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Posts with tag iphone

Windows iPhone 3G jailbreak tool released


Sure, it was already possible (if complicated) to jailbreak a first-gen iPhone running the 2.0 software under Windows, but this is the one-click tool all you crazy cats with those extra G's need if you don't have a Mac -- too bad no one's come up with a better name than "pwn" yet. Please, people. Let's do better.

PS.- As usual, you run the risk of totally destroying your phone mucking around with this stuff, so don't say we didn't warn you.

Update: winpwn.com is down already, mirrors in the comments!

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Number port stats suggest curious trends in iPhone 3G launch

Sure, Apple alleges to have flipped over a million iPhone 3Gs at this point, but what does that mean? The devil's in the details, as always; yes, true, the first one took 74 days to reach that same milestone, but it was available in less than one-twentieth the number of countries and an even smaller fraction of carriers. Hell, the very definition of "sale" is under scrutiny here, with some suggesting that Apple's making reference to the number of phones it's sold to its carrier partners, not end users -- a metric that would make sense from Cupertino's perspective since Apple's payday technically ends there.

Here's where it gets interesting -- Engadget has obtained a handful of stats regarding number ports in and out of T-Mobile USA handled by a national wholesaler. Specifically, we have data surrounding the launch of the first-gen iPhone and the iPhone 3G, and get this: of more than 1,000 ports in total, ports to AT&T represented under 40 percent of the firm's total outflow in the days surrounding the 3G's launch, versus nearly 70 percent the last time around. Furthermore, they took roughly the same number of inbound ports from AT&T during the same period, meaning that T-Mobile effectively lost no net ground due to the 3G's launch. Granted, the porting stats from a single wholesaler represent just a microcosm of the big picture, but even accounting for some loss of precision when you extrapolate that data, you're looking at a pretty significant downturn in interest from T-Mobile subscribers. We still think Apple's probably laughing all the way to the bank either way -- and iPhone 3Gs are sold out virtually everywhere right now -- but you've got to wonder if AT&T's not freaking out a little bit at the number of new subscribers it managed to entice, and whether its competitors are all breathing cautious sighs of relief at some surprisingly reasonably churn rates.

Method devised for pwning first-gen iPhones running 2.0 via Windows


Feeling a little left out after yesterday's Mac-based Pwnage Tool festivities, Windows users? Fret not, because the ever-vigilant, ever-studious hacking community has managed to come up with a series of steps to get you back on your feet again with a fully pwned first-gen handset. The whole shebang isn't necessarily for the most casual jailbreakers -- let's just say it isn't quite as straightforward as the Mac procedure yet -- but it'll allegedly get you going if you're starting with an iPhone running 1.1.4 (there are additional steps if you jumped the gun on 2.0, you impatient son of a gun, you -- think of it as penance). As always, exercise extreme caution, understand that this could cause your iPhone to spontaneously combust into a useless pile of metal, plastic, and ash, and let us know how it goes in comments.

[Thanks, Z-]

iPhone Dev Team unleashes Pwnage Tool 2.0


Sort of. Pwnage Tool 2.0 can't handle 3G iPhone SIM unlocks just yet, though jailbreaking should work just fine, and we're also faced with the teensy little problem of the Dev Team's server being totally destroyed by downloads already -- mirror please? -- but the friendly little jailbreak app has finally been unleashed upon the earth. We'd never suggest trying out software like this right out of the gate, but, um, let us know how it goes, yeah?

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Update: We're seeing mixed results so far in the comments, but no bricked phones to speak of. Always a good thing. Oh, and plenty of mirrors to be found in the comments, thanks guys!

Update 2: Looks like 2.0.1 is already out with a few fixes!

Motorola sues former employee turned Apple exec for ganking trade secrets


It's hard enough for Motorola's handset division to go about its business these days without losing talent, but losing executives to Apple's iPhone team? That's just a straight-up slap in the face, and Moto's not gonna take it lying down. The We Generation has filed suit against Michael Fenger, the dude running its handset business for the EMEA market for six years until March this year, when he quit to take up a posh job as Apple's veep of global iPhone sales. That isn't a problem in itself -- businessfolk switch teams all the time -- but it seems Mr. Fenger had an agreement in place not to work for a competitor inside of two years following his departure. Moto claims he "was privy to the pricing, margins, customer initiatives, allocation of resources, product development, multiyear product, business and talent planning and strategies being used by Motorola" (not to say that data's worth much more than the paper it's written on these days) and wants over a million bucks back plus a court order banning him from working for Cupertino for those promised two years retroactively to March 31; non-compete clauses generally aren't valid in California, but since this one was executed in Illinois and the case is filed in Chicago, they've got a shot here. Note to current execs still out there in Schaumburg: better start righting that ship you're on, because you ain't getting on a more buoyant one without a fight.

