We held off on buying aTV Flash for the 2G Apple TV because we didn’t want to deal with a tethered jailbreak; the idea of having to connect our Apple TV to a Mac whenever it needed a reboot or lost power, was too much of a hassle to bear. So we waited.

Fortunately, GreenPois0n RC6, released only days ago, finally offers an untethered jailbreak for the 2G Apple TV, so after hearing this, we promptly downloaded GreenPois0n and bought aTV Flash. Sadly, getting everything to play nicely together wasn’t as easy.

First off, our box-of-cables didn’t have a micro USB cable in it. Apparently, we owned every USB cable variant in existence, but not a micro USB. Best Buy was sold out, but a trip to Radio Shack paid off. Unfortunately, the cable was $25, but we didn’t want to wait.

Step One: update the Apple TV.

First, we upgraded our Apple TV to the latest firmware. We held off on doing this earlier because we weren’t sure if this would make a jailbreak more difficult in the future. Fortunately, GreenPois0n works with the latest Apple TV firmware.

Step Two: green-poisoning

We ran the GreenPois0n app, but there was a problem: every time we followed the prompts in the app, the jailbreak would fail, or GreenPois0n would crash. One time, the progress bar sat for half an hour without anything happening. So, we decided to switch things up a little.

Instead of following GreenPois0n’s prompts, we ran the app, clicked “yes” when it asked us if we wanted to jailbreak an Apple TV, and then held off on clicking the jailbreak button. Instead, we plugged our Apple TV’s micro USB cable in, then immediately the power cable, and then held down the menu and down buttons on the Apple TV remote. Once the lights on the Apple TV started to blink extremely fast (about seven seconds), we released the buttons on the remote. Then, we immediately pressed the menu and play/pause buttons until the light on the front of the Apple TV again began blinking very fast. This took another seven seconds or so, after which we released the buttons on the remote.

At this point, we pressed the jailbreak button in GreenPois0n. What we did here is put the Apple TV in DFU mode, which is what GreenPois0n needs to work.

After GreenPois0n prompted that it was finished, we waited 40 seconds and then disconnected the micro USB cable, and hooked the Apple TV back up to our television.

Then, we ran the GreenPois0n installer from the Apple TV itself. Quick and easy.

Step Three: fire-coring.

We ran the aTV Flash program on our Mac, and when it finished, our Apple TV had all the necessary files to install Last.FM, Plex, etc. Unfortunately, we had two problems: when we rebooted our Apple TV, there was no maintenance menu to install any aTV goodies, and we lost our wifi connection. It turns out, this is a problem with the GreenPois0n jailbreak, but it’s easy enough to fix.

Step Four: damage control.

We connected the Apple TV to our network via an ethernet cable. We then launched Terminal on our Mac and connected to our Apple TV (ssh root@apple-tv.local). The password is “alpine”.

Once in, we entered the following sequence of commands:

apt-get update
apt-get remove com.nito.nitotv
apt-get install com.nito.nitotv
killall AppleTV

When these commands finished, we exited SSH (exit).

Wifi was back at this point, but still no maintenance menu. Again, easy enough to fix; we entered NitoTV, and updated it. Then, we went to the Install Software menu, and on the very bottom, went to Update All. We then rebooted. Lo and behold, the maintenance menu was now present, with wifi working.

Step Five: profit.

From the maintenance menu, we installed Plex, which was the main reason we wanted aTV to begin with. We haven’t gotten so far as to install anything else yet, but the fact that we can now access all our video files from our Mac is fantastic. It’s also much easier than the idea of running Plex on our iPad or iPhone, and using AirPlay to stream the files to our Apple TV, if and when such a feature ever makes it into a future Plex client.

With this setup, we can now technically remove our Mac Mini from our entertainment center, because the Apple TV is now a fully capable media center in its own right. About the only thing missing is an OnLive client, but who knows, maybe we’ll get that, too.

Similar Posts:

• Apple TV, AirPlay, and Plex. – When we mentioned jailbreaking the Apple TV, we didn’t make clear that yes, a jailbreak for Apple TV…


• Overcoming Apple TV’s file-type limitations. – We really want to like the new Apple TV. For one, it’s cheap for a media center at only $100. Two, i…


• How to jailbreak and unlock a 2G iPhone (2.0). – The iPhone Dev Team, a group of hackers who have made it their mission to jailbreak and unlock iPhon…

A number of people have reported losing data over AT&T when upgrading older iPhones to iOS 4. The culprit isn’t clear, though many owners reported jailbreaking their iPhones in the past, though this doesn’t appear to be a universal factor. Regardless, the common solution for getting data back is to restore the iPhone from a previous state, sometimes using a different admin account on an OS X system in order to force iTunes into re-downloading the iOS 4 update.

We underwent the same loss of data after upgrading our 3GS, and though a restore worked after setting the iPhone up as a new phone, we weren’t happy with losing all our data. (Restoring from a previous backup didn’t work, even after restoring the firmware and setting the iPhone up as a new device.) Fortunately, we found a solution that worked, which doesn’t require one to restore the iPhone at all.

