ipod touch 3g
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Why the iPod touch 3G makes no sense
Amongst the frenzied speculation that tomorrow's media event will see new iPhones and the end of the iPods both Shuffle and Classic, there's also been some lower-key talk of a possible "iPod touch 3G", designed to sit halfway between the iPad 3G and the iPhone. I must confess, this makes very little sense to me. Here's why. First problem: the hardware Chris Rawson and I previously went back and forth on the differences between the iPod touch and the iPhone. It comes down to two things: the addition of the cellular technology stack in the iPhone (the baseband chip, antenna, and larger battery to power it) and the use of a few lower-cost components in the iPod (particularly the screen, chassis, camera, and RAM). So if you graft the cell stack onto an iPod touch, what you actually end up with is physically indistinguishable from a low-end cut-price iPhone. Packing in that extra hardware dictates sacrificing the iPod's slim chassis and most of its price advantage. There's nothing left to distinguish it from the iPhone product range any more. This runs counter to Apple's normal strategy, which is to leave very clear gaps between product lines and avoid losing sales to analysis paralysis. Now, perhaps I'm just being pedantic here. So what if the hardware is really just a diluted iPhone; what's in a name anyway? Surely the thing people are really getting excited about is the idea of a cheap data-only plan, just like the iPad has. Well, I'm not sure it's that easy, unfortunately. Second problem: the carriers The iPad has enjoyed enthusiastic support from the cellphone carriers despite Apple mandating its unusual and remarkably cheap data-only no-commitment plans. I claim that the iPod touch would have at best a lukewarm reception and more likely a downright hostile one. I've spent a fair bit of time with cellular network industry insiders over the years and if you get talking to them a common view of the carriers' opinion of the future quickly emerges. The carriers are all deeply, deeply scared of what is usually referred to in telco slang as "carrier commoditization": the idea that the less attached the users are to a service the easier it is for them to move to competitors. This introduces severe downward pressure on prices -- great for users, not so great for the shareholders. GigaOM has a good essay that discusses carrier commoditization in detail. What the carriers desperately want is to preserve the status quo. They want to offer dozens of overlapping plans with confusing naming schemes, thus ensuring as many users as possible are on the wrong plan for their needs. Either users don't have as many bundled discount minutes, messages and data as they use, and pay overage charges; or they select a bigger bundle than they need and overpay that way; or, when contract renewal time comes around, they stay with their current provider out of laziness or sheer confusion. The carriers want long contract terms to lock customers in and reduce churn. The carriers want to promote their own brands as much as possible, which is why so many non-Apple handsets have carrier-specific apps and carrier-specific logos all over them. The carriers want to own the user and anyone who stands between them and the end-user is to be feared and, if at all possible, avoided. Data-only no-lock-in plans like those designed for the iPad threaten this business model. With fewer competing numbers to baffle consumers with, it becomes far easier to shop around between carriers and compare prices. Without artifacts like your phone number tied to the carrier, it becomes trivial to move between operators -- in the same way as a webmail email address makes it easy to change your home ISP without having to tell everyone that your bender.bending.rodriguez@planetexpress.com email address no longer works. The wide carrier support for the iPad can be explained because -- quite obviously -- no-one out there is ditching their normal phone contract in favor of an iPad (well, except perhaps for Dom Joly.) Of course there are also Mifi-type mobile hotspots, and even the awkwardly weird ZTE Peel -- but these devices also can't be reasonably combined with an iPod touch to replace a phone, because they can't receive incoming calls when they're switched off (and they have awful battery life to boot). As such they are "secondary" devices that allow the carriers to extract a second modest monthly fee from a customer who's almost certainly already carrying a phone with a premium