According to Apple’s release notes, iPhone OS 2.1 delivers “significantly better battery life for most users.” “Most” appears to be the operative word in that sentence, as a number of users are reporting seriously degraded battery life after the update. One iPhone Atlas reader, Jerry Flaby, writes:

“Since updating to 2.1 I have seen a dramatic decrease in battery life. I can make it about half a day with moderate use as opposed to a day and a half before the update. My usage meter continues to grow when I am not using the phone. I have tried soft reboot, hard reboot, restore from backup, and reseting all settings. None worked!! Some people have narrowed this down to a push issue with both MobileMe and Exchange. I personally have used push with exchange with no problems, until now. I have turned off push and will see if it helps. This is by far the worst problem I have had with this phone. It makes text lag and reception issues look like a joke in comparison. Also, I cannot get a fix with GPS while 3G enabled. Works fine with 3G disabled.”

Flaby’s sentiment is echoed across Apple’s Discussion boards.

Among the workarounds and fixes that have proven at least semi-successful with regard to boosting battery life under iPhone OS 2.1 so far:

Drain the battery completely Use your iPhone until the battery dies completely (indicated by a battery icon appearing on the screen when the sleep/wake button is pressed), then fully recharge the device. It appears that the full discharge may reset circuitry that prevents a full charge from occurring, despite iconic indication of a full charge.

Turn off location services It appears that the Maps application and some third-party applications that use GPS functionality fail to power down the necessary hardware components when they are no longer in use. Navigate to Settings > General > Location Services and turn these services off when you are not using Maps or another location-enabled app.

Turn off Push then restart The iPhone 3G’s Push functionality for Exchange and Mobile Me accounts can destroy battery life. Turn this option off in “Settings” then restart your iPhone by powering it off then on.

Restore the iPhone with original settings Launch iTunes and select the second option in the “Version” section on the Summary page for your iPhone. This restore process will erase your iPhone software and data, including all settings, which can be restored later via iTunes.

via http://www.iphoneatlas.com/2008/09/18/poor-battery-life-under-iphone-os-21-fixes/

Posted on September 19th, 2008 by admin
Filed under: iPhone Battery | No Comments »

e, they have seen only a threefold increase.

He didn’t go into details on why they think the increase wasn’t as much as they were expecting, but there is suspicion that the connection issues causing some iPhones to drop calls or revert suddenly to EDGE data were possibly attempts to discourage the use of their data network.

Still, they claim that the iPhone 3G’s data use on average is high compared to other phones, and that high concentrations of iPhone 3G’s in some areas have pushed the company to upgrade their cell towers and behind-the-scenes infrastructure.

He also denied that they oversold iPhone 3Gs for it’s network, saying instead that they have taken their own steps to prepare for the anticipated demand.

They also noted that they don’t plan to introduce the futuristic Long Term Evolution (aka 4G) format to their network until 2010, and plan to let other companies adopt it earlier.

Posted on September 19th, 2008 by admin
Filed under: 3G iPhone | No Comments »

Laughing Squid posted these yummy, adorable, and prize-winning iPhone cupcakes. The cupcakes, created by Nick and Danielle Bilton, swept the Cupcake Decorating Championship at Ignite NYC II.

I love the phone badge and the timer’s tiny details but can’t help but feel that the stocks cupcake somehow is missing a bit of white frosting. Also, the calendar date was wrong for the time of the championships, but I suspect that the judges wouldn’t notice that.

via http://www.tuaw.com/2008/09/18/icupcakes-take-the-cake/

Posted on September 19th, 2008 by admin
Filed under: iPhone Fun | No Comments »

We saw the sad news yesterday that the ‘official’ tethering app NetShare will not be making a return to the AppStore, but that does not mean that all tethering will be shut down. The latest app iPhone Modem not only promises a tethering option but a quick and easy option that should work in just 10 seconds.
So far it sounds great, but there are some catches. First off this is for jailbroken iPhones which means that will not be a good option for some, but if you are willing then it can be found in the Networking section of either Cydia or Installer. The second catch is that it currently only works with Mac OS 10.5, but they are “actively working on versions for Microsoft Windows, Mac OS 10.4.”

Finally, although personally I feel its fairly priced, this is not a free app, currently its listed as shareware and costs $9.99. Of course, should you decide to tether and end up getting into some trouble with your carrier (AT&T) you cannot say that we did not warn you first, so our best advice, use this with some caution.

via http://www.iphonefreak.com/2008/09/iphone-modem-app-offers-quick-easy-tethering-for-jailbroken-iphones.html

Posted on September 16th, 2008 by admin
Filed under: iphone applications | No Comments »

Apple have released iPhone firmware v2.1, announced by Steve Jobs earlier this week and the company’s promised cure for dropped calls, poor battery life and slow iTunes backups. According to the update details, it also includes improved email reliability for both POP and Exchange users, faster third-party application installs, improved SMS performance and speedier contacts searching.

