Experts: Apple should've addressed concerns sooner

Apple should have responded much sooner to concerns about location data stored on its iPhones, even if the company didn't have all the answers ready, marketing and crisis-management experts say.

The company took a week to deny that the phones track the precise location of their owners, as some users and privacy watchdogs had feared.

As soon as it started selling the devices, Apple should have said how it uses, or doesn't use, location data, said Joe Marconi, a DePaul University marketing professor and author of "Crisis Marketing: When Bad Things Happen to Good Companies."

"The whole problem could have been a non-problem if Apple had done some kind of disclosure of this in some kind of a privacy statement," he said. "Apple customers are fiercely loyal in a way we can say few (others) are today. With that comes a responsibility."

In a list of 10 questions and answers published Wednesday, the company explained that a data file publicized last week by security researchers doesn't store iPhone users' physical locations -- just a list of Wi-Fi hotspots and cell towers surrounding them.

Apple said the data help phones figure out their location without having to listen for faint signals from GPS satellites.

The company did acknowledge that the data are stored for up to a year because of a software bug. It promised a fix in the coming weeks to reduce the duration of the storage.

Larry L. Smith, president of the Institute for Crisis Management, a public relations company, said Apple should have said something sooner in some form, even if it didn't have all the details right away.

"To me there is no excuse to stonewall, to put off facing your customers, your partners, your shareholders, your employees," he said. "When there is a problem, or an issue has been raised, it's so counterproductive to put off responding."

Even a response of "I don't know; I will get back to you" is better than none, he said. "You are not always going to have immediate answers."

Apple spokeswoman Natalie Kerris would not comment on why the company waited to respond.

Speaking to The New York Times, CEO Steve Jobs defended the timing of Apple's response, saying that the company wanted to determine exactly what happened rather than rush to its public relations department.

"The first thing we always do when a problem is brought to us is we try to isolate it and find out if it is real," he said. "It took us about a week to do an investigation and write a response, which is fairly quick for something this technically complicated."

Jobs, who went on medical leave in January, said he was personally involved in writing Wednesday's response, as were other top executives, "because we think it is that important."

Despite all the hoopla, Smith said he doesn't expect Apple's latest blunder to hurt the company in the long run.

Apple quickly recovered from "antennagate," a problem with the iPhone 4's antenna design. It caused reception issues when people covered a certain spot with a bare hand.

Jobs apologized last July to people who were not completely satisfied with the iPhone 4, but denied there was an antenna problem that needed fixing. Even so, the company gave out free protective cases. "Antennagate" didn't seem to make a dent in the iPhone's popularity or sour Apple's devoted fan base.

And, Smith said, the "flap over data won't do the harm today that it might have done a few years ago when our attention span was a little longer. Somebody else will do something stupid tomorrow."

Companies that handle public relations crises well are not remembered long -- that's the whole point. But Apple might learn from fast food companies such as Domino's Pizza and Taco Bell.

When video of a Domino's employee appearing to do disgusting things to food appeared on YouTube, Domino's responded by firing that person and the co-worker who recorded him. Later, CEO Patrick Doyle posted a video in response, saying the store had been sanitized "top to bottom" and that the company is re-examining how it hires workers "to make sure that people like this don't make it into our stores."

Taco Bell, meanwhile, spent millions of dollars on ads to counter a lawsuit that questioned whether the filling in its tacos was actually beef. The lawsuit has been dropped.

Smith said Taco Bell realized their taco customers were mostly men who bought it for the taste and price, not for its nutritional value.

Similarly, Apple might find that many users don't mind their location being tracked because this allows them to get directions, find nearby restaurants and use a slew of other apps and features of the iPhone. In Wednesday's statement, Apple said the data file in question helps speed location-based services.

Motorola Mobility narrows loss as phone sales rise

Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc., the maker of cellphones and cable set-top boxes that split off from the rest of Motorola in January, said Thursday that it narrowed its loss in the first quarter as it nearly doubled shipments of smartphones.

Motorola Mobility posted a loss of $81 million, or 27 cents per share, for the January to March period. That compares with a loss of $212 million, or 72 cents per share, a year ago.

Excluding stock-based compensation and amortization of intangibles, the loss was 8 cents per share, less than the 11 cents per share loss analysts surveyed by FactSet had expected, on average.

Revenue was $3.03 billion, up 22 percent from a year ago, and beat analyst estimates at $2.84 billion.

The Libertyville, Ill.-based company said mobile devices revenue totaled $2.1 billion, up 30 percent from the year-ago quarter.

Motorola Mobility shipped 9.3 million of these products during the period, including 4.1 million smartphones and over 250,000 of its recently released Xoom tablet computer. Last year, the company shipped 8.5 million mobile devices -- 2.3 million of them smartphones -- in the first quarter.

"I think we're making good progress on transitioning Motorola into a smartphone and a mobile computing company," CEO Sanjay Jha said in an interview.

