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25-year-old Trevor Eckhart discovered a "rootkit" hidden in various Android handsets that logs information like text messages, location and encrypted web searches. The company behind the software, Carrier IQ, claims their technology is an innocent diagnostics tool that doesn't record keystrokes or illegally track users. However, Eckhart's YouTube video below seems to suggest otherwise. On Thursday, Apple joined several other carriers and manufacturers in coming clean about using the software. Here is their statement in full (via All Things D):

“We stopped supporting Carrier IQ with iOS 5 in most of our products and will remove it completely in a future software update. With any diagnostic data sent to Apple, customers must actively opt-in to share this information, and if they do, the data is sent in an anonymous and encrypted form and does not include any personal information. We never recorded keystrokes, messages or any other personal information for diagnostic data and have no plans to ever do so.”

Samsung has transformed their Facebook page into an iPhone 4S smear campaign. One image compares the iPhone 4S to two tin cans on a string and other outdated cell phone technology. The "cutting edge" (Samsung Galaxy S II) vs. "old school" (iPhone 4S) ad campaign also pokes fun at the iPhone's screen size, battery problems and Apple not releasing a new iPhone in 2011. Here are some examples of Samsung's recent wall posts making fun of the iPhone 4S.

Take your pick: Carrying a magnifying glass or click to zoom?

Sick of squinting? It's okay, Samsung has a phone for that.

Celebrate your freedom of choice.

Sketchy battery? It's okay, Samsung has a phone for that.

If it looks the same and feels the same - it's probably the same.

If you're one of the many iPhone users who has created home screen shortcuts for individual Settings on your device, you might want to skip the iOS 5.1 update. The first beta of iOS 5.1 has been seeded to developers, and the loophole that allowed this shortcut trick is now closed.

This is unfortunate for iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S users (and some 3GS owners) who are waiting patiently for an untethered jailbreak solution for their devices. Shortcuts to individual settings on the iPhone home screen saves time and effort scrolling through several menus to change one item, such as turning on Airplane Mode or switching off Location Settings.

Now that iOS 5.1 beta has been seeded to developers, new iPhone 5 hardware has been confirmed with a reference in the source code. iPhone5,1 refers to the next generation device, and by Apple's naming conventions points to a completely new design in the works. Other new device references including a possible Sprint iPad 2 (iPad2,4) and the iPad 3 have also been discovered.

Reports have indicated the iPhone 5 will feature a larger screen and a faster A6 processor. The concept above from ADR Studio shows a slimmer iPhone 5 with an aluminum back and edge to edge display.

Thanks to a built-in feature of iOS 5, the iPhone can easily take photos without ever touching the display screen. You may already be familiar with the fact that pictures can be taken by pressing the up volume button on the side of the iPhone, much like the shutter release on a compact camera. This improves the picture taking experience on the iPhone, but can still shake the device.

Photographers looking to stabilize their cameras during shooting look to use a remote control, or a cable shutter release to snap the photo without touching the camera. iPhones come with a modern version of the cable release in the Apple Remote Earphones.