That happened in the iPhone world today 10/31/08

By Sebastien Page on Oct 31, 2008

Some iPhone news for you… Click on the links to read the full article.

FastMac iV for iPhone 3G charges multiple devices

FastMac has launched the FastMac iV, a charger and extended battery for the iPhone that also adds a built-in flash and can charge USB devices concurrently. The iV triples the iPhone’s talk time to 24 hours, as well as 31 days of standby, over 20 hours of video or 70 hours of audio playback.

First Look: Simplifi, dock, card reader, and USB hub

One of the biggest flaws of Macs is that they donít include built-in media card readers. This makes sense, given the bewildering array of different media cards available and the fact that media card readers offer more slots than anyone could possibly want or use, hence wasting space and marring the uncluttered appearance of the computer.

Tap Tap Tap Releases Classics E-Book Reader

Classics, a new kind of eBook reader for the iPhone and ipod touch, was released today by developer Tap Tap Tap. The new app offerers a more realistic book-reading experience. The interface uses graphics and sound effects to mimic the sensation of browsing through a real book shelf to find a book and turning through pages of real paper.

Inside The Defective iPhone 3G USB Adapter

Are you curious about exactly why Apple issued a recall their original two-prong USB power adapter for the iPhone 3G? You’re not alone. To figure out what the big deal was, the guys at MacMerc.com decided to tear apart one of the defective units to see what the big problem is that made Apple so nervous.

 

iGameBoy Theme for iPhone

By Sebastien Page on Oct 31, 2008

If like me you’re a kid of the 80′s, you probably had a Nintendo GameBoy at some point. I remember begging my Mom to get what at the time was the best portable gaming device. That was before Sega showed up with its Game Gear. Anyways.

There is a theme available in Cydia that replicates the look of the GameBoy screen; you know this greenish and pixelized screen. I couldn’t resist so I downloaded this theme and activated it with WinterBoard.

This theme you see below is called iGameBoy Buttons. There is another version called iGameBoy Fullscreen, which is the same except it doens’t show the control pad.

 

How to get free wifi at AT&T’s HotSpots

By Sebastien Page on Oct 31, 2008

So it’s finally official: you can get free wifi at AT&T HotSpots, all over the US. Starbucks lovers rejoice. Now you have one more reason to spend hours in your favorite coffee shop (side note: I hate Starbucks). But if you thought you could just walk in and get on the wifi right away, well, think again.

In order to enjoy free wifi from AT&T, you will have to authenticate your connection. What does that mean? To understand better, let’s have a look at what AT&T says about how to get started:

  • Activate Wi-Fi from the settings icon on your iPhone
  • Select “attwifi” from the list of available networks
  • Enter your 10-digit mobile number and check the box to agree to the Acceptable Use Policy. Tap ‘continue’
  • You will receive a text message from AT&T with a secure link to the AT&T Wi-Fi hotspot. You will not be charged for the text message.
  • The SMS link will only be valid for 24 hours at the location it was requested. Another request must be submitted when using another hotspot location.
  • Open the text message and tap on the link for 24-hour access to the AT&T Wi-Fi hotspot

Basically, you have to “ask” to use their wifi and wait for a confirmation.

Now my question is: do you think there’s a way to “hack” this and enjoy free wifi on your laptop? Maybe PDAnet will work on such a feature. Think about it: you access free wifi on your iPhone, you connect your iPhone to your laptop and BAM, you get free wifi on your laptop, using your iPhone as a modem.

I’m sure there has to be a way. If you’re aware of any hack, let us know in the comments.

 

Mcleaner – show your calls and texts who’s the Boss

By Cody Lee on Oct 31, 2008

Now when I get the urge to try a new app that I see on the App Store, or maybe hear about in Cydia, I always go in with the same 3 questions. Is it easy to use? Is it something that I’ll use? And is it stable? There are tons of other things I look at, but these are the 3 I focus on. So with that in mind lets take a look at Mcleaner, a new application available in Cydia, via the iSpazio’s repo.

Now typically this is one of those ones I’d sub consciously pass over. The description said something about blocking SMS messages and phone calls, and I’m thinking, when would I ever use this? But this time it was almost like a little bird was whispering in my ear, “Go ahead Cody, try Mcleaner out, maybe even review it on idownloadblog.com.” He sounded French. Anyways I listened and decided to give it a try.

Wow. That’s not the word I’ll be using at the end of this article, but that’s what I first thought when I opened the App. This looked so well done, especially for a Cydia App. By default you start off in the ‘Working Mode’ profile, but you can create others. Maybe you have a ‘work mode’ and then a ‘church mode’. Then you can setup your whitelist and blacklist.  The white list is a list of contact names or phone numbers that you would like allowed on this particular profile. And of course the black list is a list of names and numbers that you wouldn’t like to contact you.  You may also schedule profiles to take affect at certain times, for example, ‘work mode’ can be scheduled 8-5 M-F, I though this was pretty cool.

