Month: June 2009

iPhone 3G S to Be Delivered On June 18?

Late last night I received an email from Apple saying that the iPhone 3G S I had pre-ordered last week was being shipped. I immediately hit the UPS link to track the shipment and I noticed it was being shipped from Shenzhen, China. When I first checked last night, it said the scheduled delivery date was June 17.

I checked again this morning and it says that the scheduled delivery date is now June 18. Either way, it's ahead of Apple's official launch day. Now the question is: if my iPhone arrives on June 18, will AT&T let me activate it?

iPhone 3.0 Unlock YellowSn0w Demo

Dev Team member MuscleNerd sent a tweet a few minutes ago about an upcoming live demo of the YellowSn0w unlock for iPhone 3.0. The live demo will happen Tuesday night, most likely on Qik and should answer a lot of questions.

This demo should show how YellowSn0w can unlock firmware 3.0. I assume this unlock will only work for iPhones that currently support YellowSn0w.

AT&T Says No Extra Charge For iPhone MMS

The long awaited MMS feature for the iPhone is finally coming with the release of 3.0. It is legitimate to wonder how much AT&T will charge iPhone users for this feature. Well, a good news uncovered by TiPB reveals that AT&T will not charge extra for sending MMS from your iPhone.

Later this summer, as part of the 3.0 software, AT&T will make multimedia messaging (MMS) available at no extra cost to customers with a text messaging bundle.

It makes sense but it's always good to be reassured, especially knowing how AT&T likes to overcharge its customers. Now the question is: when? AT&T only says "later this summer", which could be anytime from June 19th (which would make sense) to sometimes in September...

Click here for more answers from AT&T to your questions about the iPhone 3G S.

Tap Tap Revenge Updated to Allow Push Notification

According to TUAW, Tap Tap Revenge is the first app to have been updated to allow push notification.

If you are running OS 3.0, upon launching the new version of Tap Tap it will ask you for permission to send push notifications to your device. If you allow them, a new category called Notifications will appear in your device's main settings, which will allow you to toggle push notifications on or off. Additionally, it appears that each app will have individual settings for badges and alerts.

While the type of notification you can receive hasn't been confirmed yet, it is safe to assume that you may be notified when other users want to challenge you. Tap Tap probably won't send any notification until the official release of 3.0 in 2 days.

Until June 17th, I believe we'll see more and more of these app updates allowing push notification. Apple most likely wants some "big names" to be ready to push notifications when 3.0 becomes available for download on Wednesday.

iPhone 3G S 3.0 Firmware Available For Download

The 3.0 firmware for the iPhone 3G S is now available for download on Apple's website: iPhone2, 1_3.0_7A341_Restore.ipsw

Installing it on your iPhone 3G won't give you video recording or copy/paste. No, unfortunately it's pretty useless for the time being as it can only be uploaded on an iPhone 3G S. So don't waste your time downloading it and trying to install it on your iPhone.

Palm Pre Theme For iPhone

Here is a nice and simple Pre theme for iPhone I found on ModMyi. It doesn't come with many icons but it covers the most commom ones. You may download this theme from here.

Battle of the Costs: iPhone 3G S Vs. Palm Pre Vs. Android G1

We all know the iPhone 3G S comes with a very attractive price tag of $300, except for those of you looking to upgrade their 3G of course... However, do you know how much the 3G S will cost you over the course of the 2 year contract you're extending with AT&T? And how does this cost of ownership compares with the Palm Pre and Android G1?

That's the question that the guys over at BillShrink asked themselves and they did some more digging. The results? Well, not very surprising if you ask me...

The iPhone 3G S seriously kicks the ass of the Pre and G1 on most levels except on multitasking. Where the 3G S takes a big slap in the face is on the total cost of ownership. The cheapest phone to own over a 2-year contract is the Palm Pre with a total cost of $2,600. The G1 comes at the second place with a total cost of $3,150. Our beloved iPhone 3G S is the big loser with a total cost of $3,800. Note that all these costs do not include the initial cost of the handset.

In other words, the iPhone 3G S costs about 17% more than the G1 and 32% more than the Palm Pre over the course of a 2 year contract.

How to Do Everything On the iPhone

So you thought you knew everything about the iPhone? Think again! With all these new features unveiled in iPhone 3.0, chances are there are a few you don't know how to operate yet. That's why Apple created how to guides on its website. Interestingly, copy/paste, one of the most anticipated features is not explained.

iPhone Owners Are Richer, Younger, And Smarter Than Others

According to a study by independent company Forrester Research, iPhone owners are "la creme de la creme" as we say in French, or the elite upper class as you would say in English.

I found out about this study on Apple Insider, who published parts of it on their website. According to Apple Insider, the study reveals that:

iPhone users are younger. 30 percent of iPhone users in 2008 were of Generation Y, a larger portion than the rest of the smartphone market. iPhone users are more educated and affluent. 49 percent of iPhone users have a college education, and 67 percent earn more than $70,000 a year. iPhone customers spend more on their service. The average monthly phone bill for an iPhone user was $87, compared to $76 for the smartphone market, and $66 for traditional mobile phone users.

Apparently, the survey fails to prove that 93% of male iPhone owners have a larger penis and are more handsome than Blackberry users.

Apple Dictatorship Hits Again

I try not to write too much about the app approval process because it seems to be a never ending discussion. However, some events piss me off so much sometimes that I have to vent out by writing a post about it. That's the case about a new app rejection I first heard about on TUAW.

Usually, when Apple rejects an app, it gives somewhat of a reason like "violating the SDK" or "objectionable content". This time though, the reason for rejecting an update to iLaugh Lite simply is that Apple can do whatever they want to do.

This to me is very similar to a dictatorship and it is absolutely scandalous. But what can you do? You can just shut up and hope things get better, just like the good obedient consumers we are.

How to Buy An iPhone 3G S Without A Contract

If you were thinking about upgrading your iPhone 3G to the 3G S, you may have been turned off by AT&T scandalous prices for its "valued customers". Indeed, current 3G owners willing to upgrade to the 3G S will have to pay between $499 and $699 depending on the model you want and renew their contract with AT&T for 2 more years.

A smart folk over at iTalk iPhone figured out how to purchase an iPhone 3G S without an AT&T contract.