Att iPhone News, Hacks, App Reviews, How To and jailbreak

Official iOS user guide

2010-06-27T09:52:00.000-07:00

While apple prides itself on developing software that works so well users never ever need support (sarcasm intended) they have released an official manual to the latest incarnation of the iPhone OS (now simply known as iOS).

The official guide can be found for direct PDF download and is a nice reference to have if needed.

Now if only it were available via iBooks... Hmmmmm.

Why iPhone iOS 4 multitasking "sucks"

2010-06-26T10:33:00.000-07:00

If the iPhone iOS 4 has one "killer app" it was supposed to be the multitasking feature that was built in.
It took apple such a long time to implement that people reasoned surely it would be a perfect elegant solution...

So why were we given such a "broken" mess with no true multi threaded application support?

When you close or switch almost any app made for any version of iOS prior to 4.0 you are simply closing the app and leaving the icon in the tray.
iOS 4 ready apps can stream music or give directions in the background or can complete a task and send you a notification when done, but never truly stay running (only the apple built apps stay running in their entirety)

But why? Now we are left to micro manage a tray full of icons. Not so elegant apple!

Truthfully the tray full of icons needs to be managed or else you have literally dozens of icons down there and have to hunt around to find what you want.

A better solution is to allow users to specify if they want 3,5, or 10 recents in addition to what's already running. Make the recents a dim sort of appearance so we know they aren't running and mak them stay to the right of whatever is always running.

Apples main concern here FYI is memory. On the iPhone 4 with 512 megabytes or ram it's less of an issue but as someone who has jailbroken and seen the size of mobile safari with a system profiler app I can tell you safari takes up to 150 megs of the 256 in most peoples iPhone 3GS models.

Low ram effects an iPhone just like any other computing device, this is why they do not allow endless apps running.

This is not in defense of apple, these are just logical explanations.

MobileMe plus AT&T = epic fail

2010-06-25T10:16:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I finally signed up for apples MobileMe service. After successfully using it on my Mac and iPhone whole connected to wifi, I have been unable to upload a single image over 3G or EDGE data yet.

I have to chalk this up to poor AT&T data performance.

More AT&T fail.

Like my music? Check your iq!

2010-06-08T16:06:00.000-07:00

So somehow I have fans.
And this I don't get. I mean, have you ever listened to my music? Example is my latest album where my single has me saying "baby please" like 1564 times
That's not music, that's an incantation. Meaning that you are basically a part of a cult by listening.

That was ushers plan though, to make a cult and get tax exempt status. Black people hate paying taxes.
Oh, and if i sound racist, so sorry!!
The truth is never ever pretty

NEVER MESS WITH JUSTIN BIEBER, YO!

Did AT&T break contract? Is the Verizon iPhone Imminent?

2010-06-02T13:43:00.000-07:00

Did AT&T break a contract clause with Apple regarding all you can consume data?
If so it's possible that the Verizon iDevice is closer than ever.

The website "Boy Genius Report" which generally gets things right is reporting that Verizon may be testing the iPad on it's network, which would coincide with next weeks WWDC conference in which Steve Jobs may announce carrier agreements to the already unlocked device which right now runs only on GSM networks in north america.

With the announcement of the end of "all you can eat" data plans for the iPad from AT&T earlier today this is an interesting development.

From BGR website:

“According to a highly placed source of ours, Verizon Wireless is currently testing Apple iPad devices on their network.” The guinea pig model, if you will, is a CDMA-compatible device. “It would appear," adds BGR, "like the gates of heaven have opened, as we’re probably going to see not only an iPhone but also iPad on Verizon very soon, huh?”

However don't hold your breath on the iPhone jumping over to Verizon any time soon.
Chances are better than ever though as the possibility that AT&T BROKE an agreement with apple regarding the $30 unlimited data plans for iPad by discontinuing the plan means that Apple could be in the clear to take the iPhone and iPad anywhere they wish.

Att Ends Unlimited Data Plans... The Party is over!

2010-06-02T08:08:00.000-07:00

Att announced today that it is ending its unlimited iphone data plans for $30 a month, introducing new plans for new customers on June 7th, 2010:

DataPlus -- Provides 200 megabytes (MB) of data. for example, enough to send/receive 1,000 emails (no attachments), plus send/receive 150 emails with attachments, plus view 400 Web pages, plus post 50 photos on social media sites, plus watch 20 minutes of streaming video

DataPro -- Provides 2 gigabytes (GB) of data. for example, enough to send/receive 10,000 emails (no attachments), plus send/receive 1,500 emails with attachments, plus view 4,000 Web pages, plus post 500 photos to social media sites, plus watch 200 minutes of streaming video

This is terrible news for new customers.
Thankfully existing contracts are not effected, and Att is "generously" offering to allow existing contracts to chose this new plan with no contract extensions.

New plans cost $25 a month for the DataPro and $15 for DataPlus.
Att has announced it is also ending the unlimited iPad data plans.

$30 for unlimited data with an existing plan, or $25 for limited?
Each 1 gigabyte over costs a user $10 and Att will send a txt to a device nearing the monthly limit.

When will iPhone 4g (or HD) launch?

2010-05-25T08:50:00.000-07:00

Just a sidenote.

With the recent announcement of iPhone insurance starting June 6th and new data plans June 7th one has to wonder when the new iPhone will really launch.

I am just purely speculating but is it really possible that Steve Jobs will stand on the stage at WWDC and announce "available today at 5pm"?

All these changes at the same time are a perfect storm of change.
We will have to wait and see.

An Intelligent Blog - About Boardgames

2010-05-15T14:03:00.000-07:00

Yes, boardgames.

I think the last time I played a boardgame it was scrabble. I got frustrated because we were missing two "a's" and an "I" so most of our words sounded like an autistic third grader made them up after we burnt through the few we had.

So anyhow check out a boy names Dug which is a smart guy talking about stuff that's somewhat interesting to me (and perhaps positively intriguing to you).
I found him by searching for something regarding my car. Go figure.

Ok then so check that out.
Boardgames are fun eventhough Candyland sounds like somewhere that pedophiles would hang out.

SOLVED: Pandora for iPhone Choppy and Skipping?

2010-05-14T17:44:00.000-07:00

Lately my Pandora App has been skipping and choppy for the first several minutes it is playing after I launch it.

I tried to make sure I was connected to a good signal however the problem persisted even after I was connected to my own wifi network. Along with this, album artwork took a long time to appear.

The solution is simple:
uninstall and reinstall the app

Simply remove the app through the springboard (for all the casual users who don't jailbreak, that is what the iPhone "desktop" environment is called) and for good measure, restart your device (restart is optional) and redownload the app from the AppStore.

This works to clear up all issues pandora is having with your network.

After doing this I can even connect to the network with the much slower edge data connection and stream flawlessly.

Questions? Please post them in the comments below!

How Strong is the iPhone Glass Screen?

2010-05-13T13:29:00.000-07:00

Question:
How Hard Can u Hit The iPhone 3G Screeen With Out Breakiing It?

How hard can u hit the iPhone screen. When my dad uses my iPhone he hits tha iPhone he hits my screen hard.. Can the iPhone take that impact will it break more easy?

--

Answer:

The iPhone screen is made of GLASS. This is different than most other phones on the market today which use plastic.
The glass screen is necessary as apple uses a special type of touch screen which requires glass as opposed to plastic in order to properly function.

The fact that it is glass also means that there will be very little scratching on the screen, and apple also coats the screen with a scratch resistant layer.

How hard can you hit it before it breaks?
That depends.
I've had an iPhone drop a few feet on concrete and shatter. I've also had one drop several feet and had nothing happen.
The glass breaks from the corners, and a direct STRIKE on it doesn't seem usually to crack it, but a pressure point on any of the four corners are the best bet for breakage.

If the glass breaks, Apple does not cover you, sobe careful!

In short, you should always be careful with your electronics. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
Have fun, but be careful.

iPhone Glass Stress Test!

Hello Technorati... QRCXET4VDYJ9

2010-05-12T20:45:00.000-07:00

A quick post for technorati to index me.
QRCXET4VDYJ9

I hope that by getting listed I can get some good exposure to the rest of the blog world.

Here goes something!

AT&T Early Upgrade Changes Proof of iPhone Launch Date?

2010-05-12T11:20:00.000-07:00

Yesterday eagle eyed AT&T subcribers may have noticed that their upgrade eligibility changed to June 21st, 2010.
That is very good evidence that the new iPhone is on it's way, and with the WDC scheduled for the beginning of June, chances are there will be an announcement and launch a few weeks later, similar to last years iPhone 3gs and this years iPad announcement.

--

If you want a great resource to cover the iPhone 2g, 3g, and 3gs, Then check this book out, it helped me get started with iPhone :-)

Jumigamer for iPhone App Review

2010-05-11T21:43:00.000-07:00

update: a step by step setup guide at the bottom of this post

	Jumigamer Review. Perfect or Flawed Just Enough to Really Infuriate? Is the jumigamer iPhone Game Controller really worth the money? I love emulators. For the record, I do not actually own all 768 original Nintendo Entertainment System games that I downloaded yesterday, but I do own the ones that I plan on playing, but they are in a storage box in Canada, waiting patiently for me to come get them.
Recently I became inspired to start playing some of the old classic games that were a part of my childhood, and I thought that Jumigamer would be the perfect iPhone App to get me playing through the classics again. Simple Set Up Setting up the jumigamer is simple. Buy the App from the AppStore and then head to the companies website and install the software on your pc. Within minutes you will be able to use the app as though it is a real wireless controller on your PC. Simply start your chosen application and configure it through the options. I used a Nintendo Entertainment System emulator and configuration was easy.
	The Only Problem? The Controls... The only problem that prevents me from actually enjoying my new wireless controller is the fact that it is next to impossible to look at the character I am controlling on the screen and mash a virtual gamepad on my iphone without losing track of where the buttons are located. If you play iPhone games on an
iPhone, this is rarely a problem with a touch screen d-pad or action button, after all you are staring at the screen and controller at the same time. However when you play something on a screen other than the iPhone, you find that without the tactile feel of a game controller, you are lost when you cannot simply feel your way back to the controls. For this reason how can one really recommend this app? While it does exactly what it says it does, the actual execution was to me, a bad experience. If you are on an extreme budget and you can't really afford a basic PC USB Game Controller, then maybe this is for you. Otherwise, best to stay away from jumigamer.
How to Retro Game in Style: If you want to really game in style, then be sure to check out the product pictured here. The FC3 is the ULTIMATE muti function machine, playing all consoles: Nintendo Entertainment System Super Nintendo Sega Genesis All THREE consoles on ONE MACHINE. An amazing deal, and you can let your heirloom consoles remain in safe keeping

UPDATE: STEP BY STEP SETUP (May 13. 2010)

Because I've started to see search results asking specifically How to Set Up jumigamer I am going to cover that here as well.

