Galaxy S5 on the Way, Microsoft Working on Siri Rival

This week brings news about two tech giants: Samsung, which is almost ready to launch its next flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S5, and Microsoft, which have announced they’ve been working on software that will compete with Siri and Google Now.

Samsung announced at CES 2014 that we can expect the successor to the Galaxy S4 sometime between March and April. It hasn’t been that long since the S4 was launched but they are probably hurrying to offer something that can rival the iPhone 5S, a top-seller. And speaking of the iPhone 5S, it seems (though it hasn’t been officially confirmed) that the Galaxy S5 will also have a fingerprint scanner. It is unknown yet if this scanner will be embedded in the Home button or under the screen itself, to be a little different from Apple’s scanner. Other rumors claim the above picture to be the upcoming smartphone’s new tiled home screen.

Also sometime around April Microsoft will show off its own personal–assistant software, called Cortana, after the A.I. from the Halo games, which they promise will greatly enhance the windows experience, on smartphones and other capable devices.

Send Off-the-Record Messages with Confide

After last year’s spying scandal everyone’s focus and attention goes to increasing personal security and protecting our conversations and data from unwanted snooping. Confide is an app that addresses the issue of security by allowing communication via encrypted messages that delete themselves once they’ve been read.

It may sound like something taken from a spy movie but Confide is real and free to download from the app store. When you use it you can communicate with anyone confidentially through encrypted messages that disappear when you’re done reading them. With Confide you can send a message to any e-mail address, and when your recipients receive the message they will be prompted to download the app so they can read it.

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To read the messages you sent the recipient must drag his/her finger across the text to reveal each letter, because the text is hidden behind a colored thick line. This may feel strange to do each time you read a message but in fact it’s an extra layer of security added to the app by its creators, which explain that this way even if someone takes a screenshot of the message they won’t be able to read it. And once you’re done reading and you’ve revealed the whole text the message will delete itself forever and the sender will receive a receipt. With confide you can share your deepest secrets without fear of unwanted listeners!