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This Week in Smartphone Schadenfreude, July 26th Edition

2008-07-28T13:56:00.002+01:00

Not evil twin to theiPhoneBlog.com Week in Review, not an invasion by Fake Steve, This Week in Smart Phone Schadenfreude brings you all the feel-better news you need about the smartphone world outside Apple’s current media dominator. (Who knew there was such a world? We were just as surprised! Inelegant, interface challenged, keyboardy, crashy, single-touchy place — best not to linger…). Join us as we mock review the big news from last week at our sister sites. Everybody loves sibling rivalry!
This week: ThuderStorms, iClone Double Feature, Dead Treo’s, and Open Marriages!

Job Listing: iPhone Security Engineer aka iPhone Hacker

2008-07-26T12:40:00.002+01:00

So a new employment opportunity popped up at Apple’s job listings the other day and Apple is looking for an experienced iPhone Security Engineer to create “proof of concept” attacks on current security mechanisms and provide risk analysis of potential security threats. Basically, Apple needs an iPhone Hacker to prevent future jailbreaks, unlocks, and security breaches.

So if any of you are good at what you do and want to work for the “good guys”, go give it a try. Apple is trying to ramp up security to protect enterprises who are adopting iPhone 2.0 and more selfishly, protect their own App Store from competition ahem Cydia & Installer. Either way, Apple is getting serious about security and the iPhone.

What do you think?

iPhone 3G in the US and UK: 2 Weeks Later

2008-07-26T12:38:00.003+01:00

It’s been two weeks since the July 11th, 22 nation launch. Do you know where your iPhone 3G is? Sadly, for many, the answer is still “backordered” if not “out-of-stock”. But don’t worry, your always customer conscious and perennially consumer focused mobile cell provider wants to make sure you know that they know that you’re feeling some pain. And they want to assure you they’re doing everything they can to get your money you your shiny new iPhone 3G.

First, they are absolutely, positively not hoarding them or stockpiling them in any secret iVaults. It’s still first-come, first-served, and in AT&T is prioritizing direct fulfillment (with a 2 week wait time), and advising their stores are currently sold out. (Hey, they’re moving it twice as fast as last year, remember? Just imagine if they had stock!)

Second, for its part Apple has stopped providing JSON data to independent webbers who were keeping you better informed (than Apple) as to what stores had precisely which units when you got there 15 exactly minutes too late. Back to Apple.com, or the still long line ups outside Apple Retail, for those in the US.

Third, in the UK 02 Online is out, stores are in increasingly short supply, but might get a few more units trickling in today.

Not worried in the least, Apple’s supply-chain wizards plan to launch the iPhone 3G in 20 more countries in just under a month from now. Good luck with that.

Sadun Smash Puny App Store Beta Rumors

2008-07-26T12:36:00.001+01:00

No, not the 2.1 firmware beta, that one’s for realz. We’re talking here about the Washington Post, which ran a Techcrunch story breaking the news that:

Now we’re hearing from an app developer that Appleis finally going to start rolling out a new beta program in the next few days has released an Ad-Hoc program. Details are slim, but it seems like Apple is capping the total number of beta participants at 100 per app. In order to download a beta app, users will need to submit their iPhone’s UDIDs number to the developer,who will then need to flag its eligibility in the store itself. All betas will still be distributed through the App Store - you won’t be able to download one on an external site.The apps will be directly distributed by the developer.
Sound an awful lot like the Ad-Hoc distribution method Apple announced for educational institutions way back at WWDC to you? Sure did to iPhone developer extraordinaire Erica Sadun, who rumor smashed thusly:

The “Beta Program” will not be released in the “next few days.” Ad-hoc distribution is already available and working. Developers can create ad-hoc provisions through the iPhone Developer Program site today.
Sadun also provides a handy-dandy Ad-hoc Helper app for mailing your UDID directly to a developer, should you be part of an Ad-hoc app distribution group.

iPhone 2.1 Rumor: Cut/Copy/Paste Cometh?!

2008-07-26T12:35:00.001+01:00

Last night Apple began seeding iPhone firmware 2.1 and SDK Beta 1 to registered developer program members (those who paid the $99 fee and were accepted, and have App Store uploading privileged’s). Word came in early about new features in CoreLocation and Notification Server APIs. Now Engadget is adding the nigh-mythical holy grail of basic smartphone functionality to the list of maybes: Cut, Copy, and Paste!

