Showing posts with label apple. Show all posts
Showing posts with label apple. Show all posts
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Monday, December 5, 2011
Apple loses bid to block US Samsung Galaxy sales
Apple has lost a bid to block sales of a number of Samsung Galaxy phones and tablet devices in the US.The news follows an Australian court's decision last month to lift an earlier injunction on the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in the country, Bloomberg reports.
Samsung has been forced to modify the design and functionality of a number of Galaxy devices to avoid bans on the grounds of them being too similar to Apple products, but the strategy appears to be working.
"The situation is turning positive for Samsung," said Seoul-based analysts C.W. Chung and Marcello Ahn at Nomura Holdings. "In the best case, Samsung will be able to receive patent license fees from Apple."Samsung recently overtook Apple as the world's largest maker of mobile phones.
Apple and Samsung have filed at many as 30 lawsuits against each other on four continents since April.
Businessweek
Friday, July 1, 2011
A Tablet that Wants to Take Over the Desktop
Cisco has redesigned the Android operating system to make a tablet that also works as a desktop computer—but it takes some control away from users.
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A Cius tablet makes a user's desk number mobile, enabling a person to make and receive voice and video calls anywhere, if their company has a Cisco phone system. The tablet features HD quality cameras front and back and can be used with a Bluetooth headset for more private calling. The tablet can also be used as a desktop videoconferencing device when docked on a special desktop phone, and can smoothly switch between a WiFi a cellular network connection.That dock can also be plugged into a monitor keyboard and mouse to act like a desktop computer. "It can replace my desktop operating system," says Tom Puorro, senior director for Cisco's collaboration technologies.
The Cius runs Google's Android mobile operating system, which is used on a rapidly growing number of smartphones and tablets as well. Android is open source, meaning it can be modified by anyone for free, yet so far most companies that have built gadgets running Android have tinkered with it little. The Cius, in contrast, features a radical reworking of Android.
This gives an IT department much greater control over what a Cius user can do. IT managers can shut down access to the Android app market to protect a company from malicious apps. Cisco has also created its own app store, AppHQ, that contains only apps deemed stable and secure by Cisco. Companies can even create their own app store within AppHQ and limit employees to certain applications, or apps built in house.
A WiFi only version of the tablet will be available worldwide from July 31 at an estimated price of $750. Cisco will sell it along with related services and infrastructure, so the cost to businesses will vary, and could be as low as $650. AT&T and Verizon will each offer versions for their 4G networks this fall.
A person can use the tablet's own OS or Windows even via a virtual desktop that runs in the cloud, as Puorro demonstrated at a launch event held in San Jose today. The tablet's powerful 1.6GHz Intel Atom processor allows desktop-like performance when hooked up to a keyboard, mouse and monitor. Although iPads are showing up in workplaces, they can't offer the same integration with everyday tasks like phone calls, and are limited to email, Web browsing and video, says Puorro.
Cisco worked with Google to get advice on its modifications to Android, says Puorro. These modifications enable Android to deal with video and operations like group calling and transferring calls, and make use of a dedicated chip in the tablet that encrypt all its data.
However, the Cius lags other Android tablets in that it uses a now-outdated version of the operating system, code-named FroYo, which was intended only for phones. Cisco say they will catch up, but are waiting for the fall release of Android, code-named Ice Cream Sandwich, a version that Google says will seamlessly span phones and tablets.
Ken Dulaney, a VP and analyst with Gartner specializing in mobile devices says that Cisco has likely delivered something that none of the 200 or so other tablets launching this year can match. "Samsung's latest Galaxy Tab has much more advanced hardware," he says, "what Cisco has done is create a special case of Android that adds things the enterprise needs and is a unique combination of phone, tablet and videoconferencing device."
Other companies have hinted at plans for enterprise-friendly revamps of Android, says Dulaney, including Motorola, but none have so far yet delivered.
Although the Cius may not seem competitive with Apple's iPad 2 to consumers, to businesses concerned about their security it likely see distinct advantages. Apps such as MobileIron exist to help IT staff control iPads used by their staff, but Apple's operating system fundamentally limits the extent to which the iPad can be managed remotely, says Dulaney. "With Android, Cisco could go in at a low level and change how the device is managed so a company can manage everything for the user."
