Tag Archives: iphone3GS

iPhone 3G, 3GS Finally Get iOS 4.2.1 Carrier Unlock

Well guys, the day that iPhone 3G, 3GS users have been waiting for has finally come – Dev Team has just released their latest and greatest PwnageTool 4.1.3 and redsn0w 0.9.6beta5, which provide the first iOS 4.2.1 jailbreak that seamlessly works with carrier unlock support. Regretfully, it will only be useful with a baseband later than 05.13.04, but not to worry, fellow gadgeters, because the hack, that uses the 6.15.00 baseband from iPad firmware 3.2.2, will upgrade your modem during the quick and risky process, and hopefully turn it unlocked. Of course, it is not recommended to do this, only if you’re stuck on 05.14 or 05.15, and you’re willing to accept the risks it entails: no way back, you won’t be able to update again in the 05.xx sequence, warranty problems and inability to make a full stock firmware restore (You’ll need to only restore to custom IPSWs, which is what you’re probably doing right now).  If you’re still into it, after all, please proceed to the Dev-Team link below.

[Dev-Team Blog


iPhone 4 Officially Announced, Due Out June 24th For $199 With 3.5-Inch Retina Display, FaceTime Video Chat And OS4

Apple has just introduced its brand new iPhone 4 at the WWDC 2010 event in San Francisco, CA, with CEO Steve Jobs telling the open-eared crowd “Now, stop me if you’ve already seen this” and adding “This is one of the most beautiful designs you’ve ever seen.” But we’ve already seen it before, due to recent unpleasant leaks, and all that left is for Cupertino to finally make things official.

Basically, the new iPhone 4 is firmly constructed from a stainless steel band, used for structural support and works as dual-antenna, while both front and back are coated with real glass cover. The screen is sized at 3.5-inch, with 960 x 640 points of high resolution (x4 more) and 1:800 contrast ratio – Apple calls it “Retina Display” for its super-sharp display, boasting 326 pixels per inch. The good news is that Apple has apparently added that strong A4 processor it first planted inside the iPad, into the new iPhone. Despite its 9.3mm thick, Apple has somehow managed to stuff up the iPhone 4 with a pretty impressive battery which can literally deliver 7 hours of 3G talk, 6 hours of 3G browsing, 10 hours of WiFi browsing, 10 hours of video, 40 hours of music, and up to 300 hours of standby – did we say impressive already? Connectivity wise, you get a 802.11n WiFi, paired with Bluetooth and equipped with GPS capabilities.

Beyond that, one of the things that is talked about a great deal  is the FaceTime video calls feature that Apple has finally tossed into the four-gen iPhone, with future plans to make it an open industry standard. In general, there are two different cameras onboard – the rear one, is at 5 megapixel with a backside illuminated sensor, x5 digital zoom, and a LED flash, featuring 720p HD video recording at 30FPS (Portrait or landscape), while the second is a front facing camera that lets you conduct smooth video calls through your iPhone – the suspense – it can only be made over wifi networks at the moment. At that note we should mention Apple’s new iMovie app that gives any iPhone user the opportunity to edit his/her video content without the need to leave your mobile device in favor of your desktop platform. iMovie is said to be available at the App Store right away for a small $4.99 price tag.

As expected, the new phone is going to run on Apple’s latest OS4 (AKA: iPhone OS 4) that includes all the good stuff we’ve already written about, such as folders, multi-tasking, iBook, iAds and more.

Other than that, the iPhone 4 also houses a microSD slot and a a three-axis gyroscope.

The new iPhone will be available in June 24th, both in white and black flavors, running for $199 (16GB) and $299 (32GB), with Pre-orders start a week from tomorrow in 5 countries: US, France, Germany, UK, Japan, and 18 more following in July. The 3GS, on the other hand, will now be $99 only. PR and videos after the break.

[Apple]

Continue reading iPhone 4 Officially Announced, Due Out June 24th For $199 With 3.5-Inch Retina Display, FaceTime Video Chat And OS4

iPhone OS 4 Announced, Adds Multitasking, In Apps Ads, Folders, and More To The iPhone

The iPhone OS 4.0 event we’ve all been anxiously awaiting, just ended with Apple delivering some striking news to the world. But before getting to those shocking news we just heard, here’s some other details that might be worth considering: As of today Apple sold about 450,000 iPads throughout the States (along 50M iPhone devices), while users have downloaded about 600,000 books and over 3.5 million apps, thus far. The iPhone OS 4 which suppose to get official release this summer, is said to provide more than 1500 new APIs for developers, who can now actually download the fourth SDK Beta package from the iPhone Dev Center, and start shaping their magical crafts.

