The newest update to iOS, version 4.3.3 is here – earlier than projected. Rumors about the update releasing within a couple weeks hit on Monday. To the delight of those antsy to get back to thinking that they are off the grid, it’s already available and delivers on the rumored fixes.
First up, the update reduces the size of the cache on your devices. The problem for many regarding the location tracking issue was not the fact that Apple collects data on your location, but that it logged it for up to a year in some cases.
Apple released a statement last week that called this a “bug” and said that the cache should only need to keep location data for about a week.
Next, the cache will no longer be backed up on iTunes. This was another point that concerned users. When you synched your device with your computer, the consolidated.db file would be copied onto your hard drive. Since the file was found to be unencrypted, many were worried about the location data falling into the hands of those who would use it for nefarious purposes.
Lastly, the cache will be completely deleted if the user turns off location services. Users were angry when they found out last week that the little amount of power they had when it came to location tracking, well, they didn’t actually have it. The iPhone was found to be logging data into the cache whether users had location services enabled or not. iOS 4.3.3 eliminates this issue.
So, how do you feel? Is this enough to assuage your fears? Has Apple now done enough to put the issue to bed? Some don’t think so, as one woman is filing a class action suit against Apple stating that Apple “collected the private location information covertly, surreptitiously and in violation of law.”
Oh, yeah, and by the way – according to Wired, the download is 666 MB.
Target is sending out emails today encouraging customers to buy an iPhone 4 for their mothers for Mothers Day (this Sunday, in case you didn’t know). They’re calling it the gift “she’ll use every day.”
If you’re on the frugal side, they’ll even let you trade in your own iPhone 3GS or 3G to knock off $150.
Note that this is at “select” Target stores. It doesn’t appear that they even sell the iPhone 4 on their site (though they do provide a variety of accessories). It’s unclear whether the new White model is available as an option.
Back in November, Target announced it would carry the iPhone in 846 stores – those that include Target Mobile Centers.
If you do buy your mom an iPhone for Mothers Day, you might also want to make sure she’s aware of the whole location tracking thing that’s been in the news that last couple weeks. It couldn’t hurt.
While reveling in their recent success — 140 million downloads, ya’ll — Rovio announced their next move for the Angry Birds franchise. The target? The far east; China, to be exact. The goal for the company behind Angry Birds isn’t that much different than their U.S. strategy: Domination of the mobile device gaming market.
Thanks to a report at AppleInsider, the Angry Birds plan for Chinese domination was revealed during the Global Mobile Internet Conference in Beijing earlier this week. During the presentation, Rovio executive Peter Vesterbacka was quite boastful of Angry Birds, saying the brand has grown faster than any before it. Owing this confidence to the Angry Birds ever-growing downloads total, it’s easy to see why Rovio thinks their game will just as successful in China.
It also helps that China has over 300 million mobile device users, giving the Angry Birds a lot of potential targets. Rovio’s goal for the Angry Birds takeover of China calls for 100 million downloads, and with so many members of the Chinese population using mobile technology, that goal isn’t so far-fetched.
As for Angry Birds’ current success story, Vesterbacka thanks Apple and its ability to distribute content for the opportunity to prosper:
“Apple created the distribution for us that we didn’t have before. All of a sudden, great games mattered,” said Vesterbacka. “We are seeing smartphone growth explode, and we are riding that wave.”
He also credited the game’s popularity to the character designs, using Pixar’s track record with memorable characters as a template for Angry Birds. Oddly enough, however, while heaping credit on Apple’s environment, Vesterbacka was none to friendly to the Android market, calling it fragmented and a “very Google centric ecosystem.”
Because, yeah, Apple’s mobile architecture has such the reputation of being open and accessible for all devices… Nevertheless, it’s pretty easy to see why Rovio is so indebted to Apple. Without the iPhone platform, Angry Birds would most likely have the designation of being just another game.
It’s not TV, it’s HBO — on your mobile phone, no less. Well, a couple of them, anyway. Oh, look, just in time for True Blood, too. That’s right, if you own and Android or an iPhone/iPad, the adventures of Sookie Stackhouse will soon be available on your device, provided you have an existing HBO account.
After months of trashing Netflix and its attempts to acquire HBO’s content, the premium cable channel is fully embracing the streaming-content business. First, the HBO GO service answered Netflix’s gauntlet, because it’s always a good business strategy to alienate other successful distribution chains. Now, they’ve set their sites on the trendy app crowd with the release of the HBO GO apps (iPhone, Android).
Naturally, the use the application, you must have an account with HBO that stems from your cable (or satellite) bill. The early reviews on both the Android app store and iTunes are pretty favorable, especially on the iTunes side. As for the complaints from the Android crowd, they seem to be focusing on compatibility issues instead of the quality of the application.
Here are some screenshots, all from the Apple environment:
iPhone
iPad
And, just for fun, here’s a video of an older HBO intro, circa, 1983.
I can’t imagine the concept of phones playing television content was anywhere close to being on the minds of the designers when that was created.
Today, Apple has made the White iPhone 4 available. Apple fans the world over rejoice.
