Iphone Updates

Some of you may have already clicked on over to our new site Apple-Touch.com to read about all the iPod Touch news, but for those of you that haven’t let me try and bring you up to speed on this specific problem. Vincent, yeah, Nguyen, the very same one that is an Executive Editor, was able to get his hands on an iPod Touch a full two weeks early only he noticed a problem.

The problem was with the screen, it was really dark, lots of the whites in the video were replaced with darker colors and some of the brighter colors were washed out, the whole effect was reminiscent of a film negative, like the ones from back in the 35mm camera days. So he took his iPod Touch back and exchanged it (I know, some of us can’t even get one, and he got one, and an exchange, I guess that’s just how the cookie crumbles).

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You read that right, you don’t even have to alter any hardware, firmware, or download any software to do it. It’s a build in glitch with both the voicemail and phone call functions.

The phone call version of the hack is to make or take a call, and then while the call is active open the iPod application and start playing either music or video and as long as you were using a Bluetooth headset for your call, you should also hear the music in your headset. The only downside to that method is it requires an active call.

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Just days after Apple announced that O2 and T-Mobile would be official carriers for the iPhone in the UK and Germany respectively, Orange have confirmed that they have won the contract to supply the handset in France.  The network, part of the France Telecom group, was predicted to clinch the deal months ago, and an iPhone apparently using the network was spotted earlier this week.  France Telecom CEO Didier Lombard delivered the news at a press briefing in Hanoi today:

“We have signed the agreement … It’s an important product for us because a lot of French consumers love technology and want this product in their pockets”

While no release date was specified, Lombard did say that they intend to begin selling the iPhone before Christmas, most likely in November.  This would tie in well with the November 9th release in both the UK and Germany.

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Many theorised what Apple’s response might be to those who choose to hack or unlock their iPhones – remote locks, being banned from upcoming feature upgrades and other devious tricks were suggested – but until now there was no real evidence that the Cupertino crew would actually do anything if they came into contact with an obviously tampered handset.  Steve Jobs himself pretty much dismissed the matter of unlocked iPhones at the mobile’s recent UK launch, commenting that it was simply a game of cat & mouse in which Apple attempted to stay one step ahead of the hackers.

A colleague of ZDNet writer Jason D. O’Grady had an unpleasant experience of being the mouse, however, when he recently took an iPhone displaying the green tinted camera issue back to an Apple store.  The handset, less than two weeks old, did not meet with a warm welcome on return to the family home:

“Because it had been “hacked” with some 3rd party apps and was running T-Mobile they refused to service it, said the warranty was voided and “blacklisted” the phone against future service, or return!”

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I am sure there are tons of you that have dropped your iPhone on occasion without it being in a case to protect it. It happens, it just does, and it usually scuffs up not only the front, if you don’t have a screen protector, but the back as well.

Obviously the front side, and that precious touchscreen are the most vulnerable and most important things to worry about when you drop your iPhone, but if the back of your iPhone is pretty damaged and you want to replace it, its now possible on the cheap. Its not easy, but it can be done, if you are careful.

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Apple has been busy, but apparently they are hoping to get a lot busier. Word on the street is they are actually hoping to nearly double their current production numbers for the iPhone.

The new plan sets the number at 2.7 million handsets to be produced this quarter. That means a huge increase from the initial 1.54 they were initially shooting for.

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That’s right, for $5, maybe less depending on what you have handy, you can replace your iPhone’s busted screen. It won’t work if you puncture far enough through your phone to actually break the LCD, but it it’s just the glass, read on.

The parts list is a 1/32-inch thick piece of plexi-glass, transparent plastic, something of that nature, a razor blade, Dremel, scissors, and Goo Gone. Eye protection is also recommended, but that’s probably only for the part where you use the Dremel.

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Finally a business oriented application has been released for the iPhone. FMWebschool released a video of FileMaker websites on the iPhone.

That means you can use database-driven sites on the iPhone such as for a delivery company, or larger companies that use other work-order based systems. I suppose it could even be used in the IT world for part of a problem ticket solution.

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Apple will go with T-Mobile for the iPhone in November the 9th as in UK. The price would 399 Euros which is close to the UK price fut far away from the US price. T-Mobile is the mobile leader in Germany, O2 is the leader as well in UK, so we could now guess that Orange would be the iPhone winner in France. Now let’s wait for the iPhone France announcement, maybe the 24th for Paris Apple Expo.

Tags:germany iphone t mobilegermany, iphone, t mobile

Photo of Regent Street Apple Store this morning at 8.45am GMT.

According to the live coverage of Engadget, the UK iPhone would be with O2 mobile phone company at a starting price of £269 (VAT included). The official sale will start on the 9th of November… Still 1.5 month to wait for UK fans.

Tags:apple iphone O2 regent street ukapple, iphone, O2, regent street, uk

According to TechCrunch France, the iPhone will come in France on the 29th of November. French people will have to wait, and it won’t be a 3G iPhone, but maybe there would be a 16GB one

I cannot wait for the launch announcement in UK now…

Tags:france iphone techcrunchfrance, iphone, techcrunch

Navizon, who already provide software for emulating GPS on phones which don’t have that functionality built in, has announced that its software can now be used on the iPhone, providing the iPhone has been unlocked so that native applications can be installed.