Without an existing investment in Cisco phone and communication systems, though, many company may see little appeal. Puorro says that Cisco continues to develop and release iPad and iPhone apps for its collaboration software, a strategy Dulaney says is wise. "Of course Cisco will also aggressively support iPads," he says, "I think they're gonna see how the Cius does, and if it doesn't work out, work hard to support the most popular tablets."
Technologyreview.com
The latest entrant in the increasingly crowded tablet computing field, Cisco's Cius, is bulkier than the iPad, and has a smaller screen (7-inches wide, compared to the iPad's 9.7). But it packs a number of tricks all of its own, designed to woo business users. The Cius is designed to integrate closely with Cisco's voice and video phone systems, and it can even replace a desktop computer when docked to a new Cisco deskphone, which connects to a monitor, keyboard and mouse.
A Cius tablet makes a user's desk number mobile, enabling a person to make and receive voice and video calls anywhere, if their company has a Cisco phone system. The tablet features HD quality cameras front and back and can be used with a Bluetooth headset for more private calling. The tablet can also be used as a desktop videoconferencing device when docked on a special desktop phone, and can smoothly switch between a WiFi a cellular network connection.The Cius runs Google's Android mobile operating system, which is used on a rapidly growing number of smartphones and tablets as well. Android is open source, meaning it can be modified by anyone for free, yet so far most companies that have built gadgets running Android have tinkered with it little. The Cius, in contrast, features a radical reworking of Android.
This gives an IT department much greater control over what a Cius user can do. IT managers can shut down access to the Android app market to protect a company from malicious apps. Cisco has also created its own app store, AppHQ, that contains only apps deemed stable and secure by Cisco. Companies can even create their own app store within AppHQ and limit employees to certain applications, or apps built in house.
A WiFi only version of the tablet will be available worldwide from July 31 at an estimated price of $750. Cisco will sell it along with related services and infrastructure, so the cost to businesses will vary, and could be as low as $650. AT&T and Verizon will each offer versions for their 4G networks this fall.
A person can use the tablet's own OS or Windows even via a virtual desktop that runs in the cloud, as Puorro demonstrated at a launch event held in San Jose today. The tablet's powerful 1.6GHz Intel Atom processor allows desktop-like performance when hooked up to a keyboard, mouse and monitor. Although iPads are showing up in workplaces, they can't offer the same integration with everyday tasks like phone calls, and are limited to email, Web browsing and video, says Puorro.
Cisco worked with Google to get advice on its modifications to Android, says Puorro. These modifications enable Android to deal with video and operations like group calling and transferring calls, and make use of a dedicated chip in the tablet that encrypt all its data.
However, the Cius lags other Android tablets in that it uses a now-outdated version of the operating system, code-named FroYo, which was intended only for phones. Cisco say they will catch up, but are waiting for the fall release of Android, code-named Ice Cream Sandwich, a version that Google says will seamlessly span phones and tablets.
Ken Dulaney, a VP and analyst with Gartner specializing in mobile devices says that Cisco has likely delivered something that none of the 200 or so other tablets launching this year can match. "Samsung's latest Galaxy Tab has much more advanced hardware," he says, "what Cisco has done is create a special case of Android that adds things the enterprise needs and is a unique combination of phone, tablet and videoconferencing device."
Other companies have hinted at plans for enterprise-friendly revamps of Android, says Dulaney, including Motorola, but none have so far yet delivered.
Although the Cius may not seem competitive with Apple's iPad 2 to consumers, to businesses concerned about their security it likely see distinct advantages. Apps such as MobileIron exist to help IT staff control iPads used by their staff, but Apple's operating system fundamentally limits the extent to which the iPad can be managed remotely, says Dulaney. "With Android, Cisco could go in at a low level and change how the device is managed so a company can manage everything for the user."
Without an existing investment in Cisco phone and communication systems, though, many company may see little appeal. Puorro says that Cisco continues to develop and release iPad and iPhone apps for its collaboration software, a strategy Dulaney says is wise. "Of course Cisco will also aggressively support iPads," he says, "I think they're gonna see how the Cius does, and if it doesn't work out, work hard to support the most popular tablets."