I do mean world too, as it is available in Austria, Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Macau, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, Sweden, Taiwan, Thailand, UK and the US. It’s coming to more countries soon.
As you can see from the image above, it’s amazing. It’s also been very much anticipated, as we previously mentioned. Apple SVP of Worldwide Marketing Philip Schiller said, “The white iPhone 4 has finally arrived and it’s beautiful. “We appreciate everyone who has waited patiently while we’ve worked to get every detail right.”
Apparently that has been one difficult process.
“It was challenging,” Schiller told All Things D. “It’s not as simple as making something white. There’s a lot more that goes into both the material science of it–how it holds up over time…but also in how it all works with the sensors.”
“We obviously think about this in a generic way because you have a white iPad,” Steve Jobs is quoted as saying, noting that the development has been beneficial to other products.
I’m guessing when the iPhone 5 rolls around, it won’t take a year to come in white.
According to one analyst, Apple may sell up to 1.5 million of these White iPhones per quarter.
The White iPhone 4 costs $199 (US) for the 16GB model and $299 (US) for the 32GB model with a new two year agreement.
Apple CEO Steve Jobs told the Wall Street Journal that Apple has “never transmitted” the precise location of iPhones back to the company. According to the publication, he said that the company gathers info from the phone about nearby cellphone towers and local wireless, or Wi-Fi, networks, which it uses to build a database for locating devices for things like maps.
He did, however, acknowledge that “bugs” have been discovered in the last few days that enabled the iPhone to store months of location data and collect that data when the location services feature was turned off. He added that Apple would testify before Congress in response to questions about the ordeal.
Apple released an official statement in Q&;A form today as well. This basically mirrors what Jobs told the Journal, but in a longer fashion. Here are few excerpts:
Providing mobile users with fast and accurate location information while preserving their security and privacy has raised some very complex technical issues which are hard to communicate in a soundbite. Users are confused, partly because the creators of this new technology (including Apple) have not provided enough education about these issues to date.
…
The iPhone is not logging your location. Rather, it’s maintaining a database of Wi-Fi hotspots and cell towers around your current location, some of which may be located more than one hundred miles away from your iPhone, to help your iPhone rapidly and accurately calculate its location when requested. Calculating a phone’s location using just GPS satellite data can take up to several minutes. iPhone can reduce this time to just a few seconds by using Wi-Fi hotspot and cell tower data to quickly find GPS satellites, and even triangulate its location using just Wi-Fi hotspot and cell tower data when GPS is not available (such as indoors or in basements). These calculations are performed live on the iPhone using a crowd-sourced database of Wi-Fi hotspot and cell tower data that is generated by tens of millions of iPhones sending the geo-tagged locations of nearby Wi-Fi hotspots and cell towers in an anonymous and encrypted form to Apple.
…
We provide anonymous crash logs from users that have opted in to third-party developers to help them debug their apps. Our iAds advertising system can use location as a factor in targeting ads. Location is not shared with any third party or ad unless the user explicitly approves giving the current location to the current ad (for example, to request the ad locate the Target store nearest them).
The White iPhone 4 is coming tomorrow. After months of gadget geeks speculating and showing a great deal of enthusiasm for a new color of iPhone, Apple has officially announced its arrival.
The white device will be available on Apple’s online store and at Apple retail stores, and AT&T and Verizon stores, as well as from “select Apple authorized resellers.”
“The white iPhone 4 has finally arrived and it’s beautiful,” said Apple Senior Vice President of Worldwide Product Marketing Philip Schiller.
Yep, the VP of product marketing says it’s beautiful.
“We appreciate everyone who has waited patiently while we’ve worked to get every detail right,” he added.
Patiently is one way of putting it. Another would be obsessing nearly every day – something that has become evident if you follow TechMeme on a regular basis.
The demand is there. No question. “white iphone” is currently one of the top hot searches on Google trends.
Apple says the white iPhone 4 will be available in Austria, Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Macau, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, Sweden, Taiwan, Thailand, UK and the US, beginning Thursday, April 28 and in many more countries around the world soon. It will cost $199 (US) for the 16GB model and $299 (US) for the 32GB model with a new two year agreement.
Now we can all go back to obsessing about the iPhone 5 (and even the iPhone 6’s pending release). The real question here is: when is the white iPhone 6 going to be released? It’s a different color!
Historically, it’s not exactly been an honor to make a cameo on South Park. Just ask Barbara Streisand, immortalized as MechaStreisand, a giant malevolent robot that hid a special crystal in its giant nose.
Or ask Ben Affleck, who was depicted in a love-act with an 8-year-old’s hand-puppet that he thought was current girlfriend Jennifer Lopez. Or more recently, Britney Spears’ cameo involved her attempting suicide but surviving as a disfigured, headless monster.
So Steve Jobs can’t be too thrilled that he is the focus of the season premiere of South Park, airing tonight on Comedy Central.
In this sneak peak of the upcoming episode we find Jobs’ in his trademark black turtleneck, introducing his newest creation, the HumancentiPad. He lauds the new invention as “a new product that will once again revolutionize the way we use our phones and tablet devices.” Video is NSFW due to unsavory references.
