In case you haven’t been keeping up with current iPhone location tracking events, it was recently revealed that cellular iOS devices such as the iPhone and 3G enabled iPad collect location data from where you are and store it in an unencrypted file on the device.

However, according to an email purported to be from Apple CEO Steve Jobs, Apple does not track anyone. Android, however, does. Here’s the exchange, according to a MacRumors reader:

Q: Steve,

Could you please explain the necessity of the passive location-tracking tool embedded in my iPhone? It’s kind of unnerving knowing that my exact location is being recorded at all times. Maybe you could shed some light on this for me before I switch to a Droid. They don’t track me.

A: Oh yes they do. We don’t track anyone. The info circulating around is false.

Sent from my iPhone

So, if this is really from Steve Jobs and you have a cellular iOS device, I guess you don’t need to worry about Apple tracking your every move. If you’ve got an Android-powered device, I guess you’re not out of the woods yet.

Of course, the question is if this email is really from Steve Jobs and if so, do we believe him? More on this as it develops. Meanwhile, I would bet we’ll see a software update sooner or later that addresses this “issue” which will either eliminate it all together or do a better job of hiding it.

Either way, the other big question is does anyone but a vocal minority actually care if their location data is being tracked? If you have an opinion one way or the other, be sure to sound off in the comments!

If you’ve been curious as to when (or if) we would be seeing a new Nintendo Wii system, you can now put that curiosity to rest. Why? Because on Monday the company released a statement confirming that it will reveal the successor to the original Wii during the E3 Expo tradeshow in Los Angeles.

The new console, currently codenamed “Project Cafe,” may feature a new “Screen Stream” controller option that will provide each individual gamer with their own touchscreen display, although Nintendo did not disclose any of the console’s new features in its statement. In addition to the Wii 2 confirmation, the company also announced its earnings for the fiscal year ending March, 2011.

Net sales of ¥1,014 billion ($12.35 billion) were down 29.3% year-over-year and Nintendo’s net income fell 66.1% to ¥77.62 million ($946,110). Hardware and software sales for the United States, Nintendo’s largest market, also fell year-over-year.

Nintendo sold 15.08 million Nintendo Wii units, 3.61 million of its new Nintendo 3DS devices, and 17.52 million of its Nintendo DS portable gaming consoles in the States. In contrast, Nintendo sold 20.5 million Wii units in the U.S. last year. Globally, the company sold 171.26 million Wii units, 120.98 million DS devices, and 9.43 million Nintendo 3DS units.

So, they’re not doing so good. Good thing they’ve got something new coming out. Hopefully, it will spark interest from consumers.

Click through to tread the statement from Nintendo. The E3 Expo takes place June 7-9 at the Los Angeles convention center.

We’ll be there so be sure to check back right here for a look at the new Wii and all the other gaming news coming out of the show.

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Those who are fans of The CW’s Smallville already are aware how intense this season has been, leading up to the series finale on Friday, May 13th. This season alone, we’ve had DC Universe characters Ultraman, Deathstroke, Darkseid, Stargirl, Blue Beetle, and Booster Gold make an appearance, just to name a few. Now, it looks like things are only going to get more intense.

This past Friday marked the third to last episode of the series, which was written by DC legend Geoff Johns. We can tell that this season is leading up to an incredible ending in which Tom Welling’s Clark Kent finally dons the blue tights and red cape, but we’re not sure what events in the eleventh hour will lead up to that.

However, a brand new promo that aired with Friday’s episode may just give a clue to those events. Since 2008, original series regular Michael Rosenbaum has been off the show, and his character Lex Luthor has been presumed dead. Now, it looks like we’ll be getting him back for the big 2-hour finale on May 13th.

Take a look at the teaser after the jump, and see what we’re talking about. Smallville airs every Friday on the CW.

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While we may have brought you a very spoilerific Thor video on Friday, we can assure you that this one won’t ruin anything for you. Back during the Super Bowl, Volkswagon had one of the better commercials of the night with their Little Darth Vader spot.

Now Marvel is taking a page from their book with their very own Little Thor commercial. It almost seems like it could be a normal commercial, with the exception that not many kids would want to dress up like The God of Thunder on a whim (at least not yet).

The end of the commercial also has a bit of a WTF ending that may not have gone over so well if this were a real car commercial. Fortunately, its just a spoof — and a pretty funny one at that.