contract attached. That's fine, but the second these cheap data plans start taking a bite of the lucrative contract market will be when the carriers drop them like a hot potato. That's exactly what a data-only iPod touch 3G on an iPad-style data plan would be. Apple managed an end-run around the carriers with the iPhone. It brings in high-value customers by the metric ton but those people aren't customers of the network -- a Verizon iPhone is the same as an AT&T iPhone, so the customer belongs to Apple, not the carrier. Have no doubt that this sort of thing induces deep conflicts in the carrier's management and sleepness nights for the senior staff. It's my belief that support for an iPod touch 3G would be a bridge too far for them. But perhaps I'm wrong about this too, and maybe either one carrier (perhaps a hungry third-tier company like Sprint) will bite the bullet or maybe enterprising hackers will figure out a way to make iPad SIMs work in an iPod (expect Apple to make at least a token effort to prevent this, to placate the carriers). What next? Who's going to buy this? Third problem: the users Who needs just data on a mobile device, and doesn't care about voice or text messaging? I think there's less of a market for this mythical device than many people believe. There are people who already have a phone, of course -- say, folk who are locked into a contract, or have a phone provided by work, but would really like to also have an Apple device with mobile data access. I can't deny those people must exist, but are there enough of them to justify a device mostly designed for them? It seems unlikely to me. It's not hard to find tech bloggers who will tell you they "hardly use voice calls any more" -- I'm one of them, in fact. It's a rare month that I use more than 50 of the thousands of free minutes that come bundled with my unlimited data iPhone plan. So surely ditching the voice (and maybe even SMS) parts of our plans to save a few bucks makes perfect sense, right? We can always use Skype or Google Voice to make those few remaining calls. I'm not so sure. It's true I rarely use voice but I still need it around for actual emergencies -- in case of car breakdowns, or accidents, or sudden illness, or an airline misplacing my baggage. These are exactly the times when I need the highest level of reliability from my voice service. However, at no point in my years of using it has Skype ever struck me as a service that has the highest level of reliability. As the Skype website itself notes, "No emergency calls with Skype. Skype is not a replacement for your telephone and can't be used for emergency calling." I can't comment on Google Voice -- because it's only available to US citizens, which is a very good reason that you can't rely on that either. Even if you are willing to trust a VOIP service, it's still no use when you have only a borderline GPRS nine-point-eight-kbit data connection, or if you're traveling and don't care to pay your cell operator's horrifying data roaming fees. The bottom line here is that I feel that even if (for some people) voice communication isn't frequently used any more, that doesn't mean it's not important -- any more than house insurance isn't important because your house hasn't caught fire recently. Wrapping up So, that's why I think an iPod touch 3G is highly unlikely, tomorrow or in the foreseeable future. Think I'm an idiot? Hit the comment form below and tell me so. And whether you agree or not, be sure to join us for our liveblog of the media event where we'll be covering the fun and frolics! And now for the inevitable weaselly footnote where I cover myself in case it turns out Apple is smarter than me. The thing I think we could see tomorrow that will scratch many people's itch for an iPod-with-data is a pay-as-you-go iPhone. In fact, here in Europe we've been able to get the last few iPhones on a no-contract basis (at a hefty upfront premium, of course) so this wouldn't be a radical shift in policy for Apple. We can also get tariffs with tiny numbers of voice minutes but generous data allowances, which is a basically a back door to the same end-point -- a no-contract iPhone that the user can move between cheap plans on different operators as easy as swapping a SIM card. But, please: no-one tell the carriers, or they'll catch on and stop offering these plans! In any event, this would be a significant change on the part of the US carriers, so we'll see if AT&T and Verizon can ante up and offer some appropriate plans -- and Apple can ship a "world phone" handset that works on all the US networks.
