iPhone 3G
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iPhone OS 2.1 on 3G had signal problems too
Once upon a time, iPhones had an OS update known as version 2.1, and there was much rejoicing. Actually, there was a little bit of the rejoicing and a bit more of the griping. What was the griping about? Well, some of you kiddies might not remember this, since it was so two years ago, but the story may ring familiar: it was all about degrading signal indicator issues with the iPhone 3G. Part of what that article notes is the existence of the field service test mode that was, then, present in the iPhone OS. It used to be pretty trivial to access this mode, which would give us gadgety techno-nerds information like more detailed signal strength. A feature like that would be dandy for troubleshooting the iPhone 4's recent disappearing bars problems, but Apple decided to remove access to test mode in iOS 4. Seeing as this issue cropped up in the early days of the iPhone 3G, AT&T's response to it then seems to indicate that, quite simply, a software update will fix the signal strength indicator problem in the iPhone 4. Let's just hope it comes out sooner than later so that we can stop talking about this issue already. Thanks Ilkyone for the tip!
Is AT&T capping iPhone upload speeds? Inquiring minds want to know
The MacRumors forums are abuzz with users comparing their recent upload speeds. TUAW reader Becca Holmes tipped us that iPhone users are experiencing uploads that appear to be capped at 100 kbps rather than the 1.6mbps that was a previous norm. Users have been comparing rates captured with tools like Speedtest.net's Speed Test to put concrete numbers on perceived performance drops -- and it looks like that drop is huge, compared to the way things were just a week or two ago. According to the thread, affected cities include: NYC, Central Jersey, Boston, Orlando, Seattle, South Jersey/Philly, Columbus, Cleveland, West Houston, Phoenix, Northern Colorado, St. Paul/Minnesota, Suffolk County/Long Island, Quad Cities, South Jersey, Denver, Detroit Metro, and Cincinnati.
TUAW review and giveaway: Quirky Beamer iPhone case
We're starting off the Independence Day holiday with a bang -- a giveaway to one lucky TUAW reader of the Quirky Beamer iPhone case for the iPhone 3G and 3GS. Before you enter the contest, however, I'm sure you'd like to know what makes the Beamer different and how it works. That's the purpose of this short review. The Beamer is one of Quirky's community-designed projects. We've talked about Quirky before -- anyone can make a suggestion for a new product, and if enough people like the idea then it goes through a community design and review process. The Beamer, suggested by Canadian Jenny Tyler, solves an issue for those who don't have an iPhone 4 to complain about; it supplies a very bright LED light that is amazingly useful in taking photos with the 3G and 3GS.
Magellan's waterproof Toughcase wraps GPS module, extended battery around your iPhone
There are iPhone cases, and then there's Magellan's waterproof Toughcase. Priced at $199.99, it's actually just as expensive as a new iPhone 4 on contract, and double the price of an iPhone 3GS (which it actually houses). So, what does two Benjamins get you? Most would argue "not nearly enough," but argonauts may beg to differ. The case meets IPX-7 waterproof standards, enabling it to be submerged at a depth of one meter for up to 30 minutes, and there's also an integrated 1,840mAh battery that's able to "double the life" of your iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS or second / third-generation iPod touch. Moreover, there's a built-in high sensitivity SiRFstar III GPS chipset for superior GPS reception, and nothing here prevents consumers from accessing the touchscreen. 'Course, the sex appeal of your iDevice goes right out of the window once you strap this monster on, and there's no official support for Apple's newest iPhone, but it's hard to knock the approach here.