The company would not give specifics about how many of the Xooms shipped were actually sold, but Chief Financial Officer Marc Rothman said he was "pleased" with sales of the tablet. The Xoom, which runs on the tablet-geared version of Google Inc.'s Android operating software, was released in late February.

Revenue from Motorola Mobility's home unit, which makes various consumer electronics, climbed 8 percent to $904 million. Growth was helped by demand for cable set-top boxes.

For the current quarter, Motorola Mobility expects to break even or earn as much as 12 cents per share, excluding one-time items. Analysts are hoping for an adjusted profit of 12 cents per share.

The company said it expects smartphone and tablet sales to rise compared with the first quarter, and believes revenue will also climb.

While some tech companies are suffering from supply-issues in the wake of the Japan earthquake in March, Jha said that much of Motorola Mobility's supply chain was unaffected. The company expects no significant impact from the disaster in the current quarter, he said.

Motorola Mobility shares rose 78 cents, or 3.3 percent, to $24.77 in extended trading. The stock had finished regular trading up 37 cents at $23.99.

China's Huawei sues ZTE for patent infringement

China telecoms giant Huawei said Thursday it is suing hometown rival ZTE in Europe for alleged patent and trademark infringements, as the Chinese firms battle for overseas market share.

The lawsuits filed in Germany, France and Hungary accuse ZTE, a telecom equipment supplier, of breaching a series of Huawei's patents and illegally using a Huawei-registered trademark on some products.

"Huawei was compelled to initiate this action in order to protect our innovations and registered intellectual property in Europe," said Huawei chief legal officer Song Liuping in a statement.

"Intellectual property is among Huawei's most valuable assets. That is why we feel a responsibility to our customers and to our shareholders to do everything possible to protect these assets in any legal jurisdiction."

ZTE did not immediately respond to AFP requests for comment. Huawei said it took legal action after ZTE failed to respond to "cease and desist letters".

Both Huawei and ZTE are based in the southern boom town of Shenzhen, next to Hong Kong, and are competing in the global telecommunications market.

Samsung challenges Apple with new smartphone

South Korea's Samsung Electronics on Thursday showcased an updated version of its Galaxy S smartphone designed to compete against rivals such as Apple amid a legal battle with the US giant.

The world's second-largest mobile phone maker aims to sell at least 10 million Galaxy S2 smartphones after its international debut in early May, said Shin Jong-Kyun, president of the mobile business unit.

"We expect the sales to be as good as Galaxy S," Shin told reporters. The original model has sold 14 million units worldwide since July 2010.

The new phone is slimmer, faster and consumes less energy, Shin said.

It will be sold by more than 140 vendors in some 120 countries from early May, and by all three wireless network operators in South Korea from Thursday.

Despite the updated features, Samsung has cut the price of the S2 in South Korea in apparent recognition of the intensifying competition.

It will cost a maximum 847,000 won ($786) through domestic mobile operators, about 100,000 won less than the Galaxy S.

Shin said the firm would also unveil the new version of its Galaxy Tab tablet computer in July, predicting its overall tablet computer sales would be five times bigger this year than in 2010.

The Suwon-based firm is embroiled in a legal battle with Apple, which in a US lawsuit has accused Samsung of "slavishly" copying the design and technologies of its market-leading iPhone and iPad.

Samsung denied the accusation and days later filed lawsuits against Apple in South Korea, Japan and Germany alleging 10 patent infringements.

Shin vowed to "respond resolutely" to Apple's charges and said the company would "deal with the matter more actively".

"Apple not only is our competitor in mobile phone sales but also our client in device component sales," he said.

"We will respond resolutely not only to safeguard our pride and status... but also to protect our customers and business partners."

Apple was Samsung's second-largest client in 2010 after Japan's Sony Corp., accounting for four percent of the South Korean firm's 155 trillion won ($142 billion) annual revenue.

SK Telecom and KT, respectively the number one and two wireless operators in South Korea, said Thursday they will start selling Apple's iPad2 on Friday.

BlackBerry maker RIM lowers outlook

Canada's Research In Motion (RIM) lowered its earnings outlook on Thursday on weaker BlackBerry sales, sending its share price sharply lower in after-hours trading.

The Waterloo, Ontario-based RIM said that it expects earnings per share of $1.30-$1.37 in the quarter ending May 28, lower than the $1.47-$1.55 forecast just a month ago.

"This shortfall is primarily due to shipment volumes of BlackBerry smartphones that are now expected to be at the lower end of the range of 13.5-14.5 million forecasted in March and a shift in the expected mix of devices shipped towards handsets with lower average selling prices," RIM said.

RIM said it expected revenue for the quarter slightly below the $5.2 billion to $5.6 billion forecast on March 24.

RIM shares were down 8.46 percent at $51.50 in after-hours trading.

RIM also said it expected shipments of its new iPad rival, the BlackBerry PlayBook, to be "in line with our previous expectations" but did not provide any figures.

