unlocked cell phones: 4/24/11

Most Mobile Consumers Feel Their Smartphone is Obsolete

The Basking Ridge, N.J.-based carrier's "unleashed" plan gives customers unlimited calling and texting for just $50 a month, which is significantly lower than its current $95 prepaid plan. But the plan still doesn't compare to offerings from regional rivals MetroPCS and Cricket, which charge $40.
The new plan may keep AT&T at bay, for now. Earlier this month, A&T introduced its first prepaid phone, the LG Thrive for $180.
Verizon and AT&T, which now sell essentially the same Apple products, will have to compete on the quality of their networks and the price of their service plans.
Once Verizon got the iPhone as well in February, AT&T cut the price of its iPhone 3G to $50 and started rolling out deals like the LG Thrive.
A cheap prepaid plan could bring Verizon the good press it needs after suffering a 4G network outage earlier this week.
AT&T, which threatens to displace Verizon as the top carrier, is proving to be a formidable foe, with its planned $39 billion merger with T-Mobile. While this prepaid option may not make much difference after the merger, it does heat up the battle for both sides until then.
So far Verizon's $50 plan is only available in Florida and Southern California, but the company plans to extend its offering nationwide soon.

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Three Foxconn workers arrested and charged for leaking the iPad 2 prematurely

As far as we are concerned, the Apple iPad 2 was pretty well wrapped up and tucked in until the day it launched, unlike some products in the Sony Ericsson Xperia line we've seen.

We didn't know how the thing will look like exactly, and just how thin it is came as a real surprise. Granted, we saw a few cases made for it, and some design shots way back in December, but nothing a dedicated KIRF-ster with time on his hands and money to burn couldn't do with relative ease, so nobody paid much attention.

Even that slip of the tongue, however, has been considered unacceptable by Apple and its assemblyman in China, Foxconn. When you work for Apple you know that even showing up late you can get away with a few times, but just mumble your opinion about a future Apple product in front of a customer, and you are immediately given the pink slip.

Totally understandable, considering how much of Apple's mojo is due to the "wow" factor of its product unveiling ceremonies. The fact that Chinese case manufacturers started producing wraps for the iPad 2 way before the device was launched, made Foxconn suspect an inside job, and turn the case to the police.

Indeed, the investigation resulted in three Foxconn employees arrested on December 26, 2010, and charged with violating their non-disclosure agreements about a month ago, by leaking chassis molds to accessory makers prematurely. For a similar stunt, but on a much broader scale, one of Apple's former managers - Paul Devine - faces up to 20 years of jailtime, after leaking roadmaps and product designs to accessory makers, to the tune of about $2.5 million.

It isn't clear if the three Foxconn employees arrested were a part of this scam, or they have shown their own initiative. Leaks are fun, but not when you are facing fines and jail sentence. Perhaps if Foxconn found a way to pay a little more, its employees wouldn't give in to temptation.

Rediculous!! Live in Tajikistan? Get a Divorce by Text

Tajikistani men can now divorce their wives via text message, as technology makes its way even into such personal issues as ending a marriage.

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77 Percent: Don't Track Me, 56 Percent: What's Tracking?

Sony In Hot Water Over PlayStation Security Breach

If a woman in Tajikistan receives an SMS reading "Taloq, taloq, taloq," she's reportedly on her own, since according to Muslim ritual men can dump their wives by repeating this word for "divorce" three times.
The tradition still holds even over the phone, though clerics are divided on whether texting is too impersonal a way to say goodbye.
Marina Dodobayeva, a 33-year-old mother of two, is one such victim of divorce through texting. She opened her phone in October to find that her husband of 14 years had ended their marriage. Dodobayeva's entire financial, housing and parenting situation thus changed in the time it takes to read an SMS.
Muslim religious authorities disagree on whether new technology has made divorce too impersonal. Those in Tajikistan have issued a fatwa against the practice, but it still continues as many men, like Dodobyeva's husband, move to Russia as migrant laborers and soon start new families, never to return.
In 2001, Singapore forbid texting the triple taloq, while the UAE allowed it under certain circumstances and a scholar in Qatar decreed divorce by email to be acceptable. Malaysia allows SMS divorcing as well.
Divorce-related iPhone apps are available in the U.S. and U.K., though most focus on managing the legally and emotionally complex affair -- none offer an instant termination feature.