There’s also a re-fettled 3G signal strength display, promising more accuracy, and the security option to wipe the iPhone’s data after ten incorrect passcode attempts. Genius playlist creation has also been added, Apple’s new “intelligent” system that can analyze your tracks and suggest similar music from both your own library and from the iTunes store.

You can download the new firmware by connecting your iPhone, loading iTunes and choosing “Check for update”. The new firmware will automatically download and install. We’re downloading it now, let us know how you get on with your own iPhone.

via http://www.iphonebuzz.com/iphone-firmware-21-released-promises-more-battery-fewer-bugs-124691.php

Posted on September 16th, 2008 by admin
Filed under: 3G iPhone | No Comments »

Posted on September 12th, 2008 by admin
Filed under: iPhone Videos | No Comments »

So how will he do it? The crafty hacker will use a custom firmware bundle to bypass the iPhone’s passcode lock and gain access to all the phone’s secrets. But the hackerific presentation isn’t meant for thieves and vagabonds. Rather, it’s intended for “law enforcement and anyone else who has a need to access the not-so-readily available data on an iPhone.”

This all shouldn’t come as a big surprise, considering this is the same guy that programmed the NES.app and was one of the many responsible for cracking the iPhone for the first time. And though news of the recent iPhone security flaw where you could bypass the passcode lock just by double-clicking the home button makes it all seem rather simple, we’re assuming this hack is a bit more sophisticated. It probably assumes that simple flaw doesn’t exist.

via http://www.iphonebuzz.com/hacker-to-break-iphones-security-via-live-webcast-094667.php

Posted on September 9th, 2008 by admin
Filed under: iphone applications, 3G iPhone | No Comments »

   I’m not sure that I quite agree with this in the wider scheme of things, but these examples are hard to argue with — apparently it’s easier and faster to just misspell words on your iPhone than to take the time to type them out in full. “We’re,” for example, is usually six hits on the iPhone’s keyboard — four for the letters, and one to shift to punctuation and another to punch in the apostrophe. But if you type “Weree,” just five hits, Apple’s little corrector will fix it for you, and you can keep on writing.

Normally, the little corrections made by the iPhone are more frustrating than anything else, but in this case, it could be a benefit — as long as you remember to misspell all the words with apostrophes while typing. Hopefully, any habits incurred while trying to save time on the iPhone won’t translate into anything else you happen to write — weree not responsible for any mistakes that might get made.

via http://www.tuaw.com/2008/09/08/misspelling-is-faster-on-the-iphone/

Posted on September 9th, 2008 by admin
Filed under: iPhone News, 3G iPhone | No Comments »

espite Android, their highly anticipated upcoming mobile computing platform, Google executives have been consistently praising the iPhone for its innovative qualities. Matthew Glotzbach recently added himself to the list of iPhone-lovers to come from the company. This time it was for it’s impact on cloud computing.

“I’m a huge Apple fan, I’m a huge iPhone fan. It’s really opened up computing in the mobile world,” Glotzbach said. He mentioned his ability to do things like access email and documents, and even flip through a presentation he was set to give days later.

There are currently 500,000 businesses that use Google Apps, which includes their cloud-based business applications, and 3,000 more sign up every day. Could-based information and applications offer speed, security, and stability, and most of all, portability. “Obviously, the browser today is the gateway to the cloud,” Glotzbach said.

The constant public admiration of the iPhone from Google seems particularly unusual given that Google is preparing Android, their own mobile computing technology, which many believed would be in direct competition with the iPhone and iPhone 3G.

via http://www.iphonealley.com/news/google-exec-praises-iphone-for-its-effect-on-cloud-computing

Posted on September 8th, 2008 by admin
Filed under: 3G iPhone | No Comments »

One developer emailed this video and rejection letter for their app called Pull My Finger. Especially concerning is that Apple did not reject it due to it being offensive, but instead rejected it due to “limited utility”:
“Hello Developer,

We’ve reviewed your application Pull My Finger. We have determined that this application is of limited utility to the broad iPhone and iPod touch user community, and will not be published to the App Store.

It may be very appropriate to share with friends and family, and we recommend you review the Ad Hoc method on the Distribution tab of the iPhone Developer Portal for details on distributing this application among a small group of people of your choosing.

Regards,

Victor Wang
Worldwide Developer Relations
Apple, Inc.”

I think this sets a very bad precedent. How useful is Koi Pond [App Store]? (which remains the #1 app in the App Store)

Here’s a developer video of Pull My Finger being demonstrated:

via http://www.macrumors.com/iphone/2008/09/04/apple-rejecting-applications-based-on-limited-utility/

Posted on September 8th, 2008 by admin
Filed under: iPhone Videos | No Comments »