Google has quietly added offline map caching to the latest version of Google Maps for Android, though it cautions that the feature is a part of its Google Labs suite of experimental features and is not feature complete. The offline maps caching feature is also different from similar functionality in other applications in that it will only cache a 10 mile radius of locations from which the phone is located and not the entire map. This follows the latest major update to the Google Maps for Android application which added mass transit alerts yesterday.

As expected from last week’s press release from Apple, the company has begun to roll out the promised iOS updates designed to address issues stemming from the LocationGate logging scandal that caused a media frenzy and subsequently made people more aware of how far location-based services on smartphones can go before becoming legal, ethical and civil issues.

The iOS 4.3.3 update reduces the amount of the cached location information from the previous perpetual logging by size limit to 7 days of data. It also no longer backs up the cache to Mac or PC via iTunes upon syncing and the cache is now deleted from the device when Location Services are disabled in the Settings app. Apple has also announced plans to encrypt the location information on iOS devices itself in the next major update to the operating system as a further security measure.

The iOS 4.3.3 update is available for the GSM iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, iPad, iPad 2, third-generation iPod touch, and the fourth-generation iPod touch. The latest devices to be excluded from the update are the iPhone 3G and the second-generation iPod touch which were supported by the original release of iOS 4. The CDMA iPhone has also been updated today to iOS 4.2.8 which addresses the aforementioned location logging issues and continues on its own update path from the GSM version.

T-Mobile is currently holding a fire sale on the Nokia Nuron Symbian smartphone. The phone features Symbian S60 5th Edition and now features access to the latest edition of Ovi Maps which allows for offline map caching with map data for 160 countries. Normally $149.99, the phone is currently being sold for $49.99 after $70 instant discount and additional instant $30 refurb discount. T-Mobile is also including a $30 prepaid airtime card with the purchase of the phone, making it a perfect backup phone with free offline GPS.

T-Mobile – Prepaid Nokia Nuron

Apple has released official PR regarding the situation designed to answer the most pressing questions in the wake of last week’s release of a public tool that was designed to interpret the database of location data found on iOS 4 desktop backups. The Q&A/FAQ also sheds light on Apple’s future plans for location data that were previously unknown involving traffic data.

The key point to take away is that Apple has confirmed that the perpetual logging of location data on iOS 4 devices is in fact a bug and will be releasing an update to modify the logging behavior to keep a week’s worth of data at a time instead of the current perpetual logging as well as encrypting the data. While this brings the capabilities inline with Android’s logging behavior, it still does not address why the current behavior was not addressed until now, since the logging issues were known as far back as September of last year. Read More for the full Q&A.

Apple Q&A on Location Data
Apple would like to respond to the questions we have recently received about the gathering and use of location information by our devices.
1. Why is Apple tracking the location of my iPhone?
Apple is not tracking the location of your iPhone. Apple has never done so and has no plans to ever do so.
2. Then why is everyone so concerned about this?
Providing mobile users with fast and accurate location information while preserving their security and privacy has raised some very complex technical issues which are hard to communicate in a soundbite. Users are confused, partly because the creators of this new technology (including Apple) have not provided enough education about these issues to date.

