Cyber Security, Cybercrime, Police

City of London Police teach all key stage two children across the UK about fraud and cyber crime

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  • Police launch a Cyber Detectives programme to all schools across the UK funded by Lloyds Banking Group
  • All key stage two children will be taught about policing principles, fraud and cybercrime prevention
  • Lessons will involve learning about fraud and cybercrime.

The City of London Police is pleased to announce its Mini Police programme will now be available to all key stage two pupils across the UK. The programme was originally piloted in 2018 at The Aldgate School in the City of London,

The partnership is between the City of London Police, Lloyds Banking Group who funded and co-developed the programme, and the Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education Association (PHSE) who will distribute the lessons to schools through a website link.  The programme aims to raise awareness of online fraud and its associated risks, and explore the skills pupils need to stay safe online and protect their personal information, as well as how to report concerns and access help.

The resource pack includes two comprehensive lesson plans for Year 5/6 pupils, with supporting PowerPoints, accompanied by teacher guidance, explaining how to ensure the most effective delivery of the lessons. The pack also contains information and guidance for parents, to help them stay informed about how online fraud could affect their child, along with practical tips and advice on how to keep safe.

The lessons will support pupils to:

  • Explain what online fraud is and identify and analyse some examples of scams;
  • Engage in cyber security awareness training to enhance an understanding of cyber threats of all kinds;
  • Describe the importance of protecting personal information and data online;
  • Explain why age restrictions for online games can help to keep people safe and prevent fraud; and.
  • Recognise ways to stay as safe as possible online and how to report concerns about online fraud;

The children will also learn what it means to be a police officer and the importance of working with the public to protect them from crime.

Cyber Detectives - Image Credit, City of London Police
Cyber Detectives – Image Credit, City of London Police

Temporary Commander, Clinton Blackburn of the City of London Police, Policing Lead Force for Fraud said:

“The Cyber Detectives project is an excellent opportunity for us to work with schools and teach children to protect themselves from cybercriminals.

“We have designed the programme so that the children receive age-appropriate messages that allow them to learn about policing and cybercrime in a stimulating environment.

“This programme highlights how important and effective partnership working is and we are looking forward to hearing the feedback from pupils, teachers and parents. With more children being online from a young age, the importance of learning about cybercrime and fraud has risen. The programme also makes children think about all aspects of online safety and how they can protect themselves and others.”

Brian Dilley, Fraud and Financial Crime Prevention Director, Lloyds Banking Group, said:

“Helping to keep our customers’ money safe by stopping fraud from happening in the first place is very important to us

“Joining forces with CoLP and PHSE to roll-out the Mini Police primary school programme across the country’s schools will help educate the next generation about financial fraud and build greater awareness among teachers, families and communities – the more people know about spotting the signs of scams, the safer we will all be.”

PSHE Association Subject Specialist, Lydia Stober says:

“The rise of online gaming and social media use means that fraud prevention education has never been more important, particularly for primary aged pupils who are exploring the online world at an early age. These PSHE education lessons from the City of London Police and Lloyds Banking Group will help pupils to recognise the signs of fraudulent activity online in a variety of different contexts including emails, websites and gaming. Pupils are also given the opportunity to discuss the potential risks to themselves and ways to reduce it, and understand the importance of age ratings in keeping them safe and avoiding online fraud.”

Gadget Man, Headphones, Technology

Gadgets to Make Your Day to Day Life Easier

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Photo by Oleg Magni from Pexels
Photo by Oleg Magni from Pexels

Life can feel tough at the moment. We’re all trying to make our way, day by day, through a global pandemic where we face constant uncertainty, struggles and difficulties. Government restrictions to slow the spread of the virus have resulted in countless changes to our routines and many of us are still growing used to spending more time alone and away from those we love. Many of us are also facing financial difficulties, as we experience job loss, redundancy, reduced hours or reduced pay. It’s not all too surprising, then, that many of us are feeling tired of constant stress and are looking for any and every way to make our lives a little easier on ourselves. Of course, where there is demand, someone will supply. So, it’s not all too surprising that there are increasing numbers of gadgets entering the marketplace that has been specifically designed to ease up your life in some way or another. Here are a few that you might want to consider!