The Blackberry maker said it has not experienced any significant supply disruptions due to the earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

Zynga buys British mobile game maker Wonderland

Zynga on Wednesday announced that it has bought the British studio that created the popular iPhone, iPad, and iPod game "GodFinger."

The acquisition of Wonderland Software gives the San Francisco social game titan its first base of operations in Britain.

"Wonderland is composed of an amazingly talented, creative team, known for developing deeply engaging and innovative games," said Zynga senior vice president of mobile David Ko.

"I'm incredibly excited to have Wonderland join Zynga as we build a presence in the United Kingdom."

Zynga bought the Wonderland team and some of the two-year-old studio's intellectual property, but the deal did not include the rights to "GodFinger." The purchase price was not disclosed.

Wonderland chief executive Matthew Wiggins was appointed general manager of the studio, which was renamed Zynga Mobile UK, and reports to Ko.

"Wonderland Software has always been dedicated to pursuing big and creative ideas and turning them into games that players love," Wiggins said.

"We are thrilled to continue our vision as part of the Zynga family and to reach millions of mobile players across a spectrum of devices."

Zynga was founded in July 2007 by Mark Pincus, who named the startup after his late bulldog "Zinga."

Zynga boasts more than 250 million players, most of them at online social network Facebook. Its titles include FarmVille, Mafia Wars, CityVille, Caf� World, Zynga Poker, and Vampire Wars.

Apple says white iPhone to arrive Thursday

Apple says the long-delayed white iPhone 4 will go on sale Thursday in the United States, United Kingdom and 26 other countries for $199 or $299 depending on the model.

Apple Inc. said Wednesday the prices are for phones purchased with a two-year contract from AT&T Inc. or Verizon Wireless in the U.S.

The black iPhone 4 went on sale last June. Apple had hoped to make the white phones available in July, then in late 2010. But it has said that the gadget was more challenging to produce than expected. In October, Apple said the white phones would be available in the spring.

Separately, Apple says the iPad 2 will go on sale in Japan on Thursday and in Hong Kong, South Korea, Singapore and eight more countries on Friday.

Hundreds queue as iPad 2 hits Japan

Hundreds of Apple fans in Japan queued to snap up the iPad 2 on Thursday as the latest version of the popular tablet finally went on sale after a month-long delay caused by the March 11 quake and tsunami.

Customers in Tokyo waited patiently from early morning outside Apple's main stores in downtown Ginza and the shopping district of Shibuya, many killing time by playing on or reading from their previous-generation devices.

"I was determined to get the new model as it is thinner and lighter" than the original model, Masahiko Asakura, 40, said as he came out of the Ginza store, adding that he would now give his old iPad to his parents.

"The launch was a long time coming for me," said a 22-year-old physics student who only gave her surname as Kobayashi. "I thought the first model was a bit heavy, but the new one seems the right size for me."

As the spring sun heated the pavement, Apple distributed bottled water and black parasols with the Apple logo to many of those queuing up to spend 44,800-60,800 yen ($548-$743) on the latest gadget.

The iPad 2, which hit stores in the United States on March 11, had been scheduled to go on sale in Japan on March 25. It will go on sale in India, Hong Kong, Israel, Macau, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates on Friday, April 29.

But the launch was pushed back as the country dealt with its worst disaster since World War II, which has left more than 26,000 people dead or missing and sparked a nuclear crisis at the tsunami-hit Fukushima atomic plant.

With many consumers in a jittery or glum mood since the calamity, data released Thursday showed household spending plunged by 8.5 per cent in March from a year earlier, the biggest drop since records began in 1964.

Asakura said the disaster was no reason to stop spending, adding that "feelings will become bottled up in society unless we have fun like this."

Apple sold more than 15 million iPads last year worldwide and 4.69 million during the last quarter.

The success of the iPad has forced rival electronics makers to begin rolling out their own touchscreen tablet computers, and Japan's Sony this week unveiled its first tablet models, codenamed S1 and S2.

The larger S1 has a single screen while the pocketable S2 has twin screens, company officials told a news conference. Both devices use Google's Android operating system and are equipped with Wi-Fi for Internet access.

Competitors have rushed to cash in on soaring demand for tablets since the iPad was released in April last year, but Sony's devices are not due to go on sale globally until the northern hemisphere autumn, well behind its rivals.

Samsung's Galaxy Tab is the best-selling rival to the Apple gadget, and Research in Motion became the latest to join the fray, with the release last week of its Blackberry PlayBook.

Viewdle lets Android smartphones recognize friends

Northern California startup Viewdle on Wednesday released a software that lets Android-powered smartphones recognize people's faces.

The free SocialCamera application available at the Android Market or online at viewdle.com/products/mobile was billed as the first of its kind for US smartphone users.