The real Thor is set to hit May 3rd and stars Chris Hemsworth as the title character. Alongside Hemsworth, the film stars Natalie Portman, Anthony Hopkins, Kat Dennings, Clark Gregg, Idris Elba, Ray Stevenson, Rene Russo, and Tom Hiddleston.

Until then, enjoy the commercial after the jump.

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Many thought this Easter weekend was going to be a slam dunk for Tyler Perry and his third film to be based on the popular “Madea” character.  However, it was a blue macaw and his feathered friends who fended off the competition. Rio came in at the number one spot for the second weekend in a row.  The film made $26.8M, bringing its two week total to $81M.

Madea was a close second, with Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Big Happy Family making $25.8.  That is a very solid opening weekend total, but it is only the fourth largest debut from Tyler Perry, and it is lower than the two previous Madea movies.

The audience skewed heavily toward African American women over the age of 25, which is very typical for one of Perry’s films.  The film got a coveted “A” grade from audience members polled by CinemaScore. It should also be noted that Madea’s Big Happy Family had the highest per/screen average of the weekend ($11,254).

After critic reviews started coming in as less than stellar, there was some fear that Water for Elephants would under-perform, but it came in about where expected. The romance starring Robert Pattinson and Reese Witherspoon made about $17.5M and got an “A-” grade from viewers.

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Members of my generation probably remember Rescue Rangers, the cartoon that (if you lived in mid-Michigan in the late ‘80s/early ‘90s) eased the de-gression each weekday from the awesomeness of Ducktales to the mediocrity of Tailspin. Rangers wasn’t up to the same level of quality of Ducktales, but it did have one thing that kept our pudgy little eyes watching: Gadget.

Smart, sexy, and sporting a dynamite purple jumpsuit that no girl ever dared try pull off, Gadget was ashamedly appealing, and Disney gets a lot of credit for screwing up our concepts of attractiveness and sexuality. My college roommate’s predilection for redheads stems from seeing The Little Mermaid at a birthday party when he was seven (that same friend also took my “Who’s Your Ideal Cartoon Woman” quiz and, oddly enough, ended up with Gadget, which he reasoned was actually an ideal choice).

So what does this have to do with Parks & Rec? Outside of mindless filler and the hope of scoring more hits from the nostalgic crowd, I think I’ve nailed down what makes Leslie Knope so fetching: She’s the human equivalent of Gadget. “Mousey” would certainly be a good adjective to describe her—she’s petite and generally shy, regarding the opposite sex; she’s blonde; and she’s scatterbrained yet curiously competent at what she does (and in both cases it’s implied that their work is a substitute for social interaction).

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UPDATE: Due to a request from Paramount, we have taken down the video. Sorry folks but they don’t want you to see it.

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We may be a few weeks away from the God of Thunder’s release  with Thor here in the US, but folks overseas are basking in the glory of Marvel’s newest film as we speak. One diehard fan in particular even got some footage of the illustrious post-credit sequence that Marvel loves to slap onto the end of their films.

We give HEAVY WARNING here: if you don’t want to see what happens in this sequence, then we suggest not clicking through, as it gives clues that lead us up to Marvel’s upcoming films Captain America: The First Avenger and The Avengers.

Those who are a fan of Marvel lore know that this isn’t much of a spoiler, per se, as it is some of the greatest story elements told in comics shown in live action.

So, without further adieu, click through the jump to see the special “Easter Egg” from after the credits in Marvel Studios’ Thor. We loved it, but let us know what you think in the comments below!

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A character with the first name of Nikolai who has a weapon with Tesla in its name. No not the most creative character concept ever but still effective none the less. In this latest trailer for Anarchy Reigns, SEGA gives a peak at Nikolai, a cyborg fighter with a back mounted reactor allowing him to channel electrical currents through his fists. The result is an angry Russian who is ready to let the sparks fly.

This is also the first trailer for Anarchy Reigns that gives a look at what may be the game’s “fatality” system, for lack of a formal title yet. While it has been shown that the game will use the environment to kill off competitors, this is the first time a trailer has shown anyone get finished off, as seen by two of Nikolai’s moves below.