Technologyreview.com
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Apple Said to Work on Cheaper IPhones to Ward Off Android-Based Handsets
Apple Inc. is working on new versions of the iPhone that are aimed at slowing the advance of competing handsets based on Google Inc.’s Android software, according to people who have been briefed on the plans.
One version would be cheaper and smaller than the most recent iPhone, said a person who has seen a prototype and asked not to be identified because the plans haven’t been made public. Apple also is developing technology that makes it easier to use the iPhone on multiple wireless networks, two people said.
Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs, who remains involved in strategic decisions while on medical leave, would use lower prices to widen the iPhone’s appeal and keep it from losing further ground to Android devices. Less expensive iPhones may also ratchet up pressure on Nokia Oyj, whose handsets are especially popular in Europe and some developing markets.
“Instead of targeting 25 percent of the global mobile- phone market, Apple would be going after 100 percent,” said Charlie Wolf, an analyst at Needham & Co. in New York, who has a “buy” rating on Apple shares.
Google’s share of the global smartphone market more than tripled to 32.9 percent in the fourth quarter, eclipsing Apple’s 16 percent, according to Canalys. Apple will face another challenge as Nokia and Microsoft Corp. join forces in smartphone development, a partnership announced today.
Natalie Kerris, a spokeswoman for Cupertino, California- based Apple, declined to comment.
Apple added $1.30 to $355.84 at 9:59 a.m. New York time in Nasdaq Stock Market trading. The stock had climbed 9.9 percent this year before today.
Smaller, Cheaper
Apple has considered selling the new iPhone for about $200, without obligating users to sign a two-year service contract, said the person who has seen it. Android phones sell for a range of prices at AT&T Inc., Verizon Wireless and other carriers, and typically come with agreements that include a fee for broken contracts. The iPhone 4, sold in the U.S. by AT&T and Verizon Wireless, costs $200 to $300 when subsidized by a contract.
While Apple has aimed to unveil the device near mid-year, the introduction may be delayed or scrapped, the person said. Few Apple employees know the details of the project, the person said. Apple often works on products that don’t get released.
The prototype was about one-third smaller than the iPhone 4, and it had no “home” button, said the person, who saw it last year.
Apple would sell it at a low price mainly because the smartphone will use a processor, display and other components similar to those used in the current model, rather than pricier, more advanced parts that will be in the next iPhone, the person said. Component prices typically drop over time.
Dual-Mode Phone
Apple is also working on a so-called dual-mode phone, two people said. This device would be able to work with the world’s two main wireless standards -- the global system for mobile communications, used by AT&T and overseas carriers such as Vodafone Group Plc, and code division multiple access, used by Verizon Wireless. It couldn’t be determined whether Apple intended to include this capability in the cheaper iPhone.
Apple is working on a technology called a universal SIM, which would let iPhone users pick from a variety of GSM networks without having to switch the so-called SIM cards that associate a phone with a network, according to one person. Having universal SIM capability built-in would help cut the cost of distributing and managing millions of SIM cards.
The new features could also give Apple an advantage over mobile carriers in influencing customers. The device would be affordable without a carrier subsidy, so buyers wouldn’t need to agree to terms, such as termination fees, that carriers demand in exchange for lowering the cost of the phone.
Global Appeal
A cheaper iPhone would help Apple make deeper inroads in markets such as China and India, where many shoppers opt for lower-priced devices that don’t carry long-term contracts, Wolf said.
Apple has also worked on redesigned iPhone software that would let customers choose a network and configure their device on their own, without relying on a store clerk or representative of a carrier, according to the person.
Apple has gone down-market before. In 2004, when sales of the original $299-plus iPod were still rising, the company introduced the $249 iPod Mini. In 2005, when the iPod Mini was still a bestseller, Jobs discontinued it in favor of the cheaper iPod Nano. Apple began selling the last version of the iPhone, the 3GS, for just $49 in January -- though it required a two- year contract.
Price cuts and the absence of a carrier subsidy may put Apple’s margins under pressure.
Still, Apple is able to get big discounts from suppliers because of the large volume of iPhone sales and by signing long- term contracts. The company said in January that it has executed long-term agreements totaling $3.9 billion in recent months.