"Viewdle SocialCamera is the first mobile camera app to encourage socializing and communication," said Viewdle co-founder and chief executive Laurent Gil.

"Consumers can now instantly share their photos based on who appears in them," he continued.

SocialCamera uses computer algorithms to create "faceprints" that people can tag with names and store in smartphones. The software then matches faceprints to subjects in subsequent photos.

Android smartphones can instantly connect names to those in photos and share the images with those involved using social networking service Facebook; photo-sharing website Flickr, or by email or instant messages.

SocialCamera was billed as the first in a line of facial-recognition software applications aimed at the consumer market.

High-powered players in September pumped $10 million into the Palo Alto, California startup devoted to crafting ways to let smartphones "see" things the same way people do and identify faces.

The influx of cash came from Qualcomm, BlackBerry Partners Fund, US electronics retail chain Best Buy, and Anthem Venture Partners, an investment firm that has backed Viewdle from the outset.

"We are giving smartphones human eyes," Gil told AFP in an interview when the funding was announced.

"Letting them see the world the way people do... it is artificial intelligence," he said. "It is happening."

Viewdle bills itself as the leading independent facial recognition company for consumer gadgets. Its technology is developed by the company's research team in the Ukraine.

Viewdle is the result of 15 years of research, rooted in work done at The Cybernetics Institute in Kiev, and got its first infusion of investor money -- 2.5 million dollars in June 2008.

Jobs says Apple made mistakes with iPhone data

Hoping to put to rest a growing controversy over privacy, Steven P. Jobs, Apple's chief executive, took the unusual step of personally explaining that while Apple had made mistakes in how it handled location data on its mobile devices, it had not used the iPhone and iPad to keep tabs on the whereabouts of its customers.

"We haven't been tracking anybody," Mr. Jobs said in an interview on Wednesday. "Never have. Never will."

Mr. Jobs said that Apple would fix the mistakes in a free software update that it would release in the next few weeks.

Mr. Jobs, who is currently on medical leave, addressed the issue along with two Apple executives -- Philip W. Schiller, the senior vice president of worldwide product marketing, and Scott Forstall, the senior vice president of iPhone software. A week ago, two researchers reported that they had discovered a file in Apple's devices containing what appeared to be data of the locations visited by users over the previous 12 months. The discovery raised fears that Apple was tracking its users and prompted investigations by various European governments and demands for explanations from United States lawmakers.

Earlier on Wednesday, Apple posted a statement on its Web site explaining how its system used the file to pinpoint a phone's location.

Mr. Jobs defended the timing of Apple's response to the controversy, saying that "rather than run to the P.R. department," it set out to determine exactly what happened.

"The first thing we always do when a problem is brought to us is we try to isolate it and find out if it is real," he said. "It took us about a week to do an investigation and write a response, which is fairly quick for something this technically complicated."

He added, "Scott and Phil and myself were all involved in writing the response because we think it is that important."

Some privacy advocates who were harshly critical of Apple last week praised the company's response, saying it was a step in the right direction.

"Apple acknowledged a mistake and they fixed it," Marc Rotenberg, executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, said in an interview. "That's a good thing."

Confirming speculation from some security researchers, Apple said in the statement posted on its Web site that the file in people's iPhones was not a log of their locations but rather "the locations of Wi-Fi hot spots and cell towers surrounding the iPhone's location, which can be more than one hundred miles away from the iPhone."

Apple said it used the data, which it called a cache, to calculate a device's location more quickly than through GPS satellites.

But Apple acknowledged that it had made mistakes, which it attributed to programming errors, in storing the data for a long time, keeping the file unencrypted and storing the data even when users had chosen to turn off location services.

"The system is incredibly complex," Mr. Forstall said. "We test this carefully but in such a complex system there are sometimes places where we could do better."

Apple said it would reduce the location cache on the iPhone to no more than seven days. The company also said it would stop backing up the cache onto people's computers and would delete the cache entirely when users turned off location services.

Apple also said that it updated its database of Wi-Fi hot spots and cell towers by using its customers' phones as sensors. But it said that it could not locate users based on the file on the phone, and that it collected the information in an anonymous and encrypted form. The company cannot identify the phone user from the data, it said.

While some security experts have known about the existence of the file for some time, the issue made headlines last week after the researchers reported their findings at a technology conference in San Francisco. Apple came under heavy criticism for its silence after the discovery.

The location report attracted attention from some government officials, including Senator Al Franken, Democrat of Minnesota, who sent a stern letter to Apple asking why it was "secretly compiling" the data and what it would be used for. Congressman Edward Markey, a Democrat from Massachusetts, and Lisa Madigan, the Illinois attorney general, also sent letters to Apple asking for an explanation of the issue.

Google acknowledged last week that it, too, collected data about the location of Wi-Fi hot spots and cell towers from its users.