This bit is clearly a reference to last year’s underground hit horror film, The Human Centipede. No need for me to go into details about it. If you haven’t seen it, Google it. Be careful, however.
The last time Mr. Jobs appeared on South Park, he was a featured guest at the premiere of Mr. Garrison’s new transportation device, the “IT.” The IT operated by two strategically placed metal rods…just check out the video below. If you haven’t guessed, it’s also NSFW.
Today, Jobs himself responded to the tracking issue in an interview with All Things D’s Mobilized. He reiterated what Apple’s release said earlier, that they weren’t tracking anyone.
“We haven’t been tracking anyone,” Jobs said in a telephone interview with Mobilized on Wednesday. “The files they found on these phones, as we explained, it turned out were basically files we have built through anonymous, crowdsourced information that we collect from the tens of millions of iPhones out there.”
“As new technology comes into the society there is a period of adjustment and education,” Jobs said. “We haven’t–as an industry–done a very good job educating people, I think, as to some of the more subtle things going on here. As such, (people) jumped to a lot of wrong conclusions in the last week.”
It’s a good thing he responded, as the public’s concern continues to grow about the tracking issue. The recent privacy concern is most likely too recent to be a part of tonight’s South Park episode, but who knows. Those guys are crafty. I can see it now:
Apple is not tracking the location of your iPhone. Apple has never done so and has no plans to ever do so.
This is the unequivocal opening statement from Apple’s official release this morning. This marks the first official response from the company since the iPhone tracking location data snafu.
Of course by now you know that last week two data scientists presented information on a hidden data file on iOS devices that was storing location data that reached as far back as one year. Although there was no indication that this specific data was being directly sent to Apple or any other party, the data was unprotected and unencrypted so it raised privacy concerns.
Apple, as well as Google have admitted in the past to collecting anonymous random location data for the purposes of improving upon its location database. But logging all of that info into a single file was ominous news for some.
In today’s official release from Apple, they address the particular data file that was found to be storing location data. Apple states that the reason it exists is to assist location calculating. They blame a bug on the fact that it has been logging data as far back as one year.
6. People have identified up to a year’s worth of location data being stored on the iPhone. Why does my iPhone need so much data in order to assist it in finding my location today? This data is not the iPhone’s location data—it is a subset (cache) of the crowd-sourced Wi-Fi hotspot and cell tower database which is downloaded from Apple into the iPhone to assist the iPhone in rapidly and accurately calculating location. The reason the iPhone stores so much data is a bug we uncovered and plan to fix shortly (see Software Update section below). We don’t think the iPhone needs to store more than seven days of this data.
Apple would like to respond to the questions we have recently received about the gathering and use of location information by our devices.
1. Why is Apple tracking the location of my iPhone?
Apple is not tracking the location of your iPhone. Apple has never done so and has no plans to ever do so.
2. Then why is everyone so concerned about this?
Providing mobile users with fast and accurate location information while preserving their security and privacy has raised some very complex technical issues which are hard to communicate in a soundbite. Users are confused, partly because the creators of this new technology (including Apple) have not provided enough education about these issues to date.
3. Why is my iPhone logging my location?
The iPhone is not logging your location. Rather, it’s maintaining a database of Wi-Fi hotspots and cell towers around your current location, some of which may be located more than one hundred miles away from your iPhone, to help your iPhone rapidly and accurately calculate its location when requested. Calculating a phone’s location using just GPS satellite data can take up to several minutes. iPhone can reduce this time to just a few seconds by using Wi-Fi hotspot and cell tower data to quickly find GPS satellites, and even triangulate its location using just Wi-Fi hotspot and cell tower data when GPS is not available (such as indoors or in basements). These calculations are performed live on the iPhone using a crowd-sourced database of Wi-Fi hotspot and cell tower data that is generated by tens of millions of iPhones sending the geo-tagged locations of nearby Wi-Fi hotspots and cell towers in an anonymous and encrypted form to Apple.
4. Is this crowd-sourced database stored on the iPhone?
The entire crowd-sourced database is too big to store on an iPhone, so we download an appropriate subset (cache) onto each iPhone. This cache is protected but not encrypted, and is backed up in iTunes whenever you back up your iPhone. The backup is encrypted or not, depending on the user settings in iTunes. The location data that researchers are seeing on the iPhone is not the past or present location of the iPhone, but rather the locations of Wi-Fi hotspots and cell towers surrounding the iPhone’s location, which can be more than one hundred miles away from the iPhone. We plan to cease backing up this cache in a software update coming soon (see Software Update section below).
5. Can Apple locate me based on my geo-tagged Wi-Fi hotspot and cell tower data?
No. This data is sent to Apple in an anonymous and encrypted form. Apple cannot identify the source of this data.
6. People have identified up to a year’s worth of location data being stored on the iPhone. Why does my iPhone need so much data in order to assist it in finding my location today?
This data is not the iPhone’s location data—it is a subset (cache) of the crowd-sourced Wi-Fi hotspot and cell tower database which is downloaded from Apple into the iPhone to assist the iPhone in rapidly and accurately calculating location. The reason the iPhone stores so much data is a bug we uncovered and plan to fix shortly (see Software Update section below). We don’t think the iPhone needs to store more than seven days of this data.