redsn0w untethered jailbreak for iOS 4.3.1 works with 4.3.3, still no iPad 2 support
Apple released iOS 4.3.3 on Wednesday, but as it did with 4.3.2, neglected to patch the untethered jailbreak exploit in redsn0w 0.9.6rc9 (since updated to rc15). Looks like that's a hat trick for the iPhone Dev Team. The hack works with most devices (even the Apple TV), but there's still no solution for iPad 2 owners -- we're sure that the underground powers that be are hard at work searching for holes that Apple overlooked. Installation instructions remain unchanged, so if you've been eager to get your iPhone tracking fix on without bricking your device, grab the latest IPSW and head over to our source link for the download links. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
iPhone dev-team releases untethered redsn0w jailbreak for iOS 4.3.2, iPad 2 not included
The iPhone dev-team released an untethered jailbreak for iOS owners running Apple's latest 4.3.2 firmware. Good news for jailbreakers as Apple did not patch the hole discovered by @i0n1c. The code for this exploit was used in the untethered jailbreak for iOS 4.3.1 and was easily ported over to the jailbreak for this latest version of iOS. iPad 2 owners cannot join the jailbreak party as the 0.9.6rc14 version of redsn0w only supports the iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4 (GSM), iPod touch 3G/4G and the first generation iPad. Point your browser to the dev-team's website for more information on the Mac and Windows version of redSn0w. As always, follow the directions closely and remember you jailbreak at your own risk. [Via Redmond Pie]
redsn0w untethered jailbreak for iOS 4.3.1 released for Windows and OS X, lacks iPad 2 support
If you've been waiting for a nice, easy jailbreak solution for iOS 4.3.1, then today's your lucky day: Dev-Team's just released redsn0w 0.9.6rc9 for both Windows and OS X, allowing us mere mortals to free our supported devices -- iPhone 3GS, 4 (GSM); iPod touch 3G, 4G; iPad 1; and Apple TV 2G -- with a few simple clicks. Alas, there are a couple of caveats: the iPad 2 isn't supported here, as Cupertino has somehow managed to tighten up its security to fend off hackers (for now); and ultrasn0w users have also been told to hang tight until there's a compatibility fix -- Dev-Team will announce on Twitter when this becomes available. As for those who are eligible for this new jailbreak, head over to Dev-Team's website for the download links, and make sure you have the corresponding IPSW files handy as well -- you can find them over at iClarified or on your favorite search engine. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
iPad jailbreak released, works on iPhone and iPod touch
Within a few hours of its release the iPad had already been jailbroken and video proof released. The Dev-Team with @comex have released the first "userland" jailbreak for iPhone OS devices since the initial year of the iPhone's release. The current jailbreak, dubbed "Spirit," allows you to jailbreak all models of iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch running the latest firmwares available (3.2 and 3.1.3, respectively, as of this writing). Also, the authors note that "On iPad, all this is still sort of beta," and as such if anything goes wrong you might need to restore. [via Engadget]
iPhone 3GS emulates N64, blows minds in the process (Update: is it a fake?)
Look what we have here -- a preview of 3G4, a N64 emulator developed by NWorksDev. Compatible with the iPhone 3GS and the iPod Touch 3G, this bad boy appears to be rendering down the graphics (as one would expect) but all in all it seems to be running pretty smoothly. Of course, this is a work in progress: the developer (who claims to be 14 years old) says that he has to overcome duplicate button registers, delayed presses, and some crashing -- and he has yet to implement the L, R, and Z keys. That said, this thing is pretty sweet! Hit up the YouTube links for info on becoming a beta tester -- but not before you see the thing in action after the break. Update: Engadget reader and fellow Twitterati @kankuroukun brought a third video to our attention, this one purportedly showing the so-called "beta test" to be a fake. Or, as they say in Latin class, a phonus balonus. Well, it sure seems like this guy is just playing a video on his iPhone and moving his hands in time with Mario. Get a closer look for yourself after the break.
Blacksn0w unlock available now for iPhone 3G and 3GS
There's no stopping the eternal tug-of-war between the powers that be and the hackers that will, and for the time being it looks like things are back in the hands of the hackers. As of noon today giddy jailbreakers can take the next step and go full-on with blacksn0w, the unlock for the latest 05.11.07 baseband (with tethering enabled to boot). And if that weren't enough, it looks like blackra1n RC3 is alive as well, with Mac and Windows support. What are you waiting for? Hit the read link to get started, if that's your thing. And the battle for the iPhone's immortal soul continues...
