Apple has issued an official statement regarding Carrier IQ software running on the iPhone, noting that they’ve stopped supporting the logging software in iOS 5 and plan to remove it completely in a future software update.

We stopped supporting Carrier IQ with iOS 5 in most of our products and will remove it completely in a future software update. With any diagnostic data sent to Apple, customers must actively opt-in to share this information, and if they do, the data is sent in an anonymous and encrypted form and does not include any personal information. We never recorded keystrokes, messages or any other personal information for diagnostic data and have no plans to ever do so.

The recent uproar surrounding the intrusive tracking methods used in the logging software by Carrier IQ has gained the attention of Senator Al Franken, who has in turn demanded answers from the company on exactly what information is being logged and sent back to carriers.

“Consumers need to know that their safety and privacy are being protected by the companies they trust with their sensitive information," said Sen. Franken. "The revelation that the locations and other sensitive data of millions of Americans are being secretly recorded and possibly transmitted is deeply troubling. This news underscores the need for Congress to act swiftly to protect the location information and private, sensitive information of consumers. But right now, Carrier IQ has a lot of questions to answer.”

So although Apple has used Carrier IQ software on iOS version prior to iOS 5, they weren’t using it as extensively as other Android smartphones. Adding the fact that they plan on fully wiping Carrier IQ code from iOS 5 in a future update will probably help put your remaining worries to rest, but you can turn the service off completely in the meantime by following these simple steps.

Source: AllThingsD, Al Franken

Girls Gone Gadgets 2, with the awesome Ashley Esqueda and fabulous Georgia, hits the ‘net tonight! They’ll be talking news, giving you their holiday device, accessory, and app picks, and answering your questions about love, life, and tech!

Time: 7:30pm PT / 10:30pm ET

Place: http://www.tipb.com/live

If you have any questions or topics you’d like us to discuss, just leave them in the comments, then come be part of the show!

(And yes, you can watch from iPhone or iPad via Ustream Viewer app (here’s how) — just search for “mobilenations”.

ChangeWave has come out with a new survey polling customer satisfaction among new iPhone 4S owners, showing an overwhelming 96% satisfaction rating and propelling the iPhone 4S into “nosebleed territory”.

Overall satisfaction with the iPhone 4S showed 77% of users being Very Satisfied and 19% being Somewhat Satisfied, compared to 72% and 21% respectively for the iPhone 4 that launched in 2010.

When asked about which features were enjoyed most in the iPhone 4S, users pointed to Siri as the big seller, and ‘general ease of use’ coming in second at 39%. The beefed up 8MP camera was also a big seller (33%), but interestingly enough, Apple’s new iCloud service came up at just 19%.

In terms of dissatisfaction, users pegged battery life being too short as a big drawback in the 4S, although Apple has been hard at work investigating the issue. Additionally, the lack of 4G support was a downer for some users (30%), but that shouldn’t be an issue next year. When looking at dropped calls, the iPhone 4S compared well against its predecessor with only 2.5% of calls dropped compared to 5.2% in July under the iPhone 4.

Overall, it seems that most iPhone 4S users are pretty happy with their purchase despite some battery life hiccups, but it’s clear the positives far outweigh the negatives here. How satisfied are you with your new iPhone 4S?

Source: ChangeWave

iOS 5 on the iPhone has Carrier IQ-style diagnostic information sharing turned off by default, but as part of the on-device setup process, asks you if you’d be willing to opt-in and share the data with Apple. If you did that, or aren’t sure what you did, but now want to make sure you’re opted out of anything even remotely Carrier IQ-esque, here’s how to do that.

1. Launch Settings
2. Tap General
3. Tap About
4. Scroll down and tap on Diagnostics & Usage
5. Tap Don’t Send

That’s it, you’re done. If you’re curious what kind of data is being stored locally on your device, whether or not you choose to share it with Apple, tap on Diagnostic & Usage Data.

Mine contains a bunch of crash logs from AirVideo, a ton of low memory reports, some weirdness from Messages, Mail, and Twitter, and some games.

Either way, while it currently looks like Apple does include Carrier IQ in iOS, it seems they aren’t polling very deeply, and what data they are collecting is opt-in instead of opt-out (which is great) and can easily be turned off entirely via the steps above.

If you have any other privacy, security, or tips in general, let us now!

Comedian and iPhone 4S user Robin Williams decided to give Siri some snooty Parisian attitude on the Ellen show this week. Give it a watch and then let us know if Apple should be calling on Williams to provide some voice talent for Siri 2.0…

The BBC has now made its global BBC iPlayer app available in Canada following successful launches in eleven other countries earlier in the year. There is still no sign of the app hitting the U.S. App Store but it can't be too far away now.

Watch a selection of the best classic and contemporary British shows on demand, including Doctor Who, Top Gear and Gavin & Stacey. Download the app and explore plus enjoy free clips and taster episodes. Subscribe today for unlimited access – even when you’re offline.