[Via CNET]

iPhone Dev Team says Pwnage Tool won't unlock iPhone 3G (for now)


iPhone unlocking is a little more cash-intensive now that Apple and AT&T are all contract-happy with the 3G, but it looks like would-be unlockers will have a little more time to save up those pennies -- the erstwhile hackers on the iPhone Dev Team say that while a forthcoming version of the sadly-named Pwnage tool will activate and jailbreak the iPhone 3G, unlocking is taking a little longer than expected, and they don't want to release the code until it's exactly right. The tool still unlocks first-gen iPhones running 2.0 and allows jailbreak apps to co-exist with the App Store, so if you're desperate to unlock right away, we'd say a first-gen unit is your best bet.

T-Mobile Germany says sipgate makes jailbreaking too attractive


Alright, can someone help us out with a little primer on German law here? California-based sipgate offers up a VoIP client for the iPhone that -- for the moment, anyway -- requires a jailbroken handset to run. It goes about its business on WiFi airwaves, so from the carrier's perspective, no harm, no foul, right? Not so much. T-Mobile Germany takes issue with the app, claiming that it's enticing its iPhone users to jailbreak -- a violation of its contract terms. Furthermore, the contract disallows VoIP of any kind, WiFI or otherwise, which pretty much makes sipgate public enemy number one in T-Mob's eyes. They've gone ahead and sent out a nasty little cease 'n desist, which sipgate says it plans to fight all the way through the court system if that's how T-Mobile wants to roll; meanwhile, it's still providing service and says that "for the time being [its] users are safe." Fight the good fight, guys.

[Via TUAW]

Autoblog takes iPhone 3G's navigational abilities for a spin


Yeah, so there's still lots of confusion on whether bona fide turn-by-turn GPS software will ever arrive on the iPhone 3G (though signs are pointing to "yes"), but considering that it's not there now, Autoblog took Apple's new darling for a spin in the Bay and churned out some impressions. If you're looking for the long and short of it, the iPhone 3G's navigational abilities aren't that impressive. The reviewer even went so far as to say that having a passenger manning the arrow buttons that showed your next move was "almost a necessity." Additionally, the GPS flaked out and lagged behind the current location quite frequently, which can definitely be a problem when attempting to navigate one-way streets in an unkind downtown. So, should you sell off your standalone navigator on the way to pick up your new iPhone 3G? Probably not -- at least not just yet.

Hands-on with DesbloqueioBr's iPhone 3G unlock


We just happened to be in Sao Paulo, Brazil, this week and when the news popped up that a group of Brazilians had unlocked the iPhone 3G, we just had to pop in to say hi. Like the Turbo SIM unlock for the original iPhone, this system uses a wafer-thin card that piggybacks on your SIM while in the phone. Of course, Turbo SIM needed some tools installed on the iPhone -- so Jailbreak was key -- this solution does not, just DesbloqueioBr's chip and your SIM. Paulo and Breno of DesbloqueioBr explained that the magic lies in the programming of the SIM adapter itself, by tricking the iPhone into believing a test SIM has been inserted, the iPhone allows service and then functionality is handed back to your SIM. We tested the unlock in our own FIDO locked handset with a local TIM SIM card, then in their AT&T set, and it worked perfectly in both. How much will this cost average Joe iPhone user? They were pretty tight lipped as to what the final pricing will be and how exactly they'll deliver the service, but we should hear more in the next few days. Check the vid of it all in action after the break.

Pope Benedict XVI texting out messages of encouragement


Don't act like you didn't know that Pope Benedict XVI was down with modern technology. As part of World Youth Day, the man himself will begin sending out texts of encouragement to pilgrims who have signed up through Telstra to receive them. A total of four gigantic "prayer walls" have been erected at the Sydney Opera House, the Domain, Darling Harbour and Randwick Racecourse in Australia, where folks will actually be able to send their own messages for all to presumably see. The first message sent out? "Young friend, God and his people expect much from u because u have within you the Fathers supreme gift: the Spirit of Jesus - BXVI." Hllujh, amn brtha.