Everything seems to be made so effortless for the user, as you are given several choices when asked to add a contact to a list, add from contacts, input number, add from recents, etc.  You may also choose to block unknown and private numbers, perfect if you are constantly getting harassed by telemarketers and the like. The developer definitely gets an A+ in ease of use here.  We can go ahead and throw in one for stability as well, I haven’t had any issues, and a quick test block on my girlfriend’s number proved successful.

So Cody, this thing sounds sweet, should I go ahead and download? Ah, ah, ah, this is why there are 3 questions. I have to say, Mcleaner is very well put together, but has a very small target audience. Unless you are wanting to avoid bill collectors, or that creepy guy at the office that always texts “Sup?”, I don’t see any other real use for this application. Now, I’m sure if your attending high stakes meetings on a daily basis, you might find this program very useful. But for the majority of us, well me at least, I’ll stick to the good old mute switch on the side of my iPhone. I generally hit it on my way into the office, and it has served me well.  Especially since at the end of the 15 day trial, your asked to pay 11.99. One love.

 

That happened in the iPhone world today 10/30/08

By Sebastien Page on Oct 30, 2008

Some of the iPhone-related news you may have missed…

First Look: Tap Tap Revenge Nine Inch Nails Edition

If you enjoy Tap Tap Revenge and you’re a fan of Nine Inch Nails, you’re in luck. Tapulous has released Tap Tap Revenge Nine Inch Nails Edition. Featuring 13 tracks picked by NIN frontman Trent Reznor, it’s the first game on the iPhone that had my wife playing through toothbrushing time with the kids.

A handful of Halloween for your iPhone or iPod touch

Ready for Halloween on your iPhone? The App Store provides a quick fix for trick-or-treaters, and the offerings provide a little of each category. I happened to grab a random assortment of freebies (several were temporarily free) themed around Halloween.

Report: Lower income groups lead iPhone sales growth

Lower income groups account for the most significant growth in iPhone sales, showing a 48 percent three month increase in the $25,000 to $49,999 household income bracket, according to a comScore report. Households with income above $100,000 still account for the biggest share of ownership, at 43 percent, but with a growth of only 16 percent across the three month period.

Opera Mini for iPhone sits on sidelines due to App Store rules

A professionally-developed alternative to Apple’s Safari web browser for iPhone already exists in Opera Software’s labs; Apple’s guidelines for App Store submissions, however, are allegedly keeping it from seeing the light of day.

iPhone Firmware 2.2 Jailbreak & Unlock

The second beta of firmware version 2.2 has been out for a few days. It looks like Apple still doesn’t have a fix for devices already prone to the pwnage jailbreak and unlock.

Apple Posts September MobileMe Update Details

After Apple’s less than flattering stumble during and following the launch of MobileMe, they promised they would put their efforts into fixing it and making it as great as they hyped it to be. Yesterday they posted details on their most recent update to the service in late September.

XPlay Allows You to Browse your iPhone/iPod touch Like Any Other Drive

Mediafour has released new version of XPlay, version 3.1, that adds iPhone and iPod touch drive letter access. This means that, as a Windows users, you can now browse the iPhone and iPod touch directly. Open “My Computer” and the phone and touch are listed with drive letters. You can transfer files back and forth, copying directly to the root of the phone and touch making it a great transfer device.

Critics offer praise, harsh words for iPhone brand

Two new voices have alternately praised and sharply criticized the iPhone as a brand. John Sculley, a former CEO of Apple, describes the iPhone as potentially being bigger than the Mac, mainly as a result of current head Steve Jobs, who Sculley in fact fired. “Jobs’s genius is his ability to use technology to create products that define fundamental cultural shifts,” claims Sculley.

Owner Of Canadian iPhone Scam Site Convicted On Unrelated Charges

The owner of a Canadian iPhone scam website was convicted for unrelated charges recently. Scott Fredrick Byers, also known as Joshua Trousdale, had been running the scam site iPhoneNow.ca that had been promising iPhones for sale to Canadians before the device had officially been launched there, scamming would-be customers out of a total of $390,000.

Square Enix Making Final Fantasy Based iPhone Game

Square Enix, the famed Japanese publisher behind all 3,000 Final Fantasy games, is hard at work on Crystal Defenders, a new game for the iPhone based on the FF universe. It’ll be a “defense simulation” game that utilizes the touchscreen, so I’m guessing it’ll have more in common with Final Fantasy Tactics than Final Fantasy XII.

iSkin introduces iSkin fuze case for iPhone 3G

iSkin has released its latest case for the iPhone 3G, the iSkin fuze. The case features a dual-layer design with a soft inner-layer and a hard polycarbonate exterior. The rear of the hard shell is covered with rubber and the front offers a gloss finish. A docking port protector has been integrated, with complete coverage of all device buttons while the silence switch remains unobstructed.