Another bit which may or may not make it into 2.1 is copy/paste. We’re still both hopeful and skeptical, but supposedly in the new version of the WebKit framework exists commands for “plugins,” “copy,” “paste,” “cut,” and some others. We can’t confirm if these really exist (and if they do, we don’t know how they’ve actually been there, or if they’re simply holdovers from the desktop WebKit frameworks), so don’t hold your breath.
Greg “Joz” Joswiak, Apple’s head of iPod and iPhone marketing has previously stated that cut, copy, and paste is on the future feature list, but with limited time and resources, Apple didn’t get to it for 2.0. Will 2.1 be different?

What do you think? Any breath holding on your end?

Next Version of Installer.app For iPhone 2.0 Software Looks Like It's Getting Close

2008-07-25T12:45:00.000+01:00

These screens were released today by the developers of Installer.app showing Installer 4, the next version that will work with jailbroken iPhones running firmware 2.0. By the slick looks of it, it looks like they're getting close. When it's done, it will be multi-threaded (meaning everything doesn't come to a halt while your sources are being updated) and support package dependencies as well. As you know, we can't wait. [RiP Dev Blog]

Installer.app for 2.0 is Coming Soon

2008-07-25T11:40:00.001+01:00

Installer.app, the app store before that other app store, is coming back for firmware 2.0 and being re-fashioned as Installer 4. Currently, jailbroken 2.0 iPhones are using Cydia as their main app pipeline but when Installer 4 is released, well, they’ll likely play nice with one another and especially nice with that other app store.
The RiP Dev Blog has a lot of complicated, programmer’s type language describing the updates for Installer 4.0 so I’ll try to translate to more understandable, layman’s terms: It’s going to be faster, safer, and more integrated. Bang.
The release of Installer 4.0 seems to be imminent but well, really, there’s no rush, many of the apps that were available for 1.1.x aren’t quite ready for the big time yet. So take your time with Installer 4.0. We here at TiPb would almost always prefer a little delayed polished product over a rushed, rough, not as advertised..yeah, we’re looking at you MobileMe.

iPhone Remains Effectively Sold Out in U.S.

2008-07-25T11:37:00.001+01:00

MacNN reports that a survey of Apple's iPhone availability tool shows that the iPhone 3G is effectively sold out across the country. Only 3 stores appear to have any stock for Monday morning.
Apple notes that on Monday none of its 137 locations in the US will have stock of the 8GB iPhone and that the only location to have the 16GB black iPhone will be its retail store in Pleasanton, California.
The only other two stores to have stock of the iPhone are the retail locations in Salem, New Hampshire (Rockingham Park) and New York City (Fifth Avenue) - both of which only have the 16GB white iPhone model.

Speaker satellites for the iPhone

2008-07-25T11:34:00.002+01:00

I use my iPhone all the time, and I want to use it as a "mp3 player", I would definately have to give these a looksy!
DLO, one of the leading after market accessory makers for iPods, has this egg shape portable speaker system for sale for only $50. If they have a decent sound, they would be perfect for traveling. You know, those alarm clocks in hotels really don’t cut it!
The speakers, which cost a reasonable $49.99, offer an interference-free amplifier. The unit also comes with two orbiting speakers that can be placed in any configuration around the base, which can hold the iPhone–or iPod Touch, for that matter–in either portrait or landscape orientation. As such, there’s no dock connector, and the iPhone/iPod won’t be charged in the base. You can, however, use the 3.5mm connection to connect any audio device. The speaker can be powered by the included AC adapter, or by four AAA batteries, making it quite the versatile unit. Plus, each speaker snaps onto the base to create an enclosed, six-inch ball for easy transport. Neat!

For more info check out DLO.

iPhones, iPod to be $100 cheaper very soon?

2008-07-25T11:32:00.001+01:00

CrunchGear is reporting a rumor that the iPhone and iPod Touch might be selling for $100 less real soon. So, how does that business model work? Gouge your faithful iSheep early, then lower the prices for those that can wait? Sort of like like the original iPhone gouging… well, not sorta… more like just like.
Anyhow, Crunchgear’s source, 9to5Mac, claims to have gotten some inside info on this price drop. No reason to doubt this info since it seems to be consistent with the past price drops. With the 3G iPhone supposedly coming soon it makes sense to get stock sold fast so everyone has to pay $599 to get the 3G version. hehe..
We just got a tip that Apple is planning on dropping the prices again on the iPhone and iPod Touch line within the next month or two - perhaps at the late February event, perhaps as late as mid-April. Our tipster says that Apple will drop the prices by $100.
Also, the 8Gb iPod Touch will be dropped from the lineup according to the source. It might also make sense that the 8Gb iPhone would get phased out as well, but it wasn’t mentioned in the tip. Inventories will likely be a big factor in the timing so we’re keeping an eye out for shortages.