Moving the focus point over the main buffet, it’s all about the multitasking (Finally!). Yes, you’ve heard that right folks, Apple’s OS 4 is said to include multitasking (…and I’ll repeat myself again: ‘multitasking’). Of course it will work if you have an iPhone 3GS in your bag. Earlier devices, according to Jobs, amongst you’ll find “The iPhone 3G and iPod touch 2nd generation will run “many things”, but they will not get multitasking”.  In that note, Apple says it’d actually provide seven multitasking services including: background audio streaming like Pandora playing music all day long without the need to be stopped, Voice over IP apps like Skype taking calls even when you browse, background GPS and location apps, push and local notifications, task completion like Flickr image uploaded i background, and last but not least, fast app switching – all to be safely activated without the worry of battery draining.

Next in line is the new form of Folders, which aims to organize, and make sense out of the dispersed field of applications. With iPhone OS 4, users are said to be able to drag and drop apps onto one another to create folders, that from now on can hold up to 2160 apps instead of 180 apps you used to see over 11 pages.

Cupertino is also pushing forward today the Unified Inbox function, which gathers multiple email accounts (like MobileMe, Yahoo, Gmail, etc) into one single box, and thus eliminates the need to jump from one window to another. Apple has also enabled in this session the possibility of getting third-party email attachments straight into your phones – Yay, attachments are on!

iBooks gets to the iPhone OS 4 as well, with Apple taking advantage of recent iPad e-book galore.

Gaming Center. Another big news, especially for the gamer geeks between us. With Apple, building a social iPhone gaming network, which basically allows you to challenge your friends, compare achievements, leaderboards, match making  and more. In other words, it’s like the Xbox Live, but for the iPhones.

iAds. Suddenly everything that starts with the letter “i” is an Apple related product, eh? But seriously now, it was Steve Jobs who was quoted saying that free apps “Developers need to find a way to start making their money”… so far so good, but how? Apparently, Apple will sell interactive in-apps mobile ads, that everyone can create, not only ad agencies but also iPhone app developers that will split revenues with Apple (60/40) in exchange for selling and hosting their ads. Apple is said to use HTML 5 format to create those ads – interesting!

More coming up  features to include: Home screen wallpaper installation, Bluetooth keyboard support, 5x digital zoom, Spell check like in iPads, Playlist creation, Map overlays, Video playback and capture, and more.

So this is it guys, it’s huge and in some parts very surprising. A short multi-tasking OS 4 hands-on video is just after the break and you can also watch the full iPhone OS 4 keynote event on video on Apple’s website right here.

Update: Full PR announcement after the break.

Continue reading iPhone OS 4 Announced, Adds Multitasking, In Apps Ads, Folders, and More To The iPhone

Untethered Jailbreak For iPhone 3GS, iPod Touch and iPad Devices Is Possible

Word on the street is that Geohot, the guy that makes Apple challenges look like kids game, has finally managed to jailbreak Cupertino’s latest iPhone and iPod Touch versions. In other words, new machines such as iPhone 3GS, iPod touch 2G/3G and even iPad slates, are now said to be available for a jailbreaked, based on a software hack he’s about to release, and without the need of tethering. In his blog, Geohot says:

“The jailbreak is all software based, and is as simple to use as blackra1n. It is completely untethered, works on all current tethered models(ipt2, 3gs, ipt3), and will probably work on iPad too.”

And considering his record, it would be hard not to believe. See the video for yourselves, after the break

[Geohot]

Continue reading Untethered Jailbreak For iPhone 3GS, iPod Touch and iPad Devices Is Possible

Apple To Start Selling Unlocked iPhones In the US

Big news for all of you Apple fanboys out there, as we now get to hear across the blogsphere that Apple is finally about to offer unlocked iphones – yes, you’ve heard that right, free, open, no contract attached – you name it. The list of iPhone devices that people will be able to pick up immediately and pay-to-go includes the $499 3G model, $599 16GB 3GS or $699 32GB 3GS, at your choice, courtesy of Mountain View, California and the latest greatest Nexus One (competition, you know). Stay tuned for more to come.

Update1: The guys at Gizmodo have managed to get the official internal doc that confirms the rumors. Check it out after the break.

Update2: Reports are very confusing. Apparently, there wasn’t enough reason to party at this point and the bottom line is that iPhone devices are still locked to AT&T when you buy them in the US. Bummer!

[via 9 to 5 Mac]

Continue reading Apple To Start Selling Unlocked iPhones In the US

iPhone 3GS VS Nexus One, Who Has The Best Video 3D Rates?

