Archive for August, 2007

Following in the footsteps of Sydney Leung a couple weeks ago, H. Tim Hoffman (Leung's counsel) filed suit on behalf of Zoltan Stiener and Ynez Stiener in and Oakland, CA federal court. The two accuse Apple and AT&T of breach of contract, fraud, and violations of California law by not informing iPhone buyers that the device's battery will cost $100 to replace during its lifetime (it does, but only if you take into account the cost of an iPhone loaner).

Just like all the other lawsuits in this same vein, the complaints are based on the fact that the iPhone's battery will only last 300 charge cycles - after which, it will need to be replaced.

Good luck to these guys. We're not sure how this'll stand up in court, seeing as how Apple makes it clear that the iPhone battery will only lose a small percentage of its charge capacity after 300 complete charge cycles (not to mention the obviously litigious lawyer behind these suits).

[Via: Information Week]

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It looks like Apple if starting to finally come through on their promise of expanding the iPhone's feature set through updates. Those last two updates via iTunes have been somewhat of a disappointment - they offered nothing in the way of new features. But, as Apple Insider reports, the New York Post got wind of Apple's plans to launch their customized iPhone ringtone service.

The new service is speculated to allow users to purchase ringtones through the iTunes "enhanced download" model - and also allows users to convert their previously purchased music into custom ringtones.

We've been expecting Apple to release their custom ringtone maker, and it looks like they're getting ready to bring their "A" game. Apple and AT&T would be the first to allow the end-user to actually determine which portion of a given song will be used as a ringtone (aside from making your own ringtone and uploading it to your phone).

We're thinking Apple will charge about $1 to create your own custom ringtones. But, why go through all that expense when you could just use iFuntastic to upload your own ringtones (we use Audacity to edit our MP3's into ringtone clips).

[Via: Apple Insider]

You know what they say. “If you’re not willing to brick your iPhone, don’t try the iPhone hardware unlocking hack.” Well, that’s more like something that we just said, but you get the picture.

Apparently, an enterprising hacker on the Hackint0sh forums wanted to give geohot’s hardware unlock hack a go on a locked iPhone. Just when he thought things were going smoothly (he got the antenna cover off and proceeded to pry off the battery cover), the iPhone just fried itself right into oblivion. A puff of smoke black smoke and a crapload of heat resulted in a partially dissected iPhone that is now good for little more than a prime example of what can go wrong when you don’t know what you’re doing around sensitive equipment.

From the forum:

“We were so happy, all the software part was done, so we started opening the iPhone. The antenna cover was a bit tricky but eventually it came off. Then we started to open the metal cover (after taking out the 3 screws) and PUFF, up it went in smoke, I think my collegue must have touched something. It literally went up in black smoke. It was so hot that when I tried to pick it up I burned my fingers. So, this is for sure the most difficult part of the whole process. I don’t know what he did, as I had just stepped out of the room to fetch something when I heard a scream…they got such a fright.”

The moral of this story? While the iPhone hardware unlocking method may be a provocative way to free yourself and your iPhone from AT&T hell, don’t try it unless you really know what you’re doing - and you’re willing to not only brick your iPhone, but fry it to a crisp as well. Wait for the software unlock! Seriously, be patient.

Still, we feel bad for the poor guy that “smoked” his iPhone.

[Via: Hackint0sh]

This isn’t going to come as much of a shock to most, but T-Mobile Germany has confirmed that they have indeed been in talks with Apple over the upcoming European (specifically, German) release of the iPhone. Hamid Akhavan, CEO of T-Mobile Germany, said that they “have held talks with Apple but have nothing more to say at this time,” at a press conference.

So, aside from the almost accepted fact that T-Mobile AG will most likely be bringing the Apple iPhone to the land of fast cars and hardcore porn (what? we already mentioned the sauerkraut and Autobahn), there’s not much here that we didn’t already know. But, since there is no official word on the outcome of said negotiations, we’re going to wait for T-Mobile or Apple to announce an official deal before we declare Deutsch Telekom (which owns T-Mobile Germany) the iPhone winner in the German market.

Akhavan also stated that Apple will be bringing the iPhone to its European partners “well ahead” of the holiday shopping season - which sounds to us like a sly confirmation that T-Mo AG will indeed be part of the party. And, just to make it clear. We still have no idea what’s up with the 3G European iPhone - will it, or won’t it, make it to Europe?

[Via: Yahoo]

We love the iPhone’s ability to easily and quickly transfer music from our iTunes’ library. There’s nothing like a little plug and click simplicity to take any and all inconvenience out of make accessing your music a breeze. But, there’s just one little catch - you can only synchronize the music from a single computer’s iTunes library.  That is, until now.