Japan iPhone gets official 1Seg TV tuner

Japanese cell carrier Softbank on Thursday catered to local tastes with the introduction of an official 1Seg TV tuner add-on for the iPhone 3G. Through a custom App Store download, the adapter gives access to the country’s over-the-air digital TV broadcast network over a local Wi-Fi link, allowing residents to watch live shows from the iPhone while leaving the tuner in a bag or pocket.

 

Recovering missing or hidden icons

By Sebastien Page on Oct 30, 2008

BigBoss wrote a post tonight about 2 questions he’s often asked:

  1. How do I recover the Poof icon if I hid it?
  2. How do I recover my missing icons after restoring my iPhone?

Here are the solutions that BigBoss recommends

  1. If you have Cydia, install Quickgold and Poof to unhide the icons

  2. Install SBSettings and unhide any apps that are hidden

  3. Launch the Settings app and disable/reenable restrictions. Doing this should unhide all the hidden apps

  4. If Cydia is hidden, you can use Apt-get and install Quickgold from the SSH prompt

  5. Worst case scenario, if nothing works, you can use iPhoneBrowser and delete the files located at /var/mobile/Library/Preferences/com.apple.SpringBoard.plist and the reboot your phone

Full credit goes to BigBoss. This post was highly inspired from his recent post.

 

FlowDock is like coverflow for your dock…

By Sebastien Page on Oct 30, 2008

There is a new app available in Cydia called FlowDock and like its name suggests, it brings coverflow style to your dock icons. It looks pretty nice but there are a few restrictions. First you need to have 5 apps in your dock. And second, these apps have to be Safari, mail, phone, iPod, and SMS. Once downloaded from Cydia, you need to activate it in WinterBoard.

Here is a picture, compliment of iSpazio. If you installed FlowDock, tell us what you think about this app in the comments.

 

That happened in the iPhone world today 10/29/08

By Sebastien Page on Oct 29, 2008

This is your daily fix of iPhone news, all in one place. Since we don’t have time to blog about it, it doesn’t mean we should tell you about it… Click the links to read the full stories.

Review: OtterBox Defender for iPhone 3G

Overall for protection of the iPhone 3G you’re going to be hard pressed to find a case that looks as good at the Defender and protects as well as the Defender. I don’t know if I’d recommend it for daily use (unless you’re a careless or somewhat clumsy person) but if you find yourself on construction sites, camping areas, or some other area where the risk to your iPhone is fairly high – you simply can’t go wrong with this case.

Safari Bookbag – Your Library on Your iPhone

Safari Books Online has announced Safari Bookbag, a free App for the iPhone that allows you access to downloading chapters or full books in PDF format from your Safari Books Online library. Users of the Safari Books Online service can sync their iPhone with the “My Downloads” library from their Safari account. Once downloaded onto your iPhone you tap the title of the book to open it. Books can be downloaded to your iPhone whenever an internet connection is present. They will be stored in and available within the Bookbag App.

The Next Steps to Accelerate the Tectonic Shift in Mobile, Part 1

Is the iPhone the answer to all prayers and complaints in the mobile startup world? No, it is not. One phone alone cannot deliver that. But it is the kickoff to a tectonic shift. Away from an industry structure based on structural and size advantages to an industry structure driven by innovation, consumer choice and software developers. To date, the players owning the customer billing relationship and the infrastructure have been favored (carriers/operators). The iPhone AppStore and its ease of web browsing kick off the shift to an industry structure that unbundles billing and infrastructure from the services running on top of those.

John McCain Finally Gets His Own iPhone App

Sure, Obama may have had his official iPhone app out a while ago, allowing supporters to easily make calls on his behalf and do all sorts of other things, but don’t think there isn’t a John McCain app out there as well.

AT&T announces free Wi-Fi access for iPhone users (again)

After several false starts, AT&T on Wednesday began sending SMS messages to iPhone owners announcing that they can now access free of charge the carrier’s nation-leading Wi-Fi network of more than 17,000 hotspots.

First look: ‘Classics’ aims to kindle iPhone reading surge

E-books are just beginning to gain traction with consumers today, a phenomenon that seemed to start quietly with offerings from Sony, then taking another large step with Amazon’s Kindle. However, the iPhone — a device not meant for dedicated reading — is increasingly turning people on to digital reading.

 

Using Open Source Handbrake to convert DVDs to iPhone Movies

By Guest Author on Oct 29, 2008

We have reviewed several different Video to iPhone converters on this blog, but I thought this product, Handbrake, is worth a mention.  It did a pretty nice job and you have to love the price.  Free!

HandBrake, by a group called Handbrake Devs, is an open-source, GPL-licensed, multiplatform, multithreaded DVD to MPEG-4 converter, available for MacOS X 10.5, Linux and Windows 2000/XP/Vista. You can get it from their web page.

I converted one of my favorite movies, Grosse Pointe Blank to my iPhone. All in all it took about 45 mins to do the conversion, but it looks pretty nice.  I will definitely start these in the future before I go to bed.

