Archive for February, 2008

We can't say we're surprised. Steve Jobs wanted to control every single aspect of the iPhone experience, and with the introduction of the iPhone SDK next week, we can expect Apple to control all sides of the third-party iPhone application equation.

iLounge cites sources that are “familiar with Apple’s iPhone and iPod touch software development kit (SDK) plans” as saying that the iPhone SDK will ensure that third-party iPhone applications will be required to go through iTunes as a means of distribution.

• No side-loading or OTA (over-the-air) downloading of applications, you'll have to connect your iPhone to iTunes to get any official iPhone apps loaded up. Apple is really doing this whole content-portal thing right with iTunes-based synchronization.
• Apple will have the absolute last-say in which iPhone applications make the cut and which hit the rubbish-bin (Did I just say rubbish bin? I meant "trash can"). Only approved iPhone applications will find their way to the iTunes Store to await distribution to iPhones worldwide. However, it's not clear if Apple will have to re-approve updates and bug-fixes to previously approved applications.
• The iPhone SDK will keep the iPhone dock connector off-limits. There will be no fooling around with the docking port, which kills our hopes of cool new iPhone accessories. The iPhone's phone, camera and WiFi are open to all developers. Let's just hope the iPhone has a restricted Bluetooth module that can be opened up to support Bluetooth 2.0 and A2DP. We'll see.

Just another week of waiting and pondering…

[Via: iLounge]

While we wait for Apple's press event next week, let's speculate on what we'll hear. We know that "cool new enterprise features" are going to be part of the "iPhone Software Roadmap," but just what kind of enterprise features can we expect?

How does some Microsoft's Exchange server and IBM Lotus Notes software support sound? Sounds nice, doesn't it? Well, Shaw Wu, an American Technology Research analyst, cites his "industry and developer sources" who indicate that Apple will unveil some significant business-oriented software support for the iPhone on March 6th.

We've been pining for Apple to endow the iPhone with Microsoft Exchange Server support. The iPhone has seen limited success in the enterprise landscape, mainly because of its lack of business-software. IBM has already announced its intention to release Lotus Notes email for the iPhone, so the announcement that Apple will finally bring IBM into its stable of support software is no big surprise. But, allowing MS Exchange to work with the iPhone is a huge step, and a pleasant surprise.

"If true (which we believe is), this will prove key in having more enterprises and SMB adopt iPhone as their mobile platform," states Wu. "What isn't as clear to us is how Apple will accomplish this, whether this is from internal development (most likely), third-parties including Microsoft (next likely) with its ActiveSync technology, or Research in Motion Blackberry Connect (possible but less likely), or a combination of two or more."

Once the iPhone gets some official business support from Apple, the iPhone could really shine as a true enterprise smartphone. After all, a ChangeWave survey showed that enterprise customers are more satisfied with their iPhone than corporate users toting RIM BlackBerry handsets.

"Nearly three-in-five (59%) of Apple’s business customers say their company is Very Satisfied with the iPhone.”

“RIM (maker of the Blackberry) ranks second with a Very Satisfied rating of 47%, though we note this represents an unusually large 8-pt decline from the previous survey.”

The results make sense, seeing as how 72% of iPhone customers are satisfied, making the iPhone the top pick in planned purchases.

Let's see what happens on March 6th…

[Via: Apple Insider]

No, it's not the Top 10 iPhone web-apps list that I put together yesterday - although, you should check it out (and leave a comment if you like/dislike any of the web-apps on the list).

This time around, the iPhone has, like a hunting dog that runs into the field and returns with a dead gander clenched between its teeth, gone and secured Apple's position as a Top 10 global handset vendor. According to market research by Gartner, Apple has taken up a cozy home on the Top 10 list - with less than 1 percent of the global market - among Nokia, Motorola (yes, they're still in the Top 10), RIM and ZTE (China is huge, remember?).

The achievement is notable not so much because Apple is playing with the "cool" kids now, but because it illustrates just how competitive the mobile phone business really is. Nokia dominates with 37.8% or 40%, depending on who you trust with your market share numbers, and Motorola's global presence is dropping like a rock (from  21.5% to 11.9%), but Apple managed to score a Top 10 with just 0.6% market share. Apple's got a long way to claw it's way to the top-ish region of the Top 10 list, but with the 3G iPhone on the horizon, maybe Motorola could make some room for Apple?

