Month: August 2010

Next iPhone Made to Morph?

It has been a relatively slow couple of days in iPhone land, however it's been brought to our attention that Apple is interested in some Terminator material. The newest SEC discovery states that the folks in Cupertino are in the market for some liquid metal. For what? Nobody is sure, however my imagination feels a morphable iDevice would do just fine.

In all seriousness though, the report states Apple has come to terms with Liquidmetal Technologies, whose speciality is amorphous metals. The alloy materials the company produces could have benefits that are, but not limited to, hardness, elasticity and acoustical features.

Not much more to report on this arrangement, but I will leave you with word for word filing. Just so you know, Arnold could not be reached for comment.

On August 5, 2010, Liquidmetal Technologies, Inc., a Delaware corporation (“Liquidmetal”), entered into a Master Transaction Agreement with Apple Inc., a California corporation (“Apple”), pursuant to which (i) Liquidmetal contributed substantially all of its intellectual property assets to a newly organized special-purpose, wholly-owned subsidiary (the “IP Company”), (ii) the IP Company granted to Apple a perpetual, worldwide, fully-paid, exclusive license to commercialize such intellectual property in the field of consumer electronic products in exchange for a license fee, and (iii) the IP Company granted back to Liquidmetal a perpetual, worldwide, fully-paid, exclusive license to commercialize such intellectual property in all other fields of use (together with all ancillary agreements, the “Master Transaction Agreement”).

Locktopus App Password Protects Specific iPhone Apps

Locktopus is a new applications that will let you password protect specific applications directly from the springboard.

After creating a password in Locktopus, you will be able to protect an application with this password by tapping and holding the app icon and wait until they start wiggling. Then tap the little "lock" badge on the app icon. Next time you try to launch this app, it will ask for the password.

Locktopus is available in Cydia for $2. I haven't tried this app so I don't know how it compares to the free LockDown app, which basically does the same thing. If you try it, please let us know how you like it.

Steve Jobs Knew About the iPhone 4 Antenna for Over A Year

This antenna issue will never die, will it? Just when you thought it was fading away, the news get revived, especially due to the firing of Apple's chief of iPhone hardware.

A WSJ article revealed today that Steve Jobs knew about the iPhone 4 antenna weaknesses over a year ago.

It was Mr. Jobs, rather than Mr. Papermaster, who decided to move forward with the development of the phone even though the company was aware of the risks of the antenna design as much as a year ago, according to people familiar with the matter.

Why in hell would Steve Jobs force a product out if  he isn't sure of its performances? Apple clearly prioritized physical design over performances. Why?

Why Papermaster is No Longer on Apple’s Payroll

A couple days ago we revealed that Mark Papermaster, the guy in charge of iPhone hardware at Apple had been canned left the company. Of course what came to mind at the time was that he had been fired in the wake of the antennagate.

An article in the WSJ today quotes an Apple spokesperson that claims Papermaster departed the company for other reasons:

Mr. Papermaster had lost the confidence of Mr. Jobs months ago and hasn't been part of the decision-making process for some time, these people said. They added that Mr. Papermaster didn't appear to have the type of creative thinking expected at Apple and wasn't used to Apple's corporate culture, where even senior executives are expected to keep on top of the smallest details of their areas of responsibility and often have to handle many tasks directly, as opposed to delegating them.

One of these people also said Mr. Papermaster had difficulty maneuvering Apple's internal politics.

We'll never find out what really went on. Did Papermaster leave the company because he didn't fit there? Was he fired because of the whole antenna thing? What do you think?

How Much Time a Day Do You Spend on Your iPhone?

The title says it all folks. One recent night, I was about to plug-in my iPhone 4, and I did my usual check of battery life before the USB went in. For the day, I had spent about 7 hours on my favorite toy. Sure this included some iPod time in the car, and of course the research "work" I must do for my role here at iDB. However it seemed like an awful lot of my time eaten up by my "phone". Of course this is what Apple likes to hear, and I know I'm kind of enthralled by the device, but how does this compare?

My use has certainly gone up from that of my 3GS, however the experience is more enjoyable. I can't be the only one who gets "lost" in his Retina Display. My use of camera/photo apps has seen the biggest hike, largely due to the screen and camera combo. Is this the trend, or am I that big of a geek?

What does your usage entail, and how many hours per day does your settings app reveal to you? I'm not so much interested in battery life as I am in where your battery life goes. So step up, and let us know in the comments what is you do on that iPhone of yours, and for how long each typical day. Now, back to mine I go.

