Apple Releases iOS 4.3.3 To Fix Location Tracking

An anonymous reader writes "Apple has released a software update (iOS 4.3.3) to fix the much-talked-about iPhone Location Tracking bug. Apple faced a lot of criticism over the issue — iPhone and iPad secretly tracks users' locations and saves them in the device's cache as well as in a hidden file which is copied to the PC whenever the computer gets synced with device."

Re:bug?

[gilesjuk]

The data was held in a SQLLite database with a default size of 2MB. This obviously seemed like a small file but in reality it could hold a lot of data. So the file size has been reduced.

So when are Google going to fix their OS and also stop sending data with a unique identifier back to HQ? yes, iOS seemed like it was tracking you, but the data in the database file on the device is a cache of location assistance data received.

Re:iPhone 3G? SOL

[dnahelicase]

From my experience, the 3G barely ran iOS 4. I don't blame them for stopping support of it or the "classic". Those users should stay on 3.2.2 and jailbreak it.

Re:iPhone 3G? SOL

[ral]

OK, so Apple's warranty is for only one year. As far as I know, they haven't violated any of the terms of their 25 page contract I never read. As far as I can tell, their support is as good as any cell phone company. (Not a high bar to get over.) So you're justified in calling me a whiner.

Still, after paying more for that phone than I've paid for some computers, I'm pretty unhappy with Apple. I've been using Apple computers continuously (but not exclusively) since 1985. I guess I'm pining for the days when a computer was still pretty useful and still getting updates 5 years after you bought it.

I really don't want to start another 2 year commitment on a smartphone. And the iPad I'm considering looks like less of a bargain if it is going to be made intentionally obsolete in 2 years.

Re:iPhone 3G? SOL

[Anonymous Coward]

That reminds me when I was a kid and didn't want to take baths. I would point out to my mom that I shouldn't have to bathe because, after all, other kids would be even filthier than me and that was OK!

My mom though, would have none of it. She forced me to take a shower daily, under the argument that it didn't matter if other kids were filthier, that I should be clean nevertheless.

The truth is that companies will try to get away with as much crap as possible, and it's up to us consumers to demand the best possible treatment rather than settle for the lowest common denominator and call it a day, just because "everbody else is the same or worse".

As an iPhone 3G owner which I've just barely finished paying for (bought in late February 2009), I'm dismayed that Apple has simply decided that a perfectly working piece of hardware just won't get any security fixes. I don't know if they should be asked to provide security fixes forever, or for ten years, or for five. I know two years is too little and I couldn't care less what Sony Ericsson or anyone else does. I didn't buy a phone from them, I bought one from Apple, I still regularly buy stuff from them through their store, and I resent basically being told I no longer matter to them. If they don't think I'm no longer a customer of theirs then maybe I shouldn't be one, a thought that I'll definitely keep in mind next time I buy a phone (two or three years down the road, when my trusty 3G stops working or actually becomes obsolete).