If the camera on your iPhone 3G or iPhone 3GS has stopped functioning you can DIY repair it in about 20 minutes and it’ll cost you far less than getting an out-of-warranty repair from Apple, or giving up and buying a new iPhone. All you need are the right tools, the right parts, and the right guide. Just like taking care of your old car can keep it on the road for years to come, taking care of your older iPhones can keep them in service for you, or the family and friends you hand them down to, or keep their value higher for resale.

Here’s how.

Disclaimer: As with any repair, iMore nor PXLFIX can be held responsible for any damage you may do to your device. It’s also worth considering that opening up your device to perform any repair or modification can and will void your Apple warranty. If you don’t feel comfortable opening your device, don’t. Use extreme care and caution when performing a repair on any device.

What replacing a camera will fix

• Distorted pictures *A blacked out camera lens

It’s always worth first trying an iOS restore to rule out a possible software issue before performing a hardware repair. Also, if you cracked the actual glass over the camera lens this won’t help you. You’ll need to replace the actual back housing of your device instead.

What you need for a DIY camera repair

PXLFIX recommends using only quality and genuine parts from a reputable supplier like eTech Parts. They have quality parts, tools, and much more for all your repair needs.

• A sad iPhone 3G or iPhone 3GS
• A replacement camera assembly – iPhone 3G camera, iPhone 3GS camera
• A #00 Phillips screwdriver
• A suction cup
• A plastic pry tool or spudger
• A SIM removal tool or paperclip

Power off your iPhone

Before performing any repair, always power off your device before removing any screws or parts.

Remove the dock connector screws

Using your #00 Phillips screwdriver, remove the 2 screws located on each side of the dock connector.

Remove the digitizer & LCD assembly

This part can be a bit tricky so please do this with extreme care so you don’t tear any cables during the process. I highly recommend using the suction cup method unless your screen is cracked above the home button for some reason and you can’t get a proper seal with the suction cup.

Suction cup method (recommended):

The easiest way to remove the digitizer assembly is by using a suction cup.

1. Position the suction cup on the screen directly above the home button.
2. Using your other hand, hold down the frame while gently pulling up on the suction cup.
3. The goal is to get the bottom of the digitizer loose. Do not pull directly up. There are 3 cables attached in the top right of your iPhone. You do not want to tear these. Just pull up until the bottom of the assembly pops out.
4. After you have the bottom up you can remove the suction cup.

Spudger/razor blade method (only use this method as a secondary method):

ONLY use this method if your screen is cracked above the home button. If this is the case, you’ll need to use a razor blade or spudger in order to remove it. And while you’re at it, replace that broken screen!

1. Starting in the bottom left hand corner, insert a plastic spudger and gently pry up. Once the first side is starting to pop up, do the same on the bottom right side.
2. Run your pry tool along the bottom of the device in order to pop up the bottom of the assembly. Take special care around the home button area.

Remove the cables that attach the digitizer assembly to the logic board:

Once you have the bottom of your digitizer assembly popped up we can remove the cables attaching it to the logic board.

1. Gently lift up your digitizer enough to have a clear view of the 3 cables in the top right of your iPhone.

2. With your plastic spudger or pry tool, you’ll need to pry up the first two cables that attach the digitizer and LCD. They should be labeled with orange stickers numbered 1 and 2. Simply pop them off the logic board gently.

3. Underneath these cables you’ll see one other labeled as cable 3. This one is a bit trickier as it is clipped down. You’ll need to gently pop up the clasp holding it into the fastener. It is a tiny white clip. Simply pop it upwards and the number 3 cable should then slide right out.

4. Remove the digitizer & LCD assembly and set it aside.

Remove your SIM card

Using your SIM tool or a paperclip, either works, remove your SIM card and tray from your device.

Unclip cables from the logic board

1. Towards the top left of the logic board, use your pry tool to pop up the two cables labeled 5 and 6.

2. Towards the bottom of the logic board, 3G owners will only see one cable to the left labeled 4. 3GS users will see two cables (one on each side of the dock connector) labeled 4 and 7. 3G users will just pop up the number 4 cable while 3GS owners will need to pop up both the number 4 and 7 cables.

Remove your logic board

1. Remove the 8 screws outlined in the video that hold the logic board in place. One of the screws is under a Do not remove sticker at the bottom right by the dock connector. Obviously you’ll have to remove the sticker to get to it.

2. Make sure you place the screws in an order you will remember. They are different sizes in some instances so you’ll need to make sure you put them back in the correct order.

3. Notice the screw holding the camera in place has a metal bracket underneath it. Just take care not to lose this as you’ll need to put it back during reassembly.

4. Gently pop your camera up with your spudger or pry tool.

5. Insert your pry tool in the space between the dock connector and logic board and gently pry upward to loosen the logic board.
6. Gently grab the bottom of the logic board and slide it out downwards to remove it.

Remove the old camera and connect the new one

The camera on both the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS is connected by a single cable attached to the under side of the logic board. Pop off the old camera with your spudger or pry tool and connect the new one.

And… done!

All that’s left to do is to put your iPhone back together. You can watch the complete repair and re-assembly on video below. And if you run into any issues or have other suggestions about mods or repairs you’d like to see us cover, you can check out our brand new mod and DIY forum.

For questions or to inquire about mail-in repairs through PXLFIX, please follow us on Twitter, like us on Facebook or e-mail us directly! Of course, you can like us and follow us just because you think we’re cool too!

Apple has been forced to remove almost all 3G-enabled iPhones and iPads from its online store in Germany, including the iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4 and iPad 2 WiFi + 3G, but NOT including iPhone 4S due to an injunction won by Motorola Mobility. Foss Patents reports:

The leading German news agency, dpa (Deutsche Presse-Agentur), quotes an official Apple statement according to which the company has just removed, as a result of an injunction Motorola won in Mannheim over a FRAND-pledged patents declared essential to an industry standard, several 3G/UMTS-capable products from its German online store: the iPhone 3G, the iPhone 3GS, and the iPhone 4 (but not the iPhone 4S), and all 3G/UMTS-capable iPads.

This all stems from Motorola’s December win around a FRAND (fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory) patent pertaining to 3G/UMTS standards. In addition, iCloud users in Germany will no longer have access to push mail over iCloud MobileMe, and will instead need to rely on manually pulling email messages from Apple’s servers.

The iPhone 4S was not included because of the difference in the 3G chip configuration. Also, all of the affected units will still be sold through local retailers, including official Apple Stores.

The EU, however, is taking an interest in cases like this, where FRAND patents may or may not be being misused.

The enforcement of a FRAND-pledged standards-essential patent is a major issue. The European Commission is already investigating Samsung because it also “sought injunctive relief” (though unsuccessfully to date) based on such patents. Motorola could be investigated over the same issue, but since the EU is also reviewing Google’s proposed acquisition of MMI, it presumably prefers to focus on the merger review, at least for the time being.

Like the injunctions Apple has won and lost against Samsung, this is far from over.

Source: FOSS Patents

[UPDATE]

SlashGear reports the injunction has been suspended, and all Apple 3G-enabled products, including iPhones and iPads, are once again available on Apple’s online store.

”All iPad and iPhone models will be back on sale through Apple’s online store in Germany shortly” the company told us in a statement. “Apple appealed this ruling because Motorola repeatedly refuses to license this patent to Apple on reasonable terms, despite having declared it an industry standard patent seven years ago.”

iCloud is still unavailable in Germany, however, as the suspended injunction in question only pertains to the 3G/UMTS patents involved.

Source: SlashGear

GelaSkins has been quietly selling some funky iPhone skins for a few years now, but they’ve recently made the big jump to hard cases. You’ll find all of the same high-quality art on their new line of cases for the iPhone 4S, iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, and iPhone 3G. If you’ve got your own images you’d like to use, GelaSkins also has a web tool for putting your own graphics on the some accessories.

This is a sensible move to make, considering the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S is more in need of impact protection than scratch resistance. but of course, you have to be willing to give up some of that slimness and unified design whenever slapping on a hard case. It’s a tough balance to strike, and one I still haven’t settled on personally.

They’re a tad on the pricey side, but damn are they stylish.

• $35.95 – iPhone 4S/iPhone 4/a>
• $29.95 – iPhone 3GS/iPhone 3G.

A hack called Whited00r allows iOS 5 features to be installed on the original iPhone and iPhone 3G devices, as well as the early iPod touch models.

Whited00r will automatically jailbreak your device, and the latest version of Cydia, 1.1.3, will be installed on it. The biggest advantage of the tool, is that you will get true multitasking, and apps will keep in running state in the background.

It’s as simple as running a manual IPSW install via iTunes before Whited00r takes over and installs a custom iOS firmware package. Apparently you’ll be running a heavily modified iOS 3.1.3 IPSW, which is required on older iOS devices. As such, this version of iOS comes with a custom iCloud setup, and also doesn’t include the new Notification Center included in iOS 5.

Source: Whited00r via AddictiveTips

YouTube Link

If your iPhone 3G or iPhone 3GS is having trouble charging, picking up a signal, or has a dead mic or speaker – replacing the dock assembly should remedy any of these problems. It can also solve issues with an unresponsive home button. A DIY dock assembly repair is an easy enough fix if you’ve got the right tools and about thirty minutes to spare.

Disclaimer: As with any repair, TiPb nor PXLFIX can be held responsible for any damage you may do to your device. It’s also worth considering that opening up your device to perform any repair or modification can and will void your Apple warranty. If you don’t feel comfortable opening your device, don’t. Use extreme care and caution when performing a repair on any device.

What replacing a dock assembly fixes

• Microphone
• Dead speaker
• Charging port
• Wifi and 3G antennas
• Unresponsive home button (This problem can be caused by two issues – the dock connector or digitizer assembly. If replacing the dock connector does not correct the issue, try replacing your digitizer assembly.)

What you need for a DIY dock assembly repair

PXLFIX recommends using only quality and genuine parts from a reputable supplier like eTech Parts. They have quality parts, tools, and much more for all your repair needs.

• A sad iPhone 3G or iPhone 3GS
• A replacement dock connector assembly (while the repair is very similar for both 3G and 3GS users, the part is different so make sure you order the correct one for your device) – iPhone 3G dock assembly, iPhone 3GS dock assembly
• A #00 Phillips screwdriver
• A suction cup
• A plastic pry tool or spudger
• A SIM removal tool or paperclip

Power off your iPhone

Before performing any repair, always power off your device before removing any screws or parts.

Remove the dock connector screws

Using your #00 Phillips screwdriver, remove the 2 screws located on each side of the dock connector.

Remove the digitizer & LCD assembly

This part can be a bit tricky so please do this with extreme care so you don’t tear any cables during the process. I highly recommend using the suction cup method unless your screen is cracked above the home button for some reason and you can’t get a proper seal with the suction cup.

Suction cup method (recommended):

The easiest way to remove the digitizer assembly is by using a suction cup.

1. Position the suction cup on the screen directly above the home button.
2. Using your other hand, hold down the frame while gently pulling up on the suction cup.
3. The goal is to get the bottom of the digitizer loose. Do not pull directly up. There are 3 cables attached in the top right of your iPhone. You do not want to tear these. Just pull up until the bottom of the assembly pops out.
4. After you have the bottom up you can remove the suction cup.

Spudger/razor blade method (only use this method as a secondary method):

ONLY use this method if your screen is cracked above the home button. If this is the case, you’ll need to use a razor blade or spudger in order to remove it. And while you’re at it, replace that broken screen!

1. Starting in the bottom left hand corner, insert a plastic spudger and gently pry up. Once the first side is starting to pop up, do the same on the bottom right side.
2. Run your pry tool along the bottom of the device in order to pop up the bottom of the assembly. Take special care around the home button area.

Remove the cables that attach the digitizer assembly to the logic board:

Once you have the bottom of your digitizer assembly popped up we can remove the cables attaching it to the logic board.

1. Gently lift up your digitizer enough to have a clear view of the 3 cables in the top right of your iPhone.

2. With your plastic spudger or pry tool, you’ll need to pry up the first two cables that attach the digitizer and LCD. They should be labeled with orange stickers numbered 1 and 2. Simply pop them off the logic board gently.

3. Underneath these cables you’ll see one other labeled as cable 3. This one is a bit trickier as it is clipped down. You’ll need to gently pop up the clasp holding it into the fastener. It is a tiny white clip. Simply pop it upwards and the number 3 cable should then slide right out.

4. Remove the digitizer & LCD assembly and set it aside.

Remove your SIM card

Using your SIM tool or a paperclip, either works, remove your SIM card and tray from your device.

Unclip cables from the logic board

1. Towards the top left of the logic board, use your pry tool to pop up the two cables labeled 5 and 6.

2. Towards the bottom of the logic board, 3G owners will only see one cable to the left labeled 4. 3GS users will see two cables (one on each side of the dock connector) labeled 4 and 7. 3G users will just pop up the number 4 cable while 3GS owners will need to pop up both the number 4 and 7 cables.

Remove your logic board

1. Remove the 8 screws outlined in the video that hold the logic board in place. One of the screws is under a Do not remove sticker at the bottom right by the dock connector. Obviously you’ll have to remove the sticker to get to it.

2. Make sure you place the screws in an order you will remember. They are different sizes in some instances so you’ll need to make sure you put them back in the correct order.

3. Notice the screw holding the camera in place has a metal bracket underneath it. Just take care not to lose this as you’ll need to put it back during reassembly.

4. Gently pop your camera up with your spudger or pry tool.

5. Insert your pry tool in the space between the dock connector and logic board and gently pry upward to loosen the logic board.
6. Gently grab the bottom of the logic board and slide it out downwards to remove it.

Remove the old dock connector

3G owners

1. Remove the two screws on either side of the bottom of the dock connector.
2. To remove the dock connector gently pull it up and out.
3. Take note of how the brackets for the screws go above the screw holds in the casing. You’ll need to make sure this is how you line up the new dock connector.

3GS owners

1. Remove the two screws on either side of the bottom of the dock connector.
2. Remove the screw underneath the number 4 cable holding the dock connector into the casing.
3. To remove the dock connector gently pull it up and out.
4. Take note of how the brackets for the screws go above the screw holds in the casing. You’ll need to make sure this is how you line up the new dock connector.

And… done!

If you followed all the steps above correctly you should be able to power on your phone and be on your way! Test the dock connector out to make sure it’s fully functional by checking wifi, placing a test call, and attempting to charge it.

Have you done this repair yourself? Let us know how it went! Want to know how to perform another type of iPhone repair or modification? Send me suggestions to ally.kazmucha@imore.com or leave a comment in our brand new Mod and DIY Repair Forum!

For questions or to inquire about mail-in repairs through PXLFIX, please follow us on Twitter, like us on Facebook or e-mail us directly! Of course, you can like us and follow us just because you think we’re cool too!

The Samsung Galaxy Ace, a new entry level Android phone, looks an awful lot like the iPhone 3G/iPhone 3GS. Samsung has a history of copying Apple’s design so this really shouldn’t come as a surprise.

Motorola and HTC both do far better jobs at providing real hardware alternatives to the iPhone, but Samsung’s growth in recent years sadly shows there’s probably a bigger market for Android lovers who want iPhones — even retro iPhones — not running iOS.

Kudos to Samsung. Instead of putting a lot of money and effort into design and marketing, they can spend it rapidly updating their existing phones to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich.

Oh, wait…

Source: Cult of Mac

If your iPhone 3G or iPhone 3GS is no longer holding a charge, and always running out of power, replacing the battery is a moderate level DIY repair. If you’ve got the right tools and parts, it shouldn’t be too difficult to swap out that old battery for a brand new one on your own. It’ll take a little bit of patience and about 30 minutes of your time.