3. Why is my iPhone logging my location?
The iPhone is not logging your location. Rather, it’s maintaining a database of Wi-Fi hotspots and cell towers around your current location, some of which may be located more than one hundred miles away from your iPhone, to help your iPhone rapidly and accurately calculate its location when requested. Calculating a phone’s location using just GPS satellite data can take up to several minutes. iPhone can reduce this time to just a few seconds by using Wi-Fi hotspot and cell tower data to quickly find GPS satellites, and even triangulate its location using just Wi-Fi hotspot and cell tower data when GPS is not available (such as indoors or in basements). These calculations are performed live on the iPhone using a crowd-sourced database of Wi-Fi hotspot and cell tower data that is generated by tens of millions of iPhones sending the geo-tagged locations of nearby Wi-Fi hotspots and cell towers in an anonymous and encrypted form to Apple.
4. Is this crowd-sourced database stored on the iPhone?
The entire crowd-sourced database is too big to store on an iPhone, so we download an appropriate subset (cache) onto each iPhone. This cache is protected but not encrypted, and is backed up in iTunes whenever you back up your iPhone. The backup is encrypted or not, depending on the user settings in iTunes. The location data that researchers are seeing on the iPhone is not the past or present location of the iPhone, but rather the locations of Wi-Fi hotspots and cell towers surrounding the iPhone’s location, which can be more than one hundred miles away from the iPhone. We plan to cease backing up this cache in a software update coming soon (see Software Update section below).
5. Can Apple locate me based on my geo-tagged Wi-Fi hotspot and cell tower data?
No. This data is sent to Apple in an anonymous and encrypted form. Apple cannot identify the source of this data.

6. People have identified up to a year’s worth of location data being stored on the iPhone. Why does my iPhone need so much data in order to assist it in finding my location today?
This data is not the iPhone’s location data-it is a subset (cache) of the crowd-sourced Wi-Fi hotspot and cell tower database which is downloaded from Apple into the iPhone to assist the iPhone in rapidly and accurately calculating location. The reason the iPhone stores so much data is a bug we uncovered and plan to fix shortly (see Software Update section below). We don’t think the iPhone needs to store more than seven days of this data.

7. When I turn off Location Services, why does my iPhone sometimes continue updating its Wi-Fi and cell tower data from Apple’s crowd-sourced database?
It shouldn’t. This is a bug, which we plan to fix shortly (see Software Update section below).
8. What other location data is Apple collecting from the iPhone besides crowd-sourced Wi-Fi hotspot and cell tower data?
Apple is now collecting anonymous traffic data to build a crowd-sourced traffic database with the goal of providing iPhone users an improved traffic service in the next couple of years.
9. Does Apple currently provide any data collected from iPhones to third parties?
We provide anonymous crash logs from users that have opted in to third-party developers to help them debug their apps. Our iAds advertising system can use location as a factor in targeting ads. Location is not shared with any third party or ad unless the user explicitly approves giving the current location to the current ad (for example, to request the ad locate the Target store nearest them).
10. Does Apple believe that personal information security and privacy are important?
Yes, we strongly do. For example, iPhone was the first to ask users to give their permission for each and every app that wanted to use location. Apple will continue to be one of the leaders in strengthening personal information security and privacy.
Software Update
Sometime in the next few weeks Apple will release a free iOS software update that:
reduces the size of the crowd-sourced Wi-Fi hotspot and cell tower database cached on the iPhone,
ceases backing up this cache, and
deletes this cache entirely when Location Services is turned off.
In the next major iOS software release the cache will also be encrypted on the iPhone.

Following up on the previous article, a new tool has been made available for those with jailbroken iPhones that wish to eliminate the location data logs from iOS devices running Cydia. The untrackerd daemon continually wipes the location data that the operating system stores on the device and is meant as a measure of security for those that do not want such data on their device. Search Cydia for untrackerd and the instructions for running the daemon should be made available.

Two researchers from the UK have developed a free tool to sift through Apple’s hidden location data stored on devices running iOS 4, The data, triangulated location data taken from cell site locks is stored on an invisible database on the device and is synced every time an iOS device is connected to a computer running iTunes.

The type of location data being logged on iOS 4 is nearly identical to the location data kept by carriers that is useful to law enforcement and other first responders, both from a safety as well as a legal standpoint. Once installed, the tool developed by former Apple employees interprets the location data down by location, hour, minute, second and rough estimates of coordinates. The tool is artificially constrained as to not reveal exact locations. Since the data relies on triangulation and not the GPS transceiver, the data is not as precise, but is still accurate enough to deduce general location based on the exact time listed.