  1. First download and install Handbrake.   I am using the Mac 10.5 version but I am sure the other versions screens are very similar.
  2. Launch the Application and insert the DVD into your computer’s drive.
  3. A Browser window should launch automatically. Select the DVD you inserted. If it doesn’t display, pick the Source option at the top of the Handbrake dialog box to select a source.
  4. In File/Preferences dialog box, under General Preferences, Check the Use iPod/iTunes friendly (.m4v) file extension for MP4 option. Close the Preferences dialog box.
  5. From the Main Handbrake dialog box, pick a Destination File path to store your videos on your hard drive.  Make sure the extension of the file is .M4V.
  6. Hint:  It takes about an hour to convert a movie, so start with converting a single chapter and follow it all the way through to make sure you got it before trying a whole dvd.   To change this, change your beginning and ending chapter.  Chapter 1 is usually just the intro so pick chapter 2 to really be able to compare video quality.
  7. Click on the Toggle Preset option in the toolbar to expand the Preset list. Select iPhone / iPod Touch Option. Hint:  They periodically update the preset options and you can refresh them by selecting Updates/Update Built-In Presets menu option every now and then.
  8. Click on Picture Settings button to display the Advanced Picture Settings.
  9. In the Anamorphic drop-down list, pick None and clear the Keep Aspect Ratio checkbox.
  10. Enter 480 in width and 320 in Height text boxes.  These make better use of the iPhone’s screen shape than the default 480×272 and fills the whole screen.  You can try it with the default and with 480×320 to see what you like best.
  11. Click Close to close the Advanced Picture Settings dialog box.
  12. Click the Start button on the Main Handbrake to start your encoding. To encode the movie asynchronously, Click the Add to Queue Button  instead.
  13. When it is finished, go into iTunes and add it. Plug in your iPhone to sync it and select the new movie under your Video tab and Sync your iPhone. An easy way to add it to iTunes is to just drag and drop it onto the open iTunes Window.
  14. Enjoy!  John Cusack never looked so good.
 

Google Keeps Supporting The iPhone

By Guest Author on Oct 29, 2008

So, when the T-Mobile G1 was released a week ago and the new Android platform was introduced to the world, did you think that Google would stop supporting the iPhone?  Well, it seems the answer is a resounding, “No!”  Google keeps its relationship strong with Apple and its iPhone users with a new app this week.

In addition to Google Maps, which already comes with the iPhone, you can download Google Earth [iTunes link] from the App Store for free.  When I first opened up the app, I immediately drew a comparison with the Earthscape [iTunes link] app which is also free.  Both apps use a 3-D rendered landscape.  Google Earth for the iPhone includes Wikipedia entries and photos from Panoramio.  You can set it to see your longitude and latitude as well as the altitude at which you are virtually viewing the globe.

Unlike the desktop version of Google Earth, the iPhone app has no street overlay.  Boo.  So, basically it is a big 3-D globe with Wikipedia entries and Panoramio photos.  Boo.  I’m disappointed to say the least.  Especially so since Earthscape has gotten quite good over many updates and has built up a photo community.  Right now, you cannot take pictures within the Google Earth application.

Google Earth also has some bugs.  Near my house, there is a weird 3-D wall along my street which doesn’t exist in real life (see picture, right).  Looks like a bad render to me.  Unfortunately, it doesn’t go away.  Boo.

Google Earth does have some interesting features that even Earthscape doesn’t have.  To see Google Earth in 3-D, you tilt your iPhone.  It has a Google Street View effect, although you can only tilt up and down.  Also, clicking the compass in the upper right corner makes the top of your screen north.

Hopefully, most of my complaints will be addressed in future updates.  In the meantime, go ahead and download BOTH Google Earth and Earthscape and let us know which app you like better.

 

That happened in the iPhone world today 10/28/08

By Sebastien Page on Oct 28, 2008

A quick overview of the iPhone news for today…

Apple II Classic Game Lemonade Stand Being Ported To iPhone

Lemonade Stand, a classic economics computer game from the Apple II days, is currently being remade for the iPhone by Maverick Software’s Glenda Adams. She says she’s keeping the original gameplay and economics, but decided to ditch the original lo-fi graphics for something a little more up to date.

Congress denies likelihood of iPhone adoption

The US House of Representatives is not likely to adopt the iPhone in the near future, according to a press secretary. Recent reports had indicated that Congressional staff were testing iPhones for possible support; phones must not only meet technical needs but qualify for an allowance distributed to each representative’s office.

Myvu Crystal video playback glasses work with iPhone

Myvu has announced iPhone compatibility with its Myvu Crystal video glasses, by means of its new Myvu Connection Cable. The cable allows any iPhone or iPod with video support to feed into the company’s visor-style video display. The Crystal presents images in VGA resolution, with built-in earbuds and what the company describes as a wide field of view.

