Mobile Device VI

Which of the following cables is MOST widely used by modern Android smartphones and tablets?

• Lightning

• Mini USB

• Micro USB

• USB-C

Answer explanation

Modern Android devices most commonly use USB-C connections. USB-C is the default standard used in USB 3.1 with a 24-pin connector. The connector is reversible and can be inserted in either direction. Before USB-C, Android devices used either Micro USB or Mini USB connectors. Micro USB is a miniaturized version of the Universal Serial Bus (USB) interface developed for connecting compact and mobile devices such as smartphones, Mp3 players, GPS devices, photo printers, and digital cameras. Micro USB connectors exist or have existed in three forms: micro A, micro B, and micro USB 3. Mini USB was introduced with USB 2.0 and was used with digital cameras and early tablets. Mini USB is not commonly used in modern devices. Android devices do NOT use the lightning cable because it is a proprietary 8-pin port and connector used solely by Apple devices. The Lightning connector is reversible and can be inserted in either direction. Lightning is a proprietary computer bus and power connector created by Apple. The lightning cable is used by every iPhone from the 5 to 13 series. Newer iPads have shifted to the use of USB-C for charging instead of the lightning cable, though.

Your boss asked you to generate a simple square code that can be easily scanned by a smartphone to access a preconfigured website address or link. Which of the following technologies would BEST meet this requirement?

• Smart card

• QR code

• NFC chip

• Barcode

Answer explanation

n this case, you should select a QR code to meet this requirement. A QR code is a square that contains a specific graphical pattern that can be read by a smartphone's camera. When read, the graphical pattern is converted to data, such as a website address or link that can be easily opened. QR codes can also be read by dedicated QR scanners, as well. A barcode is a pattern of different sized parallel bars, typically representing a product number, such as an ISBN, EAN, or UPC. The reader uses a sensor mechanism (typically either a photodiode, laser, or CCD) to read the intensity of light reflected by the barcode. The reader then reports the number back to application software, which links it to a product database. Near-field communication (NFC) is a set of communication protocols that enable two electronic devices, one of which is usually a portable device such as a smartphone, to establish communication by bringing them within 4 cm of each other. This is commonly used for contactless payment systems, transferring contacts, or transferring a file from one device to another. A smart card, chip card, or integrated circuit card is a physical, electronic authorization device used to control access to a resource. It is typically a plastic credit card-sized card with an embedded integrated circuit chip. In high-security environments, employee badges may contain a smart card embedded chip that must be inserted into a smart card reader to log in or access information on the system.

Which of the following devices should you purchase for a child if you want them to be able to read books and magazines, but you do not want them to be able to surf the web or play games?

• Tablet

• E-reader

• Laptop

• Smartphone

Answer explanation

An e-Reader is a tablet-sized device designed for reading rather than general-purpose computing. For example, the Amazon Paperwhite is an example of a traditional e-Reader. Unlike a tablet, an e-reader is designed for the sole purpose of reading digital books and magazines (with perhaps the option to add annotations). E-readers use electrophoretic ink (e-ink) technology to create an Electronic Paper Display (EPD). Compared to the LED or OLED display used on a tablet, an EPD has low power consumption but facilitates high contrast reading in various ambient light conditions. These screens do not need to use a backlight in typical conditions, saving power and extending battery life.

Samantha works in the human resource department in an open floorplan office. She is concerned about the possibility of someone conducting shoulder surfing to read sensitive information from employee files while accessing them on her computer. Which of the following physical security measures should she implement to protect against this threat?

• Hardware token

• Privacy screen

• Badge reader

• Biometric lock

Answer explanation

A privacy screen is a filter placed on a monitor to decrease the viewing angle of a monitor. This prevents the monitor from being viewed from the side and can help prevent shoulder surfing. The standard type of anti-glare filter consists of a coating that reduces the reflection from a glass or plastic surface. A biometric lock is any lock that can be activated by biometric features, such as a fingerprint, voiceprint, or retina scan. Biometric locks make it more difficult for someone to counterfeit the key used to open the lock or a user’s account. A smart card is a form of hardware token. A smart card, chip card, or integrated circuit card is a physical, electronic authorization device used to control access to a resource. It is typically a plastic credit card-sized card with an embedded integrated circuit chip. In high-security environments, employee badges may contain a smart card embedded chip that must be inserted into a smart card reader to log in or access information on the system. A badge reader is used to read an employee's identification badge using a magnetic stripe, barcode, or embedded RFID chip.

Jason's cellphone company advertises that they offer unlimited data. The internet at Jason’s studio was not working today, so he turned on his mobile hotspot to upload the videos recorded today. Initially, the data transfer was occurring without any issues and Jason observed that his data was uploading at 25 Mbps. After 20-30 minutes, though, the speed of the connection dropped to only 0.125 Mbps. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause for this drop in speed during the upload process?

• The smartphone’s 802.11 radio is broken

• The smartphone reached the data cap for the month

• The smartphone’s battery has been depleted

• The smartphone is undergoing a DDoS attack

Answer explanation

A data cap or bandwidth cap is a service-provider imposed limitation on the amount of data transferred by a user’s account or device over the cellular network. Many smartphone plans that advertise unlimited data still have a transfer limit. Once the limit is reached, these plans will either prevent all data transfer from occurring or slow down the speeds of data transfer. For example, T-Mobile offers unlimited data in the United States, but if a user transfers over 50GB of data then their data is deprioritized and transmitted at slower speeds. Other carriers will use a data throttling method, instead, which slows down all data sent for the remainder of the customer’s billing cycle. A distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack is a denial of service attack that uses multiple compromised computers, called zombies, to launch the attack against a target. Based on the scenario, there is no evidence that the smartphone’s battery is depleted since the phone is still online and transmitting data. The smartphone is not using Wi-Fi to transmit the data and there is no evidence that the 802.11 (Wi-Fi) radio is broken.

