By combining incredibly efficient performance with portability and the powerful 2.3 Gingerbread Android operating system, the Nexus S offers one of the most enjoyable handheld browsing and communication experiences. The phone is only 5 inches long, 2.5 inches wide, and weighs approximately 4.5 ounces; seemingly the perfect size to conform to the palm of the human hand. The touchscreen display eliminates many of the glare problems caused by frequent usage with a special anti-fingerprint coating that continually ensures maximum visibility.

The Google Nexus S is home to a plethora of unique features, one of which is support for NFC (Near Field Communication), which allows you to use your phone at various wireless terminals to make contactless payments, or even use your phone as an Oyster card. The phone also includes built-in SIP that is powered by Google Voice, which allows you to make voice calls over the Internet without installing a third-party VoIP app. The new “super” AMOLED display is said to be even brighter and more colorful than the previous standard AMOLED displays seen in the Nexus One.

Many experts have compared the functionality of the Google Nexus S to that of the Samsung Galaxy S, however the hardware design of the Nexus S is much more curvier, and the newer operating system makes it more efficient. With integrated GPS capabilities, the phone is even capable of replacing your GPS navigator while also providing mobile communication. The Google Nexus S is understandably expensive, at £550 with no contract however it can be obtained for free with a £35 per month contract, so it definitely provides a fair value for its price.

But with all this frenzied app creation and consumption, there comes a dark side: the pervasive collection of users’ data, many times without their knowledge. We’ve compiled a list of the apps that may get your personal identity in the most trouble.

Latitude

Latitude is one of those apps that doesn’t really hide the fact that it’s transmitting your personal information, but it definitely divulges an undeniably personal level of detail when you’re signed on: your exact physical location.

Granted the app handles profile viewers much the same as any other social media – you must confirm who your friends are and you can quit anytime – but considering the havoc social sites such as Facebook have reeked on people’s lives, it’s easy to see how things could go awry.

For example, if you decide, one day, to scan the world map to see where your “friends” are residing, you may be surprised to find two dots that happen to be right on top of each other. Two friendly phones set on a coffee table, or two of your friends doing the hanky-panky?

If it’s not speculation and gossip you’re worried about, then turn your attention to some of your less scrupulous “friends.” There have already been documented stories of vacationers’ away messages hinting burglars to empty houses ripe for the plucking. With Latitude, you don’t even need to leave town for the weekend to be had; one of your “friends” just has to see that you happen to be cruising the shopping mall on the opposite side of town.

Google Searches – Maps, Web, etc.

If you’re so sure you’d never be so stupid as to give away your location information, think about Google’s Maps or Web searches. While you may be under the impression that your location information is merely between you and Google to get you to the closest vegan, gluten-free café in town, think again. The truth is you agreed when you downloaded the app that Google could share your data with third parties.

While Google uses the defense of full disclosure (i.e. it mentions what data the app has access to in the fine print before the download occurs), it is believed that many independently created apps could be violating these rules.

Facebook

Facebook is another giant that was found to be divulging information; in this case phone IDs that could potentially give third-party advertisers your name and friends list. The mere scale of this is what makes it most disturbing – tens of millions of people according to a Wall Street Journal investigation.

Paper Toss

Despite the fact that many smartphone owners justify the device’s purchase based on its ability to offer a vast array of life management capabilities, games are believed to be the most downloaded type of app. Which brings us to Paper Toss; one review lauds the thrilling prospect that this game is “so realistic, you will think you are stuck in an office killing time”.

If the lure of workplace drudgery digitized at your fingerprints is too much to avoid, consider what kind of information Paper Toss collects and distributes about its users. Turns out, the app game has already given out users’ unique phone ID number to several different ad companies.

And, depending on what kind of phone you have, the ID number can give a range of information. Apple’s UDID is a 40-digit alphanumeric code that acts as a lifelong serial number for the phone. Android phones have an Android ID that is able to be reset. BOTH are transmitted unknowingly by several app providers. To make it more complicated is the International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number, an ID number that is used to lock phones when users report them stolen. Five Android apps were already found to be sending this number to one or more outside companies.

Pandora

Pandora is one of the most downloaded apps for smartphones, and with good reason. Who doesn’t love streaming music digitally cooked to perfection?

The point is that Android and iPhone versions of this wildly popular app have been revealed to transmit information about users’ age, gender, and location. Age and gender data are usually fodder for marketing companies, nothing too wildly insidious. But why must location play a role in designing music tastes? Is Pandora embarking on a journey to change the world, one song at a time? “Oh, look, this user is walking along the bridge, skip Van Halen’s “Jump”” Or is it for control over the masses? “User has entered assimilation facility; cue up Pink Floyd’s “Welcome to the Machine.”

So, next time you’re zipping through your smart phone’s app store with reckless abandon, stop and ponder who might be watching and just how much they already know.

About the Author

Jon Lee is a freelance writer who’s interests are helping people with money saving ideas. His articles have been featured on large online savings sites such as Savoo.

Apple’s most recent handset has catapulted the Cupertino-based technology company back into the limelight, pushing a series of recent PR mistakes and iPad jokes into the past. But while the iPhone continues to break sales records, Google’s Android operating system has been sneaking up behind it, capturing market share and converting a great deal of cellphone users to a more open platform.