It seems that the loss of data may be tied to AT&T’s carrier file, which may have ben corrupted/changed on older iPhones (possibly after jailbreaking or installing jailbreak apps). To fix this, get on a wifi network, and from the iPhone, head over to HELP.BENM.AT and follow the links to obtain the carrier file for your respective service provider. Once the file has been installed, you’ll be back up and running with cellular data, without having spent the time to set up your iPhone as a brand new device.

Similar Posts:

• Still no iOS app data backup in iTunes? – We’ve now seen four generations of iPhones, have witnessed iterations of the iPod Touch, and seen th…


• Upgrading iPhone 3.0.1. to jailbroken 3.1. – Since we picked up an iPhone 3GS a couple months back, our jailbroken/unlocked 2G iPhone has been si…


• How to jailbreak and unlock a 2G iPhone (2.0). – The iPhone Dev Team, a group of hackers who have made it their mission to jailbreak and unlock iPhon…

It was only nine months ago when we wondered whether there was little reason left for jailbreaking an iPhone. Apple has continued to move OS X Mobile in a generally positive direction, and rumours of the 4.0 OS version supporting multitasking for certain applications is welcome news.

Per our last mendax.iphone app roundup, we only list six must-have apps requiring a jailbreak, two of which relate to multitasking. What’s left are apps that are situation dependent, with only SBSettings remaining as a “must-have”. This begs the question, “Is it worth jailbreaking after every iPhone OS upgrade just to toggle features on/off quicker, and maybe hide icons from the Springboard?” It’s a question we’re asking ourselves now that we’re counting on multiasking appearing sometime this summer. We hate to say it, but our gut reaction is “no.”

Similar Posts:

• Little reason left for jailbreaking. – When jailbreaking first began on the iPhone, allowing users to install third-party applications, the…


• Upgrade to iOS 4 and lose cellular data? – A number of people have reported losing data over AT&T when upgrading older iPhones to iOS 4. The cu…


• Upgrading iPhone 3.0.1. to jailbroken 3.1. – Since we picked up an iPhone 3GS a couple months back, our jailbroken/unlocked 2G iPhone has been si…

With word-on-the-street that the iTablet will emerge from the Pandora’s Box that is Apple’s campus later today, and with all signs pointing towards the iTablet leveraging the iPhone’s version of OS X (and with it, the AppStore), it makes sense to identify apps that no iPhone user should be without. That is to say, must-have apps for the iPhone could very well become must-have apps for the iTablet as well, so it’s high-time that we updated our ongoing iPhone compilation.

Perhaps the most important change to this update of mendax.iphone is clarifying its audience. Before, we included most apps that resided on our iPhone, with the exceptions being apps very specific to our personal needs. The change we’re making with this updated compilation is in removing niche apps, and focusing on daily use. The change is a practical one; our iPhone includes a hodge-podge of apps that simply aren’t useful for everyone. Our goal with this revision is to tailor our recommendations to the average iPhone user, whereby “average” we include not only non-nerds, but some overlap with more geeky computer users who can benefit from some of the more advanced features some of the compilation’s components offer. The name change also opens the possibility of us focusing in on niche app markets for future updates (i.e. creating a mendax.iphone section for photo apps, or games).

The (major) revision coincidentally lets us drop a “3.0″ title to the compilation, mirroring the general release number for the current iPhone OS. We may or may not stick with mirroring the major revision numbers for iPhone OS releases, but we’re fond of the coincidence at the moment. If we do stick with it, it conveniently gives us time to evaluate new apps for inclusion at fairly regular intervals.

One last note is our philosophy on the compilation in general. Our goal is not to list every great or even well done app for the daily user. We’re minimalists at heart, so rather than list three apps that do different things extremely well, we’d rather list one app that does the same thing only fairly well. In other words, we’d prefer to have less apps on the springboard, even if it means that we don’t get the absolute best experience in one particular area. There may be exceptions to this rule from time to time, but regardless, we won’t list bad apps just for the sake of minimalism; we lean towards minimalism, but still seek to offer an above-average user experience.

So let’s take a look at what’s changed.

AppStore apps we decided to get rid of.

We removed some apps in the 3.0 mendax.iphone revision, because their functionality now exists in other apps, else we no longer think they’re that great in the first place. For example, we removed the Flashlight app, as we found launching it cumbersome when wanting, say, a quick red light, as the app wasn’t used enough to reside on our home screen, and even then, the bright flash of the home screen itself was adequate for most uses, and distractive if we then followed up with our intended red light for low-light reading use. In the rare cases where the home screen itself wasn’t bright enough, launching any app with a predominantly white screen/background worked just as well, and didn’t take up a valuable springboard icon slot.

