Apple

In the dark days before the iPad 2 announcement the rumour-mill was in full swing, with mockups doing the rounds of the usual tech blogs with even more frequency than usual. These mockups were unusually accurate this time around, thanks to various leaks of case specifications coming out of China and Taiwan. We even had photos of cases for an unreleased iPad 2, all but confirming the size and dimensions of Apple's next wonder-tablet. Apple wasn't happy, and now three Foxconn employees have been charged over the saga.

Apple has blamed programming errors for its collection of data that tracked the rough location of iPhone users and pledged to drastically cut down on the practice that has alarmed consumers and privacy advocates.

After a week of increasing criticism and regulatory attention over the issue, the company said that it should not have been compiling the information on users who turned off location-based services. It added that it should not have stored the records for a year.

We've heard a lot of rumors about the iPhone 5 lately, from camera specs to release dates to ultra-thin mockups. But if you think you know all the scuttlebutt about Apple's future plans, you're not looking far enough ahead.

Apple has yet to officially respond to queries over the behind-the-scenes tracking behavior of some iOS devices including the iPhone and iPad. But that might have just changed based on the contents of an alleged e-mail response from Apple CEO Steve Jobs. Responding to an e-mail from a reader of site MacRumors, and published by the site's authors, Jobs drops three big statements in three terse sentences

Stay calm, it's only a mockup. But Apple's iPhone 5 will be either a thing of beauty or the ugliest phone in existence -- depending on your tastes -- should any element of a new but credible Photoshopped suggestion make it into the end product.

The image was created by former Engadget chief Joshua Topolsky based on a sketched design from one of his sources as well as credible rumors he's heard. Topolsky admits the sketch might be little more than one of many prototype designs, but what the hey--it's fun to speculate!

Security researchers unveiled this week that Apple's iPhone was actively logging the whereabouts of users, storing location data into an easily assessable file on the device.

But it's not just iPhones that are keeping track of their users. Apple's iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, the iPhone 4, and iPad models are also keeping track of consumers whereabouts. Mac computers running Snow Leopard and even Windows computers running Safari 5 are being watched.

BGR’s T-Mobile iPhone prototype leak from earlier today is not simply an iPhone 4 packed with guts that support the T-Mobile 3G network radios, but it also carries the A5 processor from the next-generation iPhone.

The ‘N94? prototype build (above) is the exact iPhone build that we found carries an A5 or ‘S5L8940? processor a few months ago. "…and the iPhone 5 (N94AP), has the same S5L8940 processor as the iPad." That makes last week’s story pretty convenient…

The iPad 2 is "winning" with two double-your-fun hardware features. Buh-bye iPad 1. After using the iPad 2 for a few weeks, I can now say the upgrade was worth it. Even waiting in line with the huddled Los Angeles masses, yearning for the iPad 2, was worth it.

Allow me to insert a brief parenthetical by saying I wouldn't be completely honest if I didn't mention there's always a psychological need to justify the purchase of a pricey gadget. Not unlike seeking absolution for a sin. That said, I'm pretty sure this review passes the objective, dispassionate analysis test.