Star have joined the ranks of Chinese phone makers who are now using the newer quad-core MT6582 chipset to produce an an affordable high-powered Android phone.
The Star S9500 is an entry-level Android smartphone running Android 4.2 on a Mediatek MT6582 CPU. The MT6582 is a quad-core processor based on Cortex A7 architecture which although is clocked slower then the MT6589 actually performs a lot better.
Other features include 1GB RAM, 4GB of internal memory a 5-inch WVGA display, dual-SIM support, Micro SD card reader and for those of you who want your phone to last all day 2 x 2800mAh batteries are included!
Pricing for the Star S9500 is just $159.74, and it is available now in either black or white.
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Monday June 16, 2005, 19:45
I just read that the German antivirus software company G Data announced that they discovered by accident that these phones have installed standard spyware on N9500.
After investigation it turned out to be a trojan – Android.Trojan.Uupay.D – which apparently was already on the phone and was disguised as the Google Play Store. “The only thing the user sees is an app with Google Play Store icon in the active processes. Furthermore, the application is completely hidden, “explains” Christian Geschkat of G Data.
The intelligence capabilities would be invisible to the user, because it removes the program logs the activities should observe. In addition, the software allows performing security updates impossible and the program can not be disabled. Moreover, it is not possible to remove it, because it is embedded in the firmware of the Star-phone, as claimed G Data.
The spyware sends the captured data to a server in China, claims the German security company. The malware may also go unnoticed install new applications, so include call data and captured images are shown. Thus is potentially more sensitive information on the street.
*Update, 21:00* – Concurrent Kaspersky same malware would have discovered earlier, writes a tweaker on the forum. It’s just not clear whether this is the exact same software as the study of G Data is not being seen.