Only last month Rogers finally officially confirmed that the iPhone was Canada bound. Now electronista is reporting that sources inside the company are saying that the 3G iPhone will debut next month (presumably about the same time as the US launch) and will qualify for Rogers new reasonably priced $7 unlimited data plan. Rogers has long been notorious for high data costs, making the new plan particularly welcome for the data hungry iPhone.

Needless to say this is good news for our friends up north, and yet more fuel on the 3G iPhone fire (as if it needed any).

via  http://www.tuaw.com/2008/05/18/3g-iphone-in-canada-next-month-with-reasonable-data-costs/

Posted on May 26th, 2008 by admin
Filed under: iPhone News, 3G iPhone | No Comments »

So you’ve set a passcode for your iPhone, and you’re feeling smug and secure. You can leave the device unattended on your desk, or worse, have it stolen or lost without fear of prying eyes accessing your private data — right?

As discovered by Jonathan Zdziarski, who has established himself as something of an iPhone forensics expert, the iPhone’s passcode mechanism should leave you feeling neither smug nor secure, and represents little more than a mild deterrent for would-be viewers of your private data.

Zdziarski has outlined a three-step process for cracking the iPhone’s passcode, as follows:

1. Prepare a custom iPhone RAM disk. There are numerous How-To’s out there to do this. Your custom RAM disk will need to mount /dev/rdisk0s2 (say, /mnt) and simply delete the file /mnt/mobile/Library/Preferences/com.apple.springboard.plist. This is the config file that tells springboard “passcode: on”
2. Use the iPhone Utility Client to place the device into recovery mode and then boot the RAM disk using something like:
   • (iPHUC Recovery) #: filecopytophone Bypass_Passcode.bin
   • filecopytophone: 0
   • (iPHUC Recovery) #: cmd setenv\ boot-args\ rd=md0\ -x\ -s\ pmd0=0×9340000.0xA00000
   • (iPHUC Recovery) #: cmd saveenv
   • (iPHUC Recovery) #: cmd bootx
3. After your custom RAM disk blows away the springboard config, reboot the phone and the passcode will be circumvented, because SpringBoard’s default is “no passcode”As you can see, it’s a process that requires some diligence and familiarity with iPhone hacking tools, but one that can be accomplished in mere minutes by anyone who has physical access to an iPhone.

   Zdziarski writes:

   “What a shame, that Apple went to the trouble of storing the passcode in the keychain, and yet the switch to turn it on and off is sitting in a little property list. You can test this on your own iPhone without all the trouble by simply ssh’ing into it and deleting this file by hand, then reboot.”

via http://www.iphoneatlas.com/2008/05/22/iphone-passcode-can-be-easily-bypassed/

Posted on May 23rd, 2008 by admin
Filed under: iPhone Fun | No Comments »

I purchased an iPhone during the refurb sale that AT&T had last week. In two working days I got my 16 gig iPhone, times two. Two identical boxes, two identical iPhones and two identical charges on my debit card. Given the good deal, I decided to keep both . Imagine my surprise when my wife called me at work the next day to report that a third box had arrived from AT&T via DHL 2-day shipping, and that it was twice the size of either of the iPhone boxes. Given the previous day’s spoils, I couldn’t wait to get home.

Arriving at my house, I located the box and sat down with it on the couch. It was very, very light, but I’ve become accustomed to good things not weighing much. Pulling out my trusty Swiss Tech Utili-Key, I carefully sliced open my unexpected delivery. Inside was a packing slip with a single line item:

75011 MISC iPhone PPA BAG … $0.00

Yes, it was an unsolicited, rush delivery, plastic iPhone bag. This is definitely not a first for AT&T and the monetary waste involved in packing and shipping a completely unnecessary plastic bag is, I assume, passed back to the consumer. Next time you look at your AT&T bill, you can think about my MISC iPhone PPA BAG … which I’ll be cherishing forever. Or at least until the novelty wears off.

via http://www.tuaw.com/2008/05/22/atandt-your-plastic-bag-delivered/

Posted on May 23rd, 2008 by admin
Filed under: iPhone News, iPhone Accessories | No Comments »

Korea and Japan use strictly W-CDMA for cellular networks. Being a GSM device with no 3G, the iPhone lacks W-CDMA, and is therefore not Pacific Rim friendly. Of course this is all about to change soon, when Apple launches the long awaited, rumor surrounded, now holy grail of a device 3G iPhone. It is assumed to be launched at WWDC of course.