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Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Samsung Droid Charge & HTC Droid Incredible 2 are listed as coming soon to Best Buy

When you start to see unreleased devices begin to grace the Best Buy

Buyer’s Guide with the connotation of “coming soon,” you know that the undeniable reality is coming sooner than you think.

Chiming in on time as we begin to close out April and embrace May, both the Samsung Droid Charge and HTC Droid Incredible 2 are gracing the pages of Best Buy’s mobile focused magazine – thus shedding more truth to their inevitable release. From what we’ve seen already, the “coming soon” remark seemingly solidifies the April 28th date we’ve been hearing attached to the Samsung Droid Charge’s launch. However, there’s still yet to be any kind of indication from Verizon that the Droid Incredible 2 actually exists. Nonetheless, you can’t help but think that a powerhouse company like Best Buy is in the loop regarding such things.

So when you see unreleased devices grace their Buyer’s Guide, it undoubtedly yields to a strong likelihood that they are indeed for real – then again, maybe not.

South Korea Investigating Apple

South Korean regulators are investigating Apple following reports that the iPhone and iPad log user movements, joining other countries concerned about mobile privacy issues.

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The inquiry follows claims that the Cupertino, Calif.-based company collects and saves data -- whether users are aware and consenting -- possibly on company servers.
The Korea Communications Commission joins authorities in France, Germany and Italy in asking Apple to answer reports of iOS 4's position-logging features.
Apple's software stores latitude and longitude coordinates along with a time stamp, possibly using cell-tower triangulation methods. The security experts that discovered the logging said there were no signs that the data was being used by Apple.
The company has made no response to the furor, though the location logging behavior has reportedly been an open secret in the law enforcement community since last year.
Location logging is only the latest in a burst of privacy-related bad press for mobile technology. There's an ongoing federal investigation into mobile app developers that may be selling detailed personal information about their users to marketers.
These controversies make the case for increased transparency between the mobile industry and users about data policies. In many cases, location data has legitimate purposes, and if the information is anonymized, it can provide the needed data without the accompanying invasion of privacy.
Last week, a Nielsen survey revealed that consumers are growing more aware and concerned about how mobile personal data is collected and shared. The survey concluded user trust could be regained if consumers understand how data is being collected and used.
In the U.S., there is no legislation yet to prevent this type of tracking, but recently lawmakers proposed a bill that would require companies to detail what information is collected and get permission to share it with third parties.

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Viewdle Facial Recognition for Android Goes Live with SocialCamera App

Hey, do you remember Viewdle? We saw them at Mobile World Congress showing an app that would locally store facial data of your friends so that your phone’s camera would recognize them. In that particular case, Viewdle’s app would let you pull up social networking information associated with them, like Facebook

profiles, LinkedIn pages, or Twitter status updates, but in the app launching today, called SocialCamera, they’re sticking with automatically tagging friends whose picture you take. Tags are associated with online contacts when uploaded, or you can share that picture directly with the tagged friend via MMS or e-mail.

I’m a big fan of Viewdle because it’s making use of a smartphone’s multimedia capabilities, wireless connectivity, and processing power to do something relatively new in social networking. It helps that the app layout is really slick, and SocialCamera in particular is something I would easily use on a regular basis. Viewdle’s looking to turn their facial recognition software to other applications soon, so keep an eye out for more from these guys. How do y’all feel about facial recognition in mobile apps? Is it just a little too creepy, or sign of things to come? Point-and-shoot cameras

already deploy it to some extent when optimizing portrait pictures, why not just let it get a bit more specific?

Apple iPhone 6 to use Sharp's p-Si LCD display for launch next year

It seems strange to be thinking about what parts might go into the Apple iPhone 6 when we don't even know when the iPhone 5 is coming out, nor do we know what the next-generation of Apple's touchscreen phone will look like. So far, it does appear that the Apple iPhone 5 will have a larger screen that goes out from edge to edge as we have reported. With a 3.7 inch to 4 inch screen, Apple is expected to keep the same resolution which will lower the ppi from the current 326 to about 315 which would keep it over the 300 mark that labels a Retina Display.

For the Apple iPhone 6, the Cuperino based firm is said to have chosen Sharp's next-generation, low temperature poly-silicon LCD display. Based on a report by Japanese newspaper Nikkan, Sharp will start manufacturing the displays in the Spring of next year. The company is already prepping equipment at Kameyama Plant No. 1 where the Japanese company makes LCD Televisions.