7. When I turn off Location Services, why does my iPhone sometimes continue updating its Wi-Fi and cell tower data from Apple’s crowd-sourced database?
It shouldn’t. This is a bug, which we plan to fix shortly (see Software Update section below).
8. What other location data is Apple collecting from the iPhone besides crowd-sourced Wi-Fi hotspot and cell tower data?
Apple is now collecting anonymous traffic data to build a crowd-sourced traffic database with the goal of providing iPhone users an improved traffic service in the next couple of years.
9. Does Apple currently provide any data collected from iPhones to third parties?
We provide anonymous crash logs from users that have opted in to third-party developers to help them debug their apps. Our iAds advertising system can use location as a factor in targeting ads. Location is not shared with any third party or ad unless the user explicitly approves giving the current location to the current ad (for example, to request the ad locate the Target store nearest them).
10. Does Apple believe that personal information security and privacy are important?
Yes, we strongly do. For example, iPhone was the first to ask users to give their permission for each and every app that wanted to use location. Apple will continue to be one of the leaders in strengthening personal information security and privacy.
Software Update
Sometime in the next few weeks Apple will release a free iOS software update that:
reduces the size of the crowd-sourced Wi-Fi hotspot and cell tower database cached on the iPhone,
ceases backing up this cache, and
deletes this cache entirely when Location Services is turned off.
In the next major iOS software release the cache will also be encrypted on the iPhone.
And according to MacRumors, Apple’s Steve Jobs has broken his silence to a random, unnamed MacRumors reader. Here’s the alleged email correspondence:
Q: Steve,
Could you please explain the necessity of the passive location-tracking tool embedded in my iPhone? It’s kind of unnerving knowing that my exact location is being recorded at all times. Maybe you could shed some light on this for me before I switch to a Droid. They don’t track me.
A: Oh yes they do. We don’t track anyone. The info circulating around is false.
Sent from my iPhone
Always the skeptic, I of course question the legitimacy of this brief conversation…but if that response doesn’t sound like Steve Jobs then I don’t know what does. The only way I would’ve been sure that it was really Jobs is if he would’ve referred to the claims as “magical.”
Whether this was really Jobs or not, you have to expect a more formal response in the next few days. The media firestorm around this topic began almost a week ago.
If you haven’t heard, this Apple location tracking story was kind of a big deal last week.
Last Wednesday, two data scientists reported on a finding that devices running iOS 4 or later contained a hidden file that contains location data going back to nearly a year in some cases. This data on the file consolidated.db includes longitude and latitude coordinates along with timestamps. The unencrypted file is accessible via the device or on any computer with which the device has been synched.
This find naturally started a wave of outrage and concern among individuals worried about privacy. People are scared that information like this could easily fall into the wrong hands and the implications of being able to easily graph one’s every move are indeed sinister.
Amidst the privacy outrage, cooler heads attempted to lessen the shock by saying that this news is actually old news. Apple routinely collects random and anonymous location information from its millions of devices for the purpose of location-map building. Although no findings suggest that the recently uncovered location data on consolidated.db is being sent to Apple, the company has never said anything about storing this kind of data on a specific file, moreover one which is so accessible. Thus, the concern has legitimacy.
In another act of the drama, today the Wall Street Journal is reporting that turning off location services in your settings doesn’t stop the logging of data. They conducted their own test and found that disabling the location services setting does not prevent the collection of data about your whereabouts even though many suggested this action last week to folks concerned about their privacy. From the WSJ:
Apple and Google have both previously said that the data they receive is anonymous and that users can turn it off by disabling location services.
However, it appears that turning off location services doesn’t disable the storage of location data on iPhones. The Journal tested the collection of data on an iPhone 4 that had been restored to factory settings and was running the latest version of Apple’s iOS operating system.
The Journal disabled location services (which are on by default) and immediately recorded the data that had initially been gathered by the phone. The Journal then carried the phone to new locations and observed the data. Over the span of several hours as the phone was moved, it continued to collect location data from new places.
These data included coordinates and time stamps; however, the coordinates were not from the exact locations that the phone traveled, and some of them were several miles away. The phone also didn’t indicate how much time was spent in a given location. Other technology watchers on blogs and message boards online have recorded similar findings.
This find may add fuel to the fire as is suggests that users have even less control over personal data collection than they might have thought. And this could end up becoming a big problem for Apple, Google and any other companies that get drawn into this privacy inquiry. Senator Al Franken has already written a letter to Steve Jobs asking about iPhone tracking and on Saturday Representative Edward Markey of Massachusetts called for a congressional investigation into the issue.
Today, Bloomberg is reporting that Apple is now being investigated by the Korea Communications Commission, South Korea’s comm regulator, to determine is Apple is breaking laws in in their country for storing the location data.
This week’s report that iOS devices contain a secret file storing users’ locations and movements for up to a year has raised a lot of eyebrows. Reactions have ranged from sky-is-falling freakouts by privacy advocates to shrugs of the shoulders by those who have come to expect that they are never truly off-the-grid.
