Sébastien Page

Sebastien is the Founder and Editor in Chief of iDB. Once a BlackBerry user, Sebastien instantly fell in love with the iPhone when it was first announced in 2007. Shortly after, he decided to start sharing his knowledge of the iPhone and its nascent ecosystem, which led to the creation of this blog. Sebastien currently owns 14 iPhones, 4 iPads, a MacBook Pro with Touch Bar, a MacBook Air, 2 Apple Watches, 3 Apple TVs, countless HomePods and AirTags as well as a few pairs of AirPods.

iTunes 8.2 Is Out – Jailbreakers Do Not Update

Sébastien Page ∙ June 2, 2009

iTunes 8.2 is available since yesterday. According to the update notes, "iTunes 8.2 now supports iPhone or iPod touch with the iPhone 3.0 Software Update. iTunes 8.2 also includes many accessibility improvements and bug fixes."

As always when an update comes out, I highly suggest jailbreakers and unlockers do not update iTunes yet. According to the Dev Team:

This update is one of those that incidentally breaks QuickPwn and PwnageTool. It doesn’t seem like an anti-jailbreak. But nonetheless, it will break your ability to re-run QuickPwn or PwnageTool’s dfu-entry.

Because this update isn’t a deliberate anti-jailbreak measure, it’s easily fixed in our tools. But we really don’t want to update our tools until 3.0 is out, so please don’t update to 8.2 if you think you’ll need to rejailbreak your device. :)

iPhone Download Blog reader VistaUser also warned me that iPhoneBrowser doesn't work anymore after updating iTunes to 8.2.

Apple Greediness Shows Again

Sébastien Page ∙ June 1, 2009

Once again, Apple proves to be pretty greedy as it wants to charge you twice for applications you've already purchased. This pop up window was spotted on a few iPhone over the weekend and it suggests that Apple will charge you again if you decide to download over the air an app you already paid for in the past. As an alternative, you can download the app for free if you do so from your computer.

Is Apple greedy? Or is AT&T asking Apple to do that in order to reduce the load on the network? I know for sure Apple is greedy but charging for "re-downloads" doesn't really make sense. With the WWDC coming up next week, I guess we'll find an answer to these questions sooner rather than later.

New iPhone Pictures Leaked

Sébastien Page ∙ May 31, 2009

Some relatively "legit-looking" pictures of the new iPhone have been leaked on a Chinese blog (note that the site is down at the moment). The pictures show an iPhone using autofocusing with its camera, movie recording and the digital compass. You can never tell if it's real or fake for sure but I'm 99% positive that it's for real.

Remotely Control Your Car From Your iPhone With iCar Remote

Sébastien Page ∙ May 29, 2009

iCar Remote is a new application that allows you to control your car directly from your iPhone. You can for example start/turn off the engine, roll up/down the windows and move forward and backward. See a demo in the video below.

No need to say that it's a fake but I think it's really well done.

iPhone 3G 2009 Vs. iPhone 3G

Sébastien Page ∙ May 29, 2009

This picture was posted on Mac Rumors, claiming that it might be the new iPhone 3G 2009.

I don't know if it's just me but it looks like the matte iPhone is slimmer than the shiny one.

So what do you think? Is this real or just another rumor?

Must Read: Diary of An iPhone App Store Reviewer

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated January 29, 2016

John Gruber wrote an absolutely hilarious blog post faking the diary of an App Store reviewer. It is a very sarcastic post showing the stupidity of the system. While it is pure fiction, you can't help realizing that Gruber is very close to reality, mostly on the app approval rejection process.

Here are some of my favorite pieces of the post:

Wednesday May 13

Began examining some game submitted a week or two ago. Slick UI, kind of fun to play. But: one of the help screen images shows a little icon representing an iPhone. Rejected the app with this message:

Thank you for submitting [app name] to the App Store. We’ve reviewed [app name] and determined that we cannot post this version of your iPhone application to the App Store because of an Apple trademark image. Rule 2 under “Unauthorized Use of Apple Trademarks” in Apple’s Copyright and Trademark Guidelines states:

“You may not use the Apple Logo or any other Apple-owned graphic symbol, logo, or icon on or in connection with web sites, products, packaging, manuals, promotional/advertising materials, or for any other purpose except pursuant to an express written trademark license from Apple, such as a reseller agreement.”

If You Need An App For That, There’s An App For That

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated June 13, 2016

You read the title right: if you need an app for that, there is an app for that. "An App For That" is actually a web app that let's you create, view, and share app for that jokes such as the one in the picture above.

The app looks like the SMS app from iPhone and let's you type whatever you want as long as it ends with "there's an app for that". Pretty useless, yet very funny. Some of the entries are just hilarious.

Some of my favorites are:

If you want to know how to be ridiculously good looking, there’s an app for that. If you purchased tickets for Terminator Salvation and you want a refund, yup, there’s an app for that. If the burning and itching will not go away, there’s an app for that.