The low-temperature poly-silicon allows the LCD screen to be made thinner and lighter while conserving battery power when compared to today's more commonly used technologies. This method allows systems like optical sensors and signal processing circuits to be put directly on the glass. As far as the advantage for users, the screen allows for a more vivid image with more durability than today's screen.

Sprint Gathers Stones to Throw at AT&T

Sprint today asked the Federal Communications Commission to give it access to AT&T's merger plans with T-Mobile, to gather all possible ammunition for its expensive lobbying effort against the deal.

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In advance of the disclosure, lawyers for Sprint signed confidentiality agreements with the FCC. If granted, the Overland Park, Kan.-based carrier will be allowed to scrutinize AT&T's plans and build its case to argue against it.
"We cannot let this happen," Sprint CEO Dan Hesse said, regarding the merger. If the deal were passed, Hesse argues that consumers would be hurt by a lack of competition, with AT&T and Verizon in a virtual duopoly, controlling 80 percent of the market.
The FCC has yet to approve the deal.
AT&T's proposed $39 billion marriage to T-Mobile would push Sprint, the third-largest carrier in the U.S., to the back burner. It would be left with a projected 50 million customers against second-place Verizon's 94 million and AT&T/T-Mobile's whopping 129 million.
AT&T claims its merger will fulfill the Obama administration's goals of beefing up network quality in cities like San Francisco and New York, along with rolling out more wireless broadband services.
But Sprint protests, hoping it can get the FCC to impose stiffer penalties. Should the FCC force AT&T and T-Mobile to hand over subscribers and wireless spectrum to other carriers as an anti-monopolistic safeguard, Sprint will be there to gather them up.
Insiders predict the deal will go through, given AT&T's willingness to accept concessions, such as selling towers and spectrum. If Sprint can persuade the FCC to make AT&T sell its assets at bargain prices as part of these concessions, the underdog company may have a better chance at long-term survival.
The FCC is expected to take up to a year to decide on the merger. Meanwhile, Sprint will be spending several million dollars on lobbying efforts. It recently hired three new groups to help its battle with AT&T.
AT&T, meanwhile, has plenty of money to burn on lobbying efforts of its own. The company has already doled out $8.4 million this year, going with $15 million last year. Even computer giant Google only spent $1.5 million on lobbying in 2010.

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Homer Simpson voice comes to the TomTom iPhone app; D’oh! you’re lost!

TomTom is teaming up with Twentieth Century Fox Consumer Products add Home Simpson’s voice to its iPhone app, marking the first time a celebrity voice has ever been available for mobile phone based GPS.

Not sure whether you’ll hear Homer’s famous “D’oh!” when you miss the right turn, but you can expect to hear Homer congratulating you for reaching the final destination. He will say: “Woo Hoo! You have reached your destination, and you can hold your head up high, because you are a genius!” Love it!

The question is whether Homer’s voice is worth $5.99. I think it is as your driving will be way more fun.

In addition, TomTom also launched the new maps (version 1.7) alongside the “Homer update.” The new TomTom app provides drivers with up to date maps and keeps maps fresh with TomTom Map Share, by making their own corrections, while simultaneously and automatically benefiting from verified corrections made by other TomTom users every day.

TomTom U.S. & Canada ($59.99)
TomTom Europe ($119.99)

Petition spreads trying to get Dog Wars removed from the Android Market

Animal rights activists and just regular everyday dog lovers are passing around a petition on the internet, seeking the removal of the game Dog Wars which is currently available for free on the Android Market. The game allows you to raise a virtual pit bull by feeding them, training them and injecting them with steroids to make them aggressive. You then take your pooch-now the size of Barry Bonds-and fight him against dogs from other online trainers.

While game designer Kage Games says that it's, "Just a VIDEO GAME," animal rights activists have been joined by the head of the Los Angeles Police Protective League, Paul M. Webber to put down the app. Webber worries that gangs could see the game and become interested in dog fighting. Another notable figure has bad things to say about Dog Wars. NFL Quarterback Michael Vick, who spent time in prison for his role in setting up a dog fighting ring, has taken the time to put down the game. Vick said, "I’ve come to learn the hard way that dogfighting is a dead-end street. Now, I am on the right side of this issue, and I think it’s important to send the smart message to kids, and not glorify this form of animal cruelty, even in an Android app."

