Iceaxe
11-26-2007, 11:00 AM
Apple's iPhone Can Monitor Usage, Hackers Say
Dow Jones 11/19/2007
Author: Ben Charny
SAN FRANCISCO (Dow Jones)--Hackers say they have discovered that Apple Inc.'s (AAPL) iPhone lets the company in on what the combination phone, Web surfer and digital media player is doing.
Since the disclosures Friday in the Hackintosh Web forum, iPhone owners have criticized Apple for, apparently, not doing more to disclose this fact other than a few perfunctory lines in the phone's terms of service.
The kerfuffle breaks out at a critical juncture for Apple, and its new operator partners in Europe. Apple has only just begun selling the iPhone in Germany and the U.K., two very tough cellphone markets, and soon, in France. At this point, any stutter, such as having to quell a potential public-relations storm, could be a setback for Apple.
What happens to the iPhone is of great significance to both Apple, its carrier partners, and a growing ecosystem of companies. Apple views the iPhone as equal in importance to its future as its signature iPod music player and Macintosh line-up of computers and software.
Meanwhile, wireless operators carrying the device are counting on iPhone sales to attract new customers, and an estimated $1 billion a year industry of third-party iPhone add-ons now gelling.
Apple didn't respond to requests for comment.
"This is a device-related question you need to speak to Apple about," said Mark Seigel, a spokesman for AT&T Inc. (T), which has exclusive rights to sell the phone in the U.S. "We are not going to comment on it."
Efforts were unsuccessful Monday to reach operator O2 in the U.K. and other European operators now selling the iPhone.
The brouhaha started Friday, with a posting on the Hackintosh online forum of a line of software found in iPhone features for gathering financial and weather information.
According to those who have seen the code, it is used to report back a unique identifying number assigned to every iPhone.
With that information in hand, any number of scenarios are possible, from Apple knowing what software program the phone is using, to hunting down and shutting off rogue iPhones that have been unlocked, and thus can work on any phone network.
To be sure, collecting favored Web sites and other personal bits is used in many beloved Web features. Yet, what Apple is apparently doing is still enough to get Apple's iPhone owners venting in Web forums, and during telephone interviews.
Some are angry that Apple apparently didn't do much more to disclose that its iPhone, in essence, was phoning home other than through a few paragraphs in its terms of service.
"Hey, I don't like that," commented a Hackintosh poster, which provided a screen name of Enderffx.
Dow Jones 11/19/2007
Author: Ben Charny
SAN FRANCISCO (Dow Jones)--Hackers say they have discovered that Apple Inc.'s (AAPL) iPhone lets the company in on what the combination phone, Web surfer and digital media player is doing.
Since the disclosures Friday in the Hackintosh Web forum, iPhone owners have criticized Apple for, apparently, not doing more to disclose this fact other than a few perfunctory lines in the phone's terms of service.
The kerfuffle breaks out at a critical juncture for Apple, and its new operator partners in Europe. Apple has only just begun selling the iPhone in Germany and the U.K., two very tough cellphone markets, and soon, in France. At this point, any stutter, such as having to quell a potential public-relations storm, could be a setback for Apple.
What happens to the iPhone is of great significance to both Apple, its carrier partners, and a growing ecosystem of companies. Apple views the iPhone as equal in importance to its future as its signature iPod music player and Macintosh line-up of computers and software.
Meanwhile, wireless operators carrying the device are counting on iPhone sales to attract new customers, and an estimated $1 billion a year industry of third-party iPhone add-ons now gelling.
Apple didn't respond to requests for comment.
"This is a device-related question you need to speak to Apple about," said Mark Seigel, a spokesman for AT&T Inc. (T), which has exclusive rights to sell the phone in the U.S. "We are not going to comment on it."
Efforts were unsuccessful Monday to reach operator O2 in the U.K. and other European operators now selling the iPhone.
The brouhaha started Friday, with a posting on the Hackintosh online forum of a line of software found in iPhone features for gathering financial and weather information.
According to those who have seen the code, it is used to report back a unique identifying number assigned to every iPhone.
With that information in hand, any number of scenarios are possible, from Apple knowing what software program the phone is using, to hunting down and shutting off rogue iPhones that have been unlocked, and thus can work on any phone network.
To be sure, collecting favored Web sites and other personal bits is used in many beloved Web features. Yet, what Apple is apparently doing is still enough to get Apple's iPhone owners venting in Web forums, and during telephone interviews.
Some are angry that Apple apparently didn't do much more to disclose that its iPhone, in essence, was phoning home other than through a few paragraphs in its terms of service.
"Hey, I don't like that," commented a Hackintosh poster, which provided a screen name of Enderffx.