The system works by triangulating signals from Wi-Fi access points and cellular towers, based on a database populated with accurate GPS readings for locations, collected by an army of volunteers.

Clicking the “Locate Me” button gives your current location, accurate to within a few hundred feet or so.

Until such a time as the iPhone gets GPS, this could be the best solution if you want the iPhone to provide you a reasonably good idea of where you are on the planet. It’s free to try for 15 days, and can then be purchased for $24.99. It’s not clear whether the system will work in the UK, as it does rely on that database which I can only imagine is US-centric at present.

Navizon blog (via Navigadget)

France Telecom (trading as Orange in the UK) has announced that it has secured the deal to exclusively distribute the iPhone in France.

Compared to the UK and German announcements, made by Steve Jobs, this one seems decidedly tame. France Telecom’s CEO, chief executive Didier Lombard, named the deal at a telecoms conference in Hanoi.

Now, either he’s let the deal slip a little too early (perhaps he’s messed up his time zone calculations), or Steve wasn’t up for presenting the deal in France.

Whatever the reason, there’s no mention (yet) on the Apple France web site, and nothing obvious on the France Telecom site.

We don’t know how much it’ll cost, though I’d assume €399, given that most of mainland Europe is fixed on the Euro. Neither do we know who’ll distribute it, the monthly plans, or if it will launch on 9th November.

Related posts
iPhone coming to Germany and Austria, November 9th, T-Mobile
8GB iPhone coming to UK: 9th November with O2

Knibble.com today announced the availability of an iPhone-friendly version of its online casual games web site, claiming the most free casual games specifically tailored for the iPhone.

Games include Tic Tac, Discover, Box Clear, Master Mind, and Collapsing Blocks.

“iPhone has seen great success and we are very pleased to be the first company to offer a wide selection of free online casual games through the iPhone,” said Knibble Founder & CEO Sashi Chimala. “We have had great feedback with the launch of Knibble and Knibble Wii and are happy to be joining the mobile gaming scene, particularly in the hot market of the iPhone. We look forward to the continued expansion of casual gaming to all markets.”

iphone.knibble.com

Thanks to strong US sales, apparent increase in sales after the price cut, plus the imminent launch of the iPhone in UK and Germany, Apple is set to double its iPhone production in its fourth quarter.

Original sales predictions called for a 1.54 million production level, but that has now been upped to 2.7 million, according to reports.

Despite continued criticism of the iPhone’s high price, lack of 3G, poor tariffs compared to other handsets, plus the possible threat of the iPod Touch stealing sales away from the iPhone for those who don’t want the phone or the monthly cost, it seems that demand is far from waning. O2′s online shop crashed on the morning of Apple’s London announcement, reportedly receiving 1,500 visitors every second.

(Via PC Pro)

After all the excitement surrounding the UK launch of the iPhone, and with Steve Jobs refusing to talk about other European markets while in London, the German iPhone announcement has passed by fairly quietly.

It’ll be no less exciting for Apple fans in Germany (and Austria, presumably), though.

Launching on 9th November, the same day as it’ll be available in the UK, the exclusive carrier is T-Mobile, as many predicted. It will cost €399, which is about £277 at current exchange rates, or US$553.

There are no obvious contract or tariff details at present, either on the T-Mobile Germany or Apple Germany web sites, but we’ll keep an eye out.

No news on a French iPhone release… yet.

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8GB iPhone coming to UK: 9th November with O2

Phones4U has said that the launch of the iPhone in the UK presents it with a great opportunity, despite the fact that The Carphone Warehouse is the only independent mobile phone retailer authorised to sell the phone for Apple and O2.

“The iPhone is one of a number of fantastic handsets due for launch in Q4.There will be a great buzz on the high street and this will accelerate the adoption of all music-enabled handsets,” wrote Commercial Director, Scott Hooton, in a memo to all staff, being quick to point out that 3G handsets “such as the Nokia N81 and Sony Ericsson W960i have higher levels of functionality than the 2.5G iPhone.”

Maybe. maybe not. Let’s face it — most retailers and networks who have been frozen out of the iPhone deal are now retaliating with some form of alternative marketing spin.

(Via Mobile Today)

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Ars Technica has posted the story of “Epic Proportions” who manged to replace the broken glass screen on his iPhone with a plastic replica.

It involves a Dremel or Rotary tool, razor blade, scissors, and a single sheet of 1/32-inch clear plastic, and then involves carefully removing the glass with the razor blade, using “Goo Gone” to take off the glue, then measuring out the plastic to the correct proportions, rounding the corners, cutting out a “Home” button, and using a Sharpie pen to colour the correct parts of the screen black.

Quite an ordeal, but also quite a bit cheaper (assuming you already have the cutting tools) than trying to get it repaired by Apple, or buying a new one.