DVR Remote was taken off our iPhone as well, since there’s a basic DVR remote built into i.TV now. i.TV isn’t as good as the many applications it’s replaced, but the fact that it does so much by itself is impressive. With Backgrounder enabled for i.TV when we’re home, it’s easy to jump over to the remote when we need it, instead of digging through sub-menus every time we launch i.TV just to get to the remote. Ideally, i.TV would make the remote feature easier to get to, but it’s fine for the limited use it gets at home.

We pulled HearPlanet from our lineup because we rarely used it. Maybe the paid-for versions are better, and we still recommend the free version if you’re in avid tourist-mode, but for daily applications, it’s not a must-have app. We pulled Urbanspoon also, because even though it’s a nice novelty, especially when trolling the same-old neighborhoods, we’re just as happy with Yelp, which does more even though it’s not necessarily the most elegant random-food-spot-finder. Both of these apps would be good nominations for a future iPhone tourist app section, however.

The MySpace app got the boot because, quite frankly, almost everyone worthwhile has moved onto Facebook, and keeping up with two social networks seemed pointless, especially when one of them is quite clearly dying. We also found the Weather Channel app nice, but ultimately rarely launched it; even though the built-in weather app was spartan in comparison, we rarely found the need for an in-depth weather forecast.

The AppStore apps we replaced.

With this 3.0 release, we replaced 1Password with 1Password Pro, though at the very least, we still recommend its non-Pro sibling. The application, primarily because of its ability to sync with the desktop component, is a fantastic tool not only for holding various online logins, but to securely keep track of all the various OS X licenses one has purchased, as well as the miscellaneous wallet items regularly filling up one’s, well, wallet.

We’ve temporarily replaced Air Sharing for Air Sharing Pro. The latter can handle larger PDF files, and has built-in FTP capabilities in case you need it.

The 2.0 version of our compilation included iHandy Level, but we’ve since upgraded that to the full iHandy Carpenter suite. In truth, we mostly only use the level and ruler components, but the other tools are nice to have in the rare situations we need them.

SnapTell, while quite awesome, is an app we replaced with Red Laser. It’s just way easier to scan barcodes than book covers, and Red Laser lets us look up items that aren’t books and movies, which has made it a much better shopping companion than SnapTell.

While we were fans of TwitterFon (now EchoFon) in the past, we spent some time evaluating paid Twitter clients, as ads in some of the free apps were becoming distracting. We used Twittelator Pro for some time, but eventually landed on Tweetie (and later Tweetie 2), and haven’t looked back since. We still recommend Twittelator Pro if one wants every feature known to man, but for slightly above-average features and a much nicer user experience, Tweetie 2 simply beats other iPhone Twitter clients within an inch of their digital lives.

The AppStore apps we added.

While we used to look up unit conversions using Google, there were times that we couldn’t, on account of not having any cellular access in certain locations, like in the back of our local grocery store. We looked into the various unit conversion apps, and Convertbot stood out. It sports a very nice UI, and has a pretty complete set of units to convert to and from.

We used Air Sharing for some time to view PDF files, but then the app crashed on some of our larger files. We found that because Air Sharing (and its Pro version) render the full PDF file at one time, it’s more limited by file sizes. So, we picked up Good Reader, which is designed to display much larger PDF files, because it only renders one page at a time. It also has more reader-friendly options than Air Sharing, so compliments Air Sharing nicely.

While Red Laser meets our price-comparison expectations well, we picked up Good Guide to scan barcodes and get product information. For example, one can scan an item to find out how ethical the respective company is, or how healthy the product is. Great for comparing items in one’s local grocery store without having to compare the often misleading nutrition information.

As Starbucks drinkers, we picked up Mobile Card, which lets us reload our Starbucks card of choice, and keep tabs on what the current balance is. When heading west, we can even pay for our drinks at some stores via the iPhone alone.

Finally, we have myWireless, which is AT&T’s auditing tool for looking at how many minutes were used on your iPhone plan. Also lets you check data use, et al. Also, you can pay your monthly bill, so for everyone not jailbroken and using T-Mobile, this app is quite handy.

Cydia apps we decided to get rid of.

We decided to dump categories after we started using the left-of-homescreen text-entry method of launching apps buried multiple right-finger-slides over. Categories is definitely useful in concept, but it still leaves something to be desired, and maybe that’s just a matter of better integration with the OS, which is likely not possible. It’s still a great app launcher but it’s simply caused us too many problems in the past to have to set up again and again.

While Winterboard is still the best customization app for springboard, we found actual customization arduous, since no theme has icons for every app out there, and such app icons tend to jibe with a theme’s atmosphere. Overall, still a great app, just not one we consider “must-have” anymore.

Cydia apps we added.

Not liking the fact that we couldn’t download files larger than 10MB via 3G/EDGE, we picked up 3G Unrestrictor, which tricks apps into thinking they’re on wifi. Great for downloading apps and podcasts while on the road.

Unsatisfied that Apple still hasn’t approved a Google Voice app, we grabbed GV Mobile to take care of out virtual-phone-number needs.

Finally, to compliment Backgrounder, we grabbed ProSwitcher, which makes switching between apps easy and intuitive, without us having to jump back and forth to the springboard.