The newest third-party native application available through the Nullriver iPhone Installer (Installer.app) is SwapTunes. Wait, you do have Installer.app installed, right? With the AppTappInstaller, there’s no excuse not to. Anyway, this nifty little app basically allows you to store two separate music libraries on your iPhone - and lets you switch between the two libraries once they’re loaded up on your iPhone. Sync your iPhone with the first iTunes library (disconnect afterwards), then run the SwapTunes app from your iPhone, then sync with the second iTunes library, and then run SwapTunes to switch between your two media libraries. It’s that simple.

SwapTunes is readily available through Installer.app on your iPhone. Find the SwapTunes.app under “Utilities” and click install.

These third-party native apps are really starting to fill in all the gaps that Apple failed to address yet. We’re rooting for all the developers out there - go out there and show Apple how it’s done!

Wow, Apple sure is busy on the European front these days. There's been a lot (now that's an understatement) of talk about which of the major European wireless players will get their chance to hock the iPhone exclusivly. Now we're hearing that the Italian carrier TIM (Telecom Italia Mobile) may be getting courted by Apple's people to carry the iPhone in Italy.

Now, this is as speculative as rumors get, so don't get your spaghetti all in a knot just yet. It's not like TIM execs have even confirmed the negotiation process like European counterpart T-Mobile Germany has.

Source

It looks like the AT&T legal hounds haven’t gotten to the guys at iPhoneSIMfree.com yet. Unlike UniquePhones‘ questionable software unlock status, iPhoneSIMfree has already clearly demonstrated, through independent means, that their software-based unlock solution truly does free the Apple iPhone from AT&T’s evil grasp.

Today they’ve released FAQ on their website in which they outline their plans to make their iPhone-unlocking software available for public consumption in just 3 days! Well, the software should be available witthin 48-72 hours, so we’re going with the three-day mark just to play it safe.

Hit up the FAQ - it’ll answer any and all questions you might have about iPhoneSIMfree.com’s software unlock for your iPhone.

Source

We’re just throwing it out there, but we’re thinking that the Apple iPhone UI copy from Nokia and this 8 million unit order for Balda-sourced touchscreens could be related. Cellular News is reporting that Germany’s Balda has won a contract to provide 6-8 million touchscreens for an unnamed “leading mobile phone manufacturer.” Balda is the supplier for the iPhone’s touchscreens.

If Nokia is serious about replicating the same user experience that the iPhone UI has championed, it would make sense that they would source the same touchscreens that are used on the Apple iPhone itself.

Production should start in April 2008 in Xiamen, China.

We’ll keep you update on these happenings. We’re rooting for Nokia to bring an iPhone-like handset to market next year. Maybe alongside the Apple iPhone v2.0? We’ll see, we’ll see.

[Via: Cellular News]

Apple is one lucky company to have all those fans making iPhone apps without an official SDK. Now, a guy claims he has figured out how to use the iPhone’s accelerometer in applications. What follows is the short video demoing some wacky stuff and games, which use the accelerometer for controlling objects on the screen. On the second though, this might be the pre-recorded video and such things are still not possible. Who knows…

UPDATE: It seems this is the real thing. The guy who made this video posted the source code!

[Via: Gizmodo]

It’s kinda boring to go through all that pages of Elite Traveler while you’re flying in the private jet, isn’t it? That’s why the luxury lifestyle magazine distributed aboard private jets in over 90 countries decided to find its place in the “iPhone world” by releasing the the version of its magazine optimized for the Apple’s handset. Developed in partnership with Texterity, the new website provides rich iPhone users with the ability to read everything about luxury destinations, products and services for the ultra-affluent outside of their private jets.

Anyhow, iPhone users can access the full contents of the Elite Traveler magazine from here. Those without an iPhone can visit this page for more information. I wonder if I could read Elite Traveler without a private jet?

Cisco owned WebEx announced the iPhone-optimized version of its remote desktop access service WebEx PCNow. Through a partnership with SoonR, the new service allows iPhone owners to access their desktops for search, Microsoft Outlook contacts, calendar, email and multiple types of documents. In addition — I guess also thanks to the partnership with SoonR — WebEx PCNow users can make and take VoIP calls via Skype. WebEx also finds important to note that their service is the first such solution to support both PC-to-PC and phone-to-PC access.

Anyway, if this sounds compelling to you, you can try the service free for 30 days, after which you’ll need to pay $11.95 per month for two PCs. Native support for Mac OS X desktops is also coming later this year.

iPhone is steadily gaining traction among the business applications. Lately, we’ve spotted one of the key business-centric open-source players Zimbra joining the “iPhone club.” The leader in open source messaging and collaboration has announced iZimbra to accommodate its existing and future users, who want to access their PIM data from the Apple’s handset. As you can guess, iZimbra doesn’t relies on iSync — rather it uses the built-in Safari Web browser to give users access to all the information they need, whenever they need it.