If you aren’t aware, earlier the week two data scientists reported on a hidden file found in the iPhone and iPad called “consolidated.db.” This file contains location information like latitudes and longitudes coupled with timestamps that make it incredibly easy to map out a chart of everywhere a user has been in the past year. This file exists on the device itself as well as any computer with which the device has been synched. Oh yeah, the file is also unencrypted.
This obviously raised many concerns about privacy and some people are understandably upset. Many are upset that they did not know about this file and don’t feel as though they ever voluntarily opted-in to the location data storage. These are valid points, and people have a right to be concerned by the implications.
The fact that Apple and other companies are able to track your location is no shock to anyone. Apple has even admitted that it collects anonymous location data at random intervals from its clients from GPS coordinates to any wi-fi or cell towers that the device is near. The purpose of this is most likely to help Apple improve upon a giant location database for use in diagnostics and geo-location apps. This is old news, per say.
All of this data is supposedly anonymous and not logged, however, according to Apple. The fact that a specific file exists that holds location information for such a long period of time is what worries people. If that file fell into devious hands, then the implications are a tad frightening. Or, God forbid, the stored information data specific to users past movement is being sent to Apple or other parties. Though speculated as a possibility by some, nobody has been able to turn up any evidence that this is actually happening.
In the past, Google has also admitted to collecting random, anonymous location data from Android users. They have said that the information is used for building wi-fi hotspot databases as well as improving traffic maps.
The Wall Street Journal has reported, however, that Google may be collecting location data much more frequently and without total anonymity.
According to research by security analyst Samy Kamkar, his HTC Android device collected location data every few seconds and submitted it to Google multiple times an hour. It also submitted the name and location of any nearby wi-fi network as well as a “unique phone identifier,” which admittedly sounds pretty ominous.
Kamkar has a speckled past, according to the WSJ, so they checked his findings through an independent consultant:
Mr. Kamkar, 25 years old, has a controversial past. In 2005, when he was 19, he created a computer worm that caused MySpace to crash. He pled guilty to a felony charge of computer hacking in Los Angeles Superior Court, and agreed to not use a computer for three years. Since 2008, he has been doing independent computer security research and consulting. Last year, he developed the “evercookie”—a type of tracking file that is difficult to be removed from computers—as a way to highlight the privacy vulnerabilities in Web-browsing software.
The Journal hired an independent consultant, Ashkan Soltani, to review Mr. Kamkar’s findings regarding the Android device and its use of location data. Mr. Soltani confirmed Mr. Kamkar’s conclusions.
Transmission of location data raises questions about who has access to what could be sensitive information about location and movement of a phone user.
Although the collection of random location data by these companies is not breaking news, these recent developments about Apple and Google are significant because they suggest that the tracking might not be as anonymous and intermittent as previously thought.
Some people are able to reconcile the fact that they live in a world where off-the-grid is becoming an obsolete term. Others are scared by the implications of such accessible data about their whereabouts. Where do you land?
Apple’s stock is doing quite well today after the company released an impressive earnings report yesterday afternoon. The report for the record 2nd quarter included 83% revenue growth, and 95% profit growth.
Revenue came to $24.67 billion with profit at $5.99 billion ($6.40 per diluted share). That’s compared to the same period last year, when the company reported 13.50 billion revenue and $3.07 billion profit.
In afternoon trading, Apple stock is up 2.58% to $351.25 per share at the time of this writing.
“With quarterly revenue growth of 83 percent and profit growth of 95 percent, we’re firing on all cylinders,” CEO Steve Jobs commented on the company’s earnings. “We will continue to innovate on all fronts throughout the remainder of the year.”
“We are extremely pleased with our record March quarter revenue and earnings and cash flow from operations of over $6.2 billion,” added CFO Peter Oppenheimer, who led the company’s earnings conference call. “Looking ahead to the third fiscal quarter of 2011, we expect revenue of about $23 billion and we expect diluted earnings per share of about $5.03.”
iPhone sales have been quite impressive, especially considering the antenna issues (and lack of support from Consumer Reports) the devices have experienced.
Apple recorded year-over-year iPhone sales growth of 113%. They sold 18.65 million of them in the quarter.
COO Tim Cook also pointed out in the call that the tragedy in Japan has done little to hinder production, so that surely pleased investors to hear.
By whom and for what reason is undetermined, but data scientists Alasdair Allan and Pete Warden have discovered a tracking file within devices that operate on iOS 4. Allan and Warden revealed their findings yesterday at the Where 2.0 location conference in Santa Clara, CA.
Do you have an Apple device? How much would a tracking log concern you?Let us know.
The file is called consolidated.db, and is completely unencrypted and unprotected. The file can be accessed on the device itself and it also appears on any computer with which the device has been synched. Apparently, the tracking began with the iOS 4 update.
The file contains latitude and longitude coordinates along with timestamps, which is basically all you need to track someone’s movements along any given time-frame. According to Allan, there can be up to tens of thousands of data points in any one consolidated.db file which could track movements back to around one year ago.