Disclaimer: As with any repair, TiPb nor PXLFIX can be held responsible for any damage you may do to your device. It’s also worth considering that opening up your device to perform any repair or modification can and will void your Apple warranty. If you don’t feel comfortable opening your device, don’t. Use extreme care and caution when performing a repair on any device.

What you need for a DIY iPhone 3G/3GS battery swap

PXLFIX recommends using only quality and genuine parts from a reputable supplier like eTech Parts. They have quality parts, tools, and much more for all your repair needs.

• A sad iPhone 3G or 3GS
• A new battery – iPhone 3GS, iPhone 3G
• A #00 Phillips screwdriver
• A suction cup
• A pry tool or spudger
• Sim removal tool or paperclip

Power off your iPhone

Before performing any repair, always power off your device before removing any screws or parts.

Remove the dock connector screws

Using your #00 Phillips screwdriver, remove the 2 screws located on each side of the dock connector.

Remove the digitizer & LCD assembly

This part can be a bit tricky so please do this with extreme care so you don’t tear any cables during the process. I highly recommend using the suction cup method unless your screen is cracked above the home button for some reason and you can’t get a proper seal with the suction cup.

Suction cup method (recommended):

The easiest way to remove the digitizer assembly is by using a suction cup.

1. Position the suction cup on the screen directly above the home button.
2. Using your other hand, hold down the frame while gently pulling up on the suction cup.
3. The goal is to get the bottom of the digitizer loose. Do not pull directly up. There are 3 cables attached in the top right of your iPhone. You do not want to tear these. Just pull up until the bottom of the assembly pops out.
4. After you have the bottom up you can remove the suction cup.

Spudger/razor blade method (only use this method as a secondary method):

ONLY use this method if your screen is cracked above the home button. If this is the case, you’ll need to use a razor blade or spudger in order to remove it. And while you’re at it, replace that broken screen!

1. Starting in the bottom left hand corner, insert a plastic spudger and gently pry up. Once the first side is starting to pop up, do the same on the bottom right side.
2. Run your pry tool along the bottom of the device in order to pop up the bottom of the assembly. Take special care around the home button area.

Remove the cables that attach the digitizer assembly to the logic board:

Once you have the bottom of your digitizer assembly popped up we can remove the cables attaching it to the logic board.

1. Gently lift up your digitizer enough to have a clear view of the 3 cables in the top right of your iPhone.

2. With your plastic spudger or pry tool, you’ll need to pry up the first two cables that attach the digitizer and LCD. They should be labeled with orange stickers numbered 1 and 2. Simply pop them off the logic board gently.

3. Underneath these cables you’ll see one other labeled as cable 3. This one is a bit trickier as it is clipped down. You’ll need to gently pop up the clasp holding it into the fastener. It is a tiny white clip. Simply pop it upwards and the number 3 cable should then slide right out.

4. Remove the digitizer & LCD assembly and set it aside.

Remove your SIM card

Using your SIM tool or a paperclip, either works, remove your SIM card and tray from your device.

Unclip cables from the logic board

1. Towards the top left of the logic board, use your pry tool to pop up the two cables labeled 5 and 6.

2. Towards the bottom of the logic board, 3G owners will only see one cable to the left labeled 4. 3GS users will see two cables (one on each side of the dock connector) labeled 4 and 7. 3G users will just pop up the number 4 cable while 3GS owners will need to pop up both the number 4 and 7 cables.

Remove your logic board

1. Remove the 8 screws outlined in the video that hold the logic board in place. One of the screws is under a Do not remove sticker at the bottom right by the dock connector. Obviously you’ll have to remove the sticker to get to it.

2. Make sure you place the screws in an order you will remember. They are different sizes in some instances so you’ll need to make sure you put them back in the correct order.

3. Notice the screw holding the camera in place has a metal bracket underneath it. Just take care not to lose this as you’ll need to put it back during reassembly.

4. Gently pop your camera up with your spudger or pry tool.

5. Insert your pry tool in the space between the dock connector and logic board and gently pry upward to loosen the logic board.
6. Gently grab the bottom of the logic board and slide it out downwards to remove it.

Remove the old battery

There is nothing holding the battery down but adhesive. Gently use your pry tool to loosen the battery from the back of the device. Run it along the sides and gently pry up taking care not to bend or damage the battery. They are secured with quite a bit of adhesive so you may have to use a little bit of force to remove it. Just take care not to bend the casing either.

Insert the new battery

Most replacement batteries will come with adhesive already on them. Simply remove the backing from the adhesive and place the battery in the device taking care not to trap any loose cables underneath it. Push down firmly to make sure the adhesive stays in place.

Replace the logic board

1. Make sure there are no cables in the way. I typically tuck the number 4 cable into the frame (refer to video) so it does not get stuck underneath the logic board.

2. Start by positioning the top of the logic board below where the SIM tray sits and start sliding it upwards into place.
3. Once the top is in place, you can place the bottom of the logic board into its place. Just make sure no cables are stuck underneath the logic board where they should be on top.

Insert your SIM card and tray

The easiest way to make sure the logic board is in place is to replace your SIM card tray at this point. If it slides in easily, you’re right on track. Don’t force it if it doesn’t want to go in. That means you don’t have the logic board lined up correctly. Remove it and try again. The SIM tray will also help keep the logic board in place as you replace screws in the logic board.

Reposition and snap down your camera

Once the logic board is positioned right, you can reposition and snap down your camera again.

Replace the logic board screws

Replace the eight screws your removed earlier that secure the logic board. Just make sure you replace the metal clip over the camera before replacing the screw that holds it in place.

Reconnect cables to the logic board

1. Towards the top left of the logic board, reconnect the two cables labeled 5 and 6.

2. Towards the bottom of the logic board, 3G owners will only see one cable to the left labeled 4. 3GS users will see two cables (one on each side of the dock connector) labeled 4 and 7. 3G users will reconnect the number 4 cable while 3GS owners will need to reconnect both the number 4 and 7 cables.

Reassemble the digitizer

1. Begin with the number 3 cable that clips down. Getting it seated can be a bit tricky. Use a plastic spudger to guide it in the opening if needed. Then push back down the clip that holds it in place.

2. Next push down the number 1 and 2 cables onto the logic board.
3. To snap the digitizer assembly back in place, start at the top and make sure it is lined up. Once the top is pushed down and flush, snap the bottom into place on each side of the home button.
4. Replace the two dock connector screws.

And… done!

If you followed all the steps above correctly you should be able to power on your phone and be on your way! I recommend you drain the battery completely and do one full charge. You also may notice you’ll need to reset the time and date on your device. Battery pulls tend to reset the clock.

Have you done this repair yourself? Let us know how it went! Want to know how to perform another type of iPhone repair or modification? Send me suggestions to ally.kazmucha@tipb.com or leave a comment in our brand new Mod and DIY Repair Forum!

For questions or to inquire about mail-in repairs through PXLFIX, please follow us on Twitter, like us on Facebook or e-mail us directly! Of course, you can like us and follow us just because you think we’re cool too!

Thanks to pod2g and all his hard work, an untethered jailbreak is now available for the original iPad, iPhone 4, iPod touch 4, and older models. Both redsn0w and Corona have been updated to support the new, untethered jailbreak.

A few days ago, @pod2g gave the untether to both the iPhone devteam and the chronic devteam. We’ve put it into redsn0w 0.9.10 and PwnageTool, and the chronic devteam put it into a Cydia package (the same set of exploits is in all three).

Unfortunately, Apple A5 chipset-powered devices, namely iPhone 4S and iPad 2, are still in jailbreak limbo.

Because those devices cannot use geohot’s limera1n exploit to inject the untether, they require exploits above and beyond those used for this release. Keep following pod2g on twitter or his blog for any progress reports!

Hit the source links below to start jailbreaking iOS 5.0.1 untethered, and if you need any help jump on into our jailbreak forums.

Source: Dev-Team Blog/redsn0w, Chronic Dev-Team/Corona, donate to @pod2g

TmoNews is reporting that some unlocked iPhone users may be picking up T-Mobile’s 3G network in small areas of the Pacific Northwest — specifically limited pockets in Nevada, Utah and California — due to spectrum reallocation under the 1900MHz band.

Most unlocked iPhone users are relegated to 2G due to most of the T-Mobile 3G network running on the AWS spectrum of 1700MHz/2100MHz. We’re not exactly sure what they’re reallocating the spectrum for, however, multiple reports have surfaced from Howard Forums detailing a jump in speeds and, more specifically, the 3G network indicator popping up in the statusbar on their unlocked iPhone.

It’s possible that T-Mobile could be testing spectrum allocation for new devices or simply to expand their network range for existing devices that already support the 1900MHz band, but again, there’s no concrete evidence on what precisely they’re up to. If you’re lucky enough, however, you may be able to hop onto their 3G network depending on the area you’re in.

Source: TmoNews via Howard Forums 1, Howard Forums 2

Shattered the glass on your iPhone 3G or 3GS, or have a touchscreen that has stopped responding, and wondering how easy a screen replacement is to DIY? Well, you’re in luck — a screen replacement is a relatively easy repair to perform. You’ll just need a few tools and a new digitizer assembly to make your broken iPhone 3G or 3GS good as new! This repair can also fix an unresponsive home button as well.

Disclaimer: As with any repair, iMore nor PXLFIX can be held responsible for any damage you may do to your device. It’s also worth considering that opening up your device to perform any repair or modification can and will void your Apple warranty. If you don’t feel comfortable opening your device, don’t. Never use any type of conductive tool to pry or lift cables. Always use a plastic pry tool or spudger. And of course, make sure your device is powered off before beginning any repair work.

What you’ll need

PXLFIX recommends using only quality and genuine parts from a reputable supplier like eTech Parts. They have the proper parts and tools for all your repair needs.

• A broken iPhone 3G or iPhone 3GS
• A new digitizer assembly (while the steps for this repair are the same for both phone models, the part is different so make sure you order the correct assembly for your device) – iPhone 3GS digitizer assembly, iPhone 3G digitizer assembly
• A #00 Phillips screwdriver
• A suction cup
• A plastic pry tool or spudger
• A metal spudger/spatula or razor blade (you’ll only need this if the suction cup method won’t work depending on where the glass is cracked)

Power off your phone

First things first, power off your device. Hold down the power button and slide to power off. Once the device is completely off, move on to the next step.

Remove the dock connector screws

Using your #00 Phillips screwdriver, remove the 2 screws located on each side of the dock connector.

Remove the old digitizer assembly

This part can be a bit tricky so please do this with extreme care so you don’t tear any cables during the process.

Suction cup method (recommended):

The easiest way to remove the old digitizer is by using a suction cup to pull up the old screen.

1. Position the suction cup on the screen directly above the home button.
2. Using your other hand, hold down the frame while gently pulling up on the suction cup.
3. The goal is to get the bottom of the digitizer loose. Do not pull directly up. There are 3 cables attached in the top right of your iPhone. You do not want to tear these. Just pull up until the bottom of the assembly pops out.
4. After you have the bottom up you can remove the suction cup.

Spudger/razor blade method (only use this method as a secondary method):

If your screen is cracked above the home button, a suction cup may not create a seal strong enough for you to pull the digitizer up. If this is the case, you’ll need to use a razor blade or spudger in order to remove it.

1. Starting in the bottom left hand corner, insert a plastic spudger and gently pry up. Once the first side is starting to pop up, do the same on the bottom right side.
2. Run your pry tool along the bottom of the device in order to pop up the bottom of the assembly. Take special care around the home button area.

Remove the cables that attach the digitizer assembly to the logic board:

Once you have the bottom of your digitizer assembly popped up we can remove the cables attaching it to the logic board.

1. Gently lift up your digitizer enough to have a clear view of the 3 cables in the top right of your iPhone.

2. With your plastic spudger or pry tool, you’ll need to pry up the first two cables that attach the digitizer and LCD. They should be labeled with orange stickers numbered 1 and 2. Simply pop them off the logic board gently.

3. Underneath these cables you’ll see one other labeled as cable 3. This one is a bit trickier as it is clipped down. You’ll need to gently pop up the clasp holding it into the fastener. It is a tiny white clip. Simply pop it upwards and the number 3 cable should then slide right out.

4. Remove the digitizer assembly and set it aside for LCD removal.

Remove the LCD from the old assembly and place it in the new assembly

1. There are 6 screws holding the LCD in place. They are all the same size. Three on the left side of the frame, 2 on the right side of the frame, and 1 on the top right holding down the induction flex. Remove all 6 screws with your #00 Phillips screwdriver and set them aside.

2. Next use your pry tool to slowly work the LCD out of the old assembly on the left and right sides. It should come out fairly easily. Just take special care not to scratch it while removing it. The LCD and back plate will remove in one piece as they are glued together.

3. Re-position the LCD and frame in the new assembly and replace all 6 screws in the new assembly. Make sure to remove any protection film on the inside of the new assembly before putting in the LCD. This is also a good time to check for dust between the LCD and new digitizer. I use air duster when necessary to make sure none gets stuck on the inside of the device.

Reassemble the digitizer

1. Begin with the number 3 cable that clips down. Getting it seated can be a bit tricky. Use a plastic spudger to guide it in the opening if needed. Then push back down the clip that holds it in place.

2. Next push down the number 1 and 2 cables onto the logic board.
3. To snap the new digitizer assembly back in place, start at the top and make sure it is lined up. Once the top is pushed down and flush, snap the bottom into place on each side of the home button.
4. Replace the two dock connector screws.

And… done!

That’s it! You now have a brand new digitizer on your iPhone 3G or 3GS! Turn your iPhone back on and test the digitizer. If the touchscreen is unresponsive, remove the digitizer again and verify that the number 2 cable is pushed down all the way onto the logic board and seated correctly. Also test your proximity sensor while making a call and make sure it is functioning properly.

Have you done this repair yourself? Let us know how it went! Want to know how to perform another type of iPhone repair or modification? Send me suggestions to ally.kazmucha@tipb.com or leave a comment in our brand new Mod and DIY Repair Forum!

For questions or to inquire about mail-in repairs through PXLFIX, please follow us on Twitter, like us on Facebook or e-mail us directly! Of course, you can like us and follow us just because you think we’re cool too!

If you’ve updated your iPhone 3GS to iOS 5 or 5.0.1 and lost your unlock we can help you get it back. The actual jailbreak will be tethered but you’ll still be able to unlock and continue using your device in the mean time until an untethered jailbreak solution is released. iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S users should steer clear of this as it will not work.

Devices supported

• iPhone 3GS

What you’ll need

• RedSn0w 0.9.9b5 or later, we recommend the most current version which is RedSn0w 0.9.9b8 – Mac Link, Windows Link
• A working SIM card (doesn’t matter what carrier as long as it’s activated and working)

Jailbreak with RedSn0w and Install the iPad baseband

You’ll follow the same steps are you would to jailbreak via Redsn0w except for one difference. Instead of just checking Install Cydia you’ll need to check off Install iPad baseband. RedSn0w will warn you that this can not be undone. Agree and continue the jailbreak process.

Boot Tethered

After jailbreaking you’ll need to perform one tethered boot before unlocking. Simply launch RedSn0w again and click Extras. Check the box for Just boot tethered right now. You’ll be walked through DFU mode and your phone should reboot.

Install UltraSn0w

After your phone reboots you’ll need to perform the following steps to unlock it:

Known Issues

A few users have seen issues where their phone will not obtain service after using ultrasn0w on iOS 5 or iOS 5.0.1. If you have this issue, launch RedSn0w once more and choose jailbreak again. Instead of going through the whole process this time, you only want to check Deactivate. Do one more tethered boot and you should be good to go!