Similar Posts:

• mendax.iphone 2.0. – As we hadn’t updated our recommended iPhone apps compilation in some time, we thought that a quick r…


• mendax.iphone – v3.0 Apple’s iPhone has changed the way many of us go about our daily lives, not because the iPhone …


• mendax.mac v1.16. – We finally got around to updating our recommended list of OS X applications, bringing the virtual “d…

Since we picked up an iPhone 3GS a couple months back, our jailbroken/unlocked 2G iPhone has been sitting on a shelf collecting dust, as though a forgotten relic in the battle against Big Apple. Now forced to use AT&T, which drops calls at an alarming rate compared to our experience with the 2G iPhone on T-Mobile, we’re still happy with our service overall, if only because the iPhone user experience, occasional dropped call or not, is still better than using any other cellular phone in the United States. Yes, that’s how great the iPhone 3GS is, and why Apple’s market dominance in this area continues to swell.

That said, the iPhone isn’t perfect, and one of the imperfect things about it is the fact that Big Apple is doing its damndest to keep the iPhone user experience consistent, and in doing so, limiting the types of applications that developers can release in the AppStore. Now, admittedly, the need to jailbreak an iPhone in order to run third-party “homebrew” applications is no longer what it was when we first decided to hack our 2G iPhone two years ago. Quite simply, the AppStore has evolved into a pretty nice store, with a great selection of apps that do most everything we need to. And where it doesn’t offer a particular app that we’d like it to, in most every case, that kind of app isn’t available in Cydia either. That is, except for three that we consider must-haves, two of which we mentioned in our mendax.iphone article. Specifically, we’re talking about Backgrounder (which lets us run any application in the background), SBSettings (a quick way to toggle settings on/off), and the more recent GV Mobile (the infamous Google Voice client).

While our experience using GV Mobile hasn’t been flawless (the app crashes consistently when changing forwarding numbers), an update is on its way. With no word on whether Apple will ultimately approve or deny the official Google Voice app, GV Mobile is our only hope for using Google Voice on our iPhone today. Having access to SBSettings again is a fresh walk down memory lane, and significantly reduces the need for us to jump into Settings to enter airplane mode, as we can now easily turn off select services when we need to save some battery life. Plus, we can now disable everything except wireless, which is nice if we want to use, say, Virgin America’s in-flight wireless (even though, realistically, we’ll almost always have our MacBook Pro with us for such trips). But Backgrounder, assuming it works as well as it did on our 2G iPhone, is the cornerstone of the must-have jailbreak scene. Finally, we can keep Pandora running while switching to Google Maps (or a GPS application), or keep active any other audio programs while fiddling with whatever other apps we need to.

But enough about why we decided to jailbreak again. Let’s get back to how. While the process for jailbreaking is amazingly easy these days for older iPhones, the 3GS has been a different story. Until very recently, jailbreaking tools developed by the iPhone Dev-Team didn’t work on the 3GS. Even now that they do, how to upgrade a non-jailbroken 3.0.x iPhone 3GS to 3.1 and put a jailbreak in place isn’t a solution readily advertised. Even the guides at iClarified aren’t entirely accurate. After spending too many hours this past weekend figuring it all out, it’s time to share our procedure.

1. Obviously, back up your iPhone and sync it with iTunes before you begin.
2. If you haven’t already, download the 3.1 iPhone update via iTunes, but don’t install it.
3. If you no longer have it, download the 3.0.0 iPhone update. The iClarified guide says you can alternately use the 3.0.1 update, but it did not work for us.
4. Jump into a terminal window, and type the following commands:

   cd /etc/
   sudo pico hosts

   You’ll have to input your admin password at this point, after which you’ll be in a simple text editor window. Use the arrow keys to get down to the bottom of the document, and add the following line at the end:

   74.208.105.171 gs.apple.com

   Hit Ctrl+X to exit, press Y to save, and hit return to overwrite the old hosts file. What this step does is redirect iTunes to a jailbreak-friendly server for firmware updates, instead of relying on Apple’s servers to control which firmware updates you’re allowed to receive and use on the iPhone.
5. Download redsn0w v0.8 and run it. You’ll be prompted for the 3.0 firmware file. Follow the prompts, and at the end of the redsn0w process, you’ll have a jailbroken 3.0.0 iPhone 3GS.
6. Now, download PwnageTool 3.1.3. Run it, and click on the expert mode icon. Select the 3GS icon, and proceed with the program. Make sure the program uses the 3.1 firmware update. Refer to Step Six of this second iClarified guide. If you are an AT&T subscriber, ensure that “Activate the phone.” remains unchecked. If you check this box, you will be unable to get new carrier settings from iTunes. Also, it’s not likely that you need to mess with the partition size, so don’t worry about it.
7. You can follow the rest of the iClarified guide, but don’t worry about putting your iPhone in restore mode. Instead, once PwnageTool is done and has output a custom 3.1 firmware package, jump into iTunes, hold down the option key, and click on the Restore button from the iPhone screen. You will be prompted for a firmware update: choose the custom firmware file, and let iTunes do the rest. When your iPhone finally reboots, it will be jailbroken, and Cydia/Icy will be installed.
8. You can now sync the phone from your last backup to restore all your old apps and such. You’ll also be prompted for the 5.5 AT&T carrier file, which you’ll need to install to enable MMS.