Apple's statement contained a tidbit about possible future product plans. The company said it also was collecting traffic data from its phones and tablets to build a crowd-sourced traffic database. That would enable Apple to provide real-time traffic information along with navigation advice. Google already uses Android phones to collect real-time traffic information.
Mr. Jobs declined to answer questions about his health or about any plans to return to Apple. Last week, during the company's quarterly financial report, Timothy D. Cook, the chief operating officer, said, "He continues to be involved in major strategic decisions, and I know he wants to be back full time."

iPad 2: Obama's Choice

There's an Apple in the Oval Office. US President Obama uses a BlackBerry smart phone, but his tablet of choice: the all conquering iPad 2. He takes it everywhere, in a grey Smart Cover.

He famously complained about the limited functionality available on his BlackBerry due to security reasons, but chances are he has no such issues with his iPad 2

President Obama is known to be fussy in matters of technology, especially technology used in the White House which he recently described as "30 years old"

In all likelihood, President Obama uses the iPad for viewing many official documents and would have some security blanketing on the device but we are guessing that won't stop him downloading some cool apps. Angry Birds, Mr President?

iPad 2 may be available in India in two days

he wait is over for India. A Twitter post from Vijay Sales, a large electronic dealer, says the iPad 2 will be 'officially' available in the country in the next two days. There were no details on price.

When contacted, they refused to divulge any information related to the launch and insisted that we visit their store for more details on the device.

Apart from Vijay Sales no other major electronics retail chain has made any announcement about the impending release of the iPad 2.

The original iPad was launched in late January and in all probability the new iPad 2 may boast of similar pricing.

Apple, Google asked to testify on mobile privacy

US lawmakers have invited Apple and Google to attend a hearing on privacy next month following claims the iPhone and Android devices regularly track a user's location and stores the data.

A Florida lawyer filed a lawsuit meanwhile against Apple on behalf of two owners of products made by the California-based gadget maker.

Lawyer Aaron Meyer, in the suit filed with a US District Court, claimed the location-tracking violated the privacy of the owners of an iPhone and an iPad.

In Washington, US Senator Al Franken, chairman of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology and the Law, said he will hold a hearing on "Protecting Mobile Privacy" on May 10.

Franken said representatives of Apple and Google had been invited along with officials from the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission to attend the hearing.
[ For complete coverage of politics and policy, go to Yahoo! Politics ]

"Recent advances in mobile technology have allowed Americans to stay connected like never before and put an astonishing number of resources at our fingertips," the Democrat from Minnesota said in a statement.

"But the same technology that has given us smartphones, tablets, and cellphones has also allowed these devices to gather extremely sensitive information about users, including detailed records of their daily movements and location," he said.

"This hearing is the first step in making certain that federal laws protecting consumers' privacy -- particularly when it comes to mobile devices -- keep pace with advances in technology," Franken said.

The House Energy and Commerce Committee sent letters meanwhile to Apple, Google, Microsoft, Nokia, Research in Motion, and Hewlett-Packard asking whether their devices are tracking, storing, and sharing users' locations.

The congressional focus on mobile privacy comes after a pair of British researchers, Alasdair Allan and Pete Warden, said a position-logging feature is contained in iOS 4, the latest operating system for the iPhone and iPad.

According to Allan and Warden, iOS 4-equipped iPhones and iPads store latitude and longitude coordinates along with a time stamp, probably through cell-tower triangulation.

They noted that cellphone companies typically have access to this data but it is not usually stored on a mobile device itself.

Apple and Google, which provides its Android software to handset makers for free, have not yet responded to the privacy questions.

US Army Chooses Google Android Over Apple iOS

Google Android has been chosen to power an intelligent mobile communications device for battlefield situations that has been developed by US Army's the Joint Battle Command Platform program.

Previously, the US military had contemplated using Apple's iOS for the proposed smartphone, with many high ranking US generals in favour. It seems that Android's open architecture has been the deal breaker as with iOS the US army would have been tied in to Apple's closed ecosystem.

According to J. Tyler Barton, an engineer with one of the Army organizations designing apps, "It's like when you get an iPhone and you have the Apple-made apps: the contacts, the e-mail".

Android's open platform will allow the US Army to create role specific apps more easily as well as reduce costs incurred. This will also go in line with their streamlining plans, as the iOS would have been a more expensive proposition.

The Joint Battle Command Platform is a joint venture between the US army and MITRE Corporation, which essentially is developing a battle tool rather than a smartphone which will run specialised apps designed for the army.

As of now the US army is planning to include a suite of mission control apps which will include mapping, blue force tracking, Tactical Ground Reporting, or TIGR tactical graphics and critical messaging (such as SPOT reports, Medevac and Mayday) between all mission command systems. An Office suite will also be provided.

Acer's Liquid Metal Mini now in India

Acer has launched the new Acer Liquid Mini smartphone, the younger sibling to the new Acer Liquid Metal, in India. Just like its bigger avatar, the Acer Liquid Mini runs Google Android Froyo (2.2) operating system. The Mini is powered by a 600MHz Qualcomm processor unlike the 800MHz Qualcomm supported by the original Acer Liquid Metal.