If you need more help, visit our TiPb jailbreak & unlock forums for answers to many common questions and to ask your own!

Update: Some users are pointing out that using RedSn0w 0.9.9b8 is breaking GPS functionality again but using RedSn0w 0.9.9b7 doesn’t. So if you’re having that issue, try using the beta 7 version instead. Thanks to all that tipped this!

Trying to figure out if the iPhone is for you? Should you get it now or wait for the next generation to decide? Should you go with the flagship iPhone 4S or maybe a cheaper iPhone 4 or iPhone 3GS? Should you go with AT&T, Verizon, or Sprint? Is 16GB enough or do you need 32GB or even 64GB? Is white the best looking color or black a better bet? And what can you do with your old phone once you’ve taken the plunge?

Enter TiPb’s 2011 iPhone Buyer’s Guide. If you need help deciding, we’ve got your back. And hey, if you already know what you want, just copy this link and mail, tweet, or Facebook it to your family or friends — we’ll help them out so you won’t have to!

Should you buy an iPhone or something else?

iPhone 4S is a phenomenal phone, and while the outside hasn’t changed since last year the insides are all new, and all powerful. Twice as fast for computing, 7x as fast for graphics, with a 64GB option and a new 8 megapixel, F2.4, 1080p camera that puts a lot of point and shoots to shame, it’s competitive with anything else on the market. But it’s not the only device on the market and no one device is right for everyone anyway.

Here’s the deal — if you want something that “just works”, that brings the best internet, apps, and games experience, that’s supported by the massive iTunes and Apple ecosystem (tons of movies, TV shows, cases and accessories), and that allows some hacking via Jailbreak, then iPhone might be for you.

If you’re not sure, we’ve written up a full breakdown, with all the pros on cons on whether or not you should get an iPhone 4S, if you should upgrade from an iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 3G, or original iPhone, or an Android, BlackBerry, webOS, or Windows Phone, or from a feature phone.

• Should you get an iPhone 4S?

Which iPhone should you buy?

Maybe you’ve decided to get an iPhone but you’re not entirely sold on the top-of-the-line iPhone 4S. Fair enough. Apple currently has 3 models on the market with different specs and price points. Here’s how they stack up, both up front and in total cost of ownership terms over a 2 year contract.

• iPhone 4S, iPhone 4, or iPhone 3GS: Which should you get?

To help you get an ever better sense of what you can save compared to what you give up, here are our full reviews of the all current iPhone models on the market:

• iPhone 4S review
• iPhone 4 review
• iPhone 3GS review

When should you buy an iPhone?

So you know you’re getting an iPhone and you know which one you’re getting, your next decision is whether you should go get one now or wait for Apple to release the next generation iPhone next year and get more phone for the same price.

Buy in Fall

Apple has usually announced a new iPhone once a year, every year during the month of June. This year they waited until October, and they may well do that again next year. If you’re reading this in in the fall or winter of 2011, a new iPhone has just been released and you can safely go buy it without worrying that it’ll be made obsolete for roughly another year.

Stay away in summer

Conversely, if you’re reading this in summer or fall 2012, Apple is probably just about to announce another new iPhone and unless you don’t care and absolutely, positively have to have a new phone now, now, now you should hold off until they do. So far every new iPhone has been the same price — $199 and $299 (and now $399)– as the old one but offers way more hardware bang for the buck. At the same time the old model has so far been dropped in price (to $99 or ever free for the 2-year old model) so you can save if you need to.

In between, buy when you need

If you’re reading this smack dab at the 6 month point, around spring of 2012, and you want to know if you should buy, here’s the simple question to ask: Do you need it now?

If you’ve broken your current phone, lost it, or otherwise simply have to buy a new iPhone now get it and have no regrets. There will always be something new on the horizon but that won’t help you if you need a phone now.

If you don’t need it but just want it, wait as long as you possibly can wait then buy the best iPhone available when you can’t wait any more.

What can you do with your old phone?

If you’re getting a new iPhone, you may be wondering what you can do with your old phone. There’s always the option of keeping it around as a backup, or if it’s an old iPhone or smartphone, keeping it around as a media player (old iPhones make great iPods!). You could also give it to a friend or family member who needs it and would appreciate it.

Selling it is something you might also want to consider. There are a lot of options and a lot of things you need to keep in mind so you get the most money, and don’t get ripped off.

• How to sell your old iPhone before upgrading to the iPhone 4S

Which carrier network should you choose?

Once you’ve decided to pull the trigger on a new iPhone, the first thing you need to figure out is which carrier you want to use. It doesn’t matter how good a phone is if you can’t use it due to poor reception or data.

If you only have one good carrier in your area, that’s the carrier you should go with. If you have two or more carriers that are all pretty much the same in your area, then it comes down to things like customer service, whether or not you already have a plan (especially business plans or family plans that would penalize you for switching, etc.), coverage in areas you may travel too, overall speed and reliability of the network, etc. If you’re not sure ask your neighbors and colleagues which carriers they use and what they think of the service. Wherever you use your iPhone most, find out which carrier makes the people there the happiest.

AT&T vs. Verizon vs. Sprint

In the US there’s currently a bigger decision to be made because the three iPhone carriers use different network technologies: AT&T on GSM and Verizon and Sprint on CDMA. Speed vs. coverage vs. reliability — you have some choices to make. You won’t be able to change later without breaking your contract and buying a new phone (they’re not cross-compatible) so think it through. Here’s some more information to help you decide:

• AT&T vs. Verizon vs. Sprint: Which iPhone 4S should you choose?
• Verizon and Sprint iPhone 4S and the limitations of CDMA

Note: iPhone 4S is a world phone, which means even if you buy the Verizon or Sprint CDMA models, you will be able to travel and roam on international GSM carriers as well.

Does storage size matter?

The iPhone comes in 16GB and 32GB, and for the first time ever, iPhone 4S comes in 64GB as well. But how much is enough? And will Apple’s new online iCloud service mean you can get by with less local storage?

It costs $100 for every step up in storage, so it might be tempting to save some cash up front. However, games, movies, TV shows, and all the big photos and giant videos you shoot with your iPhone can add up.

We’ve broken down the prices and capacities, so if you’re weighing your options, here what you should consider:

• 16GB, 32GB, or 64GB: Which iPhone 4S capacity should you get?

Black or white, which iPhone color looks best?

iPhones come in any color you want — as long as it’s black or white. Most often, one look is enough to know your favorite. However, there are some things to think about. Is the white color distracting when you play games or watch videos? Does it discolor over time? Does it have any issues with cases or other accessories?

We’ve gone over each of these, and here are the answers:

• Black or white: Which iPhone 4S color should you choose?

Where to buy?

That’s it. You know you’re getting an iPhone, you know when, and you know on which carrier. You’ve done your homework, you’ve made your choice, and now it’s time buy. But where you should you buy it?

Apple Retail and Apple Online

If you have an Apple Retail Store in your area you can go there, and if it’s in stock, leave with your new iPhone right away. They also offer help with your purchase and will even help you get set up free of charge. If you’re worried about protecting your investment, they can also get you setup with AppleCare, and their Genius Bar can help you with hardware problems in the future. Corny as it sounds, It’s not just shopping, it’s an experience. Apple Retail has the best customer service in the business and it shows. There are no discounts, however, not ever.

If there’s no Apple Retail store near you there’s also Apple Online in many countries. Again, no discounts but you’re dealing directly with Apple.

In a lot of countries, Apple Retail and Apple Online are also the only places where you can get full price, officially unlocked GSM iPhones if that’s an option you want. (Can be handy for frequent international travelers.)

Carrier Stores and big boxes

If you want brick-and-morter but don’t have an Apple Store, your carrier will often have one or several stores in your area. Drop buy or get it shipped to you. If you’re getting a upgrade discount or other carrier incentives it’s a great way to get it all setup right away.

Big box and chain retailers, everything from Best Buy to the Shack to Tesco also carry iPhones. If you have loyalty points or they’re just super convenient, check them out as well.

Buyer beware

Shady operators also try to sell discount iPhones, sometimes devices that aren’t even really iPhones but cheap — and highly breakable — knockoffs. It goes without saying you should avoid those. Any deal too good to be true probably is. If you save money only to end up with a phone that doesn’t run iOS and may not even run on your carrier you really just wasted your money.

After you buy

Once you’ve gotten your new iPhone and are ready to set it up, get apps, get accessories, maybe get Jailbroken, here’s how to get going:

• iPhone 4S glossary
• How to setup your new iPhone 4S
• How to transfer your data over from your old iPhone to your new iPhone 4S
• How to transfer your data over from your old Android, BlackBerry, webOS or Windows Phone to your new iPhone
• iOS 5 for iPhone and iPad walkthrough
• iPhone 4S tips and how-tos
• iPhone Live! podcasts (with video!)

Need more help?

No article can cover every detail or address every unique circumstance or concern. Luckily TiPb also hosts the iPhone Forums, a vast community where users can ask questions, give feedback, and get help. Check them out:

• iPhone discussion and help forums

Sn0wBreeze for Windows users has now officially been updated to support iOS 5 beta 6 users. We reported the old version of Sn0wBreeze already working for some users, yet others had complications. But the tool has now been updated to officially support beta 6.

Yes the jailbreak is still tethered (with the exception of old bootrom iPhone 3GS users). This version of Sn0wBreeze not only lets you jailbreak iOS 5 beta 6, it will also allow you to skip the UDID check. This basically means you can install the beta without having a developer’s license. (We don’t condone this but to each their own.) Sn0wBreeze will also preserve your baseband like before and allow “hacktivation”. The following devices are supported –

• Original iPad
• iPhone 3GS (if you had the older bootrom it will also be untethered)
• iPhone 4 (GSM)
• iPhone 4 (CDMA)
• iPod Touch 3G
• iPod Touch 4

Keep in mind that not only is iOS 5 still in beta but that these jailbreaks are also beta. So if you’re not afraid of some bugs and are already aware of the risks involved, simply hit the link below to download the updated version of Sn0wBreeze.

[Sn0wBreeze 2.8b6 download link]

The US Patent and Trademark office just published fourteen new patents recently awarded to Apple. Among them are design patents for the MacBook Air, iPhone 3G, Apple remote, their battery charger design, and many more.

Considering Apple recently sued Samsung for copying the iPhone and iOS look and feel, these patents could end up with many other manufacturers in court. Lots of notebooks have recently mimicked the design of the MacBook Air or other variations of the MacBook line. None of the patents seem too design specific. If Apple has the ability to sue based on the overall appearance and design, I definitely think we’ll see more lawsuits springing up sooner rather than later.

Patently Apple

Still have a working original iPhone 2G or iPhone 3G (or an iPod touch 1 or 2) and wondering how to get iOS4 features like Multitasking, Folders or Tethering? If you’re willing to Jailbreak with WhiteD00r, you can enable most of these new features with a simple install. We’ll show you how after the break!

Steps

1. Head over to whited00r.com and select your device from the “firmware download” page.

2. Extract the .zip file (make sure that your unarchiver/unzip utility doesn’t extract the contents of the .ipsw as well!)

3. Plug your iPhone 2G, iPhone 3G, or iPod touch 1 or 2 into iTunes

4. Once detected, hold down the ALT (Mac OS X) or SHIFT (Windows) key, and then browse to unzipped .ipsw on your computer.

5. Be patient! It can take between 10 and 15 minutes for your iPhone or iPod to to activate.

6. That’s it! You’ll now be able to enjoy such features as Multitasking, Folders, custom wallpapers and more.

Additionally, your phone is now jailbroken, so you can install the vast library of Jailbreak apps.

Unfortunately, there are some things missing in WhiteD00r, like access to Game Center, the auto naming of Folders, your video camera comes in a separate app, and doesn’t save to the camera roll without some minor post-installation tweaks. However, for a unofficial hack, it works very well.

It certainly gave my old iPhone a new lease of life, and if you have any additional suggestions for getting more out of your old devices, let us know!

Tips of the day will range from beginner-level 101 to advanced-level ninjary. If you already know this tip, keep the link handy as a quick way to help a friend. If you have a tip of your own you’d like to suggest, add them to the comments or send them in to dailytips@tipb.com. (If it’s especially awesome and previously unknown to us, we’ll even give ya a reward…)

Have an iPhone 3G or original iPhone, no longer getting iOS updates from Apple, and wondering how to turn off location data tracking? Apple recently fixed the tracking issue in iOS 4.3.3 but devices that haven’t been updated were left out in the cold. While some people argue that jailbreak may make your device more vulnerable, there have been a few instances where jailbreaking closed exploits before Apple did.

Jailbreak dev Ryan Petrich has again came through with untrackerd. Anyone running an iPhone 3G (which stopped getting updates with iOS 4.2) or original iPhone (which maxed out at iOS 3.1.3) can install it and not worry about data tracking. Hit the jump for a quick step by step!

1. Jailbreak your iPhone if you haven’t already.
2. Open Cydia and tap on Search.
3. Type in “untrackerd”.
4. Install untrackerd.
5. You’re done! It simply runs a script in the background that will dump tracking information.

Again, anyone with an iPhone 3GS or iPhone 4 running iOS 4.3.3 does not need to use untrackerd as Apple addressed the issue in that firmware update. This is simply useful for those folks with an iPhone 3G or earlier that won’t receive the fix. If you have an iPhone 3G or first gen, try it out and let us know if you have issues in our TiPb Jailbreak forums or in the comments below!

Tips of the day will range from beginner-level 101 to advanced-level ninjary. If you already know this tip, keep the link handy as a quick way to help a friend. If you have a tip of your own you’d like to suggest, add them to the comments or send them in to news@tipb.com. (If it’s especially awesome and previously unknown to us, we’ll even give ya a reward…)

If you are a huge Steve Jobs fan and also can’t get enough of the Star Wars film franchise, then your dreams may have just come true. Society 6 has just released a rather unique iPhone case that has Steve Jobs cast in a carbonite case.

The case is meant to resemble Han Solo being frozen and imprisoned in carbonite by Darth Vader, in the film “The Empire Strikes Back”, this time however, it is Steve Jobs instead of Han.

The case is available now from Society 6 and comes in  iPhone 4, 3GS and 3G flavors. It is manufactured in one piece from impact resistant flexible plastic. Society 6 also do a few other similar products including t-shirts and laptop / iPad skins.

Now if anyone fancies picking one of these up, they should do so quickly. We can’t see Apple or Steve being too impressed with these!

[TUAW]

Adobe has just launched its Adobe TV Mobile portal which is now optimised for iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Adobe TV is a great source of tutorials for Adobes catalogue of products. With this update you can now watch the how-to videos on your iOS devices. Adobe claim that a mobile version of the site was the number one request from its audience so Flash arguments aside, Adobe has gone ahead and delivered the content to iOS users.

We added iPad/iPhone support because our customers asked for it. It’s that simple. There’s no subtext related to Flash, which we continue to use to deliver our content onto Flash-supported devices. We believe in delivering our content to all platforms and devices that are meaningful to our audience. We also believe in using our own tools, the best authoring tools on the planet, to create cross-platform, cross-device experiences.

You can access the mobile optimized site at http://tv.adobe.com/ and you will be automatically redirected to the appropriate page for your device. Have any of our readers used Adobe TV? Will you be using the mobile version on your iOS device? Let us know in the comments!

[Adobe Blog]

If you can’t get enough of the impending British Royal Wedding, now there is an app for that! Trinity Mirror has launched a universal iOS app that includes photo galleries, video clips and audio from its royal correspondent James Whitaker.