Button Pushers

Many of us have routines that involve pressing certain switches at certain times throughout the day. Perhaps you want your lights to turn on at a certain time to alert others that you’re home. You might turn your heating on at a certain time each morning or evening to make sure your home is the right temperature. Perhaps you turn your hot water on at a particular time to ensure you have enough water for showers, washing up, baths or anything else at a set time of day. Sure, this is a small task, but often, we forget to press the switches and this can throw a spanner in the works of our day. Instead, why not consider automatic button pushers? These are devices that will press a switch or button at a time that you set and choose. Research different models to make sure that they press firmly enough to do their job in your home!

Liquid Level Sensors

Do you find yourself regularly having to top up liquid levels in your home? Is there a certain tank that needs to be refilled at a certain point? Rather than constantly having to check, you could use a liquid level sensor that will alert you when you need to top fluid or liquid levels up.

Noise Cancelling Headphones

Many of us are coping with the switch to working from home. This can, for those of us who don’t live alone or those of us who have noisy neighbours, can entail dealing with trying to work in noisy environments. This is less than ideal and can negatively impact productivity. So, why not invest in noise-cancelling headphones? These can provide you with the silence you want to work in!

These are just a few different gadgets that are available on the market and that could make all the difference to your daily routine. Each has its own uses and benefits and will likely prove more than worth the investment in saved time and increased productivity!

Mobile Phone, Phones

How To Have A Better Relationship With Your Phone

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Your phone is likely a big part of your life, and thanks to technology, our reliance on our phones have only become more significant. However, it’s important that regardless of what you use your phone or how much you use it, you have a good relationship with your phone. It’s good to know you can switch off without feeling the temptation to just pick up your phone within seconds of putting it down. Here are some tips on how to have a better relationship with your phone.

Manage Your Notifications

Firstly, a big part of the temptation that comes with looking at your phone is the notifications. If you’ve got lots of notifications popping up on your screen, then you are more than likely to check them out, rather than simply leaving your phone alone and checking on it later. Managing your notifications can be a good way of dampening that urge to check your phone for messages and changes on your social media handles, for example. You can manage your notifications very easily within the settings of your phone or on the apps that you use regularly.

Often enough, these apps will automatically put on notifications because they’ll want to be able to get a hold of your attention quickly. However, if you’re manually switching off your notifications, then it can definitely help you avoid your phone when you need to concentrate your attention elsewhere. Those who manage their notifications, actually check their phones a lot less as a result.

See If You Can Go A Period Of Time Without It

The real test of how reliant you are on your phone is to leave it alone and see just how long you can go without using it. For most of us, this is going to be a challenge and perhaps not a surprise when it comes to how difficult it is when you put your phone down, to not pick it up. Doing this though can really help you to acknowledge that there’s a problem but to also train yourself to get better at leaving your phone for longer periods of time. Try doing it throughout the week and work your way up to longer amounts of time without it.

Being able to go for half an hour to an hour is a great start, but for some, even that might not be attainable without building the time up beforehand.

Monitor Your Usage

We all use our phones for different reasons. Some might be for mainly work, and others might be mainly to socialize. Some may use it for both, but whatever you use it for, it’s good to pay attention to your usage. You can find your usage on your phone’s settings. This can be really helpful in finding what you might be more addicted to when it comes to your phone. Whether it’s browsing through your photos, checking social media platforms, or answering emails, it’s all detailed in this area of your phone.

Usage is important because you’ll likely find some shocking results that you didn’t expect when it comes to the amount of time spent on your phone. However, it’s worth looking at because it may hopefully, help you change your perspective and attitude towards your phone. You may consciously use it less due to the stats that your phone shows you.

Take Regular Breaks From The Screen

Regular breaks from your screen are important because if you’re not giving yourself a rest, it can impact you physically and mentally. It’s always good to at least take a break every hour, especially when it comes to your computer and phone devices. We forget just how quickly an hour can go when we’re consumed with our phones. Whether that’s watching endless Tiktok videos to binge-watching a Netflix series.

Even though it’s good to have a phone when you’re on the go so that you can indulge in your favorite shows or to keep yourself occupied during your commute, be sure to take rest time into consideration.

