Leaked screenshots show Google Wallet is getting a physical Google Wallet Card

Leaked screenshots of an update to Google's Wallet App that hasn't been pushed yet shows evidence that a physical Google Wallet Card will be made available for instances where you can't make purchases with your NFC-enabled Android phone.

Digital wallet services are flooding the market, despite the many barriers between them and consumers pockets. Apparently, Google is trying to alleviate some of this existing friction with a tangible solution. Android Police received an anonymous tip and series of screenshots showing off a Google Wallet app promoting a physical Google Wallet card. According to the screenshots, the Google Wallet Card will be a physical credit card used in lieu of the multiple credit cards you have in your physical wallet.

The screenshots might have been taken by someone who had early access to an updated Google Wallet app, and it shows off a leaked informational page explaining the advantages of a Google Wallet Card. The cards are likely intended for brick-and-mortar shops that haven’t adopted NFC reading terminals or even iPad-based solutions. 

The card is supposed to bridge the gap between the new and old payment systems we’re stuck in. On one hand it’s a credit card like any other, but it digitally stores all of your existing cards so you can leave the multiple pieces of plastic at home. Users will defer to the Google Wallet app to indicate which credit card stored on the physical Google Wallet Card they want to swipe.

There are a few advantages to this system. For instance, if you lose your wallet, you’re not forced to cancel all your cards. In fact, “you only need to cancel your Google Wallet Card (not every card in your wallet).” You’ll also probably be able to request a new Google Card with the press of a button in the Google Wallet app. Some bonus security measures appear to include 24/7 fraud monitoring, and the ability to remotely disable your card at any time.

The second part of the leak introduces withdrawing money or sending money to a “Wallet Balance,” which seems to be a debt-like account where you can store, send, or spend money. It may suggest being able to soon use the Google Wallet Card as a debit card itself, independent of the stored credit cards. Finally, the screen shot shows evidence of the ability to add a transit card, like a New York City Metro Card for instance.

Of course until Google gets back to us we’re merely speculating, but the screenshots are incredibly telling: Google is aggressively entering this market and competing with the likes of Square and even more so Apple Passbook.

Source : http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/a-physical-google-wallet-coming-soon/

Read More

Report: White House finds no evidence of Huawei spying for China

Huawei may be off the hook with The White House, just not officially

A White House review has found no evidence that Chinese telecom company Huawei has been spying for its home country, according to a report from Reuters citing two unnamed sources.

This 18-month assessment by the executive branch stands in contrast to a year-long probe into China's Huawei and ZTE by the U.S. House Intelligence Committee.

The White House didn't find a smoking gun and only deemed Huawei a risk for other reasons, like the fact that its technology could be vulnerable to hackers. The Intelligence Committee had harsher words.

The House panel "has serious concerns" about both telecom companies, as "China is known to be the major perpetrator of cyber espionage." Its report concluded that "American businesses should use other vendors."

On top of that condemnation, the committee, headed by Chairman Mike Rogers (R-Mich), said it received "dozens and dozens" of fresh complaints about Huawei and ZTE after issuing the House report.

Officially, the White House minces words on Huawei

Huawei isn't completely off the hook with the White House either, though. National Security Council Spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden officially denied that the executive branch issued a review that came to a conclusion that exonerated Huawei.

"The White House has not conducted any classified inquiry that resulted in clearing any telecom equipment supplier," Hayden told Reuters without specifying further.

It's unclear if she meant that the review exists but was conducted outside of the White House, or if the alleged White House review just didn't come to that black-and-white "clearing" conclusion.

In an election year, it's become evident that even a few words matter in statements issued by the White House.

Huawei still a concern for all branches of government

In addition to saying that Huawei wasn't cleared by the White House, Hayden reiterated that the company had been banned from supplying U.S. emergency network infrastructure for first responders "due to U.S. government national security concerns."

Australia has also barred Huawei from becoming a government contractor, and Canada is looking to adopt a similar policy.

Huawei praises report, plays victim

Although official White House channels have denied the report, both the Chinese government and its media were immediately touting it as a proclamation of innocence.

The country's Foreign Ministry called for a "level and stable" playing field following the "White House-ordered review."

Meanwhile, China Daily quoted experts who criticized U.S. resistance to Huawei, reporting that "the U.S. will lose through such thinking."

Huawei cried foul when the U.S. House report first came out, calling it "unfair and inaccurate." It found backup in an unnamed senior Hill staffer's allegation that Cisco and other U.S. tech companies urged Congress to investigate Huawei and ZTE.

Huawei, still determined to enter the U.S. market, is readying a fail-safe mobile operating system just in case it can't do business with American OS makers in the future.

Source : http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/report-white-house-finds-no-evidence-of-huawei-spying-for-china-1105440

Read More

Windows Phone 8 Rooms feature revealed in SDK

Rooms looks like it'll complement Groups in WP8

Developers have uncovered more evidence of the as-yet-unannounced Rooms tool within the forthcoming Windows Phone 8 OS.

Some digging around the newly-available Windows Phone 8 SDK has revealed the new sharing and collaboration feature sitting within the People Hub.

Judging from the grabs, obtained using the Windows Phone 8 emulator, Rooms would allow for shared calendars, the sharing of photos and the chance for members of the group to leave notes for each other.

The screenshots, posted on the WinUnleaked Forums, show the example of a 'Family Room', so it's likely that customisable Work and Friends Rooms will also feature within the OS when it arrives later this year.

No iOS / Android equivalent

It seems that Rooms, first rumoured back in July, will complement rather than replace the existing Groups feature within Windows Phone.

The Groups feature allows users to collate different segments of the contacts book for easy access, but those groups are only useful to the phone's owner.

Rooms looks like it'll bring a more interactive element, which currently has no baked-in equivalent within Android or iOS.

Source : http://www.techradar.com/news/software/operating-systems/windows-phone-8-rooms-feature-revealed-in-sdk-1099197

Read More