The Mini supports 512MB of ROM and RAM and packs in a 5-megapixel camera just like the Liquid Metal.

Just like a majority of Android phones customised with UI's, the Acer Liquid Mini shows off its own UI, conveniently called the Acer UI. The Liquid Mini also sports a 3.2-inch HVGA 256k colour multi-touch display with a resolution of 360x640pixels. The device is 3G enabled as well,

The Acer Liquid Mini is priced at Rs. 11,990 + taxes and the Acer Liquid Metal is available for Rs. 20,500 + tax.

Email from Jobs: Apple doesn't track; Google does

teve Jobs has reportedly issued one of his typically terse email replies regarding the location tracking database that resides unencrypted on all iOS devices, according to MacRumors. In an email exchange that came to light Monday, Jobs (or whoever answers the sjobs@apple.com email) told a concerned user that Apple doesn't track location info, but its competition, on the other hand, does.

I reached out to Apple to confirm the authenticity of the email, but have yet to hear back. Here's the full text of the alleged email exchange:

    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

Google actually addressed concerns of location tracking on Friday, with a spokesman for the company admitting that if a user opts-in to using location services (an option which is on by default when setting up an Android device for first use), anyonymized location data is regularly sent to the company in order to help "provide a better mobile experience on Android devices."

According to a letter from Apple General Counsel Bruce Sewell last year, Apple collects data for similar purposes, but the assertion in the email above that "we don't track anyone" would appear to contradict that. It's probably more in reference to the "consolidated.db" file that stores location info locally. There's nothing to suggest that the info stored in that file is accessible to outside parties, including Apple, so that's probably what's being referred in this case.

Apple's iOS location tracking file has garnered a lot of attention from U.S. and international press and lawmakers since it was put on display by researchers at the Where 2.0 location services conference last week. We reported that it had actually been public knowledge for a while, but it didn't catch the attention of the media the way it has now. Whether or not it's being blown out of proportion, Apple will have to address the issue in some manner soon, since it doesn't look like it'll go away on its own at this point.

Sony announces plans for two tablet computers

Japanese electronics and entertainment giant Sony Corp. on Tuesday unveiled its first tablet computers, codenamed S1 and S2, in a direct but belated challenge to Apple's iPad.

The "Sony Tablet" S1 has a single screen and is for home use while the portable S2 has two screens, Sony told a news conference. The tablet devices will have access to online content to buy and download videos, music and other entertainment and be compatible with existing PlayStation games, Sony official Kunimasa Suzuki said. Digital books can also be downloaded and read on the multimedia computers that are Wi-Fi and 3G/4G compatible for email and Internet access.

The S1 has a 9.4 inch (24 centimetre) screen, and front and rear cameras while the folding clamshell S2 has dual 5.5 inchcolour touchscreens and fits into a pocket. "This design is particularly relevant for reading digital books whose content is displayed on screen as two pages side-by side," Suzuki said. Both screens can be used together as a single large screen or for playing games on one and displaying control buttons on the other.

The S1 can also work as a universal remote to control audio-visual equipment or send content to television screens or music to wireless speakers, Sony said. The two devices use Google Android 3.0 operating system, known as Honeycomb, which is optimised for devices with larger screen sizes.

"I'm excited about 'Sony Tablet' as it will further spur the development of applications and network offerings which users are looking for," said Andy Rubin, senior vice president of Google's mobiledivision.

The announcement comes as Sony looks to focus more on pushing its content such as games and music through hardware platforms including game consoles, smartphones and tablet computers. Sony said earlier this year it planned to be the number-two tablet maker by 2012 but until Tuesday had given little indication of how it intended to compete in a market already dominated by Apple's iPad.

The iPad, which was released in April of last year, accounted for 83.9 per cent of the total 17.6 million tablets sold in2010, according to technology research company Gartner. New entrants have flooded into the tablet computer market, but Sony's devices are not due to go on sale around the world until the northern hemisphere autumn, well behind its rivals. The company did not give any indication of pricing.

Sony also announced a new line of "hybrid" notebook computers that feature a slide screen covering a keyboard.

Emirati telecom: BlackBerry limits next week

Emirati authorities seeking greater control over smartphone data are pushing ahead with plans to impose tighter restrictions on the most tough-to-monitor BlackBerry service next week, according to a senior telecom executive.

The proposed new rules, outlined earlier this month, have renewed questions about how far the United Arab Emirates is willing to go in allowing highly secure communications within its borders.

The Gulf Arab federation threatened a far more sweeping ban on BlackBerry email and other services last year, but reversed that decision shortly before it would have taken effect.

Osman Sultan, chief executive of the telecommunications firm Du, told reporters Monday the latest policy ordered by regulators will go into effect May 1. He said he doesn't expect the shift to cause problems for customers, who will still have access to email, Web browsing and instant messaging.