And you thought the code-warriors working on iNdependence were on their game…

Check out this video demonstrating the "iPhone Unleashed" as it's updating from a jailbroken iPhone v1.1.1 straight to the iPhone v1.1.4 firmware. The kicker here is that the update process, via iTunes, automatically and seamlessly jailbreaks, unlocks, and activates the iPhone into v1.1.4. What you see is an iPhone "that are belong" to the "iPhone Unleashed" team, running a jailbroken iPhone v1.1.4 and locked on to T-Mobile's network.

The team has also "PWNED" the restore screen to their liking. Not to mention replaced the startup Apple logo with their own. The iTunes-based jailbreak was made possible by hacking the iPhone firmware restore file (that file that ends with the extension .ipsw). This jailbreak is not ready for primetime yet, but we can only hope that there are plans to release it soon.







Oh, and they did all this without any official iPhone SDK support from Apple. These guys are amazing! Props to roxfan, Turbo, wizdaze, bgm, pumpkin and the iPhone Dev Team.

YouTube

[Update 2]
ZiPhone 2.5 has been released and with it comes the prospect of jailbreaking and unlocking any iPhone to a jailbroken iPhone v1.1.4. ZiPhone 2.5 works with Windows and Mac (as long as you download the correct version), and makes the jailbreak, unlock, and activation process as simple as clicking a couple buttons.

This guide has been updated to use ZiPhone 2.5 in place of iNdependence 1.4 beta 5.

[Update]
This guide has been updated with instructions for installing the Installer.app application onto your jailbroken iPhone v1.1.4.

If you're rocking the newest iPhone firmware - or want to rock the newest iPhone v1.1.4 firmware - you'll probably want to look into jailbreaking that sucker. This guide applies to all iPhones, new and old. It doesn't matter when you bought your iPhone, it doesn't matter what firmware you're currently using. The only limitation is that the iPhone will not work with Google Maps My Location feature if you use it unlocked on a non Apple-sanctioned wireless network.

Here's how:

1. Connect your iPhone to iTunes.
2. "Restore" your iPhone to v1.1.4 - you might have issues if you "Update."
3. Let your iPhone do it's thing. Go grab a soda or something, it's going to take a while.
4. Download iNdependence 1.4 beta 5 here. ZiPhone 2.5 here. (make sure to choose the correct version - Win or Mac)
5. Put ZiPhone on your "Desktop."
6. Start up ZiPhone.
7. Check the "Jailbreak" box to jailbreak your iPhone v1.1.4
8. Check the "Activate" box to activate your iPhone v1.1.4
9. Check the "Unlock" box to unlock your iPhone v1.1.4 to work with any GSM carrier (the unlock procedure, as far as I know, only downgrades the baseband, it doesn't downgrade your Bootloader - ZiPhone 2.5 works with all Bootloader versions as well).
10. Installer.app is automatically installed with ZiPhone 2.5. If you want to get Installer.app up and running on your freshly jailbroken iPhone v1.1.4 (wasn't that the whole point of running the jailbreak on your v1.1.4 iPhone?), you want to:
    • Download the Installer.app package from:
      http://repository.apptapp.com/packages/System/Installer.zip
    • Unzip to your desktop.
    • Add the Installer.app package to the "Customize" tab in iNdependence.
    • SSH into your iPhone by firing up Terminal (Finder>Applications>Utilities>Terminal) and issuing the following commands:
      • chmod 777 /Applications
      • chmod 777 /Applications/Installer.app
      • chmod 777 /Applications/Installer.app/Installer
11. If you're feeling adventurous, ZiPhone 2.5 gives you the option to downgrade your Bootloader from BL 4.6 to BL 3.9 and then unlock your iPhone with a flash to the older 4.03 baseband. I do not recommend you downgrading your BL or flashing to the older baseband - there's a serious risk of bricking your iPhone if you mess with the Bootloader (that's why not even Apple will update your Bootloader from 3.9 to 4.6).If you really want to downgrade your bootloader, then do so. You can find the downgrade option under the "Advanced" tab. Let us know how it went.
12. That's it! Easy as pie..actually, it's easier.
    Enjoy!

There are a lot of web-apps out there for us iPhone users to sort through, so here's a Top 10 list to make things a bit easier on you. As more web-apps get published, this Top 10 Web-Apps list may become outdated, but for now, this is a good place to start.