• Comedy – laugh out loud with comedy from The Office, Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow, Little Britain, Gavin and Stacey and The Mighty Boosh and explore classic British humour with Fawlty Towers, Absolutely Fabulous and Only Fools and Horses.

• Drama – be transported out of this world with Doctor Who, immerse yourself in the period drama of Cranford and Pride and Prejudice, be gripped by the fast-paced contemporary action of Spooks(MI-5) and stirred by powerful drama Occupation.

• Science & Nature – immerse yourself in inspiring series like David Attenborough's The Life of Birds and Walking with Dinosaurs and get up close and personal with Chimpanzee Diary and James May at the Edge of Space.

• Family & Kids – keep the kids entertained for hours with our wide range of fun and educational shows, from Junior Masterchef to Balamory, MI High and The Sarah Jane Adventures.

• News Specials & Documentary – get the latest current affairs and analysis with Panorama and Newsnight and be stimulated by thought-provoking documentaries like Obama's America and This World: Madoff Hustle.

• Music & Culture – be inspired by exquisite works of art and fantastic music. Journey Around the World in 80 Treasures, get the best seat in the house with performances from Robbie Williams, Blur and Jamie Cullum and discover John Lennon's transition from Beatle to solo artist in biographical drama Lennon Naked.

• Collections – a compelling mix of programmes and clips that take you on a journey into the BBC’s rich archive as far back as the very first Doctor Who, William Hartnell, in 1963.

The BBC iPlayer Global app is an on-demand service rather than a catch-up service and will carry content from the previous month as well as a back catalogue of programs stretching back up to 60 years. It will also allow downloading of content directly to the iPad as well as access over 3G.

The app is free to download but you will need to subscribe to the service which costs $8.99 a month or $84.99 a year.

[App Store link]

Have an app you'd love to see featured on TiPb? Email us at iosapps@tipb.com, tell us about your app (include an iTunes link), and we'll take a look.

Infinity Blade II has hit the App Store and what a better way to celebrate than with a giveaway!

Follow along for the details.

Powered by Epic's cutting-edge Unreal Engine 3 technology, Infinity Blade II takes handheld gaming to even greater heights with stunning visuals, new combat styles, and advanced character customization in a beautiful, fully 3D world.

The Award-Winning Infinity Blade Story Continues!

• The God King has been defeated, an unlikely hero has emerged and now you must discover the truth behind the secrets of the Infinity Blade. The continuing journey of young Siris unfolds as you delve deeper into the world of the Deathless tyrants and their legion of Titans. Can you unlock all the mysteries and successfully wield the power of the Infinity Blade in this timeless sword fighting adventure of champions and villains?

A Robust & Dynamic 3D World:

• Explore beautiful and immersive environments that dynamically change over time during your travels and venture to exotic locations such as the Asian themed Saydhi's Estate or the medieval inspired Vault of Tears featuring multiple paths to explore.

Featuring 3 All-New Styles of Combat:

• Now you can choose from multiple classes of weapons, armor and spells, each with specialized capabilities such as Dual Wielding, Two-Handed and the standard Weapon & Shield class. Learn each discipline by using Infinity Blade II's intuitive pick-up and play game play style that is easy to use, yet difficult to master!

Infinity Blade's Trademark Character Customization Evolved:

• Create and forge even more powerful weapons with mystical objects you discover and collect along your journey, expanding your overall arsenal with all-new elemental powers & capabilities! The Secrets of Your Past Revealed: Delve deeper into the fantastical story of Infinity Blade as your journey leads you to the realm of the mysterious Deathless Saydhi and discover the truth about the Worker of Secrets and the powers he holds.

The Latest in iOS features Powered by Unreal Technology:

• The definitive visual experience in mobile gaming, complete with all-new iCloud support and HDMI output.

Universal App:

• Play Infinity Blade on iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPad, iPad 2, iPod Touch 3 (16 GB and above), or iPod Touch 4 for a single low price.

Optimized for iPhone 4S and iPad 2:

• Includes high-resolution graphics and lighting that utilize the enhanced visual capabilities of the iPhone 4S and iPad 2.

Giveaway

TiPb has been a fan of Infinity Blade since the original was first announced and we know you have been too. So, we’re giving away Infinity Blade II to 5 lucky readers! For a chance to win, just leave a comment below! Must have a US iTunes account to win. Apple’s rule, not ours!

Infinity Blade II is available on the iPhone and iPad for $6.99.

[App Store link]

Have an app you’d love to see featured on TiPb? Email us at iosapps@tipb.com, tell us about your app (include an iTunes link), and we’ll take a look.

