This is an original iPhone 4 ad that can be found in Tokyo's subway. Pretty cool isn't it?
Thanks R1ck for sending this in!
RedSn0w 0.9.5 iPhone Jailbreak Now Available for Windows
The Dev Team just released RedSn0w 0.9.5 for iOS 4GM for iPhone 3G and iPod Touch 2G (non-MC version). This RedSn0w jailbreak now brings support for Windows.
According to the Dev Team:
Just like our other betas, this one intentionally doesn't “hactivate” the iPhone. Please wait for Apple's public release of 4.0 for that part of it.
YOU SHOULD STAY CLEAR OF THIS BETA SOFTWARE IF YOU RELY ON A CARRIER UNLOCK. That's because the beta redsn0w works only if your device has already been upgraded to the stock 4.0beta1/beta4/GM IPSW from Apple, which contains a baseband update. If you installed that IPSW, you've already lost the carrier unlock until the next planned release of ultrasn0w and blacksn0w.
More information can be found here.
iPhone Jailbreak About to Be Legalized?
When you buy an iPhone, you could expect being able to do whatever you want with it. You may want to jailbreak it to install applications that are not allowed in the App Store. You may also want to unlock it so it is not restricted to only one carrier.
Well, legally you can't do all this because of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), which is a law intended to protect digital locks. This law was intended to protect copyrighted music, DVDs, and DRM entertainment products.
When congress passed this law, they were not thinking that it would also legally allow hardware manufacturers like Apple to have a total control over what you can and cannot do with your iPhone. The DMCA clearly wasn't created to prevent you from jailbreaking your iPhone, but it "accidentally" did when Apple started to flag jailbreaking as a violation of this law.
A little over a year ago, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), a non-profit digital rights advocacy organization, asked regulators to add jailbreaking to a list of explicit exemptions to the DMCA's anti-circumvention provisions. The US Copyright Office is now supposed to rule any day on whether jailbreaking should be exempted from the DMCA or not.
This is big news because if the exemption was to be approved, Apple would probably lose the huge grip it has on the App Store and what's allowed or not in the Store.
Apple has always argued that it wanted a clean, safe, porn-free App Store. Bottom line is they want to control every aspect of the Store and that is just not right. It should be the users' decision, not Apple's. Only me can decide what's best for me. Only me can decide if I want to take the risk of installing malicious software on my iPhone.
Apple has never sued jailbreakers or even the Dev Team because they know it would be at the very edge of legality. If the US Copyright Office decides to exempt jailbreaking from the DMCA, it will be a big victory for iPhone (and other smartphones) users and digital rights in general.
Let's cross our fingers! In the meantime, you can watch this video to learn more about the DMCA exemption for jailbreaking iPhones.
What do you think about that? Do you think jailbreaking should be made legal?
iTunes 9.2 is Out. Jailbreakers Beware!
Apple just released iTunes 9.2, which comes with a few new features necessary before next week's release of iOS 4 to ensure compatibility between this firmware and the devices.
iTunes 9.2 features and improvements include:
Sync with iPhone 4 to enjoy your favorite music, movies, TV shows, books and more on-the-go Sync and read books with iPhone or iPod touch with iOS 4 and iBooks 1.1 Organize and sync PDF documents as books. Read PDFs with iBooks 1.1 on iPad and any iPhone or iPod touch with iOS 4 Organize your apps on your iOS 4 home screens into folders using iTunes Faster back-ups while syncing an iPhone or iPod touch with iOS 4 Album artwork improvements make artwork appear more quickly when exploring your libraryJailbreakers and people who plan to jailbreak their iPhones or iPads should stay away from iTunes 9.2 for the time being.
According to the Dev Team, Don't install today's iTunes 9.2 if you plan on using Spirit for fresh JB (but it's fine for PwnageTool & redsn0w users).
If your iPad has already been jailbroken with Spirit, then everything will work fine. If however you plan on jailbreaking your iPad with Spirit, it will be caught in a boot loop.
UltraSn0w Updated to Unlock Baseband 04.26.08 on iOS 4 for iPhone 3GS
The Dev Team updated the now famous UltraSn0w that allows to unlock baseband 04.26.08.
If you updated to iOS 4 while preserving your baseband, you can now download UltraSn0w from Cydia to unlock your iPhone so it works with any carrier.
In order to have UltraSn0w work for you, you need to:
have a jailbroken iPhone 3GS be on baseband 04.26.08More info on the iPhwn Wikee. [via French iPhone]
Infographics: iPhone 3GS VS iPhone 4
We already showed you the iPhone 4 and the 3GS compared side by side but I came across this nice infographics on iPhone.fr and I thought I'd share it with you.
Poll: Were You Able to Pre-Order Your iPhone 4?
We all know yesterday's iPhone 4 pre-orders were a real fiasco that led to the first iPhonecalypse. After hours spent on Apple's website I finally successfully pre-ordered an iPhone 4 to be delivered on June 24th.
Something tells me that not everyone was lucky as I was and I'd like to get a better idea of how things went for all of you.
Were You Able to Pre-Order Your iPhone 4?online surveys
Please take a few seconds to answer this poll. If you feel like it, also leave a comment to give us more information about your experience.
600,000 iPhones Were Pre-Ordered Yesterday
AT&T just issued a statement about yesterday's iPhone 4 pre-orders. According to AT&T, "iPhone 4 pre-order sales yesterday were 10-times higher than the first day of pre-ordering for the iPhone 3G S last year. Consumers are clearly excited about iPhone 4, AT&T's more affordable data plans and our early upgrade pricing."