Under the new policies, Du and its rival Etisalat -- both majority owned by the government -- are required to limit access to the Blackberry Enterprise Server to companies with 20 user accounts or more. That system provides the most secure communication on the handheld devices and is used by many international companies and government agencies.

Other users would need to rely on a less-secure system known as the BlackBerry Internet Service that experts say could be easier for authorities to monitor. Unlike the more secure BES system, which routes encrypted data through company servers abroad, the BIS system runs over the regular Internet.

"I don't see any reason for frustration for customers," Sultan said. "You can still access your corporate email via BIS. ... I don't see what really is the issue."

Shortly after details of its latest planned restrictions became public, the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority issued a brief statement reassuring BlackBerry users that all services would continue for both individuals and business customers. That prompted speculation it might roll back plans to limit the higher-security service.

It has not commented further on the matter since. It did not respond to a request for clarification Monday.

But Sultan's comments suggest the restrictions are still moving ahead.

"The rule is still this rule," he said.

Research in Motion Ltd., the Canadian company that makes BlackBerrys, has previously said it is in contact with the regulator and understands that the rules could apply to other smartphone makers but aim to avoid affecting "legitimate enterprise customers." A spokeswoman said the company had nothing more to add Monday.

The UAE's smartphone policies have been closely watched since last summer when it threatened to shut off BlackBerry data services partly because of security concerns. It backed off the plan in October.

Critics saw the effort as a way to more closely monitor political activism in the federation. Although the UAE has seen none of the widespread unrest roiling other parts of the Arab world, authorities have detained at least four activists calling for democratic reforms in recent weeks.

In 2009, Du's rival Etisalat was caught instructing unwitting BlackBerry customers to download spy software that could allow outsiders to peer inside. It misled users by describing the software as a required service upgrade.

Your Phone, Yourself: When is tracking too much?

If you're worried about privacy, you can turn off the function on your smartphone that tracks where you go. But that means giving up the services that probably made you want a smartphone in the first place. After all, how smart is an iPhone or an Android if you can't use it to map your car trip or scan reviews of nearby restaurants?

The debate over digital privacy flamed higher this week with news that Apple Inc.'s popular iPhones and iPads store users' GPS coordinates for a year or more. Phones that run Google Inc.'s Android software also store users' location data. And not only is the data stored -- allowing anyone who can get their hands on the device to piece together a chillingly accurate profile of where you've been -- but it's also transmitted back to the companies to use for their own research.

Now, cellphone service providers have had customers' location data for almost as long as there have been cellphones. That's how they make sure to route calls and Internet traffic to the right place. Law enforcement analyzes location data on iPhones for criminal evidence -- a practice that Alex Levinson, technical lead for firm Katana Forensics, said has helped lead to convictions. And both Apple and Google have said that the location data that they collect from the phones is anonymous and not able to be tied back to specific users.

But lawmakers and many users say storing the data creates an opportunity for one's private information to be misused. Levinson, who raised the iPhone tracking issue last year, agrees that people should start thinking about location data as just as valuable and worth protecting as a wallet or bank account number.

"We don't know what they're going to do with that information," said Dawn Anderson, a creative director and Web developer in Glen Mills, Pa., who turned off the GPS feature on her Android-based phone even before the latest debate about location data. She said she doesn't miss any of the location-based services in the phone. She uses the GPS unit in her car instead.

"With any technology, there are security risks and breaches," she added. "How do we know that it can't be compromised in some way and used for criminal things?"

Privacy watchdogs note that location data opens a big window into very private details of a person's life, including the doctors they see, the friends they have and the places where they like to spend their time. Besides hackers, databases filled with such information could become inviting targets for stalkers, even divorce lawyers.

Do you sync your iPhone to your computer? Well, all it would take to find out where you've been is simple, free software that pulls information from the computer. Voila! Your comings and goings, clandestine or otherwise, helpfully pinpointed on a map.

One could make the case that privacy isn't all that prized these days. People knowingly trade it away each day, checking in to restaurants and stores via social media sites like Foursquare, uploading party photos to Facebook to be seen by friends of friends of friends, and freely tweeting the minutiae of their lives on Twitter.

More than 500 million people have shared their personal information with Facebook to connect with friends on the social networking service. Billions of people search Google and Yahoo each month, accepting their tracking "cookies" in exchange for access to the world's digital information. And with about 5 billion people now using cellphones, a person's location has become just another data point to be used for marketing, the same way that advertisers now use records of Web searches to show you online ads tailored to your interest in the Red Sox, or dancing, or certain stores.

Autumn Bradfish, a sophomore at the University of Iowa, said she doesn't see a problem with phone companies using her location to produce targeted ads, as long as they deliver relevant offers to her. She said she would not disable the tracking feature on her iPhone because she enjoys using a mapping app that helps her find new restaurants.