iPhone 4 and iPhone 3G screens go head-to-head under the microscope
We got up pretty close to the iPhone 4's retina display in our review, but we can't say we got quite as close as PhD candidates Ryan White and Bryan Gauntt of Penn State University, who have kindly provided us with some images of the screen under a microscope (along with an iPhone 3G for comparison). According to their measurements, the iPhone 3G's pixels measure 13 x 40 microns, while the iPhone 4's measure 6.5 x 20 microns, which adds up to exactly four times as many pixels. As impressive as sounds that sounds, however, it's the pictures that really tell the story -- hit up the gallery below to check them out. %Gallery-96159%
Study: iPhone 3GS more reliable than 3G
Poor little iPhone 3G. You are my first iPhone, my first smartphone, my first "I got it the day Apple released it" device. I love you so, and yes, I will miss you when you are gone, replaced by the shiny iPhone 4. Apparently, I was one of the lucky ones. First off, the iPhone 3G is forsaken by several of iOS 4's new features (wallpaper, multitasking, etc.). As an added bonus, warranty provider SquareTrade has released a report showing their repair rates on the iPhone 3G and how it compares to the 3GS. In short: the iPhone 3GS is more reliable than the 3G across the board. I'm guessing this is because the 3GS was an evolution of hardware, so they had a second "model year" to make refinements and changes. However, the 3GS had more power and battery related issues in the first year than the 3G did, so it wasn't flat-out superior hardware. But the 3GS did have less overall trouble in year one the the same period in the 3G's history. [via Macsimum News]
PwnageTool 4.0 hacktivation is go for iOS 4
You waited patiently for the Dev-Team to pull together all the developer betas and now it's time for your reward: PwnageTool 4.0 has been released. The latest hack from team jailbreak works with previously jailbroken iPhone 3GS devices with the old bootrom, all iPhone 3G models, and yes, the second generation iPod touch too. It doesn't work with the original iPhone and other iPod touch models and, as always, there are plenty of caveats and bold print warnings to heed. But if you manage to weave your way into a jailbroken device (as we did with our iOS 4 iPhone 3G using redsn0w) then the latest copy of ultrasn0w will now unlock all basebands released since 04.26.08, including the updated version found in iOS 4. So get cracking kids, and remember, buckle up, back up, and be safe. Update: 4.01 has already been released to fix an iBook issue.
iPhone 3G users face upgrade question
I think somewhere Steve Jobs has flipped a switch that's quietly detonating all iPhone 3Gs. My trusty phone had decent battery time until a couple of days ago, when suddenly I had to scramble every few hours to find a power source. With all of my funds sunk into a move to Pennsylvania in a couple of weeks, an upgrade to the iPhone 4 just isn't possible at the moment, and a good many people are also facing the "upgrade or not?" question. If you do have to hold onto your 3G for awhile, you have to deal with a secondary issue also confronted by original iPhone users last year with iPhone OS 3 -- is it worth upgrading to iOS 4? Steve Jobs was upfront about the fact that not all of the new features will work on the 3G, but until yesterday we weren't quite sure exactly which features beyond multitasking would work or not. Engadget has a comprehensive list of what works and what doesn't. What you get: Utilize folders, threaded mail, playlist creation/editing in iTunes, digital zoom (just don't expect good results), iBooks including PDF support, Photos, the Game Center (once activated), updated spell check, and Spotlight search. What doesn't work: Multitasking, fast app switching, screen lock, wallpapers and Bluetooth keyboard support. You know, the good stuff. If you're planning to upgrade your phone shortly, it's probably not worth the hassle of upgrading your 3G. If you do plan to hang onto your phone for a little while, it might be worth it just to gain some of the features listed above. I plan to upgrade my phone to take advantage of the mail changes, iBooks and folders. To those out there with your 3G iPhones, what do you plan to do with your phone?
iPhone 3G, iOS 4, and you -- what's missing (spoiler: multitasking)
While iOS 4 is delivering on every promise for the iPhone 3GS users out there, as we were all told up front, the iPhone 3G would be missing some of those touted new features. Granted, we knew such disparities would exist but were never given the finer details. Now that the final build is percolating through the internet, we decided to take a look at what features are and aren't working on the earlier year's model. What's there Folders Threaded mail iTunes playlist creation / editing 5x digital zoom: just tap on the display near the capture button, but be warned, it doesn't paint a pretty picture iBooks: we were having issues with the earlier build, but it seems to be running fine after today's official download -- PDFs work, too. Photos: you can now sort by albums, events, faces, and places Game Center: the icon is present, but as of this writing we're unable to connect to the servers. (Update: a number of readers saying it didn't come with today's download. We nabbed ours as a gold build, which might explain the discrepancy despite still being considered "up to date" by iTunes.) Spell check has been updated Spotlight search: you can search the web and Wikipedia from the home screen search bar. That said, not all our queries -- "Engadget," for example -- weren't offering the option. [Thanks, jkane08] What isn't Multitasking: this is the big one. Double-tapping the home button doesn't give you the handy menu, there's no fast app switching, and background use is missing in action. Screen lock: normally in the multitasking menu (which isn't available on 3G), it's nowhere to be found, even under Settings. Bummer. Home screen wallpaper: you'd think this simple addition would make the cut, but sadly no. The dock has been given a visual upgrade, though. Bluetooth Keyboard support: we haven't tried this ourselves, but an influx of reports from Twitter suggest this is also a no-go. We'll keep testing, but be sure to let us know your own discoveries below!