How to Setup And Install JumiGamer on iPhone and iPod Touch

Step 1.
Download jumigamer from the AppStore and install it on your device

Step 2.
Make sure you are connected to the same wifi network on both your computer and iPhone/iPad//iPod touch

Step 3.
Download the proper software and install it on your computer by clicking here (direct download from jumitech's website)

Step 4.
After it is setup, launch the file and it will be sitting in your system tray near your clock.
When it runs you will be asked to enter a password. Enter one as later you need to enter this on your iPhone jumigamer app as well.

Step 5.
You should then launch jumigamer on your iDevice. You should see your computer listed.
If it is not listed then click the gear icon in jumigamer to be sure "autodiscovery" is enabled.

And then simply tap your computer in the list. If it asks you enter the password from earlier and the control pad appears on your device.

After this you need to set up the game you are using. Every game is different and you need to refer to the games instructions or manual but it is basic, instead of pressing a keyboard key in the games setup menu you will press the button on the jumigamer app on the iPhone.

THAT SHOULD COVER IT!
Any questions, post them in the comments (no registration needed) and thanks!

OTHER NEWS: iPad Jailbroken

2010-05-11T11:02:00.000-07:00

In case you missed it, the ipad has been jailbroken.
Something that I prediected would happen here ages ago.

A good resource on jailbreaking can be FOUND HERE.

What's Spirit?

Spirit is an untethered jailbreak for iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch on the latest firmwares.

Spirit is not a carrier unlock.

If you currently are using a tethered jailbreak, you have to restore to use Spirit.
Do not upgrade if you use an unlock on an iPhone 3G or 3GS. (You can, however, restore to 3.1.2 if you have SHSH blobs for that version.)
Requirements
Any iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch on firmware 3.1.2, 3.1.3, or 3.2.

An activated device: one not stuck on the Connect to iTunes or Emergency Call screen.
Any version of iTunes 9 (including 9.1.1).

Note: On iPad, all this is still sort of beta. Some packages in Cydia, not designed for iPad, might screw up your system and require you to restore. Be careful. (And no, Cydia's appearance is not final.)

So this also jailbreaks 3gs it would seem. Yay for people who have newer devices.

About time huh?
What is your experience using Spirit? Anything special to share? Let us know.

I've Got The Power! - iPhone and iPod Battery Packs

2010-05-10T14:13:00.000-07:00

iPhone and iPod Battery Pack Round Up
The three BEST power solutions for your on the go needs.

We've all been there...

How many times has your battery been low when you are on the road? How many times have you had to stop listening to music, browsing the internet, or have been forced to turn off your iPhone's 3G capabilities in order to conserve precious battery life?

Here are three (yes only three, because there is a BIG difference between a good battery pack and a cheap one) battery packs to help keep your iPod or iPhone running strong.
Which do you use? Let us know in the comments!

Kensington Battery Pack and Charger for iPod; iPhone 1G, 3G Kensington has been making iPod and iPhone accessories for years. This powerful solution will allow for you to take your power on the road with you. It is an external power supply that attaches via USB and allows for charging, anywhere. Also powers other devices! Compatibility: iPhone 1G, 3G; iPod classic 4G, 5G, 5.5G, 6G; iPod nano 3G Rechargeable battery pack extends playing time up to 100 hours of music, 21 hours of video, or 6 hours of talk AC power adapter with USB allows you to recharge your battery pack Includes dock connector to power and charge your iPhone and iPod Mini USB cable included to power and charge other mobile devices, such as cell phones, PDAs, and more	For the latest prices, reviews and to buy CLICK HERE
Imax Power IMP500 3G 3Gs iPhone iTouch External Battery, 5000mAh A light and powerful external battery for your iDevice. This battery adds up to 38 hours of life to your device and is very light weight at the same time. The Imax will also power other devices! Enjoy 38 hours video playing time for 3Gs iPhone and 1st, 2nd and 3rd generation itouch Compatible with all generations of iPhone Boost 3G iPhone video play time up to 38 hours (with speaker on), with 400% of backup 3G iPhone battery life Boost 3G iPhone internet time to 38hours, audio time up to 180 hours Ultra light weight 130g or 4.6 ounces, dimensions: 3.9"x2.2"x0.6"	For the latest prices, reviews and to buy CLICK HERE
Kensington Mini Battery Extender and Charger for iPod; iPhone 1G, 3G (Black) A portable solution, gets rid of the wires and allows you to have a one piece solution. May not provide as much power however it is smaller, and when it comes to batteries, bigger always means more power. Compatibility: iPod nano 1G, 2G, 3G; iPod classic 4G, 5G, 5.5G, 6G; iPod touch; iPhone Power and charge your iPhone or iPod--extends play time up to 30 hours of music or 6 hours of video (on iPod nano 3G) or 3 hours of talk (on iPhone) Includes retractable USB charging cable High-capacity, rechargeable Lithium-Ion polymer battery pack for increased energy efficiency Small enough to keep connected to your iPhone or iPod	For the latest prices, reviews and to buy CLICK HERE

Att has 3x more dropped calls than verizon?

2010-05-06T13:41:00.000-07:00

From the files of the "Obvious Department" it turns out that AT&T uses experince more dropped calls than any other wireless carrier.

"ChangeWave Research, the company that does the polling for the InvestorPlace.com site, released the results of a survey of 4,040 smartphone users in the US done during March of this year. They were looking into "trends in customer satisfaction and loyalty, future market share demand, and the issue of dropped calls," and discovered that AT&T's results were in a death-spiral on all those measurements. As far as dropped calls go, while Verizon customers reported that 1.5% of their calls were dropped - the best result of the 4 US major carriers - AT&T customers said that 4.5% of their calls were dropped. Sprint and T-Mobile customers were essentially in a tie for second, with 2.4% and 2.5% of calls dropped respectively. And unsurprisingly, only 23% of AT&T customers said they were "very satisfied" with their service, as opposed to 49% of Verizon customers."

So maybe us iPhone customers are not simply crybaby types. Perhaps there is more to it than AT&T wants to admit.

Will AT&T's investment in new towers pay off? And how will we customers fare when the new iPhone is released later on this year. Will chaos ensue or will we see a smooth ride?

No Verizion iPhone?

2010-05-06T12:21:00.000-07:00

No Verizon iPhone till 2011 says an analyst.

Look for the iPhone to be exclusive to AT&T for at least the rest of 2010 and first half of 2011 says an analyst.

According to Brian Marshall, a Wall Street analyst at BroadPoint AmTech, "AT&T had to do something dramatic to get the iPad." So what they did was to give Apple the rock-bottom pricing it wanted for 3G data. No other US 3G carrier can touch the $29.99 all-you-can-eat plan, and so, Marshall told Computerworld's Gregg Keizer, "AT&T was able to negotiate a six-month extension on the iPhone exclusive."

So it seems that all those people who thought that $29.99 iPad unlimited data plan was "to good to be true" were right. However true as it is, it was a business decision to extend AT&T's exclusivity through the key Christmas shopping season.
Consider this a loss leader for AT&T who may lose money on the iPad data plan on some customers, but who will gain new subscriptions and customers looking for phones over the Christmas season.

Cannot reinstall apps on iPhone?

2010-02-25T13:39:00.000-08:00

How to reinstall apps on iPhone when the AppStore tells you an app already exists, and it doesn't.

Is iTunes acting up?
Does your iPhones AppStore tell you that an app is installed when it isn't?

There is a solution for that:

The iPhone is not perfect and sometimes these strange things happen.
Try the following to straighten your phone out:

Sometimes when you sync your phone apps are installed by iTunes on your computer. To see if fabecook is already installed:

First, press the home button twice. The first time sill bring you to the first home screen, the second time brings up search. Type the first few letter of the app you are looking for. Do you see what you are looking for? Great, it's already Installed.

If not try:

1. Restart the phone.
Hold down the top button you usualy turn the screen off with and the front button on the face at the same time for about ten seconds until th phone restarts and you see an apple logo appear

try and see if the phone let's you Install your app now

2. Connect the phone to your computer. Open iTunes and on the main screen where you can manage you iPhone see under "applications" and make sure the box is not checked for the the app you want to install. Check this box and click sync below. iTunes will install the app for you.

Hope this solves your problem!

Click here for more on the iPhone Operating System related posts!

What Models Cannot be Jailbroken

2010-02-24T15:44:00.001-08:00

I am writing this so Google can index it. I have been asked this several times and there is a good way to tell using free tools and a general rule.

WHAT IPHONE AND IPOD MODELS CANNOT BE JAILBROKEN?
Can my iPhone or iPod Touch be jailbroken or dos it require tethering?

Generally speaking, all iPhone 3g and older models can be jailbroken.
The same can be said for the iPod Touch up to second generation.

ANTI PIRACY BY APPLE:

After the release of the iPhone 3gs, Apple started to put a different type of memory (RAM) in the iPhone and iPod touch. This memory prevents the device from staying in an always jailbroken state.

Each time the device restarts either due to a user restarting it or a complete battery drain, it must be connected to a computer and you must run blackra1n to rejailbreak. Even though this takes only a few moments to do it is a major hassle if you do not have access to a pc.

NO MORE PROBLEMS, HERE ARE SOLUTIONS:

For those of you who want to know whether or not your iPhone or iPod is good to jailbreak, there is a quick rule of thumb. If your device has a model number starting with MB you are likely fine.
For those of you with an MC model chances are you are destined to tether your jailbreak.
Another sign can be found five characters into your serial number, this indicates the week your iPhone was manufactured during the year. The lower the better if your iPhone was sold In 2009 as after week 42 almost all iPhone and iPods were made with the new anti-piracy memory chips:

An even better solution recently launched is the free tool called F0RECAST which will query your device to see what can be done with it. You can download the f0recast tool here

iPhone/iPod Question: what us that strange exclamation point icon for?

2010-02-24T11:44:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago I installed androidlock from cydia and noticed that I started to see an explanation point next to my battery indicator like the one pictured here.

Any jailbreaker will tell you that when your phone acts "strange" you worry because it could mean a restore which can lead to complications and a possible dead iPhone (referred to as a "bricked" iPhone)

I thought that it may refer to my battery itself which worried menbut apple has nonsuch article referncing this icon.

From research online which only brought up one page these indicators seem entirely related to push notifications.

Whenever I receive a notification from Facebook, The Weather Channel Max or CNBC Real Time I get the icon. It is cleared after the app that sent it is opened.

Mystery solved but I still don't know if this is an iPhone "feature" or a byproduct of my jailbreak.

HOW TO: Make iPhone apps for a profit and sell on the AppStore!

2010-02-18T10:46:00.000-08:00

iPhone apps for profit?

Do you want to develop the next "big thing" in the iPhone world? That would be the next app... The apps you see in the apple iPhone commercials were made by someone, many people with no computer programming experience at all. So why not you! Why can't you make that BIG MONEY?

THERE'S AN APP FOR THAT

The past few years has witnessed a change in the ecosystem of the wireless world.
Time was that cell phone companies were responsible for selling games and applications to their customers.
These apps were programmer in the java language using J2RE. Not only were these apps hard to develop, they were also severly limited due to several different factors:

- compatability with multiple phones
- limited hardware
- small screen size

When apple launched the iPhone in 2007 and the AppStore a year later, the world of mobile development forever changed.