(Via Ars Technica)

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GEAR4 has announced its new iVak hard case for the iPhone, featuring an innovative jigsaw design that provides a protective, seamless shell with a smooth, clean finish.

Its built-in screen protector maintains full touch sensitivity for the iPhone’s touchscreen, and the case gives full access to all vents and ports.

The iVak also features a fold-out movie stand and a detachable belt clip with invisible clasp.

The price hasn’t been announced yet, but other iVak cases are retailing for under £20 ($40), so hopefully expect a similar price for the iPhone case.

GEAR4 Store

IntoMobile noticed something in Engadget’s “hands on” with the UK iPhone: there’s now a “TV Signal” setting in the iPod settings menu.

This could be something coming to all iPhones when they update to version 1.1.1 of the firmware.

Will be interesting to see how much can be output to a TV or monitor – perhaps music videos and TV shows, but also web pages?

(Via Into Mobile)

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8GB iPhone coming to UK: 9th November with O2
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O2′s online shop is now back online after quite a significant outage yesterday, and the monthly tariff options for the iPhone have been published.

There are three tariffs available for new iPhone users, all of which require an 18-month contract to be taken out.

O2 iPhone £35 per month

Inclusive Minutes: 200
Inclusive SMS: 200
Data: Unlimited”
Wi-Fi: Unlimited”
Voicemail: Free
Roaming: Special roaming rates with ITS

O2 iPhone £45 per month

Inclusive Minutes: 600
Inclusive SMS: 500
Data: Unlimited”
Wi-Fi: Unlimited”
Voicemail: Free
Roaming: Special roaming rates with ITS

O2 iPhone £55 per month

Inclusive Minutes: 1200
Inclusive SMS: 500
Data: Unlimited”
Wi-Fi: Unlimited”
Voicemail: Free
Roaming: Special roaming rates with ITS

* Fair use applies

Interestingly, and what I hadn’t realised yesterday, is that Wi-Fi surfing is subject to a fair use policy as well. Presumably, this relates to the use of The Cloud’s Wi-Fi network, whose terms and conditions currently state:

We reserve the right to suspend your access to the Service if we: (a) reasonably believe that your use of the Service is unreasonably excessive (i.e., in excess of one gigabyte per month or average network throughput in excess of 40 megabytes per hour)

Quite how much data iPhone users can transfer per month over O2′s EDGE network isn’t yet clear.

The iPhone may well offer “the real Internet” on the go, but be careful how much you use it away from the safety of your own Wi-Fi network.

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iPhone UK: What’s the 3G deal?
iPhone UK: Just how “unlimited” is the O2 data plan?
iPhone UK: How much free Wi-Fi can you get?

The first UK iPhone won’t have 3G – in fact it’s near identical to the 8GB version being sold in the US.

Time and time again we’ve heard that Steve Jobs isn’t a fan of 3G. At yesterday’s UK press conference he reiterated, “The 3G chipsets are real power hogs. Handset battery life cuts power to 2-3 hours. Our phone has a talk time of 8 hours and that’s really important when you want to use your phone for internet and music. 3G needs to get back up to 5+ hours, something we think well see later next year. Wi-Fi is way faster than any 3G network. Energy efficient EDGE with better, faster Wi-Fi. That’s why we chose it.”

Coupled with the rather obvious comment, “We’re working on the next iPhone and the next one after that.” it would seem to point to a 3G iPhone coming some time next year.

ZDNet speculates that in order for a successful 3G iPhone to be released (unless Steve Jobs knows about some miracle long-life battery that the rest of the industry is clueless about) it must allow for interchangeable batteries.

Quite why Apple will change the habit of a portable device lifetime, though, is another matter.

Do you need 3G in the iPhone? If you’re nearly always going to be near a Wi-Fi hotspot when you want to use the Internet, then you’ll not be particularly bothered about the slower EDGE connection. Chances are, with just 30% EDGE coverage in the UK at present, you’re likely to be closer to a faster wireless connection anyway. And with 3G, you’d only eat up whatever paltry “fair use” restrictions are imposed on O2′s “unlimited” data plan.

In the survey we conducted back in May, 3G came down in fifth position in a list of iPhone letdowns. That doesn’t mean it’s not important to people, but it’s not a major influencer on purchasing the iPhone.

Of course, that was way before the iPod Touch was announced. A 3G iPhone would offer a little more distinction from the latest iPod, but it’s still just a phone. I don’t think 3G alone will make the iPhone look favourable to those who mainly want the iPod functionality.

Add GPS, a kickass camera, and some really great mobile applications, and it might.

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iPhone UK: What Steve and Matthew wouldn’t say
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8GB iPhone coming to UK: 9th November with O2

Product launches are often as interesting for what isn’t said as what is. Here’s a quick rundown of what the two men in charge — Apple’s CEO, Steve Jobs, and O2 UK’s CEO, Matthew Key — refused to be drawn on:

Starbucks Wi-Fi

Q: Is the same deal with Starbucks coming here?
A: Steve: “You’ll have to ask Starbucks about that. They love the UK.”

In other words, we have no control over them so don’t ask.

