Liberty ROM v1.5 has been released for the Droid-X; this is my current ROM of choice for my Android phone.
Also notable is there is an untethered Jailbreak for iOS 4.2.1 from GeenPois0n.
iPhone
GeoHot has just released a new Limera1n exploit for iPhone/iPod Touch devices running 4.1. It currently does note support the 3GS with the latest boot rom, but the website indicates this is being worked on.
Instructions are included with the app, but detailed instructions are available at Redmond Pie.
It is still in beta, so there are additional updates/tweaks to come.
I was unable to get my iPad running iOS 4.2.2 beta to work, but I will try it on another PC later.
I am currently downloading the 4.1 update for my iPhone 4; it is a 589MB firmware, so it is taking a few minutes to download.
If this does not work, the SHAtter exploit is due to be released tomorrow…
My ‘launch day’ iPhone 4 from AT&T is getting close; it made it from Fort Worth, TX to Memphis, TN- now it just needs to make it to Atlanta, GA tomorrow:
I would think that since AT&T screwed up thousands of orders that they would have the courtesy to ship out iPhones via priority overnight instead of standard overnight (i.e. no Saturday delivery with standard).
Another interesting bit is that AT&T has not yet charged my credit card for my iPhone 4. They did a hold for $299 the day after I ordered, but this fell off after a few days. I am guessing this should appear on my bank statement on Monday.
My AT&T pre-order status for the iPhone has remained unchanged since 06/15; it still sits as ‘In Progress’ with no further information. But at least I am not alone with my status; over 220 responses to a post in AT&T’s forums indicate similar issues. The sad part is from the posts it doesn’t sound like AT&T is shipping on a first-come/first-severed method- rather someone compared it to ‘pulling names from a hat’.
On the lighter side, I found a free app called LineSnob that allows people to check & update lines- most notable the local Apple store lines! The line at the local Apple store was amazing; a co-worker joined the ‘reserved’ line at 8:00am and was finally picking up his phone at about 4:00pm… I chose not to join this as I hate lines and have slightly better things to do than wait in one for 8 hours.
Other interesting iPhone apps that I stumbled upon today are RedLaser– which is now free -and Farmville for the iPhone has finally arrived.
On June 15th, I (along with a small multitude of other people) woke up early to pre-order an iPhone 4. The Apple servers were slammed and having issues for most of the morning (I tried for about an hour) so I delayed my attempt at a reservation until I made it into work.
The Apple ordering system did not get any better. I eventually tried the AT&T pre-ordering server and found it to be a bit more reliable. I was finally able to order a iPhone from the AT&T system at 2:30pm EST and received a confirmation shortly thereafter:
All seemed like I would receive my new iPhone on launch day via overnight delivery from AT&T.
On Monday, I started checking the status of my order to see how it was progressing; it was not:
I began checking the AT&T update site religiously for the next few days and still no progress on my order.
In the AT&T forums, I am now hearing of a shortage of 32GB phones and a possible delayed delivery- so it is possible that I may not see an iPhone delivery until next week sometime…
C’mon guys- if you can’t handle the volume, you shouldn’t be promising delivery for launch day.
I also reserved an iPhone 4 32GB with the Apple store across the street from my office; if my iPhone order doesn’t change by tomorrow morning I may take my chances with the Apple store line and cancel my AT&T order (but AT&T does neglect to include information on how to do this in their pre-order email).
With all the talk of loss of phone signal when touching the metal on the case and some defective retina screens, I am starting to wonder if I should cancel my iPhone 4 order and wait a few weeks/months while they iron out all the bugs…
Besides- I plan on cancelling the phone after 1 month paying the ETF ($325!)- but this works out about the same as buying a 32GB phone out-right for $699. By that time, I should have my SIM cutter in (or be practiced from cutting up old SIMs with an Xacto knife).
For $7, I was able to have my iPhone’s UUID added to a developers account to enable me to download and install beta 4 of OS4 for the iPhone. It seems pretty neat, but rather uninspiring- especially since there are no available jailbreaks for OS4 beta on a 3GS (only on a 3G).
Luckily I came upon an article at MacLife that provides a solution for this…
Note: this can only be done on OS X. The article has links for 10.6, but I was albe to find the 10.5 LibUSB package.