Which of the following types of hard drives would be used in a gaming laptop to increase the system's boot-up performance while providing a large amount of storage at a lower overall cost?

• Magnetic drive

• SSD

• Hybrid drive

• Optical drive

Answer explanation

A hybrid hard drive (SSHD) is a storage drive that combines the large storage capacity of an HDD with the faster read/write speed of an SSD. The majority of the drive uses a spinning disk and actuator arm, like a traditional magnetic drive, but it also contains a small SSD (solid-state drive) as part of the combined hybrid drive unit. This allows data to be written to either the SSD portion (for data accessed more frequently like the OS and programs) while using the HDD portion to store larger amounts of rarely accessed files (such as photos and video files). Hybrid hard drives constantly monitor the data retrieved from storage, and it automatically determines which data you open the most. It places the files that you use most often on the SSD to read/write that data faster. A magnetic drive is a traditional hard disk drive (HDD). A hard disk drive (HDD) is a device providing persistent mass storage for a workstation or laptop by saving data even when the computer is turned off. Data is stored using platters with a magnetic coating that are spun under disk heads that can read and write to locations on each platter known as sectors. A solid-state drive (SSD) is a personal computer storage device that stores data in non-volatile special memory instead of on disks or tape. An optical drive is a storage device that uses a CD, DVD, or Blu-Ray disc to store and retrieve data.

Which of the following technologies is often used indoors by companies to locate a shopper's position in a store and provide them time-sensitive offers or discounts?

• Bluetooth

• GPS

• Cellular

• RFID

Answer explanation

A mobile device can use its internal GPS, cellular, Bluetooth, or Wi-Fi radios to identify its location. When indoors, the devices can use either Bluetooth or Wi-Fi to determine their location. Bluetooth can be used within a building to provide an accurate of the device within 3-4 meters. Bluetooth location services are often used to identify where in a store a customer is located and present them with targeted offers. For example, if the store identified that you were in the frozen foods section, they might send you a push notification offering you a discount on a pint of ice cream. Wi-Fi positioning systems use the signal strength or angle of arrival of a signal to determine the device’s location within 1-4 meters. The use of Bluetooth and Wi-Fi to determine the device’s location is known as an internal positioning system (IPS). Cellular radios can provide an approximate location based upon the triangulation of your position between different cellular towers. A GPS (global positioning system) device is used to determine a receiver's position on the Earth based on information received from 24 GPS satellites, which operate in a constellation in Medium Earth Orbit (MEO). The receiver must have a line-of-sight to four of the GPS satellites continuously to accurately determine its position on the earth (latitude, longitude, and altitude). The device’s GPS receiver can provide an accurate location up to 10 meters.

Your friend just noticed their smartphone's battery is running low. Unfortunately, your friend isn't very knowledgeable about computers and smartphones, so they don't know what type of charging cable they need. They know their phone is running iOS 15. What kind of cable does your friend need to charge their phone?

• Lightning

• Micro USB

• Mini USB

• USB-C+

Answer explanation

Lightning cables are used by Apple's iPhone, which are the only smartphones that run the iOS software. Since your friend is using iOS, he uses an iPhone (smartphone) or an older iPad (tablet). Lightning is a proprietary computer bus and power connector created by Apple. The lightning cable is used by every iPhone from the 5 to 13 series. Newer iPads have shifted to the use of USB-C for charging instead of the lightning cable, though. USB-C is the default standard used in USB 3.1 with a 24-pin connector. The connector is reversible and can be inserted in either direction. Micro USB is a miniaturized version of the Universal Serial Bus (USB) interface developed for connecting compact and mobile devices such as smartphones, Mp3 players, GPS devices, photo printers, and digital cameras. Micro USB connectors exist or have existed in three forms: micro A, micro B, and micro USB 3. Mini USB was introduced with USB 2.0 and was used with digital cameras and early tablets. Mini USB is not commonly used in modern devices.

An employee at Dion Training complains that every time airplane mode is enabled on their laptop, their external mouse and headphones stop working. Which of the following technologies is being disabled by airplane mode and likely causing the issues experienced by this user?

• Cellular

• GPS

• 
  Bluetooth

• Wireless

You are working for a logistics company that needs to get a device that will automatically enter information about a package when it is read using light and a lens. Which of the following devices should you install to BEST support this requirement?

• Webcam

• Barcode reader

• Digitizer

• Touch screen

Answer explanation

A barcode scanner or barcode reader is a handheld or pen-shaped device designed to scan barcodes. A barcode is a pattern of different sized parallel bars, typically representing a product number, such as an ISBN, EAN, or UPC. The reader uses a sensor mechanism (typically either a photodiode, laser, or CCD) to read the intensity of light reflected by the barcode. The reader then reports the number back to application software, which links it to a product database. A webcam is a video camera that feeds or streams an image or video in real-time to or through a computer to a computer network, such as the Internet. Webcams are typically small cameras that sit on a desk, attach to a user's monitor, or are built into a laptop, desktop, or mobile device. The digitizer is a touch-sensitive glass panel covering the LCD in a touchscreen assembly. The digitizer is used to convert touch events to digital signals that can be interpreted as different types of input. The digitizer can be touched and inspected without taking apart the device. A touch screen display provides the capability to use tactic actions to send input to a computer by interacting directly with the elements on the display using the person's fingers.