A sign of spending too long on your phone is tired or sore eyes and even headaches. Switch off if this happens so that you can let your body recover.

Get The Right Eyewear To Protect Your Eyes

When you’re looking at a screen for hours on end, whether it’s a phone or other electronic devices like a computer or television, it’s good to look after your eyes. Blue light is a problem for your eyes as it can really put some strain on them. It can dry them out and make them look sore and so it’s always good to wear blue light blocking glasses. Eyewear can really help to ensure that your eyes are protected when on your phone and navigating the internet.

They’re affordable to buy, and they’re going to save you a lot of future health issues as a result. Check out https://www.eyeglasses.com for some of the best options for your eyes.

Try To Rely On It Less

When it comes to your phone, it’s important to reduce your reliance on picking it up but also needing it for various tasks in your daily life. If you can, try to rely on it less and instead use your own awareness or knowledge. It might be that you use more traditional formats in replacement of your phone and that can really help to rely less on your phone too.

If you find that you’re relying too much on your phone, then it’s all about working out what is making you go to your phone the most. That way, you tackle it a bit at a time until you’re able to pick it up less.

Having a better relationship with your phone is certainly important, especially as we live in an age where we’re so reliant on our technology. Make sure that you do everything you can to help reduce your usage when necessary and to give yourself a break from your phone.

Apple, Apps, Cloud, Cloud Storage, Gadget Man, Google, Photo Storage, Technology

How to Choose Cloud Storage for Your Photos

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The cloud is the most practical and secure way to store your photos. You’ll have continual access to a digital backup of your memories. You also won’t have to worry about overloading your hard disk or your smartphone. With cloud storage, you can share your photos as well, but providers also give the option to set privacy restrictions. They have state-of-the-art resources to keep them encrypted for you. There are certain features you need to look for in a cloud storage provider. Here are some of the top ones reviewed, both paid and free.

Tips for choosing cloud storage

Cloud storage is great for those working from home and sharing documents. It’s also ideal for backing up your photos. There are several key cloud storage features to look for when choosing a cloud storage provider. Cloud services come with an app so ensure this is compatible with your brand of smartphone or tablet. Not all providers are free, but they will offer a certain amount of space before you need to sign up for a subscription. 

Generally, all providers accept JPEG files Certain providers will allow you to upload different types of files including TIFFS, RAW, and video or music files. Before signing up with a provider, it’s a good idea to calculate how much space you’re realistically going to need and for what type of files. This way, you can work out whether it’s worth paying for a subscription or not. If storage is becoming an issue for you, you also have the option to delete duplicate photos from your smartphone, this article explains how to do it, https://backlightblog.com/delete-iphone-duplicate-photos. It’s up to you whether you decide to move your photos to the cloud.

Top cloud storage providers

There are several big names in cloud storage and Google, Microsoft and Adobe all have their own version. Other top cloud storage providers include IDrive and pCloud. Here is a quick review of each. 

IDrive

IDrive is great for photographers who use multiple devices and are concerned about security. It’s a very reliable cloud storage provider and has an excellent security rating. Your photos are protected by biometrics and you can set up face recognition for accessibility across all devices. The free plan allows a maximum of 5GB which can fill up quite quickly, depending on the number of photos and other files you have. If you need more space, you can upgrade to a yearly subscription. IDrive is user-friendly and fast. It also has features such as syncing photos and robust reporting tools.

pCloud

pCloud is ideal if you want to store files of various types. It’s not free but the provider offers a unique lifetime subscription for a one-off payment of £159 for 500GB or £309 for 2TB. There are also monthly plans available. pCloud provides state-of-the-art encryption and only the user will have access to their accounts, not even the company’s administrators. You can store any type of video or image file including RAW files, and you can share your files with up to four family members or your business. You can essentially send and receive large files to and from anyone. pCloud is a Swiss company and follows Swiss data laws, they also use first-class safety measures.

