Kim Komando, Special for USA TODAY 7 a.m. EST November 14, 2014 Take care with what privacy permissions you grant smartphone applications.(Photo: scanrail, iStock/Getty Images)If I glanced through your smartphone or tablet, I bet most of the apps you installed are free. We all love free apps.Often, free apps have a privacy cost. When you install an app, you probably never read the app's terms and conditions. You merely click "Agree." In the terms and conditions, the app developer typically reveals what data you are voluntarily handing over to them such as your online activities, location, contact list, text messages, and more.Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University recently analyzed the Google Play store's top 100 apps operations, terms and conditions. They found the following 10 requested the most access to your smartphone or tablet's hardware: Backgrounds HD Wallpaper, Brightest Flashlight, Dictionary.com, Google Maps, Horoscope, Mouse Trap, Pandora, Shazam, Talking Tom Virtual Pet.It makes sense that Google Maps needs your location and song-identifying Shazam needs access to your microphone, but why does a virtual pet, dictionary or wallpaper app need anything like that? Both iOS and Android have built-in flashlights, so you don't even need an app.While the researchers looked at Android apps, almost all of these apps have iOS versions. iOS lets you set permissions on a case-by-case basis. Go to Settings>>Privacy and choose the permission, such as camera or GPS. Slide the slider to "Off" to deny a permission.Unlike iOS, Android doesn't have per-app permission controls. Google had it as a hidden feature in Android 4.4.2, but removed it. No one knows when or if it will be back.Before you install any Android app, check the app's page in the Google Play store. Google requires that developers reveal permissions that the app requires.On an app page, scroll down to the…

11 Main, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Chinese ecommerce giant Alibaba, has new mobile apps for Apple iPhones and Android phones (an iPad app is due later this year). The shopping site has more than 1 million products from thousands of small U.S. merchants.(Photo: 11 Main Inc.)Already an e-commerce giant in China, Alibaba is stepping up its first major marketplace play in the USA with new mobile apps to woo shoppers on the go.The shopping site 11 Main[1], which opened on the Web in June, can be browsed on new smartphone apps especially designed for Apple and Android devices. An iPad app will launch this year.11 Main is not a full-frontal assault on the U.S. retail marketplace for Alibaba. Founder and chairman Jack Ma has said he wants Alibaba to become a global force[2], but 11 Main "is an entree to the U.S. market," says BMO Capital Markets analyst Edward Williams. "It represents a real-world environment for them to see how the U.S. consumer operates and what they are interested in."After today's mobile app launch, all the goods in the site's virtual Main Street-style market – from $28 candles to $800,000 wristwatches – can be bought on smartphones and other devices not only in the USA, but also in China."Our strategic priorities are to continue to maximize our growth with China's relatively under-penetrated online shopping population and to increase opportunities for merchants in the U.S. and internationally to sell their goods into China," said Jim Wilkinson, senior vice president of international corporate affairs for Alibaba Group.Mobile makes up a growing segment of Alibaba's sales in its Taobao Marketplace, in which consumers sell to each other as on eBay, and Amazon-like Tmall retail offerings. Among its 307 million shoppers, about 217 million use Alibaba's mobile apps. The company's total mobile sales for…

Samsung Galaxy Note Edge (left) and Galaxy Note 4 (right)(Photo: Eli Blumenthal)NEW YORK — Samsung is relentless when it comes to introducing new products. At the IFA international trade show in Berlin, Samsung expanded its Galaxy Note "phablet" series with new Note 4 and Note Edge models. Samsung also teamed with Oculus on a Gear VR virtual reality headset that relies on the Note 4. Here are my takeaways following a hands-on first look at a press briefing in Manhattan.Samsung hopes the 5.7-inch Galaxy Note 4 that is coming next month will help it continue to dominate the large screen phablet category it pioneered. According to Samsung, phablet users spend more time on their devices than smartphone or tablet customers do, and are more satisfied and loyal.To keep it that way, the Note 4 incorporates several evolutionary improvements. The camera system has been beefed up. The rear-facing 16-megapixel camera gains optical image stabilization to reduce the shakes when you're capturing video. Samsung says the camera can also extend the exposure time when you're shooting in a dim environment.The front 3.7-megapixel camera has a wider angle designed to improve group "selfies."Samsung adds a rapid battery-charging feature that it says will let you go from a zero charge to 50% in just 30 minutes.The Quad-HD (2560 x 1440) Super AMOLED display on Note 4 is a looker. The latest design incorporates a new metal frame that complements the removable soft-textured back cover (so you can replace the battery).Samsung also claims to have improved the fingerprint scanner that lets you unlock the device with a finger, but I didn't get to try it.As with its previous phablets, the latest Note employs a souped-up stylus called the S Pen, slightly refined this time around, that you can use for notes, natural handwriting and mouse-life…