Appealing to all users, whether they be staunch Royalists or just swept up in the fairytale romance between William and Kate, prepare to be enchanted by their compelling story while devouring this exclusive content from the Daily Mirror: each chapter contains an introductory video and picture gallery, with the background behind each image being easily and smoothly accessible by simply tapping on the ‘info’ or ‘audio’ icon on each image.

The question is, is there any demand for an app like this? Is anyone really that interested in the upcoming Royal Wedding to actually buy an app? Let us know what you think in the comments!

[$1.99 - iTunes-Link]

Seems like Apple just can’t get their alarms to work consistently following time changes. The bug struck again, according to BBC News, as some iPhone owners in the UK were late for work this morning after the clocks moved forward an hour for British Summer Time. Similar problems occurred during the switch to and from standard time in North America, and following New Year.

This time the glitch is not with the iPhone’s clock application but is affecting non-recurring alarms set within the iPhone’s calendar application. The alarms either go off one hour late, or not at all. We are not quite sure why anyone would want to set up a morning wakeup call in this way in the first place, but the bug could also affect agenda alarms too.

I am in the UK and my alarm went off without a hitch today and all my agenda reminders too. Did any of our UK readers experience any alarm related problems this morning? Let us know in the comments!

[BBC News]

According to The Music Void, Apple is pushing hard to re-launch its MobileMe service this April. The new MobileMe service is said to include a music storage service, to be called Locker.

Again we hear the term, “from informed sources”, this time telling The Music Void that Apple has already sealed a deal with Warner. Apple is using that to leverage the other music labels to get the deals done in time for the supposed launch in April. The Locker service would provide an online backup or storage solution for music which could then be accessed via any iPad, iPod touch or iPhone device linked to the same iTunes account. In other words Cloud Storage! The new MobileMe service is rumored to come with a subscription price of $20 a year.

Would you use the Locker music service? Would it be worth $20 a year? Let us know in the comments!

[The Music Void via 9to5 Mac]

New to iPhone, iPod touch or iPad and trying to figure out how to change the default search engine to something other than Google? For many users Google is synonymous with web search but if you prefer Yahoo! or Microsoft Bing, it’s an easy change to make. And we’ll show you how after the break!

If you want to change your default search engine from Google to Yahoo! or Bing, here’s what to do:

• From the home screen, tap on the Settings app
• Tap on Safari.
• Tap on Search Engine.
• Select the new Search Engine.

Once you quit settings, your selection will remain the default Search Engine until you change it again.

Bonus Tip: Just because you set one search engine as default for the search field doesn’t mean you can’t use others. Just enter their URL (google.com, yahoo.com, bing.com, etc.) in Safari and you can use any one you wish, whenever you wish.

Tips of the day will range from beginner-level 101 to advanced-level ninjary. If you already know this tip, keep the link handy as a quick way to help a friend. If you have a tip of your own you’d like to suggest, add them to the comments or send them in to dailytips@tipb.com. (If it’s especially awesome and previously unknown to us, we’ll even give ya a reward…)

UK newspaper The Daily Mail, has published an article profiling the life of Apple’s SVP of Industrial Design Jonathan Ive. The most interesting point to come from the article is a quote from one of Ive’s former colleagues when asked about the recent rumor of Ive wanting to return to the UK.

I’m not sure there is any truth he wants to come back. My last conversations with him were that he was planning to sell his house in the UK.

The article goes on to tell us about how Ive became what he is today at Apple and the road he followed to get there. It is well worth reading. On a personal view, it is good to know that some of his early years were spent at Newcastle Polytechnic, based in my home town!

[The Daily Mail]

The popular Google Mobile app has just received a major update and a complete name change too — it will now be known simply as Google Search.

The update offers more ways to interact with the app using swipe gestures. Swiping down in a page will reveal the search bar whilst browsing. There is also a dedicated apps button for quick access to mobile versions of Google Apps. A new toolbar is available to filter search results; again a swipe is initiated to access this toolbar, left to right.

If you leave the app and come back later, you’ll be able to either start a new search by typing in the search box, hit the microphone button to do a voice search or tap on the camera icon to use Google Goggles. If you want to get back to exactly where you were before you left the app, you can simply tap the lower part of the page and it will be restored.

Google Goggles, Voice Search, My Location and Gmail have also all been improved in this new app. There is a short video after the break, demonstrating the new features.

[iTunes Link]

So you have jailbroken your beloved iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch, installed lots of tweaks and now find it to be unstable, or you need to take your device into an Apple Store for service, what do you do? To find out how unjailbreak please stay with us after the break.

The good news is that reversing the Jailbreak process is relatively simple and painless, follow the steps below and your iPhone will be back to its virgin like state!

1. Fire up iTunes on your Mac or PC.
2. Connect your device via the USB cable.
3. Either cancel the automatic backup with the on-screen slider or let it complete.
4. Click on your device in the left column of iTunes on your PC or Mac screen.
5. Click on Restore, select Backup if you cancelled it in step 3, if you didn’t cancel it, select Don’t Back Up.
6. Your device will now be restored back to factory settings and the Jailbreak removed.
7. When complete, select the backup you just created and iTunes will re-install all your apps and settings, leaving your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch how it was before venturing to the dark side!

UK news paper, The Sunday Times is reporting that Jonathan Ive, the Senior Vice President of Industrial Design at Apple, wants to return to the UK to live! Ive is the principal designer of the iMac, MacBook, unibody MacBook Pro, iPod, iPhone, and iPad.

Ive supposedly wishes to commute to Cupertino from his home, which is based in Somerset, England, and the Apple board is not exactly thrilled by the idea. A friend of Ive’s family has allegedly confirmed the dispute and told The Sunday Times:

“Unfortunately he is just too valuable to Apple and they told him in no uncertain terms that if he headed back to England he would not be able to sustain his position with them.”

[Cult of Mac]

New to the iPhone and curious how to change your text message (SMS) tone? Apple is not overly generous when it comes to customizing alert tones on your iPhone. Ring tones are completely customizable but email tones can’t be changed from the default unless you jailbreak. Text messages are somewhere in the middle — you can personalize them but not customize them (yet). Read on after the break to find out how!.

Changing the default SMS/Text tone

To change the tone you hear for all incoming texts:

1. Open Settings
2. Tap Sounds
3. Tap Text Tone
4. Choose new tone (A preview of the tone will play when tapped)

That’s all there is to it. All new text messages will trigger the new tone when they arrive.

Changing an individual contact’s SMS/Text tone

To set a personalized SMS/Text tone for an individual contact:

1. Launch the Contacts app (or Phone app and choose the Contacts tab)
2. Scroll to the contact you want to personalize
3. Tap on their name to bring up their contact page
4. Tap edit
5. Tap on Text Tone
6. Choose a new tone

Now, when that specific contact texts you, you’ll get their specific tone. It’s a great way to differentiate family from friends, for example.

Tips of the day will range from beginner-level 101 to advanced-level ninjary. If you already know this tip, keep the link handy as a quick way to help a friend. If you have a tip of your own you’d like to suggest, add them to the comments or send them in to news@tipb.com. (If it’s especially awesome and previously unknown to us, we’ll even give ya a reward…)

The New York Plaza hotel has turned to the iPad to offer guests a little extra comfort during their stay. The rollout was completed in January and gives guests access to a huge list of features.

Some of the features include ordering of room service, restaurant reservations, wake up calls, city guides, check airline schedules and even printing of boarding passes. The iPad can even control the rooms lighting, heating and air conditioning as well as offering guests’ access to the web. The hotel worked with developer Intelity who customised its ICE software (Interactive Customer Experience) to provide the experience.

“Before in the guest rooms, we had another digital panel that controlled the lights, the temperature and some guest services,” Shane Krige, general manager of The Plaza explained to Luxist. “But it wasn’t sophisticated enough for what we wanted to do. So we teamed up with Intelity to devise the software for the program.” “We chose the iPad because it is a great piece of equipment that is here to stay and won’t disappear tomorrow,” adds Krige. “It brings another five star element to the hotel.”

The iPad will not replace the current concierge service, but is meant to offer guests more choice should they wish to use it. The app will also be available in iTunes for guests to download and use on their iPhone too. There is a video after the break showing how it works!

[Luxist]

Intelity’s ICE Touch Premiers at The Plaza Hotel from Intelity on Vimeo.

The next update to Angry Birds Seasons will be a Valentine’s Day special. Rovio has announced that the update will be coming in the next week.

The update will include 15 new levels, bonus content, surprises and fun, all in the spirit of Valentine’s Day! So expect loved up birds and pigs, fluffy hearts and cupid arrows flying around your screen.

The app will be arriving for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad, so keep your eyes peeled. Don’t forget you can check our daily post, New and updated iPhone and iPad apps for more news on all your favorites.

[iTunes Link, thanks Gregory]

According to the New York Times, Apple has rejected a few apps recently including Sony’s Reader app, based on the way content is purchased for use within the app. Sony’s Reader app is an eBook platform similar to Apple’s own iBooks app and the Amazon Kindle app. Content can be found and purchased outside the app, bypassing Apple’s iTunes Store and therefore bypassing Apples slice of the pie.

According to Steve Haber, president of Sony’s digital reading division, Apple told him that from now on, all future in-app purchases would have to go through Apple and this includes eBooks. Currently the Amazon Kindle bypasses the App Store too; when you select Kindle Store from within the Kindle app, you are taken to a web page where you can select, buy and pay for your book. This happens outside of iTunes and the App Store; Apple does not take any revenue from Kindle book purchases, but that now looks set to change.

Maybe this change is coming with the new magazine subscription service we expect to be implemented in iOS 4.3 and the launch of The Daily newspaper. Either way, this is another blow to the consumer, who will no doubt end up paying more and have less control of their content. What do you think? Let us know in the comments!

[The New York Times]

Netgear CEO Patrick Lo has spoken out over Apple’s closed ecosystem and the ego of Steve Jobs. Speaking at a lunch in Sydney Australia, Lo questioned the future of Apple’s closed system, in the face of mounting competition from Google’s “Open” Android operating system.

Once Steve Jobs goes away, which is probably not far away, then Apple will have to make a strategic decision on whether to open up the platform. Ultimately a closed system just can’t go that far … If they continue to close it and let Android continue to creep up then it’s pretty difficult as I see it.

What’s the reason for him to trash Flash? There’s no reason other than ego.

Lo did not stop with Apple, he also claimed that Microsoft had fallen too far behind with the Windows Phone 7 platform and that it was now game over.

Strong views, but are they fair? Do Apple need to open up the platform to continue the growth needed to see off Android? Do Apple care about the iPhone being the number one selling smartphone? Let us know what you think in the comments!

[Sydney Morning Herald]

Online UK bank First Direct has launched an iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad app that lets you view your statement but also carry out some simple transactions too. Other UK banking apps are limited to viewing your account statements which is a handy feature to have; First Direct has taken it a step further.

The app will allow you to view your balances and your last 20 transactions, make transfers between your accounts but most importantly, make payments to other personal accounts or organisations. To use the service you must already be a registered First Direct internet banking user and payments can only be made to those accounts that you have setup online already.

The app is very clean and simple to use and utilizes the same passwords as your online account. First Direct say the level of security is the same as when you log on at firstdirect.com. The app works with iPhone, iPod touch and iPad running iOS 3.1 and above and is a free download.

Would you use an app like this to keep on top of your finances? Is security too much of a concern? Let us know in the comments!

[iTunes Link]

It looks like Apple isn’t showing any iOS 4.3 love to the iPhone 3G. No formal announcement has been made about the lack of support but no official iOS 4.3 beta download has been made available either, not for iPhone 3G or the 2009 iPhone touch 2.

Would Apple really cut off the iPhone 3G with iOS 4.3 and not wait for iOS 5? Do you think iOS 4 performance issues are to blame?

According to a Boy Genius source, and as reported yesterday, iOS 4.3 will definitely be coming to all iPhones and include the Hotspot feature which we saw at the Verizon event yesterday. Accoring to the source, the OS version will be 8F5148b and will have a baseband 04.08.00.

The release will not be until sometime in March however; so do not expect it to hit GSM devices as soon as the Verizon iPhone is launched, we are going to have to wait a little while longer. Also like we said yesterday, we imagine that the feature will be very dependent on your carriers approval, as will any surcharges for it. Maybe AT&T will take the opportunity to be an early adopter to keep existing customers and attract new ones too, here’s hoping!

Just as a refresher, the Personal Hotspot feature will allow up to five Wi-Fi devices to connect to and share your iPhone’s cellular data connection.

[BGR]

When placed in the dock, your iPhone or iPod Touch will be charged, but also automatically backed up. The backup is for photographs and contacts only. Unfortunately you cannot backup any applications, music, video, SMS, Email etc. To enable the backup process, you also need an app from the App Store called SuperHero which is free. The app launches automatically when you place your device in the dock. The dock is connected directly to a power outlet and has no facility to connect to a Mac or PC should you want to sync to iTunes.

The included 4GB SD card can be replaced with a larger capacity card should you need more storage for your photos and contacts; also more than one device can be backed up to the same SD card.

The Iomega SuperHero should be available worldwide later this month for around $70 and is compatible with iPhone 3G, 3GS and 4 as well the 2nd generation iPod Touch and above.

Can you see yourself using a dock like this? Is it too limited as a backup solution? Let us know in the comments!

[cnet]

RunKeeper Pro has been made available to everyone for free today. The offer lasts until the end of January 2011 so don’t delay, go and grab yourself a copy of this fantastic app for free.

In an effort to encourage more people to get off the couch, and as a show of appreciation to the RunKeeper community for your terrific support for the last two and a half years, we’re making the RunKeeper Pro app (usually $9.99 USD) free to download now through the end of January!

What more do you need to kick-start your fitness goals for 2011!

[iTunes Link]

iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad having problems or just being buggy and unresponsive and curious how to restart or reset it? Strange as it sounds, just like a computer, restarting or resetting can solve a host of problems. We’ll show you how after the break!

Update: Re-Spring iPhone 4S with Siri

iPhone 4S can do a very quick re-Spring (relaunch of the Springboard, or Home screen system) thanks to Siri.

1. Hold down the Home button
2. Say “Restart”

You’ll see your iPhone 4S screen go dark briefly, then come back.

Restart your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad

The first thing to try is a simple restart.

1. Hold down the Sleep/Wake button until a red slider appears on the screen.
2. Slide your finger across the slide and the iPhone will turn off.
3. Turn the iPhone back on again by pressing the Sleep / Wake button until the Apple logo appears on screen.

It will take a little bit till your iPhone turns back on this is normal dont worry.

If the problem is still there after a power down or if the power down option failed due to a freeze up, there is another option. You can reset your iPhone. Don’t panic, your normal data will not be wiped.

Reset your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad

1. Press and hold the Sleep/Wake button and the Home button at the same time for at least 10 seconds.
2. Ignore the red slider that appears on the screen and keep holding both buttons until the Apple logo appears.

That’s it, iPhone will restart and hopefully all your problems are cured.

The two methods are slightly different, the first method is a soft reset only and leaves running programsin memory. The second method completely powers down your iPhone and also clears the RAM and cache.

Tips of the day will range from beginner-level 101 to advanced-level ninjary. If you already know this tip, keep the link handy as a quick way to help a friend. If you have a tip of your own you’d like to suggest, add them to the comments or send them in to dailytips@tipb.com. (If it’s especially awesome and previously unknown to us, we’ll even give ya a reward…)

Apple has just released a significant update to its iBooks application for iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. New in version 1.2 is the ability to experience fully illustrated books, be they children’s picture books or books of beautifully designed art, you can now enjoy them in all their glory within iBooks. Another new feature is the ability to organise your books and PDFs into personal collections, this is also synched over the air to your other iOS devices if you have them.