The Humane Society of the United States called Dog Wars, "a step backward." In order to placate some of the people arguing for the removal of the game from the Market, the overview of the game says that some of the proceeds are being donated to animal rescue organizations.

Microsoft Opens Up About Mobile Tracking

Microsoft recently responded to questions regarding its storage and use of location data on Windows devices, in marked contrast to Apple and Google as growing controversy over mobile tracking heats up.

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When asked by CNET if it stores location information on users' phones, Microsoft promptly responded with specifics about how it does so minimally and securely.
The Redmond, Wash.-based company said only user-allowed, location-based apps collect location data from its phones. Those apps' data isn't stored on the phone itself, though, and so can't be hacked by third parties or synced back to the company.
Of course this data is stored somewhere, but only when "the application or user makes a request for location information," the company said.
In technical terms, Microsoft's mobile OS will transmit a Windows Phone device's unique identification number, along with the phone's signal strength, a randomly generated device ID, and GPS coordinates, but only if someone decides to run a location-based app. This information is all encrypted, according to Microsoft.
This differs from Apple's practice of recording the locations of iPhone and iPad devices in an unencrypted file on the device, which can result in more than a year's worth of data being quietly logged, according to two researchers who recently discovered the feature in Apple mobile devices. Google's Android devices collect tracking data, but records only the last few dozen locations.
These practices have resulted in a firestorm of outcry, with senators and House representatives, consumers, and even international governments demanding answers to sensitive questions on what the data is being used for and why it is being gathered in the first place.
Apple is now being sued for violating Fourth Amendment rights as well.
Microsoft's quick, pro-active response contrasts to Apple and Google's relative silence upon being asked similar questions about their tracking policies this week. Google recently responded to the Wall Street Journal to questions, insisting however that the data is anonymized without going into detail about exactly how. But Apple has stayed officially silent on the matter.
The software company's relative openness about its data gathering practices may cast it in a favorable light as attention only intensifies, especially as members of Congress begin to scrutinize privacy issues and demand answers not just from Apple and Google, but other mobile companies.
This, along with burgeoning governmental concerns about data and privacy in general, only means that the question will not go away. Microsoft's response may be its way of opening a conversation on its own terms, and highlights its relative security when it comes to location data collection.
The company could use this good PR about now, as they trail behind competitors Apple and Google. It trails these two companies in a distant third in sales in the smartphone market.
It may be too much to hope Microsoft's relative respect for consumer privacy will boost Windows 7 Phone sales greatly, but the company can perhaps claim some high ground in what continues to be a controversial matter.

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Steve Jobs says Apple devices do not track a person's location, but Android phones do

Playing that old schoolhouse game, "I'm rubber, you're glue. Anything you say bounces off me and sticks to you," Apple CEO Steve Jobs said that all of those fears about iOS devices tracking you and secretly keeping tabs of your location are not true. He went on to say that those fears should be directed at Android phones.

In a email sent by a MacRumors reader, Jobs was asked, "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." "Oh yes they do." Jobs replied. "We don’t track anyone. The info circulating around is false."

While Jobs statement doesn't seem to account for some location-based data that is saved on the iPhone and 3G versions of the iPad, that data is not 100% precise. On the other hand, Android is said by analyst Samy Kamkar to transmit expected location data, a hardware identifier and the location of nearby Wi-Fi hot spots. While Google has rejected this claim, and said, "Any location data that is sent back to Google location servers is anonymized and is not tied or traceable to a specific user," the Mountain View based company said that in theory, it is possible for a third party to grab the data and use it to identify a specific person.

We're pretty sure that we haven't heard the end of this story. There could be some more back and forth bickering and finger pointing before this all fades away.

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

AT&T Launches Emergency Cell Towers

AT&T today launched a series of portable emergency cell phone towers, called the "Remote Mobility Zone," which provide vital connections during disasters.

