What do your iPhone Apps know about you? According to a recent survey, it could be a lot more information that you'd like.

Security firm Lookout Security has published the results on a study of more than 300,000 iPhone and Android applications and found results that many people will find startling. Most notably, the firm reported that 14 per cent of iPhone applications have access to the user's contact list.

The study also found that one third of Apps will also access the user's current location data and 23 per cent contain third party code.

The latter two points aren't much cause for concern, as users are notified whenever an App asks for locational data, and Apple has both App Store screening and remote management tools to pull the plug on offending applications.

The access to contact information, however, could make a few people uneasy. Apple doesn't currently notify users when contact information is accessed, and that sort of information of friends and family is what some users consider very private information.

That's not to say that your new solitaire App is stealing your grandmother's phone number and using it for premium fee number scams or telemarketing cons, but it is something Apple should look into with future updates.

Ideally, there could be some sort of labeling system in the App Store to let users know what information an App requires before they purchase and download it to their handsets, but a warning message like that used for location data would work just fine.

IPhone 4 owners appear to have lost their patience with Steve Jobs and co as an 'iPhone 4 contract cancellation' thread has popped up on Apple's forum.

Apple appears to have peeved off even the most loyal fanboys and girls with the dropped signal issue, as aside from sticking a bumper on the device, there is no real fix to the problem.

"I only had my phone 5 days by the time of the [Steve Jobs'] press conference. I then spoke to Orange and they said they do not offer a cancellation and if I want to change my phone I have to go via Apple," one user noted.

Another explained, "So I am basically stuck with a contract as they do not offer a 14 day return....I do not know where we stand especially as the longer we wait most will be past their 7-14 day return."

Meanwhile, other customers have taken a more novel approach to the situation.

"I bought my phone from Apple, [on an] 02 contract in the UK. I had the phone replaced and the second phone was faulty as well as [the] first. Returned the phone to Apple after the 14 days grace period and 02 did not mind at all that I returned the phone outside this period," another user noted.

"I'm now back to my 3G and a 1 month rolling contract. I will wait and see what happens to the iPhone 4 in September."

Meanwhile, Apple continues to bait its competitors by adding to its smartphone antenna performance page, in which it aims to 'educate' smartphone users about the reception on offer from rival handsets.

"The opposite of amplification, attenuation happens whenever a signal is obstructed. All antennas -- including television, radio, GPS, and cellular antennas -- can experience attenuation," Apple said on its site.

"And with most antennas, the density and composition of the human hand can cause attenuation to a greater degree than some other materials." Or so Apple says, anyway.

Smartphones including the BlackBerry Bold 9700, HTC Droid Eris and Motorola Droid X are all allergic to good reception if Apple is to be believed.

Samsung appears to be carrying the fight to Apple, mocking the iPhone 4's reception issues with adverts plastered over newspapers and billboards.

One advert reads: "Samsung Galaxy S. Receiving a good reception", while another uses the image of a full bar of signal to promote the handset. The ingenious ads have raised a chuckle in the V3.co.uk office. It wouldn't be a surprise if the Galaxy S starts to flies off the shelves.

Instead of letting the Antennagate saga blow over, Apple seems to be intent on continuing to remind everyone that the iPhone is not capable of functioning as a calling device, a PR own goal if ever there was one.

On a side note, shouldn't Apple be busy fixing the design fault on its own device rather than pointing out minor niggles on devices that it didn't create?

And perhaps the time has come for V3.co.uk to revisit that 4 out of 5 star rating given to the iPhone 4. We're just saying...

According to one analyst, Apple should look to remove the stink of 'antennagate' with the help of a deodorant maker.

Recently, Old Spice made waves in the PR world with a unique advertising campaign where actor Isaiah Mustafa starred in customised video clips that responded directly to user questions and comments. The videos ranged from responses to Tweets to wedding proposals. The videos were a hit, and about as close as any billion-dollar corporation can get to having a viral video hit.

So how does that concern Apple? Well, according to Pund-IT principal analyst Charles King, the Old Spice campaign should serve as the inspiration for Apple in its response to the recent iPhone 4 antenna debacle.

King doesn't mean that Steve Jobs should trade in his black turtleneck for a bath towel (sorry for that mental image,) but the company should adopt that sort of direct approach to its users.