A GAME CHANGER

The AppStore is an integrated distribution system for developers to sell applications on the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. It is pre-installed on all of these devices and is dead easy to use.

Since it's launch in 2008, in only a year and a half over TWO BILLION APPS have been downloaded from the AppStore and the numbers keep increasing day by day!

And it will only GET BIGGER with the iPad coming in the next few months!

THE APPLE METHOD

Ultimately apple makes it relatively simple to become an app developer. You need to join the apple developer program and program your apps.

You need three things:

1. An idea
2. An annual subscription to Apples development program
3. A computer to program your app on (Windows or Mac will do)

After you write and code your app, submit it to Apple for approval and wait to get listed on the Appstore and the money to start to come in.

BUT I'M NO COMPUTER PROGRAMMER!!

Fear not because I'm about to tell you the secret of how anyone can learn to write and sell an app on the AppStore.
It makes it NEARLY GUARANTEED that you will be able to

A. Make BIG $$$
B. Start on a real career as an app programmer.

Who knows, maybe you will be the next big thing! Most downloaded apps do make a profit.
Even selling an app for a dollar and making $0.50 profit after your comission still NETS YOU $5000.00!

HOW TO GET STARTED:

If this sounds good to you, and you found this article useful, then you need to check out the secret so many app developers know but don't share...

I know it can be done and you don't need to be a computer genius either!

HOW TO: iphone 101, Activate an iPhone

2010-02-17T22:05:00.001-08:00

So your iPhone died and was restored and needs to be activated? Follow these simple steps to get back into business:

You may activate the phone at a AT&T store however the staff there does the same thing you can do at home which is connect the phone to iTunes and do it online.
Apple store employees also simply use iTunes to activate the phone.

How to activate iPhone:

1. Download the latest version of iTunes from http://www.apple.com/iTunes
install it

2. Connect your iPhone to the computer. After a few minutes any drivers needed are installed on your computer (windows version only not mac) and the phone is recognized

3. The iPhone will come up in the iTunes window and is automatically activated.

4. You are asked if you want to set the phone up as new or restore a backup

from here on just follow prompts.
If you do nit have an active Internet connection this does not work and you will need to bring the phone in to an stt or apple store.
Do not go to an att retailer but an actual corporate store. They deal with customer service type issues.

HOW TO: grab a single frame from a video on an iPhone 3gs

2010-02-17T21:30:00.000-08:00

Although the iPhone 3gs natively takes spectacular video, you cannot simply take a frame grab but there is an easy solution that involves no jailbreaking or hacking.

Step 1:
select the video you want a frame from in your camera roll and turn your phone on its side to enter landscape mode (so it's wider than tall) the video automatically fills the entire iPhone screen.

Step 2:
use the scrub bat up top to skip to the frame you want to capture. Pause the video on this point

Step 3:
tap on the screen anywhere to make the video controls dissapear and all you can see just the video.

Step 4:
hold the sleep/wake button on top of the phone and then press the home button on the front of the iPhone and a screenshot is taken and saved to the camera roll.

You now had a still image of the frame on the movie you want!

I isn't the same an iPhone photo though the resolution is less and it's in PNG format but unless you get the photo on a computer and use a professional video editing program it's the closest you can get.

Also the iPhone video is only 640x480 resolution so it won't create anymore than a VGA resolution still from a video.

HOW TO: restore an iPhone 3g or earlier to a older firmware:

2010-02-15T21:46:00.000-08:00

Has your iPhone died?
Want to restore but not upgrade?
Since you have an iPhone 3g or earlier you can restore your phone to an earlier version. This method will notnwork with a 3rd generation iPod Touch or iPhone 3gs as apple must digitally verify all iPhone restores. They as of this writing are not verifying any firmware but 3.1.3 on these two newest iDevices.

(Btw, for a great resource on jailbreaking I recommend checking THIS BOOK out, it's an awesome reference manual!

If your phone is in the "connect to iTunes" screen then it likely isnt actually in DFU mode.
DFU mode has to be entered by a user. More on that in a minute.

1. The first thing you need to do is download the appropriate firmware for your device.
You can get a list of firmware downloads from:
http://www.iclarified.com/entry/index.php?enid=750

The file you want is:
3.1.2 (3G): iPhone1,2_3.1.2_7D11_Restore.ipsw
(or earlier)

Download that file. They are large so be patient. Also take note of where it is saved as you need it later on.

Now you are ready to put the phone into restore mode if it isn't already:

Step 1. Turn off your iPhone.

Step 2. Hold down the power and home button.

Step 3. When you see the Apple logo, release the power button but continue holding the home button down.

Step 4. Open iTunes and wait for it to tell you that its in restore mode.

At this point you will see a message in itunes telling you that an iPhone in recovery mode and that it needs to be restored.
Click ok to dismiss this dialog box.

Next on the iTunes screen hold SHIFT and click the restore button.
Instead of downloading the newest firmware it opens a file dialog box.

Navigate to the file you just downloaded and select it.
The rest of the process is automated and will take maybe between 15-20 minutes.

Don't Miss These Awesome iPhone Hacking Related Books

iPad is Not Widescreen. Sad But True

2010-01-28T08:43:00.000-08:00

(UPDATE: the iPhone uses a 3:2 aspect ratio which is not rectangular but not square. It is an Apple only format.)

The "Apple screwed the iPad up" camp scored another point when Tuaw pointed out that the screen on the device is 1024x768 and a 4:3 ratio.

This means that:

A) yes it does do high def movies...
However
B) it is 4:3 ratio.

if the numbers seem strange, and you don't see any issue, just remember when you first saw a widescreen DVD playing on a square tv, and remember those black bars because you will be seeing more and more of them.

Even YouTube content is going widescreen, so the Apple decision to use a 4:3 aspect is strange.
This is likely a limitation of the iPhone OS or possibly done so games and apps are always universally programmed form both the iPhone and iPad devices.

No iPad Flash? Don't Jump to Conclusions Yet

2010-01-27T22:46:00.000-08:00

Word around the net is that the new apple ipad will not include flash support.

During the keynote speech, Steve Jobs inadvertantly showed a page on the iPad which had the apple logo for "missing plug in", and that plug in was Adobe Flash.

SAME OLD SONG AND DANCE?

Any iPhone or iPod touch user who actually browses the Internet on their device knows the annoyance which can result in a flash page not displaying.

As a result, people are pointing fingers as the above image shows the same image iPhone users have been used to for years.

But what if?

There is a chance that the firmware for the iPad is not finished. It is also possible that the finished product will include flash.

Proof of different versions of the iPhone OS is evident in each release. You cannot install the same firmware from an iPhone 3g as a 3gs (and vice versa)

The heftier specs of the iPad are further proof that the main reason Steve Jobs has refused flash on iPhone are no longer an issue (it's too slow to run on iPhone, consumes too much battery).

Adobe is further helping by making flash more accessable to developers and making porting easy in the lastest beta releases of CS5.

So in short, keep your eyes open for the possibility of Flash on the iPad.
With it, apple can further justify why we "must have" another gadget.
Without it, Google Chrome and Windows 7 powered netbooks look all the more inviting.

At&t to iPhone Customers - Prepare for the Worst, the iPad is Coming!

2010-01-27T21:35:00.000-08:00

For more on at&t Network issues, check out the following:

Why or why not to tether your computer to iPhone

More at&t connection issues

Network issues, who's at fault... Not At&t!
Worst 3G in America, maybe the world!

At&t Announced as the Official 3G Provider of the iPad

Today at the Apple Keynote, Steve Jobs mentioned that the brand new iPad device would be able to connect to both wifi as well as 3G networks, with At&t being the official network in the United States.

This, coupled with a two tiered, and flat rate pricing scheme shows At&t and Apple are serious about selling data to people who are hungry for a way to connect.

The plans are listed as $14.99 for a 200mb plan or $30.00 for unlimited data.

PLEASE THINK ABOUT THE NETWORK

With these prices come multiple questions.
At&t has already somewhat admitted that the network is not completely prepared for the onslaught of 3G users it has generated in the short three years since the original iPhone made it's debut.
AT&T's CEO even eluded to the idea that perhaps unlimited plans for data are not the best idea.
Most of the world does not have any "unlimited" options for data. This is a very American way of thinking.

So where will this leave already frustrated iPhone customers? Not only are they strong armed into paying a $30.00 data plan, they are also told they are not allowed under the regular At&t terms of service (TOS) that they must not tether the iPhone to a computer or may suffer huge pro-rated bills.

Whatever happens, my wife and myself are at the end of our rope with At&t and the terrible iPhone service that we get on a daily basis.
Dropped call after dropped call is not the way to run a network, and these new data rates could be a game changer for the way that 3G is sold.

Then again, it could just be another crack in an already poor 3G network run by At&t.

More iPad. Experince vs. Customizability

2010-01-27T12:23:00.000-08:00

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The internets and twitters are all a... Well a Twitter with news of the newest apple device, the ipad.

I will avoid breaking things down technically as plenty lot great sites are already doing that, but I will editorialize on this.

What is known of the specs:

-9.7" IPS screen
-1/2" thick (or thin)
-10 hours of battery life (up to 1 month standby,
"Shut the iPad down, come back in a month and it still has a charge")
-16-64 Gigabytes of flash storage (16/32/64 gb models)
-Accelerometer and compass
-Speaker, mic
-Dock connector (likely same as iPhone)
-It can run all iPhone apps, unmodified, out of the box

The ipad runs iPhone apps by doubling the pixels used. It's similar to how a DVD player will make a standard DVD look like it is high definition.

It also connects and syncs with iTunes and MobileMe.

You have to assume that it runs a locked version of the iPhone os meaning you as a user do not have a say in what you install unless you jailbreak the device.

Time will tell whether this changes the netbook world like the iPhone changed mobile phones, bu apple expects to sell a ton of these new gadgets this year.

BUT WHY?

Why would a user buy an iPad as oppsed to a netbook running Windows 7. Truthfully I cannot see any real reason to lock myself down into another apple world.
While I do use my iPhone daily for limited tasks, I am in the market for a real computer which runs APPLICATIONS, not simply APPS.

Apple reasons that users will see a degraded experience if they run apps which are not pre-approved for the iPad. They then see the iPad as a poorly manufactured device.
The end user doesn't understand why it doesn't work, and apple understands it's better to cripple the iPad than give users a less than 100% experieice

The power user then has to decide what he wants, power vs. customizability.
Like buying a Ford vs. Mercedes Benz. Horsepower opposed to luxury.

Which will win?

iPad Released - Let the Cat and Mouse Game Begin

2010-01-27T11:52:00.000-08:00

The iPad will have to be jailbroken.

There, I said it. Today Steve Jobs announced that apple would be shipping a glorified iPho.... Err, the iPad.

The iPad is a 9.7 inch version of the iPhone with a 1ghz apple manufactured CPU and other features which make it a larger version of the iPhone.

But who will jailbreak it. Or will it require jailbreaking? If it does indeed only connect to the AppStore then chances are that it is a closed device like the iPhone. The fact that it runs the iPhone OS re-enforces this.

