 "Study Tracks Android Users' Every Move")
A University of Cambridge study has Android users giving in their consent to researchers to look at how exactly they use their smartphones. This, of course, comes after that whole hooplah about smartphones gathering data about its whereabouts (and potentially sending the information to their makers). The study has more than 1000 participants, who downloaded the Device Analyzer app from the Android Market which collects information like when the power is switched on and which apps are being used. The statistics are available on the Device Analyzer website.
Tracking devices with consent
Of course, the difference between this and the previous hooplah is that users actually agree to be participants and have their data collected. Also, the data is going to University of Cambridge for a study versus to device makers for potential commercial interests. The researchers have also said that the data will be stripped of personal information as far as possible, which isn’t saying a lot, but using the personal information for commercial purposes seems unlikely. If you’re an Android user and would like to participate in the study, click here .
Paddy does not, we repeat, definitely does NOT belong in the category of Mac-head (yeh right!). She does get excited by her iPhone and her iMac and her iPod Nano and her Macbook and Bali's iPad and her future iHouse (patent pending). Ok, so maybe her head is a little bit forbidden fruit shaped. She likes shooting video (iPhone 4 camera zindabad!) and editing montages (Final Cut Pro zindabad!), whether the scene calls for it or no. In her spare time, she's either kicking it on stage with KB the keyboard or kicking butt at Taekwondo.