Step 1: Download the following:
- iRecovery v. 1.3 for Mac
- LibUSB Library (10.6) or
LibUSB Library (10.5)
Install the LibUSB and extract iRecovery to a place where you can access it (such as the desktop).
- Power off your iPhone
- Hold down the ‘Home’ button and plug in the USB cable to your Mac; this will put the iPhone into recovery mode
- iTunes will inform you that your iPhone is in recovery mode and must be Restored.
- Run an iPhone restore in iTunes as you normally would.
- The recovery will run for a few minutes and then fail with ‘An Unknown Error has Occurred: 1015’
Step 3: iRecovery
- With the iPhone still plugged in, open a terminal (Applications, Utilities, Terminal) and navigate to the location where you extracted iRecovery (cd Desktop).
- Enter the following commands, pressing return between each:
./iRecovery –s
setenv auto-boot true
saveenv
fsboot
exit
The command prompt will return after a few seconds; you can now reboot your iPhone (hold Home + Power for a few seconds).
After you power back on, you should be able to connect to iTunes and re-activate (and run Spirit to Jailbreak).
Finally- a Jailbreak for the iPhone 3GS: BlackRa1n Tutorial
This does not allow for unlocking the carrier on the phone- this allows the iPhone to install applications from other sources (such as Cydia, Rock or Icy).
Very easy to do:
This version is Windows only. Your iPhone should be updated to 3.1.2 and connected to the latest iTunes.
Download the BlackRa1n.com app (click on the Windows logo). Run the app and click the ‘Make it Rain’ button.
Blackra1n does its work and reboots. After the reboot there is a new ‘blackra1n’ app on your phone. Click it to install Cydia/Rock/Ice.
Cydia and WinterBoard– Here I come!
Today Adobe announced Photoshop Mobile (PS Mobile) for the iPhone. This is a free app that allows for editing of new camera images or images from the camera roll in the iPhone:
PS Mobile has four options groups of editing options:
- Crop/Rotate/Flip
- Exposure/Saturation/Tint/Black & White
- Sketch/Soft Focus
- Effects: Vibrant, Pop, Border, Vignette Blur, Warm Vintage, Rainbow, White Glow, Soft Black & White
Pulling up an options allows for further detail of the change. For example, if I select ‘exposure’, it switches to a screen where I can swipe my finger across the screen to change the levels between –64 and +64- accompanied with a live change view.
Other options across the bottom of the screen allow for cancel, undo, redo and save. The save options allows to save on the iPhone (as a new file- not replacing the original) or upload photoshop.com (more on this later).
Overall, the software is very responsive (at least on an iPhone 3GS) and actually a little fun to use. It is a great app to take a picture, convert it to B&W and save it for email/MMS to a friend.
One issue I immediately discovered is when I save a modified image, it creates as new copy- and it is missing almost all of the original EXIF data:
Hopefully this is an oversight in the initial build and will be corrected in future releases.
Abobe seems to be taking a foothold in the online photo sharing game; PS Mobile allows for uploading to the ‘photoshop.com photo sharing site’. The site is a flash based web site that can accept uploads and perform basic editing of the photos- as well as allow for emailing, linking and downloading the photos. The editing features on the site are more diverse than the PS Mobile app- adding red-eye removal, distort and sharpen options- to name but a few.
Photoshop.com allows for customized site names (I am using http://broo2.photoshop.com) and provides 2GB of free storage. If you need more, it will cost a bit:
2GB | Free |
20GB | $20/Yr |
40GB | $50/Yr |
100GB | $100/Yr |
250GB | $250/Yr |
500GB | $500/Yr |
The site also allows linking to Facebook, Flickr, PhotoBucket and Picassa for editing of photos contained in each. The editing saves the changed photo back to the originating site- also as a copy, leaving the original intact.
The website does not seem to retain the login information for the sites mentioned above; if I close my browser, I must re-authenticate for Flickr/Facebook/etc.
I have not verified if the website strips the EXIF data.
