Not Just iPhone—iRadio!

(NEWSER) - Apple has rejected Google’s application to distribute its Voice application through the App Store, and that shows that Apple is dead-set against innovation, Adam Pash writes on Lifehacker. The official line is that Google Voice “duplicates features already on the iPhone—namely the Phone and Messages app,” but that’s malarkey. “The real problem,” Pash writes, “is that Google Voice, and all it offers, is actually much better than what AT&T offers.” More»

Apple loophole makes photos vulnerable

(NEWSER) - It's not only contacts that can be snatched from your cellphone by apps—photos, too, can be yanked, thanks to an Apple loophole. Once a user allows an application on an iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch to have access to location information—to launch a mapping function, for example— the app can copy the user’s entire photo library, unbeknownst to the user, reports the New York Times . But the Times notes that it's not clear if any App Store apps are actually uploading users' images. More»

Twitter, Path blamed in privacy controversy

(NEWSER) - Leading smartphone apps are taking a lot more of our information than we realize. If you use Twitter's "Find Friends" feature, the company receives every phone number and email address in your address book—a fact that Twitter hadn't clarified, the Los Angeles Times reports. The company now says it will fix the problem. But it's just one of many companies storing user information with a view toward ultimately using it for advertising. More»

AT&T, Verizon, Sprint lose out by subsidizing Apple's cell phone

(NEWSER) - Apple's profits are soaring , but at the expense of cell phone carriers who subsidize iPhone sales. AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint all pay about $600 for iPhones that they resell to customers for $200. The carriers figure they'll make up the loss with monthly cell phone bills—but Verizon and AT&T stock have both dropped, and Sprint's losses have ballooned by 40%, since they started selling the coveted iPhone, the Los Angeles Times reports. More»

This time it loads, but still lacks some key functions

(NEWSER) - Google is trying again with its Gmail app for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch after its first attempt two weeks proved to be a quick failure . The new app is out today, and Business Insider reports progress: It loads this time without errors, and Google fixed the problem related to notifications. It's still pretty basic, though, notes ReadWriteWeb , meaning users can't do things like check multiple accounts. "For now, little has changed about the app that many panned as insufficient for a native Gmail app," writes Jon Mitchell. Google promises upgrades soon in a blog post . More»