So what do fatalities mean for Anarchy Reigns? Depending on how they are implemented, fatalities could become epic tide turners in matches if they can be pulled off at any time and not just when someone’s health bar has been depleted. Especially in multiplayer modes, this could completely shift the course of match-ups. On the other side, it is possible that these fatal moves could quickly become repetitive and lose their luster after seeing them in every match a player competes in.

Again, much of this is just speculation but take a peek after the jump at Nikolai’s screen shot gallery as well as his debut trailer. Stick to the Flickcast for more on Anarchy Reigns, coming soon to the XBox 360 and PlayStation 3 from SEGA and Platinum Games.

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The greatest show on earth?  Nah, but I found Water for Elephants to be an immensely enjoyable period film filled with decadent set pieces, gorgeous costumes, and a fascinating look at Depression-era Americana. The romance might be a tad tepid, but there is plenty to keep you entertained in this film adaptation of the popular novel by Sara Gruen.

If you haven’t read the book (I haven’t) don’t let the clunky title be a turnoff. Water for Elephants takes place in 1931, and tells the tale of Jacob Jakowski (Robert Pattinson), who has just completed his final year of Veterinary Science at the prestigious Cornell University. On the day of his final exams, Jacob learns that both of his parents died in a tragic car crash, and that they had mortgaged their house and belongings to pay his tuition.

He takes off with the shoes on his feet, the shirt on his back, and little else. Due to divine intervention or blind good luck, Jacob jumps onto a train that just happens to be housing an entire traveling circus.

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That has been the question on the minds of many once they heard Alex would no longer be the star of Prototype 2. Activision and Radical Entertainment sent over a developer interview discussing this change, which can be seen after the jump, and the logic fits.

In Prototype, players spent so much time building up Alex’s power and in doing so reveal the mystery in to how he (SPOILERS) was actually the one who unleashed the virus upon Manhattan and the world. As a result, Alex is now a super powered entity with absolute power corrupting him absolutely.

On the opposite side of Alex, players have James Heller, a man who has lost his family to the virus that Alex unleashed. While his motives remain to be seen, Alex directly infects Heller with his virus which gives him powers much like Alex’s instead of killing him as it did so many others over the course of Prototype.

Also shown in the trailer below is Pre-Alpha gameplay footage. Usually games won’t show footage this early on but what can be seen is impressive. There will obviously be lots of polish put over the game before its 2012 release but things look to be on a strong course with new attacks and powers for Heller to use in his battle against Alex.

Take a peek after the jump at the story of Alex and Heller in Prototype 2 and stick to the Flickcast for more news on it as it becomes available.

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It’s nice to see actors go from virtual unknown to multiple Oscar nominee to star of a mega-budget action franchise in just a few years — especially when they’re not in their teens anymore. Fortunately, this time around with actor Jeremy Renner, who’s done just that, we actually like him and don’t feel like he’s being shoved down our throats like certain other people (Sam Worthington, we’re looking at you).

Renner’s latest gig is the lead role in the Tony Gilroy-directed The Bourne Legacy. Renner, who as we mentioned above, has been nominated for Oscars the past two years for his work in The Hurt Locker and The Town, is expected to close his deal quickly to play a new character in the spinoff film that begins production in September.

This new character will reportedly be an operative from a covert government program even more dangerous than Treadstone, the program that created Jason Bourne. Other actors reportedly in contention for this coveted role were Joel Edgerton, Dominic Cooper, Garrett Hedlund, Luke Evans, Taylor Kitsch and Anthony Mackie. Of those, Renner seems like the best choice — especially given his strong performances in his last couple of films.

The Bourne Legacy begins filming this Fall for an August, 2012 release.

Not enough shows on TV have admitted that they’ve jumped the shark and relaunch their series as a brand new franchise. Could you imagine Happy Days calling itself The Fonze Show after ratings drastically dwindled?

Well, after 100 solid episodes, that’s exactly what Adult Swim’s Aqua Teen Hunger Force is planning on doing in just a few weeks. Their new brand?  Aqua Unit Patrol Squad 1.

A pretty intense name change if you ask us. In a video press release from team member Meatwad, he mentions other changes we can expect are more mysteries and special cases. Also, the team will be moving to Seattle.

No word on what this may mean for series regulars like Carl, but you cane expect a whole new show on Sunday, May 8th with the brand new premiere.

Click through to check out the full press release from Meatwad himself, and get a very brief snippet of the new theme song performed by Queens of the Stone Age!

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