Rumor roundup: iPhone 2.2 firmware details

Apple has given developers a taste of the new iPhone firmware, version 2.2 beta 2, and it includes a host of spiffy new features that are making the rounds online.

iGameboy Springboard Theme Turns iPhone Into Lo-Tech Geek Machine

Looking to upgrade the geek-factor with your iPhone? Inject a heap of nostalgia and relive the early 90s with the iGameboy custom springboard theme for the iPhone. The custom skin will turn your high-tech, super-shiny iPhone into a low-tech, big-pixeled original Gameboy. Technology may have come a long way, but that doesn’t mean you have to follow it.

Fission 1.6 makes iPhone ringtones even easier

Rogue Amoeba has released version 1.6 of the nifty lossless audio editor Fission with a handy new feature: built-in iPhone ringtone saving. Fission has always been a great application for making relatively simple edits to audio files: cropping, trimming, cutting and pasting, etc. Now it makes turning MP3, AAC, AIFF, Apple Lossless, or WAV files into iPhone ringtones a one-step process. Once you save a file as a ringtone it will automatically be passed to iTunes for syncing to your iPhone.

LogMeIn Ignition links iPhones/iPods with desktops

Developer LogMeIn says it has launched a beta program for Ignition, remote access software for iPhones and iPod touches. The app lets users connect to computers running one of LogMeIn’s related programs, including Free, Pro or IT Reach, whether for Mac or Windows.

 

App Store deals for 10/28/08

By Sebastien Page on Oct 28, 2008

iSpazio compiled a list of apps on sale in the App Store. If you were hesitating to buy any of these apps, now is the time!

 

Cydia Store Applications vs. The App Store – The Download Showdown

By Cody Lee on Oct 28, 2008

[digg-me]UPDATE: The Cydia Store is now open! I invite you to read this post for more details.

If you didn’t read the title to this article in the deep voice of the movie previews guy, please go back and do so at this time, just to give you an idea of how huge this is. Now, if you’ve navigated to our blog and are reading this article, hopefully you have some idea of what Cydia and the App Store are. For those of you who don’t, I will provide a brief breakdown of each program before I list their stand out features.

Both programs offer a sizeable library of applications and games that can be downloaded directly onto the phone from virtually anywhere you can get a cell phone or wifi signal. Please no hate mail from Installer fans, as it’s obvious it has not garnered near as much support as Cydia since the iPhone was updated in firmware over the summer. But now to the main event, the Download Showdown. Who will take home the title as the Champion of iPhone applications? Let’s get it on.

You’ve seen the commercials, you’ve seen it in the world-reknowned iTunes software, heck you see the icon everytime you look at your iPhone, it’s the App Store. Riding the coat tails of success of Apple’s enormous online music store, is the online application store that has redefined software distribution for the mobile market. Never before has an online library of mobile software been so accessible, as it can be reached from any mac or pc, or from any iPhone or ipod touch with web connection.

Another reason it is so groundbreaking is the 70/30 deal it has made with iPhone platform developers. That means that Apple keeps 30% of the profit from the software sales, and gives the remaining 70% to the people that make them. On top of attracting big name software companies like EA and THQ, this 70/30 deal has made several independent companies like Tappulous and The Blimp Pilots (koi pond creators) extremely wealthy.

The App Store’s main advantages have got to be it’s stability and ease of use, two of the most important things you can find in any software.  I can’t tell you the last time my App Store crashed or froze, and its interface is about as simple as you can get. You’ll also find that most applications fall in the $0.99 – $9.99 price range, keeping purchases from breaking your bank. For the froogle audience, there is also a large FREE section of applications and games that has yet to disappoint me.

Finally, the fact that Apple, is the company behind the App store has its ups and downs. For example, Apple pre screens all apps submitted to the App Store, minimizing malicious code and low quality software epedimics. This also prevents very good software from reaching the App Store due to opinions held by Apple (see R.I.P article). Downloading is also kept very quick and simple by Apple, as typing in your iTunes password, ok’s any download, free or not. You also don’t have to jailbreak or “hack” your iPhone to access the App Store, how charming. So bottom line here is that the App Store is easy to use, extremely reliable, has a huge library of free and non-free applications, and it’s not against AT&T‘s TOS (terms of service) to access.

Now for the challenger. A product of James Freeman, or Saurik, Cydia has been around since the original jailbreaking days of Ziphone and iBrickr. Originally, Cydia stood in the shadow of the Installer application by the Dev Team, which did the exact same thing (offered 3rd party downloads). Now, thanks to its I-got-to-firmware-2.1-before-you-did attitude, Cydia is flourishing.

But these guys [devteam, Saurik, Spazio, etc.] really opened the eyes of the world to the possibilities of the iPhone, and let users unlock their iPhone’s potential with 3rd party applications, a touchy subject in the beginning of the life of the iPhone due to Apple’s lack of 3rd party support.