• SPY Mouse: World 1 is now holiday themed! [$0.99 for iPhone - App Store link] [$2.99 for iPad - App Store link]

• Fling a Thing HD: A game where the player stretches and flings cute little characters into the air to collect bubbles. When the player has cleared away all the bubbles they move on to the next level, climb higher, and interact with some really bizarre objects. [$2.99 for iPad - App Store link]

• iTap & Go: A fake call app that allows you to discreetly generate a call on demand. Whether your iPhone is in your pocket, bag or even your grass skirt, a simple double-tap is all that's required to make that suave and dignified exit. [$0.99 for iPhone - App Store link]

• Compass Eye: A Professional Bearing Compass for marine navigation – with overlaid augmented reality camera view and up to 8x real-time zoom. [$4.99 for iPhone and iPad - App Store link]

• Conceptis Fill-a-Pix: Find which neighboring squares must be painted and create a beautiful picture. Each puzzle consists of a grid containing clues in various places. The object is to reveal a hidden picture by painting the squares around each clue so that the number of painted squares, including the square with the clue, matches the value of the clue. [Free for iPhone and iPad - App Store link]

Any other big app or game releases or updates today?

Have an app you’d love to see featured on TiPb? Email us at iosapps@tipb.com, tell us about your app (include an iTunes link), and we’ll take a look.

Etsy is looking to meet the seasonal needs of Apple fans with a range of tree decorations based upon the iPhone 4 and iPad. If you are bored of your usual colored tree baubles, this could be the year to splash out a few dollars and get your hands on these stylish new decorations.

The handmade decorations are printed onto premium photo paper and mounted onto durable coated cardboard. They come in a small gift box complete with a magnet which lets you use them as refrigerator magnets the rest of the year.

The decorations are 3" x 1.5" and cost $11 plus shipping.  They are available as iPhone 4 or iPad models and you can even specify black or white.

Source: Etsy

 

Carrier IQ is software that manufacturers and/or carriers stealthily embed in mobile devices in order to collect everything from location to behavioral (usage) data. How much data they collect, and to what level of granularity, it’s hard to tell, as is what they do with it both locally on the device and transmitted back to their servers.

It’s in the news recently because it’s been discovered on Android and iOS devices, but Carrier IQ, and stuff like it, have been used for years. Knowledge is power, after all, and the moment a company can do something that they think gives them tactical advantage, they likely will.

They might use it to try and detect crashes, loss of signal or packets, or other technical information that could help them make better products or services. They might use it to see which OS features you use most and least often, how you typically enter or exit apps and features, how many apps you download and how often, and for how long, you use them. They might sell this information to to partners and third party developers so they can improve and adjust their products, or learn about their competitors’ users. (I explained how this works in more detail a while back in regards to Siri.)

They might anonymize it, aggregate it, and runs metrics or analytics off terabytes of the stuff. They might drill down to a single, known user, Person of Interest — or Big Brother — style. We don’t know, and that’s a big part of the problem. Lack of disclosure leads to uncertainty about the motives and that leads to feelings of violation.

Does that mean it’s wrong to feel violated? Certainly not, but right now a lot of the attention is being focused on Carrier IQ and that’s a lot like blaming a gun — what you really want is the shooter. It’s the carriers and the manufacturers who are implementing Carrier IQ.

And they’re not alone. Think some game companies don’t monitor your behavior while you’re playing, figure out when you leave the game, then try to adjust levels so you keep playing longer? Think apps don’t provide accounts and online services so that you get online and use them, and they can compile data based on your usage.

At the end of the day, they really don’t care who you are, it’s just collateral damage from figuring out how to take more of your money. That’s customer insight and it’s being done more and more often, in more and more sophisticated ways. Carrier IQ is just making headlines, but it’s a much bigger, much more important issue than any one vendor.

You want the shooter, and you want to know why and at what they’re shooting. And you want them to tell us up front what exactly it is they’re packing onto our devices.

Sources: Android Central, chpwn

Disclosure: I worked for many years in cutting edge customer insight analytics

TUAW‘s Chris Rawson did the inconceivable — actually looking into claims that Apple’s virtual assistant, Siri might have been programmed with a “pro-life bias” before posting them. And surprise, surprise, he found them to not even be worth the link-bait pixels they were posted with.

Short version: Siri is a front end to internet search engines. It’ll return the results of those search engines however good or bad they may be. Now Apple can be blamed for side-stepping Google and using a search engine that returns poor results for these specific queries (and likely others), but they don’t run the search engine. So, sorry, if you’re looking for something to seethe about, turn your attention away from Apple and towards news outlets not doing their job.

Long version: See the source link below.

Source: TUAW

The guys at BlackSmithGames have announced that their AppventCalendar will be returning for 2011. If you go to AppventCalendar.com everyday in December, you will be able to pick up a free game, and a free app. Thats 2 free downloads a day!

Something new for 2011 — an iPhone app, meaning that you don’t even have to visit the website to download your gift. You can check the app, and download the free gift, directly on your iPhone.

Don’t forget, like any advent calendar, if you miss a day you can’t go back and get it later!

• AppventCalendar website
• iTunes Link