Google’s Android operating system also may suffer if Apple makes the iPhone more versatile and affordable. The Google- backed operating system benefited when Apple wasn’t available from Verizon Wireless. Verizon Wireless began selling the iPhone yesterday.
Bloomberg
One version would be cheaper and smaller than the most recent iPhone, said a person who has seen a prototype and asked not to be identified because the plans haven’t been made public. Apple also is developing technology that makes it easier to use the iPhone on multiple wireless networks, two people said.
Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs, who remains involved in strategic decisions while on medical leave, would use lower prices to widen the iPhone’s appeal and keep it from losing further ground to Android devices. Less expensive iPhones may also ratchet up pressure on Nokia Oyj, whose handsets are especially popular in Europe and some developing markets.
“Instead of targeting 25 percent of the global mobile- phone market, Apple would be going after 100 percent,” said Charlie Wolf, an analyst at Needham & Co. in New York, who has a “buy” rating on Apple shares.
Google’s share of the global smartphone market more than tripled to 32.9 percent in the fourth quarter, eclipsing Apple’s 16 percent, according to Canalys. Apple will face another challenge as Nokia and Microsoft Corp. join forces in smartphone development, a partnership announced today.
Natalie Kerris, a spokeswoman for Cupertino, California- based Apple, declined to comment.
Apple added $1.30 to $355.84 at 9:59 a.m. New York time in Nasdaq Stock Market trading. The stock had climbed 9.9 percent this year before today.
Smaller, Cheaper
Apple has considered selling the new iPhone for about $200, without obligating users to sign a two-year service contract, said the person who has seen it. Android phones sell for a range of prices at AT&T Inc., Verizon Wireless and other carriers, and typically come with agreements that include a fee for broken contracts. The iPhone 4, sold in the U.S. by AT&T and Verizon Wireless, costs $200 to $300 when subsidized by a contract.
While Apple has aimed to unveil the device near mid-year, the introduction may be delayed or scrapped, the person said. Few Apple employees know the details of the project, the person said. Apple often works on products that don’t get released.
The prototype was about one-third smaller than the iPhone 4, and it had no “home” button, said the person, who saw it last year.
Apple would sell it at a low price mainly because the smartphone will use a processor, display and other components similar to those used in the current model, rather than pricier, more advanced parts that will be in the next iPhone, the person said. Component prices typically drop over time.
Dual-Mode Phone
Apple is also working on a so-called dual-mode phone, two people said. This device would be able to work with the world’s two main wireless standards -- the global system for mobile communications, used by AT&T and overseas carriers such as Vodafone Group Plc, and code division multiple access, used by Verizon Wireless. It couldn’t be determined whether Apple intended to include this capability in the cheaper iPhone.
Apple is working on a technology called a universal SIM, which would let iPhone users pick from a variety of GSM networks without having to switch the so-called SIM cards that associate a phone with a network, according to one person. Having universal SIM capability built-in would help cut the cost of distributing and managing millions of SIM cards.
The new features could also give Apple an advantage over mobile carriers in influencing customers. The device would be affordable without a carrier subsidy, so buyers wouldn’t need to agree to terms, such as termination fees, that carriers demand in exchange for lowering the cost of the phone.
Global Appeal
A cheaper iPhone would help Apple make deeper inroads in markets such as China and India, where many shoppers opt for lower-priced devices that don’t carry long-term contracts, Wolf said.
Apple has also worked on redesigned iPhone software that would let customers choose a network and configure their device on their own, without relying on a store clerk or representative of a carrier, according to the person.
Apple has gone down-market before. In 2004, when sales of the original $299-plus iPod were still rising, the company introduced the $249 iPod Mini. In 2005, when the iPod Mini was still a bestseller, Jobs discontinued it in favor of the cheaper iPod Nano. Apple began selling the last version of the iPhone, the 3GS, for just $49 in January -- though it required a two- year contract.
Price cuts and the absence of a carrier subsidy may put Apple’s margins under pressure.
Still, Apple is able to get big discounts from suppliers because of the large volume of iPhone sales and by signing long- term contracts. The company said in January that it has executed long-term agreements totaling $3.9 billion in recent months.
Google’s Android operating system also may suffer if Apple makes the iPhone more versatile and affordable. The Google- backed operating system benefited when Apple wasn’t available from Verizon Wireless. Verizon Wireless began selling the iPhone yesterday.