Are you eager to replace your old crappy mobile device with a brand new multi-touch compatible smartphone? If you do, and already considered buying either Apple’s iPhone 3GS or Google’s Nexus one, then get this – according to a 3D frame rate video test initiated by the guys at Distinctive Developments, it appears that Cupertino’s iPhone device achieved better results than Mountain View’s latest mobile hit. The test, which included a series of finger pinching gestures, has indicated that iPhone 3GS received an average of 30 frame rates per second, while Nexus one has managed to get only 20-21 rates for that same video segment. The reason for that gap between the two is due to the lack of use of Neon floating-point optimization in the Nexus One. You can see it for yourself right after the break, in hope that someone in Google would take things into consideration and make the essential changes.

Update: It was brought to our attention that Nexus One supports a 800 x 480 screen resolution which is bigger than iPhone’s 480×320. However, in their test DD guys actually changed the Nexus One viewport size to match the iPhone’s 480×320, and by doing that they received a frame-rate improvement from 30fps to 40fps. Still, with 8 characters on screen there was no difference; with the frame-rate remaining the same at 21fps.

[via phonesreview]

Continue reading iPhone 3GS VS Nexus One, Who Has The Best Video 3D Rates?

iPhone Officially Goes Live In Israel, Sales Go Very Slow

At last, after long expectations and some high hurdles standing in the way, Apple’s mobile star – the iPhone – finally lands in Israel and gets official across the state. It’s been over a month since we first started guessing about potential debut dates, optional packages and probable prices to be set. Back than it was just rumors, now it’s for real. Official release started exactly on midnight, December 10th, with both Pelephone and Cellcom organizing a huge event, while Orange deciding to go with a more restrained release, the day after.

Pelephone was the first company to officially publish their iPhone prices – fair or terribly expensive, it’s up to you to decide:

First package: includes an 18 month obligation with a monthly fee of 299NIS that includes 250 minutes of talk, 250 SMS messages, and 10GB data. The iPhones will cost in this package as follows: iPhone 3G 8GB 399NIS (one time fee), iPhone 3GS 16GB 799NIS and finally, iPhone 3GS 32GB will run for 1199NIS.

Second Package: Same as first package, includes an 18 month obligation, this time with a monthly fee of 349NIS that includes 300 minutes of talk, 300 SMS messages, and 10GB data. The iPhones will cost in this package as follows: iPhone 3G 8GB FREE,  iPhone 3GS 16GB 399NIS and finally, iPhone 3GS 32GB will run for 799NIS. Sells will start at the night between the 9th and the 10th of December, while first buyers are claimed to received some cool freebies. Checkout the table after the break (courtesy of Calcalist).

Turns out if you don’t want to get into a package and commit yourself to a cellular company for 18 months, you can buy the iPhone “on the go” (without any obligation) in the following prices: iPhone 3G 8GB at 2625NIS, iPhone 3GS 16GB for 3150 and iPhone 3GS 32GB will cost you in Pelephone 3675.

Orange came second to release the iPhone prices, and it seems their packages are more reasonable for average mobile users (despite the poor data capacities). For example, a monthly fee of 159NIS package will buy you 100 minutes of talk, 50 SMS messages, and 30MB data. Other alternative that Orange offers is “Air Time” packages which let you buy a monthly talking time for a fixed price. For example, 169NIS will give you 200 minutes to speak with your friends and family, send 200 SMS/MMS messages and consume 250MB of data. The third option that Orange has published is the “Fix Price” packages with permanent 19.9NIS fee fee and prices that start at 81.3NIS for 36 months for those who will take the iPhone 3G and up to 113.8NIS in the next 3 years, in case you decide to buy the iPgone 3GS 32GB edition. For more details about the packages hit the break and see the charts.

Cellcom was the last company to release the iPhone prices, among the three. Their first package includes a 249NIS monthly fee that will get you 300 minutes of talk, 250 SMS messages, and 1GB data. In this package iPhones will cost you 799NIS (iPhone 3G), 1299NIS (iPhone 3GS 16GB) and 1699NIS (iPhone 3GS 32GB). The second package is priced at 349NIS per month and includes 400 minutes of talk, 500 SMS messages, and 1GB data. In this package iPhone devices will cost you 399NIS (iPhone 3G), 799NIS (iPhone 3GS 16GB) and 1299NIS (iPhone 3GS 32GB). All packages involve 18 months contract and you can get the unlimited data for extra 60NIS a month. More details and upgrade plans are now available in Cellcom’s website.