Writes King: "As outstanding an executive as Jobs has been, the Antennagate press conference became a necessity due to elemental corporate errors and breakdowns. Jobs' performance may have shown that he understands the importance of communicating with crucial financial stakeholders, but so far as connecting with actual customers goes, the Old Spice Guy has Jobs and Apple beat hands down."

In other words, had Apple foregone the secrecy and hostility towards the reports initially, Jobs would never have had to stand up there on stage and slip an apology in between hurling insults at the press and competing vendors.

The analyst is right in this case. Apple is a company that tries to keep very tight control of how it is presented to the public. It doesn't like to go through the press or outside agencies. Given Apple's own tendencies and corporate culture, and the dedicated nature of many of its users, the company could definitely have success should it decide to address issues sooner and on a more personal level with its customers.

It seems like the whole thing happened ages ago, but there has been a new development in the case of the lost iPhone 4 prototype.

The San Mateo County District Attorney has moved to withdraw its warrant, meaning that all equipment taken from Gizmodo and editor Jason Chen be returned. The systems were seized after Gizmodo ran a series of articles on an iPhone 4 prototype it purchased from a man who found the device in a Silicon Valley bar.

While the move will mean that the seized equipment will be returned, it may not mean that Chen and Gizmodo are out of the woods just yet. According to the legal experts at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the information can be brought back into court at any time. Attorney Matt Zimmerman said that by issuing a subpoena, information gathered from the search could be reintroduced.

More from the EFF and a link to the court documents here.

Apple has released the iOS 3.2.1 update for the iPad that addresses a number of issues on the device including improving Wi-Fi connectivity and addressing video playback issues.

Wi-Fi connectivity has been a big issue for some users and Apple published an article to help owners combat the problem. This included telling users to update their Wi-Fi router firmware and renew IP addresses.

Reliability of video-out when using the iPad Dock Connector to VGA Adapter has also been improved and Bing has been added in as an option for Safari's search field.

The update also fixes an issue that may have prevented the copying and pasting of single-page PDF attachments in mail.

Both the Wi-Fi only and Wi-Fi + 3G devices are compatible with this update.

The iPhone 4 reception issues have eclipsed the iPad connectivity problems, which did not appear to dent sales of the tablet either as three million devices were sold in 80 days.

With all the attention that has been given to the iPad and iPhone 4 in the last several months, it's quite refreshing to get word that Apple is working on an update to a couple of products that haven't had much time in the spotlight as of late.

Taiwanese news site DigiTimes is citing manufacturer sources in reporting that the company is working on an update for the MacBook Air and iPod Touch. The report has the iPod touch getting an improved camera and faster processor, while the MacBook Air will shrink down to 11.5 inches.

And it's about time. Not that either of these lines are headline grabbers like the iPhone, or huge sellers on the level of, say, the iPhone (though the Touch does quite well for itself still) but it's nice to see Apple going back to its bread and butter Macintosh and iPod lines.

It's also nice to see something other than reports on the iPhone 4 and its incredible vanishing antenna. Though I'm sure all of that will come roaring back after tomorrow's press event, it's still a nice reminder that there are other products Apple makes, and makes well. The Macintosh in particular could use some air time of its own, and an overhaul starting with the MacBook Air will be welcome.

An iPhone 4 has spontaneously combusted in the US after a user tried to charge the phone using a USB cable.

Pictures obtained by Boy Genius Report, showed a singed iPhone 4 port and a heavily melted USB cable. The device also managed to inflict burns on its owner before going out in a blaze of glory.

The iPhone 4 in question was returned to an AT&T store, but the user was unable to get an immediate replacement because the store was sold out.

This has been the first case of an iPhone 4 going up in smoke, and it appears that a defective port was to blame for the outcome. It's not the first time Cupertino kit has exploded, however.

In 2009, V3.co.uk reported how Apple was forced to investigate after several separate incidents involving iPhones and iPods. The firm was even accused of trying to gag owners of exploding iPods who apply for a refund, saying they would only receive compensation if they signed a non-disclosure agreement.

Coupled with the reception woes, this latest malfunction will have the Californian manufacturer's PR department working overtime to douse the flames.

