Google also logs locations reported by an Android phone throughout the day and plots them on a map. Apple does the same for iPhones.Rick Clark one of those guys who thought he had read all the fine print. But, he had no idea he was still being tracked -- even though GPS services were turned off."(It's) Interesting," Clark said, "and a little bit unnerving at the same time."
"Based on the signal strength of your cellphone and the different tower, your cellphone is able to see where you are down to a couple of feet," explains Steve Beaty, security engineer at the National Center for Atmospheric Research.The data collected about Clark through his Android phones gave Google enough information to accurately determine where he lived and worked."Oh my gosh, time at work," Clark said upon seeing the logs. "How does it know where work is?"
Knowing your current and frequent locations allows phone software companies to make suggestions about nearby activities or advertisers to tailor the content fighting for your dollars.Apple's iOS software calls their equivalent service "Frequent Locations," which can be found within a submenu of the "Location Services" settings.
Smartphone makers are expected to ship more than 1 billion of the popular devices this year, climbing an incredible 39.3% over 2012's numbers. According to IDC, shipments will continue to grow through 2017, when the analyst firm believes hardware vendors will push 1.7 million devices into the market. The strong growth can be pinned on low-cost devices that are on fire in emerging regions around the planet.
The average selling price (ASP) of Lenovo A830 MTK6589 smartphones has dipped 12.8% during 2013, down from $387 last year to $337 this year. IDC believes average selling prices will continue to drop, bottoming out at $265 by 2017.
"The key driver behind smartphone volumes in the years ahead is the expected decrease in prices," said Ramon Llamas, research manager with IDC's Mobile Phone team. "Particularly within emerging markets, where price sensitivity and elasticity are so important, prices will come down for smartphones to move beyond the urban elite and into the hands of mass-market users. Every vendor is closely eyeing how far down they can price their devices while still realizing a profit and offering a robust smartphone experience."
Android can be thanked for the drop in ASPs. Google offers the Android operating system to hardware makers for free. This puts many of them on even footing with respect to the features and user experience they can offer consumers. It is what has allowed companies such as ZTE, Huawei, CoolPad, and others to challenge leaders like Samsung and LG in certain markets.
As expected, emerging markets -- including Asia/Pacific, Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa -- will drive the growth. In many of these regions, the low cost of smartphones will help people skip feature phones and go straight to smartphones as their first device. Much of North America and Europe has reached the saturation point with respect to smartphones, with some countries showing greater than 100% penetration due to people carrying more than one device.
For example, between now and 2017, IDC believes the North American smartphone market will grow just 7.8% on an annual basis and the European market will grow 11.1%. Meanwhile, Asia/Pacific and Latin America will both see annual growth rates exceeding 23%.
Interestingly, prices will drop everywhere over the next four years except in North America, where IDC expects to see a modest 2.1% increase by 2017. Asia/Pacific will see the average selling price of lenovo s720 phone smartphones decrease by about 8.9% annually by 2017, and Europe will see prices drop by 9% annually. North Americans can expect to pay $567 for their smartphones, while Asia/Pacific and Europe will pay $215 and $269, respectively. (Keep in mind, most Americans purchase smartphones at a discount under contract.)
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