Air Print has also been enabled if you have one of the few printers that work with this; you can now print PDFs and notes you have written in iBooks. Apple also claim to be able to fit more text to the screen by automatically hyphenating text, this is only available if your device is updated to iOS 4.2

There is no question that iBooks is a beautifully presented application, the only problem is the lack of content in the iBooks store.

[iTunes Link]

Apple has launched its 12 days of Christmas promotion in the UK, an iTunes offer where Apple gives away a different free download each day. The download can be a song, music video, app, book, TV episode or even a complete film.

The promotion starts on December 26^th and runs for 12 days. Each free gift will only be available for 24 hours. Apple also has a dedicated 12 days of Christmas app, compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad, that is available today so you won’t miss any of the give aways that start on the 26th.

No news on availability in other countries yet but we are sure it will be coming soon!

[iTunes Link]

MuscleNerd from the iPhone Dev Team has confirmed via Twitter that he has managed to get an untethered jailbreak working for iOS 4.2.1 devices. Currently the only jailbreak available for iOS 4.2.1 involves tethering your device to a Mac or PC in the event that your device needs a reboot. This could be problematic if you are out and are away from your notebook or desktop machine.

ipt4g 4.2.1 untethered JB w/4.2b3 kernel … Wastes no exploits, but upcoming @comex JB maybe better

In order to use this method, you must have had your SHSH blobs saved with Cydia or TinyUmbrella, as the exploit uses iOS 4.2 beta 3. No news on the release date of this yet, or Comex’s upcoming jailbreak, but we will let you know as soon as we find out.

The jailbreak will work with all iOS devices, the question is, do you want your 4.2.1 jailbreak right… or simply right now? Video after the break.

[MuscleNerd]

Air Video, a fantastic app that can transcode and stream video content from your Windows PC or Mac straight to your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad, has just been updated to include support for multitasking and Retina display. 

Your Windows PC or Mac needs a small piece of software installed to communicate with your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad but once setup you can stream native iOS video content (MP4 and M4V) instantly to your device (rather than having to sync it over first via iTunes). Air Video will convert non-supported video formats (AVI, MKV, etc) and either store them for later viewing or stream them on the fly so you can watch now rather than waiting for later.

This is done with one click on your iOS device; no other software is needed for the conversion. You can also setup specific folders for the converted videos to be stored in and choose what order they appear on your device.

Air Video is an excellent app that gives me instant access to over 2TB of media on my Windows Home Server. Do you use it? Let us know what you think in the comments!

[$2.99 - iTunes Link]

You can imagine the scenario, you are out in the freezing winter weather, your iPhone rings and you can’t answer it; you can if you remove your gloves or use your nose but that is not a great solution. Well GloveTips may have the answer.

GloveTips are small dime sized flexible disks that you mount on your gloves. Each disk has special thread stitched in the center that will interact with capacitive touchscreen devices when you wear your glove.

Yes you can already buy purpose made gloves that you can use with your iPhone. The main difference is that you can use these with your own gloves. The videos after the break show how well GloveTips appear to work and also how they are fitted to your gloves. Not sure how well GloveTips will hold up if your gloves get wet or need washing.

GloveTips are available now at a price $19.99 for a pack of 3. Can you see yourself using this solution? Let us know in the comments.

[GloveTips via Pocket-lint]

iOS 4.2 for iPhone supports a technology known as Network Controlled Fast Dormancy which enables the cell network and the handset to work together to create the best conditions for smartphones to work quickly yet have a longer battery life, and minimize network congestion.

Interestingly, it is Nokia Siemens Networks and not Apple that has brought this to everyone’s attention. Nokia Siemens Networks has posted the news on its own blog page.

Tests by Nokia Siemens Networks have shown that iPhone iOs 4.2  supports a technology called Network Controlled Fast Dormancy. To overcome the problem Nokia Siemens Networks introduced a method that, instead of putting the handset into idle or keeping it always active, keeps the handset in an intermediate state. From here, a smartphone can wake up much more quickly and needs to send far fewer signals to and from the network to start a data connection. You get a fast network response and longer battery life.

As Nokia Siemens Networks point out, this technology is a good thing for the user and the actual network. Users gobble up less data and get a better overall experience; especially battery life. The network receives less demand and can provide a better service to its users.

So have any of our readers noticed any improvement in data retrieval times and more importantly battery life since updating to iOS 4.2? Let us know in the comments.

[Nokia Siemens Networks via Engadget]

We tested out iPhone 3G on the original GM release of iOS 4.2 and performance seemed far better than the dismal results on iOS 4 though still not as snappy as iOS 3.1.3. Now that you’ve had your hands on it for a week we were wondering how it performed for you? If iOS 3.1.3 was great and iOS 4 was all but unusable, where does iOS 4.2 fit along the curve? Is it a breakthrough or still a deal breaker?

Vote up in the poll and leave your comments down below!

MuscleNerd and the iPhone Dev-Team have released their long awaited update to Ultrasn0w which will use iPad’s old baseband (06.15.00) from iOS 3.2.2 to unlock anyone stuck at basebands 5.14.01, 5.14.02 or 5.15.05 for the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS. Ultrasn0w requires you to be jailbroken and to use pwnagetool to upgrade your baseband firmware to iPad’s 06.15.00 baseband. Ultrasn0w is then available to unlock that baseband and can be downloaded for free from Cydia.  Please read this entire post and also read iPhone Dev Team’s blog.  If you are unsure about any of the following instructions or warnings, please head on over to our forums! 

iPhone Dev-Team gives the following instructions:

We’ve been busy updating both PwnageTool and redsn0w to make the baseband update as seamless as possible.

1. First up is “PwnageTool 4.1.3 Unlock Edition”. It has a special dialog box which will ask you if you want to update to the iPad baseband. You must already have the iPad 3.2.2 IPSW on your computer (see the above link)….so just point PwnageTool at it (or let it find it on its own if you’re in “simple” mode).
2. Directly after PwnageTool 4.1.3 is available, the official ultrasn0w repo http://repo666.ultrasn0w.com will be updated with ultrasn0w 1.2, which covers iPhone 4 baseband 01.59.00 and iPhone 3G/3GS basebands 04.26.08, 05.11.07, 05.12.01, 05.13.04 and now 06.15.00.
3. Finally, we’ll release an update to redsn0w today for those without Macs and can’t run PwnageTool. The new redsn0w will give you the option to update your baseband to 06.15 too.

Also, iPhone Dev-Team issues this warning:

WARNING — YOU DO THIS AT YOUR OWN RISK! PLEASE UNDERSTAND THE CONSEQUENCES OF UPDATING TO 06.15.

1. There is no way to come back down from 06.15, and there’s no hiding the baseband version from Apple. You’ll be voiding your warranty in a very obvious way.
2. If some future baseband comes out with a critical fix, you won’t be able to update to it if it remains down in the 05.xx sequence (then again, you wouldn’t update to it if you wanted to keep your unlock anyway).
3. Starting with FW 4.2.1 if you have 06.15 on your iPhone you won’t ever be able to restore to stock firmware (it will fail). You’ll need to only restore to custom IPSWs (then again, if you’re unlocker you should already be doing that).

Certainly don’t update to 06.15 if you don’t need to! Only do this if you need the unlock and you’re stuck on 05.14 or 05.15, and you’re willing to assume the above risks. iPhone3GS users with old bootroms who want to go to 4.2.1 should not use this PwnageTool! Update to stock 4.2.1 first, then use the upcoming redsn0w to update your baseband.

Unlocking your iPhone allows you to use any GSM carrier which would still limit you to AT&T and TMobile in the US. iPhone 4 users will still get a badge on Cydia notifying them of the update and can download and install it to remove the badge, although it will have no affect. Word is that an unlock is being developed for the iPhone 4 as well, however no time table has been given.

UPDATE: iPhone Dev-Team has just released the following update: The new redsn0w 0.9.6beta5 is out. It gives both Windows and OSX users the ability to flash the iPad 06.15 baseband on iPhone3G or iPhone3GS. It fetches the baseband files directly from Apple for now (the only IPSW you ever point it at is the stock IPSW for the FW on your iPhone right now). There may be a long delay while it’s doing this (their servers are currently getting pounded).

• OSX (SHA1 a322ec2c9e91993eca21abaf2e655bb44de3d7d4)
• Windows (SHA1 7250416e17c3aea9838cdfc73712b38b025e2ed0) (Windows 7 and Vista users, please run redsn0w as Administrator in “XP Compatiblity Mode”)

If you do flash your baseband via redsn0w, please keep it plugged into USB the whole time. You don’t want your battery to die during the flash process!

Will you be jailbreaking for this new unlock? Are you finally able to update to 4.2.1? Let us know how it’s working for you by leaving a comment below!

We mentioned this back during the betas, but it’s worth a mention again as many iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS owners out there finished their iOS 4.2 update yesterday only to discover something missing — the new text tones! Yes, for some reason Apple has chosen to only make those available on iPhone 4. No iPhone 4, no new text tones.

But why, you ask? We’re wondering the same thing. We know this can’t be performance-related, that’s for sure. This makes us curious about what an email response from Steve Jobs would look like on the matter.

(Not that the new text tones are anything to write home about — check out the video after the break if you want to hear them in action.)

Any iPhone 3G or iPhones 3GS owners out there feel left out in the cold and care to speculate?

When Apple announced Find my iPhone was going free this morning they seemed to restrict it to 2010 hardware: iPhone 4, iPod touch 4, and iPad, but now it looks like there may be a way to get it working on iPhone 3GS and other unsupported devices. In fact, Apple.com tells you how:

Create a free Find My iPhone account on any iPhone 4, iPad, or iPod touch (4th generation) running iOS 4.2. Once you create an account on a qualifying device, use your Apple ID and password to enable Find My iPhone on your other devices running iOS 4.2. Find My iPhone is not available in all countries.

UPDATE: Looks like there may be a limit of 3 free accounts per 2010 iOS device.

[Find my iPhone page via @jsnell]

SPB Software has just announced that its popular TV viewing application is now available for the iPad. SPB TV was previously only available for the iPhone and iPod Touch but has just been updated to a universal binary. 

SPB TV gives you access to more than 150 subscription free TV channels, integrated TV guide, video on demand, adaptive bandwidth control and channels from 17 European countries.

It can be downloaded from the App Store for free and there is no monthly subscription fee. The app is ad-supported: an advertisement is shown while the stream is buffering and when a user opens a new channel.

[Free - iTunes Link]

iTunes 10.1 is now available for download on both Mac and PC. In preparation for the impending release of iOS 4.2, Apple has released the newest version of iTunes which will be necessary to install the new firmware. Also, iTunes 10.1 brings AirPlay to the Apple TV and provides for a number of important stability and performance improvements.

Have you found any other improvements? Let us know by leaving a comment!

Apple.com/iTunes/

The iOS 4.2 GM build seems to missing something — AirPlay support for iPhone 3G. As we all know, iPhone 3G is already missing several iOS 4 features, and wasn’t scheduled to get AirPrint either. Apple has said in the past 2008 hardware just wasn’t able to keep up. However, AirPlay was alive and well on iPhone 3G throughout iOS 4.2 betas and Apple’s very own website claimed that AirPlay would work for every iOS 4 device, which would include the iPhone 3G.

Obviously we will have to wait until iOS 4.2 goes public to see if Apple will indeed include AirPlay support for iPhone 3G, but as of now it looks like iPhone 3G owners have another reason to be disappointed in their device.

If you are still rocking an iPhone 3G, how do you feel about the possibility of once again being left out in the cold?

[ 9 to 5 Mac ]

If you are a fan of some of the features the Android OS has to offer and currently have a jailbroken iPhone then you will be very happy to know that Bootlace v2.1 will now allow you to install Android on your device without even hooking up to your computer.

According to Twitter user @cpich3g:

Bootlace 2.1 Released, Installs OpeniBoot from userland! – http://bit.ly/a8ELoV Congrats to @nidawson @bluerisEN @nickpack

If you are unaware of what OpeniBoot or even Bootlace are here is a quick explanation:

Bootlace is an iOS application which allows the installation of iDroid and OpeniBoot as well as configuration of OpeniBoot settings. Also supported is QuickBoot – a way of directly booting into the selected OS without modifying normal OpeniBoot settings.

Bootlace can be found at the following repo in Cydia:

http://repo.neonkoala.co.uk

This version currently supports the iPhone 2G running 3.1.2 or 3.1.3 firmware and the iPhone 3G running 3.1.2, 3.1.3, 4.0, 4.0.1, 4.0.2 or 4.1 firmwares. If you are currently using backgrounder for multitasking on your 3G or even 2G iPhones then be sure to disable backgrounder to utilize Bootlace as there are known issues between the two applications.

If you utilize this feature and install Android onto your device let us know how it is running and how the entire process went in the comments section below.

[ GeekWord ]

iPhone Dev team posted a quick reminder for all jailbreakers and unlockers as iOS 4.2 release is imminent:

By all accounts, we’re within a few days of Apple’s official public release of Firmware 4.2. Here’s what you need to know:

• Thanks to geohot’s limera1n exploit, and our original pwnage2 exploit, and @pod2g’s ipod2g-MC exploit, absolutely all devices at all iOS firmware versions are capable of being jailbroken.
• The untethered jailbreak of those very latest FWs and latest devices depends on @comex hacks. His hacks so far extend only to 4.1 and 4.2beta3. He’s working on a way to extend it to 4.2 and beyond. Just wait for him to work out his method.
• iPhone 3G and 3GS unlockers will be covered by our upcoming unlock. Stay away from any updates to Apple FW until our official release and you’ll be okay. Just stay away from all Apple IPSWs
• iPhone4 unlockers are not left out in the cold. @sherif_hashim has found some very promising avenues to pursue. Those will be explored as soon as possible after all the 4.2 madness.

What does this mean to you?

• If you’re an unlocker, just stay where you are. Please, just stay where you are. Any mistakes you make now may be permanent.
• If you only care about the jailbreak and you’re absolutely sure you have your personalized 4.1 SHSH hashes, feel free to experiment but keep in mind that any mistakes you make may result in your losing pictures or notes or bookmarks that you’d rather keep. Honestly unless you love living on the bleeding edge, it’s better to just wait for official updates from Cydia/redsn0w/PwnageTool.
• Don’t buy or donate to any unlock or jailbreak scammers. Every legitimate solution you will find for unlocks or jailbreaks will be offered without an extended hand. That’s how this community works. It’s about freedom, not donations.

It looks like an untethered jailbreak is right around the corner. All X-Gold 608 devices (iPhone3G, iPhone3GS, iPad3G) will have a new unlock, and iPhone4 isn’t too far behind… Please let us know what you are looking forward to….

[iPhoneDevTeam Blog]

Semaphore has updated TinyUmbrella (4.1.13) to allow for the saving of iOS 4.2b3 SHSH blobs for the iPhone, iPod touch, and the iPad. This is the first time SHSH blobs are being saved for a beta release and the significance is as of yet unknown, but semaphore tweeted that it might be used to assist the untethering of future jailbreaks. Since the release of iOS 4.2 is imminent, iOS 4.2b3 signatures will not be available for long.