Update: We’ve just added some photos, taken today while we were touring for iphone queues. So far haven’t found any. Last 2 images are courtesy of iPhones.co.il, while previous two came from Cellcom’s PR.

apple-iphone3gs

Continue reading iPhone Officially Goes Live In Israel, Sales Go Very Slow

Apple's iPhone Release In Israel – Dates, Prices and What's Between Them

While most info is scarce, we’ve managed to pick up some new unconfirmed details about the long awaited iPhone release in Israel. As reported, Apple has recently approached the Antitrust Authority in order to officially approve all of its activities with the local carriers in the country, and to make sure there are no legal issues left ahead of the coming launch, which initially supposed to take place back in August. Now we’ve been told, that the official debut will happen somewhere between the 25th to the 27th of November, in all large Israeli operators, contingent upon final approvals from the Ministry Of Communication. Additionally, we’ve just learned that the iPhone itself will be offered in the following forms:

iPhone 3GS 16GB – is priced around 4000 NIS, pay to go (prepaid), while contract packages will run you only 999NIS.

iPhone 3GS 32GB – is priced around 5000NIS, pay to go (prepaid), while contracted users will pay only 1499NIS.

iPhone 3G – we were told there’s a small amount of 3G devices, that may (or may not) go out for 599NIS .

In any case, all packages include a monthly fee, ranged between 200 – 300 NIS, and being delivered with A) 150 SMS text messages B) 200 minutes talk and C) 100MB of data.

From what we know, and specifically for this task, all carriers already recruited special salespersons, who suppose to take a two weeks course and learn about the iPhone machines during this period of time. The orders these people were given are very clear: “Sell only iPhones or don’t sell anything”.  Stay tuned for more info to come.

“Pay to go” = without a contract.

Update1: Mind you this info is relevant for today, as dates and details may vary.

Update2: Data packages will apparently cost 69NIS for 1GB, both in Cellcom and Orange, if you’re buying iPhone or Android devices.

Update3: As mentioned, 1GB of data will cost 69NIS, but those who exceed the limit will pay 10NIS for every additional 1MB they use.

Update4: Besides the 1 year warranty, it seems the carriers will not include any repairing insurance when buying an iPhone in Israel. That means you won’t be able to buy insurance for your iPhone in order to subsidize repairing beyond the first year.

Update5: After endless rumors floating around, the Cupertino team has officially announced that all three carriers can start selling the iPhone in Israel, starting from December 10. That of course happened after Apple has managed to clear up a few regulatory hurdles and received the final approval needed.

Update6: Read more updates about release day, packages and prices in here.apple-iphone3gs

iPhone 3GS Redsn0w Jailbreak Officially Announced

It’s been already 3 weeks since we first heard about iPhone’s OS 3.0 jailbreak announcement for 1st generation and 3G devices, but today, this is the day of iPhone 3GS owners, as Dev-Team has done it again, officially releasing the redsn0w version for Apple’s latest mobile machine (and for all its predecessors) and the first redsn0w release that also supports linux. You can find it available in most common torrents and as always, should proceed forward with severe caution.

[Dev-Team]

iPhone 3G S Gets Ripped And Dissected Into Pieces, Unveiling ARM Cortex A8 CPU At 600 MHz

With only hours before iPhone’s 3G S version officially goes up on sale across the world, Rapid Repair gang have managed to get their hands on one of Apple’s few available copies around, and dissected it into pieces,  letting us closely look into the main components assembled inside, including chips, amps, processors and involved manufacturing companies, who helped Cupertino building this powerful machine. From their tear-down, we learn that South Korean giant, Samsung provides the SoC S5PC100 chipset, while main processor confirmed to be ARM Cortex A8, running at 600 MHz, with 720p high-def support. PowerVR SGX graphics also integrated within the iPhone 3G S, with 256MB of RAM, instead of 128MB on previous models.  In addition, we can see the NAND Flash memory, provided by Toshiba and Infenion is there as well, providing myriad parts of the phone. Hit the jump to checkout the comparison chart of iPhone’s hardware and Palm’s Pre, as more pictures available at their website. Also, feel free to start sharing your personal reviews, once getting a brand new iPhone 3G S in the following days.

Update: iSuppli says the estimated cost of Apple’s new iPhone 3GS for the 16GB configuration, stands at $178.96 to manufacture. Mind you, this price valuation, refers to direct materials cost, with no inclusion of other essential operational expenses, such as shipping, distribution, royalty fees etc, which add some value to the overall price.Check out their components and cost drivers table, after the break.

iphone-3g-s-dissected

[via RapidRepair]

Continue reading iPhone 3G S Gets Ripped And Dissected Into Pieces, Unveiling ARM Cortex A8 CPU At 600 MHz