Apple iPhone Tracking: Tech Weekly

CUPERTINO, Calif. (TheStreet) -- Away from all the Royal Wedding brouhaha, it was a busy week in Silicon Valley. Apple's(AAPL) iPhone tracking practices, for example, continued to come under the microscope, prompting the company to issue a statement on Wednesday.

"Apple is not tracking the location of your iPhone. Apple has never done so and has no plans to ever do so," said the release. Apparently, Apple doesn't track iPhones -- it collects the data from WiFi and cell tower antennas that track iPhones.

Apple's iPhone tracking was in the spotlight this week.

Nonetheless, Apple vowed to issue new software that cuts back on the location tracking and also let users opt out of it.

In other Apple news, the white iPhone arrived on Thursday, available at Apple's online store, AT&T(T) and Verizon(VZ) stores, and select Apple resellers.

News reports also emerged this week that Apple has bought the iCloud domain name from Swedish firm Xcerion, fueling speculation that the company is preparing to ramp up its cloud efforts.

Neither firm, however, responded to TheStreet's request for comment.

Apple shares ended the week up $3.38, or 0.97%, at $350.13.

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Earnings season also rumbled on this week, with Microsoft(MSFT) posting a solid beat of estimates for its fiscal third quarter on Thursday. The company's numbers were fueled by big Kinect for Xbox sales and the continuing rally in corporate IT business.

The one down point for the software giant was soft Windows 7 sales, which reflect recent reports of falling consumer PC shipments.

The rest of Microsoft's core segments reported nice gains, with continued enterprise spending boosting its Business unit, which grew 21% year over year, with sales of $5.2 billion, up from $4.3 billion. Microsoft said that its latest version of Office, Office 2010, continues to be the fastest-selling version in its history.

Microsoft's stock ended the week down 79 cents, or 2.96%, at $25.92.

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