Included in the UK will also be Moto Maker, the pre-purchase design suite that gives you an enviable list of personalization options.

OnePlus 2

The OnePlus 2 is a little more niche, but it is a true flagship that could cost as little as £300, provided you can get one. Yes, the Chinese company is once again employing a frustrating invite system for its “Flagship Killer” so unless you get an invite you will be left wanting. That means you won’t be seeing this device sold through retailers, not in any big numbers anyway, but if you pick one up it will surely impress you. A 5.5-inch screen provides 1080p Full HD resolution, while Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 810 with 4GB of RAM serves as the engine room. Other specs are high end and in some cases unique, such as USB Type-C.

Xperia M5

Finally, the Sony Xperia M5 carries a metal sandwiched by glass body that oozes premium quality, while under the hood the spec sheet would not be out of place in the £500+ price band. The goodies include a 5-inch 1080p Full HD screen, an octa-core 64-bit MediaTek MT6795 chipset, 3GB of RAM, 16GB storage, micro SD card support, a 21.5MP rear camera, a 13MP front facing lens, and Android 5.0 Lollipop. Sony has not confirmed whether the device will be bound for Europe, and despite the company’s rich history launching in the UK, the real question is whether it will see an official release or not.

All the above are fantastic smartphones that if bought unlocked will offer unbelievable value for money. However, what will carriers do with these handsets and at which tier will they be available on contract? Of course, for a flagship device you are looking at a subsidized contract in the region of £30 per month or more (for a free device) depending on your particular tariff configuration. Will carriers decide that these flagship specced devices should be in that top bracket, or will they drop them to the mid-range tier (£22-26 per month) that their unlocked prices suggest they should be? It is worth noting that this will not include the OnePlus One.

It will be very interesting to see what companies do, so we reached out to Carphone Warehouse, EE, Orange, and others to find out. Watch this space for updates.

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The tech lord giveth and the tech lord taketh away. Just a day after it was reported that Apple is working on its own mobile phone network the company has moved quickly to quash the rumours. Business Insider reported recently that the most valuable company in the world is secretly trialling a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) that would eventually be rolled out in the United States and Europe, including the UK.

Apple has either been spooked that the news leaked, or the company is genuinely not working on this project. Either way, Cupertino issued a statement denying the report, reaching out to CNBC to say, “We have not discussed nor do we have any plans to launch an MVNO.”

Pretty emphatic then. However, the old adage that there is no smoke without fire is oh so true in the tech world, so Apple’s denial could be meaningless and the company could still indeed be working on its own MVNO. Considering the initial report said the service would not be ready for five years, there’s a long wait ahead to find out. It is worth noting that Apple is not the type to talk about a product that exists, so if the company makes a rare public denial, it usually turns out to be the case that the product is not true.

The original report suggested that the company is trialling the service in the US before moving it to Europe for further tests. An MVNO is a virtual network where a third party company buys network space from an existing carrier to run their own service. For example, Apple would effectively lease network space from a carrier (say AT&T in the States) and then use that leased space to run its own network.

That would mean any new iPhone falling within the MVNO network range would come with Apple’s own network ready to go out of the box. It would stop the company being restricted to a certain carrier or network from region to region and would of course offer a new revenue stream as iPhone users would be contracted to Apple and not a carrier.

At the moment though, this is theoretical considering Apple’s clear denial.

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