How to Easily Install Frash on Your iPhone

This morning I told you about a trick to install Frash on your iPhone. This can be a little cumbersome. My Twitter friend @egohot_dev sent me a tip that really automates the whole process.

Step 1: Make sure your iPhone is jailbroken. If it's not, follow these instructions.

Step 2: Go to Cydia and install the following source: http://repo.benm.at/

Step 3: Install Frash from this repo.

Step 4: Reboot your iPhone. Done!

Much easier than doing it manually.

Let us know how it works for you.

Here We Go Again: A New Round of Verizon iPhone Rumors

How many times have we heard this before? According to TechCrunch and "sources with knowledge of this entire situation", Apple has submitted a large order to Qualcomm for millions of units of their CDMA chipsets for a Verizon iPhone run due in December.

Yawn!

Verizon CEO is going to do the keynote for CES in January next year so it would be convenient to announce they are getting the iPhone then. But realistically, I still don't believe the hype. I still think we won't see a Verizon iPhone anytime in 2011.

What do you think?

How to Install Flash / Frash on the iPhone

Update: There is now a much easier way to add Frash / Flash to your iPhone.

A few weeks ago we told you about Frash, the Android port of Flash to iOS. We even showed you how to install it on your iPad but to be honest, that wasn't a very stable port. Grant Powell recently compiled an iPhone 4 version of the patch that seems to work pretty well.

In this article, I will show you how to install Frash 0.02 on your iPhone 4. Some people report it also work on the previous iPhone models and iPod Touch. Proceed at your own risks...

Step 1: Make sure your iPhone is jailbroken. If it's not follow these instructions to jailbreak with JailbreakMe.

Step 2: Install OpenSSH from Cydia.

Step 3: Make sure iTunes is not running and SSH into your iPhone using WinSCP or CyberDuck.

Step 4: Create a folder called "Cydia" in /var/root/Media. Create another folder called "AutoInstall" inside the Cydia folder.

Step 5: Download the Frash-0.02.deb file and put it in the AutoInstall folder.

Step 6: Restart your iPhone.

Done! You should now be able to play Flash animations on your iPhone.

Fix: “Different SIM Detected”

Last week we told you about a method to fix the "Different SIM detected" error on an iPhone activated with a phonebook card. This method required a bit of file handling and could have scared away the least technically oriented of you.

Fortunately, there is now an easier way to do that.

How to Fix the "Different SIM detected" on the iPhone

Step 1: Insert the phonebook SIM in your iPhone to get out of emergency mode.

Step 2: Go to Cydia and add the following source: http://cydia.pushfix.info.

Step 3: In the PushFix repo, look for Hacktivation Patch and install it.

Step 4: Reboot your iPhone.

Done! You should now be able to swap SIM cards without any problem.

[Sherif Hashim]

AT&T Downplays Possible Loss Of Exclusivity

Following suit with the rumor mill, AT&T drops hints that the carrier exclusivity with the iPhone will be no more. What doesn't match up with consumer opinion, is the companies confidence that it won't be an issue. Apparently they know something we don't, or they're doing their best to save face amongst shareholders. I anticipate it's not the former.

In a recent SEC filing, Wireless chief for AT&T Ralph de la Vega stated that around 80% of customers are locked into family or corporate plans. To switch the entire group, he says, would be a difficult task. Truthfully, he's correct. Your family plan is (almost always) renewed when just one line upgrades its phone.

The document makes a point of avoiding any mention of the iPhone directly, however previous quarters' said nothing about exclusivity. Many will say this could be evidence that Apple's contract is up, or nearing the end. Factually the last mention of the contract was Apple, confirming the agreement to last until 2012. Various rumors of an iPhone coming to Verizon and T-Mobile, have been enough spark to this fiery debate.

Whether or not AT&T will admit the potential catastrophe of losing the deal, they have lined their ducks in a row, to make sure those who are current, stay that way. They recently upped their Early Termination Fee, from $175, to $325. Yea, they (nearly) doubled it.

What is horrendous for AT&T, is ultimately awesome for Apple. Widening their market will only put the full court press on its competitors. I do understand what AT&T is doing, really. They are doing the only thing they can do, which is attempt to ease inevitable concern. We cant' expect them to come out and say, "Hey guys, we are so freaking screwed". But the fact that they are saying something says something, don't you think?