In the same time, AT&T's website got more than 13 million visits, which is 3 times higher than their previous record. Not surprising their system crashed!
AT&T didn't deem it necessary to update us on their latest security breach though.
The company stopped receiving pre-orders as they are running out of inventory. They are waiting for Apple to allocate them more units to resume pre-orders.
And here is Apple's statement:
Yesterday Apple and its carrier partners took pre-orders for more than 600,000 of Apple's new iPhone 4. It was the largest number of pre-orders Apple has ever taken in a single day and was far higher than we anticipated, resulting in many order and approval system malfunctions. Many customers were turned away or abandoned the process in frustration. We apologize to everyone who encountered difficulties, and hope that they will try again or visit an Apple or carrier store once the iPhone 4 is in stock.
My Experience Pre-Ordering a $742.69 iPhone 4
Like me, you probably spent a good part of yesterday refreshing Apple's pre-order page, filling in the information required and getting various frustrating error messages.
Besides trying to pre-order the iPhone 4, I spent most of my day at the hospital with my fiancee who was meeting with a couple specialists (nothing major). I frenetically checked my iPhone every 2 minutes or so and tried countless times to go through the pre-order process.
At some point I heard rumors that AT&T was running out of iPhones and I thought it wouldn't be too long until Apple does too. In the meanwhile I had received several tips from people on Twitter telling me the Apple Store application that Apple had released was working great for pre-ordering.
So I decided to use this app to reserve my iPhone for pickup, instead of pre-ordering it for delivery as this option wasn't available. In less than a minute I had reserved an iPhone 4 which I was supposed to pick up on June 24th.
I was really relieved I did have my name on one of those iPhones but I still wasn't completely satisfied. I didn't want to drive 45 minutes and wait in line to pick up an iPhone that I wasn't even sure would be there for me. Yes, when you pre-order an iPhone for pick up, there is absolutely no guarantee that you will get this iPhone. It's all on a first-come, first-served basis!
So I kept trying the Apple Store website in the hope that it would go through at some point. And it did! While we were stuck in traffic on our way back from the hospital, I was able to add an iPhone 4 to my cart. I then started praying for 3G not to die on me. It didn't.
After a few minutes of filling out information, I had successfully pre-ordered my iPhone 4 for delivery on June 24th. That made my day!
Since I was not eligible for any kind of upgrade I had to pay full price for my iPhone. Total amount came to $742.69 ($699 + $43.69 in taxes). That ain't a cheap iPhone! For that price, I could probably get an unlocked iPhone in Canada...
I still have the other iPhone 4 reserved at my local Apple Store and I will leave this reservation opened, just in case something goes wrong with my delivery.
That was a painful experience which ate up most of my day, but of course it was worth it. What wouldn't we do for an iPhone?
How was your experience pre-ordering your iPhone 4? Let us know by leaving a comment.
Apple Store Running Out of iPhone 4 Too
We just told you that AT&T was running out of iPhone 4 for pre-order. Well, it seems Apple itself is running out of iPhones as well. According to 9 to 5 Mac, the Apple Store is backed up at least until July. I'm glad my order went it on time. I hope you were as lucky as I was.
If you can't wait for July, your last chance is to get in line on June 24th.
How to Pre-Order Your iPhone 4 During The iPhonecalypse
If you're one of the many that were not successful pre-ordering your iPad today because of all the AT&T fiasco, then their might be some light at the end of the tunnel.
It's official, AT&T is sold out of iPhone 4 pre-orders for the launch day. Your only hope is now Apple. At the time I am writing this, Apple's website is still crashing when trying to pre-order an iPhone 4.
From my personal experience, if you want to get to pre-order the iPhone 4, your best way is to go through the Apple Store application that was released this morning. You won't be able to per-order to get your iPhone delivered, however you will be able to reserve your iPhone 4 for pickup.
I just went through the process again and I was able to reserve another iPhone 4 (which I'm going to cancel right away). Be careful though, reserving an iPhone doesn't guarantee that you will be able to get one.
Per Apple's own words: "Pre-authorization does not guarantee iPhone availability at an Apple Retail Store. iPhone is sold on a first-come, first-served basis. Your reservation is valid for pickup only at the Apple Retail Store that you selected. If you do not collect your selected item(s) by the designated date and time, your reservation will be canceled."
Good luck, and let us know how it goes.
White Version of iPhone 4 Not Available at Launch
It appears, according to several other gadget blogs, that the black version of the new iPhone will be the only one available on launch day.
The white version will not be offered for another several weeks. In fact macrumors has confirmed that Deutsch Telecom, a German wireless company, will only be carrying the black iPhone as well on launch day.
What does this mean? Well, for a lot people, myself included, this means we might not be participating in the launch day madness if the white iPhone will not be available. Ever since I saw the white iPhone 3G I have been saying to myself that the next iPhone I get will be white!
Now it's not that I'm discriminating against black phones, my current iPhone 3G is black. I think I like the white one because it looks and feels more exclusive, less common than the black one, thus making me look cooler right?
Hah, truth be told I buy Apple products not for the status but because they make everything I like doing easier. In fact, in a few weeks I will be setting up a small media network with airport express', possibly a Mac Mini, in my apartment. I'll keep you posted and will probably detail my experience in an article.
But the real question here is, do I want to join in on the launch day activities and head down to the Apple Store, and be cheered for as I purchase the black iPhone 4? Or do I want to wait weeks, read other hands on reviews with jealousy while I wait for a white iPhone announcement? What are you guys planning to do?