Revenue Sharing

Q: What’s the revenue sharing from data and device sales between Apple and O2?
A: Steve: “Unfortunately, we’re not going to go into that, but good question! Sometimes you get what you pay for.”

Ouch! Must be high, though O2 are the ones suffering if so.

iPod Touch

Q: Were you aware that the iPod touch was coming out when you were negotiating the iPhone deal?
A: Matthew: “One of the great things about working with Apple is they are always moving forward.”

Other European Launches

Q: Can you be more specific about other European countries?
A: Steve: “We’re here to talk about O2 UK, and that’s all we’re willing to talk about today.”

Thanks to Engadget’s live blog for the enlightenment (including photo).

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iPhone UK: Just how “unlimited” is the O2 data plan?
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The thing I was most concerned about missing out on, or at least getting a watered down version of, was the iPhone’s unlimited data plan.

Though things are gradually getting better in the UK, mobile data is still pretty expensive. The introduction of plans such as T-Mobile’s Web’n'Walk initiative have helped to make browsing the Internet more affordable, but with the advent of devices like the iPhone, users are going to want to surf more and more.

Most “unlimited” plans in any medium — mobile, broadband, “eat as much as you like” restaurants — have some kind of fair use policy (or at least, you’re expected to buy drinks).

What isn’t clear yet is exactly how much data O2 are willing to allow their customers to download each month.

When questioned at the UK press conference, Matthew Key (CEO of O2) said, “There is a limit: 1,400 internet pages per day would break the deal as part of fair usage agreement.”

So how much is that?

The front page of The Guardian currently renders to around 750KB. I doubt O2 would be happy if you tried to download over one gigabyte of data per day. Mind you, try doing that over an EDGE connection. Yeuck!

Hopefully when the O2 Store comes back online, there’ll be more concrete figures. I tried to find out whether there was any similar limit on AT&T’s unlimited data plans. Anyone know?

If iPhone users are going to be stung after downloading just a few megabytes per day, then something’s seriously wrong with the plan. It’s a serious issue, though, because O2 plans to roll out unlimited data plans to all of its customers in October.

“It’s the future,” says Jobs.

I thought that was garlic bread, but never mind.

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iPhone UK: O2 has Visual Voicemail
iPhone UK: How much free Wi-Fi can you get?
8GB iPhone coming to UK: 9th November with O2

I’m not sure we were convinced that visual voicemail would make it over to the UK straight away, but according to Apple’s latest anglicised iPhone video, it does.

At least, the image above (magnified from the video, so apologies for the quality) clearly shows the O2 UK network being displayed, and VV being used. Of course, it’s just a presentation video, not the real thing, but I can only presume that O2 have been working to get this feature ready for the iPhone.

Visual Voicemail isn’t the iPhone’s most exciting feature – to me at least – but definitely worth having.

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iPhone UK: How much free Wi-Fi can you get?
8GB iPhone coming to UK: 9th November with O2

The iPhone is coming to the UK, and bundled in with the deal is free unlimited Wi-Fi access at any Cloud hot spot.

This apparently equates to around 7,500 locations around the UK, although some urban areas are obviously going to be better served than the Highlands of Scotland or the Outer Hebrides.

As the iPhone’s not 3G, it’s good news that – at least in major towns — you won’t be too far away from a free Wi-Fi hot spot.

What isn’t clear is whether we Brits get a version of the US Starbucks deal – chances are potentially slim because the unstoppable coffee chain’s wireless Net access is provided by… T-Mobile.

Then again, maybe Steve Jobs has some pan-European niceness going on in the background. If Deutsche Telekom gets the iPhone in Germany, then perhaps they’ll open up the gateway to Starbucks coffee houses throughout Europe. Then, given their ubiquitousness, you’ll probably have free Wi-Fi access on every high street.

Of course, you’ll also be able to use any other free Wi-Fi hot spot you can find, as well as your home or office network. Depending on where you live, this could minimise the amount of “unlimited” and slow data you have to endure on the EDGE network.

Apple and O2 today announced that iPhone would debut in the UK on November 9 with O2, the leading wireless carrier in the UK, as its exclusive carrier. “Our strategy at O2 is to bring our customers the best products and experiences,” said Matthew Key, CEO, O2 UK. “The iPhone is a breakthrough that is changing the way people use their mobiles forever, and we’re thrilled to have it exclusively for O2 customers in the UK.”

That’s what Cisco Cheng has to say about the performance of the 17-inch MacBook Pro. Earning a four-star editor’s rating, the MacBook Pro, Cheng says, “ is the only 17-inch laptop that can be labeled as both a thin-and-light laptop and a desktop replacement. It’s thin-and-light in that it weighs a mere 6.7 pounds, yet with its drool-inducing 17-inch widescreen, it can kick your current desktop to the curb.”

Wake the kids, phone the neighbors, the graphical new version of the iPhone unlocking software is now out, official, automatic (or as much as it can be) and free. Developed by the iPhoneDev team, the new software makes opening up your iPhone to any GSM carrier simple as pie. According to the Dev Team, “This new version needs only be copied over to the phone and executed, it’s full automatic. No more needs for fls or extract bin files out of the nordump. It should also cut the time down to max. 3-5 minutes.”