- Replaced LiveMesh folder sync with Live Sync
- Fieldrunners for the iPhone may be able to replace RoboDefense for the G1
- Considering a Popcorn C200 as an upgrade for my A100
- Testing PlayOn and TVersity Pro for streaming NetFlix, Hulu and YouTube to DLNA devices (such as Popcorn Hour or xBox 360)
- Found some ‘classic’ episodes on Hulu: ExoSquad, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, He Man, etc.
- Seriously considering a FitBit when they come out in late October
- Picked up a Nike+ Sensor for use with my iPhone- and cut a hole out in the bottom of one of my New Balance shoes to make it fit!
A week or so back, I purchased a shiny, new iPod Touch 64GB. I was deciding between the iPod Touch and the Zune HD and the Touch won out for A2DP support (but no AVRCP?!?). The App store is addictive, and I came across several apps that would be awesome when used with the iPhone GPS and camera. Long story short, I returned the iPod Touch (to the Apple store) and picked up a contract free iPhone 32GB from BestBuy. I had looked at the $299 + cancel contract in 31 days, but AT&T wanted a $500 deposit for me to open an account with them; c’mon AT&T- my credit history isn’t THAT bad…
After getting the iPhone home, I popped in an AT&T SIM from another phone and I was able to activate the phone. The phone and SMS messaging worked properly- but not the data plan. If I tried to check e-mail or browse the web via 3G I received a message “Could not activate cellular data network: You are not subscribed to a cellular data service”
I could use WiFi for most of the services (and use my G1 with WiFi Tethering for a mobile WiFi solution) so I decided to wait until a jailbreak for the iPhone 3GS with 3.1 firmware is released.
Another co-worker had a similar issue with a jailbroken 3.0 phone, so I decided to do some research and stumbled on a blog that offered a solution by changing the APN.
Two solutions are offered: download the iPhone Configuration Utility or open a website on your iPhone to create a custom APN. If you use the former option, you will need to email the resulting ‘.mobileconfig file’ message to your iphone and click the attachment to install. Visiting the UnlockIt website on the iPhone prompts with a Custom APN screen.
If you are using AT&T, just pull down AT&T in the list and it will populate the other items. Click ‘Create Profile’ and a ‘.mobileconfig’ file will be created and downloaded to the iPhone. The ‘Install Profile’ screen will appear after the file is downloaded; clicking ‘install’ updates the carrier APN and a normal AT&T data plan is usable again!
A new ‘Profile’ option appears under General settings- allowing you to remove the custom APN configuration if desired at a later time.
Tomorrow is supposed to be AT&T’s rollout of MMS for the iPhone in the US- and most likely firmware 3.1.1. I will wait to see if the updates break the APN fix!
I picked up an iPod touch as I have been wanting to play with the App Store for a while now. The last time I played with the App store was at least a year ago on a 1st Gen iPhone and it was not a pleasant experience.
The experience has improved- somewhat… It is still impossible to find anything useful in the barrage of crap and duplicates that are hosted by the App store.
What amazes me on both the Apple and the Google App stores is the complete inability to search for something I want- unless I know the EXACT name of the application. For example:
In iTunes, I would like to find a free application for synchronizing Google contacts/calendar. I do a search for ‘Google’ and I get a response of 200+ apps. First issue is there is no way to sort them as free/paid. After that, I would like to sort by ‘rating’, but that is also not an option…
The Google App store has the same issue; searching for an App returns a blind list of applications that contain a keyword- no way to filter or sort the results.
To be fair, the iTunes store does offer a ‘browse’ option that provides a grid view of the Apps with pricing & ratings- but still no keyword filter (unless I am missing something?):
Everyone on the web is going ape-shit about possible future Apple hardware releases.
The two that are most prominent are a new Apple iPhone and an Apple Tablet Mac/eBook reader.
Here are my views on these rumors:
New iPhone:
- New OLED Screen
- Light-up Apple logo on the back
- 32GB Memory
- 2x Faster CPU and RAM
- 1.5x Battery Life
- Mini/Larger iPhone model
The 32GB upgrade I can see; this is long overdue. (or maybe they could just slap a MicroSDHC slot in there and I could add 32GB to it myself!) I would even consider an OLED screen and a faster CPU- but a faster CPU + RAM AND longer battery life is complete bullshit fantasy- unless they make the iPhone thicker… (and the trend is to make it thinner with each update)
There was actually a 32GB iPhone place holder on the Australian T-Mobile site for a short while.