"I'm terrible with maps," she said.

The very fact that your location is a moving target makes it that much more alluring for advertisers. Every new place you go represents a new selling opportunity. In that sense, smartphone technology is the ultimate matchmaker for marketers looking to assemble profiles on prospective customers.

That profiling is what makes some users uneasy.

At a technology conference in San Francisco this past week, security researchers disclosed that iPhones and iPads keep a small file of location data on their users. That file -- which is not encrypted and thus vulnerable to hacking -- is transferred when you sync your phone to your computer to back up information. Security firm F-Secure Corp. said the iPhone sends users' location data to Apple twice a day to improve its database of known Wi-Fi networks.

The data that is available goes back to last year's launch of Apple's new iOS 4 operating software. Researchers say the tracking was going on before that, though the file was in a different format and wasn't easy to find until the new system came out. In June, Apple added a section to its privacy policy to note that it would collect some real-time location data from iPhone users in order to improve its features.

While Apple has been silent about the latest findings, it has noted that its practice is clearly spelled out in user agreements. Other phone makers say the same. Google acknowledged this past week that it does store some location data directly on phones for a short time from users who have chosen to use GPS services, "in order to provide a better mobile experience on Android devices." It too stressed that any location sharing on Android is done with the user's permission.

But consumer advocates warn that too many people click right through privacy notifications and breeze over or ignore such legalese. Case in point _some iPhone users who found about this past week about the data storage say they didn't know anything about Apple's tracking.

"It's like being stalked by a secret organization. Outrageous!" said Jill Kuraitis, 54, a freelance journalist in Boise, Idaho. "To be actively tracking millions of people without notification? It's beyond unacceptable."

It's easy to tell smartphone users that turning off tracking is as easy as finding their way to the settings menu. But to opt out of GPS service means preventing the software on your phone from using any information about where you are. That means cutting yourself off from the vast array of mobile apps that offer discounts and ads, allow you to connect more easily with friends who use social media, and simplify your life with map directions. Not a great trade-off.

And if you thought there were laws that curbed tracking, think again.

The government prohibits telephone companies from sharing customer data, including location information, with outside parties without first getting the customer's consent. But those rules don't apply to Apple and other phone makers. Nor do they apply to the new ecosystem of mobile services offered through those apps made by third-party developers.

What's more, because those rules were written for old-fashioned telephone service, it's unclear whether they apply to mobile broadband service at all -- even for wireless carriers that are also traditional phone companies, like AT&T Inc. and Verizon.

Both the Federal Communications Commission and the Federal Trade Commission have said they are looking into the issue. But for now, it's up to smartphone users to decide: Is it privacy they are most concerned about, or convenience?

Q-and-A: Smartphone location tracking

The revelation this past week that Apple Inc.'s popular iPhone and iPad devices keep files of users' location data raises legal and ethical questions.

The company has not commented on the controversy, but has said that the only location data the company collects is kept anonymous and not able to be tied back to specific users. Google Inc. has said the same about location data that is stored on smartphones that run its Android software. Both companies have maintained that the practice is clearly outlined in their privacy policies.

Here's a look at what the issue means for you, and what you can do to protect your location data, as well as the trade-offs in convenience that that entails.

Q: What is Apple collecting?

A: Technically, Apple itself is collecting very little. According to a letter that the company sent Congress last year, Apple only collects information on the location of nearby cell towers and Wi-Fi networks. It says that data is anonymized so that it isn't tied to a particular user's phone. However, security researchers have discovered that iPhones and iPads do store individuals' geographic coordinates -- and have been for at least a year.

Q: What's happens to that information?

A: The information appears to stay on the devices themselves, but is also transferred to any computers that the devices are synced to. That concerns security experts because the information is transferred in an unencrypted form, which makes it a target for hackers. Those who specialize in breaking in to Apple's products say it would be very difficult to steal the file remotely because of security changes that Apple has recently made to its software. However, anyone with physical access to the phone -- including devices lost or stolen -- could easily see the data.

Q: What can I do to prevent this information from being collected?

A: Fortunately, it's easy to turn off the tracking capability through the settings menus. The same goes for phones built on Google Inc.'s Android operating software. Unfortunately, doing so cripples a lot of applications that make smartphones "smart" in the first place, such as maps and the Foursquare social media service. Turning off tracking means those applications won't have access to your GPS locations either, making them useless.

Q: What are lawmakers doing about such tracking?

A: For now, few rules apply. The Federal Communications Commission prohibits telephone companies from sharing customer data, including location information, with outside parties without customer consent. Yet those rules do not apply to Apple and other device makers or to the new ecosystem of mobile apps made by third-party developers. What's more, because those rules were written for old-fashioned telephone service, it's unclear whether they apply to mobile broadband service at all -- even for wireless carriers like AT&T and Verizon. The FCC and the Federal Trade Commission say they are looking into the issue.