You can download TinyUmbrella from the link below to save both iOS 4.1 and iOS 4.2b3 SHSH blobs regardless of what firmware you are currently on and I recommend doing so immediately just in case they are needed down the line…

[TinyUmbrella]

How does the 2008 iPhone 3G work with the soon-to-debut iOS 4.2? When iOS 4 first came out back in June it was laggy and non-responsive and generally not a good experience for many iPhone 3G users. Apple promised a fix with iOS 4.1 in September but not everyone was thrilled with the results. Now it’s November and iOS 4.2 should become available this week. So, we took a look at iPhone 3G running the iOS 4.2 GM seed, which is usually binary-identical to the final release and… the results were pretty good.

iPhone 3G’s hardware isn’t as fast and it’s RAM is literally a quarter of iPhone 4′s but it did a decent job typing, scrolling, pinching, and zooming its way around iOS 4.2.

Check out the video above to see it in action and if/when you’ve tried 4.2 on your iPhone 3G, let us know how it works for you.

iPhone Dev Team member MuscleNerd has announced on his twitter feed that Cydia creator Saurik and jailbreak dev Chpwn are hard at work on a Cydia update just in time for the release and jailbreak of iOS 4.2.

What changes are coming, if any, have not been specified but loading speed reduction and user reviews have long been rumored. What changes would you like to see? Let us know by leaving a comment or discussing it in our Jailbreak Forum!

[@MuscleNerd]

Comex has announced on his Twitter feed that iOS 4.2 will be an untethered jailbreak. While current devices can be exploited and jailbroken for their lifespan without the possibility of a patch, the ability of the jailbreak being untethered was still at issue.

An untethered jailbreak differs from a tethered jailbreak in that a tethered jailbreak must be connected with a computer after each and every reboot of the device. Comex has developed userland exploits for Star, Limera1n, and Greenpois0n, keeping them all untethered.

While Comex has stated that people with their iOS 4.1 SHSH blobs saved should be able to keep their jailbreak untethered for 4.2, he did not say that would be the case for all users. The reasoning for this has not been revealed but anyone wanting to jailbreak iOS 4.2 should make sure they get their 4.1 blobs saved immediately. iPad users should save their 3.2.2 blobs just in case those are required as well.

Also in a separate tweet, Comex has stated that there might be a delay with the release of the jailbreak due to Cydia compatibility issues which are currently being worked on by Chpwn.

Are you waiting for the release of iOS 4.2 to jailbreak? Let us know your thoughts on this story below…

[@Comex 1, 2]

The Dev-Team have released a redsn0w beta Jailbreak for iPhone 3G, iPod touch 2 on iOS 4.1 and iOS 4.0.

It uses the same pwnage2 DFU-mode exploit that we’ve been using since the 2.x days. It does not include the SHAtter exploit developed by pod2g. Nothing new is revealed to Apple with this jailbreak.

If you use the ultrasn0w unlock, they tell you to wait for pwnagetool as redsn0w requires you to update with Apple’s firmware which might shut down the possibility for you to unlock “forever”.

Mac only for now but the Windows version is being tested. For more info on compatibility and procedure, hit the link:

[Dev-Team Blog]

No iOS 4.2 AirPrint wireless printing for iPhone 3G owners, according to Apple:

Printing is available only on iOS devices that support multitasking.

Which iPhone 3G does not.

So add AirPrint to the list, along with wallpapers, fast app switching, HDR photos, and the rest, and how much further behind is the 2008 flagship falling?

[Apple.com]

HDR photography for iPhone 3GS and iPhone 3G wasn’t something Apple provided under iOS 4.1, but that doesn’t mean 3GS and 3G users have to be left out of the fun (if you’re jailbroken that is).  Redmond Pie has a great guide up showing how to enable the HDR camera option provided you’ve jailbroken them under iOS 4.1 and aren’t adverse to SSHing and editing some files.  The process really isn’t that difficult, but as always, if you’re not comfortable altering files on your iPhone, we don’t recommend it.  So hit up the source link for a detailed walk-through.  And if you’re not sure if it’s worth it yet, read our take on HDR photography on the iPhone 4 or our full iOS 4.1 guide.

[via RedmondPie, Thanks to Geo Coldz for sending this in!]

While we won’t know for absolutely certain until the final release version of iOS 4.1 for iPhone arrives sometime this week (maybe Wednesday), it’s looking like HDR photography will be exclusive to iPhone 4 and not available for iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS users.

HDR photography requires separate 3 pictures be taken as simultaneously as possible — regular, overexposed, underexposed — and then combined together and tone mapped to produce the final image. iPhone 4 with its Apple A4 chipset and 512MB of RAM certainly takes photos much faster than iPhone 3GS. Traditionally Apple would rather not provide a feature at all than do it poorly on older hardware (e.g. no 15 fps video recording on iPhone 3G), so is this just another case of that?

There are HDR apps that work on older iPhones, though not in the same, speedy, integrated way as the built in iOS 4.1 version.

If it does indeed turn out there’s no HDR photography for you, iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS owners, does that seriously harshen your iOS 4.1 mellow? Or are bug fixes, TV rentals, AVRCP Bluetooth, Game Center, and the other features enough to keep your childlike sense of wonder intact?

Steve Jobs began his introduction of iOS 4.1 for iPhone and iPod touch not by listing the new features, but by listing the bugs it fixes — proximity sensor, Bluetooth, and iPhone 3G.

Each of those were annoying enough to be near deal-breakers for some, so their being fixed is certainly good news. Finally.

iOS 4.1 is scheduled to arrive next week. Is that soon enough for you?

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Apple announces annual special music event for Sept. 1, Jobs says iOS 4 on iPhone 3G is getting fixed, More on LiquidMetal, and Facebook releases 3 updates in a week. And what does that guitar mean anyway? This is iPhone live!

Credits

Thanks to the TiPb iPhone accessory store for sponsoring the podcast, and to everyone who showed up for the live chat!

Our music comes from the following sources:

• I Called You — iPhone Remix by Pete Leidy
via Sneakmove iPhone Ringtone Challenge

Steve Jobs has purportedly told a beleaguered iPhone 3G user that an iOS 4 performance boost is coming soon via software update. Here’s the complaint:

I’ve waited patiently through 4.0.1 and 4.0.2, looking for a fix that will make my phone work again. I’ve read the forums that advise me to jailbreak my phone or use some other method so I can downgrade back to a version of iPhone 3, however I’m not prepared to use a method that is not supported by Apple.

And the reply from Steve Jobs:

Software update coming soon.

Sent from my iPhone

iOS 4 performance on the 2008 iPhone 3G has been so slow and stuttered for some that they’ve taken to doing clean re-installs and turning off Spotlight completely just to make it usable. If the email is real, and Jobs is referring to iOS 4.1 — which is still in closed developer beta — than the time frame is likely next month when Apple holds their traditional special music event and releases the OS.

[MacRumors]

Yesterday, Apple released iOS 4.1 beta 3 for developers. Included in this release is the removal of Game Center support for the iPhone 3G and 2nd generation iPod touch.

Game Center is one of the big features that we have been waiting for since the announcement of iOS 4 and now it appears that Apple is stripping it from older generation iOS devices. Why? Is Game Center so complicated that it needs the improved hardware of the newer devices? Keep in mind, this is only a beta release, so it is possible for Game Center support to return in the final build.

However, if Game Center support does not return to iPhone 3G and the 2nd generation iPod touch and you own one of these devices, does it entice you to upgrade?

It’s been a little while now since iOS 4 was released so we thought we’d check back and see how it’s working (or not) for those of you with the 2008 iPhone 3G?

My iPhone 3G (above, yeah, cracked perhaps a tad poetically) really chugged away at first, but after a clean install (not restored from backup) and turning off Spotlight Search, it’s working much better now. Of course, if you’ve gotten used to an iPhone 4 or iPhone 3GS, it’s obviously slower but if its your one and only — or newly acquired hand-me-down, it’s almost as fast as it was under iOS 3.x.

Let us know your experience, and if you’ve come across any other speed tips we’d love to hear them.

Update: According to the Wall Street Journal, Apple is looking into the issue. [WSJ]

Otterbox Commuter Case for iPhone 3GS strikes the perfect balance between convenience and protection. If you’re rocking Apple’s other big smartphone release this year, the $99 iPhone 3GS (or the unlocked iPhone 3GS, depending on where you live), or still lucky enough to have a 16GB or 32GB iPhone 3GS from last year, this case should be on your radar. (It also fits the iPhone 3G.)

Confession: I thought I’d hate it when it first arrived. I don’t know why exactly, maybe it was fear of layers bulk, uncertainty about dual color schemes, dunno, but I was not looking forward to testing out the Otterbox Commuter. Then I put it on.

AD&D analogy time — If skins are the chainmail of the case world and the Otterbox Defender is the full plate armor (yes, even the pink one), the Commuter is the in-between, plate-mail option. It’s strong but still a but flexible, solid and secure but still snug and light.

Like plate-mail it comes in two layers, the silicone that you slip on first, and that has covers for the 3.5mm headset jack and 30-pin dock connector, and the plastic shell that goes over it. Together they provide protection against scrapes and scuffs and minor impacts.

The Otterbox Commuter also comes in a ton of colors — yellow, white, blue, green, brown, burgundy, and black. (Yes, I’ll spare you the strained surcoat analogy).

Again, not as big as the Defender, not as thin as a skin, I found myself leaving it on even after my typical week-long review period was over. Since I’ve been carrying an iPhone 4 around as well, maybe I was a little more concerned about my iPhone 3GS getting damaged, maybe I started to like the look, or maybe I wanted my fellow SPE editors to think I had an imaginary, super-secret iPhone 5 prototype hidden in a fancy camo case (I’ll never tell!)

But leave it on I did.

If you’re looking for a combination of protection and convenience, something strong but still light, check out the Otterbox Commuter Case for iPhone 3GS available now from the TiPb iPhone 3GS accessory store.

Pros

• Good level of protection, including minor impact
• Covers headset jack and dock port
• Includes screen protector

Cons

• Dual layers means slightly more bulk

If you update to iOS 4 on an iPhone 3G the performance, to but it mildly, will be poor to the point of frustration. When I first updated mine it was so bad I didn’t want to use it — though admittedly I’d gotten used to an iPhone 3GS, then iPhone 4, and it’s never easy to go back.

iPhone Forums and stoovie to the rescue. Turns out there are a few things you can do to make it faster to the point of livable:

• Turn off Spotlight. Go to Settings, General, Home Button, Spotlight Search and just turn it all off. iPhone 3G is so resource constrained Apple wouldn’t even enable wallpaper. Indexing Spotlight in the background seems to be the straw that breaks the performance’s back. With Spotlight off, it’s a usable device again.

If you’re still having trouble there’s always the nuclear option:

• Restore as a new iPhone. Do a clean wipe and re-install without copying back your data. It’s a royal pain in the apps but there seems to be something borked about including old data that just slows stuff down. I got an immediate speed boost with a clean install as well.

Unfortunately, it’s Jailbreak territory if you want to downgrade from iOS 4 to iOS 3.1.1 again, and many users seem to have problems even with that method. So try the above methods first and let us know how they work for you.

When it was subtly footnoted that iPhone 3G and iPod touch G2 wouldn’t be getting iOS 4-style wallpaper, our only guess as to why was CoreAnimation performance — Apple couldn’t do their transitions over the textured background at levels that met their auteur standards.

Erica emailed Steve Jobs to find out:

Hey Steve! I just upgraded my iPhone 3G to iOS 4 and was really looking forward to setting a background on my home screen. Guess that’s not happening, but I’d like to know why.

And Steve Jobs replied:

The icon animation with backgrounds didn’t perform well enough.

Jailbreak users have been theming since before there was an iPhone 3G, of course, just like they were recording video and multitasking, but Apple won’t put their brand on anything they consider sub-par in the performance area.

So there you have it.

[Gizmodo]

With just two weeks to go before WWDC, Boy Genius Report is reporting that Apple has ceased shipments of the iPhone 3G to AT&T stores. Now throw in the fact that new orders for the device are not being accepted and it’s a pretty good sign the iPhone 3G’s days are numbered.

“Could this mean we might see the iPhone 3GS drop to $99 and make way for a new model? Or maybe the 3GS would disappear altogether? We’re not sure, but we’re about to find out.”

It’s a funny thing that BGR mentioned the price drop of the iPhone 3GS because as of today Walmart is dropping the price of the 16GB version to $97 with a two year service agreement. It appears as if the iPhone 3GS is about to replace the iPhone 3G as the budget iPhone. Keep an eye out for Apple to drop their price in two weeks…

[BGR]

Big week for Apple patent pr0n, as in addition to getting a patent for the original 2007 iPhone 2G design, Steve Jobs, Jonathan Ive, et al are not being granted a patent for the 2008/2009 iPhone 3G/iPhone 3GS design as well. And not content with hardware alone, Apple has filed for patents on almost all their Home Screen and App Store icons (we couldn’t find Calendar, which means its either too generic or we just couldn’t find it).

So fair warning to all the iClone manufacturers without prior art or $40 billion in the bank — start visual differentiation plans now.

As to the icons, at almost 1000×1000 pixels and with detail to match, it shows just how obsessive Apple is when it comes to their products and while other OS and devices may use the same app-launcher paradigms, they don’t seem to be slaving over every last detail — in art, consistency, multitouch panel quality, and touch detection software quality — Apple is putting in. Just amazing. (Except for those diagonal stripes).

Gallery after the break!

[Patently Apple, GoRumors via Engadget]

If you have been in search of a tough case that offers dual layer protection while keeping a slim profile the Case-Mate Hybrid Case for iPhone 3GS and iPhone 3G [TiPb Store Link - $29.95] may just be the case you have been looking for. For the full review follow us after the break!

Getting your iPhone snug and secure in the Hybrid case is a pretty simple process once you get the hang of it. It’s just a matter of two steps 1) put the silicon skin on, and 2) attach the outer hard shell. It may take you a few tries to get the volume rocker seated properly but once that is done you are good to go. My only real gripe with using the silicon skin is that it attracts dust so be prepared to clean it quite often if you are a neat freak like myself. At the end of the day, however, I am happy to trade a cleaning or two for top of the line protection.

The Case-Mate Hybrid feels absolutely great in the hand with it’s textured outer shell. It gives you just the right amount of grip to make sure your iPhone won’t easily go flying out of your hand. And in the worst-case scenario, if you happen to have one of those moments where a drop is out of your control, rest be assured your device is very well cushioned by the the 2 layers of protection the Hybrid is constructed of.

Along with two layers of protection Case-Mate also delivers one sweet look with the grey outer hard shell in combination with the black form-fitting soft silicone skin. The case wraps completely around the device leaving the screen, camera, headphone jack, vibrate switch, and 30-pin charging/sync port open. Meanwhile, the power button and volume buttons are covered and very well protected. It would have been nice if Case-Mate tossed in a cover for the 30-pin port but that is something I can get over with the over all quality of the case.

With a few minor annoyances aside, Case-Mate has done a fantastic job with this Hybrid Case for iPhone 3GS and iPhone 3G, which you can purchase the TiPb store for $29.95. It has a little something for everyone. If you are a hard shell case guy/gal or a silicon skin guy/gal this is perfect combination giving you the best of both worlds and you should definitely consider picking one up. As picky as I am with my cases, I promise you this one is a winner.

In the box you receive the form-fit Case-Mate Vroom (color of your choice including black, red purple and yellow) and a screen protector. It seems that Case-Mate wants to ensure that your iPhone receives plenty of protection it’s great they include a screen protector. The case slips on quite easily while allowing access to all aspects of your iPhone. The sleep button and volume controls are the only components that are covered, but still easy to press; every other part is partially exposed for easy access.

The case design is reminiscent of tire tread, hence the “Vroom” name. This case excels in two areas; grip and accessibility. First let’s look at grip. This case has stupendous grip if placed on the dashboard, desk or in the hand. The solid rubber form factor coupled with the “tread” on the case makes for excellent style and usefulness.