We’ll bring you more just as soon as we get hands-on with the new wares (eh hem, all our iPhones seem to be unlocked at the moment) and as long as Apple doesn’t drop the hammer with a new iPhone firmware release. We know it’s coming, and chances are it will wreak havoc with the unlock.

Download
EU mirror
US mirror

Update: Not so dummy-proof Instructions and more after the break.

Update 2: GUI version is now out.

Continue reading iUnlock Reloaded: free iPhone unlocking for dummies now available

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

It’s not unusual to see engineering users cram a different interface (or even a different OS) on their handheld, but for a certain individual parked over in France, the wait for an iPhone became too much to bear. Consequently, Archos Lounge member olidiams crafted what he so eloquently dubbed the “archiphone,” and while details on the modified 605 WiFi are still slim at this point, the finished product doesn’t look too shabby. Hold tight, dear Europeans, your bonafide iPhone should be arriving soon — but till then, be sure and hit the read link for a few more looks.

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

What a tease. The ifixit tear down we’ve all been waiting for on the iPod touch fails to specifically exclude the existence of Bluetooth silicon or even point out which chip is providing the WiFi. After all, Broadcom, Marvell, and CSR all offer single-chip solutions with combined WiFi and Bluetooth radios. Hell, they’ll even integrate an FM radio if you ask real nice. Ah well, perhaps those of you with more IC-focused eyes can take a look at these snaps and bring an end to the Bluetooth in iPod touch mystery once and for all. Otherwise, we’re looking at a Foxconn manufactured iPod with Toshiba (not Samsung) flash NAND memory, Wolfson audio chip, and what appears to be a Samsung manufactured ARM processor presumed to be “very, very similar” to the proc found in the iPhone.

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Don’t forget, you can join us online and live tonight, 9 pm Eastern Time, for a half-hour chat with the TUAW team. Mat Lu and I will be doing an extended iPhone/iPod touch development Q&A with Erica Sadun, who has been in a whirlwind of hackery as the iPod touch meets the agile minds of the iPhone Dev Team. Bring those toolchain questions and application requests.

For those of you who haven’t registered with Talkshoe yet, good news; the conferencing system has been opened up to allow anonymous call-in for anyone with a phone, no PIN needed (if you want to participate in the simultaneous text chat, a PIN and the new Talkshoe client are still required). To call in without a PIN, just dial the general number (724-444-7444), enter the Talkcast ID (45077), and then enter 1#. You can also listen to the live stream directly from the Talkshoe site, or subscribe to the podcast to catch up after the fact.

Image Capture automatically launches when I attach my new iPod Touch to my Mac. The problem is, of course, that unlike the iPhone, the iPod Touch is not a camera. So why is it reporting itself as a camera to my computer? I haven’t personally tried hooking it up to my Windows PC, but TUAW reader Gonzalo reports that Windows recognizes it as an imaging device.

To switch this behavior off in Windows, open Control Panel > Printers and Other Hardware > Scanners and Camera > (your iPod). Right-click the iPod and pick Properties from the contextual menu. Tap on the Events tab and choose “Camera connected” from the “Select an event” pop-up and select Take No Action.

Welcome to this week’s installment of TUAW best of the week, where we gather up our favorite posts of the week for your easy clicking enjoyment.

TV out locked in new iPod classic and nano
Serious, why is Apple making this so hard?

1 millionth iPhone has been sold
Lessee. How long did it take to sell a million Zunes, again?

Vienna 2.2 is available
Nice update for a favorite utility.

iPhone versus iPod Touch: What to buy
The iPhone is looking more and more like the better deal, even if you don’t want phone service.

iPhone Coding: Using the Accelerometer
Practical access to your iPhone’s sensors.

Six Apart launches iPhone/iPod Touch specific Movable Type 4/Typepad
Blog on-the-go.

Making the impossible possible: iPod Touch VOIP
Still working on getting SIP and Asterix and all.

Rogue Amoeba releases free Ringtone Maker
Simple. Easy-to-use. Free.

Fox: We’ll keep our content in iTunes
Fox avoids an NBC-style hissyfit.

Cyberduck hits 2.8 with file transfer queueing
Another great upgrade to a another favorite utility.

Gearlog interview clears up iPhone and Touch details
Don’t believe the buzz. Apple is NOT pro-hacking.

Guitar Hero III coming to the Mac this year
And my kids start begging in 3…2…

iPhone hackers create open source unlock
The iPhone has been unlocked in dozens of countries now.

iTunes: Free Wednesday
Still Free.

Ask TUAW: Anti-Virus in Parallels, inventory management, sharing iCal without .Mac and more
This week’s installment of Mat’s always-wonderful series.

The real story behind the iPhone unlock GUI drama
It’s like a daytime soap opera, I tell you.

Rig of the Week: Mac mini at sea
Glub blub blub click blub.

iPod Touch unboxing
Our new toy. What’s an iPhone again?