Adding to Apple's misery, a judge in the Northern District of California has given class-action status to a lawsuit against Apple and AT&T, which claimed that the two firms unfairly monopolised the market by inking a secret five year exclusivity agreement.

The decision means that the plaintiffs now represent everybody who bought an iPhone in the United States from June 2007. This could turn out rather pricey for the Cupertino outfit if it is unsuccessful in the case.

Is Apple being given a rough time or the architect of its own misfortune?

A few weeks ago there was a fairly big stink about Apple's policies for the new iAds service.

Recent Google acquisition AdMob has raised objections to one of the clauses in the terms and agreements Apple sets on developers that want to use iAds. The company said that no App would be allowed to use ads served by networks that were owned by a company that was in competition with Apple or otherwise not primarily in the advertising business.

Understandably, the move drew more than a but of objection, not only from AdMob and its fellow ad networks, but also reportedly from anti-trust regulators.

But the latest word is that Apple's re-thinking that policy, and allowing those supposedly forbidden networks to serve up ads on iAds after all.

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that AdMob ads are being allowed on Apps for iOS 4. A development which would either indicate that Apple has loosened its stance, or they just haven't gotten around to cutting the apps that violate the rule just yet.

Hopefully it's the former, as the ban made little sense and was an anti-trust case waiting to happen. We all know that the split between Apple and Google over Android wasn't very pretty, but cutting AdMob out of the App Store seemed like a rather petty move that would cost developers as much as it would cost any network.

It also would have devastated AdMob, who according to the most recent monthly report credits nearly half of its traffic to iOS devices. While such a move could have cost Google, which paid $750m for AdMob, it also would have reflected the exact sort of behaviour that got Microsoft in hot water with regulators.

In the end, easing off on these rules works out best for all parties involved.

Well, that didn't take long. Less than one week after Apple put the first iPhone 4 handsets in the hands of customers, the lawsuits have begun.

A group of customers who really like money feel betrayed by Apple over the iPhone 4 antenna issue have made a cash grab legal filing against Apple. The customers bought the iPhone as soon as it hit the market and got what they deserved felt a bit slighted when word surfaced that if held incorrectly, the handset would get reception that was about par for the course with AT&T less than impressive and now they want Apple to pay them to shut up compensate them.

The suit seems to have a snowball's chance in Hell an uphill battle given Apple's small army modest collection of lawyers that have had a history of legally kneecapping aggressively pursuing those who tangle with Apple.

Aside from that, they will have to battle the common sense widely held belief that if you buy a first generation consumer electronics product you should feel lucky if it doesn't explode expect early hiccups.

Surely in the coming weeks Apple will tell these customers that they are complete suckers can soon expect a fix and the company's legal department will tell the suing attorneys to cram it where the sun don't shine that the issue can quietly be worked out.

Ahh, early adopters. The tech-crazed guinea pigs that rush to be the first to get their hands on a new gadget and then endure the days and weeks of frustration as those products work-through the inevitable post-launch hiccups.

Today the first round of lab subjects got their shiny new iPhones and it didn't take long before a few interesting "quirks" in the iPhone 4 were noted in the hardware.

First off, there's some issues with the screen. That gorgeous high-def better-than-the-eye Retina display is showing an early tendency for discoloration. Users have reported that the bottom portions of the screen can sometimes show yellow or brown splotches about the size of a button. As TUAW notes, Apple's already having trouble meeting demand for the new handsets, so those who want to have their iPhones repaired by the company (read: replaced with a new handset) could have a bit of a wait.

Then there's the reception issue. Remember when Steve Jobs pointed out that all of the antenna hardware was inside of the steel band, which basically acted like a large antenna? Well, it turns out that when you hold the iPhone 4 in your hand with your fingers on the band, you essentially get the same effect as grabbing a TV antenna and blocking off the signal. Putting your grubby hands on the band can in some cases cause the quality of the signal to drop.

Hopefully these are just minor issues that only affect the first batches that are being sent off for early pre-orders, or at least minor manufacturing problems that have already been addressed, because so far the iPhone 4 roll-out has gone less than swimmingly, and a wide-spread hardware problem could push it into the realm of an outright mess.