Remember, if you find a web-app that you like, you can add an web-clip icon to your homescreen that will take you directly to that web-app (as long as you have at least v1.1.3 installed).

Hit the link to check out the Top 10 iPhone web-apps list (actually, there are more than 10, but "10" sounded like a nice round number).

• Photo Forward - this isn't exactly a web-app, but it's cool-worthy nonetheless. Photo Forward is a bookmarklet that scans the webpage you are currently browsing for all images, and then gives you the option to send a link to any of those pictures to an email address. The iPhone doesn't let you copy text (or paste it, for that matter), but you can email it to yourself to use later.

  

  

• Tabulate - this simple bookmarklet enables true tabbed browsing on the iPhone Safari browser. Sure, the Mobile Safari browser already supports tabbed browsing by allowing you to open multiple windows simultaneously, but with Tabulate you can actually force Safari to "open link in new tab." Whenever you hit an embedded link in a website, you'll be given the option to "flag" the site for later viewing, open it in the current tab/window, or open the link in a new tab/window. Tabulate also keeps track of how many websites you've flagged for viewing later.

  

  

  Go to the site, add the bookmark to your desktop Safari browser, then sync your iPhone (remember to check the box to sync bookmarks with your iPhone). Now, whenever you start your iPhone's Safari browser, just fire up the Tabulate bookmarklet and you'll be good to go.

• Food Network - quickly and easily find out what's for dinner tonight. The iPhone web-app from the Food Network puts the entire Food Network recipe catalogue on your iPhone. Pick recipes by ingredients, holiday themes, and even by chef. We like Giada - her recipes are nice too.

  

• Zinio Mobile Newstand - browse Zinio's top-selling digital magazines from your iPhone. The interface is sleek and fast thanks to the AJAX-heavy iPhone optimization. Pick your magazine, browse through the pages, and zoom in for a crystal-clear view of the page. Unfortunately, all the juicy bits are blurred out (ahem, Playboy's pictorials). Still, Zinio Mobile Newstand is the best way to kill time on your iPhone - if you're into that whole "reading" thing.

   

  

   

   

  

   

   

  

• Remember The Cat - built on the famed Remember The Milk to-do list's API, but the iPhone specific version is free (Remember The Milk requires a "Pro" account to use the iPhone version), and the interface is slick and faster to navigate.

  

   

  

  
  OneTrip - the best shopping list for the iPhone. Remember The Cat is good as a to-do list, but is a bit cumbersome as a shopping list. Use OneTrip for your next grocery-day. You won't forget the milk, because you'll have it in your grocery list.

  

   

  

• PogoNotes - from the makers of the Pogo iPhone Stylus. Share your notes with friends and access them online or through the Mac OS X Widget. Log into your PogoNotes account and create notes. You can choose to share your notes with your friend, a group, or everyone. You can also search for shared notes within a certain group, or from a specific user (your friend). PogoNotes is the social network equivalent of a notes application.

   

  

  

  

  

  

  

  Noter - another online-based notes application that allows you to share notes with friends and co-workers in almost real-time. Here's how it works. You and your friends or co-workers all share a single Noter account. Everyone can log into the same account and load the Noter client onto their iPhone - allowing them to make/edit notes at will. The finished notes can by synchronized to the server, which can in turn be synchronized to other users' Noter clients. It's a great collaboration tool.

  

  

• iZoho - the web-based office document suite specifically tailored to your iPhone. iZoho brings the acclaimed document-editing web-service to the iPhone. With AJAX-y access to Zoho Writer, Sheets, Show, and Creator, any iPhone user can view, edit, and create Microsoft Office-compatible documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and publications. iZoho makes your iPhone a complete smartphone.Raju of Zoho mentioned that we can edit and create documents through iZoho, but I have been unable to do so. Documents can be created and edited through Zoho (the non-iPhone version) just fine, but I'm waiting on word from Raju regarding iZoho. I'll update this list accordingly.

