Sad, but true... This is what iOS 4 looked like on the couple iPhone 3G I saw it running on.
If you have an iPhone 3G with iOS 4, please tell us if you're iPhone is still as snappy as ever or if it slowed down.
Month: July 2010
iOS 4.1 Seeded to Developers
Apple just pushed the iOS SDK 4.1 beta to developers. This move is widely expected to NOT fix the antenna issue but rather hide it behind cosmetic changes. This beta version (for developers only) will show bigger bars and will fix the formula that calculates how many bars are displayed, which Apple said to be "totally wrong".
Unless you're a developer, you really have no business playing with the iOS SDK 4.1. beta. Also keep in mind that installing this beta version or the future official iOS 4.1 may compromise your chances of jailbreaking or unlocking your iPhone.
Pretty Up Your iPhone Folders With Emoji and Symbols
A few weeks ago we talked about how to add symbols on your iPhone. We also saw that it is now possible to add emoji icons to the keyboard. But do you know you can use these characters and emoji to name your iPhone folders?
To do so, simply edit the folders' name like you normally do and copy the character of your choice, or set your keyboard to Emoji to add funny little icons.
PlanetBeing Demos the iPhone 4 Unlock
I told you this morning about PlanetBeing's unlock for the iPhone 4. PlanetBeing put up a video on YouTube explaining the unlock, which is the very first carrier unlock for the iPhone 4 in the world.
According to PlanetBeing, this unlock is still a beta version and needs a lot of cleaning before being potentially released to the public. PlanetBeing also confirmed that MuscleNerd is working on a software unlock as well, and they will decide which of the 2 methods to release when they are ready to.
GeoHot Says Goodbye To The Jailbreak Community
It seems GeoHot is done with the iPhone jailbreak community. After teasing us with what ended up being a fake iPhone 4 jailbreak, GeoHot put an end to it all by completely shutting down his Twitter account. Additionally, he made his blog an invite-only place.
GeoHot has been complaining for a while about people harassing him about jailbreaks and release dates, which is probably what motivated his decision. While he didn't clearly say goodbye to the jailbreak community, GeoHot seems to be retiring from the scene, at least for now.
I was able to read GeoHot's last tweets last night but unfortunately I didn't take screenshots of them but my Twitter buddy Farouk Zouari did. Basically GeoHot was saying that he was tired of hearing the same questions all the time. He also mentioned that some of us care way too much about the iPhone, which in the end is "just a phone".
GeoHot had been flamed for a while by many who see in him as an egocentric kid. While you can't argue the kid has a very strong ego, he still has the freedom to do whatever he wants and we should all respect that.
Something tells me we will see GeoHot again. Until then, let's wish him good luck.
iPhone 4 Recall. Is This An Option?
The iPhone 4 antenna issue is becoming a big problem for Apple. Not that it wasn't before, but at least until then, this wasn't an "advertised" issue. With Consumer Reports saying yesterday they do not recommend the iPhone 4, the antenna problem has been brought to the mainstream.
Until today, Apple's stance had been pretty clear: "YOU create the antenna issue. The hardware is fine, you just don't know how to hold your iPhone." But can they maintain this? While fanboys easily drink the Apple Kool Aid, I doubt the average person will...
Crisis Communication expert Pr. Matthew Seeger tells Cult Of Mac:
Apple will be forced to do a recall of this product. It’s critically important. The brand image is the most important thing Apple has. This is potentially devastating.
A recall on several millions iPhone? Ouch! It's going to cost them a lot... Seeing how Apple lost 9 billion dollars in market capitalization today on the stock market in the wake of what TechCrunch call the "Antennagate", a recall might reveal more "cost effective". Doing the right thing might prevent Apple from losing more money and stain their brand forever.
At this point, I think Apple only has 3 options.
