Monday, June 29, 2009

Jailbreaking my ipod touch 1g, iphone 3g next?

So the other night I finally decided to dust off my old ipod touch and give jailbreaking a try. I did a few days of research first before I decided to go ahead and give it a shot. I used quickpwn (after updating to 2.2.1), which ended up being just as simple as they said it would be. But getting the ipod touch jailbroken was only half the battle.

Where are all the apps? Well the first night I spent finding sources for cydia (a program that comes with quickpwn), after hours I was no where. The next night I found the NES emulator and spent the rest of the night trying to figure out how to actually get the roms onto the ipod touch. Once I figured that all out, I figured that was it. But I started to think... there has to be more. Why else would anyone jailbreak their iphone? (other then tethering and adding cosmetics) That's when I found out that they have cracked app's out there. After a few google searches for cracked apps and torrent searching I found hundreds of free apps. Of course the only downside to this is that it's illegal, but it does offer you a glimpse at what you are buying before you spend your money on something you are unsure of.

Now i'm waiting to see what the guys over at quickpwn say about the new 3.0 iphone jailbreak. I really want to add a few apps that are specifically for the phone, but i'm going to wait this one out to make sure my phone doesn't turn into a brick. (although that wouldn't be a bad excuse to buy the 3gs)

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Apparently i'm behind times, this from pcworld

Unless you've been living under a rock, you'll know that Apple has announced its latest iPhone -- the iPhone 3G S.

The third iPhone to be released since the first was launched in the U.S. in 2007, Apple claims the iPhone 3G S is faster and more powerful than the current iPhone 3G. Although it retains an identical form factor and design, the iPhone 3G S has some nifty new features. Here are 10 of the best:

1. It's faster

Apple launched the iPhone 3G S by announcing it has a faster processor, more memory and "snappier performance". Although the iPhone 3G is no slouch, it can be a little sluggish when opening and closing applications. If Apple's demo videos are anything to go by, the iPhone 3G S will be a much zippier smartphone.

2. It has more memory

Apple will sell two models of the iPhone 3G S: 16GB and 32GB. There original iPhone came with 4GB, 8GB or 16GB of storage.

3. Video recording

Wow! A smartphone in 2009 that can record video? No way! Apple critics will point to the fact that the iPhone 3G can't record video as an example of a phone that lacks some basic features, but for potential iPhone owners the addition of video recording is a real plus.

4. Improved camera

The iPhone 3G S has a 3-megapixel camera with autofocus, compared with the iPhone 3G's 2-megapixel, non-autofocus camera. It still lacks a flash, but the increased megapixel count should slightly improve photos and tapping an area on the screen to focus on is a cool feature that should make mobile photography easier.

5. You can talk to it

The iPhone 3G S introduces what Apple calls Voice Control, a voice recognition feature that allows you to make a call and play music by speaking. Voice Control can find any entry in your contacts list, and users simply have to say a name or phone number to make a call. For music, you can ask what song is playing and hear the iPhone 3G S answer, tell it to play your favourite album, or play similar tracks to the current one.

6. It has a built-in compass

A built-in digital compass is another new feature of the iPhone 3G S. We aren't sure exactly how often anyone would use this as a standalone app, but when combined with Google Maps, the compass will rotate maps to always match the direction you're facing. Now that is pretty cool.

7. Internet tethering

The iPhone 3G S can now be used as a modem, connecting to a Mac or PC via USB or Bluetooth. Although AT&T in the US won't be supporting this feature, Optus is one Australian telco that has confirmed it will be. Telstra and Vodafone are yet to announce whether they will offer tethering capability.

8. Accessibility features

Apple has included a number of features that help people with disabilities use the iPhone 3G S. These include Apple's VoiceOver function, which reads aloud what is on the screen, a zoom function that magnifies up to five times, and a white on black display option that provides increased contrast.

9. Nike+ iPod integration

Previously only available for selected iPod nano models, Apple's Nike + iPod is a fitness system that involves a Nike shoe communicating wirelessly with an iPod. The iPhone 3G S will be compatible with the system, which displays real time walking or running statistics.

10. New headphones

The iPhone 3G S will include Apple's remote headphones in the sales package. The new headphones have a multi-button remote and volume control keys, as well as a microphone to handle voice calls.

For the latest on the iPhone 3G S check out our iPhone Centre.

Sunday, June 7, 2009

Iphone 4g, adding another tick to the rumor board

One of my co-workers father works for apple. She says that not only will the iphone 4g be coming out soon, but the previous versions of iphones should be getting picture mail soon (I was told the 1st of June, but it's a little past that now). From what she told me the iphone 4g isn't going to be that large of an improvement, but we will find out soon enough i'm sure.