iPhone, Android smartphones collect users' data

     SAN FRANCISCO, April 22 (Xinhua) -- Apple and Google collect smartphone(智能手机) users' location information as part of their race to build massive databases, The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday after analyzing¹ data and documents.

    According to the report, security analysts³ with the newspaper found that Apple's iPhone and smartphones running Google's Android operating system regularly transmit users' locations back to the two companies respectively, which is part of their race to build databases capable of pinpointing⁴ people's locations via smartphones.

    A report by research firm Gartner indicated that the market for location-based services is expected to rise to 8.3 billion U.S. dollars in 2014 from the current 2.9 billion dollars.

    In the case of Google, a security analyst² with The Wall Street Journal said an HTC Android phone collected name, location, signal strength of any nearby Wi-Fi networks, and a unique phone identifier every few seconds and transmitted the data to Google at least several times an hour.

    "All location sharing on Android is opt-in by the user," Google said in a statement to technology blog site All Things Digital, in response to the concern that how Android system uses location information.

    "We provide users with notice and control over the collection, sharing and use of location in order to provide a better mobile experience on Android devices. Any location data that is sent back to Google location servers is anonymous⁵ and is not tied or traceable to a specific user," said the statement.

    Worries on the iPhone tracking issue surfaced on Wednesday after two British researchers announced at a technology conference in California that iPhone has been collecting users' location information and storing the data for extended periods of time.

    The researchers said starting on June 21 2010, after the release of iOS 4 mobile operating system, iPhones began logging and storing location information in a file, which shows the users' latitude⁶ and longitude⁷ and is timestamped to the second. They noted⁸ the information is not encrypted on the phone or on the iPhone backups made by iTunes and the file is also persistent⁹, transferring itself to a new iOS device when the old one is replaced.

    They added they had no evidence that the file was being transmitted to Apple.

    On Thursday, U.S. congressman¹⁰ Edward Markey reacted angrily to the news in a letter to Apple CEO Steve Jobs, which is posted on Markey's official website.

    Markey asked Jobs to make a response within 15 business days or no later than May 12, saying "Apple needs to safeguard personal location information of its users to ensure that an iPhone doesn't become an iTrack."Apple has made no comment on the issue so far, but a letter it sent to U.S. Congress last July came under spotlight¹¹. In the letter, Apple said it collects Wi-Fi and GPS information when the phone is searching for a cellular¹² connection and gathers the data to help build a "database with known location information."(本文由在线英语听力室整理编辑)

1 analyzing   

v.分析；分析( analyze的现在分词 )；分解；解释；对…进行心理分析n.分析

参考例句：

• Analyzing the date of some socialist countries presents even greater problem s. 分析某些社会主义国家的统计数据，暴露出的问题甚至更大。 来自辞典例句
• He undoubtedly was not far off the mark in analyzing its predictions. 当然，他对其预测所作的分析倒也八九不离十。 来自辞典例句

2 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

3 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

4 pinpointing   

准确地找出或描述( pinpoint的现在分词 )； 为…准确定位

参考例句：

• The difficulty of pinpointing primitive and derived characters remains. 要正确地指出原始性状和次生性状仍然感到困难。
• Pinpointing the true source of power in Japan is a notoriously slippery task. 要准确指出日本真正的权力来源，是一项非常困难的任务。

5 anonymous   

adj.无名的；匿名的；无特色的

参考例句：

• Sending anonymous letters is a cowardly act.寄匿名信是懦夫的行为。
• The author wishes to remain anonymous.作者希望姓名不公开。

6 latitude   

n.纬度，行动或言论的自由(范围)，(pl.)地区

参考例句：

• The latitude of the island is 20 degrees south.该岛的纬度是南纬20度。
• The two cities are at approximately the same latitude.这两个城市差不多位于同一纬度上。

7 longitude   

n.经线，经度

参考例句：

• The city is at longitude 21°east.这个城市位于东经21度。
• He noted the latitude and longitude,then made a mark on the admiralty chart.他记下纬度和经度，然后在航海图上做了个标记。

8 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

9 persistent   

adj.坚持不懈的，执意的；持续的

参考例句：

• Albert had a persistent headache that lasted for three days.艾伯特连续头痛了三天。
• She felt embarrassed by his persistent attentions.他不时地向她大献殷勤，使她很难为情。

10 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

11 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

12 cellular   

adj.移动的；细胞的，由细胞组成的

参考例句：

• She has a cellular telephone in her car.她的汽车里有一部无线通讯电话机。
• Many people use cellular materials as sensitive elements in hygrometers.很多人用蜂窝状的材料作为测量温度的传感元件。