Second, if you want to dock your iPhone, the case easily slips off. You don’t have to worry about breaking the case trying to take it off (I have come across some cases that are so hard to put on or off I wonder if I will break it with my inhuman strength). So what is the down side? The case easily slip off for some. I have not encountered any problems personally, but if you are looking for a case that is affixed tightly to your phone, this is not it. It certainly protects the phone, but it is meant to be removed without a problem. I even gave the case to my wife for a test run. She placed it in her purse and let it jostle around for a while and the case did not fall off. My concerns were not validated, but still, I think it is something to make note of if you plan on purchasing this case. One other note, since it grips so well, it also grips a lot of lint, especially if you keep it in your pocket. However, since the case is easily removable, you can wash the case off with ease, no problem.

I have to say that this case design is one of my favorites for this style. It does not add a lot of thickness to the case and it looks good especially with the color options available. At such an accessible price, you can get a couple! Check the video and pictures below.

Qik Video Camera for the iPhone, from Qik [$0.99 - iTunes Link] finally brings 15 frames per second video recording to the iPhone 3G. It also supports zoom, has some fun filters, and adds an easy system for sending your videos via e mail.

For the complete rundown, and pictures of Qik VideoCamera’s effects, stay with us after the break.

As mentioned above, Qik VideoCamera lets the iPhone 3G shoot video at 15 frames per second (FPS) but that’s only when using the default size. It’s basically a trade off. Qik gives you the option of having low video resolution (200×152) and high FPS or high video resolution (400×304) and lower FPS. I usually go for the low video resolution and higher FPS because if the frames are too few the video is too choppy to appreciate.

Qik video has some really fun special effect filters to play with. Like with video quality, however, when you start using a special effect filter the frame rate slows down. Here are some examples of how they look.

Black and White.

Black white and red, which makes any red object show in color and everything else in black and white. While interesting, aside from the novelty I don’t see many real life applications.

As requested here is some video taken using the black, white and red effect with a resolution of 200×152.

Color game, which inverses blue and red (I call it the Avatar effect!)

There are two mirror effects, both vertical and horizontal. These are good for making object suddenly disappear. It can be a lot of fun for the little ones to play with, if you would trust your little one with an iPhone.

Zoom is another nice feature, though I have found that for shooting anything very close it can cause blurring.

One of the other useful additions to this application is the audio and light enhancing controls. Since the iPhone has no external lighting source (plz 4.0!) the addition of brightness control can make those precious moments easier to see in low light settings. The audio boost helps increase the audio track but I usually don’t realize that something is going to be too soft until the event has already occurred.

Qik VideoCamera also allows you to email your videos easily, by choosing which video to email and typing in the email address. The program is also linked to your contacts so you dont have to worry if you have forgotten the address.

All in all, Qik VideoCamera is a very nice app and has a lot of useful and fun effects for saving your life’s special moments. It’s not the same resolution or frame rate as the iPhone 3GS’ built-in video recorder, but for iPhone 3G users who didn’t get that feature, it’s currently the next best thing.

Here is some video without any effects, taken with a resolution of 400×304.

Happy New Year and welcome to the iPhone blog’s 2009 TiPb Editor’s Choice Awards for the very best (in our opinion!) iPhone and iPod touch apps and accessories released in the last year!

Smartphone of the Year: iPhone 3GS (by default)

We’re not really doing Smartphone of the Year since, unlike our sibling sites, Apple has so far seen fit to only release one new iPhone each year. However, that doesn’t mean we don’t think the iPhone 3GS isn’t terrific. It is. Even if we consider the smartphone space as a whole, even if we put it up against the best Android, BlackBerry, Nokia, Palm, and Windows have to offer, while it might get bested — even eclipsed — in certain specs or feature sets, there’s still nothing that brings it all together in so appealing a mainstream package as the iPhone 3GS.

From its butter-smooth interface now with “s as in speed” to its singular build quality to its incredible ecosystem to its 120,000 apps for anything and everything, even if we did do this category — which we’re not — the iPhone 3GS would still be our pick for Smartphone of the Year. So there.

Competition of the Year: Palm Pre and webOS

Make no mistake, the Droid, the BlackBerry Bolds and Tour and Storms, the Nokia N900, the Windows Phone HTC HD2 — each brought it in their own way (hey, it’s why we do the Smartphone Round Robin), but each mostly brought it with hardware specs like 480p displays, or services like free navigation. They made good things better.

Palm brought it with a whole new OS, one that combined amazing visualization for multitasking with brilliant notification handling, and sidestepped the developer divide by using web technology as their SDK. If the iPhone woke up a complacent smartphone industry, Palm made sure they stayed awake another year. Sure the hardware could have been harder core and there was that whole iTunes sync brouhaha, but that combined with the “years in the desert” to go from PalmOS to webOS, made Palm even more of a comeback story, and who doesn’t root for Rocky? That’s why the Palm Pre is our competitor of the year!

Apple Innovation of the Year: $99 iPhone 3G

Last year Innovation of the Year was easy: the App Store. Now, two-billion downloads, well over 100,000 apps, and almost universal imitation not just from the Android Market, but now from BlackBerry App World, Microsoft Windows Marketplace for Mobile, Nokia Ovi Store, Palm webOS App Catalog, and who knows what else, it’s still far and away the market leader, if the idea itself has long passed being led. Not that Apple didn’t try in 2009, with the iPhone 3.0 Sneak Preview Event the undoubtedly innovative in-app purchases (including free apps no longer needing to stay free) and accessory access via the dock and Bluetooth. Push notification tops the candidates list as well. It isn’t he full-on multitasking some still demand, but it covers 90% of the functionality at 20% of the battery drain (ahem) and hey, even some multitasking smartphones don’t handle push notification yet.

But no, we’re going with something more important even if less interesting. The $99 iPhone 3G. Sure, it’s last year’s model, but it’s got the latest iPhone OS 3.x on it and most importantly it redefined — and disrupted — what was considered a budget smartphone and forced every other platform and player to lower prices and reconsider the — frankly crappy — handsets they offered for cheap. Up front cost shouldn’t mean much to people on contract for $2000+ over two years but it does. Getting under $100 was huge for Apple. And for consumers, who’s previous budget choices were the likes of Palm Centro, BlackBerry Pearl, or WinMo… whatever, it was huger still. That makes the $99 iPhone 3G our Apple Innovation of the Year.

App Store App Innovation of the Year: Augmented Reality

Last year Google Mobile snuck in some private-API wizardry (later made all nice and legal by iPhone 3.0) to make voice search so good we thought we were in Star Trek. This year Apple announced accessory access and all sorts of new API’s and developers certainly didn’t disappoint. Some of the most amazing new iPhone Apps weren’t new to mobile, however. RedLaser reads barcodes and finds competitive prices amazingly well, but Android had that first. Likewise Qik is finally streaming live, but geeks were doing that from the N95 a couple years ago. Still, with everything from the latest Apple Remote to Zipcar, it’s harder then ever to single one app out.

So we’re singling out a category — Augmented Reality. Take a live camera view, add location services and — one day, visual recognition — and layer data on top of it. Hold your iPhone camera up to a restaurant and the menu pops up for you to read. Point it west and see the tweets of the physically closest people you follow. Point it at your friend and get a reminder you owe him $5. We’re not sure if it’s just trendy concept or will really, truly prove functional one day, but just like Google Mobile made us think of Star Trek, this combines several cutting edge technologies in such a way that it makes us think of a dozen sci-fi heads-up displays and gorramit if we don’t want that future today.

UI Gem of the Year: Tweetie 2 “Pull Down to Refresh”

Too small to be the overall innovation of the year, this category is for the tiny little tweaks that never the less make all the difference. Lots of developers continued to make drop-dead gorgeous iPhone apps in 2009, including Tapbots’ latest Pastebot, Twitterrific 2‘s ability to hide so much functionality behind so sensible a layout, and Facebook 3.0 finally showed how to do massive social networking right on a local app, and Apple even rolled out new Voice Recorder and Compass app interfaces. It was something much simpler, however, much more insidious that got inside TiPb’s user experience this year.

Yeah, it’s totally Tweetie 2‘s terrific “pull down to refresh”. Apple built the wonderful, tactile feeling elasticity of the “rubber band” effect into iPhone 1.x but never did much with it. Developer Atebits took it and made it a simple, intuitive way to request new data from an internet server — in this case update your Twitter timeline. That many of us now try to use it to reload a page in Safari, or get new messages in Mail, or refresh anything and anything that feels like it should refresh when we pull down shows just how simple and intuitive it is. Sometimes it’s not the big once-and-a-while’s that make the difference, it’s the little use-it-all-the-times.

Camera App of the Year: ReelDirector

iPhone 3GS brought a much improved camera and video recording, amazingly improved photo software, and even trim-able video recording. A lot of apps took advantage, both of the old gear and the new. Leanna covered five fantastic ones earlier, and since then a couple have even come around to offering video for the iPhone 3G.

But if video is the new still, ReelDirector ups the ante from Apple’s trim to full-on (for a mobile) video editing. From titles to transitions, soundtracks to Ken Burns effects, it may not be Final Cut Pro but it’s definitely a fun first cut.

Productivity App of the Year: Documents to Go Premium

Over two and half years in and some are still foolish enough to call the iPhone a toy. Unless, of course, they mean the iPhone can make even productivity work more fun than it has any right to be.

Documents to Go, which updated their flagship app to Premium and added PowerPoint editing and Gmail attachment support at almost the last minute gets our vote. Even though Apple still hasn’t provided a universal document repository, or file picker (the way the picture picker works for images), Documents to Go continues to push the boundaries of what an Office-style app can do on the iPhone.

Social App of the Year: Twitter Clients

If Facebook had gotten push notifications, if Skype had actually gotten 3G access, this category might be even harder to decide than it already is. Likewise notification enabled IM clients such as BeeJive that now has group chat is a social powerhouse.

But those iPhone twitter clients just. won’t. stop. We already mentioned Tweetie 2 and Twitterrific 2, but there’s also Birdfeed, and both Twitbit and SimplyTweet made it into our staff picks of the year. And yeah, TweetDeck is on the iPhone now as well. In addition to the general-purpose clients, we have apps like Birdhouse that excel at writing and Reportage that make reading manageable. Heck, even Twitter’s own WebApp got a great makeover.

Twitter exploded in 2009, and the quality of iPhone Twitter apps exploded right along with it. They’re all so good, again we can’t pick just one, so we’re naming them all the social networking apps of the year!

Navigation App of the Year: Navigon Mobile Navigator

Another of app category made possible by iPhone 3.0 is turn-by-turn GPS navigation, and it didn’t take long for top of the line, premium-priced market leaders like TomTom to come on board (and with car kits!), and subscription services like the TeleNav-powered AT&T Navigator have come on board, but low-cost, crowd-sourced alternatives have also flourished. And even with the 800lbs gorilla of the newly announced Google Maps Navigation staring them down all searchy and free, they’ve continued to update and innovate.

Navigon’s MobileNavigator has been helping push the pace of those updates and that innovation. Whether it’s text to speech or live-traffic, this maps-on-board solution took iPhone 3.0′s APIs and didn’t run — it drove.

Action Game of the Year: N.O.V.A

If there was a theme to iPhone and iPod touch gaming in 2009 it was the maturing of the platform that brought both big franchises and games very much akin to the big franchises. There are literally too many to list (though Jeremy started and Chad focused in on FPS‘ a while back).

But N.O.V.A brought “Halo” to the iPhone. Maybe we should have found something more original, more uniquely dependent on the iPhone’s specific technologies. But N.O.V.A brought “Halo” to the iPhone.

Racing Game of the Year: Real Racing

Given the accelerometer, racing games are just such a natural fit for the iPhone and iPod touch that it’s no wonder there are so many great racing games for the platform (Chad’s picked out a top 5 already!) And with iPhone 3GS and iPod touch G3 level horsepower and OpenGL 2.0 no doubt there’s even better ahead (hey, we’ve seen a glimpse of it already).

For now, however, Real Racing is where it’s at. Our 2009 Grand Prix winner is also a racing game of the year.

Puzzle Game of the Year: Ramp Champ

A lot of great puzzle games have hit the iPhone, from Peggle to Stoneloops to Bejeweled 2 and Tetris, to well almost every great puzzle game that could come to the platform. In 2008, however, Trism showed you could do an iPhone-proper puzzler and do it incredibly well.

Ramp Champ took a flick at it in 2009, with gorgeous graphics, one of the best implementations of in-app purchases to date, and arguably too much challenge for its (or rather its players) own good. There maybe puzzle games with bigger brands, more levels, and perhaps even better physics, but when we think about what we love most about iPhone software — indie developers, attention to detail, love of UI — Ramp Champ lands squarely in the bullseye.

Jailbreak App of the Year: ProSwitcher

Even post-iPhone 3.0, Jailbreak continued to fill gaps in functionality like theming, BT keyboards, lockscreen widgets, notification management, and — of course — unlocking the iPhone 3GS. If Apple won’t do it, it’s been proven time and time again the Jailbreak community will.

ProSwitcher did the same, but looked especially great doing it. Take a Jailbroken iPhone, add Backgrounder to get your multitask on, and then manage the whole thing with Safari Pages-style — and yes, webOS cards-style UI candy.

Bluetooth Headset of the Year: Blueant Q1

Apple raised the stakes in 2009 by adding iPhone 3.0 support for A2DP stereo Bluetooth — sort of. Apple forgot to add all the proper control protocols, so you can’t skip tracks, but boy can you still rock out. Now iPhone and iPod touch users can enjoy music (and adjusting volume), and excellent products like the Motorola S9-HD and the Jabra Cruiser speakerphone.

And if that wasn’t enough, our pick for BT headset of the year, the Blueant Q1 got an update — really, how often to BT headsets get firmware update?! — to enable A2DP. It’s a premium product, just like the iPhone, but with voice control, and support for two phones (for you dual wielders), it’s also a fantastic one.

Case of the Year: Otterbox Defender

Apple can’t win. They change the design of the iPhone 3G and people with iPhone 2G cases complain their old accessories don’t fit. They keep the iPhone 3GS in the same duds, and people complain it’s boring. But at least the case makers could concentrate on better rather than different, and better they have. From the soft-stylings of the iSkin solo to the gloss of the Case-mate Barely There Chrome and the utility of the Golla bag, there’s definitely a “case for that”.

And if we’re talking case, and we’re talking protection, the Hummer of cases, the battle-armor of protection, is the OtterBox Defender. It’s not for those who just want a sticker or a skin, a splash of color or the smell of fine leather — it’s for those who want their iPhone survive. And it’s our case of the year.

EPIC FAIL of the Year: Capricious App Store Rejections

No doubt the App Store is such a smash hit that even Apple was unprepared for the tsunami of submissions they’re now facing. The numbers are staggering, but not as staggering as the growth rate. But choosing to be a gatekeeper comes with it the responsibility of being a good gatekeeper. It’s Apple’s store and they can fill it’s virtual shelves with what they want, but when the developers who make the apps those shelves are being filled with lose faith — when they no longer trust Apple’s rules, or realize there are no consistent rules being enforced, even if Apple and mainstream users don’t lose out, the platform does. Sure, they’ve made some small improvements inside iTunes connect and with the RSS feed, but they’re slow to the point of being arduous.

Some developers have been frustrated enough to leave the iPhone. A few returned only because the competitions’ development environment, install base, and user experience wasn’t competitive enough… yet. But that “yet” could change at any moment. And if the best and brightest developers are making the best and brightest apps for Android rather than the iPhone, that’s not a loss to Apple’s bottom line, it’s a loss to their heart.