I personally will not buy a locked down device for $499 (starting point) but the average user will probably buy into it for the ease of use and ebook features.

What about you? Will you buy one?

Google Releases Google Voice Mobile, flips off Att

2010-01-26T13:06:00.000-08:00

In case you missed it, there was quite the drama happening last year when apple took the brilliant google voice app from the AppStore.
No one knew who was to blame for the app dissapearing but all fingers pointed at AT&T.
Apple argued that the app would confuse the consumer as it looked identical to the iPhone.
Even the FTC stepped in to see who was to blame.

The GVmobile app went onto cydia and google maintained a basically barely functional version of the mobile site for voice.

Until today.

Today Google launched it's own mobile site. It runs on mobile safari and in true google style works perfectly while loading fast even on an edge connection.

When you first log in you are asked the number which you are viewing the site from. From there it all just works.

You can send SMS, make calls, and access your stored online contacts.
You cannot access the contacts stored on your iPhone unless you sync your iPhone to google beforehand.

All in all a nice app and a blow to both AT&T and apple.

Click below for more screenshots.

AndroidLock - great lockscreen mod, crashes iphone

2010-01-26T10:00:00.000-08:00

(UPDATE #2: still crashing. False alarm on the previous entry. The phone still crashes into safe mode forcing me to remove it again.

UPDATE #1: I have removed several extensions from my phone including live weather and disabled boss paper.
Androidlock now works fine)

One of the things I personally envy about the Android mobile platform by Google is the unique pattern based unlock process.

I was happy to see someone had finally ported the process to the iPhone, and I quickly installed it.

The problem is that the mod crashes the iPhone over and over again. The crash comes when the phone is put into sleep mode or brought out of it by pressing the top sleep/wake button.

The instant I uninstalled the mod the crashes stopped.

So for now the AndroidLock fails. Maybe in the future we can all be as cool as android users, but for now we will have to use a plain vanilla slide to unlock.

How to play Grand Theft Auto Chinatown Wars on the first generation iPod Touch

2010-01-22T23:25:00.000-08:00

A review of GTA is coming in the next few days. Be sure to SUBSCRIBE so you don't miss it.
Believe it or not, it's NOT the best game out there...

CONSPIRACY ALERT!

Apple is trying to sell more new iPod touch hardware by bforcing users to play the most wanted new games on a new generation iPod touch.

The newest iPod touch hardware includes the same insides as the latest iPhone. The second generation iPod however is required to play the new Grand Theft Auto (GTA) game on the AppStore.
Strange considering the first generation iPhone can play the game just fine.

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

Luckilly a thread on the website toucharcade outlines how with a regular iPod and about ten minutes you can get this game to run on any idevice:

*YOU DO NOT NEED A HACKED OR JAILBROKEN IPOD TOUCH FOR THIS

First of all buy the game using iTunes. You cannot buy a game on your iPod touch if apple has deemed it incompatible.

1. Be sure you have a program to open zipped files. Winrar is the best choice for windows. Unrarx is a good choice for mac.

2. Go to the ‘Mobile Applications’ folder in your iTunes folder (under My Documents \ My Music \ in Windows, ~user/music/ on the Mac)

3. Find the GTACW.ipa file and move it to your desktop. You can copy it from the mobile applications folder and paste it to the desktop

4. Go into iTunes and make sure to delete GTA: Chinatown Wars from your Applications list.

5. Unplug and replug your ipod touch into thr computer. Re-sync your iPod Touch and then disconnect.

6. Use your Zip tool top open the ‘.ipa’ file
Inside the new folder there will be a folder names ‘Payload’. Open this and look for the file “RslP1.app” – that is the actual game.

7. Drag & drop RslP1.app to iTunes – it should come up with a ‘Processing File’ progress window.
Make sure that you see the game listed in your applications list.

8. Re-sync your iPod Touch and the game should be there.

You'll have to go into the applications listnandnactuslly check the box to force it to sync to your iPod but it will work!

Have fun and check back for my full review coming soon (hint hint, the controls are a deal breaker)

Who Will Jailbreak the Apple Tablet First?

2010-01-22T21:48:00.000-08:00

I suppose the first question is whether or not the Apple Tablet will need Jailbreaking.

It is not clear whether or not the device will be an open sourced and free to modify system like Apple's desktop OSX operating system, or if it will be another appstore based OS similar to the iPhone/iPod Touch OS.

If the device requires only "Apple Approved" apps to be installed, it will only be a matter of time until it is opened up by the jailbreaking community.

The tablet need not be unlocked as it is reportedly being offered to both At&t and Verizon wireless.

But who will be first?
Geohot?
Devteam?

Or will some other group emerge?

And would YOU buy a locked down device to start with?
Sound off and let us know!

Rock vs. Cydia - What is best for begginer and advanced users?

2010-01-17T22:02:00.000-08:00

For more on iPod/iPhone Technical issues, please see:
How to Jailbreak iPod/iPhone	How to Restore (Fix) iPod/iPhone	Best Cydia Repositories

Today I found myself doing a favor for a friend of the family.

Her grandson (14 years old) had recently been given an iPod Touch for Christmas and I offered to jailreak it for him so he may customize it and mod it any way he would like.

After running blackra1n and restarting I ran the blackra1n app on his phone and sat staring at the two choices for installer, "Rock Your iPhone" and "Cydia."
I had to make a choice of one over the other. If it were me I would install both (I've had both installed before) but in this case I actually found myself installing the newer Rock Your iPhone over Cydia.

WHAT'S BEST FOR THE GOOSE NOT FOR THE GANDER

So why did I chose this. Why might you want to chose one over the other?
It came down to a few factors in this case:

INTERFACE

To be honest, Rock Your iPhone looks much more user friendly and similar to the native Apple Appstore. This may not be an issue for a seasoned and experienced iPhone jailbreaker, but in the past I found I would get calls from people who's phones I had worked on asking me how to work cydia and if a certain mod would be ok for their phone.

Rock Your iPhone:



The Rock Your iPhone interface showing an install

Cydia:



The Cydia interface showing an install

As you can see the interface of the two are similar in many respects, however the Rock app seems far more polished and fleshed out.
There are little nuances everywhere that make it easier to use (not necessarilly more powerful) and it helps new users feel more at home.

ACCESSABILITY:

This was also a factor.
It ties into the interface, however it is more than looks.
The Rock app has a feature which allows you to back up your list of installed apps. You do this by creating a free account on their servers which allows you to keep a list of installed packages.
This is useful later if you need to restore and rejailbreak your device. You can quickly recover where you left off.
Granted the power user likely has a mental checklist of all the mods and hacks they have done, and may never use this feature.

Cydia also has options for developers that Rock lacks. This is great for a developer who needs the terminal app installed, but can lead to problems for new users.
This is a good reason to leave out Cydia and go for Rock Your iPhone.
Less chance of mistakes made by the user installing something they should not install is worth the switch to Rock.

SPEED:

Speed is also a factor.
I have never had much luck getting Cydia to load in less than five seconds.
It has always been the manager to take the longest time to load and reload, and Rock wins the speed test hands down.
It is a matter of preference. Both will install your packages, but one will do it much faster.

CONCLUSION:

In the end Cydia is the winner for most folks.
I know that Rock Your iPhone had problems at launch with crashing iPhones however these issues are long gone and it seems to be a good solid piece of hardware for the new user and veteran jailbreaker.
It wins the newbie battle though based on its friendly graphical interface and easy to navigate menus.
Its speed also makes it easier to use and more convenient.

iFail - The truth about the iPhone battery

2010-01-14T11:27:00.000-08:00

By Steven j. Campbell

What is the first thing you can remember about your iPhone on day one?

For me it was walking out of the AT&T store and immediately turning on the GPS and watching the blue dot as I went home to the wife.

But on that day I also learned that the dirty secret about the iPhone becomes very clear very quickly:

THE IPHONE'S BATTERY SUCKS

I'm so sorry iPhone. It really isn't completely your fault. Part of it is me. I really can't help wanting to use your shiny advanced features such as 3G web browsing and 3d gaming.

When you first get your idevice, the battery is but a wee child. Not really sure of itself and prone to feeling drained and needing a recharge quite frequently.
After a few weeks your idevice battery has matured and will now behave the same way for the better part of it's remaining lifespan until you need to replace it.

My battery was passable. I heeded all the apple advice on how to prolong use. Then something happened.

I JAILBROKE.

As it stands, the iPhone itself is a remarkable device. It has a fast processor and by default acts as an incoming mail device, mobile phone, and web browsing device. You open and close an app and it's process is terminated. This is how apple designed it and how they want you to use it.

ALONG CAME THE MOBILE SUBSTRATE

When you jailbreak you install what is known as the mobile substrate. Basically a layer that sits between you and any customizations you wish to install and the native iPhone software. This allows custom jailbroken apps to inject code into the regular iPhone software. All this is absolutely necessary to give you all the mods and hacks a jailbroken iPhone can pull off.
Each customization you install (and some people I see have upwards of a dozen) which runs constantly consumes both memory and CPU.
Apple hates this.

WHY IT MATTERS

Ever have a friend or relative who always complains they have a slow pc? If you see the computer itself often times the user has dozens of icons next to thier clock on the taskbar.
Each icon represents an application which is running and consuming memory and CPU.

The iPhone is no different than a pc in the sense that it has a CPU and memory.
More mods and customizations mean more CPU and memory usage.

SO THEN WHAT?

So your battery drops and can drain. Quickly. This also means that your phone could become unstable and crash. If the phone crashes it will crash into a safe mode or may not come back to life at all.

The moral of it all is to be sensible. Be safe, and never bite off more than you can chew when it comes to your modding of your iPhone.

How to Get Sued Into Oblivion by Apple (or How Much Would You Pay For a Jailbreak?)

2010-01-13T10:30:00.000-08:00

By Steven J. Campbell

If you read my last guide on how to jailbreak an iPhone (located here: http://bit.ly/5n7zCG ) then you are familiar with the name GeoHot who is the man behind the Blackra1n software that jailbreaks an iPhone.

TETHERED VS UNTETHERED JAILBREAK:

Before we continue, I must explain these terms. To the unfamiliar it can be slightly confusing.

Newer iPhone 3gs models and 3rd generation iPod Touch models use andofferent type of memory than earlier models (this has nothing to do with software but only depends on the hardware inside the device.) This means that the Blackra1n software used to jailbreak them cannot make permanent changes to the memory.
As a result, if a newer model idevice is restarted or has a complete battery drain it will not restart properly unless connected to a computer which runs the blackra1n program again. This "tethers" the phone and this is called a tethered jailbreak.

All other idevice models will reboot with no problems after a jailbreak.

THE PRICE OF FREEDOM:

Recently geohot posted this to his Twitter feed:

"ACEPOLLS.COM - Do you want a dongle to boot tethered iDevice on the road? If demand is high enough, I may build http://bit.l..."

So what is geohot implying? It seems logical that he could be able to build a small device that would simply run the blackra1n code on the device it is attached to. You could just press a button and have it run and reboot your device.
Sounds great.

Does this mean that there is no software fix for the new hardware in the retail chain?

