Month: July 2010

Hack Turns Your iPod Touch Into an iPhone

Sébastien Page ∙ July 29, 2010

You're going to have to take this one with a huge grain of salt but it seems a company called Yosion figured out a way to turn the iPod Touch into an iPhone. And no, this doesn't require you to use some VoIP service. This hack, if legit, might be the ultimate iTouch hack ever made.

Basically the "Apple Peel 520" comes as an iPod Touch case that includes an Infineon baseband chip, an extra 800 mAh battery, and a slot for a SIM card. Just pop a SIM card in and plug your microphone-equipped ear buds and you should be good to go.

The Apple Peel 520 will presumably go on sale this week in China for $45 to $75. There isn't much proofs this is real so don't get too excited about it.

[Engadget]

Site Info: Did You Notice How Fast The Blog Is Now?

Sébastien Page ∙ July 28, 2010

Hey guys I just wanted to let you know that I moved the blog to some bigger servers and that the site should be considerably faster now. iDB has grown very fast over the last year and it sometimes couldn't take all the traffic it gets, thus crashing or returning error pages.

This is just a thing of the past. Everything should be much faster now!

Upgrading to better servers is the first step to an overall improvement of iDB. Some more things will change soon so stay tuned ;)

Oh Look What I Just Received in the Mail

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated November 25, 2016

I just received my free iPhone Bumper in the mail today, courtesy of Steve Jobs and everybody at Apple.

First impressions? Meh. I don't like cases and the Bumper is no exception. The iPhone 4 is such a beautiful device that it kills me to trap it in a case. I put it on, took it off and gave it to Tina so she can protect her very first iPhone. She'll definitely need it more than I will.

If you haven't yet, here is how to claim your free case from Apple, or simply browse our iPhone Accessories Store to choose from hundreds of different iPhone cases.

How to Sync Shared Google Calendars With Your iPhone

Sébastien Page ∙ July 28, 2010

My fiancee Tina just got her first iPhone today and one of the first few things we wanted to do was to sync our shared Google calendars to each other's iPhone. I thought that since we already share our Google calendars "online", it would automatically sync both our calendars on our iPhone by setting up Google Sync. It didn't. Turns out it was just a tiny bit more complicated than this.

Here are instructions to sync shared Google calendars between iPhones:

An iPhone App That Makes Popcorn

Sébastien Page ∙ July 28, 2010

Of course it's a fake...

iPlunge Might Be the Coolest iPhone Stand Ever

Sébastien Page ∙ July 28, 2010

If iPlunge is not the coolest iPhone stand ever, it might just be the most original one. Gotta love the product description too:

No plumbing required! Use it at work, home, train, plane, it works anywhere! Wow, what a handy stand!

You can preorder your iPlunge from here for just about $6. Can't go wrong with that...

Light Leak is Causing White iPhone 4 Delays

Sébastien Page ∙ July 28, 2010

There's a price to pay if you want to make beautiful devices, and Apple knows exactly what this price is... The Street as an article this morning that reveals the white iPhone 4 delays may be due to back light from the iPhone display screen leaking out around the edges of the glass and seeping through the back of the phone.

[...] the light seepage presents a very specific problem to the white phone since it is far more transparent than black. The iPhone is made like a glass sandwich. Apple uses Corning's Gorilla glass on the front and back of the phone and a metal band runs around the outside doubling as an antenna.

If I were in charge of that, I'd say put a case on your iPhone and you won't see the light anymore but we all know Apple wouldn't want such a quick fix for such a major issue... or would they?

The White iPhone 4 has been awaited like the messiah since June 15th. Apple has now postponed its launch for the third time, the latest ETA being "later this year".

iOS 4.1 Beta 2 Can Jailbroken With RedSn0w

Sébastien Page ∙ July 28, 2010

iOS 4.1 Beta 2 was released yesterday and according to MuscleNerd, you can already jailbreak it using RedSn0w 0.9.5b5-5. If you're not a developer, you shouldn't mess around iOS 4.1 Beta 2 but I'm sure some of you won't resist the temptation.

If you've updated to 4.1 beta2 on iPhone 3G or iPod 2G (non-MC), you can use RedSn0w 0.9.5b5-5 to jailbreak. Just point RedSn0w at the official 4.0 IPSW, even though you are on 4.1 Beta 2.

This will not hacktivate your iPhone so make sure you are on an official carrier. If you rely on an unlock, do not do this. Do not get anywhere near iOS 4.1 Beta for that matter.

MuscleNerd notes that you may experience network problems after jailbreaking iOS 4.1 Beta 2. This will be a problem until the Dev Team updates RedSn0w.

Again, proceed at your own risks...

The iPad is Hot. Literally!

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated January 24, 2016

Bloomberg reports Apple is being sued over claims that the iPad overheats in sunlight or warm conditions.

The complaint, filed July 23 in federal court in Oakland, California, seeks unspecified damages and class action, or group, status. It claims the iPad “does not live up to the reasonable consumer’s expectations created by Apple” because it “overheats so quickly under common weather conditions.”

Who would have thought leaving your iPad in your car on a sunny 90-degrees California day would make it overheat? Well, just about anyone with an ounce of good sense. Next lawsuit, please!

Apple Pushes iOS 4.1 Beta 2. Download at Your Own Risks

Sébastien Page ∙ July 27, 2010

Apple just released iOS 4.1 Beta 2 to developers, and unless you are a dev, you have absolutely no business downloading and installing it on your iPhone.

If you do, make sure you don't care about future jailbreaks and unlocks because you might lose your ability to do it.

There doesn't seem to be much in this beta release except for the proximity sensor fix, which hopefully will prevent those affected from randomly hanging up on people.

Giveaway: 2 BodyGuardz Screen Protectors

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated November 25, 2016

While moving in our new apartment Tina found 2 sets of BodyGuardz screen protectors for iPhone 3GS and iPod Touch 2G/3G so I figured I would give them away to some of you.

Here is how to enter to win one of the 2 BodyGuardz screen protectors:

You must leave a comment telling me why you should get a free screen protector You must live in the US. I will not ship stuff anywhere else but the United States In your comment, you must tell me what device you have (iPhone 3G, 3GS, or iPod Touch 2G, 3G) You get extra points for retweeting this post or sharing it on Facebook. Only one entry per person

I will pick 2 winners by the end of the week. I will email the winners to ask their mailing addresses so make sure you don't use a bogus email addy when entering you comment.

Jailbreaking is Legal. Now What?

Sébastien Page ∙ July 27, 2010

Woohoo, jailbreaking and unlocking your iPhone is now completely legal (in the US anyways)! This being said, what is the new rule going to change for us jailbreakers? Unfortunately nothing!

Yes, nothing is going to change. Even though jailbreaking is now legal, Apple is in no way obliged to make it easy for us to jailbreak. The good old cat and mouse game between Apple and the Dev Team lives on. Worse, things might even get more complicated.

The legalization of jailbreaking was a big deal yesterday. If you were anywhere near a computer or TV screen, you probably heard about it. So did many other people. This free advertising for jailbreaking might have people who were on the fence before take the dive and jailbreak their devices.

Apple certainly doesn't want more people jailbreaking their iPhones because they are worried they might end up losing this tight grip they have on the App Store. As a result, I believe Apple will try to make things even harder for jailbreakers and make sure everyone knows although jailbreaking is legal, it will still void your warranty should you decide to give your iPhone a (jail)break.

What's your take on it? Do you think Apple will keep playing the cat and mouse game? Or will they make it easier for us to jailbreak? Your opinion sure is as good as mine. Let us know what you think by leaving a comment.

[Photo CG]