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The "Zone" kits, which can be set up in 30 minutes, work by connecting to a satellite or LAN. AT&T offers three versions of its mobile tower: the largest designed for installation on a building, the "park and use" for vehicles, and the "fly away" that fits in a suitcase and can cover a half-mile range in any direction.
"In the pivotal first minutes of a natural or man-made disaster, AT&T Remote Mobility Zone provides a solution to help maintain critical mobile communications," said Chris Hill, AT&T's vice-president, in a statement.
The Remote Mobility Zone hints at a future where connectivity is even harder to disrupt than it is today, with portable emergency service filling in gaps caused by natural or man-made disasters. With the current ubiquity of GPS reception and the omnipresence of cell phones around the globe, it is easy to imagine, assume and take for granted constant connectivity -- and possibly become over-reliant on it.
But there's no doubt that maintaining cellular service in face of outages could save lives. The recent earthquake in Japan prompted Taiwanese scientists to create Mobile Savior, an app that pinpoints the location of people who may be trapped under rubble with their phones.
Of course the earthquake knocked out the island's cell towers, but combined with a portable cell sites, such an application might have been a literal savior.
The Remote Mobility Zone ranges from $15,000 to $45,000, making it more practical for businesses, governments, and NGOs than for individuals. The devices also need separate satellite dishes plus power sources to work. And for now, they will only work in the U.S. on GSM phones, managing a mere 28 concurrent calls.
Still, no price is too high for a reliable, if limited, cell phone connection, as this network has become indispensible in our daily lives and even more critical during emergencies.

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Thar She Blows! White IPhone 4 This Week

The elusive white iPhone 4 will hit stores on April 27, according to the latest rumor, signaling what looks to be the end of an embarrassingly long wait for the device.

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Pictures of a Best Buy inventory list indicate the white phone will hit U.S. retail stores on Wednesday. European carriers will reportedly begin selling the phone at the same time, though Vodafone has reportedly already mistakenly sold one to a lucky U.K. customer.
The long-delayed handset gives iPhone buyers some variety, but it's hard to imagine that it will be a major factor for people trying to decide between Apple and Android. Its late arrival is probably as much about Apple saving face by fulfilling its promise to deliver the device than any hope for a transformative market impact from the phone.
With a later-than-expected rollout of the iPhone 5 rumored for fall, the white iPhone may be a way to appease the Apple faithful in the interim, although people with a black iPhone 4 are unlikely to buy a white one, especially with the next-gen device months away.
Apple's white iPhone 4 was originally expected ten months earlier, but a series of problems -- camera issues, light sensor problems, peeling paint -- delayed it. Various rumors about the phone's release date have sparked and extinguished in the last months; Apple itself has pushed back the release date several times from July 2010 to Spring 2011.
The 16- and 32-gigabyte white iPhone 4s are essentially clones of their black forerunner, color being the only difference. Apple's penchant for the color white helped the company differentiate itself from other, black and silver device-makers when it introduced the white iPod and matching earbuds in 2001.
The iPhone 5 is rumored to feature an 8-megapixel camera, a faster dual-core processor, facial recognition, and extended battery life among other improvements. It's also reportedly both CDMA and GSM-capable, meaning that Verizon and AT&T's would carry the exact same handset.

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Sunday, April 24, 2011

Leave Your Mark on Google Maps

Google is opening its Map Maker for input from the public, riding the trend towards crowd-sourced input for improving products.

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Mountain View, Calif.-based Google's Map Maker lets U.S. users make sure their favorite places, landmarks, and shortcuts are represented on Google Maps and Google Earth. The feature will allow users to refine listings and correct the name of the local family restaurant, for example, or add the placement of tennis courts in a park. Google reviews and approves each edit before they get posted.
The project plays into people's growing interest in location data and, following the Wikipedia model, people's desire to contribute to a communal resource. It's a trend that's particularly useful for applications that benefit from more fine-grained information than any centralized source could provide.
Other examples include Yelp and its business reviewing competitors, and the endless list of community bargain services that rely on users to submit local deals.
Google's own location-based reviews and recommendation services, Places, could benefit from user-generated data, of course. The program could also give local advertising a boost by giving business owners control of what appears on local maps or more finely tune context-aware ads that appear when maps are pulled up.
Since its release in 2008, Google Map Maker has doubled the number of neighborhood maps around the globe, giving definition to lesser known locales.
For now, Map Maker can only be used through a browser, but sources suggest a mobile version will be released soon, which could encourage more users to contribute. Also, building interiors aren't yet included as part of this release, but may be in the future.
Google Map Maker requires Internet Explorer 7.0 Firefox 3.6, Safari 3.1 or Google Chrome.

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Which companies are succeeding with Windows Phone 7?