At this point, you’ll have a fully-jailbroken iPhone 3GS running at the latest firmware revision. Jump into Cydia and install jailbroken apps to your hearts content!

Similar Posts:

• Upgrading a jailbroken iPhone from 2.0 to 2.0.1. – It was only a couple weeks ago that we detailed our process for upgrading a 2G iPhone to firmware 2….


• How to jailbreak and unlock a 2G iPhone (2.0). – The iPhone Dev Team, a group of hackers who have made it their mission to jailbreak and unlock iPhon…


• Upgrade to iOS 4 and lose cellular data? – A number of people have reported losing data over AT&T when upgrading older iPhones to iOS 4. The cu…

When jailbreaking first began on the iPhone, allowing users to install third-party applications, there were definitive advantages for going through with the somewhat tedious procedure, which is why some sources claim that at least ten percent of iPhone owners had done the deed. We did it, unlocked our iPhone, and have been happy using our 2G iPhone on T-Mobile’s network since the first unlocking apps were available in 2007. To this day, we still use applications only available from Cydia to compliment what we can obtain through the AppStore, because many apps available from Cydia have features restricted by Apple (tethering apps, background apps, etc).

Slowly, however, the need to jailbreak has dwindled, despite the fact that the process for doing so has gotten easier and easier. The AppStore’s selection of applications, compounded with Apple’s own improvements in the iPhone’s OS, have been effective in combating the jeailbreaking scene; many reasons to jailbreak have been nullified, such as the official inclusion of copy/paste, turn-by-turn directions in upcoming GPS applications, (eventual) AT&T support for tethering and MMS, and the sheer size of apps available. In other words, there are only a handful of reasons left to jailbreak and run unsigned Apple code, and every one of these reasons goes back to restrictions imposed upon developers by Apple. Interestingly, the fact that Apple didn’t crush the jailbreaking scene by somehow banning jailbroken or unlocked phones from accessing the AppStore/iTunes, and instead paving ahead with software improvements, was a much more effective solution to their perceived “problem”.

Our recent revisions of our must-have app list for the iPhone should be some indication of jailbreaking usefulness. All of the apps we recommend from Cydia clearly do things that Apple, or AT&T, would not be pleased with, though definitely make power-users happy. There’s the ability to selectively give applications the opportunity to run as a background process, a way to store app icons in folders so as to keep icon sprawl on the Springboard to a minimum, the requisite tethering app, a quick and efficient way to toggle phone features on/off, and finally an app to customize the look of one’s device by skinning the UI. Arguably, all of these things should be allowable in the AppStore, though clearly they’re not because they can alter the “feel” of the iPhone experience in a way that may be negative if used improperly. (For example, background apps can make the iPhone sluggish, poor UI skins may be ugly, etc.) In other words, Apple would rather guarantee a common experience, rather than give people a potentially bad user experience, so as to make more sales.

With less people needing to jailbreak, there’s obviously less need for multiple distribution centers for unsigned apps (if there ever was one). So it’s no surprise that Installer.app is now dead, with Cydia remaining king of unofficial app repositories. Maybe Installer.app and Cydia haven’t exactly become resources for the truly hardcore, but in many ways, Cydia remains the only source for software that Apple will likely never allow. That’s despite the fluff still available on Cydia, but sifting through it, there’s enough hardcore apps left that we’re still glad jailbreaking is around, and why we look forward to a jailbreaking method for the iPhone 3G S soon.

In the meantime, we expect Apple to continue adding features to the iPhone OS, and some day in the future, perhaps we’ll finally see better icon management on the Springboard, interface customizations, and a quicker method for toggling features on/off without having to dig through Settings. And when that comes to pass (iPhone OS 4.0?), the need to jailbreak will be even slimmer. It may not kill the jailbreaking scene entirely (heck, retro-gamers still need their emulators), but with less reasons to jailbreak, less developers will be interested in making jailbreaking a possibility, and that means that further jailbreaking improvements will move along much slower.

In the end, the lesson to developers is clear: it’s not about keeping a device from being hacked, its about lessening the reasons to hack a device in the first place.

Similar Posts:

• Upgrading iPhone 3.0.1. to jailbroken 3.1. – Since we picked up an iPhone 3GS a couple months back, our jailbroken/unlocked 2G iPhone has been si…


• Why Apple should embrace potty humour. – John Gruber reported earlier today that Apple denied listing an application on the iTunes AppStore t…


• Bring AppStore-banned apps to Cydia/Installer.app! – Per Nullriver’s own statement, Apple’s final judgement on NetShare is simple: perma-banned from the …

Shortly after the iPhone 3G S was announced on Monday, the opinions of the masses leaked onto the blogosphere, and never were they more fierce than when it was revealed that most iPhone 3G owners would not be subject to the subsidized 3G S price should they want to upgrade. But do they even want to upgrade? Some, like Steve Gillmore, see the 3G S as appropriately innovative.

