Accessories

The iPhone Gaming Grip

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated January 23, 2016

The following is a guest post by iPhone Download Blog reader Gavin Nachbar.

The mobile gaming industry is growing like wildfire. Video gaming giants like EA were caught off guard by the explosion of mobile gaming, and are now scrambling to release popular their popular games before the bubble pops. With that, a recent study by Gartner found that the mobile gaming industry will continue to grow by 10% a year, and will hit $6.3 billion (yes that is with a b) by the year 2011.

With the iPhone representing a solid chunk of that revenue, it is only expected that the iPhone accessory business will grow in parallel. Enter the iPhone gaming grip.

The grip was invented and released by a Japanese company named Trinity, who focus specifically on accessories for iPods, iPhones and other Apple products. The gaming grip is made out of sweat proof silicon, which is actually more convenient that one might first think. However, it does not come without a hefty price tag at $51 a pop.

While some say this may be the most absurd iPhone accessory released to date, I beg to differ. With Apple recently announcing the billionth download from the App Store, this is just the beginning for iPhone gaming accessories.

And why shouldn’t it be? While some games work well on the small screen, others just don’t have the right feel. The Wii was all the rage just a year ago, and Wii gamers have their wheel. Now, it’s the iPhone's turn.

While the iPhone may never replace Nintendo’s DS or Playstation’s PSP, the development of products like this one is a step in that direction. This new gaming grip indisputably makes it easier to play games on the iPhone, and that’s a great start.

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SlingPlayer Mobile for iPhone Coming Up Soon

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated January 23, 2016

We've talked in the past about Sling and their SlingBox, a digital box you connect to your cable box, dish receiver, or DVR and allows you to grab either live or recorded video from that source, anywhere in the world that you can connect to the Internet.

It seems that Sling will be demonstrating SlingPlayer for the iPhone at MacWorld this week and they will be submitting their app to the App Store sometimes in the next few weeks. SlingPlayer will allow you to watch cable TV directly from your iPhone!

Here are a few highlights from the press release:

"SlingPlayer Mobile is ideally suited for the iPhone's large touch screen display and I know iPhone users are eagerly anticipating the application's availability," said Blake Krikorian, co-founder and CEO of Sling Media. "Add to that HD streaming support for Slingbox PRO-HD customers and live TV support on our video entertainment site, Sling.com, and you can see Sling Media is committed to delivering great solutions for Mac users."

SlingPlayer Mobile gives consumers their entire home TV experience, including local channels, local sports teams, video on demand, pay per view, etc. Any program that you can watch on your sofa back home, you can now watch via your iPhone using a standard network connection (3G Cellular, WiFi). In addition, SlingPlayer Mobile for iPhone users can also control their home digital video recorder (DVR) to watch recorded shows, pause, rewind, and fast forward live TV, or even queue new recordings while on the road.

Pricing and Availability

SlingPlayer Mobile for iPhone will be submitted to Apple for testing and approval in Q1. The price has not been determined at this time. SlingPlayer for Mac HD will be available for free via the web-based SlingPlayer within Sling.com later in Q1. Mac customers will be able to use either Safari or Firefox web browsers to get both HD streaming and Live TV within Sling.com.

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Is Apple Looking To Patent An iPhone-Friendly Glove?

Sébastien Page ∙ January 2, 2009

Because the iPhone uses capacitive touchscreens, it may be difficult or impossible for the electrical signals from a person's fingers to pass through glove fabric. I don't have this problem because I live in Southern California, but if you live in some cold places such as Alaska or Iceland, this might be a way for you to use your iPhone, without risking to freeze your fingers.

The US Patent and Trademark Office published what seems to be an application from Apple for gloves that would actually work with the touchscreen. The glove would most likely have layers that emulate properties of human skin, such as electrical resistance.

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iPhone External Keyboard

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated August 7, 2017

This is an interesting concept developed by Ralf Ackermann...

An external iphone / ipod touch keyboard - using a more "mainstream approach". The keyboard (it's a standard Freedom Universal Keyboard) uses the Bluetooth SPP (Serial Port) profile to talk with a Robotech Bluetooth module ( www.tigal.com/product.asp?pid=1124 ). This module is placed in a modified iphone battery sleeve and connected to the iphone serial port. The jailbroken iphone runs veency (a VNC server) and a tiny libvncclient based VNC client for keyboard event injection to whatever application you use.

All schematics and source code to appear on www.ubiqkom.org soon.

More photos here.

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Wooden iPhone 3G

Sébastien Page ∙ December 29, 2008

Gizmodo posted today a really cool picture of an iPhone 3G wooden case. Clearly not your typical iPhone accessory but I find this wooden case very interesting. There is no info about pricing and where you can probably find out more from iCustom, assuming you speak Russian... who doesn't?

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Free iPhone Skins GiveAway

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated January 29, 2016

The guys over at Infectious emailed me to let me know that they would like to give away iPhone skins to the first 3 people to comment on this post. If you don't know about Infectious, you may want to check their products. They make adhesive skins for cars, laptops, and in our case, for iPhones.

What's really cool about it is that you can choose from top notch designs that are all made by renown artists. I haven't tried their iPhone skins but they are said to be easy to apply and easy to take off.

Unlike UniqueSkins, which I reviewed a few weeks ago, you can't create your own skin on the fly, however, you can submit your artwork and it might be approved to be sold on the site. Pretty cool, huh?