Bloomberg
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Your Apps Are Watching You
A Journal investigation finds that iPhone and Android apps are breaching the privacy of smartphone users.
Few devices know more personal details about people than the smartphones in their pockets: phone numbers, current location, often the owner's real name—even a unique ID number that can never be changed or turned off.
These phones don't keep secrets. They are sharing this personal data widely and regularly, a Wall Street Journal investigation has found.An examination of 101 popular smartphone "apps"—games and other software applications for iPhone and Android phones—showed that 56 transmitted the phone's unique device ID to other companies without users' awareness or consent. Forty-seven apps transmitted the phone's location in some way. Five sent age, gender and other personal details to outsiders.
The findings reveal the intrusive effort by online-tracking companies to gather personal data about people in order to flesh out detailed dossiers on them.
Among the apps tested, the iPhone apps transmitted more data than the apps on phones using Google Inc.'s Android operating system. Because of the test's size, it's not known if the pattern holds among the hundreds of thousands of apps available.
Apps sharing the most information included TextPlus 4, a popular iPhone app for text messaging. It sent the phone's unique ID number to eight ad companies and the phone's zip code, along with the user's age and gender, to two of them.
Both the Android and iPhone versions of Pandora, a popular music app, sent age, gender, location and phone identifiers to various ad networks. iPhone and Android versions of a game called Paper Toss—players try to throw paper wads into a trash can—each sent the phone's ID number to at least five ad companies. Grindr, an iPhone app for meeting gay men, sent gender, location and phone ID to three ad companies.
"In the world of mobile, there is no anonymity," says Michael Becker of the Mobile Marketing Association, an industry trade group. A cellphone is "always with us. It's always on."
iPhone maker Apple Inc. says it reviews each app before offering it to users. Both Apple and Google say they protect users by requiring apps to obtain permission before revealing certain kinds of information, such as location.
"We have created strong privacy protections for our customers, especially regarding location-based data," says Apple spokesman Tom Neumayr. "Privacy and trust are vitally important."
The Journal found that these rules can be skirted. One iPhone app, Pumpkin Maker (a pumpkin-carving game), transmits location to an ad network without asking permission. Apple declines to comment on whether the app violated its rules.
Smartphone users are all but powerless to limit the tracking. With few exceptions, app users can't "opt out" of phone tracking, as is possible, in limited form, on regular computers. On computers it is also possible to block or delete "cookies," which are tiny tracking files. These techniques generally don't work on cellphone apps.
The makers of TextPlus 4, Pandora and Grindr say the data they pass on to outside firms isn't linked to an individual's name. Personal details such as age and gender are volunteered by users, they say. The maker of Pumpkin Maker says he didn't know Apple required apps to seek user approval before transmitting location. The maker of Paper Toss didn't respond to requests for comment.
Many apps don't offer even a basic form of consumer protection: written privacy policies. Forty-five of the 101 apps didn't provide privacy policies on their websites or inside the apps at the time of testing. Neither Apple nor Google requires app privacy policies.
To expose the information being shared by smartphone apps, the Journal designed a system to intercept and record the data they transmit, then decoded the data stream. The research covered 50 iPhone apps and 50 on phones using Google's Android operating system.
The Journal also tested its own iPhone app; it didn't send information to outsiders. The Journal doesn't have an Android phone app.
Among all apps tested, the most widely shared detail was the unique ID number assigned to every phone. It is effectively a "supercookie," says Vishal Gurbuxani, co-founder of Mobclix Inc., an exchange for mobile advertisers.
On iPhones, this number is the "UDID," or Unique Device Identifier. Android IDs go by other names. These IDs are set by phone makers, carriers or makers of the operating system, and typically can't be blocked or deleted.
"The great thing about mobile is you can't clear a UDID like you can a cookie," says Meghan O'Holleran of Traffic Marketplace, an Internet ad network that is expanding into mobile apps. "That's how we track everything."
Ms. O'Holleran says Traffic Marketplace, a unit of Epic Media Group, monitors smartphone users whenever it can. "We watch what apps you download, how frequently you use them, how much time you spend on them, how deep into the app you go," she says. She says the data is aggregated and not linked to an individual.