Check it out and tell us what your favorites are, or even better, come up with your own!

Via

When iPhone Apps Piracy Goes Too Far Or How To Get $108,746 Worth Of Apps For Free

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated August 17, 2012

I'm not sure what my position about cracked iPhone apps is. I don't endorse any type of piracy. Developers spend time working on applications and they do deserve to get paid for it. On the other side, you have kids that may or may not have much money and who don't want to spend $0.99 on an application.

I think that a kid who downloads a pirated app would most likely NOT have paid for this app if the cracked version wasn't available for free somewhere. This means that either way, the developer would not have earned money from this kid anyway. At least, the developer gets the name of his app out.

What I just described is what we may call "common piracy". That's the type or piracy we've known since the democratization of MP3 music files. Now there is another kind of piracy that I think is scandalous and should be highly punished by law... I'm talking about website that resell cracked iPhone apps.

I was browsing several iPhone blogs over the weekend when I came across a website called Mega. The website prides itself in being able to deliver 34,060 iPhone apps worth a total of $108,746 for free. Mega is an application that you can download through Cydia. Once installed, you will get a new icon on your springboard that looks like the App Store icon, with "Free" written all across.

Jailbroken iPhone Shows Up In The App Store

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated May 26, 2017

This one is kinda funny... There is a new app in the App Store called Photo Effects! that uses the screenshot of a jailbroken iPhone in its description. You can clearly see the jailbreak apps Installer, Launcher, Terminal, and DockSwap. You will also notice that the dock is a custom one.

This comes roughly a month after Apple updated the SDK agreement forbidding developers to jailbreak their iPhones.

Looking at this app in the App Store, I'm wondering why the developer did this. I mean, it's a very stupid move. The screenshot doesn't help understand what the app is about at all. It seems to me like this dev did this as a big "F U" to Apple.

So now, the real question is: how long will it take Apple to remove this app from the App Store?

Via

Have An iPhone-Related Question? Ask In The Forum!

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated January 27, 2016

I am really excited to announce that we now have a forum section on the site. I should have set this up a long time ago but for some reason I never did until last weekend. We've been testing the forum to make sure it works 100% and it is now out of beta for all of you to use.

The forum will be the perfect place for everyone to share, comment, and ask any iPhone-related question. For your convenience, I divided the forum into 8 sections:

Troubleshooting: if you have a problem with your iPhone or iPod Touch Jailbreaking: discuss QuickPwn, PwnageTool and everything related to jailbreaking Unlocking: ask any question about unlocking your iPhone Apps: discuss App Store and Cydia apps Themes: share new themes, wallpapers, etc... News: discuss the latest iPhone news and rumors Accessories: talk about new accessories Lounge: a general area where you can talk about anything you want

If you have any question or comment about the new iPhone forum, please let me know. The forum is YOUR place and I want to make sure it's as cosy as possible ;)

Enough talking, go visit the forum now!

How Fast Will The Next iPhone Be?

Sébastien Page ∙ May 22, 2009

Rumors are flying around about the specs of the new iPhone supposed to be coming out July 17. Can we believe rumors coming from some unknown factory in China? I don't know. However, there are rumors we can trust and those come directly from John Gruber of Daring Fireball.

According to Gruber's sources, the upcoming iPhone will carry a next generation processor:

Let's say the rumors are right -- and I believe they are -- that the next-generation iPhone's CPU will be running at 600 MHz. In the same way that, say, a 90 MHz Pentium was more than 1.5 times as fast as a 60 MHz 486, the 600 MHz CPU in the next iPhone will be more than 1.5 times as fast as the current 400 MHz iPhone CPU.

Apparently, RAM and storage will also be increased:

More RAM will significantly help performance, too, and I believe the new iPhones will sport 256 MB of memory, up from the 128 MB in all current models. Prices will stay the same — $199 and $299 — but storage will increase to 16 and 32 GB.

What about the overall look of the new iPhone?

Industrial design changes will be subtle, perhaps very subtle. I expect that cases designed for the iPhone 3G will continue to fit the new iPhone, and that the only colors will remain black and white.

Gruber also confirmed that the next iPhone will include a magnetometer, and improved camera that will shoot videos, and basic video editing capabilities.

I invite you to read the full article for more insights on the new iPhone.

iPhone Apps From The TV Ads

Sébastien Page ∙ May 20, 2009

I rarely visit the App Store but yesterday I wanted to check out new apps so I opened the App Store from my iPhone and I noticed that there was a new section in the store called iPhone Apps From TV Ads. I don't know how long it's been here but I thought it was a good idea.

I also think it's a great opportunity for the showcased applications to gain further exposure. I wonder how the applications that appear in ads are chosen. I guess it's a mix of top rated, staff pick, and randomness...

Anyway, so now when wonder what this app you see on TV is called, go to the App Store and look into the 'iPhone Apps From TV Ads" section and you'll find out.