Their research found no evidence to suggest that this information is leaving the devices, but one security researcher thinks the information is leaving your devices – and being sent straight to Apple. Why would Apple want all of this location information? One reason could be for the creation of their own location database. With information being sent every day from the millions of iPhones currently in use, Apple might have found an easy, cost-efficient way to expand its own global location database.
According to this theory, Apple may send information about your location twice a day. How can they do this? It is possible that the opt-in procedure for Apple’s geo-tracking is buried innocuously within the initial iTunes installation, which iPhone users require for proper synching of their devices.
Then again, if this is all starting to sound too conspiracy theory for you, lets not forget that Apple is already keeping track of where you are – but with a certain sheen of anonymity. It’s right in their privacy statement:
To provide location-based services on Apple products, Apple and our partners and licensees may collect, use, and share precise location data, including the real-time geographic location of your Apple computer or device. This location data is collected anonymously in a form that does not personally identify you and is used by Apple and our partners and licensees to provide and improve location-based products and services. For example, we may share geographic location with application providers when you opt in to their location services.
This statement on location data collecting doesn’t mention the transfer of this data directly to Apple or third-parties though. Carefully read, it really only says that location data is logged in order to help applications like maps services, Foursquare or Twitter.
But…uh…privacy, anyone? Whether this location data is being harvested by Apple for unknown purposes or it simply sits, unencrypted, on your devices and computers waiting to be accessed – there is some basis for concern. Folks worried about privacy need not even own an Apple product to worry, though. It’s not like geo-tracking logs aren’t already kept on everyone – all the time. Mobile providers have this data, but its protected and requires court orders to access. It would seem the scary thing about this particular find, for some, would be the relative ease with which the data is accessible.
The sky is hardly falling, however, says forensic data researcher Alex Levinson is an article published today. He outlines three issues the may make this find by Allan and Warden a non-story.
First, he says that Apple is definitely not collecting this data:
Apple is not harvesting this data from your device. This is data on the device that you as the customer purchased and unless they can show concrete evidence supporting this claim – network traffic analysis of connections to Apple servers – I rebut this claim in full. Through my research in this field and all traffic analysis I have performed, not once have I seen this data traverse a network.
Second, the hidden consolidated.db file that is the culprit isn’t really new or hidden:
It’s just moved. Location services have been available to the Apple device for some time. Understand what this file is – a log generated by the various radios and sensors located within the device. This file is utilized by several operations on the device that actually is what makes this device pretty “smart”. This file existed in a different form prior to iOS 4, but not in form it is today.
Lastly, Levinson says that this information is not even new or revelatory. People have known about this tracking file for a while now. Not most of the general public, mind you, but people in his industry aren’t strangers to it.
It looks like Washington thinks that this is a real privacy concern, as Senator Al Franken has already written a letter addressed to Steve Jobs asking questions concerning this issue. Here are the questions he asks:
Why does Apple collect and compile this location data? Why did Apple choose to initiate tracking this data in its iOS 4 operating system?
Does Apple collect and compile this location data for laptops?
How is this data generated? (GPS, cell tower triangulation, Wi-Fi triangulation, etc.)
How frequently is a user’s location recorded? What triggers the creation of a record of someone’s location?
How precise is this location data? Can it track the users location to 50 m, 100 m, etc.?
Why is this data not encrypted? What steps will Apple take to encrypt the data?
Why were Apple consumers never affirmatively informed of the collection and retention of their location data in this manner? Why did Apple not seek affirmative consent before doing so?
Does Apple believe that this conduct is permissible under the terms of its privacy policy?
To whom, if anyone, including Apple, has this data been disclosed? When and why were these disclosures made?
“Anyone who gains access to this single file could likely determine the location of the user’s home, the businesses he frequents, the doctors he visits, the schools his children attend, and the trips he has taken over the past months or even a year,” he says in the letter.
Indeed, this is a valid point. But are people making a mountain out of a molehill here? Are people worried that suspicious spouses will eventually be able to use data like this to nail cheating husbands? That stalkers are going to be able to more efficiently stalk their victims? (Hello, we already have Facebook)
When you look at a visualization of how the data can be used, however, it does make it seem a little more frightening. The two finders have created a program that allow users to do just that, and look at their own tracking data on a map. You can download said program here. It’ll look like this:
Apple released its second-quarter financial results today. This includes a record March quarter driving 83% revenue growth, and 95% profit growth.
Second quarter revenue came to $24.67 billion with profit at $5.99 billion ($6.40 per diluted share). For the same period last year, the company reported 13.50 billion revenue and $3.07 billion profit.
The company also recorded year-over-year iPhone sales growth of 113%, having sold 18.65 million iPhones in the quarter. In addition, the company sold 3.76 million Macs (28% YoY growth), 9.02 million iPods (a 17% YoY decline), and 4.69 million iPads during the quarter.
“With quarterly revenue growth of 83 percent and profit growth of 95 percent, we’re firing on all cylinders,” said CEO Steve Jobs. “We will continue to innovate on all fronts throughout the remainder of the year.”