[Thanks, zedster]

iSuppli sez iPhone 3G is running Apple $53 less than original


Tech firms seem to have this uncanny ability to significantly boost functionality while significantly reducing cost with each new generation of a product -- and you'll never believe this, but it looks like Apple is no exception. The teardown and bean-counting experts over at iSuppli are at it again with the iPhone 3G, finding that the whole kit and kaboodle tallies up to just $174.33 (give or take) for the 8GB model in material and manufacturing costs. That works out to about $53 less than iSuppli's estimate for the original 8GB model back in June of last year, an amount saved in part by moving to a single 10-layer circuit board (versus a pair of 6-layer boards). The firm figures Apple's shelling out about $50 in royalties for each iPhone 3G that rolls off the assembly line, leading to a grand total of $224.33 in costs. Offset that with a healthy AT&T subsidy, and all told, we're looking at something like a 55 percent margin to help Steve finance his next round of black turtlenecks.

[Via AppleInsider]

Apple says turn-by-turn GPS coming to iPhone, copy / paste not a high priority


There's been a lot of random misinformation about the iPhone 3G floating around out there, like David Pogue's baffling comment that the device's GPS antenna is "too small" to support turn-by-turn directions, and Apple's iPod and iPhone marketing head Greg Joswiak recently sat down with AppScout to clear up some of the confusion. Greg says that Apple has an internal priority list of features for the iPhone, and that the company went as far down the list with the 3G as it could -- and that copy / paste support simply didn't make the cut. Similarly, there are no technical issues preventing turn-by-turn directions, just other "complicated issues" (read: legal agreements) that need to be sorted out, and Josiwak expects developers to "amaze us." as things "evolve." Hopefully that means that nav app TomTom's got in the labs will evolve its way into the wild sometime soon. Finally, Joswiak said that he's not aware of any technical reasons an office suite isn't already in the App Store, but that the lack of a cross-application file structure could impede development. Yeah, and maybe the lack of copy / paste, you think?

Ad network offers promise of revenue for free App Store apps

Just because you're scooping up a free app or three on Apple's App Store doesn't mean that the developers behind them need to starve. Medialets, a nascent start-up specifically targeting iPhone devs, offers cookie-cutter code that can be inserted into apps to add an advertisement here and there -- mildly annoying, possibly, but if it means we get charged a big ol' goose egg when we download the goods, it might just be worth the tradeoff. Perhaps the most surprising thing about the enterprise is that Apple's apparently cool with it; the App Store distributes free apps without charging the developer a dime, after all, presumably under the assumption that the entire ordeal is not-for-profit, but that assumption gets turned on its head when Medialets comes into play and cuts Apple clean out of the revenue share. Ultimately, we wouldn't mind seeing two versions of each app offered: one at full price, and a second ad-supported version at a reduced price or free. How's that for thinking outside the box?

Samsung Instinct, LG Dare, iPhone 3G... fight!


Alright, you three are sworn enemies, so what are we waiting for? Let's get it on! Go ahead, seriously, exchange some blows. No better way to get the party started than with a little speed test; the Instinct's data services still seem to be jacked, but the Dare and iPhone 3G squared off with the LG model consistently besting Apple's by between 50-100kbps over Verizon's EV-DO network (see the gallery for the side-by-side). That's not to say the Dare is consistently the faster phone -- it has everything to do with the network in your area, the time of day, the circumstances, and which side of the bed you woke up on this morning -- but it's an interesting observation here nonetheless. We'll follow up with an Instinct speed test (and another round of testing on the Dare and iPhone) when we can.

iPhone 3G at one million sold and counting, App Store hits 10 million downloads


You hear of this new iPhone 3G thing? Doing pretty well, or so we hear. Apple says they sold one million of 'em this weekend worldwide, compared to the 74 days it took them to hit one million with the last generation. So far the little bugger has invaded 21 countries, with France next on its hit list on July 17. Oh, and that App Store isn't doing too bad for itself either, with 10 million downloads so far to iPhone 3Gs, updated iPhones and iPod touches. No breakdown yet on paid apps versus free apps, but Jared is free, and that's all that matters. However, the saddest fact in all of this is that bunches of suckers enthusiastic fans are queued up at the Fifth Avenue Apple Store this morning in New York (pictured), showing either a level of devotion to this little plastic bauble, or of complete disregard for their jobs, which is altogether frightening.

[Thanks, Laura]

Read - One million iPhone 3Gs sold
Read - 10 million App Store downloads




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