Blackra1n jailbreak now available for iPhone OS 3.1.2, iPod touch 3G
Wow, judging by our tips jar we'd say you're all pretty darn excited about Geohot's Blackra1n jailbreak, which lets you open up iPhone OS 3.1.2 devices including the iPod touch 3G and new iPhone 3GSs -- but you can't unlock yet, so don't get any big ideas about switching carriers. Windows-only at the moment, but with this level of enthusiasm out there we can't imagine a Mac version is far behind.[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Mouse steals cheese, iPhone 3.1 jailbreak released
The legendary Dev-Team has done it again. It just released the new version of the Pwnage Tool, a desktop application that's used to create custom firmware packages to jailbreak iPhones and iPod touches. Jailbreaking is the act of modifying the official firmware in order to run applications not approved by Apple. Chief among those applications, at least for the iPhone crowd, is the SIM unlock that allows the phone to be used on unofficial cell phone service providers. The Dev-Team has found holes in previous versions of the iPhone OS that allow this code modification and has developed tools to make exploitation easier for the average user to accomplish. Once implemented, the jailbreak process installs an app that acts an unofficial App Store of sorts. The iPhone or iPod touch user can browse and install games, utilities, themes, and general applications. Cydia, one of these installer apps, even has a store with applications for sale. Traditionally, when Apple releases a new iPhone OS version, that software upgrade breaks any jailbreak and SIM unlock present on the device. And so, you end up with the cat-and-mouse game that Steve Jobs alluded to shortly after the first firmware loophole was exploited and the original iPhone was unlocked. Well, the mouse has stolen the cheese once again, and the Pwnage Tool released today will jailbreak the latest firmware, version 3.1.* The big asterisk at the end of that previous sentence is that the Tool will only work on about half of the devices that use the iPhone OS -- only the original iPhone, original iPod touch, and iPhone 3G. The iPod touch line just released, as well as the 2nd generation iPod touch and the iPhone 3GS, cannot be jailbroken at this time. That means if you've already upgraded to 3.1 on your 3GS, you still won't be able to SIM unlock it as of the time of this post. So, if you want to SIM unlock your iPhone 3G or the original model, Pwnage Tool 3.1 should do the trick. On the 3G, you'll need to use Icy or Cydia to also install the ultrasn0w app that actually performs the software unlock; however the original iPhone should be unlocked without this additional step. You will need a Mac to run Pwnage Tool 3.1, but a Windows version is expected in the near future. Also expected soon is redsn0w, for both Mac and Windows, that further simplifies the jailbreak process by avoiding the need to create a custom firmware package. Keep in mind, if you've been waiting for a jailbreak solution before upgrading to the latest firmware, many users have had fairly substantial issues with iPhone 3.1. My fellow TUAW blogger, Josh Carr, has reported that lots of iPhones and iPod touches are working poorly after upgrading. You may wish to hold off and stick with 3.0 or 3.0.1 until a solution is found, either by Apple or some other group of smart people.But, if you're so inclined, you may find links to download Pwnage Tool 3.1 on the Dev-Team's official blog. Make sure to read the instructions thoroughly, and take heed of all of the warnings. They are there for a reason.
Earlier iPod touch with camera leak vindicated in light of 3rd gen teardown
That mysterious 6- x 6- x 3-millimeter slot found within the most recent iPod touch teardown? We were pretty sure it was the eventual resting place for a camera sensor, but now we've got mounting evidence with the discovery of a missing link. If you recall, there was an August-borne leak of an iPod touch with camera that showed said slot filled with a chip that, in hindsight, looks to match up well with the video camera sensor in the 5G iPod nano (check out step 17). This revelation doesn't get us any closer to snapping videos with the touchscreen PMP, but we do have a few more questions for Steve to dodge.
The iPod touch has 802.11n, so what?