More rumors about iTunes movie rentals
It will be nice when you’re stuck at an airport to whip out your iPhone or iTouch and just rent a movie while you wait.

iPhone Early adopters: Claim your store credit!
$100. Remember, if you took your iPhone in for service at any time to use your new serial number not your original one.

No news to report yet but since I’m being bombarded by email, here’s a status report:

iPhuc. Recompiled and working. I’ve created a hacker version that I’m using to send requests. So we’ve moved a little closer. Now I’m getting “unrecognized request” messages in GRestore mode instead of request not founds.

Recovery mode. Achieved both by hand and by software. The old restore commands do not work. iTouch uses a new restore protocol. Instead of pushing data from iTunes, the iTouch pulls data via request. It used to be that iTunes sent a request, and the iPhone returned results. Now iTunes starts a restore mode and waits for requests from the iTouch and serves the requested data.

File read/write from disk. Achieved. Pretty much all the normal inside-jail stuff works.

File system mount. Not there yet.

GRestore. Partial success.

RAM disk decryption. Not yet. No luck yet on finding the key, which may be getting served from Apple.

Shell mode. Maybe.

Normal mode debug access working

State. Arminius: Cranky; Pumpkin, tE_gU, Kroo, Roxfan, BloomFilter: Exhausted. Martyn: Bits of his ipod scattered about his workbench. Me: Frustrated. Jailbreak seems increasingly unlikely at this point.

Update: I’ve gotten the iTouch not to barf at two requests: QueryType and Goodbye. Now I’ve got to see if there any other requests that I can find and also to figure out how to provide parameters to QueryType. Goodbye takes no arguments and just pretty much ends the session. Update 2: I’m calling it a night (morning). I’ve restored my iTouch software now almost a dozen times. Just as a rule: make sure to go into recovery mode by hand, not through iPhoneInterface or iPhuc because you can’t get back without restoring. The goal of this whole exercise is to get access to disk mount and ditto–neither of which happened today. Once those are solved, you can put in the fstab and Services.plist files and get access to the whole disk. We’re not there yet. Or really not that close. Once we get the disk, we’re golden. All hacks flow from full disk access with read & write. Without Jailbreak, there’s no way to install applications or really do anything else.

The iPhone Dev Team has released a simple-to-use GUI tool that allows you to unlock your iPhone for use with any SIM. The tool, which is based on their previous command-line work, provides one-touch speedy unlocking. This is a big improvement on the first generation release. It no longer requires you to use special files or to dump nor data.

You can download your copy from the DevTeam website, as a PXL package or, soon, from Installer.app. “Wheat” is the guy responsible for those amazing graphics.

Find out more at the #iphone channel at irc.osx86.hu. Remember, this is early software and unstable. If risk isn’t your thing, you’ll probably want to wait a few days or weeks for things to stabilize.

Update: After reports of failed unlocks, Sam has updated the version to fix a timing issue. Current version is now 1.0.1, which solves the timing issue.

Update 2: I know of a youtube hack and have heard third-hand of a Visual Voicemail hack. Will post when I have details.

There’s no such thing as a ‘naked iPod‘ — at some point, if the iPod is going to be useful, it has to be paired with a computer to have music loaded (or, as noted in the comments, you’ll be spending a LOT at the WiFi iTunes Store). Despite appearances, the set of iPod owners does not map exactly to the set of iTunes users; there are folks who prefer to manage their iPods via Winamp, Anapod or Ephpod on the Windows platform, and for Linux users (with no iTunes version at all) there are open-source apps and libraries like gtkpod/libgpod (libgpod is also the engine behind Senuti, the freeware reverse-iTunes tool). All of these utilities depend on an understanding of the iTunesDB file found on every iPod to be able to read out the list of songs on the device and manage them independently.

The landscape appears to have changed, however, with the release of the new iPods. According to a post on the iPodMinusiTunes blog, the iTunesDB file now contains a couple of encrypted hashes that validate the information in the music list; this ‘fingerprints’ the iPod/iTunes pairing and also prevents third-party apps from modifying the iTunesDB without access to the hash key. Those applications now may show ’0 songs’ if they try to copy songs to the iPod. Tools like Senuti, which only copy files FROM the iPod, continue to work (verified by Nik and his new Nano).

This change has unfortunate implications for those users who depended on the third-party apps to manage their iPods; until and unless the development community cracks the iTunesDB lock, the new gear will be inaccessible to anything but iTunes for management. At this point, we don’t know that Apple modified iTunesDB specifically to foil non-iTunes utilities; there may be legitimate technical or infrastructure reasons (WiFi iTunes Store?) to make this change. Still, for the slice of the iPod market that depends on the extra-iTunes management capability, this is going to stifle any plans to upgrade to the latest and greatest until the software can catch up.

Thanks, Dave.

If, like yours truly, you’re besotted with your Third Generation iPod Nano, you might want to check for updates within your Nano’s sync screen. It seems that Apple has pushed out a new software update for the new devices. It appears this is just a routine bug-fix update – with suitably short release notes – and the download weighs in at a little over 57MB.