That's strange because Geohot offered an untethered jailbreak late last year if people helped him win the red baloon challenge (which would have netted him $10,000)

A second theory is that this is a way to make money. Sell the device, collect a profit. It all seems to work perfectly, doesn't it?

ALONG CAME APPLE AND A JOB(S)

I can't imagine that apple would stand for this. They already have tried to make jailbreaking illiegal and claim that it voids warranty on the users device.
When PsyStar bypassed the apple EULA (end user license agreement) by installing the OS X operating system on non apple hardware. They were sued repeatedly, and lost in court.

If Geohot begins to profit from his work few would argue that it was unwarranted. He does after all provide an amazing service to all of the end users who want some freedom over the apple ecosystem, but directly profiting off the community will definately rub some the wrong way, and worst of all the all might Apple.

Let the battle begin.

The Worst 3G in America - Maybe the World!

2010-01-07T12:16:00.000-08:00

FEEL FREE TO SUBSCRIBE AT THE RIGHT --->

For more on at&t Network issues, check out the following:
Why or why not to tether your computer to iPhone

More at&t connection issues

Network issues, who's at fault... Not At&t!

Welcome to Las Vegas
Your 3G experience stops here (if you use AT&T, that is)

Each and every year the (Consumer Electronics Show) swoops down on the Las Vegas area. The largest convention of the year in Las Vegas brings upwards of 120,000 people from all over the world to sin city, and with it comes traffic of all sorts, including on our cell phone networks.

THE PERFECT STORM TO KILL A DATA NETWORK

The very first time I experienced a dropped call was when my iPhone failed to connect during the 2009 CES last year.

Flash forward a year and bring millions of more advanced devices onto the network that do more and more data intensive duties (upload photos, videos, as well as even make the odd phone call) and you congest the network.

IT'S THE NETWORK
GSM + CES= DISASTER

With so many devices on the network, it's no question whether or not it will feel stress. The question up until today has been how much this would impact full AT&T subscribers who will share the data road will untold thousands of new users.

Below are several screenshots of the network today (01/07/10 the first day of CES) brought to you by speedtest.net iPhone app.

*disclaimer:
Before running these tests I restarted my phone to ensure a blank slate. I then immediately put the phone into airplane mode and then disabled 3g turn the phone mode back on and tested in edge. I did the same thing for 3g testing.

I tested outdoors at 3667 las Vegas blvd s. Across the street from brand new buildings with brand new cell towers in them. Literally on the middle of the strip

Edge:
On edge the tests top out around 3kbit/second which is laughable

3G Network:
These numbers tell the tale.
I wish that I could have had better numbers. I tested this three times in a row.

SERVER SETTINGS ETC:

WHAT ELSE TO SAY?

What can he said? AT&T has issues. Las Vegas is always a problem but special events such as this showcase the failure on a magnitude that should never have to occur.

For the record, friends running unlocked iphones with tmobile service are getting edge speeds as fast as my 3g speeds.

But let's let AT&T simply keep up thier rule. Eventually the iPhone will land on verizon wireless and we will see if that network can handle the extra stress that millions of data hogs can bring

Google Nexus One - KISS (Keep It Software-related Stupid) - Why the superphone may not matter.

2010-01-05T19:00:00.000-08:00

I know technology is big news when my wife texts or calls me about it.
While I knew that the Google Nexus One was being launched today (January 5th, 2010) I saw it on all the usual places (Twitter, cnet, engadget) it never really hit me until my wife texted me:

"iPhone vs super phone by google???"

I live in Las Vegas, and the CES convention is starting in two days. Google decided to get a leg up on the event and launch their biggest gamble in some time early, before the very first CES keynote was started. The gamble could pay off or prove to be just another Google side project.

Take a look at the specs, they are very impressive and listed below and you can see why people are excited.

But has it ever occured to anyone why with the Android OS 2.1 and most powerful hardware ever crammed into a phone that the Nexus One (or is that "NexusOne") may fail?

The old addage KISS comes to mind.
In most cases KISS stands for Keep It Simple Stupid, and if Apple is a little less worried than we may think they ought to be, there may very well be a good reason.

Hint: it's all in the software.

THE APPSTORE VS HARDWARE

When the original iPhone was released, there was no AppStore. The phone launched with almost the same featureset the NexusOne comes with out of the box:

-Camera
-Calendar
-Contacts
-Email
-Full web browser
-Productivity apps (calculator, notepad etc)
-Phone functions (phone, SMS etc)

When the Appstore opened however, the iPhone became an instant all in one super device. It could play games and do so much more. With each version of iPhone (currently 3.1.2) the device keeps getting better, but more importantly the app restrictions apple had in place get looser.

The Nexus One has better hardware out of the box, but hardware alone does not sell the device to consumers, software is what sells. Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft will tell you that.

Even seven months after the release of the considerably more powerful iPhone 3gs, there are literally less than a dozen out of thousands of apps that use the superior graphics tech of the newest idevice. They cater to the masses, the iPhone 2g and 3g consumers.
Why? Because it is about the software!

THE APPSTORE VS GOOGLE

This is not a story of apple vs google as much as it is the AppStore vs google.
If google plans to win, they need to deliver a simple way for developers to quickly port over apps already on the apple AppStore to the android store. The lack of a multitouch screen on the Nexus One ensures that direct ports of most full fledged action and sports games (some of the the most profitable on the AppStore) will be less than simple.

If anyone can pull it off, it is google. The question remains how they market the new "superphone."

The Droid tried it's best to point out how it was technically much more powerful than the iPhone but failed to sell and be the true "iPhone killer" that it's backers hoped.

In fact, it may be better to market the Nexus One as "Nexus does what iPhone does... But slightly faster."

Let the battle begin!

Nexus One vs. Droid vs. iPhone
(click to enlarge)

Mobile Phones - An Evolution of Interface

2010-01-05T00:02:00.000-08:00

Earlier on today I was inspired by a post on ten years of web design evolution which i highly recommend you check out.
It was an eye opener how things can change over the course of a decade.

Along with the internet, mobile devices have also become considerably more user friendly, powerful and useful over the years.

Here is a quick overview of the different devices which have been important over the past ten years, and why:

1. Nokia 7110
Released: October 1999

Although this handset was released in late 1999, I am including it because it is the first that featured a WAP browser. This allowed people to browse special formatted WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) formatted websites. Practical for almost nothing at first, and then email and banking sites and some web portals later.

This phone has a spring loaded slider, inspired by the modified Nokia 8110 used in the film The Matrix. Nokia handsets were at the time the most popular worldwide, and this phone was a very big seller.

2. Sony Ericsson T68m/T68i

Released: Late 2001/Early 2002

One of the most feature rich phones released in the early part of the decade, this was the first Sony Ericsson screen with a color screen and an at the time impressive 101x80 resolution and 256 colors (the iPhone has a 480x320 and millions of colors). Not only was it one of the first phones on the market with color MMS as well as bluetooth capability and a tri-band antenna which made it a nearly truly "global" handset.

The original phone was launched as the Ericsson T68m and had no camera at all. After the Sony/Ericsson merger, the phone was given an important upgrade; a camera as an optional upgrade. It was relaunched as the T68i and given a full email client as well.

The phone was considered an early example of stealth marketing as Sony Ericsson paid actors to pose as tourists and asked them to take photos of them with the phone.

3. Danger Hiptop

Released: October 2002

If you were a T-Mobile USA customer, this phone was known to you as the Sidekick.

What made the Danger Hiptop different?

The difference was everywhere. From the large screen to the easy to navigate menus (you could quickly move around the menu system without exposing the keyboard), to the full qwerty keyboard, the phone was obviously made for multimedia, and gave parents everywhere a shock when they saw that SMS could cost money, and service providers the world over a good reason to begin to offer SMS packages, moving away from the "cell phone means minutes" model they had used for years.

Eventually this handset became popular with celebrities and even more popular with teens the world over. The screen was upgraded to color and the line still exists today.

4. Palm Treo 600

Released June 2003

Before the Palm Pre, there was the Palm Treo.

Before there was a Palm OS operated phone, there was a Palm OS operated PDA (personal digital assistant). Make no mistake, the Treo was the iPhone of its time.

The Palm Teo was the first merger of PDA and mobile phone giving business users a good excuse to throw out one of their two devices and use just one.

The handset includes a 0.3 megapixel camera and has fully functioning email, web browsing, and office applications. It also has a touch screen as do all Palm devices, however touchscreen technology at the time was limited to LCD screens with limited colors.

This handset was also manufactured by Handspring, which was later purchased by Palm and rebranded as Palm.

5. Motorolla Razr

Released late 2004/early 2005

How do you make a piece of technology a fashion statement? Market it as an exclusive and "must have" type of item, and charge a large ammount for the "privilage" of having one (sound familliar original iPhone first day customers?).

The Razr was marketed as an exclusive phone. There was even a limited edition Dolce & Gabanna gold Razr which came with a charm to attach to the phone.

What made the phone so popular? Was it the most powerful on the market? Hadrly. It did browser the mobile web, took photos and some versions took video. It ran Java based games and applications, and there were also international versions that had the Motorolla Rockr version of iTunes installed. It also had a bad habit of locking up during use requiring the battery to be removed (not all users suffered this), however this phone was all about the style. To have one was to say that you were fashionable. At least that was the case until 2006, by which time Motorolla had sold nearly 50,000,000 Razr handsets world wide.

6. Blackberry 7290

Released 2005

Welcome to Push.

Before 2005, the internet was a manual experience. Users would have to manually open a web page on a mobile browser or mail application and manually check for mail. Push notifications would solve all of this as mail was sent to devices the instant that it was sent to the incoming mail server. This was the last step enterprise (read: businesses) needed to be able to finally efficiently roll out mobile email, and until this date Blackberry remains the handset of choice for enterprise. iPhone and other devices have started to utilize the same push technology as the Blackberry, but the full QWERTY keyboards and predictive text made way for the ultimate email machine, giving it the name "crackberry" amongst its fans and detractors alike, the Blackberry 7290 was truly the first handset to show us what a mobile handset could do for business.

7. iPhone

Released 2007

If the story behind the iPhone is true, someone at Verizon Wireless has lost his or her job.

The story goes that Steve Jobs went to the largest data network in the United States and offered them a new type of handset, one dedicated to browsing the internet without the limitations of WAP, sending text messages and email, all while including mobile maps, and a full iPod built in.

Verizon turned Apple down and the phone was pitched to At&t with the rest history.

The iPhone is the first entry into the mobile phone market for Apple. It's critics decry it's lack of Adobe Flash in its Safari web browser and strict limitations on Applicaions available, while its proponents consider it as close to perfection as a mobile device can come.

In either case, it is very hard to argue how much this one device has changed the landscape. In a mere two years since its launch there are now dozens of other touch screen phones, and operating systems fit to compete with Apple (the Google Android and Palm Pre platforms come to mind) and only better the industry.

In The End, We All Win

Technology has launched itself so far in a mere ten years.

Chances are that every person you keep in touch with has a phone which is far "smarter" than that which was available only a few years ago.

Looking at this list shows how far we have come and only we can guess how we may end up, and how we will get there.