A light-up Apple logo on the back? My only question would be- Why? A separate light-up display would use battery life and look pretty fucking stupid. This wouldn’t bee too difficult to do- so long as they don’t switch to OLED- as Apple could just put a clear panel behind the LED backlight to allow some of the screen’s glow to permeate through- but this would dim the display of the main screen as light would be escaping in different directions.
As for a different sized iPhone, Apple has an application store with 1000s of Apps that are 100% compatible with both 1st Gen and 3G iPhones (save for ones that need GPS)- and they would probably want to maintain this compatibility (at least for the next few years). iPhone hardware changes cannot be something that would make older apps break (such as a different screen resolution).
A smaller screen would also mean a smaller keypad typing area- so unless they switch to resistive screens and include a stylus (which doesn’t work on capacitive touch screens) I think they would only be able to sell smaller screen iPhones in Japan.
New Tablet Mac/eBook Reader:
Rumors for this include:
- Multi-touch screen
- eBook Reader/Kindle killer
- Color eBook reader
- 8.5” x 11” screen (13.9” diagonal size)
Right off I call bullshit on an ‘eBook reader’ option from Apple- at for at least a the next years; the technology isn’t there to make it ‘cool’ as of yet.
Will apple make a touch-screen MacBook? Sure- but remember that PC manufacturers made similar beasts about 4-5 years ago -and they are still waiting for tablet PCs to catch on. People would rather type than write on a screen; writing is way too slow compared to data entry via a keyboard.
Will it be multi-touch? -only if they don’t want handwriting recognition. There are two kinds of touch screens; resistive and capacitive. Resistive can use a stylus and is generally single-point contact (although some are working on this); capacitive needs something that can create an electric field to touch the screen- such as a human finger- and allows for multi-touch; It is not very easy to write an email with your finger. (I guess a metal stylus held in hand would work as well- but would also scratch the screen!)
I can envision a Mac Book with a multi-touch screen so people can play with their digital photos/edit music/etc. I don’t see them losing the keyboard- unless the device is a dock and the screen is removable for portability. No stylus and no handwriting recognition (but maybe voice recognition?).
eBook reader/eInk Technology
A little background: eInk is a patented technology made by one company; eInk Corporation. They make all the screens for the Amazon Kindle family, the Sony e-Readers and just about every other eInk reader in the world.
The benefits of eInk are that it is a static display (i.e. it is not illumined by a backlight that is running at 60hz) so it does not cause eye strain and it uses very little power (usually readers are rated in days instead of hours).
eInk Corporatopmn makes 4 sizes of screens ; 5”, 6”, 8” and 9.7”. The 6” is used in the Kindle, the Kindle 2, all three Sony eReaders and many other 6” readers. The 9.7” is used in the Kindle DX, due out in Summer 2009. This makes a 8.5” x 11” screen (13.9” diagonal) impossible as one doesn’t exist!
The only color eInk display that has seen the light of day was made by eInk corporation and sports 6” display -with a whopping 400×300 resolution (1/4 the res of their monochrome display- or 83ppi vs 167ppi) with 12bit color depth. If Apple were contracting out a custom 13.9” color e-Ink display, the display will have a 706×913 resolution (based on 83ppi x 8.5” and 11” measurements)- and make the cost of the Kindle DX look like a bargain!
eInk is a static display- so you cannot do anything that requires motion- i.e. no videos, no games, no flash animation, etc. It is difficult enough typing a URL on a device (i.e. Kindle) that has a refresh rate of ‘once every time a button is pressed’- much less trying to do word processing or a spreadsheet.
So, will Apple make an eBook reader/Kindle killer? If it is monochrome and looks almost like the Kindle- sure! The biggest screen available for eInk is 9.7”, so there will not be a 8.5” x 11” display.
If it is color device, it will either be dedicated ebook reader with a 6” 400×300 screen (ugh!)- or a laptop with a backlight LED (or possibly an OLED version- for about $4,000 more) and have a battery life about 3-4 hours- i.e. killing all the benefits that eInk has to offer (adding eye strain, killing battery life, etc).