Apple rolls out iBooks app for iPhone, iPod touch
It's not just multitasking apps that are hitting the App Store to coincide with the release of iOS 4.0 -- Apple has also just rolled out version 1.1 of its iBooks app, which is now available for the iPhone and iPod touch in addition to the iPad (officially, this time). As previously announced, the app now also supports PDF viewing, and boasts a range of other more minor improvements, including new ways to bookmark (complete with syncing across devices), your choice of white or sepia colored pages, more font options and, of course, "greater stability and better performance."
TUAW Hands-on: POWER A turns your iPhone into a universal remote
There are a few options for turning your iPhone into a home entertainment remote control, but I recently got a chance to try out the POWER A, and it's become my current favorite. The hardware portion of the POWER A package has been available for a while now, but the iPhone App that accompanies it has a new version due out any time now. It was submitted to the App Store on Monday, but I got a chance to try it out with a review unit and put it through its paces. The hardware portion, which works with the iPhone 3G and 3GS, is great: it's a low-profile, hard plastic case that fits around the iPhone. Unlike other solutions which leave a dongle sticking out of the iPhone, it gives you a smooth, solid body with nothing to break off. It uses next to no battery power, and the increase in the phone's form factor is minimal. The case comes in two halves which slide onto either side of the phone, connecting in the middle. It even comes with an additional, non-IR half, just in case you like the case so much that you want to use it even when it's not functioning as your universal remote. The IR blaster is positioned on the dock end of the iPhone, and the resulting upside-down-factor is compensated for in the software by auto-rotating your screen when it launches. Despite the appearance of frailty that might be perceived in its translucent plastic, it's been a very sturdy piece of hardware that has held up quite well to my clumsiness (and my dogs' curiosity). While vital to the package, the hardware is nothing but pretty without the software ... %Gallery-95461%
Financial Times: US antitrust regulators plan to investigate Apple's mobile advertising practices
There's not a lot of details on this at the moment, but the Financial Times is reporting that US antitrust regulators plan to investigate Apple's mobile advertising practices to see whether they unfairly restrict rivals like Google and Microsoft. As you'll recall, Apple recently revised its rules on outside advertisers and, specifically, their ability to collect analytics on ads for the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, effectively cutting out Google's AdMob in the process -- something the company's CEO has publicly complained about. What's next? That's still not certain -- the Financial Times says that while US regulators have taken an interest, it's still not clear whether the FTC or the Department of Justice will handle the investigation going forward.
iPhone 4 pixel density examined (video)
Sure, you've seen our iPhone 4 hands-on... but have you seen it through a retina display? We put the new device next to our trusty old iPhone 3G to get a feel just how different the screens look with twice the pixel density and shot a little pseudo-macro video. There's a marked difference in the screens, even side-by-side with the EVO 4G, and we found that even from a distance we were able to read bodies of text we'd previously had to squint to discern on our classic iPhones. Hard to capture, it really is something you have to see first-hand... but until you get that chance, live vicariously through us after the break.%Gallery-94640%
iPhone 3GS drops to $99, 8GB only -- iPhone 3G discontinued
We've already seen the iPhone 3GS drop to under a $100 at Walmart, and Apple has now expectedly made that the official price point following the announcement of the iPhone 4. What's more, the 3GS will now only be available in an 8GB version (it's still not clear if both colors will be available or not), and that naturally also means that the iPhone 3G is now officially discontinued. Of course, there's also still quite a few of the current iPhone 3GS models floating around out there, and AT&T will be doing its best to clear those out -- you can now grab a 16GB 3GS for $149, and a 32GB 3GS for $199 on a two-year plan "while supplies last."
Yep, the iPhone runs Android 2.2, too
Sure, we might be seeing some big changes to the iPhone tomorrow, but what if you could see some big changes on your very own iPhone, today? Well, you can if you're brave enough to try installing Android on your iPhone, which we've seen done before, but not with Android 2.2 (otherwise more deliciously known as Froyo). Still not convinced that such a thing is possible? Then head on past the break for the video evidence, and hit up the link below for the complete, not-for-the-faint-of-heart instructions for performing the feat yourself. P.S. Of course, "runs" isn't exactly the same as "runs well." The iPhone in the video apparently got noticeably hot after five minutes of use, and there's some issues with Android not recognizing little things like WiFi or the phone's GPU.