CFO Peter Oppenheimer added, “We are extremely pleased with our record March quarter revenue and earnings and cash flow from operations of over $6.2 billion. Looking ahead to the third fiscal quarter of 2011, we expect revenue of about $23 billion and we expect diluted earnings per share of about $5.03.”
iPhone sales estimates had been all over the board, but clearly they’re doing well, based on this earnings report. Analysts expected the iPad to be doing a little better, but it looks like Apple will survive. iPod decline isn’t entirely shocking.
The iTunes store had its best quarter ever, Oppenheimer said in the conerence call. This included $1.4 billion in revenue.
He also noted that Apple will be celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Apple Retail Store on May 19, and that in a few days they will welcome their one billionth visitor. Apple plans to open 40 new stores in fiscal 2011.
COO Tim Cook talked a bit about the tragedy in Japan and how it might impact earnings in Q3. He said that there has been disruption for many suppliers of components, but employees have been “working around the clock” with suppliers in Japan on contingency plans. He says Apple does not anticipate any material impact to component supply or cost in fiscal Q3 barring any unpredictable, unforeseen incidents (aftershocks, etc.).
It had been rumored that the next version of Apple’s iPhone would begin production in September, making the release likely for late in the year or early next year. This was based on rumors from the supply chain.
Now, Reuters is reporting that the phones will actually ship in September according to “three people with direct knowledge of the company’s supply chain.” This would put production beginning in July or August.
According to these sources, the iPhone will have a faster processor, and will look similar to the iPhone 4.
Apple is currently in the midst of a legal battle with Samsung as the the latter company puts out products Apple feels are rip-offs of its iOS products.
There has been no shortage of rumors going around about the iPhone 5 (we don’t even know for sure that this next iPhone will actually be called the iPhone 5). Here is a round-up of some possibilities.
Estimates of iPhone sales so far this year have been all over the place, but research does show they’re incredibly popular with teenagers. Apple reports its earnings later today.
iOS 4.3 was launched in March. “With more than 160 million iOS devices worldwide, including over 100 million iPhones, the growth of the iOS platform has been unprecedented,” said Apple CEO Steve Jobs upon its announcement. “iOS 4.3 adds even more features to the world’s most advanced mobile operating system, across three blockbuster devices—iPad, iPhone and iPod touch—providing an ecosystem that offers customers an incredibly rich experience and developers unlimited opportunities.”
New features of iOS 4.3 included faster Safari mobile browsing performance with the Nitro JavaScript engine, iTunes Home Sharing, enhancements to AirPlay, the choice of using the iPad side switch to either lock the screen rotation or mute the audio, and a Personal Hotspot feature for sharing an iPhone 4 data connection over Wi-Fi.
Earlier this week Facebook released version 3.4 of their iPhone app. Hidden amongst the “advertised” additions are a few smaller changes, bugs, and oddities that are leaving some users perplexed on why they upgraded. Some iPhone owners are starting too ask if they can revert back to an older version, but don’t get your hopes up.
Have you noticed anything with the recent update to Facebook for iPhone that you don’t like? Tell us about it.
People hate change… they HATE it, and over the past couple of years, it’s became almost old hat complaining about Facebook changes. They always seem to go one step too far, and consistently poke the hornets nest, which is filled with over 500 million inhabitants.
Facebook for iPhoneVersion 3.4 is now available in the App Store. We’ve fixed a ton of bugs and added new features like map view for Places, the ability to check in to Events and an improved News Feed. Get it here: http://bit.ly/erlfVl3 days ago · 4,882 likes · 1,064 comments
Facebook posted the status update you see above on their “Facebook for iPhone” app page. As you can see there are 1,000+ comments, and most of those are complaints about the recent changes. Below are a few of the most common complaints that we’re seeing, and a few other observations…
Facebook for iPhone thinks everything was posted “Just Now”.
Take a look at the screenshot above, I’ve paired the desktop view with an iPhone view. The desktop version of Facebook is loading the appropriate timestamp while the app version thinks everything “just now” happened. Is this a huge problem? Of course not, but it would be nice to see the accurate timestamp. Some users have even commented, “Why fix something that was working fine already” can’t say that I disagree with them.
Comments & Likes: pick a side, please.
Susan CoppersmithDid facebook just switch and put the likes on the left and comments on the right …. Don’t mess with me!!!17 hours ago · Like · 3 comments
It was brought to my attention that some are now seeing likes and comments in a different order. Maybe Facebook is starting to load things differently for your newsfeed versus your profile, check out the screenshot below to see what I’m referring to. Whatever the case maybe, wouldn’t it make more sense to make everything uniform?
It also appears that Facebook has changed the styling of how likes and comments are presented to the user, depending upon how you’re viewing it. If you’re on your newsfeed and you click the “+”, you’ll see an arrow object that now houses the buttons. If you do the same thing while on your profile, you’ll notice that the old styling is still in place. As I said above, why not make this uniform across the board? Check out the comparison screenshot below to see the new way it’s done below. (It looks much better)
The people have spoken, they want their Farmville posts.
While scrolling through the comments some of the comments left, one thing really jumps out… people really miss Farmville posts. There are literally hundreds of people complaining about this. Below is a small sampling of some of the comments being left. I knew people were passionate over Farmville, but why do so many people want their newsfeed clogged with it? Ah, I guess to each his own.