Those wacky folks at iFixit.com are at it again. This time they are ripping apart the most recent addition to the iPod lineup, the iPod touch. These pictures aren’t for the faint of heart, but the braver amongst you might want to take a peek at the images.

Chris Tutor, from our sister blog Autoblog, emailed us a link to this Bloomberg article about the $100 iPhone credit (you have yours, right?). The first thing many people wanted to know about the credit was, ‘Can I buy stuff from the iTunes store with it?’ A quick look at the FAQ would make you think this is not possible, but Bloomberg spoke with an Apple rep who clarified the whole thing.

Here’s the lowdown: you can’t apply the $100 credit directly to your iTunes account, but you can swagger into any Apple Store, or log onto the online store, and buy yourself a $100 (or less) iTunes Gift Card. The only question that remains is, what are you going to spend all that loot at iTunes?

Update: Several people in the comments, and on other blogs, wrote me to let me know that this post is just plain wrong. It is not incorrect, the iPhone credit can be used for iTunes Gifts Cards NOT iTunes electronic gift certificates. I just purchased a $25 gift card from the online Apple store using my credit.

We’ve got a new night and time! Please join us online and live on Sunday night, 9 pm Eastern Time, for a half-hour chat with the TUAW team.This week’s show: the week in review, first impressions from the new iPod touch owners, and (availability permitting) an extended iPhone/iPod touch development Q&A with Erica Sadun, who has been sharing her initial attempts at hacking the iPhone’s little brother. Bring those toolchain questions and application requests.

For those of you who haven’t registered with Talkshoe yet, good news; the conferencing system has been opened up to allow anonymous call-in for anyone with a phone, no PIN needed (if you want to participate in the simultaneous text chat, a PIN and the new Talkshoe client are still required). To call in without a PIN, just dial the general number (724-444-7444), enter the Talkcast ID (45077), and then enter 1#.

If you don’t want to use a phone, Skype, Gizmo or XMeeting, rest easy — there’s another way. The Shoephone VoIP client is now embedded in the Talkshoe app, so you can simply click and talk. Either way, we look forward to hearing from you.

Macenstein has posted about a cool feature from comiXology for us comic book geeks out there. They’re created an iPhone MobileSafari (have to remember that the Touch is out there now) interface for their database of the latest comic book releases. It looks great, allows users to browse both the current and following week’s releases in a touchscreen-specific interface. It also displays summaries and cover art for every book on the list. It’s like browsing a comic store without actually being there (unless you are actually in a comic store while you use it– in which case, whoa, I’d have to sit down for a while, that’s heavy).

While we’re at it, I’m currently poking around for comic book collection software for the Mac (the folks are selling their house, and they asked me to clear the old collection out of their closet). So far, it seems like Comics 2 is the pick of the litter. Does anyone want to share a good tip on an app that will help me organize the few boxes of books I’ve got? I would love if Delicious Library did it, but while I’m sure it could handle my graphic novels, I doubt it would be able to do individual issues. Anyone have a recommendation?

Okay, I couldn’t resist posting about the new to-do list app LifeShaker from Funky Cloud, if only to comment on their clever marketing. This is the first piece of software I can remember to have a movie-style trailer (not just a screencast).

LifeShaker is an interesting take on to-do organizing. It presents a 3×3 grid into which you can dump your various goals, action steps and categories. As the name suggests, you can “shake” your grid to re-arrange your goals (presumably as a kind of self-motivation). It’s an unusual approach; how effective it might be I can only imagine.

In my brief testing, I found the interface to be a bit annoying, requiring excessive use of on-screen buttons for data entry t(instead of just letting me double-click on blank list entries). Still it’s worth a look if you’re interested in a non-traditional to do list.

LifeShaker is $29.00US and requires Mac OS 10.3.9 or higher. A demo is available (points off, however, for the use of an installer).

With Apple emphasizing Cover Flow more and more in the new iPods, etc., the need for good quality album art is ever increasing. I know iTunes is supposed to grab art for songs that are in your library and the iTunes Store, but in my experience it hasn’t worked that well.

Fortunately, Josh Powell has cooked up a nice little site called Josh’s iTunes Album Art Grabber that lets you search the iTunes album art repository and download high quality jpgs from Apple’s servers. In my brief test (with Springsteen albums), most of the cover art came back as 600 x 600px. However, some albums featured art up to 1425 x 1425 or higher.

The search engine is rather strict (“White Stripes” returned nothing, it had to be “The White Stripes”), but this looks like an excellent resource for filling in holes in your collection.

Well, it’s here. And here’s all the dish on my first hours with the iPod Touch.

Impressions

Feel. Man, this thing definitely has a completely different feel and weight from the iPhone. It feels way way thinner.

Squeeze Control. It seems to be confirmed that the iPhone headset squeeze control does not work with the touch. I’ll test when I have time.

Video Out. Does not work with the Belkin dock.

Audio jack. At the bottom!!?? Why?