Enough history, how does it stack up today against the colussal App Store. Size? Nope. The size of Cydia’s library of software doesn’t hold a candle to Apple’s App Store. Price? Nope. While a majority of Cydia downloads are free, some are only trial versions that demand paypal payments to continue using them. So then why in the world would you even want Cydia? Exclusivity. Boom. Cydia is the only place to download applications like Winterboard and Cycorder, software that goes against Apple’s guidelines for App Store approval. I couldn’t have a see-through dock with a customized icon set without Cydia. I couldn’t have recorded a video of my dog doing cart wheels without Cycorder, and it’s only available through Cydia. Is VIP access to cool customizeables enough to make this underdog a Champ? Let’s review.

It seems on paper Apple’s App Store should win by a landslide. Thousands of more software titles, the technical and customer support of a Fortune 500 company, and its overall ease of use should give Apple the belt hands down. But you can’t forget about the little guy. If a firmware update prevented the downloading of Cydia or a similar program, how many users would be devastated? How many would avoid updating? If you’re like me, chances are you have App Store, Cydia, and Installer (at least the first 2) icons sitting on your springboard right now, and aren’t likely to delete any of them any time soon. I like having all 3 for the simple fact that if I read about an application and want to download, I know I am covered, and can find it in one of the 3 libraries.

It looks like a split decision here, but I am going to give the nod to Apple’s App Store for a number of reasons I already listed. Once again in an ideal world we could have a united application that would offer the best of both worlds. For now, it seems the App Store will hold the download Showdown title. Thanks for reading, this article is a treasure, so digg it!

 

Google Earth for the iPhone is Here

By Guest Author on Oct 28, 2008

I just downloaded Google Earth and so far it seems pretty nice. It takes advantage of both the Accelerometer and the GPS in the iPhone 3G. It is stunning. Tilting the iPhone allows you to move through the terrain and works pretty well. The GPS allows you to find your current location and see the Panoramio geolocations around you. And although not a replacement for Google Maps because you can’t see the street names, it is pretty cool.

Its at the App Store [iTunes Link]. Here is a link to the YouTube video demonstration.

Here is what the Google Blog had to say:

Even before we introduced Google Earth back in 2005, the team had long dreamed of being able to carry the Earth around in your pocket. Well, today that dream becomes a reality as we introduce Google Earth for iPhone and iPod touch. With just a swipe of your finger you can fly from Peoria to Paris to Papua New Guinea, or anywhere in between. It may be small, but it brings all the power of Google Earth to the palm of your hand, including all of the same global imagery and 3D terrain. You can even browse any of our 8 million Panoramio photos or read Wikipedia articles.

With Google Earth for iPhone, you can:
• Tilt your iPhone to adjust your view to see mountainous terrain
• View the Panoramio layer and browse the millions of geo-located photos from around the world
• View geo-located Wikipedia articles
• Use the ‘Location’ feature to fly to your current location
• Search for cities, places and business around the globe with Google Local Search

It’s available today in 18 languages and 22 countries in the iTunes App Store. To learn more, check out this video tour and read the blog post on the Lat Long Blog

 

iPhone Tips and Tricks: Using the Phone

By Guest Author on Oct 28, 2008

Handling Incoming Calls

If you would like to silence an incoming call, just press the sleep/wake button on the top of the phone. If, instead, you would like to send the call directly to your voicemail, press this button twice.

Entering Pauses To Automated Number Series Dialing.

A lot of times you want to automate dialing a series of numbers.  We do this all the time for calling cards, extensions, etc. For example, I have a telecom number at work and I want to dial the main number, wait a second or two and then dial the passcode for me.  On my blackberry it was an X to insert a pause, but on iPhone it is a comma.  Here is how it looks in my contact:  18005555555,,1234567.   The two commas created a long enough pause for me to make this work for me.

Avoiding 411 charges

Instead of calling regular 411 to get information (and an extra charge on your phone bill), Google by voice by calling 1-800-GOOG-411 to get a street address or phone number. Some Lifehacker readers say GOOG 411 works better than others; if you haven’t tried it, here’s a YouTube clip (courtesy of Google) on how to give it a try

Avoid Calls from certain People using silent ringtone

Do you have people calling you that you want to ignore?   Create a silent ringtone and make a contact for them and set the ringtone to silent.

Trick Automated Phone Bots into Thinking your Phone is Dead.

If you’ve got automated phone marketers or political campaigns or debt collectors ringing your phone at all hours, trick the system into thinking your phone’s dead. Add the U.S. Special Information Tone signal for “vacant circuit”to the beginning of your voicemail greeting to automatically unsubscribe your phone number from bot call lists.

Getting your Voicemail when Roaming

If you are roaming and visual voicemail is unavailable, you can call your own phone number and get your voicemail the old fashioned way.

  1. Enter your 10-digit wireless number
  2. Interrupt your personal greeting by pressing the “*” key
  3. Enter your voice mail password
  4. Use the standard keys to manage your messages.  (7 to delete, 33 to skip to the end, etc)

Avoid Roaming Charges While Traveling

to avoid roaming charges, set your phone to “unconditional call forwarding” that way, your phone will NOT ring while you are roaming (calls go STRAIGHT to voicemail). to do that, follow these instructions:
# On your phone, dial *#62# and click Send.
# Phone number of your voicemail  will be displayed.
# Write down the number (including +1)
# Dial **21*+1xxxyyyzzzz*11# and hit Send. +1xxxyyyzzzz is the number you wrote down previously to forward your calls automatically to your voice mail.
# Dial *#21# to verify that the new settings are active.
# When no longer desired, dial ##002# to reset back to normal.