To Sync or Not. How to Think Different, iPhone Style...

2010-01-03T19:07:00.000-08:00

Do You Sync?
Alternatives to a Tethered iPhone
By Steven J. Campbell

A funny thing occured to me over the Christmas and New Years Holiday.
I realized that although I have been using the same iPhone for months, I have not synced the phone with iTunes a single time.

But what if you are unable to get to a computer? More specifically YOUR computer which is required to sync the phone?

In this post, we look at your alternatives to syncing.

WHAT YOU SYNC, WHEN YOU SYNC

Lets be honest here, I may not be the typical iPhone user. But even the first time user can get by without a sync with these tools and alternative methods.

When you sync you are transferring data to and from your phone and computer.
This data is:

-Contact information
-Calendar events and appointments
-Any music added to your computers iTunes library or purchased on your iPhone from the iTunes music store
-Any apps downloaded on your pc through iTunes or purchased on the iPhones own AppStore.

The aim is to SYNC(hronize) your iPhone and iTunes on your computer, to make them look the same.

HOW TO NOT SYNC

Here are some ways to avoid syncing your device.

MUSIC

I listen to music on my iPhone. I listen to plenty of music.
I have no music stored on my iPhone, but I manage to listen to music all the time.

Pandora iTunes link

Pandora should be the first app that any user installs on thier iPhone. For those unfamiliar with the app, Pandora is a free open sourced music project which aims to deliver music to the masses.
Simply tell Pandora a song or artist you like and it will do it's best to play that song/artist and others like it.It is 100% free up to 40 hours a month and then only $1.00 for the rest of the month afterwards.

Honorable mentions:

Last.fm (iTunes link) is a good app that functions much like Pandora.
Aol radio (iTunes link) allows streaming radio from the hundreds if stations owned by CBS across the United States.

Another option for jailbroken iPhone users is imuzik, which allows you to download tracks directly to your iPhone. The app is not legal at all. Not only does it work only on jailbroken iPhones but it downloads completely illegal mp3 files to your device.
A full review of iMuzik can be found here.

CALENDAR EVENTS

Google provides an alternative to the iPhone calendar app. You can read about how to use Microsoft Exchange with Google to sync all of your contacts to the Internet.
For step by step instructions, click here

CONTACTS

The only solution I can think of is not free. It is to use Apple's own MobileMe service to backup your contacts. This will also back up your calendar and mail. It creates a mirrored image of your phone online. If you ever lose your phone either to theft or damage, your data is always safe.

MobileMe is not free. Apple will give you a two month trial with a $99 regular annual fee.
In many ways it is worth every dollar.

APPS AND PODCASTS

Apps and podcasts are restricted on thr iPhone. If on the cellular network (edge or 3G) you may not download anything larger than 10mb in size. This limits large amounts of bandwidth being used over the cellular network.

If you need to download large files, you have two options however one requires a jailbroken device

A) connect to a wifi network. This is simple and allows you full access to any app or download, regardless of size

B) If you are jailbroken you can use an app called "3G Unrestrictor" which is available for a one time fee of $2.00 from the cydia store. It allows you to fool your phone into downloading any size file from the app store or podcast from the iTunes store.

Apps do not need to be synced. They may simply stay on your device. Most podcasts are listened to on your iPhone and can also be deleted on the iPhone without connecting to a pc or mac.

IN THE END

I manage to survive without syncing my iPhone and so can you if you are willing to experiment a little and live the Apple slogan from 1997-2002

2010-01-02T18:15:00.000-08:00

APP REVIEW: SKEEBALL FOR iPhone/iPod Touch by Freeverse Inc.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD ON THE APPSTORE

The very first skee ball machines were put into operation in 1914.

Invented in Philadelphia Pennsylvania, the game was simple. Targets at the end of an inclined lane, and heavy wooden balls which the player rolls up the lane to try and hit the targets.

A Skeeball machine from around the 1950's and an early model variation from around the WWI era (1914-1918)

Fast forward nearly one hundred years and Freeverse has launched one of the most addictive and simple to play games on the iPhone based on skee ball.

Skeeball for iPhone/iPod Touch

GAME SYNOPSIS

The premise of skeeball on the iPhone remains the same. Players are given nine balls to roll down the lane and try and hit a target.

The main game board of Skeeball, showing a glowing target multiplier

Unlike a regular skeeball game, players may aim and shoot for bonus multipliers when a target is lit up. This increases your score by 1x, 2x. 3x etc and the higher your bonus the better your score.

A TICKET(S) TO RIDE

And like many other carnival versions of skeeball, freeverse has included a ticket system. The tickets are awarded at the end of a game and they may be redeemed for virtual prizes in the game.
Tickets are awarded based on points scored, so if you score more points, you win more tickets. You are also awarded more tickets when your multiplier is high.

Tickets will become your new obsession in skeeball for the iPhone/iPod Touch

Tickets quickly become the obsession in the game as they are tracked and uploaded to a global scoreboard (as long as you are connected to the internet via cellular network or wifi) and some items cost as much ad 80,000 tickets to purchase.

The most unrealistically priced prizes ever.

GRAPHICS AND SOUND

Graphically skeeball will not win any awards. Like most games by Freeverse, it offers bright, vivid graphics and great sound effects.

Slo-mo replay can be a neat gimmick at first, but feel frustrating later.

The slow motion feature for every last ball thrown can become tiresome at times when all you want to do is start another game quickly, but the game is solid in all other aspects.

GAMEPLAY

Thankfully Freeverse has designed a simple user interface with near perfect controls. Balls are thrown by a simple flick of the finger towards the targets. The force used as well as whether you flick straight is taken into account for the direction of the roll.
Freeverse has opted to use a physics engine by graphics card maker nVidia. While there are tech reasons that this is a good move, the player only needs to know that the result is much more realistic ball movement and a different experience every time the ball is rolled.

Players also have the option of tilting their device to influence the way the ba drops, but I have thus feature set to off as I can't tilt a real life full sized skeeball machine, I feel this detracts from the realism.

REPLAY FACTOR

For me replay factor of an iPhone game is very important. Most people who have purchased an app from the AppStore have had buyers remorse when they stopped using the app mere days (or even hours) after purchase.

Fortunately, skeeball is a game that will have most of us playing for days and days, constantly trying to top their scores and collect more tickets.

The game also includes some achievements to collect, and also online ties with the Plus+ service which can act as somewhat of an online community for games.

The Plus+ Community and in game achievements menus.

CONCLUSION

If you are a fan of any other casual sports title on the iPhone (the "flick" series of games, for example) then you need to do yourself a favor and buy skeeball.
For .99 cents it is one of the best investments my family has ever made in terms of a fun casual game you will not tire of playing.

How to: jailbreak an iPhone or iPod Touch

2009-12-21T20:31:00.000-08:00

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*BIG TIME DISCLAIMER
I am not advocating jailbreaking. If you have a warranty on your iPhone or iPod touch, this will void your warranty. Jailbreaking is fine for most people however it is strictly against Apple's terms of service. If you do manage to damage your iphone, this disclaimer is here to warn you that a) it really is possible to damage your phone and b) you are voiding your warranty if you do this so you may be denied service from apple if you run into problems
This guide is used to show you how jailbreak your iphone, not how to steal any software from anywhere. This guide is not intended to circumvent (hack/crack/bypass) any Apple software protection for App Store apps. You should always buy apps if you like them! Support app developers!

FIRST BE SURE TO BACK UP YOUR IPHONE:

Connect your iPhone to your computer.
When iTunes launches, click "sync" and wait for the process to finish.
You have just backed up your iPhone.

Restore the iPhone (or iPod Touch) This will allow the phone to be completely reset to its factory settings and start a new

a) In iTunes you will see a screen similar to the one below. You must click restore on the screen to continue:

b) You may be prompted to download the iPhone software. You must download it if you dont already have it on your computer. It can take some time depending on your internet connection, the files are over 200 megabytes in size. This takes some users a few minutes, and some a few hours depending on your internet connection speed.

c) When finished downloading, the rest of the process is automated. iTunes will now automatically restore the iPhone. The process will take 10-20 minutes.

You will see the apple logo with a progress bar on your iPhone during this time.

d) after the process is complete, as long as you have not removed your SIM card, and the iPhone has remained connected to iTunes, and your computer is connected to the internet, you will see a screen telling you that you iPhone is activated:

IMPORTANT:

If you are asked to restore your phone from a backup or set up as new, disregard these messages for now and continue on with the rest of this walkthrough.

Download Blackra1n from www.blackra1n.com
Be sure to click the windows logo if you are using windows, or the Mac logo if you use Mac.

When prompted be sure to save the file somewhere you can remember. You will need to run it in just a few minutes.

Be sure that you have your iPhone or iPod Touch connected to your computer. Close any iTunes related windows.

When the file has saved (should only take a few seconds as it is a small file) you must run it.

Double click the file and it will run:

Click the "make it rain button"

Next you may see the "found new hardware" balloon in windows. That is ok.

The iPhone is entering recovery mode and this is normal.

Your iPhone display will turn black, and then off for a moment.

Next you will see a picture of Geohot on your iPhone or iPod Touch

Blackra1n will now run and your iPhone will reboot:

The next screen you see after your iPhone reboots looks like this:

Final Step

After the iPhone or iPod Touch reboots, you will see a new icon on the screen called blackra1n

*VERY IMPORTANT:

Make sure you are connected to the internet via either WIFI or 3g. You can do this on EDGE but it will take a very long time. It is preferential to do this on WIFI

Click the blackra1n icon and you are brought to the following screen:

This screen is where you will select what download manager you want to install. Click Cydia and Rock if you want the most variety. I do not recommend Icy as some users have problems using Icy and some jailbreak applications an tweaks

Click INSTALL on the upper right hand of the blackra1n app.

Blackra1n will begin to download your chosen apps:

After it has finished downloading, the iPhone will do a soft reboot (this is called a re-spring) and you will see the selected manager on your home screen:

Next you can tap the blackra1n icon again, and then uninstall the blackra1n app to remove the logo:

RESTORE YOUR BACK UP IN ITUNES

Disconnect your iPhone and close iTunes.

Reconnect your iPhone via the USB cable and open iTunes if it does not automatically open.

Restoring From Your Last Backup. Assuming that you are using the same computer you usually connect your iPhone to, and you backed up in the beginning of this walkthrough you can now restore to your latest iPhone backup. iTunes backs your phone up when you connect it to your computer. We are now going to restore that backup

a) When the phone restarted and was activated, the iTunes screen changed to the "Set up a new phone" process. The screen will ask you if you would like to set the phone up as new (not recommended if you intend to restore your contacts, SMS messages, and apps) or restore from an earlier backup.

b) Select the backup you would like to use. After a few minutes, the phone restarts and if your iPhone backup is complete

Coming in the next few days, what to do with your new unjailbroken iPhone!

How to Completely Restore an iPhone or iPod Touch

2009-12-20T23:13:00.000-08:00

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We have all been there.
The terrible feeling you get when one day, for no apparent reason your beloved iPhone or iPod Touch simply refuses to boot.