It’s been a few months since we’ve seen the release of the Windows Phone 7 platform and while total sales numbers are still a little vague (at least more than 2 million units since launch, we think), we still want to know how the handset makers are doing with this operating system. We don’t have exact data but the rough data form AdGAC ad control indicates that HTC is running away with the market.
As you can see from the chart above, HTC has the dominant share of Windows Phone 7 market share. That seems to make sense, as it has multiple models to choose from.
If you’re looking for a unique form factor, HTC can give you the Surround with a slide-out speaker. Those wanting a a full touch interface can utilize the HTC HD7 (and soon, the HD7S) and those yearning for a full QWERTY keyboard can rock the HTC Arrive on Sprint.
While HTC is deep in Android territory nowadays, it has been a valued partner of Microsoft for a long time, so don’t look for it to turn its back on Windows Phone 7. There are already rumors that it will have a Windows Phone 7 device with a 16-megapixel camera in the near future.
Samsung appears to be the second-largest maker of Windows Phone 7 devices, as the AT&T Focus has received a nice marketing campaign and the Omnia 7 is selling well in various markets. LG is in third place and Dell and Asus are picking up the scraps.
All of these early numbers may be meaningless in a year from now, as we’re expecting Nokia to be the dominant Windows Phone 7 manufacturer around the globe. We’re still not sure how big that market will be but you can be sure the world’s largest handset maker will be trying to produce phones at a high volume.

Apple Sues Samsung, But Wants to Stay Friends

Apple said it wants to maintain good relations with Samsung despite suing the South Korean electronics giant, underscoring the companies' mutual dependence on each other and raising questions about the nature of patent lawsuits.

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While Apple on Thursday filed a lawsuit alleging the South Korean electronics giant copied its iPhone and iPad designs, the Cupertino-based company says it wants to maintain a healthy relationship with Samsung. This makes sense since Samsung is Apple's chief manufacturer and Apple is Samsung's largest customer in some sectors.
Apple's Chief Operating Officer, Tim Cook, said Samsung's mobile division "crossed the line" when it supposedly used Apple's designs for its Galaxy Tab, but he still expects the companies' "strong relationship will continue."
Samsung, which coutersued Apple, said it will respond actively to protect its intellectual property, but can't go much further in bashing Apple since the computer company buys millions of its LCD panels and semiconductors. In fact Apple made up 4 percent of Samsung's 142 billion revenue in 2010; Samsung needs this money too since its profits dropped this winter.
Apple is no stranger to lawsuits. HTC, Nokia, Microsoft and Motorola have all been in the company's legal cross-hairs. But of course if Apple alienated all these companies, some of which it supplies and works with, the company would be hurting, and it's clearly not, after nearly doubling quarterly profits.
Patent-centered lawsuits, of course, have been escalating as companies sue one another over alleged infringement. Apple's aggressive suit of a major partner, however, may actually be a proxy war on Google's Android platform.
The open source OS running on handsets from a bevy of manufacturers has gulped substantial marketshare from Apple's iOS and RIM's BlackBerry since it hit the mobile scene at the end of 2008.

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What's Your Price to Quit Facebook?

On average, people would quit Facebook for a week for around $44, according to a University of Pennsylvania study, highlighting that the social network site may not be as addictive as researchers had thought.

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The report also found that participants would be willing to go a week without e-mail for $99, texting for $73, phone calls for $73 and instant messaging for $27.
Those surveyed considered only around 16 percent of their Facebook contacts to be real friends, explaining why the site ranked significantly lower than phone calls. In short, people prefer to call or text friends, whereas they use Facebook to messaging acquaintances.
Richard Lurito, who conducted the study, admitted that the findings are a generalization, but said that they remain "statistically significant."
Regardless, the draw of the social network site is apparent. In March, the American Academy of Pediatrics asked doctors to start looking for signs of so-called "Facebook depression" from failing to integrate into the social networking world. Symptoms range from changes to sleep patterns and eating habits, mood swings and a sense of social isolation.
Earlier this month, a study found that a day without Facebook could lead to feelings of isolation, cravings and sensations similar to quitting drugs cold turkey. The social network site now has around 600 million users.

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Google Secretly Tracks Android Phones

Some Android phones are secretly sending a stream of location data back to Google, according to security experts, fueling the debate on mobile privacy.

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