Apple’s rigorous march forward and its deep understanding of what the market will want next is not only keeping them ahead of the competition but building the markets they will own tomorrow.

We happen to disagree. Apple hasn’t identified what the market will want next, they’ve seen what the market already offered, then delivered it better than the competition. Much like Blizzard’s foray into MMOGs, Apple succeeded with the iPhone because of polish, not pure innovation. That’s why we were underwhelmed with the iPhone at launch. To reiterate, the only “killer features” the iPhone offered at launch was a branded iPod app and a web browser which properly rendered web sites. Even with the evolution of the iPhone’s firmware, upon the release of the iPhone 3G and “2.0″, Apple wasn’t really offering a revolutionary product, but again simply polished the features that other companies previously failed to deliver.

What’s amusing is that this round of iPhone revisions is little different from the evolution we saw last year, so it’s no wonder that folks like Chad Garrett won’t be upgrading from the iPhone 3G.

Beyond aesthetics, the iPhone simply does not do much beyond it’s little brother the iPhone 3G (after the 3.0 software update). What are we getting other then [sic] a little extra speed?

What Garrett seems to overlook is the fact that this minor speed boost is exactly what the 3G offered over the original iPhone. After all, original iPhone owners still got the 2.0 firmware upgrade, so all 3G buyers were getting was GPS and a “a little extra speed”. The GPS, in fact, was arguably negligible: no turn-by-turn directions, and somewhat redundant given the accuracy of cell-tower triangulation in densely-populated areas. Now, we’re getting enhanced GPS features (via the digital compass), voice commands, and a better camera.

Any of this sound similar? Yeah, all these features already exist on other phones. Apple is simply polishing them up once again and packaging them up in the iPhone format.

So why are we getting the 3G S?

Quite simply, because it’s time. We held out against the 3G because we didn’t find it to be a good upgrade, particularly when we saved money by keeping the original iPhone unlocked and on T-Mobile’s network. The initial draw of the GPS was because of the possibility of turn-by-turn directions, and now that this will be possible, we can finally replace our aging Garmin 60CS with a newer iPhone. With the option to get either either the iPhone 3G or iPhone 3G S (both of which require a 2-year contract for the subsidized price), we’re opting for the unit with more features, and the 3G S’ integrated digital compass duplicates the functionality of our Garmin unit, and will work great as a Geocaching device (particularly with the available geocaching app available in the AppStore).

The camera upgrades arguably match the specs of our digital camera (Pentax Optio S), which means that we can once again replace an aging device, thereby reducing our electronics clutter. Finally, better battery life and performance are nice additions, and for a $100 extra over the “new” $99 iPhone 3G, the 3G S makes perfect sense for us. That said, for current 3G owners, the upgrade to the 3G S may not be the smartest use of $200.

What we would have liked to see.

Why no video recording as a basic option under firmware 3.0? Jailbroken application CyCorder already runs on the original iPhone and the iPhone 3G, and offers up to 15 frames per second (FpS). While the 3G S offers 30 FpS, there’s no reason that previous iPhone revisions couldn’t offer video recording, albeit at lower frame rates. Why not give that option to existing iPhone owners? And for the 3G S, no HD video? Apple could have seriously attacked the mini HD camera market with this kind of feature, but instead we have a rather small 640×480 resolution. (Remember when that was normal?)

Why no better still camera? Three megapixels is nice, but with Sony Ericsson phones soon to offer 12 megapixels, the iPhone’s camera functionality is pathetic. There’s also no zoom (optical or otherwise), and no flash. Not even a micro-photography mode, despite the auto-focus. Who would deny that a flash disguised as the Apple logo would be pure awesome?

Why no bigger screen? The iPhone should be able to properly display video at the 16:9 aspect ratio. Making the screen slightly bigger would have no effect on existing iPhone applications, since applications could remain restricted to the existing size.

Conclusion.

In the end, we expect to see even more refinement in the iPhone platform next year, to include a better camera. But in the meantime, as owners of the original iPhone, the 3G S fits the bill as a reasonable upgrade. If you’re already a 3G owner, however, you’re much better off jailbreaking the phone and loading on the unsigned apps rather than picking up the 3G S. And that’s one thing we’ll definitely miss: Cydia and its contents. Here’s hoping that the iPhone Dev Team will come up with a solution.

Similar Posts:

• iPhones are not being bricked. – It wasn’t that long ago that real “tech words” never entered Average Joe’s vernacular. These days, t…


• iPhone 3G sports a poor GPS. – It’s iPhone 3G release day, and the havoc out there makes it pretty clear that the activation proces…


• The Sidekick: too little, too late? – We loved our Sidekick when we got it, but there were definite shortcomings that made the iPhone the…

We’re jailbreakers, so news that Apple is pulling emoji-enabling applications from the iPhone AppStore doesn’t really affect us (emoji can be enabled by a download available on Cydia). That said, it wasn’t until very recently that we enabled emoji on our first-generation iPhone, and truth be told, we’re sort of indifferent on the matter.