I doubt Apple will do a recall of the iPhone 4. A recall means they will fix the issue and so far, they don't know how to. So let's assume they recall your iPhone. What are they going to do with it? Put some tape around it? No. There is no fix but removing the antenna and sticking it back inside the device, but we know this isn't an option as there is no room for it inside.
The other thing Apple can do is to offer a free Bumper to every iPhone 4 owner. This will cost them a couple dollars per iPhone, which I assume is the production cost of one Bumper. Even if Apple has to give away 100 million Bumpers, it's still much better than what it's losing right now on the stock market... Sure the Bumper won't fix the antenna death grip, but at least it will appease angry or frustrated customers.
Finally, Apple's last option is to keep silent as it usually does, hoping people will be tired of trashing the iPhone 4, and see it as what it really is: the best communication device out there.
What do you think Apple will do? Will they acknowledge their mistakes and come clean? Or will they stay mute?
Looks like I now have an unlocked iPhone 4 :)
These are PlanetBeing's own words, talking about the iPhone 4 unlock on Twitter. The Dev Team has been working on the iOS 4 and more specifically the iPhone 4 unlock for quite a while now and it seems we're not too far from an official release, as we talked about yesterday.
Looking at MuscleNerd's Twitter activity, one can only assume that the famous ultrasn0w iPhone unlock will be updated soon to give access to an iPhone 4 unlock to the masses. However, we need a jailbreak first, and the word going around is that Spirit for iOS 4 will be released as soon as the unlock is ready.
With Apple rumored to push an update to iOS 4, the Dev Team might want to wait a bit before releasing a jailbreak and unlock. We'll see.
iPhone 4 Unlock Ready for Release?
While GeoHot is teasing us with fake jailbreaks for iPhone 4, the Dev Team is hard at work on an i4 unlock, and they seem to get closer.
In a tweet sent out his morning, Dev Team front man MuscleNerd confirmed that they are one step away from being done with the iPhone 4 unlock:
Full i4 bars with custom "steve" background task spitting out "One more thing" http://is.gd/doJXt - all pieces in place:)
If I understand this correctly it might mean they just have to package UltraSn0w and put this on Cydia... If that's really what's going on, it also means the release of Spirit for iOS 4 is right around the corner as well.
Stay tuned!
Consumer Reports: We Can’t Recommend the iPhone 4
We knew the iPhone 4 had some serious antenna issues. The reason? We're holding it wrong, or at least that's what Apple is telling us.
After carrying out several tests, Consumer Reports actually think the problem doesn't come from the way we're holding the phone but from the phone itself.
Our findings call into question the recent claim by Apple that the iPhone 4’s signal-strength issues were largely an optical illusion caused by faulty software that “mistakenly displays 2 more bars than it should for a given signal strength.”
The tests also indicate that AT&T’s network might not be the primary suspect in the iPhone 4’s much-reported signal woes.
So apparently, the problem is indeed related to the hardware and not to AT&T or even the software, as Apple wants us to believe.
The signal problem is the reason that we did not cite the iPhone 4 as a “recommended” model, even though its score in our other tests placed it atop the latest Ratings of smart phones that were released today.
If you want an iPhone that works well without a masking-tape fix, we continue to recommend an older model, the 3G S.
Although the iPhone 4 is a great device, Consumer Reports can't recommend it because of the huge antenna flaw.
As for me, yes the antenna issue really bugs me but if you ask me, I'll say go for it! Get yourself an iPhone 4. Although I am already at my 3rd iPhone 4, I think it's the best iDevice I've owned so far.
What do you think?
False Alarm: GeoHot Doesn’t Have An iPhone 4 Jailbreak
A few days ago we talked about GeoHot and the amazing fact that he seemed to have a jailbreak for iPhone 4. It turns out the picture he gave us was actually a fake. Bummer!
In an update to his last blog post, the wonder kid destroyed the few credibility he had left. He says:
Sorry, this post was probably a bad idea. Next time I won't say anything. I miss when this blog was actually about technical things(I've been reacting too much to the feedback, which led it to the place it's in now). I didn't fully realize most of the current scene don't care unless they are getting something. Now I do. It's late tonight, I'll think about what to do about this in the morning.