The first version of the iPhone skin ships with the recently released Beta 3 of Zimbra 5.0 codebase. The video of iZimbra in action follows after the jump.

Ah, to be young with cash in your pocket and a hot ride. George Hotz sure has it made these days. He's got a fresh, new Nissan 350Z to play with and the claim to being not only the youngest iPhone hacker, but also the only iPhone hacker to bring a hardware unlock solution to the iPhone community. The guy has it made - chicks dig famous people.

Or does he. Macenstein made a very astute observation about George Hotz's vulnerability to litigation. You see, the reason Apple and AT&T haven't gone after him for cracking the iPhone's closed system and posting it up online is that he's protected under an exemption of the DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) that was made in 2006. Apparently, anyone is allowed to unlock a phone for use on other networks as long as it's for personal use - which geohot was fully doing. That is, until he traded his unlocked iPhone to some crazy mobile phone reseller for three locked iPhone 8GBs and a Nissan 350Z sports car. Now, that would constitute a profit, no matter how you slice it. And, that means that geohot could be pursued by AT&T and Apple.

AT&T doesn't want any unlocking of the iPhone going on, because that would undermine its sales channels and exclusivity contract with Apple. Apple doesn't want any unlocked iPhone to hit the market because that would make it harder for Apple to lock the European wireless carriers into a revenue sharing program, like it has with AT&T - if unlocked iPhone start popping up, then Apple no longer has the leverage to force carriers to give a kickback for the right to carry the iPhone (since anyone could grab an unlocked iPhone and use it on any given network). And, we know that AT&T has no problems going after anyone trying to make money of their iPhone unlocking efforts.

Hopefully this kid's 17-year-old status and his scruffy, innocent look will keep the litigators off his back. But, should AT&T or Apple decide to go after him, he had better start collecting donations for the "Save geohot" foundation.

[Via: Macenstein]

iPhone unlocking is the word of the week, no doubt. With everyone jumping on board the unlocking train, whether it's software or hardware based, anyone looking to make a buck or two off this whole iPhone unlocking party is making claims to having an unlock solution of their own. iPhoneSIMfree.com already had their software-based solution verified by the likes of Engadget, so we already know they're legit (but they still have yet to release it to the public).

Now, the mobile phone unlocking firm UniquePhones is throwing their hat into the ring. They claim to have a software unlock solution prepped and ready to go, there's just one little setback - AT&T legal is nipping at their heels. Apparently, UniquePhones got a sobering phone call on the morning of their planned software launch from some AT&T legal beagles. They were advised that if they released their hack to the public with the intention of making some money, AT&T would send the hounds after them.

So, where does this leave UniquePhones and all their alleged hard work? Well, they are still considering their legal position (their soliciting legal counsel) and weighing their options. Their blog seems to indicate that there have been some "changes" that would give everyone "what [they] are looking for."

What does the community think? Well, the prevailing suspicion among conspiracy nuts seems to be that UniquePhones may be stalling for time. They might not even have a fully working software solution yet.

Could the pressure of a successful hardware unlock and software unlock solution have pushed UniquePhones to make a less-than-true claim? We don't know, only time will tell. But, they sure are being awful shady about this whole situation. At least they released a video that is supposed to confirm the UniquePhones' software unlock solution.

Here we go again. The class-action lawsuits aren't looking like they're going to let up anytime soon. The newest class-action suit was filed by Herbert H. Kliegerman in a 9-page complaint at a New York City Supreme Court. He must have really been pissed. Nine pages of anything is a lot of verbage - especially if you just want to say that Apple tricked their customers.

So why is this guy so mad? Well, apparently, after he read a statement on Apple's iPhone website that stated, "[y]ou can browse the Internet and send emails as often as you like without being charged extra," he went to Mexico and proceeded to rack up $2,000 worth of International Roaming data charges.

Kliegerman and his attorneys at Randall S. Newman, P.C are arguing that, had Apple and AT&T provided the means to use another carrier's SIM card in the iPhone, Mr. Kliegerman could have paid data rates that were significantly less than the $2,000 that AT&T charged.

The suit states, "As a result of [Apple's] deceptive and misleading acts, members of the Class have been injured because they are unable to unlock their phones for use with non-AT&T SIM cards." And, demands that Apple stop selling locked iPhones, provide unlock codes for all current iPhone owners, and also make it clear to customers about the international data fees.

Well, we're actually rooting for this guy to make his case. This class-action suit would actually do more to help the consumer than the lawyers involved, and that's our kind of law-suit. Could Apple actually be forced to provide unlocked iPhone before any third-party software solution comes to market? Given the US court system's history of moving at the speed of molasses, probably not. But, it does send a clear message to Apple and AT&T.

[Via: Apple Insider]