Pwnage New Version Imminent via Automatic Update
With Apple allegedly gearing up to battle the iPhone Dev Team in the incoming iPhone 1.2.0 firmware, the other side keeps refining and updating their iPhone firmware unlocking and hacking tool, Pwnage. According to the usual suspects, the new version pictured in this screenshot will be hitting your computers soon via automatic update. [Pwnage Page and iPhone Dev Team in Gizmodo]
TouchBrowser Brings iPhone Finger-Flicking Browsing to Windows Mobile
Desktop-like browsing is already headed to Windows Mobile in version 6.1, but can you use your finger with it? Like on the iPhone? Not exactly. For that, you’ll have to install TouchBrowser. Along with being able to pan around a page to get your Britney Spears news with your finger, there’s even a proprietary onscreen keyboard that takes up almost the entire display. Would you pay $14.95 for this? Only if you’re building the world’s lamest iPhone replica on your HTC Touch. [Makayama]
iPhone and iPod Touch Actually Support 720×576 Video Resolution
Officially, the iPhone and iPod touch support 640 by 480-pixel video running at up to 30 frames per second. But Ars Technica is reporting that it’ll actually take 720×576-resy video churning at 25fps, which is the same resolution and frame rate that PAL (mostly Euro) DVDs run at. Obviously not all that useful if you’re just catching flicks on your iPhone, but if you watch them on your computer too (like a rental), the higher res means less squinting on your big boy monitor. [Ars Technica]
With the Pinpoint application for your iPhone, you will never be lost again! Anywhere you are, you can use your WIFI Internet connection on your iPhone to instantly get directions from where you are to wherever you may want to be. You simply enter your current location (any street address will do) and then your iPhone taps the power of Google Maps to give you the info that you need. You can also do searches for gas stations, restaurants, bars, movies, retail shops, malls, … you get the picture, right?
The results that you get are more than just written directions. You get clickable phone numbers to your desired destinations (very cool), a detailed street map, distances between selected points and more! The search variables are completely filterable, allowing you to hone in on specific types of destinations - not just general queries. Your iPhone will also provide reviews of selected targets in case you are traveling in unfamiliar territories. Pinpoint works anywhere on the planet - just like your iPhone.
The future of communications and travel are at hand, iPhoners! What are you waiting for? Go download Pinpoint right now! It’s here: http://iphone.toughturtle.com/pinpoint/
Sega producer talks about Super Monkey Ball for the iPhone
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Gaming, Odds and ends, iPhone
There are some nice promises from Sega here for at least one cool game in the App Store in June. We’ll continue to hope Sega (and Apple, and all of the other companies stepping up to develop games for the iPhone) can deliver.
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Snowballs in Hell: Microsoft May Develop Software for iPhone
Fortune is quoting Microsoft VP of Specialized Devices and Applications Group (whatever the hell that is), who indicates the software giant may be open to developing applications for iPhone. It s really important for us to understand what we can bring to the iPhone, to the extent that Mac Office customers have functionality that they need in […]
TypingWeb gains Safari compatiblity
Filed under: Internet Tools, iPhone
The biggest barrier to effectively using your Mac (or your iPhone) isn’t processor speed or software compatibility — it’s poor typing speed. Who knew back at the invention of the manual typewriter that the QWERTY keyboard layout (alleged to have been designed to slow down typists and avoid jams) would still be our primary data interface more than a century later? Yes, we’ve got some other options now, but short of upgrading your RAM the best way to speed up your work is to simply learn to type.
To enhance that finger business, check out TypingWeb, which now offers a Safari-compatible (both for desktop and iPhone, as we originally noted here) and free set of typing drills. Using the service on my iPod touch, I discovered that my Blackberry-style two thumb technique was actually slowing me down compared to an index-finger approach that leveraged the word completion feature more effectively — who knew?
For a full-scale Mac typing tutor, the classic (not Classic — it runs in OS X now) choice is Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing, available on a cross-platform CD.
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iPhone SDK Beta 3 Now Available
iPhone Devs should go grab the newest SDK release, which comes with a new tutorial and extends the beta 2.0 firmware. It also has various bug fixes and “support for the latest iPhone OS.” [Apple]
UK iPhone price cut boosts confidence in June 3G launch
A 100 pound price cut on Apple’s 8GB iPhone in the UK, confirmed by wireless carrier O2 on Wednesday, is the latest bit of anecdotal evidence to hint towards near-term release of a redesigned 3G model, according to one Wall Street analyst. The 37…
iPhone Developer Lockdown reportedly iPinkBricks all dev units
Filed under: Developer, iPhone
Readers report that update 5A240d is now available on the Dev Portal
Reports are streaming into TUAW that official iPhone developers have been hit this morning by the Pink Screen of Expired Release. Their beta licenses for the current 1.2/2.0 firmware distribution have expired as of 12:01am April 8th. Both iPhones and iPod touches now display the pink-backgrounded “This device is expired. Please install a newer version of the OS” activation screen and will do so until Apple issues a firmware refresh.
You can easily downgrade your iPhone or iPod touch from the PSOD. Just restore your iPhone or touch to an earlier firmware release. You will not be able to use your unit for development until Apple updates the developer release but you should be able to make phone calls.
iPhone hacker Nicholas “Drudge” Penree reports that you can bypass 1.2/2.0 activation using the dev team’s pwnage tool. He writes that he is aware of 1.2/2.0 iPhones that are still working today.