Copying voicemail messages to your computer

If you want to save that favorite voicemail message to your PC so you can save it for all time, follow these steps.

  1. First, if you haven’t already, jailbreak your iPhone 2.0 (here’s the Windows method). This will install an OpenSSH server on your device that lets you transfer files from it to your computer.
  2. On the iPhone, under Settings->Wi-Fi, select the network you have joined to view connection details. Write down the phone’s IP address.
  3. Fire up your favorite FTP client. (I like the not-free but great Transmit, butthe free FileZilla works, too.)
  4. Using your FTP program, connect to the device’s IP address with username root and password alpine (unless you’ve changed your password). You’ll need to use SFTP (secure FTP), not plain FTP.
  5. Once you’re connected to the device, browse to/private/var/mobile/Library/Voicemail/ to view the list of VM files. They’re saved as .AMR files, which QuickTime can play. Transfer them to your computer and you’re done.

Create Speed dial icons for your screen using Qlink

A very nice person created a web site that lets you associate a phone number with a web page so that you can create a Homepage bookmark that dials a number. Click here for instructions.

Using Favorites to Create a Speed Dial List

Most people have figured this one out, but I recently talked to two people lately who hadn’t put it all together. You can set up your phone so that pressing the home button twice (In Settings/General/Home Button/Phone Favorites) brings up your contact list Favorites list. This makes dialing a number simply pressing the home button twice and then selecting one of your favorites in the list.

Reordering Favorites in Phone on iPhone

Favorites are usually displayed in the order they’re added to the Favorites list. But they can be reordered in whatever way you want. It’s as easy as drag and drop.

  1. In the Favorites screen, press Edit.
  2. Tap the three-line icon and hold it.
  3. The favorite you’ve selected will become active (when active, it appears to be slightly above the other favorites).
  4. Drag the favorite to the position in the list you want it to have and let it go.
  5. Click “done” in the top left and your favorites will be reordered.

Secret Service Numbers

  • *3001#12345#*and then tap Call. This enters you into field mode. Field mode reveals many of the inner settings of your iPhone, specifically up-to-date network and cell information.
  • *#06# Displays your IMEI. No need to tap Call. IMEI is the unique identifier for your cell phone hardware. Together with your SIM information it identifies you to the provider network.
  • *777# and tap Call. Account balance for prepaid iPhone.
  • *225# and tap Call. Bill Balance. (Postpaid only)
  • *646# and tap Call. Check minutes. (Postpaid only)
  • *#21# and tap Call. Discover the settings for your call forwarding. You’ll see whether you have voice, data, fax, sms, sync, async, packet access, and pad access call forwarding enabled or disabled.
  • *#30# and tap Call. This displays whether you have enabled or disabled the presentation of the calling line, presumably the number of the party placing the call.
  • *#76# and tap Call. Check whether the connected line presentation is enabled or not. State whether the connected line presentation is enabled or disabled. Presumably similar to the calling line presentation.
  • *#43# and tap Call. Determine if call waiting is enabled. Displays call waiting status for voice, data, fax, sms, sync data, async data, packet access and pad access. Each item is either enabled or disabled.
  • *#61# and tap Call. Check the number for unanswered calls. Show the number for voice call forwarding when a call is unanswered. Also show the options for data, fax, sms, sync, async, packet access and pad access.
  • *#62# and tap Call. Check the number for call forwarding if no service is available. Just like the previous, except for no-service rather than no-answer situations.
  • *#67# and tap Call. Check the number for call forwarding when the iPhone is busy.
 

That happened in the iPhone world today 10/27/08

By Sebastien Page on Oct 27, 2008

That was a pretty busy weekend in the iPhone news section. Unfortunately, due to a virus on my computer, I was not able to write anything at all this weekend. So here is a brief summary of everything that happened today and over the weekend.

Puzzlotto brings a different kind of game (and a cash prize) to the App Store

Puzzlotto has been about as hidden as the lemurs you can see in the screenshot over there, for some reason — the concept isn’t real easy to grasp, and if you just stumbled across the “game” in the App Store, odds are that you’d think you had $5 stolen from you. But there is a weird story hidden here, both literally and figuratively.

American Idol Winner Releases Single As iPhone App

American Idol winner David Cook is releasing his latest single “Light On” as part of a $1.99 iPhone app featuring a virtual lighter. Described as a “power ballad”, the song starts to play when the lighter is flicked on. It uses the same controls in the iPhone’s iPod app controls popup. Those of you not interested in buying yet another lighter app just for a song can get the track for $0.99 in the iTunes Music Store.