  

• Remote Buddy - control your Mac with your iPhone. Kick back and watch movies or listen to music on iTunes. Remote Buddy serves up the interface on your iPhone, so you know exactly what you're watching or listening to. And, when you want to move on to some more serious stuff, Remote Buddy gives you access to over 95 different Mac apps - it even lets you type text on your Mac through your iPhone's keyboard. Remember, this is Mac-ONLY folks!Video Demo of Remote Buddy in action.
• Hahlo - the straight-forward iPhone Twitter client, but it sure loads quickly. I like this client the best for those times when I'm on EDGE-only. The interface is full-featured but still loads quickly over EDGE.I just started using Twitter - I know I'm behind the times here. If you want to hit me up on Twitter, my handle is "WillPark" - nice and creative.

  

  PocketTweets - the prettier iPhone Twitter client, but slower to load over EDGE. I like this client when I have access to WiFi - which is to say, most of the time. The interface is slick and gives richer experience than Hahlo - but you pay with slow load times.

  

What's that you say? The next-generation iPhone is a-coming? According to a note from UBS global equity research analyst Nicolas Gaudois, Apple has tapped German chip-maker Infineon to outfit the guts of the next-gen 3G iPhone. The chipset, which includes a digital baseband controller, power management unit (PMU), and radio frequency (RF) module, will finally bring a 3G HSDPA-enabled iPhone to market - bringing faster data speeds to the web-surfing iPhone-masses.

More encouraging than the confirmation that Infineon will be providing the 3G hardware for the 3G iPhone is the expectation that the next-generation of iPhone could be upon us quite soon. Gaudois said that, "Consistent with these checks, our Apple analyst Ben Reitzes believes that 3G iPhones will be released by mid-year." That belief is in line with CNBC's Jim Goldman's report that we'll have a 3G iPhone in-hand by late May or early June 2008.

What's more, Gaudois mentioned that Infineon is slowing production of the EDGE baseband hardware that is used in the current iPhone. The ramp-down in production is seen as a move to clear out EDGE chipset inventory ahead of the 3G iPhone's entry into the HSDPA landscape.

Bring on the 3G iPhone!

[Via: CNN Money]

Right, so remember when I told you that the iPhone v1.1.4 firmware would be jailbroken post haste? Yea, well, v1.1.4 just got jailbroken!

While the rest of us were expecting zibri to release an updated ZiPhone that could reliably jailbreak the iPhone v1.1.4 firmware, iNdependence swooped in under the radar to claim the v1.1.4 jailbreak-prize. The Mac-based iPhone-modification tool has been updated - iNdependence 1.4 beta 5 is ready to rock and roll with the newest iPhone firmware. If you've got a Mac machine and an iPhone, you're probably just as excited as our wet-pants indicate we are. iNdependence v1.4b5 takes your iPhone v1.1.4 and gives it the jailbreak treatment, topping it off with a SIM unlock (using gunlock).

But, it doesn't stop there. iNdependence v1.4 beta 5 is an "easy-to-use interface for jailbreak, activation, SSH installation, and ringtone/wallpaper/application installation on your iPhone." So, after you jailbreak and unlock your iPhone v1.1.4, you can customize it with all manner of ringtones and wallpapers to your heart's content.

Enjoy!

iNdependence v1.4b5 changelog here.

Download iNdependence 1.4 beta 5 here.

Source

Wouldn't it be nice if Apple would just be a little more forthcoming about their future device plans? Heck, it'd be nice if Apple would be a little more clear on exactly what their press events will reveal. Wishful thinking, I guess.

Dusan already mentioned that Apple is planning to hold an "iPhone Software Roadmap" press event on March 6th, and that the release of the long-awaited iPhone SDK is imminent. But, word on the street has it that the iPhone SDK could be released in beta form. The speculation comes from an unlikely source - SetteB.it - but that doesn't mean the rumor doesn't hold water.

Macrumors reports that those people that have seen early versions of the iPhone SDK allege that the software only offers the "bare essentials." The evidence suggests that Apple could be dropping a beta version of the iPhone SDK next week to appease Apple fans that are upset over the SDK's delay. A final iPhone SDK could be announced at Apple's Worldwide Developer's Conference (WWDC), possibly in June.

For what it's worth, we're all keeping out fingers crossed for a final iPhone SDK on March 6th.

[Via: Macrumors]

We've no doubts Apple will reach its goal and sell 10 million iPhones by the end of the year. Speaking at a Goldman Sachs investment conference, Apple's COO Tim Cook said he has "really good confidence" the company will reach its target on time.