The main companies setting ground rules for app data-gathering have big stakes in the ad business. The two most popular platforms for new U.S. smartphones are Apple's iPhone and Google's Android. Google and Apple also run the two biggest services, by revenue, for putting ads on mobile phones.
Apple and Google ad networks let advertisers target groups of users. Both companies say they don't track individuals based on the way they use apps.
Apple limits what can be installed on an iPhone by requiring iPhone apps to be offered exclusively through its App Store. Apple reviews those apps for function, offensiveness and other criteria.
Apple says iPhone apps "cannot transmit data about a user without obtaining the user's prior permission and providing the user with access to information about how and where the data will be used." Many apps tested by the Journal appeared to violate that rule, by sending a user's location to ad networks, without informing users. Apple declines to discuss how it interprets or enforces the policy.
Phones running Google's Android operating system are made by companies including Motorola Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. Google doesn't review the apps, which can be downloaded from many vendors. Google says app makers "bear the responsibility for how they handle user information."
Google requires Android apps to notify users, before they download the app, of the data sources the app intends to access. Possible sources include the phone's camera, memory, contact list, and more than 100 others. If users don't like what a particular app wants to access, they can choose not to install the app, Google says.
"Our focus is making sure that users have control over what apps they install, and notice of what information the app accesses," a Google spokesman says.
Neither Apple nor Google requires apps to ask permission to access some forms of the device ID, or to send it to outsiders. When smartphone users let an app see their location, apps generally don't disclose if they will pass the location to ad companies.
Lack of standard practices means different companies treat the same information differently. For example, Apple says that, internally, it treats the iPhone's UDID as "personally identifiable information." That's because, Apple says, it can be combined with other personal details about people—such as names or email addresses—that Apple has via the App Store or its iTunes music services. By contrast, Google and most app makers don't consider device IDs to be identifying information.
A growing industry is assembling this data into profiles of cellphone users. Mobclix, the ad exchange, matches more than 25 ad networks with some 15,000 apps seeking advertisers. The Palo Alto, Calif., company collects phone IDs, encodes them (to obscure the number), and assigns them to interest categories based on what apps people download and how much time they spend using an app, among other factors.
By tracking a phone's location, Mobclix also makes a "best guess" of where a person lives, says Mr. Gurbuxani, the Mobclix executive. Mobclix then matches that location with spending and demographic data from Nielsen Co.
In roughly a quarter-second, Mobclix can place a user in one of 150 "segments" it offers to advertisers, from "green enthusiasts" to "soccer moms." For example, "die hard gamers" are 15-to-25-year-old males with more than 20 apps on their phones who use an app for more than 20 minutes at a time.
Mobclix says its system is powerful, but that its categories are broad enough to not identify individuals. "It's about how you track people better," Mr. Gurbuxani says.
Some app makers have made changes in response to the findings. At least four app makers posted privacy policies after being contacted by the Journal, including Rovio Mobile Ltd., the Finnish company behind the popular game Angry Birds (in which birds battle egg-snatching pigs). A spokesman says Rovio had been working on the policy, and the Journal inquiry made it a good time to unveil it.
Free and paid versions of Angry Birds were tested on an iPhone. The apps sent the phone's UDID and location to the Chillingo unit of Electronic Arts Inc., which markets the games. Chillingo says it doesn't use the information for advertising and doesn't share it with outsiders.
Apps have been around for years, but burst into prominence when Apple opened its App Store in July 2008. Today, the App Store boasts more than 300,000 programs.
Other phone makers, including BlackBerry maker Research in Motion Ltd. and Nokia Corp., quickly built their own app stores. Google's Android Market, which opened later in 2008, has more than 100,000 apps. Market researcher Gartner Inc. estimates that world-wide app sales this year will total $6.7 billion.
Many developers offer apps for free, hoping to profit by selling ads inside the app. Noah Elkin of market researcher eMarketer says some people "are willing to tolerate advertising in apps to get something for free." Of the 101 apps tested, the paid apps generally sent less data to outsiders.
Ad sales on phones account for less than 5% of the $23 billion in annual Internet advertising. But spending on mobile ads is growing faster than the market overall.
