You may recognize the name Carrier IQ – the company caused a stir recently when its mobile phone tracking software was found on select handsets. The software was collecting information from the phone and sending it back to Carrier IQ’s servers. It turns out the software wasn’t nefarious, but was used by carriers to troubleshoot handset and network performance. Carrier IQ was a carrier-only product, but a report from the Verge suggests Carrier IQ is now opening itself up to consumers.
The company’s IQ Care product will soon include a portal that customers can use to monitor their phones. Customers will be able to see information about dropped calls, phone battery life, and network coverage. This consumer-friendly feature will be made available to everyone, but each carrier will be given the option to enable or disable it for their customers.
If Carrier IQ can prove that the service reduces service calls and helps the customer troubleshoot minor issues on their own, then the service may gain some traction. If it’s only a novelty that Carrier IQ introduced to repair its reputation, then it will likely sit on the back shelf unused.
[Via The Verge]