iPhone News Updated

LulzSec Leak Reveals iPhone Apps That Worry Police

Hacker group LulzSec has struck again, this time targeting Arizona law enforcement by releasing thousands of pages of confidential documents and communications presumably acquired in a security breach. Among those documents are several that show law enforcement’s special interest in the iPhone and other smart phones.

One document, titled “iphone apps- used against officers.doc”, is classified “Law Enforcement Sensitive” and lists several apps of which officers should be aware. These include an app called “Cop Recorder,” which according to the police document “can be activated while in a pocket and record everything the officer is saying,” as well as a speed trap avoidance app and a police tracking app, and an app for jailbroken iPhones that turns the device into a scale in grams or ounces.

“Take the time to look at an arrestee’s cell phone to see what applications they have,” the document advises officers.

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Apple interested in automatic tilt correction for iPhone camera

A recently published patent application from Apple reveals the company has looked into a technology that would make use of the iPhone’s various sensors to automatically correct for tilt and perspective distortion when taking photos.

Apple’s filing with the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office is entitled “Image capture device having tilt and/or perspective correction” and describes an invention that would measure distortion using a combination of an orientation measurement, accelerometer data and a “distance measurement device,” such as an ultrasonic device. Corrections would occur on-the-fly, or measurements could be stored along with the photo for later correction.

“In some embodiments, the method may include reading an orientation measurement associated with a relative position of an image capture device with respect to an object, determining if the orientation measurement is less than a threshold, and in the event that the orientation measurement is less than the threshold, correcting an image obtained by the image capture device,” the application read.

Apple sees the invention as useful because users often find it difficult to steady mobile devices when taking a picture. The filing notes that post-processing is able to correct distortion, but adds that it often requires “sophisticated image processing software and/or a substantial involvement by the user.”

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