Central to this growth: the ad networks whose business is connecting advertisers with apps. Many ad networks offer software "kits" that automatically insert ads into an app. The kits also track where users spend time inside the app.
Some developers feel pressure to release more data about people. Max Binshtok, creator of the DailyHoroscope Android app, says ad-network executives encouraged him to transmit users' locations.
Mr. Binshtok says he declined because of privacy concerns. But ads targeted by location bring in two to five times as much money as untargeted ads, Mr. Binshtok says. "We are losing a lot of revenue."
Other apps transmitted more data. The Android app for social-network site MySpace sent age and gender, along with a device ID, to Millennial Media, a big ad network.
In its software-kit instructions, Millennial Media lists 11 types of information about people that developers may transmit to "help Millennial provide more relevant ads." They include age, gender, income, ethnicity, sexual orientation and political views. In a re-test with a more complete profile, MySpace also sent a user's income, ethnicity and parental status.
A spokesman says MySpace discloses in its privacy policy that it will share details from user profiles to help advertisers provide "more relevant ads." My Space is a unit of News Corp., which publishes the Journal. Millennial did not respond to requests for comment on its software kit.
App makers transmitting data say it is anonymous to the outside firms that receive it. "There is no real-life I.D. here," says Joel Simkhai, CEO of Nearby Buddy Finder LLC, the maker of the Grindr app for gay men. "Because we are not tying [the information] to a name, I don't see an area of concern."
Scott Lahman, CEO of TextPlus 4 developer Gogii Inc., says his company "is dedicated to the privacy of our users. We do not share personally identifiable information or message content." A Pandora spokeswoman says, "We use listener data in accordance with our privacy policy," which discusses the app's data use, to deliver relevant advertising. When a user registers for the first time, the app asks for email address, gender, birth year and ZIP code.
Google was the biggest data recipient in the tests. Its AdMob, AdSense, Analytics and DoubleClick units collectively heard from 38 of the 101 apps. Google, whose ad units operate on both iPhones and Android phones, says it doesn't mix data received by these units.
Google's main mobile-ad network is AdMob, which it bought this year for $750 million. AdMob lets advertisers target phone users by location, type of device and "demographic data," including gender or age group.
A Google spokesman says AdMob targets ads based on what it knows about the types of people who use an app, phone location, and profile information a user has submitted to the app. "No profile of the user, their device, where they've been or what apps they've downloaded, is created or stored," he says.
Apple operates its iAd network only on the iPhone. Eighteen of the 51 iPhone apps sent information to Apple.
Apple targets ads to phone users based largely on what it knows about them through its App Store and iTunes music service. The targeting criteria can include the types of songs, videos and apps a person downloads, according to an Apple ad presentation reviewed by the Journal. The presentation named 103 targeting categories, including: karaoke, Christian/gospel music, anime, business news, health apps, games and horror movies.
People familiar with iAd say Apple doesn't track what users do inside apps and offers advertisers broad categories of people, not specific individuals.
Apple has signaled that it has ideas for targeting people more closely. In a patent application filed this past May, Apple outlined a system for placing and pricing ads based on a person's "web history or search history" and "the contents of a media library." For example, home-improvement advertisers might pay more to reach a person who downloaded do-it-yourself TV shows, the document says.
The patent application also lists another possible way to target people with ads: the contents of a friend's media library.
How would Apple learn who a cellphone user's friends are, and what kinds of media they prefer? The patent says Apple could tap "known connections on one or more social-networking websites" or "publicly available information or private databases describing purchasing decisions, brand preferences," and other data. In September, Apple introduced a social-networking service within iTunes, called Ping, that lets users share music preferences with friends. Apple declined to comment.
Tech companies file patents on blue-sky concepts all the time, and it isn't clear whether Apple will follow through on these ideas. If it did, it would be an evolution for Chief Executive Steve Jobs, who has spoken out against intrusive tracking. At a tech conference in June, he complained about apps "that want to take a lot of your personal data and suck it up."
By WSJ
Monday, November 9, 2009
Worm attack bites at Apple iPhone
The first worm to infect the Apple iPhone has been discovered spreading "in the wild" in Australia.
The self-propagating program changes the phone's wallpaper to a picture of 80s singer Rick Astley with the message "ikee is never going to give you up".