Quick Tip: crop your photos.

2008-07-24T22:55:00.001+01:00

One of the nifty features of the 2.0 software is taking screenshots by pressing the Home and Lock buttons at the same time. There are lots of ways to make use of the feature: screenshots for an app review, capturing your home screen to show to your friends, or grabbing a page in Safari to look at later.

However, there’s one quite useful feature of it discovered by James1292 on the Apple Discussions board. It’s a way to crop photos on your iPhone, a feature that has been frequently asked for. It’s simple to do; just zoom in on the portion of the image you want to crop, and take a screenshot. There will then be a new image of the area you selected. Of course, this won’t result in the highest quality image, (quality will decrease as you zoom further) but it’s a start.

iPhone 2.0 WinPwn for Windows Now Live

2008-07-24T20:14:00.001+01:00

Tired of the three-percenter Mac population hogging all the iPhone Unlock/Jailbreak/Pwnage goodness for their eye-candied, single-button’ied selves? No longer!

The Windows version of the iphone-dev team’s Pwnage tool, WinPwn, is now available: Support for both 1.1.4 and 2.0, Custom Image Support, Custom Payload Support, 3g iPhone support

So, if you really want to Pwn your iPhone and haven’t already hunted down that turtle-neck wearing snob at the sushi bar and commandeered the aluminum sliver that passes for his laptop, your Microsoft compatible version awaits…

Apple COO Speaks: iPhone 3G Launches in 20 More Countries

2008-07-24T20:00:00.000+01:00

During Apple’s Q3 conference call Monday, along with App Store updates, Apple’s Chief Operating Officer, Tim Cook, announced that the iPhone 3G would launch in 20 more countries/regions on August 22nd, some six weeks after the initial 22 country launch back on July 11th.

While we’ve previously known that some 70+ countries would launch during 2008, we still don’t know which of the remaining 50 will be included in the second wave (or whether carrier and iTunes servers will remain up and running this time!).

Guesses anyone?

AT&T Speaks: iPhone 3G Selling Twice as Fast as Original!

2008-07-24T19:57:00.000+01:00

Exclusive US iPhone 3G carrier AT&T announced their Q2 results yesterday, and during their conference call informed us of this staggering little factoid:
[S]ales of Apple’s iPhone 3G during the first twelve days were nearly double that of last year, this despite shortages that have seen backorders stretch one to three weeks at its retail stores.

We already knew Apple had sold 1,000,000 of their second-generation handsets in just 3 days (almost 25 times faster than the original iPhone 2G), but that was (I assume) a global number covering the 22 launch countries (and may have included units in partner channels). This quantity — while ironically not quantified — is US specific, and is impressive given that some pundits felt the all-important early adapters already had iPhones, and would get 2.0 for free, and so would likely have less incentive to upgrade. Maybe, maybe not. The $199 cost-of-entry could have triggered an even bigger flood of first time buyers who had balked at the previous price point.

Apple Posts New iPhone 3G Ads

2008-07-24T19:54:00.001+01:00

Apple has posted 3 new iPhone 3G ads. We’ve been seeing them on TV here and there (fast-forward-TiVo-style), but it’s nice to see that Apple’s posted them fully. Two of them focus on 3G speeds (with a tiny, gray “3G not available in all areas” at the end) and the third talks about “work” without specifically mentioning that it’s discussion Exchange support. All in all, they’re not all that compelling, truth be told, but “Unslow” at least falls in the iPhone commercial tradition of advertising-through-education: “What exactly is 3G?” It’s fast, baby. It’s also apparently GPS too, though again Apple doesn’t specifically drop that apparently unhip series of letters in the commercial.

Check them out at Apple, here.

OFFICIAL Iphone 2.0 Jailbreak.

2008-07-24T18:42:00.001+01:00

Download Links:

Winpwn 2.0 Jailbreak

2.0 Firmware

Iphone Jailbreak 2.0

2008-07-24T17:33:00.000+01:00

Within this week I will show you can to Jailbreak you Iphone 2.0 Firmware.

It is very easy to do.