There are three main reasons why I agree with Mr Cook:

• There are still untapped markets. Ireland may be one of the next few countries that will get an iPhone. In addition, the Italian language support is already present on the device, hence we may see the Steve bringing its shiny handset to the fashion-aware Italian consumers.
• The SDK is coming and so is the better support for the enterprises. The exact date is now known and it's March 6th.
• Unlocking is getting simpler thanks to the applications like ZiPhone. Yeah, Apple may lose the revenue sharing deal with the carriers, but they still make decent money from the handset sales alone.

Have I missed anything? Any comments?

[Via: The New York Times]

Rumor on the street is that Apple is gearing toward iPhone launch in Ireland. According to some sources, Jobs&Co have partnered with Irish O2 and have scheduled the country's i-day for March 14th. The 8GB version will retail for 399 EUR, while the 16 GB version will see potential buyers pouring out an additional 100 EUR. Both prices are final and include VAT.

[Via: Engadget Mobile]

Ladies and gents we now know the iPhone SDK day. It's late, but not too late. Next Thursday, March 6th, Cupertino boys will unveil what they call the "iPhone software roadmap." Aside from the long awaited SDK release, Apple will also announce something for the suits. The "exciting new enterprise features" should help you convince your boss it's about time to buy you an iPhone. BlackBerry's cool but obviously not cool enough.

[Via: Engadget]

Right, most of us iPhone users are probably mocking Apple for trying to trick us into updating our iPhones with the new v1.1.4 firmware. But, if you've been experiencing some Bluetooth connection problems, or noticed some SMS text message ordering issues, you might want to seriously consider the bump up to v1.1.4. Turns out, the iPhone v1.1.4 firmware actually does stuff.

We're hearing that the new firmware fixes the Bluetooth bug, where some Bluetooth devices simply failed to connect properly with the iPhone after updating to the v1.1.3 firmware. The SMS text message bug has also been squashed with the new update. No longer will you be answering your friends' text messages before they even ask a question.

Furthermore, signal reception seems to have gotten a boost in reliability with the new firmware. Some iPhone users reported that they noticed weaker signal strength upon updating to the v1.1.3 firmware, but the new iPhone v1.1.4 firmware should bring back your cell signal to normal levels.

And, since the iPhone v1.1.4 firmware is almost jailbreakable, troubled iPhone users might want to consider the update. ZiPhone is almost iPhone v1.1.4 jailbreak compatible. Sit tight.

[Via: iPhone Atlas]

There's nothing like a little GUI love to automate the jailbreak process to point-and-click simplicity. Previous iPhone v1.1.3 jailbreak solutions have required at least a little involvement on the part of the iPhone user, but the ZiPhone 2.0 solution from zibri does away with all that preparation nonsense.

ZiPhone 2.0 only requires that you update your iPhone to v1.1.3 (if you haven't already). ZiPhone then jailbreaks, unlocks, and even activates your iPhone v1.1.3 with a couple clicks of the mouse. Since the iPhone v1.1.4 firmware is already available through iTunes, you'll want to make sure that iTunes updated your iPhone to v1.1.3 - find out all the details in our iPhone v1.1.3 jailbreak guide.

Once you've got v1.1.3 up and running on your iPhone, fire up ZiPhone and off you go. More details on our iPhone v1.1.3 jailbreak guide.

And, in even better news, ZiPhone is getting tweaked to work with the iPhone v1.1.4 firmware. Stay tuned…

Download ZiPhone 2.0 here.

The new iPhone v1.1.4 firmware update has been dissected by Italian Mac website Macitynet, and it seems that the iPhone v1.1.4 is ready to rock on T-Mobile Austria and O2 Ireland. Apple hasn't yet confirmed that the iPhone is coming to either Austria or Ireland, but having the network compatibility codes stored within the latest firmware is a pretty indicator that the iconic device will be coming to those respective countries.

Further, it makes sense for Apple to include T-Mobile Austria compatibility in the latest firmware. We already have confirmation from T-Mobile CEO Hamid Akhavan that the iPhone will be coming to Austria by this summer. And, that only gives more credibility to the speculation that the iPhone will be hitting O2 Ireland's network.

Still, the new code begs the question - is the iPhone v1.1.4 firmware "the one" that will work with iPhone SDK applications? Will there be another update before this summer? Well, if Apple were to hold off on updating the iPhone for a few months, we'd be surprised indeed.

[Via: Macworld]