Didn’t work the first time. A lot of people are reporting flaky iTouch behavior. The first time I connected my new iTouch to iTunes, this was the error I got. Removing the USB and reconnecting it made it work.

Calculator. Same as iPhone. Absolutely the most boring accessory ever shipped.

Keyboard. All the sounds on the Touch are clickier and lighter than on the iPhone. It’s a very palpable difference.

Safari. Works great–once you remember to switch on WiFi. All my Javascript bookmarklets are working fine.

Clock. There are a *lot* fewer sound effects to play with the built-in alarm, and since there’s no speaker, you can only get alarmed through your headphones. No vibrate either. Sounds are: checkmate, jump, time passing, time’s up, updown.

Cheerios! Brian Mulllally writes that the icon for the iTouch test mode serial number is, *hee*, a Cheerios box.

Diagnostic Information. I keep saying: “No” and “Don’t ask again” but it keeps asking and asking and asking…

Hack after the jump…

Continue reading Liveblogging the iPod Touch

Rogue Amoeba has already updated their MakeiPhoneRingtone application to 1.1, in order to bring in the Cleverboy hack that was discovered the other day. If you missed it, they also posted a guide on how to turn any audio file into an AAC file with their product Fission (but don’t forget that iTunes will also do it for you as well, it just won’t cut your file for you). We’re still waiting on someone to make a program that turns any file into a ringtone by itself (Rogue Amoeba is talking about adding the functionality straight to Fission), but all the tools are there.

So Apple’s whole ringtone system is completely, totally, and devastatingly broken. Why would anyone possibly pay money for ringtones from iTunes when it’s so incredibly easy to make your own? As Gruber said in his great and very thorough commentary, the whole Ringtone racket is just that — a racket. There’s no such thing as a “ringtone” — a ringtone is exactly the same as a song, in a different context. The idea that studios should charge more for you to choose which 30 seconds of a song you want to listen to is complete bunk.

And if you think ringtones are a joke (and I do — I’ve been rolling my own ever since my first cellphone), just wait until you hear about “ringles”. Unbelievable.

Gamasutra has a nice interview with Darren Evenson, the lead designer of the Penny Arcade game with the long title that’s set to hit Macs at the end of the year.

The interview’s got me more excited than ever about this thing– apparently Penny Arcade and Hothead studios actually polled people on their site about what their favorite games were, and based on that, they came up with a point-and-click interface (a la the old LucasArts adventure games) combined with an RPG-style battle system (as in Final Fantasy and Chrono Trigger, which is one of my favorite games ever). That sounds great!

As stated before, the game will be available in episodes downloaded from the website, and you’ll be able to create a character that you play across the episodes. Sounds really fun– the end of the year never seemed so far away.

Dear TUAW readers, I have a confession. Normally I am not a person who spontaneously buys an iPod . However last Thursday morning was, well, a little different. Upon seeing the new Nanos, Shuffles and iPod Classics on display at an Apple Store I just happened to be passing (convenient, eh?), I was torn. Do I buy a new Nano? Do I need one? Do I want one? Can I even justify purchasing one, given that I have a (RED) 4GB Nano that I love dearly? The answer to all those questions was close enough to ‘yes’, almost exclusively because I wanted a video-playing iPod. And more importantly, because I had 7 days of travel that would allow the Nano to prove its worth. Well, after a week of video-playing, music listening and more, the jury is in.

Continue reading A week with the new iPod Nano

Mac Rumors is reporting that iPhone 1.1.1 is due soon (duh), and they say that it’ll bring an International Keyboard, some extra settings for the Home button, the likely WiFi store update, and an update to the Modem Firmware. As usual, this is a rumor, so don’t hold your breath– this could be coming next week or next month.

But there is a little twist that Mac Rumors missed. An iPhone hacker birdie tells me that their open source software unlock actually patches the Modem Firmware to do its thing. Which means that if the Modem Firmware gets a significant upgrade, it’s very, very likely that it’s game over for the current unlocks.

Now, I’m not sure how iPhoneSIMFree’s unlock works– as far as I know, this might only affect the open source iUnlock app. But while Apple has said they’re taking a neutral stance against hackers, AT&T may have pressured them to push back against an unlock. As we’ve known all along, Apple could choose to update the firmware and break any hacks so far, and with a large upgrade to the Modem Firmware, that could be exactly what they’ve done.

In case you were wondering, the old lanyards for the 1st-gen iPod nanos work with the current 3rd-gen (aka “fatty” or “video”) nanos. Apple moved the dock connection and headphone port away from each other in the 2nd-gen nanos, thus ruining the party for a lot of 3rd-party accessory manufacturers. But now all is well again, unless you just despise the look and shape of the new nano, of course.

And before a wiseacre chimes in with “slow news day, huh?” we’ll be honest and say, that yes, it IS a slow news day. Apple has an event next week, which generally means a quiet period beforehand. So until someone sends us pictures of Steve Wozniak showing Larry the Cable Guy a magic trick, we’re just going to have to deal with a fairly sparse day of posting.

[thanks to moo for the Woz link and Atariboy for the lanyard tip]