The real reason behind no release isn't technical. It's just that it will never stop, after blackra1n, people demand unlock, after blacksn0w, people demand untethered. I miss the days when jailbreaking and unlocking were difficult, it attracted a much higher caliber crowd.
Also, to the haters, the picture is quite obviously fake :D
I have a lot of respect for GeoHot's work. The guy is clearly a genius (let me remind you he was the first to unlock the first iPhone back in 2007), but like everyone notices, he's just too cocky and egocentric, which is probably why some call him EgoHot.
So what now for jailbreakers and unlockers? The good news is that the Spirit jailbreak for iPhone 4 will be released soon. In the meantime, the Dev Team is working on an unlock as well.
The world is not going to stop but it's just too bad GeoHot won't invest himself in what he's obviously good at. Oh well, after all he's free to do whatever he wants.
What do you think?
How I Went Through 3 iPhones in 3 Weeks
I've had my iPhone 4 for less than 3 weeks and I've already been through 3 of them...
#1As I had mentioned in a previous post, my first iPhone 4 had 3 issues that seemed to be hardware-related. The home button was loose, there was a rattling sound when you would shake the phone, and finally, the screen was yellowish overall.
So I took it back to the Apple Store on Michigan avenue in Chicago. The "genius" said although she couldn't see the yellow screen, which was pretty obvious but anyways, she did replace it because of the loose button and rattling.
#2She gave me my new iPhone 4 and I went and sit somewhere in the store so I could sync my new iPhone with my laptop which I had brought with me. I synced everything and as soon as I picked it up and went to the home screen, I could see the screen was still yellowish.
I asked an Apple employee walking by if he could see the difference between my yellowish iPhone and a perfect iPhone used in the store for demo purposes. He acknowledged that mine indeed had a yellow tint to it. He advised me to make yet another appointment to change the phone again.
#3A few days later, I made another appointment at the Apple Store for exchanging my 2nd iPhone. I went there, explained everything, the genius entered my info into his iTouch and told me that he'd want to exchange my iPhone but he had no replacement units in stock. Great! I drove 30 miles and spent 1 hour sitting in traffic for absolutely nothing.
Back in California, I made an appointment at the Apple Store in Century City where I had to explain my problem again. This time, I also added that when I take pictures in a dark room for example, the picture gets all yellow, and apparently I am not the only one with this issue. However, the camera works great during bright day light.
She gave me a replacement iPhone, my third one. I checked the screen and it's definitely not yellow anymore. It's now perfect. The problem is I still have the yellow picture issue when using the camera in darker places.
#4?I'm going to wait for Apple to come up with iOS 4.1 or 4.01 and see if they can fix the yellow pictures issue. If they can, then great. If they can't, I will have to return it and get my 4th iPhone 4.
It's great to be an early adopter but it sure comes with its downsides...
What about you? Have you had any issue with your iPhone 4? Did you have to return it?
iPhone & iPad News You Missed This Week
This is a summary of all the articles that were published on the blog this week.
Flash ported to the iPad The App Store was hacked Dev Team working on an iPhone unlock Spirit for iOS 4 coming soon 8 puzzle games for iPhone $20,000 white iPhone diamond edition Dev Team getting closer to the iPhone 4 unlock Awesome PacMan wallpaper for iPhone Apple issues weak statement on App Store hacking iPhone 4 stop-motion disassembly video Apple lying about the App Store hacking issue? iPhone 4 flash light How to install Flash on the iPad Turn your iPad into a DivX movie player How to tether the iPhone 4 iPhone 4 catches on fire When will the next iOS update come out? AT&T data rates in Mexico are outrageous App Store hacked again How to use your iPhone 4 data plan on your iPad Confessions of a jailbreaker with no jailbreak