Author and blogger Glenn Fleishman over at TidBITS has some great insights into iFixit's discovery that the 3rd generation iPod touch has an 802.11n-capable wireless chip. We mentioned this in our initial analysis of iFixit's teardown, but we still had a few comments asking what it could really do and some who claimed it could do nothing. With the help of Glenn's article, I'll put a few of those thoughts to rest and probably fuel more conspiracies with these highlights: Until recently, 802.11n-capable devices required two antennas. That has changed with the introduction of Single-Stream 802.11n, thus making it possible for manufacturers to put wireless-n into handheld devices. Part of the Single-Stream endeavor was a desire for better battery life. If Apple enables wireless-n in the future, it's very likely that you'll see the battery life improve when doing anything on WiFi because these chips should consume less power than wireless-g. Wireless-n could allow the iPod touch to send 50 percent more data across the network. That would give it a theoretical throughput of 30Mbps or more instead of its current 20Mbps. It's also possible that Single-Stream wireless-n technology will be more efficient on wireless networks. In order for that to happen, Apple will have to update their wireless routers to contain space-time block coding (STBC), but that could be as simple as a firmware update. If Apple enabled 802.11n in the iPod touch, we could see a lot of new uses come to the device, including video streaming, wireless sync/home sharing, on-device video rental, and many other possibilities. I have always wanted to be able to start a movie in the living room and continue watching it live while doing other tasks around the house. With this new technology, that dream could someday become reality.[via TidBITS]
3rd gen iPod touch gets torn down, 802.11n and possible camera slot found
There's no denying that Apple let the entire world (yes, even the native Easter Islanders) down by not shoving a camera of some sort into its iPod touch, but if a delicate teardown completed by the screwdriver-wielding fiends over at iFixit is any indication, a seasoned modder could certainly add one. A 6- x 6- x 3-millimeter space was spotted between a Broadcom chip and the wireless antenna, which is reportedly not enough room for an iPhone-esque sensor, but just enough space for the video camera module found in the 5G iPod nano. In potentially more interesting news, the aforesaid Broadcom BCM4329 chip actually supports 802.11n. For the nerds in attendance, you'll recognize that even the iPhone 3GS can't handle those high-speed airwaves. Furthermore, the chip supports FM transmission, so at least theoretically, the device could stream tunes to your old school stereo through an open FM station. Eager for more? Tap that read link, buster.
iPod touch 3rd gen hands-on and video
It's confusing now that we have an iPod touch 3G, right? We just got done handling the new model, and really, there's not much to say. It's a little snappier, but we didn't do any heavy game playing, and otherwise it's exactly the same. We thought it seemed thinner, but the cold hard specs stopped that idea in its tracks. Want to see more? Check out the gallery and video below! %Gallery-72328%
Apple updates iPod touch line, drops prices, adds top-end 64GB model
Couldn't see this one coming, right? Apple just announced an update to the iPod touch line. It's not exactly a major overhaul to the player, but prices have fallen, and it appears that the new models use the same CPU as the iPhone 3GS, since they can run OpenGL 2.0. The big news is actually no news, however: there doesn't appear to be a camera, contrary to all the rumors. You'll just have to make do with 8GB of storage for $199, 32GB for $299, and 64GB for a whopping $399.
"3rd-Generation" iPod touch accessories appear on Best Buy's website
At this point it would be bigger news if Apple didn't announce new iPods tomorrow, but just in case you had some doubts, Best Buy's gone ahead and posted up some listings for Belkin's "3rd-Generation" iPod touch cases a little early. Sadly, there aren't any pictures to be had, but hey -- we've already seen a few of these cases in person, you know? They're putting cameras in iPods, people. What happens next... is up to you.Update: And hey -- looks like there are some 5G iPod nano cases listed as well. Shocking! [Via Pocket-lint]
Next-gen iPod touch photos supposedly leak out; Cocktail part of Apple announcement? (Updated)
No surprise that the Zune HD announcement has resulted in a flurry of iPod rumors, and there's a couple good ones going around today. Obviously the big news is a set of photos purporting to show a next-gen touch with a camera -- the sourcing and the backdrop in some of the pics make it feel like it's a publicity stunt, but the shots of the motherboard next to a current-gen touch's board seem convincing -- especially because of Apple's recent propensity to leak this sort of thing. The other piece of news? CNET says that whatever Apple does next month, the new Cocktail "next-generation album cover" will be a part of it, at least according to "multiple music industry sources." That might link into the major labels' CMX initiative, it might have something to do with iTunes 9, it might be a fun little Tom Cruise movie, or it might be nothing at all -- but it sure seems like we're in for a hell of a September. Update: As commenter Joseph pointed out, these look pretty fake when you zoom in Photoshop -- there's a distinct square of pixels around the lens. Nice publicity stunt, guys -- we'll totally start listening to your show now. Update 2: After seeing some high res versions of these pics, we think we can safely rule out the JPG artifacting as the tell-tale sign that these are fake. You know what we can't rule out? The really bad looking Photoshop work around the lens. Much clearer pic after the break. [Thanks for the pic, Manny] Read - The Covino and Rich Show blog post with iPod touch photos Read - iPod touch photos on Flickr in higher-res Read - CNET on Cocktail