AT&T out of stock on iPhone 3G, offers unlimited iPad data plans to those who order by June 7
It's a sure sign a new iPhone is coming. AT&T says it has no 3G models to sell, which may spell the end of the line for the previous-gen handset. Also today, a company spokesman has told TUAW that it will honor the unlimited data plan on the iPad for people who order a 3G iPad by June 7 (even if it's not delivered by then), though officially AT&T has dropped the option for new customers. The unlimited option can only be maintained for accounts with auto-renew turned on, and if you drop your service for a month you can only sign back up for one of the new plans. A lot of people who bought the iPad and were told they could get an unlimited monthly data service feel pretty abused about now. The words 'bait and switch' come to mind, as Macworld's Dan Frakes pointed out. It's particularly an issue for people who bought the iPad but have not initiated service as yet. After June 7, the unlimited option won't be something you can purchase. We've heard from at least one reader who was able to return his iPad 3G without a restocking fee when he cited the AT&T plan changes, but your mileage may vary. Back to those 3G phones. AT&T is telling customers who want a 3G to get either a 16 or 32GB 3GS iPhone. When the expected new iPhone comes out later this month, it's likely the 3GS model will drop in price, probably to US$99. [via 9 to 5 Mac]
iWebcamera lets you ditch your webcam for an iPhone
Drahtwerk's iWebcamera iPhone app was actually released late last week but it, ironically, only worked with a Windows-based PC. The company has now finally rectified that situation with some Mac drivers, however, which will at last let use your iPhone as a webcam for your Mac just like you've always wanted. We haven't yet had a chance to try it out ourselves, but you can grab the app yourself from the App Store right now for $4.99, and snag the Mac drivers from the company's website linked below. [Image credit: Brian]
Netflix for iPad hacked and running on iPhone (update: disabled)
How desperate are you to get Netflix running on your iPhone? Desperate enough to jailbreak, grab frameworks from your iPad, and do some plist hacking? If the answer to those questions is "yes," then the folks at ModMyi have something they'd like to show you. According to the site, a tipster has been able to get the video streaming service up and playing on an iPhone by making what appears to be fairly simple changes to his device; namely, boosting the iPad's MediaPlayer.framework and altering plist settings once the app was installed on his phone. It's not all wine and roses, as using Netflix where it's not supposed to be used causes a massive battery drain (go figure), and there are issues with crashing and 3G playback (two more unsurprising problems). Still, it can be done, and this is just the start -- so if you want to get in on the party (and maybe even help out a little bit), hit the read link and see what it's all about. Update: Cody tells us the powers that be have already disabled this little gem of a workaround. We have to hand it to you, powers that be -- that was mighty quick for a Memorial Day weekend. [Thanks, Cody]
iPhone 3G missing a 'select' button on Apple Store, might not be long for this earth
Yes, the "iPhone 3G is dead" rumors are flying fast, and our latest entry is hardly a rumor: Apple's online store currently lists the solitary 8GB iPhone 3G next to the full iPhone 3GS crop, but there's no longer a tasty "select" button below it. Usually if something's out of stock on the Apple store it will just say so, along with a projected time of delay, but with the 4G presumably around the corner this could indeed be marking the end of the 3G's last stand. [Thanks, J]
Wave goodbye to the iPhone 3G
Update: Engadget also points out that Walmart is now selling the iPhone 3GS for $97, a sure inventory-clearing move. According to Boy Genius Report, the iPhone 3G is very likely to be discontinued. Apple has reportedly stopped supplying AT&T stores with the 8 GB iPhone 3G. Additionally, the Australian online Apple Store lists the iPhone 3G as "currently unavailable," and UK carrier O2 has altered its ordering options in a way that makes it impossible to purchase the low-end iPhone. It's not at all shocking that the iPhone 3G is most likely about to be discontinued. The two-year-old hardware is relatively anemic even compared to its successor, the 3GS. Because of its lower RAM and CPU speed, the iPhone 3G won't enjoy all the benefits of iPhone OS 4.0, particularly multitasking. Once the iPhone 3G is discontinued, one of two things will probably happen -- see them both after the link below. [Via MacRumors]