[Via iPhoneDevHelp]
Thanks everyone who sent this in.
Update: Straight from our blue & green super-sekrit source: “I got bricked as well. Called ADC and they told me there was a new SDK. They said it was still labeled as the old SDK but that if I hovered over the link would show the new one. Not sure how the SDK would fix it vs. a new firmware but I’m downloading it now.” I personally can’t see any updated SDK material. Perhaps its only available to those accepted into the dev program. Other readers report that they do not see any updates–in the dev program pages or the general iPhone dev center ones.
Update 2: Another blue and green birdie sent us this, which has apparently been posted since the developer program opened: “Important note: Once you install the pre-release iPhone OS on your device, such device may only be used for development and testing purposes until the final (GM) version of the iPhone OS is released. In addition, you will need to install new versions of the software from time to time throughout the beta period. Failure to install the most current version will, after a period of time, put your device in a de-activated state. Updating to the most current version will re-activate your device so that you may continue testing.”
Update 3: Apparently the new (possibly 5A240d) firmware seed has only been released to Enterprise developers so far according to yet another blue & green birdie. This birdie tweets that the seed note is quite extensive and includes “unsettling” details. It looks like a lot of device hangs and system restores are in developer futures.
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Review: Griffin’s iPhone Reception Boosting ClearBoost Case
The Gadget: Griffin’s ClearBoost iPhone Case that not only protects the iPhone from drops and scratches (with its included screen protector), but claims to boost the reception as well.
The Price: $29.99
The Verdict: It works, but only under specific conditions. Here’s what the numbers mean (highlighted lower numbers closer to 0 are better). When you’re talking with the phone up to your face, having the ClearBoost on it increases the signal quite noticeably. An increase of 3 dBm doubles the amount of “RF energy reaching the iPhone’s built-in antenna,” which means that in the better reception spot, the case increased that energy by a little over four times. In the slightly worse spot, it increased it about four times.
We saw the opposite effect when we placed the case on a desk and didn’t touch it. A real world scenario is if you’re talking on a Bluetooth headset but not holding your phone. In the better reception area, the case just barely degraded the signal, and was close enough to call a statistical tie. In the slightly worse reception area, it actually degraded signal by four times when placed onto a desk.
Here’s why we think the ClearBoost works. When you’re talking on your iPhone with the phone held up to your face normally, your hand is covering up the antenna on the phone—which is inconveniently designed by Apple to be located on the bottom, behind the black plastic area. The Clearboost helps eliminate that problem by essentially “moving” the antenna to the top where your hand isn’t. When the phone is on a desk and your hand isn’t covering the standard iPhone antenna, at best there’s no benefit, but at worst it actually degrades your reception.
In the interest of completeness, we wanted to see how the reception was if we held the phone up to our face without the case, but holding the phone gingerly at the top, trying not to cover up the antenna. As we thought, reception was better there than when we held it “normally”, but slightly worse than when we were using the case. It’s super inconvenient to hold a phone like this, however, and isn’t really feasible to do much of the time.
The Aesthetics: It’s a decent enough hard plastic case that doesn’t add too much bulk to your phone. The antenna on top may be a little protrud-y, but it’s necessary for obvious reasons. All the buttons and ports are accessible, and you can dock your phone in most docks without much problem.
The Notes: One thing to note is Griffin explicitly states that the ClearBoost only works if you have your phone on the AT&T network, which uses the 850 MHz band. If you’re on T-Mobile, which primarily uses the 1900 MHz band but roams occasionally onto 850 MHz depending on where you are, you’ll get less benefit. We tested this on AT&T. Richard from Wireless Info also notes that the signal/noise ratio is important, and that more dBm might not mean better sound quality.
The Testing Procedure: We didn’t test with how many bars the phone gets, because how many bars it gets is only a rough display and doesn’t go up or down completely based on the “signal”. Testing using the iPhone’s Field Test app shows how strong the actual signal is in dBm, which measures in terms of amount of “RF energy reaching the iPhone’s built-in antenna.” Each number in the chart is an average of five to seven samples.
The Bottom Line: If your reception’s no good and you often talk with your phone up to your face, the Griffin ClearBoost will give you a bump in signal. If you talk with a Bluetooth headset more often than not, you might want to skip this. At $30, it’s probably too cheap to pass up. [Griffin]
Nike+ coming to iPhone and iPod touch
Filed under: Hardware, iPod Family, Apple, iPhone
Multiple sources are repeating Stuff.tv’s report that Apple is planning to bring the Nike+ system to the iPhone and iPod touch. Nike+ is of course a special kit, originally made for iPod nano, that will record the distance and length of a walk or run — you stick the little sensor in your shoe, and it works as a timer and pedometer to record personal workout stats.
Stuff also reports that in addition to bringing along the sensor system, the new Nike+ system may also be able to take advantage of the iPhone’s and touch’s wifi by sending stats from the sensor directly to Nike’s online database,where a new “Coach” system will help you schedule runs and activities.
Sounds pretty amazing. Of course, this is only the beginning of the kind of “life management” software that we’ll see coming out of the SDK. Stuff suggests that your iPhone will help you know when go to out and for how long, but of course we know that by the time June comes around it’ll be able to do a lot more than that.
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Apple snags 6.6% share of US PC market in first quarter
Mac maker Apple Inc. enjoyed strong retail sales during the first calendar quarter of 2008, boosting its share of the US personal computer market above 6 percent, according to a report released Wednesday by market research firm Gartner. Stateside …