With devices like the Galaxy S on its side, it’s not hard to see why. Samsung’s latest mobile phone certainly takes a few design cues from the iPhone, although with its own distinct feature set and a distinctly powerful engine inside its enclosure it doesn’t feel like a cheap copy. The phone’s design is familiar and quite usable, drawing inspiration from both HTC and Apple devices.

A four-inch touchscreen is the obvious centrepiece, giving users a simple platform for browsing the internet or searching for applications. Movement isn’t detected quite as smoothly or intuitively as on Apple’s most recent iPhone, although usability on the Galaxy S is far above standard. Shifting from one screen to another is simple, however we noticed some slightly slowdown when changing apps quickly.

Android’s strength is its customizability, and the Galaxy S certainly doesn’t disappoint. Samsung has left few restrictions on the phone’s interface, allowing users to change virtually anything about the layout or display. Widgets can be placed on the home screen, while background images and display settings can be changed using the ‘advanced’ menu settings.

A few nagging interface issues bring the Galaxy S down a notch, such as the lack of swipe-based controls for bringing up the system menu or switching applications. Usability is good in most cases, proving that Android can be a user-friendly mobile platform when paired with the right hardware.

Multimedia users are unlikely to be disappointed with the Galaxy S. The phone includes one of the best media players out there, beating out the iPhone and Samsung’s own Wave smartphone. Footage is smooth and stutter-free thanks to the mobile phone’s powerful 1GHz processor, integrated GPU, and crisp four-inch display. Ebooks are readable, although scrolling can become quite tiresome.

With a large display and one of the most impressive versions of Android we’ve seen, the Samsung Galaxy S could be the ultimate non-Apple smartphone. We’re not quite sold on the ‘Swype’ message input system, though with a few software revisions it’s sure to become a standard mobile feature.

Samsung have yet to release pricing information for the Galaxy S, though we suspect that it will be similar to the iPhone 4 given its high-end feature set and timely release date. Apple fans may enjoy their top-of-the-table status now, but with models like the Galaxy S appearing left and right, it could soon be Android that’s in control of the mobile phone operating system world.

Larry Page in reply to that question even said that he would not mind personally debugging the phone (he was kidding of course) but he claimed that unfortunately the actual problem that was causing the battery life to go weak were the different kinds of applications that most users tend to clutter their phones with. That kind of makes one wonder what happened to those people who weren’t really installing that many applications on their phones, is the “idle” state of the phone too much to handle for the Android battery too? However, Page claims that there are several kinds of applications that are being used nowadays regularly by his customers which are not really paying attention to battery usage. There are definitely many kinds of software that are installed in these phones that are constantly running in the background whether you are using them or not which obviously eat up on the battery life; which is true.

Page believes that the transmit/receive circuit of the phone which acts as the primary consumer of the battery of the phone needs to be tuned which can help a lot with conserving the battery and one also has to individually figure out how they can use less of the battery by using less software and applications that eat up the battery life constantly; this would be the only wise way to save on the battery life- especially if the Android phone’s battery life is not even going a full day with needing to recharge then this is the kind of problem that the phone is facing- this is according to Larry Page at least.

With their optimized application, through your Android phone you can download an ebook and read it whenever and wherever you want to. However you will have to wait for its release in the UK for a while now, as the company has not yet mentioned any specific release date but when it does hit the market, there will definitely be lots of users and customers interested in this application that they can use easily on their Android phones. However, you will unfortunately not yet be able to access blogs and magazines or even newspapers through this application yet, though this feature might soon be on its way for you.

Apple’s second quarter results are in, and they’re just as impressive as one might expect. The Silicon Valley technology giant enjoyed 41.7 percent margins across the quarter, seeing massive growth in iPhone sales and converting many ex-PC users to their platform. Total iPhone sales increased over 130 percent from 2009, making the iPhone 3GS the world’s most popular smartphone.

However, while the iPhone appears to be the winner in the global smartphone race – at least in terms of units sold – it’s facing increasing heated competition from rivals HTC and Sony Ericsson, two manufacturers embracing Google’s Android phone operating system. Android handsets have seen a huge increase in sales across the last two quarters, gaining ground on Apple’s ultra-popular mobile phone.

Relations between Apple and Google have heated up in 2010, which the two technology giants fighting a patent war surrounding mobile phone touchscreen technology and operating system features. While CEOs Steve Jobs and Eric Schmidt remain in touch, public words between the two companies have bordered on aggression.

Google’s February press release noted an impressive increase in Android phone sales – over 60,000 Android-enabled mobile phones ship daily. When compared to early sales of Apple’s original iPhone, the success of Android is quite clear. Industry analysts believe that sales of Android handsets could soon rival those from rival RIM’s Blackberry devices – a line of popular business phones.

While Google manufacture no mobile handset of their own, the potential income from mobile advertising has made Android a potentially profitable operating system. Profits (and revenue) from Android are currently limited, although as the operating system gains users it appears that mass marketers may embrace Google’s mobile phone advertising options. Apple’s iAd system – due for release later this year – aims to capture the same mobile advertising market.