Future versions of Apple’s iOS operating system may incorporate new fitness sharing technology, according to a patent uncovered by AppleInsider. The new technology will encourage users to be more competitive by allowing them to share and compare their performance in real-time with other users around the world. The patent, which was filed only three months ago, builds upon the functionality of the Nike+ iPod system, which allows a user to complete his or her workout and then upload and share the results ...

Google on Monday announced that the company would combine individual privacy policies from a variety of its products into one main policy. Critics of the change were worried that Google was now collecting more data than before, and the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee demanded answers. The Mountain View-based company has now responded to Congress and defended its decision to change the policy. Read on for more. (more…)

Third-party companies that stored Megaupload’s data may delete all user files on Thursday. Megaupload customers, even those not guilty of piracy or using the service illegally, have been unable to access their files since the website was shut down on January 19th. So far, seven men have been charged for illegally allowing Megaupload users to store and share music, movies and other copyrighted content, among other things. The issue, however, is that millions of Megaupload users used the service legally t...

Speaking during a UBS conference in December, Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam said the company may roll out shared data plans in 2012. According to an unnamed source, the shared data packages could become available soon, reports Engadget. A family plan currently requires each smartphone to purchase a different data plan, but the new plans could allow all family members to share a single pool of data similar to how a they currently share voice minutes. The image above is said to show training materials that contain ...

Earlier this week, Google announced that the company would combine individual privacy policies from a variety of its products into one main policy. The idea behind it was to provide users with a “more intuitive Google experience.” Critics of the change are worried that Google is now collecting more data than ever, however, leading members of the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee to demand answers. Read on for more. (more…)

Horace Dediu of Asymco put together a graph plotting the history of personal computing over the last 37 years. Dediu took PC data published by Jeremy Reimer and added smartphone stats along with updated PC and Apple numbers from research firm Gartner. From the data we can see that when combined, Android and iOS account for a higher shipment volume than the entire PC industry. When excluding Macs, the PC industry accounted for just 336 million units shipped in 2011, in comparison to 358 million Android and ...

iPhone 4S users consume nearly twice the amount of data as iPhone 4 owners according to a new study. Research from Arieso suggests the phone consumes more than 3x the data of the original iPad 3G, too. “I use the iPhone 4 myself and when I first heard of the iPhone 4S features I was not compelled to rush out and get one,” Arieso’s chief technology officer Michael Flanagan said. “However, the data usage numbers I am seeing make me wonder what I am missing.” Apple’s virtual a...

Speaking during a recent UBS conference in New York City, Verizon Communications CEO Lowell McAdam said that Verizon Wireless may rollout shared data plans next year. Currently, a family of five must have a different data plan for each member of the household; however, the new plans could potentially allow all five family members to share a pool of data, much like a family would share voice minutes. The same benefits could apply to a single customer who has separate data plans for a tablet, a smartphone and a...

Data caps that wireless carriers and internet service providers often implement on heavy data users may not be the right solution for avoiding network congestion. Instead, ISPs and carriers should throttle data speeds to ensure solid network performance. Research firm Diffraction Analysis recently set out to discover if “data hogs” — the few people on the internet who consume more data than the general population — really do have a negative effect on the overall quality of a network. Read on f...

Want to share your iPhone’s 3G connection with your laptop for a one-time $15 fee? iTether recently launched for iOS devices and it allows you do just that, without any carrier involvement. We would use the software with caution, however. Several wireless providers such as AT&T can detect when subscribers are tethering an unauthorized device and they usually send a warning asking users to stop. iTether is available now for anyone looking for a quick tethering solution to get through the day but, ...

Sprint on Monday announced two new less expensive mobile broadband data plans that will replace the carrier’s existing plans. The changes apply to tablets, mobile hotspot devices, netbooks, notebooks and USB modems. Customers may choose between a $49.99 plan that provides 6GB of 3G or 4G data per month or a $79.99 plan that provides 12GB of data per month. Sprint’s plans offer an additional 1GB of data compared to Verizon Wireless’s competing plans, and it hopes that’s a draw for new c...

A new wireless carrier named Republic Wireless, a part of Bandwidth.com, will begin to offer unlimited voice, text and data plans on November 8th for just $19 per month. How is that possible? Republic Wireless will route calls and text messages over Wi-Fi networks when available, and when you’re outside of one it will send the calls over a standard cell network. According to GigaOm, Republic Wireless will buy minutes in bulk from Sprint and then resell them to its customers. The carrier will offer speci...

27,000 people have filed a class-action lawsuit against Apple in South Korea over concerns Apple collected private location data, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday. The group is seeking 1 million won per person in damages, or about $930 each and just over $25 million total. In early August, the Korean Communications Commission fined Apple 3 million won ($2,829) following the “Locationgate” scandal that occurred earlier this year. Apple has stood by its claims that the location-tracking was the resul...

Apple has yet to release a MacBook with an integrated 3G modem, but that doesn’t mean the company hasn’t toyed with the idea. A 2007 15-inch MacBook Pro has surfaced on eBay with a built-in 3G antenna and a SIM-card slot. The seller says he or she originally purchased the 3G-capable MacBook Pro “for parts,” from a former Apple engineer and said “it was immediately clear this was no normal MacBook Pro.” The machine’s SIM card slot is still recognized by OS X 10.6.8 Leo...