And finally- what do people think that Apple would want to go into eBook distribution when Amazon (a venerable book distributor for many years) and Sony are both is still trying to make money on these products? If they were making decent money, the Kindle wouldn’t cost $400-$500 as they could subsidize the cost with the publishers.
My predictions:
- New iPhone with 32GB, possible OLED screen; This will most likely just be a 16GB and 32GB upgrade announcement- disappointing fan boys and investors alike.
- Apple MacBook/PowerBook with multi-touch screen- perhaps with a detachable screen- and maybe even with eReader software (from Amazon). If the later happens, I also foresee a future lawsuit against Apple for eBook reader software causing migraine headaches/eye problems to thousands of users…
- All the rest- fantasy bullshit.
Combining the two- perhaps a 32GB iPhone with OLED and a landscape mode eBook reader; but I for one would never want to read a 300+ page book on a 3″ OLED screen…
I was tired of waiting for hacks for the iPod touch (a week is too long to wait!) so I returned it and purchased an iPhone- basically the same as the iPod but with 1/2 the storage and a it requires a 2 year AT&T service contract (if you don’t know what you are doing).
I picked up the iPhone this morning and I spent a little while researching and trying out different ways of ‘activating’ and unlocking it. For those that are unfamiliar with the iPhone, when you take it out of the box it is basically a brick; your only options are ‘activate’ or ‘make emergency call’. You cannot get the iPod functions until you sign up for a 2 year contract with AT&T (starting at $60!) after connecting it to iTunes. I already have two phones (work and personal) and there is no way I was going to sign up for another phone service (which works out to $1,440 + taxes/FCC shit over two years for the cheapest plan!)
A few things need to be done to activate your iPhone to allow you to sync with iTunes (to copy your music/videos/podcasts over). You an also choose to unlock the phone to allow you to use another GSM carrier’s SIM (or an AT&T SIM without the Apple plan). I found a great tutorial on the iPhone Dev Wiki and on http://iphone.unlock.no/. I also found this a two part video on YouTube:
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How to Unlock Your iPhone Part 1: |
How to Unlock Your iPhone Part 2: |
To accompany the above you will need the complete unlock package download. Later you can browse through the list of PXL files applications/games that you might want to install on your iPhone.
My experiences with the phone ulocking were very different; I was using iTunes 7.4.2.4 (the latest/greatest for use with the iPod Touch) and apparently (and without mention) you cannot use this version with iBrickr. What I did was run the Independence Day hack (after searching for an old copy of iTunes 7.3.0.54), followed by iBrickr, then the AnySIM hack; this all seemed to work (with errors and issues)- but I noticed there no sound from the iPhone speaker after the last AnySIM application. I did a restore (via iTunes) and re-applied Independence Day and iBrickr- and it appears the AnySIM hack worked (and was not reverted by the restore!)
One good thing about these hacks is that it is hard to kill an iPod/iPhone; if the firmware is corrupted, you can put the device in recovery mode (by pressing power + menu on the iPhone) for about 3 seconds and plug it into iTunes. iTunes will detect the recover mode and walk you through downloading the appropriate firmware and run a restore on the unit.
Overall I am VERY impressed with the iPhone- much more than I thought I would be (the hype around its release was a turn-off for me; but the $200 drop made me actually consider it). It gives me email, web browsing, google maps, you tube, a 2MP camera, WiFi/EDGE connectivity, audio/video playback and PDA functions (calendar, contacts, notes) all in one small package; if can get blackberry messages on this I could retire my other phones!
The iPhone is the ultimate gadget phone- defiantly not for everyone- but if you are the kind of person (or just a big nerd like myself) that likes to snap pictures with your phone and have them automatically upload to Flickr, or if you like to have Google maps, weather and stock quotes and YouTube videos a touch away then this is defiantly something you will want!
One thing would make this the perfect phone (in my opinion): Get the Bluetooth stack working like it should be for a device of this type! I want A2DP/AVRCP for my headphones, GPS support, and wireless sync. My icombi AP21 provides the first option for now (albeit it makes the ipod about an inch longer) so I can wait and hope for a while… :o)