You may see any of the following screens:

Various iPhone screens of death.

From left to right:

iPhone is attempting to reboot or is in recovery mode (see below). This screen may remain and nothing may happen for a long time.
iPhone cannot make calls or function normally. An alternative to this screen states "iPhone Cannot Make or Receive Phone Calls"
iPhone must be connected to iTunes to continue.

What to do Before You Call Apple or Your Service Provider

Remember that the iPhone operating system is incredibly complex. It is not the same as most mobile phones in that it has many different tasks at any given moment. If it crashes (and yes, it does crash contrary to the belief that all Apple products "just work) then you may be able to restore the phone to a like new factory state.

YOU WILL LOSE ANY INFORMATION ON THE DEVICE. ALL PHOTOS, MUSIC, AND APPS.

Of course, if your iPhone is completely inoperable, you have no choice.

Follow these steps:

1. Put the iPhone into restore mode. Restore mode is a special mode that allows iTunes to recognize a problem iPhone in order to restore it.

To put the phone into restore mode

a) Open iTunes

b) Connect your iPhone to your computer via USB cable.

c) For EXACTLY 10 SECONDS hold down both the home button (on the bottom face of the phone) and the Sleep/Wake button (on the top of the phone). After ten seconds release the sleep/wake button but DO NOT LET GO OF THE HOME BUTTON.

d) Eventually you will see a message on your computer monitor in iTunes telling you that it recognizes your phone in restore mode.

The iPhone screen will continue to remain black. You should not see an Apple logo on the screen. If you see an Apple logo, you are holding the top Sleep/Wake button down too long.

This may take a few attempts but you will eventually see the top message when you do it correctly.

2. Restore the iPhone (or iPod Touch) This will allow the phone to be completely reset to its factory settings and start a new

a) In iTunes you will see a screen similar to the one below. You must click restore on the screen to continue:

c) When finished downloading, the rest of the process is automated. iTunes will now automatically restore the iPhone. The process will take 10-20 minutes.

You will see the apple logo with a progress bar on your iPhone during this time.

TAKE A MOMENT TO USE THE PHONE AND SEE THAT IT IS WORKING CORRECTLY TO MAKE CALLS ETC.

If so, then your problems are likely all resolved, and you can proceed to step three.

3. Restoring From Your Last Backup. Assuming that you are using the same computer you usually connect your iPhone to, you can now restore to your latest iPhone backup. iTunes backs your phone up when you connect it to your computer. We are now going to restore that backup

b) Select the backup you would like to use. After a few minutes, the phone restarts and if your iPhone backup is complete and fairly recent, you should have a phone that is almost identical to before your problems arose.

If Your Issues Remain.
Try and set the phone up as a new phone when asked. While you may not get back all contacts via iTunes, there is a slight chance that your problems were re-installed when you restored your backup.
Attempt the process again and do not restore the last update.

And if you still have problems, send me a tweet and I will try and help you from there.

Be sure to subscribe to this blog. Don't miss out all my great content, with more nearly every single day!

Open or Closed for Business: What's Best for Consumers?

2009-12-18T18:51:00.000-08:00

It is almost the year 2010.
It seemed as though it was yesterday that we were all waking up to see if the world had ended on January 1st, 2000 from the dreaded and mega hyped Y2k bug.
Technology is moving faster than ever.
A tweet as a verb now describes an internet status update instead of the sound a bird makes. Facebook is no longer a material thing high school students use to keep in touch but instead a social networking site with more "citizens" than most countries have people.

And you no longer need to be a computer genius to use a smartphone.

Just ask the millions of people who are being drawn to new devices such as the iPhone or Palm Pre. The Motorolla Droid is the latest phone to focus on ease of use and as prices come down, and people become more connected via social networking, smartphone purchases go up.

Whats Good for the Goose, Not Good For The Gander

When apple announced the original iPhone years ago, they included a set ammount of applications (apps) for common tasks. They also announced that although the iPhone would be a smartphone like no other with an extremely robust set of hardware underneath the hood, there would be no access to outside developers to program for the phone.
This caused independant software companies and developers cry foul, claiming that Apple was limiting the device itself. Apple counterclaimed that by closing the phone, they were ensuring all users a flawless experience

When Apple announced the AppStore would launch and developers would be able to finally develop and publish apps for profit or for free, the same developers cheered briefly until learning that Apple would test and either approve or deny all apps. Apple needed no reason to deny an app and had no obligation to explain or justify their decisions.

All the while, an underground community was brewing. Through unofficial channels, so called "Hackers" and "Crackers" were finding new ways to bypass the locks which Apple had put into place. They were gaining root access (the deepest part of the software that runs the iPhone) and enabling the installation of unauthorized apps. Even before the existence of the AppStore, there were new games, apps and modifications available for the device.

And Then There Was Google.

Shortly after the launch of the iPhone, Google announced an open sourced phone platform called "Android." Android would allow developers to put an operating system on any device which would be open to developers and free to develop for. In addition to the Android version of the Apple AppStore, the Android store would never deny any apps submitted unless they were obviously in blatant violation of terms of service regarding hate speech, sexual content etc.

People have started to use the Android Platform and it is not a failure by any means, but it is still not able to compete with the Apple AppStore.

On December 14th 2009, it was announced that Google would be launching a brand new phone, known as the Nexus One.
The Nexus One would not have any restrictions. Google has promised that the phone will be the first ever completely open version of it's Android OS. They claim that various carriers (such as Verizon with the Droid and T-Mobile with the MyTouch) have put restrictions in place in order to keep customers from the full potential of the Android platform.

This has created some buzz in the industry.

But Back to Those Who Just Want a Nice Phone

I fix iPhones.
I do it for friends of friends of friends.
Many times the phones come to me and need to be reset because some "ghost in the machine" has caused a problem. Nothing serious, just go in and backup the phone (if possible) and restore it via iTunes.
More often than not, the iPhone comes to me with either a picture of a Russian Steve Jobs (the Apple CEO) or what is commonly known to the "Jailbreaking" community as a PwnApple.
Jailbreaking is the process of opening your iPhone up to enable hacks, mods and other things that apple does not allow.

Two indications of a jailbroken and "broken" iPhone

Are these users who have to bring their phone to be repaired gaining anything from their user experience by having their device "crash" or are they simply limiting their enjoyment they can have from the phone itself?
These users take a device that "just works" and hack it to make it "just a little better" and in the end suffer down the line.

You Say You Want a Revolution... But do You?

So to what level does the common user need to access the deepest levels of a device?
And what works best for the average joe who just needs to make calls?

When Google launches the Nexus One in early 2010 we will see how successful they can be with an completely unlocked and open platform.

Until then, we will just have to wait.

App Review: Bing for iPhone

2009-12-18T13:52:00.001-08:00

Bing! For iPhone

Earlier this year Microsoft made waves on the internet when it released Bing, a search engine that looks to compete directly with Google by offering up all services in a single portal such as search, maps, local content and also real time results which Google has only recently rolled out.

Earlier this week, Microsoft submitted and was approved for the Bing app to appear on the AppStore.
How does it compare to the Google mobile app?
Are we ready to drop our California cousins for big brother in Washington? Only time will tell.

PRESENTATION:

The first thing one notices when they first use the Bing app is that it takes a minimalistic approach to the portal it is attempting to be.
Merely a bottom navigation bar and center starting point for images, movies, maps, news, business and directions.

The Bing homescreen. Very clean looking.

Behind it is a wallpaper which changes. Touch the wallpaper and the menu dissapears and squares appear leading you to interesting searches you may want to check out.

The main menu fades to reveal random photos with interesting trivia

Bing is also location aware and will access your gps if you give it permission.

The app also works completely in landscape mode. This is important to many, including myself.

SEARCH:

Microsoft uses it's own search engine technology and results feel useful. Perhaps not as useful as google but as an alternative bing and google compliment each other well.

Search as you type suggestions work well.

A nice feature is Bing's real time as you type suggestions. This helps you fine relevant searches faster and more conveniently.

Bing remembers your search terms so you may return later and find common searches quickly

TALK TO SEARCH:

One major comparison Bing will face is it's speech recognition. Google mobile also has this feature however Bing had integrated it i to every part of the app, making voice searches always available.

The top right of the screen has a microphone making for easy access to a voice search at any time.

I was never able to perform a search this way. I was on the Las Vegas strip with a normal level of background noise (traffic, people etc) and was unsuccessful time and time again.

MAPS AND MORE:

Bing's other features are business searches, movie times and maps.

All of this is straightforward. Maps are powered by Microsoft and driving directions are included. Bing is not a full blown GPS but like google maps it can help to get you to and from locations.

CONCLUSION:

Bing does a good job at combining the net as a portal app.
I personally like the feature set of google more but the layout and ease of use in bing makes it perfect for the casual user.

Download both. They cost nothing and together they will ensure you get the best search results possible.

iPhone Tips: How to install and find unlimited apps

2009-12-17T17:20:00.000-08:00

As apple opens to the doors to even more and more different types of iPhone applications, there are more and more fun things to install on your phone or iPod Touch.
Each app you install takes up an icon on your home screen, and the iPhone OS only allows you so many home screen icons.

It is true that apple has a limit on how many home screen pages you may have.
In the new version of the iphone os (3.0 and later) there are eleven pages of apps you can have on your home screen.

However not all is lost and the apps that you cannot see an icon for are indeed still installed on your device.

Here is how to get them:

on your iphone, there is a hidden page that you can get to easilly. It is the "spotlight search" that allows you to search any contacts/music/app or email installed or downloaded on the phone.

In order to access this you must be on the first page of your iphone home screen. To do this, simply press the home button to end whatever activity you are doing (such as playing a game, surfing the net or anything else) so you see all of your app icons, then press the home button again.

The iPhone "HOME" Button. Your Best Friend.

The phone will reset your view to the very FIRST page of apps you have installed. Once again press the home button or swipe to the left and you will see a search field n the top of the screen and a keyboard on the bottom.

From here you may search for any app on the phone, as long as you know the name of the application.

The iPhone OS Search Page. It Finds as You Type!

Keep in mind that the iPhone OS can accomodate up to 180 app icons. That is ELEVEN PAGES.
Eleven pages, you must really love your apps!

There is a way to rearrange your home screen applications in iTunes 9 or greater, but that requires your phone connected to your computer, and it is another post for another day.
These instructions are the only way to actually access your unseen apps from your iPhone when you would like to use them.

If you have any tips, be sure to comment about them here!
Thanks for reading as always.

Tom Tom GPS now a reasonable $49.99

2009-12-16T23:25:00.000-08:00

It took them a little time but the TomTom app is finally a reasonable price of $49.99 on the US app store.
TomTom is the GPS company that basically popularized GPS for automobiles a long long time ago.

TomTom for iPhone

They then thought it was a great idea to launch an overpriced iPhone app that sold for $99, the same price as a dedicated GPS you could buy at your local Best Buy.
Good idea huh?
Finally they dropped it today to a nice $49.99
Still does not beat xWaves xGPS which is 100% FREE from Cydia which is definately not as refined as TomTom but nice and free.

xGPS For iPhone or iPod Touch (free on Cydia)

Got a favorite GPS app you want to share?