Google Photos

Google Photos offers storage for photos and videos and each Google account comes with up to 15GB for free. Google Drive is set up for file sharing and it’s easy for multiple users to access and edit files. It couldn’t be simpler to use although it isn’t the most stylish of platforms. It is, however, fully compatible with other apps as part of G Suite and can be synced with any devices and cameras with WiFi access. You can also top up your storage for as little as £1.59 per month for 100GB. The great thing about Google is that it also uses machine learning technology to label and archive photos, and makes suggestions to you based on your history and preferences. It uses metadata which allows you to find pictures easily based on date and place, and in general it’s very quick and convenient to use. 

Microsoft OneDrive

Microsoft OneDrive provides a similar cloud storage service to Google, but is an integrated part of the Microsoft Office package. It is possible to use Microsoft OneDrive as a standalone deal, however, which is free up to 5GB and then £1.99 per month for up to 100GB. The other Microsoft Office apps aren’t included in these packages, so it depends on if you need them or not. The full Microsoft Office 365 starts at £5.99 a month. Microsoft OneDrive is easy to use and can be accessed on unlimited devices. While it’s not solely designed for photographers, it’s still a safe and convenient place to store your pictures. 

Adobe Creative Cloud

Adobe Creative Cloud is more specifically aimed at photographers, professional and amateur alike. This does, however, mean it’s a little bit more expensive than other more basic cloud storage providers, but there are more advanced photography-based features such as stylish image libraries and editing options. Adobe offers a free trial for those interested and the basic photography app starts at just £9.98 a month. You can upgrade this to include all the Adobe apps for £49.94, which is a good deal for those with a passion for photography. Adobe Creative Cloud is compatible with Windows, MAC, Android, and iOS and you can upload all types of files from any device. 

The cloud storage provider you choose depends on what you’re going to use it for, how many files you have, and which type. If you’re an experienced photographer or you want to develop your skills, Adobe Creative Cloud has more photography-based features. If you’re on more of a budget and simply want a backup of a few family photos, then a basic free cloud storage option is probably more suited to you. Upload and protect your memories on the cloud today.

Anti-Virus, antibacterial, Cleaning, Coronavirus, Covid-19, Covid19

‘Smart Screen’ Anti-Bacterial Cleaning Cloth for your Smart Phone Launches

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A London-based start-up brand propelled by lockdown creativity, ‘Smart Screen’, has launched a revolutionary, antibacterial cleaning cloth designed to ensure phones and tablets remain box-fresh.

‘Smart Screen’ is a designer cleaning cloth and pouch tailored to neatly fit into any pocket, heavier weight than most microfibre glass cleaning cloths making it easier to handle. This premium product has been specifically manufactured with the current heightened awareness of cleanliness in mind, with a silver ion antibacterial liquid treatment applied during the weaving process. The ‘Smart Screen’ boasts a durability that ensures antibacterial properties lasts for up to 15 washes.

This lifestyle accessory, though produced predominantly for phone and tablet use, can also be utilised for reading glasses or camera lens cleaning thanks to its’ versatility. Created for a mass-market audience, the cloth fits into any everyday scenario – from removing screen smears before entering a meeting, eradicating dirt picked up from the bottom of a handbag or getting rid of greasy finger marks on the family-shared tablet.

‘Smart Screen’ CEO, David Sant explains: “As a serial entrepreneur and businessman I’m always looking for opportunities to spot gaps in the market and bring a concept to reality. During the lockdown, I have been reminiscing back to being on busy commuter trains with everyone staring at their phones then cleaning them on jeans, jacket sleeves or a handkerchief. It strikes me that now more than ever we have a requirement for ourselves and a duty to others to live in a more clean-conscious manner. I’m proud to bring such a high-end yet accessible product to market to meet a new wave in demand.”

The Smart Screen is presented in neat boxed packaging and is available for purchase in six different colours (Navy Blue, Saffron Yellow, Slate Grey, Powder Blue, Polar White and Camel Brown) retailing at £9.95 each

Gadget Man, Matt Porter, Payment, Tap to Pay, Technology, The Gadget Man

McLEAR Launches RingPay With New Features, Rewards And Exclusive Membership Club Benefits

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On a continued mission to make life more convenient, McLEAR has been quietly enhancing the world’s most frictionless way to pay.

Smart Ring pioneers McLEAR launches RingPay to market. The payment wearable is packed with new features and exclusive benefits; RingPay Rewards, RingPay+ and RingPay Giving.