It’s unknown if Facebook will release a secondary update to fix some of the bugs with version 3.4, or just wait until the next update to tackle them all at once. Whatever happens, users will have another round of updates to complain about.
Have you upgraded your Facebook for iPhone to version 3.4? If so, are you having any problems with it? If so, tell us about them.
Add another log to the iPhone 5 rumors fire. Now it’s looking like consumers may not see the device until next year, or possibly very late this year. It was once expected in early summer.
“Supporting out comments over the last month, conversations with yet another key component supplier indicates that production for iPhone-5 will begin in September. This is consistent with Avian findings in the supply chain in recent months and we believe the consensus view is moving towards this scenario. In addition, our conversations also indicate the existence of a lower-spec/lower-priced iPhone in Apple’s roadmap. However, while our contacts have seen the placeholder in the Apple roadmap, they do not yet have insight into specs or production timing. This leads us to believe that any launch is likely a very late 2011 or more likely a 2012 event. As a reminder, Avian has uncovered several data-points in recent months pointing to the existence of a lower-spec/lower-price iPhone. A lower-spec/lower-price iPhone has also been speculated in the press and gadget blogs, though we do not believe consensus currently discounts the existence of such a model.”
Nokia? What’s that? I’m sure there are young teens, and children who are receiving their first smart phones which have little memory of when Nokia dominated the mobile landscape. In fact, on the international level Nokia is still the top selling cell phone manufacturer. However, they’ve fallen by the wayside in the US to the domination of iOS and Android powered devices.
Nokia’s profits plummeted in 2010, which was definitely something new for the Finnish mobile juggernaut. Ever since, the company has been making moves here and there which could put them in a position to gain back some of the market share they’ve lost in the past year.
One of the signs from last year which made it seem Nokia was on the ropes, was the release of the Ovi Store. Critics blasted the effort, citing bad navigation and poor usability. Due to the harsh start, the Ovi Store looked dead in the water. However, Nokia has stuck with the Ovi Store and things are improving.
According to numbers released today, Nokia is claiming the Ovi Store is receiving 5 million downloads on a daily basis. In October 2010, they were claiming 2.3 million daily downloads, which improved to 3 million just a month later. The amount of developers and apps keep increasing at a healthy rate. They’re still drastically behind the App Store and Android Market in terms of number of developers and apps. However, improvement is always a good thing.
While they stayed invested in the Ovi Store, they’re going to move on from their traditional operating system, Symbian. Nokia has always used their in-house OS, however, it seems as though they realize they need help to combat with iOS and Android. They now have turned to Microsoft, and have partnered with them to release Windows Phone 7 powered devices as early as next year.
An ace-in-the-hole for Nokia is they have one of the largest, and reliable R&D departments in the mobile industry. They’ve always been known to release quality devices, a staple of the company which has even lasted during their recent decline. If they’re able to develop future devices which are fully optimized to implement Windows Phone 7, there’s a lot of potential for improved sales.
Another benefit Nokia has is they’re still the top cell phone manufacturer in the international arena. While 2011 will still more than likely present a decline for Nokia, they appear to be investing where they need to in order to make a rebound in the future. If their numbers can heat up internationally due to the changes, it isn’t beyond reason to think this will trickle to the US markets as well.
If Windows Phone 7 can provide the boost to their sales numbers around the world, and the Ovi Store can continue to improve upon their sales, a comeback isn’t too unrealistic. However, will all the changes be enough to fight back against the iPhone and Android devices? We’ll know soon enough.
There is some debate between analysts concerning how well the iPhone has been selling this year. Apple’s second fiscal quarter ended on March 26th, and the sales projections are all over the map.
Fortune has compiled a list of 43 professional and amateur analysts who can’t seem to agree on whether sales of Apple’s top moneymaker rose or fell in Q2. As Fortune points out, sales usually fall off after the holidays, so one might expect the iPhone to suffer a little. Complicating the matter, however, is Apple’s February 10th release of the highly anticipated Verizon iPhone.
Last quarter, Apple posted 16.2 million in iPhone sales. Of the 43 analysts Fortune compiled, the highest figure is 19.8 million units while the lowest estimate comes in at 13.24 million units. After averaging all 43 estimates, the consensus figure turns out to be 16.64 million units. This is a 2.7% increase from Q1 and an 88% increase from Q2 of last year.
Fortune also ranks the 43 analysts by how accurately they predicted Q1 iPhone sales. FYI, The person with the most accurate Q1 estimates predicts the iPhone’s Q2 number at 18.3 million units. He is Patrick Smellie of the Apple Finance Board.
Just today, Gartner released estimates regarding the smartphone market in years to come. iOS is projected to maintain its hold on the #2 spot at just under 20% of the market share through 2012. In 2015, Gartner estimates it will lose that spot to Windows Phone OS.
In other iOS news, BGR reports that one of their “Apple ninjas” gave them exclusive info on the release of iOS 4.3.2. It is said to fix a couple bugs, handle some security issues, include some enhancements and is due in about two weeks.