Apple Publishes WWDC Sessions Videos To iTunes U

In the spirit of encouraging development after greatly loosening their iPhone developer NDA, Apple has posted several sessions from this year’s WWDC 2008 to iTunes U. Unfortunately, they’re only available to Premiere members of the Apple Developer Connection program.

SBSettings Toggle Pack Update

There was a permissions bug in packaging the original toggle pack that prevented the EDGE toggle from working. I have updated the toggle pack and am posting the update. Please update the toggle pack, and if Cydia doesn’t force you to, make sure you respring after. Remember, the E will show up whether or not EDGE is enabled. The only valid test is trying to load a web page in safari.

iPhone 2.2 adds App ratings upon deletion

As Apple prepares v2.2 of the iPhone operating system, a new screenshot indicates that the company is inserting a rating dialogue before users can delete an application from their device. Greek language site iPhone Hellas reports that attempting to delete an application directly from the device yields a popup window, offering the familiar five-star system, as well as a “No Thanks” button for users…

AT&T canvasses buyers on future iPhone features

AT&T has recently begun surveying some of its longer-term iPhone buyers asking what features they would most like to see added to the Apple handset.

iPhone Software 2.2 to add public transit & walking directions

The next version of Apple’s iPhone software will not only introduce Street Views to the handset’s Maps application, but also provide bus, train and walking directions.

Apple earnings, profits, and cash embarrass Microsoft

While Microsoft executives like to talk about Apple as an insignificant company with less than 5% of the worldwide market share of all PCs and servers sold, the Mac maker now has more cash than Microsoft and earns more than half of its profits and over three fourths its revenues.

Google Earth for iPhone Puts Whole World in the Palm of Your Hand

Google has a released a custom, multitouchy version of Google Earth for the iPhone, and it rocks, turning you into a master of universe that can zoom, twirl and pan all around the world with just a few flicks of your fingers. It also uses the accelerometer, so you can pan and tilt, too. It might just be better than desktop version just because multitouch makes it so damn fun.

iPhone could hit $99, rule smartphones

Apple has the room to cut the price of the iPhone to where it could take command of the smartphone market, analyst Charlie Wolf of Needham Research says today in a research note. The financial expert estimates that the average, unsubsidized price of an iPhone 3G in the summer was $666 and so would give Apple a nearly 50 percent gross margin on each sale as well as a heavy subsidy from AT&T.

A boxful of awesome: Box.net iPhone

The app, which is compatible with the iPhone and the second generation iPod Touch (sorry 1st Gen touch users!), is simply awesome. Box.net already had an iPhone friendly mobile interface at i.box.net, but while you could access some files from that page, you couldn’t play back media and document viewing was more limited. The new application means you can play back audio and video (assuming the file is compatible with the iPhone 2.1′s firmware support for QuickTime), view PDF or Office files, view photos, and upload photos from your iPhone or iPod Touch directly to Box.net.

 

LockDockBar is a free alternative to IntelliScreen

By Sebastien Page on Oct 27, 2008

LockDockBar is an application that displays 4 icons on your locked screen: SMS, Calls, Emails, Calendar. The app displays the notification badges for each app so if for example you have a new email, you will see this notification next to the email icon. From there, instead of unlocking the phone and launching the mail app, you simply tap the mail icon from your lock screen and it takes you there directly.

I think it is a great and free alternative to Intelliscreen, and it works perfectly with Status Notifier.

 

VoIPover3G

By Sebastien Page on Oct 27, 2008

VoIPover3G (that’s Voice Over IP Over 3G) is what I think the hottest application that came out this weekend, and let me tell you right now, like all hot apps, it is only available in Cydia – that should give you yet another reason to jailbreak if you still haven’t done so.

So what does this bad boy do? This MobileSubstrate library can trick any application into thinking that it is on wifi even though it is on a cellular data connection. There are a lot of possible uses for that, but for me the main use is being able to use VoIP programs like Fring over 3G. So no more hack necessary to use Fring over Edge or 3G.

By default, VoIPover3G is configured to to trick only the App Store and Fring but you can edit the setting, but in order to do so, you’ll have to know your way around SSH…

As mentioned above, VoIPover3Gis available in Cydia. If you instal it, don’t look for the icon on your springboard as it doesn’t have an icon. Configuration settings are explained in the “more info” link of the app.

 

Dev Team closer to 3G unlock; one step at a time

By Sebastien Page on Oct 27, 2008

The Dev Team posted a video over the weekend showing off their progress on the still expected 3G unlock. Although all of this stuff in the video doesn’t mean much to me, the geek in you might love it!

 

MewSeek and PwnPlayer bring P2P Power to your iPhone

By Cody Lee on Oct 27, 2008

[digg-me]If you have been looking for a free alternative to the mobile iTune’s store, or just wanted an easy to use free music downloading application, look no further. From that crazy world of Cydia comes one of Apple iTune’s worst nightmares, MewSeek, a P2P client and Pwn Player, a playback software for your iPhone. Read More

 
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