At the very least, emoji is a fun novelty, allowing us to add cute graphics to our SMS and Twitter messages. Still, not something we can see ourselves using all the time. So while we’re of the take-it-or-leave-it variety when it comes to emoji, we can understand how some people would like the option of using emoji, so why limit it? Is it really that big of a deal for Apple to enable emoji by default, instead of sequestering it for Japanese iPhone users only? Seems sort of a weird stance for Apple to take, with no real reasoning behind it. Anyone have any enlightenment on the matter?

Similar Posts:

• Why Apple should embrace potty humour. – John Gruber reported earlier today that Apple denied listing an application on the iTunes AppStore t…


• Why Installer.app may not be dead. Yet. – The iPhone 3G has been out for one week now, and with it came the App Store, which allows iPhone use…


• Apple netbook not as ludicrous as some think. – At Apple Gazette, Michael made a post about why Apple wouldn’t release a netbook, pointing out how …

v3.0

Apple’s iPhone has changed the way many of us go about our daily lives, not because the iPhone is the most revolutionary handheld device ever conceived, but because Apple’s polish made the iPhone’s features accessible to a large audience (and the subsidized price hasn’t hurt). Even a stock iPhone has many useful features, but the iPhone’s true power is in its third-party applications, be they tied to the internet or not. Our take on the most useful, arguably must-have, applications follows.

AppStore apps.

1Password Pro – We picked up the OS X 1Password application as part of the MacHeist bundle back in 2007, and we didn’t think much of it until later. It turns out that not only does 1Password make Apple’s keychain better (memorizing all login information for our favorite websites), but it also stores encrypted notes, wallet items (e.g. credit card info, frequent flier numbers, etc), and software serial numbers. Since it synchronizes with the iPhone application of the same name, 1Password has become our number one application for storing secure information, and has replaced the stock Notes application that lacks any synchronization at all. The Pro version has a few more features than the basic version, and it’s been on sale a number of times. [$7.99]

Air Sharing Pro – Rather than carry around a USB thumb drive, this app turns your iPhone into a wireless hard drive. You can drag documents of various types to it, and use the app to view them (.doc, .pdf, etc). The pro version sports additional features like FTP file transfers, but doesn’t currently sport advanced features like changing file permissions. It’s a solid all-around file transfer/viewing tool. [$9.99]

Amazon – This is basically an interface for amazon.com, with the ability to view wish lists and the complete Amazon catalogue. The ability to purchase Kindle books was removed, however, which makes the app a bit less useful. [Free]

AppSniper- Find out which AppStore apps are new and/or on sale. Tag applications you want and be alerted when the price drops. For avid app buyers, this app pays for itself. [$0.99]

Bento – Database application that syncs with the desktop version. Easily set up templates to track tasks, inventory, and many other projects. Fantastic by itself, and even better alongside the desktop version. [$4.99]

ByLine – Still the best RSS reader that synchronizes with Google Reader, and even incorporates Reader’s Notes function. A key feature is the ability to read articles offline, which many RSS readers don’t do. [$3.99]

Convertbot – Fantastic unit conversion app. [$1.99]

craigsphone – Oddly, there’s no phenomenal craigslist app in the AppStore, but craigsphone handles most craigslist browsing adequately. Even lets you post items from the iPhone, which is really nice. [Free]

eBay – For eBay junkies, this app makes checking on items a breeze, for both buyers and sellers. The interface is simple to follow, and replaces the web site for most functionality. If this baby had a sniping feature and a way to post items for sale, it’d be a godsend, but it’s still pretty nice as is. [Free]

Facebook – A compact Facebook client that makes logging in via MobileSafari a thing of the past. Still missing some features from the web version, but the most commonly needed features are obviously there. Now sports push notifications, too. [Free]

FitnessBuilder – Great workout app, with many exercises for different equipment and location limitations. The price tag is a bit steeper than most, but considering how many exercises are included, its a solid investment, serving use at home and at the gym. [$9.99]

GeoCaching – The official app for the Geocaching hobby. [$9.99]

GoodGuide – Scan barcodes on most household items to receive information on the respective product, such as how ethical and healthy they are. [Free]

Good Reader – Utility to read (very) large PDF files. [$0.99]

Google – When this app was little more than an interface to Google’s web search, it got little use from us. Since it now incorporates searching by voice, it’s become much more useful for the road warrior, however. No more dangerously inputting text from behind the wheel – just say what you want to look up and quickly click on the results. [Free]

i.TV – Retrieves information on the latest theater movies, as well as upcoming TV shows based on your local programming. Also integrates NetFlix and TiVo, even supporting a virtual remote for the latter. [Free]

iBlogger – Mobile blogging application that works with a number of blogging platforms. [$9.99]

iHandy Carpenter – Various tools for carpentry work and general household projects. Commonly used tools in this package include a level and a ruler. [$1.99]

