Sony Xperia Z1 (Honami) Press Renders Emerge

Sony’s long rumored Xperia Honami smartphone, supposedly set to become official on September 4 as Xperia Z1, appears to have emerged online in leaked press renders, the latest reports on the matter suggest.

The device can allegedly be seen in the shot above, which has made it online over at ePrice, and which shows it in three color flavors, namely Black, Purple and White. No other details on the smartphone have been unveiled for the time being, but all of them could become official in roughly two weeks, should previous rumors on the matter pan out.

The Xperia Z1 is expected to arrive on shelves with a 5-inch full HD screen, a Snapdragon 800 processor inside, 2GB of RAM, and a 20-megapixel photo snapper on the back. It is also said to run under the latest version of Google’s Android operating system.

Alleged Xperia Z1 Honami leaked photo
Image credits to ePrice

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CyanogenMod Boosts Security of Android ROMs with CyanogenMod Account

CyanogenMod, the team behind one of the most popular series of Android-based custom ROMs out there, has announced a new feature for its software, meant to improve the security that users enjoy on their devices, namely CyanogenMod Account.

The team explains that this will be a completely optional account that users will be provided with the possibility to create in order to access some additional features to complement the CM installation. These features will be included in future CM releases, and will provide users with access to an integrated end-to-end encrypted service that can find misplaced phones, or can securely wipe all data (including files on the SDcard). “This account service will also be leveraged as part of our ongoing project to bring Secure SMS to CyanogenMod, currently being worked on by @moxie, as well as integration with our forums,” the team explains in a recent post. “This kind of service is something that should be a part of any mobile OS experience, and we are proud to bring this functionality to our users. Being a custom OS shouldn’t mean you are without first class functionality. We will add additional functionality to the CM Account page over time.”

The CyanogenMod team also notes that, while there already are a series of security solutions out there that can track lost phones or wipe them clean, they might not be secure, and that “company employees or malevolent attackers” could still have access to one’s information, without permission. “The CM account is optional and free. The service is secure and managed by us. The website client side encryption code is not obfuscated,” the team explains. “The application is open sourced and Apache licensed. We highly encourage our contributors to participate in a security and privacy review and understand what sets us apart from other solutions.”

For those interested in learning more on what the CyanogenMod Account is all about, a page that provides specific info on the matter is available for them.

CyanogenMod announces CyanogenMod Account for Android users
Image credits to CyanogenMod

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