RingPay Transport
RingPay by McLEAR

RingPay by McLEAR makes payments fast, secure, and invisible. Users can make contactless payments of up to £45, and top up their ring by simply adding their preferred credit or debit card onto the RingPay app. The app allows users to track their spending in real-time, control their budgets, set automatic top-ups, respect physical distancing guidelines, and in case of loss, instantly freeze their Ring.

RingPay POS
RingPay POS

Making payments rewarding, McLEAR’s partnership with parsnip also allows users to earn in-store cash back at the growing number of selected retailers in the RingPay Rewards Programme, such as Nike, Foot Locker, Gap and River Island. A wearable so smart it pays for itself.

Ringholders can save significant amounts on everyday purchases by subscribing to RingPay+, premium members’ club to gain access to fantastic discounts and cashback, generated through hundreds of merchants across numerous categories including entertainment ticket bookings, cinema trips, restaurant offers, hotel discounts and holiday travel deals.

In addition, the RingPay Giving feature, let’s Ringholders choose to automatically send a micro-sized donation to their chosen charity when they make a purchase using their Ring. Ringholders control how much they give using monthly donation caps, and charities benefit from free Gift Aid reports allowing them to claim an extra 25% on all donations given. This social impact service is turning every contactless payment reader into a charity collection bucket!

The discreet and premium RingPay design is scratch-resistant, stress-tested, waterproof and requires no battery. Simply use McLEAR patented fist bump technology at any contactless reader for ‘blink and you’ll miss it’ payments. Forget the days of unlocking your phone or emptying your pockets. It’s always there on your finger, ready to go.

Daniel Blondell, Chief Operating Officer said: “The mission with RingPay is to improve the payment experience; making it faster, effortless and more rewarding. Whether commuting to work, picking up some essentials or off on your travels, RingPay by McLEAR gives you peace of mind knowing your finances are safely in-hand. Just kick back and fist pump your way to better spending and awesome rewards.”

We are reviewing the RingPay, so stay tuned for our thoughts!

For more info or to purchase your RingPay, visit www.mclear.com and get a Black Friday discount of 30% off when you use the code BF2020

Cat, Cat S42 Smartphone, Covid-19, Covid19, Gadget Man, Matt Porter, Mobile Phone, Podcast, Smart Phone, Technology, The Gadget Man

Gadget Man – Episode 172 – Cat S42 Smartphone

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Yesterday, I had the pleasure of talking to Tim Shepherd, Senior Director of Bullitt Group. Bullitt is the sole manufacturer and license holder of CAT Smartphones and Feature-phones.

You can also read the announcement of the CAT S42 Smartphone

The S42 can be cleaned with soap and water
The S42 can be cleaned with soap and water

During the interview, Tim talks in-depth about the ‘Anti-Microbial’ CAT S42 Smartphone which is the world’s first Anti-Bacterial Phone.

You can listen in to the interview in full and if you would like to read about the new device, read out blog-post here.

The CAT S42 Smartphone is currently available to purchase for £228 from Rugged Mobiles the new Anti-Microbial version will be available in early 2021.

 

Gadget Man, Matt Porter, Technology, The Gadget Man

Managers More Positive about Flexible Working and Working from Home – New Study.

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Managers are much more positive about flexible working and staff working from home since the pandemic – says new study.

Managers are much more positive about their staff working from home and working flexibly since lockdown says a new study undertaken jointly by the Equal Parenting Project at the University of Birmingham and the Work Autonomy, Flexibility and Work-Life Balance at the University of Kent.

The report titled ‘Managing Employees during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Flexible working and the future of work’ is based on a UK wide survey with managers which aimed to understand the organisational perspective on managing homeworking since the UK COVID-19 lockdown. During the COVID-19 lockdown, many organisations have been forced to move the majority of their workforce to remote working, often at very short notice. In many cases, these businesses had previously discouraged flexible working and had ‘very little infrastructure in place to support these new ways of working. The question arises, what impact did this shift to homeworking have and what does this mean for the future of work?

To answer this question, the research team undertook a survey of managers between the 24th July to 11th August 2020. The sample consisted of managers from across the UK, an array of industries and all levels of management. In total, 742 managers completed the survey which involved questions around norms for working from home, attitudes toward working from home, trust, key learning experience what tools the organisation supplied to employees to enable them to work from home and what support was made available to the employees.