The worm, known as ikee, only affects "jail-broken" phones, where a user has removed Apple's protection mechanisms to allow the phone to run any software.
Experts say the worm is not harmful but more malicious variants could follow.
"The creator of the worm has released full source code of the four existing variants of this worm," wrote Mikko Hypponen of security firm F-secure.
"This means that there will quickly be more variants, and they might have nastier payload than just changing your wallpaper."
The picture of Rick Astley is believed to be a nod to the internet phenomenon known as Rickrolling, where web users are tricked into clicking on what they believe is a relevant link, only to find that it actually takes the user to a video of the pop star's song "Never gonna give you up".
'Stupid people'
The worm has so far only been found circulating in Australia, where the hacker - Ashley Towns - who wrote the program lives.
The 21-year-old told Australia's ABC News Online that he created the virus to raise the issue of security.
It only exploits jail-broken phones that have SSH installed, a program that allows people to make changes to the phone's file system.
My prediction is that we may see more attacks like this in the future
Graham Cluley
The worm is able to infect phones if their owners have not changed the default password after installing SSH.
"What's clear is that if you have jail-broken your iPhone or iPod Touch, and installed SSH, then you must always change your root user password to something different than the default, 'alpine'," wrote Graham Cluley of security firm Sophos.
"In fact, it would be a good idea if you didn't use a dictionary word at all."
After a phone becomes infected it disables the SSH service, preventing reinfection.
The code contains numerous comments from Mr Towns about his motivation.
One comment reads: "People are stupid and this is to prove it."
"It's not that hard guys. But hey who cares its only your bank details at stake."
The worm can be removed by changing the phone's password and deleting some files.
Some estimates suggest that up to 10% of all iPhones and iPod Touch are jail-broken.
The practice allows a phone user to install software and applications that have not been approved by Apple.
"Phone users may rush into jail-breaking their iPhones in order to add functionality that Apple may have denied to them, but if they do so carelessly they may also risk their iPhone becoming the target of a hacker," said Mr Cluley.
"My prediction is that we may see more attacks like this in the future."
The self-propagating program changes the phone's wallpaper to a picture of 80s singer Rick Astley with the message "ikee is never going to give you up".
The worm, known as ikee, only affects "jail-broken" phones, where a user has removed Apple's protection mechanisms to allow the phone to run any software.
Experts say the worm is not harmful but more malicious variants could follow.
"The creator of the worm has released full source code of the four existing variants of this worm," wrote Mikko Hypponen of security firm F-secure.
"This means that there will quickly be more variants, and they might have nastier payload than just changing your wallpaper."
The picture of Rick Astley is believed to be a nod to the internet phenomenon known as Rickrolling, where web users are tricked into clicking on what they believe is a relevant link, only to find that it actually takes the user to a video of the pop star's song "Never gonna give you up".
'Stupid people'
The worm has so far only been found circulating in Australia, where the hacker - Ashley Towns - who wrote the program lives.
The 21-year-old told Australia's ABC News Online that he created the virus to raise the issue of security.
It only exploits jail-broken phones that have SSH installed, a program that allows people to make changes to the phone's file system.
My prediction is that we may see more attacks like this in the future
Graham Cluley
The worm is able to infect phones if their owners have not changed the default password after installing SSH.
"What's clear is that if you have jail-broken your iPhone or iPod Touch, and installed SSH, then you must always change your root user password to something different than the default, 'alpine'," wrote Graham Cluley of security firm Sophos.
"In fact, it would be a good idea if you didn't use a dictionary word at all."
After a phone becomes infected it disables the SSH service, preventing reinfection.
The code contains numerous comments from Mr Towns about his motivation.
One comment reads: "People are stupid and this is to prove it."
"It's not that hard guys. But hey who cares its only your bank details at stake."
The worm can be removed by changing the phone's password and deleting some files.
Some estimates suggest that up to 10% of all iPhones and iPod Touch are jail-broken.
The practice allows a phone user to install software and applications that have not been approved by Apple.
"Phone users may rush into jail-breaking their iPhones in order to add functionality that Apple may have denied to them, but if they do so carelessly they may also risk their iPhone becoming the target of a hacker," said Mr Cluley.
"My prediction is that we may see more attacks like this in the future."
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