Recently in Jailbreak Category
You buy and unlocked iPhone 3G in a few markets, but that's not the case for most regions, including - as you all know - the U.S. Well, it took a bit longer than expected, but it appears hackers have finally cracked the latest version of the iPhone.
The iPhone Dev Team plans to release an iPhone 3G unlocking procedure and software on New Year's Eve. They've codenamed it yellowsn0w. To implement yellowsn0w you'll have to already have jailbroken (baseband 2.11.07 or earlier) your iPhone 3G to run third-party applications.
By unlocking your iPhone you'll be able to use it wither GSM carriers other than Apple's official operator partners, which includes the very first iPhone partner, AT&T. As a result, you'll be able to keep your T-Mobile service, if you're partial to it, and still use the iPhone, for example.Keep in mind, because the iPhone 3G's cellular-wireless broadband radio isn't compatible with T-Mobile's 3G network, it will only transfer data at much slower 2.5G EDGE rates, just like the original iPhone - to the chagrin of many - did with AT&T. Voice service will work just fine, however.
Unlocking also voids your warranty with Apple and some services, such as Visual VoiceMail, may not work correctly or at all
Also, don't be surprised if the next iPhone 3G firmware update breaks the new unlock, starting up the game of cat and mouse between hackers and Apple all over again.
The iPhone's on-screen keyboard is great as far as those things go. But it sure would be nice if Apple allowed you to connect the iPhone to an external typer when you've got a lot of typing to do. Well, it appears a user in Japan has taken matters into his own hands with jailbroken iPhone, which - in the video below - is attached via cable and working with an external keyboard. It's not a full size keyboard, but it works.
[via engadget]
Looks like Apple has decided they will not be allowing any tethering applications in the AppStore. As such, NetShare will not be available in the iTunes AppStore. We are seeing a lot of similar reports from various developers who's applications were abruptly removed and banned from the AppStore without any violations of the terms of service. This is all unfortunate news for the iPhone platform end-users.
Writing at MobileAppsToday, Todd Ogasawarapoints out that the lack of a tethering capability in the iPhone is a deal breaker for some, including himself. It's also worth noting that there are businesses out there that won't even consider giving its executives a smartphone that doesn't include the feature either. T
That's bad news for Apple when you consider all the trouble it’s gone through to make the iPhone more palatable to the corporate market.
There is an option for those who must have an iPhone, but require tethering. You must take the unofficial route, however. A new application called iPhone Modem is available for jailbroken iPhones with the 2.1 firmware update installed. The whole process supposedly only takes ten seconds.
images from Flixwagon blog
Unfortunately, you can't download and install Flixwagon through the iTunes App Store. It must be installed on an iPhone that is running on firmware 2.01 and has been jailbroken to run unofficial third-party applications.
A few months ago, StyleTap indicated it was working on an "experimental version" of its Palm OS emulator, called StyleTap CrossPlatform, for the iPhone. Already available for Windows Mobile - and soon Symbian - the software allows users to run the more than 20,000 available Palm OS applications on the their PDAs and smartphones. While the experiment was successful, StyleTap's run into a significant hurdle in getting its software into the hands iPhone owners: Apple.
You see, the legal agreement that accompanies the iPhone Software Development Kit prohibits the entire class of applications StyleTap falls under. These include emulators, virtual machines, scripting languages, and interpreters that enable any type of non-native applications to be run on an iPhone. In other words, Apple doesn't want folks loading software onto their iPhone it hasn't approved.
As a result, StyleTap cannot deliver its Palm OS emulator directly through the App Store to iPhone users.
According to StyleTap, while it is still working with Apple to find a solution, "until Apple removes the legal roadblocks, we will not be able to provide a product that can be installed through the App Store onto a standard "off the shelf" iPhone."
StyleTap is encouraging people to let Apple know they would like to see its Palm OS emulator made available through the App Store as an official, sanctioned iPhone application. It wants you to explain to Apple that Style would allow you to run "critical applications" you otherwise couldn't.
Since the iPhone's only shipped in a few areas so far, it makes sense that Apple's only provided keyboard dictionaries for the languages used in those countries. These dictionaries prevent and correct mistakes that pop up when you're typing on the iPhone's virtual keyboard. If you'd prefer or, as is likelier the case, need to type in a language other than one Apple supports (for instance, you're using an unlocked iPhone in Finland), a keyboard hack available at iPhoneDict just might be for you. At the site, you'll find iPhone keyboard dictionaries in Danish, Dutch, Finnish or Portuguese, languages currently not supported by Apple. These dictionaries only work with those iPhones that have been jailbreaked to run unofficial native iPhone software, however. The site provides directions on how to download and install them.