Best Cydia Reposories (aka "repos")

2009-12-16T22:29:00.000-08:00

As more and more people find the iPhone a more and more affordable option for an everyday phone, the ammount of people jailbreaking and modifying phones has increased.
Let's face it, people want to use their phones whichever way they want to use them. They do not generally like a company like Apple or Microsoft to tell them how to use a device.
Would the PC or Mac world exist if Microsoft or Apple told companies what software could be installed on the Windows or Mac OS?

But I digress.
This is not a post about why or if people should be allowed to jailbreak their iPhone's or iPod Touch. If you secure it, they will break into it. A cat and mouse game, and the mice will always find a way to win.

I am asked over and over again by these new iPhone jailbreaker's which sources I use to get my hacks, mods, and alterations.
There are a few good sources, and I will cover a few of them here.

Anything you want to add here? Please post in the comments!

*please be advised that if you install any third party modifications to your phone, you technically violate apple's warranty. All of this is at your own risk

ModMyi:
http://apt.modmyi.com

Modmyi is the repo for the popular iphone/ipod touch site.
It is dedicated to themes galore, with many bosspaper packs as well as complete themes, lockscreens, and ringtones.

iClarified:
http://cydia.iclarified.com

iClarified offers many different mods to customize how the phone and messaging functions on your iPhone are maaged. There are call log tools, sms (text messaging) tools and other modifications.

One repo I will not post the address to:

There is one other repo.
Both of which offer great wallpapers, fonts and themes.
This repo however also offers different content that allows users to install other apps that I cannot talk about here because it may or may not violate my adsense account.

The site is www.xsellize.com
and I will leave it at that.

But those are the two you should always add to every jailbreak.
I hope this was helpful.

How the grinch stole Christmas on app store!

2009-12-16T09:44:00.001-08:00

In the past day or so, just in time for the Christmas season, the childrens classic "how the grinch stole christmas" appeared in the AppStore.

It sells for $3.99 and has two modes for story telling (it reads to you) or more traditional story telling.

The book is not your average kindle offering as it has full color illustrations from the original book.

The perfect Christmastime story at the perfect time for what I feel is less than a most perfect price. $3.99 maybe a little expensive.

Why Not to Tether

2009-12-15T23:22:00.000-08:00

This is the story of three:
PDANet
iPhone 3.0.0
AT&T fail

But first:
To thether:
The ability for a laptop or desktop PC to connect to the internet via a WiFi-capable phone.
--

First, pdanet.
The original AppStore was launched in july of 2008 along with the iPhone 2.0 software. For the first time the small developers had a real marketplace for applications. A centralized hub for selling.
A month or two after the launch of the AppStore an app called pdanet was released. Pdanet had existed for palm phones and blackberry handsets and was an app that allowed for a dead simple way to tether your handset.
Within a few days, the pdanet application was pulled from the AppStore without any explanation. The app was released on the cydia store where jailbreakers were free to install and enjoy.

This is also the story of March 17th, 2009.

This was the day that apple held it's keynote and announced that the newest iphone software would be released. This new software would enable users around the world the ability to tether their phones with the ease of a simple button tap on iphone. People were elated. Everywhere around the world people were happy. Everywhere but in the united states where att would announce at some later date how much extra would be charged to their existing iphone accounts for the ability to tether.
Att was at the time running an ad campaign for their service that allows users to connect to the exact same 3g network at the exact same speed as an iphone 3g but uses a USB dongle and charging an extra fee per month.
iPhone users already pay an additional $30 a month for the unlimited internet service on the iphone, but att would not allow for the phone to tether, no no no. that would be out of the question
Within a few weeks, the friendly folks at http://help.benm.at/help.php had managed a dead simple way to enable this "missing" feature on the iPhone, and the battle was partially being won for the good guys. The next iPhone update plugged this work around, and while the rest of the world enjoyed their free iPhone modem connection, american users languished under the Att money squeeze.

But this is also the story of another Att fail.

So what conclusions do we draw?
It could be said that att knew that the ability for user to buy a $5 application and get online on a laptop anywhere would basically shatter an already extremely fragile network. They simply put pressure on Apple to remove the original PDANet application from the app store.
This undoubtedly caused people to jailbreak their devices to install the now somehow "rouge" application and use their phone as they saw fit.

It should also be pointed out that technically att is not "wrong" in this. They can dicate how much internet you use. Rumor has it that there is really a "cap" on that "unlimited internet" and this has been proven without an official statement by way of att handing out phone bills worth $28,000.00
So beware. It isn't your device. This is what att is telling you. Those that want to tether, be advised that the rumored soft cap (the one they don't HAVE to enforce but can CHOOSE to enforce) is somewhere around 5 gigabytes a month.

Keep an eye on it. I don't tether (anymore, havent for two months) but surf heavilly and listen to plenty of streaming audio all the time.
Can't wait until att calls me and tries to charge me an overage on my "unlimited" iphone data plan.

How to get free AT&T service credits!

2009-12-15T23:18:00.000-08:00

So you are an AT&T user and are sick of the dreaded three beep sound. You know, the sound your phone makes when your call fails for no good reason?

If you call AT&T directly you will likely get a rep who will admittedly be very nice in mist cases but who will simply trouble shoot your device and do little to resolve the issue.
Here are four steps you should take in order to get your account actually credited for the poor service you are getting:

**THE BELOW ASSUMES YOU HAVE AN IPHONE COVERED UNDER THE ONE YEAR WARRANTY OR APPLECARE PLAN - it requires you getting a replacement phone if you can.

1) get a new sim card from AT&T (u lose no data because none is stored on the card)

2) backup your phone in iTunes (plug it in and SYNC IT) which backs up text messages, call logs and contacts. Not music though.

4) restore the phone in iTunes (optional but xtra ammo for apple to replace your phone as they will blame software for dropped calls while AT&T will blame the sim card we replaced or the phone itself)
3) take it to apple. Be nice. Tell them AT&T replaced the sim. U restored it etc and get a new one. If there is no apple store where u are call 1-800-MY-APPLE and they will send you a replacement or u can get one from the AT&T store.

4) sync your phone at home to get your contacts etc back on it

5) call AT&T and tell them all of these steps. At this point there is no possible excuse for your issues other than the network itself.

Be sure to remind AT&T you have a 3g phone and you pay an extra $30 a month per line of iPhone service so you should be able to use that service.
At some point they SHOULD offer you a credit. If they do not then simply keep complaining and they will. Almost all of them can offer a credit to you. If you feel ok asking go ahead but that is not my style personally.

TIPS: never EVER tell anyone you jailbreak or unlock your phone if you have jailbroken it. This is against your contract and they will give you nothing ever!
If you hack and do a restore your phone looks as good as day one
Also if you have physical damage to the phone you will be out of luck. Apple does now cover physically damaged phones unless you are an amazing talker. I've had them replace a shattered screen phone but it wasn't easy.

Also: The head of the genius bar is the equivelant of a GOD at the apple store. He has final say over all replacements. Talk to him only if you must but apple is an incredible company that is great to their customers (too bad AT&T is so poor)
They want to retain you as a customer so keep that in mind.
Good luck! Post comments here...
-Steven

iMusik - All it is cracked up to be? Or just another cydia music app?

2009-12-15T21:46:00.000-08:00

Earlier on today, a new app appeared on Cydia and the ModMyi repository called iMuzik.
I usually could care less for music streaming and download services, podcasts and streaming are more my source of audio on my phone.
This app however claimed to be "THE WORLD'S GREATEST IPHONE AND IPOD TOUCH MUSIC APPLICATION!"

That being said, I just had to try it out.

What is iMuzik?

iMuzik is an attempt to offer a free to use download and streaming application for your iPhone or iPod Touch.
Its authors use Cydia to distribute it as Apple prohibits any sort of downloading audio files to the iPhone itself.

After installing, quit Cydia and return to the phone screen and run the application by tapping it's icon. This is not a modification to the phone, just an application for music.

The first thing that you notice is that this app is more hip hop than it is country or rock and roll.
The second thing which you may notice is that this app went from "1000's" of songs in the Cydia description to "100's" in the app itself.

The main screen gives you an overview of how to use the app, where to get music, and twitter links.
Continue to click on the Music tab and get to the music available.

The next screen we see is an alphabetical list by artist. There is no way to tell how many artists are under a specific letter, you have to click on a letter and try your luck. Either the artist you want is listed or it is not.

Clicking on the letter "A" brings almost no music. We are luckier with the letter "E" and get two artists. This is misleading because it looks as though there are three "ALBUMS" from Eminem available.

These album listings look very promising. However when you click an album you find that to the contrary there are no more than a few tracks listed for download or streaming

The rest is logical as can be. Click a song and be taken to a download service where the audio file is located. Assuming that you have the Safari download plugin installed you can download the files and listen to them at a later time.

That requires you to have dTunes or a different media player installed as there is no player build into the application. If you do not have the download plugin installed, the default iPhone quicktime player will stream the song for you. When it is finished playing it will return to the application.

Worth Your Time?

I can see only one case where you would want to use this application. If you were on the road and cannot get to a computer. All you have is a wifi access and do not want to stream music. You can simply download files to your device and then play them later.

As there is no integration with the native iPod, you must have dTunes or a different player installed to listen to downloaded files.

This is a good start and could be a great service if given proper time and the ability to play files from within the app itself.

Other than that, the lack of any search functionality or ability to truly download full albums keeps me from using it as a replacement for streaming music apps such as Pandora and Last.fm

The developers are open to suggestions though, which is a great thing. Given time, this app could be something great. For now, I would sit and wait to see how it develops.

Who's Fault. Not AT&T's fault!

2009-12-14T20:43:00.000-08:00

So who is to blame for the bad call quality and failed calls on the AT&T network?

Certainly not AT&T!

No. It would seem that even though the Verizon network has the most coverage and best call quality, AT&T has decided to come to it's own conclusion that since statistically they have the fastest 3g network that therefore they have the best 3g network.

According to a study that was done and reported on in the NY Times, the main reason that the iPhone has issues is due to a faulty wireless interface. This means that AT&T is basically saying in a matter of words that there is no problem with the network, it is indeed the iPhone itself.

AT&T know not to bite that hand that feeds it (aka, the iPhone which has generated millions of new subscribers) and it will do everything it can in order to point out that it is indeed not the one to blame for the major issues plauging iPhone users in the United States.

But where does that put iPhone users, who have countless dropped calls and issues with call quality and connectivity?

According to the study, iPhone's may have issues when connecting in congested areas. If that is the case, why then do we not hear subscribers in other major global cities complaining?

It would seem that people in Tokyo, Manila, and London would also be having connectivity issues with iPhones if the case was the hardware. Instead the only reports come from the United States.

The problems seem to be localized.

The author of this blog lives in Las Vegas Nevada, a place with anywhere between 100,000-250,000 extra people a day and I see regular problems with connections when in the tourist heavy strip corridor.

So who is to fail? AT&T will never admit it, but the network is partially to blame, no matter how they want to spin it.