So we have 3 skins to give away for free to the the first 3 people that will leave a comment on this post. When you leave your comment, don't lie about your email address or else there is no way we'll be able to get in touch with you.

For more info about these artsy skins, hop over to Infectious.com.

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iPhone 2.2 Jailbreak Officially Out!

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated January 23, 2016

I knew it wouldn't take too long to the Dev Team to come up with a new jailbreak method for firmware 2.2. They just released an important message on their blog that every jailbreaker should read before attempting to pwn their iPhone.

I don't like copying large part from other people's blogs but I feel like it's necessary in this case as I want to make sure you fully understand the methods and the risks you're taking if you decide to go ahead and jailbreak your iPhone. You can also read this post on the Dev Team's blog.

GOLDEN RULE: If you have a 3G iPhone and want potential soft unlock in the near future do NOT use QuickPwn, and do not use the official ipsw or the iTunes update process without using PwnageTool. Read item 1 again and again. At the bottom of this post are the bittorrent files for the latest versions of PwnageTool and QuickPwn. These are suitable for the recent 2.2 release. Please read all parts of this post before downloading and using these tools. The ‘late 2008’ MacBook/air/pro line of computers have an issue with DFU mode, it is possible to go from Pwned 2.1 -> 2.2 but going from stock to Pwned does not work, if in any doubt use a different machine. Choosing the correct tool is crucial. Be warned!

Baseband 101

The ‘baseband’ is the generic name given to the internal components of the iPhone that handle the phone calls and Internet access. This ‘baseband’ is a tiny and unique independent computer system that runs inside your iPhone, it is separate to the main system that handles the applications (such as email and google maps) and it talks to the main part of the phone over an internal communications network. Think of it like a cable modem or other peripheral that is attached to your home PC that needs occasional updates. When a software update is released and presented to you within iTunes the baseband is sometimes updated (to fix bugs or add new features). The 2.2 update for the iPhone 3G contains such an update, so running the vanilla updater straight away with iTunes will reprogram and update the baseband. This could be bad for certain people, depending on your ultimate aim.

SIM Free/SP Unlocked/Factory Unlocked iPhone 3G

This applies if you bought your iPhone 3G for $$$$$$$. This model of iPhone 3G doesn’t have an Service Provider lock (aka factory unlocked) and you are able to put any SIM card into the phone and get service. Your phone is already unlocked so you do not need to worry about baseband updates, simply upgrade to 2.2 using iTunes and then use QuickPwn to Pwn and Jailbreak. This will add Cydia and Installer too.

Locked iPhone 3G - Preserve Baseband

This applies if you have a locked iPhone 3G and you wish to update to 2.2 but preserve the iPhone’s current baseband software. Preserving the baseband will give you the maximum chance for any upcoming software unlock. To upgrade your phone to 2.2 and preserve the state of the baseband you need to create a custom .ipsw with PwnageTool. This custom .ipsw will not contain the baseband update but of course will still allow all the cool new stuff from 2.2.

There are plenty of tutorials about this process on the web, but PwnageTool contains intuitive graphics and easy to follow prompts that should have you up and running in no time at all.

Locked iPhone 3G

If you are using your iPhone with one carrier and have no interest in the possibility of an iPhone 3G unlock in the near future then just restore or upgrade to 2.2 using iTunes and use QuickPwn to Jailbreak and add Cydia and Installer.

Locked iPhone 2G (1st Generation)

Restore your iPhone 2G with iTunes then run QuickPwn to do the magic, ‘nuff said.

iPod Touch 1G (Original iPod Touch)

Update to 2.2 with iTunes and run QuickPwn.

iPod Touch 2G (New iPod Touch)

Sorry, no support at this time.

Bittorrent Releases

PwnageTool 2.2 for Mac OS X is here SHA1 Sum - 97ee6096aaa1967498431bf01c36c18d0e877545 QuickPwn 2.2 for Mac OS X is here SHA1 Sum - 254b8af0e19870a4660b7b11e3b6f6ae1d6bc66f QuickPwn 2.2 for Windows is here SHA1 Sum - ffdbc561224c61ffc2713cb6a6e696b6d429c4ca

I'm gonna be working on a QuickPwn 2.2 Guide and a PwnageTool 2.2 Tutorial and I should post this within hours.

UPDATE: I wrote new tutorials on how to jailbreak or unlock your iPhone 2.2 firmware using QuickPwn:

jailbreak iPhone 2.2 unlock iPhone 2.2
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Your iPhone As A Numeric KeyPad

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated January 23, 2016

As much as you may love your MacBook, you have to admit that the lack of a numeric keypad can sometimes be a pain in the ass, especially when typing credit card numbers or playing around with Excel.

A simple yet brilliant solution is now available so you can use your iPhone or iPod Touch as a wireless numeric keypad. First you will have to install the Balmuda's Numberkey Connect software on your Mac, and then download the Numberkey app [iTunes Link] from the App Store.

This is only available for Mac so far but I can see it coming to a PC near you soon enough...

[TechnaBob]

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DIY iPhone Speakers

Sébastien Page ∙ November 16, 2008

These speakers could have easily been designed by MacGyver but it's designer Dmitry Zagga who came out with this brilliant, yet simple idea. Made out of 2 cups, 2 toothpicks and a set of earplugs, these DIY iPhone speakers won't compete with your real speakers but it will certainly increase the volume of your earbuds; the sound being magnified due to the shape of the cup. More pictures after the break.

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