We've got two important iPhone software-related milestones to report to you today. Combined, they set the stage for a battle between Apple's official take on iPhone software and the jailbreaked, unofficial type of native programs many iPhone users have become used to over the last several months.
The first confirms, as expected, that there will be plenty of applications headed to Apple's upcoming iPhone and iPod touch App store. The software development kit (SDK) for creating applications for the iPhone, launched to much fanfare only a week ago, has already been downloaded over 100,000 times, according to Apple. Actually, that number was reached only four days after the launch event.
“Developer reaction to the iPhone SDK has been incredible,” said Apple senior VP Philip Schiller in a statement. Meanwhile, the video of last week's event to introduce the SDK has been viewed over a million times, "further demonstrating the incredible interest developers have in creating applications for the iPhone,” Schiller added.
While the numbers cited by Apple today are impressive, hackers have already achieved something equally, if not more, notable. They've reportedly already hacked or jailbreaked the beta of iPhone firmware 2.0, which is included in the iPhone SDK. Apple will spread to the iPhone 2.0 software update to every iPhone user this June.
This news much guarantees the cat and mouse game between Apple and hackers will continue to be played for the foreseeable future, as it means iPhone users will continue to be able to run unofficial native iPhone software from third parties; of which there is a lot and, almost certainly, will be much more of in the coming months.
Of course, Apple will likely plug the hole before the iPhone 2.0 ships. If they do, hackers will just open it up again. They've done it many times before and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.
So, the much-hyped battle between Apple and RIM for the enterprise may not be the most interesting iPhone-related topic of discussion on everyone's lips in the coming weeks. Folks may be speaking more about Apple’s clash with a good-sized portion of the group of people trying to make the iPhone better.
That war's been intensifying ever since the first hacker opened up the iPhone to unofficial third-party software months and months ago, giving developers - ironically - more access to the iPhone's resources (allowing for multitasking) than Apple does itself.
Then again, there doesn't have to be a war at all. Perhaps, it'll turn out that the official and unofficial iPhone software markets will compliment each other in the end.
It all depends on how agressive Apple is at going after the unofficial side of the equation and how happy official developers are with the system Apple setup. It could get ugly if Apple sees its bottom line or, in its opinion, the quality of the experience of iPhone users becoming negatively effected.
Or, if the rigid control Apple demands as the central gateway of all things iPhone starts to drive developers and users away. It's happened before to Apple. The iPhone may be a the hottest thing in smartphones now and, in many ways, a technological marvel, but that may not always be the case.
Introduced by the iPhone dev team, the new jailbreak - called Official 1.1.3 Upgrader - works by cracking Apple's application-signing method, which (unfortunately) may have negative consequences when it comes time to install official, Apple approved software. Rather than a PC or Mac, all that's required to set this jailbreak upgrade in motion is Wi-Fi connection and an outlet, the latter to make sure your iPhone/iPod touch’s power source doesn't poop out in the middle of installation.
For directions how to install this jailbreak, see here. Remember, the new computer-less 1.1.3 jailbreak method is only for those who've already jailbroken their 1.1.2 iPhone/iPod touch. If you haven't jailbroken 1.1.3 yet - or if simply require more detailed directions - head over here. We recommend you check out the info at the previous link first, however.
As we've mentioned before, performing any type of unofficial software upgrade, especially a jailbreak, isn't for the faint of heart. Jailbreaks, in particular, have been known to cause trouble for some iPhon/iPod touch users. They do open up a whole new world of applications to the user, though. So the risk, for many, is worth the potential benefit.
[via iPhone Atlas]
Nate True over at cre.ations.net quickly followed up last week's release of a software-based jailbreak for PC iPhone users with a version for the Mac. As with the Windows edition, this jailbreak allows users to run 'unofficial' third-party applications directly on their iPhone with 1.1.3 installed.
The 1.1.3 upgrade, as with previous iPhone firmwares, disabled this capability, extending the cat-and-mouse game Apple's been playing against hackers ever since the iPhone launched back in June of last year for another round.
Remember, jailbreaking an iPhone could have negative consequences on your device and Apple, which doesn't look kindly on them, won't be sympathetic should you run into trouble. So be careful.
In fact, you may want to wait until Apple unleashes its iPhone software developer kit (SDK), which is due next month and will finally allow developers to create Apple-approved native software. Once the SDK is out the door, official versions of these types of applications will probably appear pretty quickly.