As the first academic piece of research exploring managerial experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK, this research discovered that 54.7% of managers reported over 80% of their employees have been working from home since lockdown. As a result of their management experiences during lockdown, fewer managers now believe that presenteeism and long working hours are essential to career progression within organisations. Many managers also reported that working from home increases productivity, concentration, and motivation due to their experiences in lockdown. 58.6% of managers surveyed said that working from home increases productivity whereas only 44.1% agreed with this statement before lockdown.

However, managers also saw some drawbacks, with 58.7% of all those surveyed saying that working from home lead to isolation, and other citing issues around blurring of boundaries as key negative outcomes. Regardless, most managers now believe working from home will become much more commonplace in the future, with more jobs, including senior roles, being advertised as being available for flexible working and more support being made available for home working.

Commenting on the report Dr Holly Birkett, Co-Director of the Equal Parenting Project at the University of Birmingham said:

“The report shows managers are much more positive about working from home and flexible working than they were before the pandemic.  Managers say their organisations are going to be more supportive of homeworking and flexible working in the future, including more likely to support working from home, job shares and part-time working even for Senior roles. This change along with the breakdown of the presenteeism culture and the removal of a flexibility stigma, which existed before COVID -19, could help improve employee wellbeing, help to support people to take on caring roles and break down many of the barriers women face to balancing career and family, with the potential to improve female representation on Boards and close the gender pay gap.”

Overall, the data included in the report has shown that working from home has been commonplace since the initial lockdown and managers have faced a steep learning curve regarding how to manage remote teams often with very little support or guidance.

Despite this, managers have been pleasantly surprised about the results with their teams generally performing really well during this time. While there have been some performance issues these were generally where this was already an issue prior to lockdown.

Dr Sarah Forbes, Co-Director of the Equal Parenting Project said: “Due to positive experiences of working from home and with flexible working patterns amongst their staff, managers are keen to support more working from home and flexible working in the future. This could take the form of better flexible working policies and tools to facilitate this as well as training being readily available for managers to learn how to better support remote workers in their team. However, we also need to understand working remotely over long periods of time can also be very isolating and that some people much prefer working in an office environment.”

Dr Heejung Chung, Principal Investigator of the Work Autonomy, Flexibility and Work-Life Balance Project at the University of Kent said: “As we have also seen in our previous employee survey, the flexible working genie is out of the bottle – more workers want to work flexibly in the future, and as this report has shown, managers now see how flexible working can benefit companies. However, that shift will not be the same for all companies and for all workers. Government policies to help make that cultural shift, by introducing stronger rights to flexible working and better protection against discrimination for flexible workers may help this transition go smoothly after the COVID-19 lockdown measures end.”

The full findings and wider recommendation of the report will be announced by Dr Sarah Forbes, Dr Holly Birkett and Dr Heejung Chung at a webinar on 26th November 2020 which has been organised by the Lloyds Banking Group Centre for Responsible Business at the University of Birmingham.

The webinar will also have presentations by Lauren Adams, HR Director at CBI, Daisy Hooper, Head of Policy and Public Affairs at CMI, and Anthony Fitzpatrick, Employee Relations and Global Employment Policy Lead at Aviva will deliver organisational and managers’ perspectives on experiences of remote working during the pandemic and how these experiences are likely to change the future of work.

Playstation 5, Product Launch, PS5, Sony

Playstation 5 Launch, Sony Interactive Entertainment Lights up Landmarks Across the World

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To celebrate the launch, Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) has a number of activations happening across the globe, and in London, including:

  • Lighting up iconic buildings and popular sites in 25 places around the world
  • The takeover of London’s Oxford Street Underground Station, where the iconic Tube roundels have been reimagined to feature the four iconic PlayStation shapes
  • Key tube station takeovers at Mile End, Lancaster Gate, West Ham and Seven Sisters

You can read about the PS5 here

SIE is welcoming this new generation of gaming by lighting up iconic buildings and popular sites in 25 territories around the world, projecting images of the PlayStation® shapes, the PS5 console, the DualSense wireless controller, and other PlayStation brand imagery. The projections which started on the 12th November saw activations in cities including  Tokyo, New York, Auckland, Toronto, Seoul and Mexico City, with more iconic sites being lit up this week to celebrate the launch.