As expected, privacy concerns are being raised since no one knows exactly why Apple is storing such information on the device and how it’s being utilized. Though the location data is not being transmitted directly from the iOS device, daily synching and backups to desktops leave the data vulnerable to malicious activity. It should be noted that such concerns were previously raised by other security researchers in the past year, but this marks the first time that a tool has been made available for the general public to interpret such information.

Apple has made inroads into location-based services ever since the launch of the original iPhone, first with Google-developed Maps, then its own location stack in CoreLocation, used for everything from iAds, Maps, and image/video geotagging. With this latest development, it remains to be seen how Apple will react following yet another successful quarter in terms of sales, especially as Apple makes no explicit mention of such logging anywhere in its literature for its iOS series of devices. Many are also questioning the necessity and safety of such data being stored directly on the device in such a way that it can be easily manipulated, leading many to assume the worst from Apple.

Navigation solutions developer TeleNav has announced a new version of its Navigation by TeleNav app now available in a free and paid version for select Verizon Wireless handsets.

The free version includes turn by turn navigation, multiple route suggestions and customization along with local search with a database of 22 million locations. The paid version includes traffic alerts with rerouting, speed limit display with speed detection, red light camera and speed trap alerts as well as lane assist, commute alerts and complete profiles on businesses. The paid version is currently available for a 50% discount from its $39.99 pricing to $19.99, with the subscription good for one year.

Google has now added support for real-time traffic routing to the Maps Navigation Beta on Android. The addition will now let users re-route based on real-time traffic information taken from both historical cached data as well as data taken from other Google Maps Navigation users to find the best way around a jam. The new update also automates re-routing so that no action needs to be taken while driving, further simplifying the process.

Navigation solutions developer Mapquest has launched its first navigation application for Android in a beta version with features such as free voice-guided turn-by-turn directions, walking and driving directions, real-time traffic mapping with automatic rerouting, satellite mapping and voice search. The application is completely free with no additional fees necessary for use.

GM has announced that it will begin to offer its OnStar service as a non-OEM aftermarket installation option beginning this Spring through authorized aftermarket installers and Best Buy.

The new service, dubbed OnStar Anywhere consists of a replacement rearview mirror with an MSRP of $299.99 which features the OnStar control panel as found on equipped GM vehicles.

The service rates will range from $18.99 monthly to $199.99 yearly for the following features through the control panel:

Automatic Crash Response: An accelerometer is built into the mirror that detects the sudden shock of an impact from the front, side or rear of the vehicle and automatically calls an OnStar advisor.

Emergency Services: Pressing the red emergency button links customers to a specially trained emergency advisor for assistance in situations occurring inside or outside of their vehicle.

Stolen Vehicle Location Assistance: OnStar will tell law enforcement where it is if you report it as being stolen.

Turn-by-Turn Navigation: Downloadable spoken turn-by-turn directions for reaching customer’s destinations.

Roadside Assistance: In non-emergency situations, drivers can push the blue button to help with problems like a flat tire or running out of gas.

Hands-Free Calling: Hands-free, voice-activated calls through a Bluetooth connection to the driver’s mobile phone or through prepaid packages of minutes purchased through OnStar.

Hit the Read More link for the list of pre certified vehicles.

Ford/Lincoln F-Series/Mark LT

Toyota Camry

Honda Accord

Dodge/Chrysler/VW Caravan/T&C/Voyager/Routan

Dodge Ram Pickup

Honda Civic

Ford/Mercury/Lincoln Explorer/Mountaineer/Aviator

Ford/Mercury Taurus/500/Sable/Montego

Toyota Corolla

Nissan Altima

Ford Focus

Ford/Mercury/Mazda Escape/Mariner/Tribute

Chrysler//Dodge Sebring/Stratus/Avenger

Ford/Mazda Ranger/Mazda Pickup

Jeep Grand Cherokee

Honda CR-V

Toyota Tacoma

Ford/Lincoln Expedition/Navigator

Honda Odyssey

Ford/Mercury Crown Vic/Grand Marquis