According to one rumor, the possibility of the iPhone making its way to these two countries is very real. It seems as if NTT DoCoMo and Korea Free Telecom will be the lucky carriers to get the new 3G iPhone, and apparently it will be an exclusive. It is not clear if there will be any sort of subsidies or if the revenue sharing agreement will come into play.

There is only one problem for Apple in these countries though. Korea and Japan have much more advanced handsets and networks, so the question remains as to whether or not the device will sell well in these countries. Though there will most likely be plenty of buyers, Apple might want to make the deal a little juicer, I don’t know maybe subsidies could be a good thing for them.

via http://apple20.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2008/05/20/report-iphone-headed-for-joint-launch-in-japan-and-korea/

Posted on May 23rd, 2008 by admin
Filed under: iPhone News | No Comments »

Installer.app has been updated with some, from what I hear, annoyances.

Installer.app received a search feature, and the slight hesitation after installing new programs that sends you back to your unlock screen, has been fixed.

It now quickly relaunches your Home Screen to seamlessly load the newly downloaded programs, which essentially makes Installer.app and its functions even more integrated into the iPhone.

Other noteworthy items in the update include the ability to refresh one source at a time and a search feature in the Uninstall category.

Now in v3.11, Installer.app is becoming a powerhouse of a program and perhaps the most integrated native app that jailbreaking has to offer.

Installer.app is automatically installed when you jailbreak your iPhone with iLiberty+ or ZiPhone.

Posted on May 22nd, 2008 by admin
Filed under: iPhone News, iphone applications | No Comments »

The iPhone is an excellent target for gaming. The device’s glorious multi touch display is very intuitive for gaming, and the device has a relatively beefy internal specification sheet. Gaming and the iPhone are no strangers, and that is putting it mildly. Until now though, there have been no real 3D games. Kingdom Lores is out now, and it the first of its kind.

The game is being developed by Marco Giorgini by using a custom OpenGL rendering engine. This provides excellent rendering of the graphics, and as seen above, the iPhone does a great job. The game can be played in portrait mode, as seen here. Or in landscape, which will provide a first person view of the game play. The object of the game is to explore territories and slay dragons.

The game is not available in Installer just yet. You can get the game though, and manually load it onto your device. It can be had here. The game seems somewhat complete, and hopefully will be made available very soon.

via http://www.iphonebuzz.com/kingdom-lores-brings-3d-gaming-to-the-iphone-202590.php

Posted on May 22nd, 2008 by admin
Filed under: iPhone Game | No Comments »

It appears people are recovering data off old iPhones. Whoops- looks like you can pull data out of memory using forensics tools, just like any other platform. While your Mac includes the ability to overwrite old data when formatting your hard drive to prevent recovery (very cool that this is included in a consumer operating system), there is no equivalent mechanism to clear off that “ancient” original iPhone when you trade up to the 3G version next month.

For those of you who aren’t just convincing your spousees to take your “old” iPhone off your hands to justify that new toy, Securosis presents a simple process to minimize the chances of recovery. It’s not perfect, but it’s easy and should offer enough protection for those of you forced to eBay your once-precious-but-now-obsolete device:

1. Restore the iPhone from within iTunes.
2. On the “Info” tab, un-check all options so you don’t synchronize calendars, email, bookmarks, and contacts.
3. On the Photos, Podcasts, and Video tabs, uncheck “Sync …”.
4. Create 3 big playlists at large as the storage capacity of your iPhone.
5. On the Music tab, select the first of your 3 playlists to sync. Make sure the storage bar at the bottom looks full after syncing.
6. Sync your iPhone, change to the next playlist, sync again, and repeat one last time.