Take a look at the images below to see how Sony have celebrated worldwide!

Times Square - PS5 Launch
Times Square – PS5 Launch
Taiwan - PS5 Launch
Taiwan – PS5 Launch
Switzerland PS5 Launch
Switzerland PS5 Launch
New Zealand PS5 Launch
New Zealand PS5 Launch
Dublin PS5 Launch
Dublin PS5 Launch
Dubai PS5 Launch
Dubai PS5 Launch
Brazil PS5 Launch
Brazil PS5 Launch
London PS5 Launch
London PS5 Launch

When you click on one of our links and then purchase, we may be paid a commission.

4G, antibacterial, Cat, Cat S42, Gadget Man, Matt Porter, Technology, The Gadget Man

The First Fully Antibacterial Smartphone Announced

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Bullitt Group, the global licensee for Cat® phones, today announced that the Cat S42 has been enhanced by advanced antimicrobial product protection, making it the first anti-bacterial phone. Every exterior component of the product has been treated with Biomaster® antimicrobial technology and tested to ISO 22196.

Based on the inclusion of silver ions during manufacturing, the process creates a permanent level of product protection, inhibiting the growth of microbes on the phone surface and therefore reducing microbial levels on the surface.

The S42 can be cleaned with soap and water
The S42 can be cleaned with soap and water

Research shows that our phones are home to thousands of germs, with a University of Michigan study1 finding in excess of 17,000 bacteria on handsets. We interact with our mobile devices many times a day – around 47 times, on average, according to research from Deloitte2. Mobile phones are handled and pressed to our faces, meaning that any bacteria or other microorganisms can easily transfer back and forth between the hard surfaces of your phone and your skin.

Bacteria found on mobile phone, SEM
Bacteria found on mobile phone. Coloured scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of bacteria cultured from a mobile phone.

The Biomaster active antimicrobial agent is proven to inhibit bacteria cells from replicating. In testing, a reduction of over 80% within 15 minutes was shown and 99.9% within 24 hours. Combined with the existing Cat phone rugged credentials that ensure the device can be thoroughly and regularly washed with soaps and water, sanitisers, and even bleach, the Cat S42 represents the next generation of hygienic product protection in smartphone design.

Bacteria found on mobile phone, SEM
Coloured scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of bacteria cultured from a mobile phone.

“Throughout 2020 we have consistently been driving awareness of the importance of mobile hygiene for us all, but this is vital for those among our customers working within a health or social care setting, and those visiting multiple sites for their job,” said Peter Cunningham, VP Product Portfolio at Bullitt Group. “Using a Cat phone already allows them to have confidence that they can wash and sanitise their Cat phone regularly or between visits. The addition of antimicrobial product protection into the Cat S42 is another first for Cat phones, and will make the Cat S42 safer for users – such an important feature in the current climate.”

The Biomaster-treated Cat S42 will be available from early 2021, with the treatment coming to other devices in the Cat phones range later in the year.

The CAT S42 Can be washed under a tap
The CAT S42 Can be washed under a tap

Tested to Cat phones’ demanding rugged standards, the Cat S42 features MIL SPEC 810H and IP68 and IP69 ratings, and surpasses our rigourous and repeated drop testing from 1.8m onto steel, including multiple drops onto every side and corner. It’s fully waterproof, tested submerged in water at depths up to 1.5m for 35 minutes. Like all Cat smartphones in the range, it is also put through vibration and tumble tests, salt mist conditions, and it’s built to operate in high and low extremes of temperature and to survive thermal shocks. Take it with you anywhere and everywhere. It’s built tough to help you thrive in challenging outdoor work situations and extreme leisure pursuits alike.

The CAT S42 Can be washed under a tap
The CAT S42 Can be washed under a tap

The Cat S42 smartphone has an MSRP of £229 / €249. The S42 with antimicrobial protection will be available in early 2021.

You can purchase your Cat S42 smartphone from Rugged Mobiles.

 

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