Mint – A client for the Mint web site – Mint helps manage one’s budget and financial accounts, giving great reporting. [Free]

Mobile Card – Keep track of, and adjust, the balance on one’s Starbucks card(s). I areas that support it, even pay for Starbucks drinks via the iPhone. [Free]

myWireless – Check your balance/minutes on AT&T, and pay monthly balances. [Free]

OpenTable – Make dinner reservations online at a wide variety of venues in many cities. [Free]

Pandora – Customized radio stations based on what artists/songs one likes. What’s not to love? [Free]

PayPal – Handle PayPal transactions quickly and easily. [Free]

Red Laser – Offers the ability to scan product barcodes, which then presents a list of online prices for comparison purposes. [$1.99]

Remote – Allows users to control iTunes from the iPhone. Great for parties, or whenever running to the computer is a hassle. [Free]

Shazam – Records a brief clip of a song via the microphone, and then returns the name of the song, the artist, and the respective album. [Free]

Stanza – An eBook reader that allows users to download titles from the iPhone or from the desktop client. Users can import documents into the application, or purchase new publications if the massive catalogue of public domain titles aren’t enough. [Free]

Taxi Magic – Call a cab to one’s location quickly and easily, supporting online payments. [Free]

Things – One would think that to-do list applications would be aplenty in the app store, and while that’s true, most are simply horrible, and don’t sync with Apple’s iCal to-do items. Things not only syncs with their desktop client, but allows one to properly organize to-do items in a Getting Things Done (GTD) type of way. Perhaps priced steeply compared to other to-do managers, it’s also significantly better. [$9.99]

Tweetie 2 – Simply the best Twitter client for the iPhone. [$2.99]

Yelp – Another web site front-end, the Yelp app lets one search for places nearby, and is an easy way to check reviews on local venues. [Free]

Wi-Fi Finder – Locates nearby wireless hotspots (free and for-pay), and even gives directions to them if needed. [Free]

WiFiFoFum – Locates wireless hotspots currently in range. [$2.99]

Wikipanion – Wikipedia interface for better article viewing on the iPhone. [Free]

Cydia apps.

3G Unrestrictor – Download larger files via 3G by tricking apps that you’re on wifi. [$2.00]

Backgrounder – With Backgrounder installed, any iPhone app can run in the background. Using Backgrounder is situation-dependent, but for when you don’t want to shut down a process just to do something else, Background is great (like for keeping Pandora playing music while doing something else). [Free]

GV Mobile – A native Google Voice app. [$1.99]

PdaNet – Allows one to tether their laptop to their iPhone’s data plan. Since AT&T still doesn’t offer tethering (even though iPhone OS 3.0 does), PdaNet is still worthwhile for those using the iPhone 3G. [Free]

ProSwitcher – An easy way to jump between background-running apps. [Free]

SBSettings – A replacement for the infamous BossPrefs, SBSettings allows one to quickly access a menu to toggle on/off various features (wifi, bluetooth, etc). In addition, SBSettings lets one hide icons for unused apps, add applications to a special launch-bar, and best of all, stays resident so it can be accessed from almost anywhere, just by swiping the status bar. [Free]

Have an iPhone application you think should be included on this list? Make the suggestion in the comments below!

Similar Posts:

• mendax.iphone v3.0. – With word-on-the-street that the iTablet will emerge from the Pandora’s Box that is Apple’s campus l…


• iPhone firmware 1.1.3 useless, just like 1.1.2. – According to PhoneDifferent, version 1.1.3 of the iPhone firmware is soon to be released, and as wit…


• mendax.iphone 2.0. – As we hadn’t updated our recommended iPhone apps compilation in some time, we thought that a quick r…

After Wired hosted a video tutorial on how to install OS X on an MSI Wind notebook, they received a cease-and-desist letter from Apple. The step-by-step instructions were apparently too explicit for Apple, who felt threatened enough to take legal action. Ultimately, Wired took the video down, though would-be hackers can still find the video hosted at Gizmodo.

We’re not sure what legal ground Apple has to demand that a tutorial video be taken offline, since the act of hacking a netbook isn’t illegal. While the receipt of a pirated, modified copy of OS X is questionable in the legal arena, it’s doubtful that Apple can enforce the distribution of a video tutorial. They’re not, after all, going after Pirate Bay here, which is a more genuine source for the warez required. Instead, Apple is going after knowledge, and for that, they should be ashamed.

Similar Posts:

• The Apple guy told me to pirate TV. – In beautiful form, my visit to the local Apple store today resulted in an ironic flashback to Apple’…


• Legacy copy protection better than the new stuff. – Is anyone surprised that the copy protection announced for Mass Effect and Spore is being reconsider…


• Will the OLO be our Apple Annex? – We’re not convinced that Apple isn’t at least considering entering the netbook market, but our prop…