A PhD Candidate from the University of Waterloo, Earl Oliver, is trying to conduct a study detailing how users interact with their BlackBerrys. He is asking BlackBerry users to sign up and load an application on their BlackBerry that runs a background process that records when you are using your BlackBerry device.
While I am curious to see what such a study would reveal this just raises numerous questions that would steer me well away from participating. The applications records when your BlackBerry is charging or the screen is off to tell when you are using it. It then periodically uploads logs that contain anonymous usage information.
Oliver claims that the study has the approval from the Office of Research Ethics in the University of Waterloo (+1 519-888-4567 ext. 36005) but still would you ever willingly install what amounts to spyware on your BlackBerry? I know I wont… Who knows what other information you are giving him access to that you cannot control once you install such an app.
With my stern warning in mind you can check out the details at this link or the threads mentioning it on the official support forums and BlackBerry forums.
