In a report from think broadband, it was revealed on Wednesday that a privacy flaw in UK carrier O2’s handling of web traffic on mobile devices released phone numbers of their customers to websites. Any customer who used a 2G or 3G network from O2 to browse the internet had their phone numbers sent to the websites, embedded among the website’s coding.

If you’re reading this news article using your O2 mobile phone, you’ll be pleased to know that O2 have already sent us your mobile phone number within the HTTP headers which normally contain information about how content can be displayed on your device. These headers are not normally seen by users, and usually not logged by most websites, but the flaw allows malicious sites to get more personal information about you than you may be willing to share.

For example, if you open an e-mail which includes references to external images, the mere action of opening the e-mail would divulge your phone number. This could be used by anyone undertaking a phishing attack or other scam to get more information from you. The opportunity to abuse this is potentially endless.

The flaw was discovered by Twitter user @lewispeckover who set up a website to see what information users were releasing while visiting the website. He noted after a few hours, perhaps after O2 fixed the glitch, that the mobile number stopped appearing on the website while accessing from his O2 device.

This issue is not exclusive to the iPhone and may affect all smart phones on the network, which is the second-largest carrier in the UK. O2 was the exclusive carrier of the iPhone back in 2007 during its initial launch.

The carrier appears to have fixed the issue, however, privacy issues continue to be a concern. Although mobile phone numbers are not necessarily private to the carrier, it is a matter of concern when there is a chance it may be released to websites and to the actual public. O2 has not released any statements on the privacy issue to the press or to its customers.

{via MacRumors}

A comment made on Best Buy’s Canadian website by one of its employees has confirmed that the retailer is set to bring Apple’s iPad 2 to its Canadian stores on Friday, March 25th at 10am. The site admin – who has been confirmed as a Best Buy employee – warned that there would be no pre-orders, and that devices would be sold on a first come, first served basis:

Was confirmed by my store manager. We will be selling them at 10am Friday when we open. It’s first come first serve and there WILL be a line up. If we are doing the same thing as last year we will be handing out a piece of paper which you will fill out telling us which ipad you want, size, color ect..

Unsurprisingly, the employee also warns that there will be lines, and that a ticket system would be exercised during the launch to sort through orders. However, Canadians should take some comfort from the experience Best Buy has gained from its U.S. launch, where customers waited in lines for hours just to be told that the few iPad 2s the retailer did have in stock had sold out. It’s believed that Best Buy’s iPad 2 launch in Canada will go much more smoothly.

There’s currently no word on how many devices customers will be able to buy from Canadian Best Buy stores, however, it’s expected customers will be limited to two devices each the same as those in the U.S

As for the iPad 2 launch elsewhere in the world, there’s no news of delays, so launches internationally should go ahead as planned. A report from TechRadar, which quotes an Apple spokesperson, confirms that the device is still planned for a U.K. launch on March 25th.

The strong demand in US for Apple’s iPad might have delayed its launch internationally but that sure didn’t keep hardcore Apple fans from buying one of the hottest selling devices. A recent report published on MacRumors quoted results reported by Yahoo! which highlighted some interesting information about iPad users.

During the measurement period, the iPad has only been available for purchase in the U.S. market; however, we observe approximately 10% of IP traffic coming from Europe and Asia Pacific. Specifically, the U.K., France, and Germany are the top countries in Europe, and Taiwan and Hong Kong make up the most traffic in Asia Pacific.

If you are not in US and have an iPad then there is some good news for you! Apple has launched international iPad App Stores ahead of its availability in UK, Australia, Canada, France, Japan, Italy, Germany, Spain and Switzerland. It has also has been reported that iPad App Store is now accessible even in countries where the launch has not been announced yet.

Earlier this month Apple confirmed that iPad will roll out in 9 more countries. The iPad will be available in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and the UK on Friday, May 28.

However, the iPad launch in stores in the UK is still going ahead on the 28th of May and customers will be able to walk into stores and pick one up then. Presumably after queuing for a while. The Regents Street Apple store says it expects customers to camp outside overnight to ensure getting their “Jesus Tablet”.

Whilst one can understand that Apple would like to have some in-store stock for such an important launch, this seems a little hard on customers who have already ordered their device online, shown their loyalty to Apple, and agreed to wait until the 7th of June to get their iPad that others now may well be able buy over a week earlier.

I know if I was one of the customers with an outstanding order I’d seriously consider cancelling my order before, or perhaps after, I had a go at getting one from an Apple store on the 28th. I am assuming that Apple have not charged anyone in the UK prior to dispatch, which is normally the case.

I am sure Apple won’t mind people doing that. But it would have been nice if they had been upfront about it.

What do you think? Is Apple being a little dismissive of online customers in the UK? Let us know in the comments…