This will hopefully overwrite any of the free space on your phone, helping prevent recovery of any of those love letters and bad jokes lingering from old emails. I won’t have a chance to test this anytime soon, and odds are high some fragments will survive depending on how the iPhone allocates at the file system level, but this should be more than sufficient to prevent casual recovery of sensitive stuff if you’d like to hock your “old” phone.

via  http://securosis.com/2008/05/20/formatting-an-iphone-to-wipe-data/

Posted on May 22nd, 2008 by admin
Filed under: iPhone Tips | No Comments »

A somewhat trite but valid observation regarding the iPhone is that the device is more akin to a handheld computer than a phone. It runs a full-fledged OS and requires updates that are exponentially larger than the over-the-air updates used by most other smartphones. The added complexity means that the iPhone, in some cases, needs to be treated more like a computer than a phone. Like desktop computers, the device can benefit from some routine maintenance.

The easiest and most effective maintenance procedure you can implement for the iPhone is a regularly executed reboot. To do this:

1. Go to the home screen
2. Press and hold the Sleep/Wake button (on top of the device) and the Home button. You will see the “slide to turn off” cue, but keep holding the buttons. Eventually the screen will go black, then the Apple logo will appear.
3. Release the buttons when you see the Apple logo.

The frequency with which you should reboot the iPhone varies depending on the troubleshooting issues you experience and the diversity of applications you use on the device. Some perform the procedure once a week, others once a day.

If you still experience troubleshooting issues after implementing a regular reboot schedule, you’ll need to explore specific. See our troubleshooting section for a wealth of problems and associated fixes.

via http://www.iphoneatlas.com/2008/05/20/iphone-maintenance-reboot-regularly/

Posted on May 21st, 2008 by admin
Filed under: iPhone Tips | No Comments »

According to one source claiming to have been tipped by sources close to the 3G iPhone, the device will in fact be announced on June 9th at WWDC. Then, immediately after, the device is expected to be unleashed to the waiting masses. The launch will be a worldwide launch, as opposed to the original launch, where it started in the U.S. and made its way to other countries later.

According to the article it will not take long, as the device will be available in Spain as early as June 18th. The launch schedule is very interesting, starting with a single Apple Store, and a single Telefonica store. Then within 24 hours the device will make country wide launch. According to the article, this is the same launch scheme that will be used all across Europe.

According to this articles “reliable sources” the device will not be sold at fixed price points in Europe. This means basically carriers are free to sell the device at whatever price they feel. This means that if we are lucky, then the new iPhone will indeed carry a subsidy. This is especially necessary in Europe, where the carriers are ultra competitive with one another.

via http://gizmodo.com/391960/iphone-3g-launch-date-confirmed

Posted on May 21st, 2008 by admin
Filed under: iPhone News, iPhone Release Date | No Comments »

I don’t know about any of you, but if I’m doing word association, Vista and perfection don’t often go together.  But … this new VistaPerfection 2.0 iPhone theme is awfully impressive.

VistaPerfection was created by Spec Works (MMi forum member ebl4287).  It’s a Summerboard compatible theme that gives your iPhone that unmistakable ‘I’m a PC’ feel - and has a very complete set of customization elements, including:

• Over 90 icons
• Dock
• WiFi icon
• Boot and restore images
• Sliders
• Edge icon
• Vista login/logoff (unlock/lock) sound scheme

You’ll need to go through a fair number of steps, using the Categories app from the BigBoss source (and be comfortable with connecting via SSH to you phone for some of the steps) - but there is a very good set of instructions for you to follow - and the results look well worth the effort.

VistaPerfection is not on Installer just yet - so head over HERE for the download link and instructions on how to get it all looking and working just so.

via http://justanotheriphoneblog.com/wordpress/2008/05/17/vista-perfection-on-the-iphone/

Posted on May 20th, 2008 by admin
Filed under: iPhone Tips, iPhone Themes | No Comments »