Apple, Google in Violation of Korean Law

As reported in the Joongang Daily, South Korea’s telecommunications regulator announced yesterday that Apple and Google’s location tracking capabilities violate Korean laws, fining Apple Korea and ordering that both companies rectify the issues.The Korea Communications Commission (KCC) has been investigating since April, after two computer engineers argued that the latest version of Apple’s mobile operating system, iOS 4.0, keeps track of users’ locations as far back as June 2010, which was when the operating system was launched. That caused controversy worldwide.

While the Korean government was hardly alone in launching an investigation into location tracking issues, it is the first in the world to actually declare that Apple and Google violated laws and order punitive measures.

According to Location Information Law Article 15, when businesses seek to collect, utilize and offer people’s location data, they should get their consent. Furthermore, Location Information Law Article 16 dictates that businesses take protective technological measures to prevent the data from being exposed, falsified or damaged.

“We haven’t been tracking anyone,” Apple CEO Steve Jobs said earlier this year. “The files they found on these phones were basically files we have built through anonymous, crowd-sourced information that we collect from the tens of millions of iPhones out there.”

Google also explained that “all location sharing on Android is an opt-in by the user.” When a user activates an Android phone, a screen appears saying Google will collect anonymous location data.

My Thoughts on the Apple Cloud

Just for the record, my reaction to the announcement of the "Apple Cloud" by Steve Jobs, was to think that his company had conceded defeat in the marketplace to Google, which has led the world in the development of content and services for cloud computing.   Obviously, reporter Kim Yoo-chul of The Korea Times shares this opinion, as reflected in his Reporter's Notebook Piece today.

Samsung (and LG's) Relationship With Apple

The introduction of the Apple iPhone, followed by Android devices was a boon for South Korean electronics manufacturers, led by Samsung and LG.  However, as noted by an article in the Joongang Daily, the relationship with Apple poses somewhat of a dilemma for the Korean firms.  As Samsung and Apple products go toe to toe in the global market, the two companies are now more dependent upon each other than ever before.

Samsung has never specified which parts it supplies to Apple. But when consumers disassemble the iPod, iPhone, and iPad, Samsung’s A4 central processing unit, NAND Flash, DRAM, and liquid crystal display panels are there in plain sight. Industry sources also say Samsung is in the running with LG to become the main display supplier for the second version of the iPad. Apple will place an order worth of $7.8 billion in parts for future productions.

As for the iPhone 4, Samsung parts account for 27.5 percent of the device, which amounts to $187.51 per iPhone, according to iSuppli, a research firm.

As shown in the accompanying graphic (click to see a full size version) Apple remains far ahead of Samsung in the global market.  With the growing strength of Android devices in the world market, it will be interesting indeed to watch the shifts taking place in market share.

Notes on Samsung's 9 Series Notebook

The first notebook computer I ever used was a bulky (by today's standards) Toshiba which, at the time seemed like a great upgrade from the IBM PC I was using in the office.  Over the years, notebook or "laptop" computers have gotten steadily smaller and sleeker.  About eight years ago I purchased a Samsung X-10 multimedia notebook and have been using Samsung notebooks ever since with few problems.  Consequently, I take note when Samsung comes out with a new series or model.

According to PCWorld, the new Samsung 9 Series Laptop "Out-Sleeks Apple's MacBook Air."  According to the article, it is slightly thinner and lighter than Apple's notebook (0.64 inches thick versus the MacBook Air's 0.68 inches; 2.89 pounds versus 2.9 pounds),has more memory (4GB versus 2GB), and is made of aircraft-grade Duralumin material (twice as strong as aluminum). It boots Windows in under 20 seconds, has 160-degree viewing angles, and otherwise seems tailored for premium laptop users who care about both form and function.

Sounds very nice and these new products will make the choice between a notebook and a notepad touchscreen device very interesting for many consumers in the months to come.