That’s why rejected App Store apps, specifically the capricious, opaque way in which they’re continuing to be rejected, is our epic FAIL of the year.

Story of the Year: iTablet

We’ve mentioned most of the other big stories already — the still amazing Jailbreak journey, the still disappointing App Store rejections. And then there was the leave of absence, and triumphant return of Steve Jobs.

But iTablet/iStlate was the story that wouldn’t quit, however, and the rumors, speculation, and rampant geek want built and built throughout 2009. We’re not even sure actually announcing the device (which may just happen in 2010) could have been a bigger story — anticipation is just that powerful. Whether (more likely when) it ultimate comes out, Apple’s mysterious, mythical, magical, maybe iTablet is our story of the year.

Bring on 2010!

Well, that’s it — TiPb’s Editor Awards for 2009 gone and done! What will we see in 2010? Who knows, but we’re excited to find out!

Did you agree with any of our picks? Disagree? What would YOU have given the nod to? Feel strongly about it? Tell us — or tell us off — in the comments! (And we’ll have our next Readers’ Choice Awards coming up later in 2010 so you can put your apps where your opinions are as well!)

Happy New Year

–The iPhone blog team

Marware’s C.E.O. Premiere for iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS. [$34.95 - TiPb Store Link] is a horizontal case with a belt clip and top flap. Either you love that style or you hate it, but there is no denying their popularity among iPhone owners. Marware has been making iPhone cases since day one and some pretty good ones at that. What did we think of the Marware C.E.O. Premiere?

Follow us after the break!

The Marware C.E.O Premiere has the classic horizontal holster case design that covers your iPhone in a textured, soft leather with quality stitching and an ultra-slim non-removable belt clip. The interior of the case is made up of microfiber cloth which is a welcomed addition that promises not to scratch your device while it is in use.

The flap that encloses your iPhone stays closed with the help of Velcro. Though I would have preferred Marware to use magnets, the Velcro does it’s job. However, when I am in a quiet room and need to get to my phone I’d like to get it out in silence rather than hearing the sound of Velcro tearing open.

The C.E.O. Premiere is designed only to provide access to the headphone port while your phone is inside. This design allows you to listen to music or take calls with the iPhones headset while you are out and about, but like all other cases of this style, no other controls can be accessed when the it’s is closed. Keep that in mind if it’s a deciding factor when you’re looking for a new case.

Marware was kind enough to include a decent screen protector in the package as well.

If you prefer the horizontal case and can get past some of the Marware’s minor shortcomings, the C.E.O Premiere as it’s truly a quality case.

Learn more at TiPb’s iPhone Store >>>

The XGear Nitrous Oxide case for iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS [$37.95 - TiPb Store Link] is a carbon fiber bottom loading hard case that gives you triple layer protection along with a few extra goodies. For the full scoop, follow us after the break!

When it comes to cases, the amount of protection the case provides is the first thing that comes to mind. The Nitrous Oxide is constructed in 3 individual layers that provides phenomenal protection. You get a super soft interior lining surrounded by hard shell case that is wrapped in a layer of carbon fiber. That carbon fiber not only acts as good protection but also provides you with a pretty solid grip while holding your phone. As an extra little bonus, XGear also tosses in a clear screen protector along with a small microfiber cleaning cloth.

As some of you already know, I am not a big fan of hard cases for the simple fact that many, not all, have a tendency to scratch the bezel of your iPhone and sometimes even the phones backing. With the soft interior lining provided you are guaranteed to not scratch your phone. Why all makers of hard cases do not regularly include a soft lining is beyond me.

While the Nitrous Oxide is on your iPhone you have easy access to all of you buttons and ports. Some of you may even feel like it’s too much open space, especially on the bottom, but in my testing I had zero problems with it. The only worry I had before testing was since the case is bottom loading, I was afraid that the phone would slip out if it happened to suffer a drop. However once the case was on, I was comfortable with the fact that my phone would not easily come out. So that’s something that you should not be concerned about. Also, some of you may prefer the open bottom for an easy docking solution.

Overall the XGear Nitrous Oxide Case for iPhone and iPhone 3GS is what it is, a hard case that offers good protection that does not add much size to your iPhone. While some of you may be turned off by the carbon fiber look and feel, others are sure to enjoy it and the Nitrous Oxide will most likely meet your requirements.

Learn more and purchase @TiPb Store>>>

The Dev Team have updated their blog to let the jailbreakers of the world know how to go about jailbreaking iPhone 3.1. It seems as if Apple has really thrown a monkey wrench into jailbreaking the 3.1 software, however, so sit tight as this may be a bit confusing…

First and foremost they have released the PwnageTool 3.1 for Mac OS X that should only be used with the original iPhone and iPhone 3G. Sorry 3GS owners, you’ll have to wait. Be sure to heed some of the Dev Teams warnings before attempting to jailbreak your device.

• If you are using a 3G iPhone with ultrasn0w and rely on ultrasn0w to obtain cellular service, then you should only upgrade to 3.1 with a PwnageTool created .ipsw. – Stay away from Apple’s direct updates.
• If you have an original iPhone (1st generation) then 3.1 unlock works with this PwnageTool release. iPhone 3G users upgrading to 3.1 will need to continue using ultrasn0w with a PwnageTool created 3.1 .ipsw
• PwnageTool WILL work for Original iPhone (1st Generation), Original iPod touch (1st Generation) and the iPhone 3G.

For the full rundown please visit the Dev Teams blog and make sure you fully understand what you are getting yourself into before attempting to jailbreak iPhone 3.1.

If you don’t understand it, don’t do it, and TiPb takes no responsibility for the outcome either way. Need more? Check out TiPb’s Forums.

iPhone 3.1 apparently fixes a bug that didn’t properly enforce Microsoft Exchange 2007 SP1 encryption policies, and that looks to be causing problems for users of the iPhone 3G and iPhone 2G (and likely first and second gen iPod touch users as well).

While the iPhone 3GS supports Exchange encryption and is thus unaffected, the previous generation devices reportedly do not, leading to the error shown above.

Outside buying an iPhone 3GS or getting your Exchange Admin to turn off the encryption requirement (good luck with that!) we’re not sure if there’s a fix for this fix yet.

If you’ve run into the problem, however, drop us a note in the comments.

[BroadbandReports.com via TUAW]

Design

Daily Use

The felt-like interior of the case is soft to the touch and does not scratch the iPhone at all; the parts of the iPhone that touch the case are fully protected. The edges are exposed to give you access to the miscellaneous iPhone ports such as speaker and the headphone jack.

A really nice option for this case is the multiple colors it comes in. I am reviewing the Cocoa Brandy color, but I am also partial to the Cream Brandy color too.

Conclusion

Pros:

• Attractive with multiple colors
• Lightweight
• Solid belt clip
• Great price!

Cons:

• Rigidity over time might be an issue

TiPb’s Rating

It was just this past Thursday that the Dev Team updated their software unlock, ultrasn0w, to version .09. While this update seems to have eliminated most of the issues some users were experiencing, the Dev Team have been nice enough to post some pro tips for unlocking your iPhone 3G/3GS with ultrasn0w .09. The following are just a few:

• Unusual battery depletion is almost always caused by people choosing to “Restore from backup” instead of “Setup as new iPhone” when iTunes asks you. This isn’t caused by either the jailbreak or the unlock, but it’s a common 3.0 snafu. The fix is to just re-run the official 3.0 restore and choose “Setup as new” this time. Your music and apps and all that will still be synced, but you’ll get rid of any conflicting wifi, bluetooth, or carrier settings. Then just re-run redsn0w and install ultrasn0w.
• T-Mobile in the USA doesn’t use the 3G frequencies that the iPhones support, so turn off 3G in Settings->General->Network. (Some T-Mobile territories gracefully hand down to Edge mode, but most do not).

So there you have it folks, two very important tips for the unlockers of the world. We here at TiPb can not stress exactly how important that first tip really is to “Setup as new iPhone” within iTunes while restoring your device. Not doing so can and will create issues for you somewhere along the way.

For the full list of tips, swing by the Dev Teams blog.

Now don’t get too excited, the iPhone 3GS is not being discounted by AT&T. But if you are in the market for a excellent smart phone at a great entry level price, AT&T has the deal for you.

It looks like AT&T is trying to push the iPhone 3G’s out the door as they have just lowered the price of 8 GB and 16 GB phones to $79.99 and $129.99 respectively, with a two-year contract. Both white and black models are currently available while the discount lasts. Before you jump on this deal, keep in mind of the following:

Refurbished Phones and Devices Refurbished phones are previously owned devices that have been unused or lightly used and returned during the 30-day trial period. Each refurbished phone is independently quality tested and loaded with the latest software to meet current factory standards. Some refurbished iPhone 3G devices will have minor scratches. Refurbished iPhone 3G devices carry a warranty of 90 days or more. For details about the warranty on your refurbished iPhone 3G go to www.apple.com/support/oss/.

So if you are okay with the above and you want an iPhone at a great low price, jump all over this one – there is no telling how long it will last!

[Thank to everyone who sent this in!]

The Griffin Streamline is available from The iPhone Blog Store for $19.95. If you are looking for a running/workout case that is lean and comfortable, then look no further than the Griffin Streamline! Let’s see how it measure up after the break!

Design

The Griffin Streamline is made of a plastic outer rim, a neoprene “sleeve” that holds the iPhone/iPod Touch and an elastic armband; simple. There is a clear plastic cover in the front of the device to protect the screen. This clear cover still gives you the ability to touch and interact with your Apple device.

Daily Use

I have been using the “Couch to 5K” app [iTunes Link] for a while now. for the most part I have been holding my device while I walked/ran. However this case has changed that! Not only is it comfortable and lightweight, but it protects the iPhone (even if you dropped it) and adjusts to just about any arm.

I typically walk/run 3-4 days a week in the early morning. I can’t express what a pleasure it is to run with this case. It does not slip on the arm (really it should lie at almost your elbow and the bend in your arm prevents it from falling off, at least that is my experience. if you try to tighten this or any armband higher up on your arm, my arm will go numb:-) and allows access to the screen while running or resting between intervals. if you need to clean the case (if for nothing else, the build-up of sweat over time) simply wash by hand in cold water with some soap. Another feature that this case has is a reflective trim around the inside edge of the case. The trim is very thin and can only be seen from the front of the case, not the sides. I think it is novel that Griffin added this, but in real life, I don’t think a car is going to see me because of it.

Conclusion

This is bare-bones case with no extra pouches for keys or cash; it is just a well made case that looks good, fits well and does what it is supposed to do; securely hold your iPhone while you workout while keeping it safe and remaining comfortable. At $19.95, this case is a steal and a practical give-me if you exercise with and iPhone/iPod Touch. This case has earned a really high rating.

Pros

• Lightweight
• Holds the iPhone securely
• Neoprene is easily washable
• Armband is adjustable
• Clear screen cover still allows input

Cons

• Basic case, no storage for money or keys
• Reflective trim could encompass more of the case

TiPb’s Rating

One of the biggest gripes a lot of iPhone 3G/3GS readers have is battery life. Now this is mainly due to not being able to put the iPhone down to give it a rest, but we now have another solution to your iPhone addiction. Enter Case-Mate’s Fuel Case for iPhone 3G/3GS, which is available in TiPb’s store for $74.95. For a full review, follow us after the break!

Design & Usability

The Case-Mate Fuel Case for iPhone 3G/3GS is integrated with a 2300mA Lithium Polymer battery, Case-Mate says it will add up to nine hours of additional talk-time, up to seven hours of internet browsing, up to eight hours of video, 24 hours of audio, and 250 hours of extra standby time.

The times that Case-Mate claims are pretty much dead on. If you have trouble putting your iPhone down and typically end up with a dead battery sometime during the day, Fuel is the right case for you.

Usually when I get into my car after a full day at work I would have 20%-30% of my battery left. With the Fuel I’ve been leaving with anything from 80% to being topped off and that’s still with some juice left in the case itself. Not too shabby. I think it’s also important to note that you do not need to remove the phone from the case to use the iPhone in any way, including phone calls.

On the bottom front of the case you will find 3 built-in LEDs that allow you to see exactly how much “Fuel” you have left and a power button that allows you to turn the charger on or off as you see fit. Both of these are nice little bonus features.

To charge the case you only have one option — you must use a standard 5-pin USB cord. One is included but it would be nice to have the option to charge the case without using my laptop. On the plus side, Fuel fully supports syncing while iPhone 3G is docked into the case.

One nice features Fuel has that other iPhone charging cases lack is a belt clip that rotates 180-degrees. This sounds great but unfortunately Case-Mate dropped the ball on this one. I found myself worrying about the lack of protection on the upper half of my iPhone and the screen. Since you have to place the iPhone face-out, the screen is left completely unprotected. This means you have to be careful not to bump into anything or you will damage your device.

So, the next possibility would be to place the phone in your pocket. There’s only one thing wrong with that — the belt clip is not removable. Granted it still would be a tight fit without the clip due to the added size it gives the iPhone, but the option would still be better.

As to the belt clip itself, it does it’s job well. Rest assured, your iPhone is locked in place and will not fall out on you.

Conclusion

Even with the complaints about the belt clip, I still like this case. The pros outweigh the cons by far. I found myself using the case at work around my desk and at home when I was lounging around. Even though the size adds to the iPhone it still feels good in the hand while using it.

Overall the Case-Mate Fuel Case for iPhone 3G/3GS does it’s job and it does it very well. Since Apple chooses not to make the iPhones battery replaceable companies like Case-Mate have stepped up and offered us some solutions. For $74.95 you can’t go wrong with this one, Fuel will give your iPhone the boost it needs to easily make it through your entire day and, in some cases, days.

Pros

• Battery life as advertises.
• Feels good in the hand
• Reasonable price
• Ability to sync while your iPhone is in the case
• Works with the new iPhone 3GS

Cons

• Lack of screen protection
• Belt clip is not removable
• Case only chargeable via micro USB cable

Disclaimer – Neither TiPb nor I take any responsibility for any problems/issues/bricking/etc. that may occur while using this software to modify your iPhone. Please be aware of what you are doing. This will NOT work with iPhone 3GS.

There has been a lot of buzz going on in the forums regarding jailbreaking the iPhone 3.0 software lately, and a lot of questions to go along with it!. Today we’re going to take a deeper look at the exact steps you have to take to get your iPhone 3G with 3.0 jailbroken on your Mac.

Let’s get started, after the jump!

Get the tools

First and foremost make sure your iPhone is updated to the 3.0 firmware. If you’re not yet running 3.0, update via iTunes.

All good? Okay, next make sure your iPhone is not connected to your Mac. Next you will need to download the following files:

• redsn0w 0.7.2

• iPhone OS 3.0 for iPhone 3G (IPSW) *Download using Firefox. (You can also sometimes find this in your users/[username]/library/iTunes/iPhone Software Updates directory if iTunes has already downloaded it)

Jailbreak Process

Now double click on the redsn0w file you just download to open the redsn0w application. You will then be prompted to select the 3.0 IPSW file you downloaded. Do as instructed now. Once it is successfully identified press next to continue.

Now you will have to select whether you’d like Cydia, Icy, or both installed on your phone. You have to install at least one of them. Make sure your choices are checked and press next. *It seems some people are having issues with Cydia crashing instantaneously after launching it. So it may be wise to select Icy. Both apps essentially serve the same purpose.

Next you will be connecting your iPhone 3G to your Mac. Once your device is connected, hold the power button until the “Slide to Power Off” appears – then slide to power it off. Press next.

redsn0w will not put your iPhone 3G into DFU mode. Be sure to follow the onscreen instructions exactly. Start by holding down the power button for 3 seconds.

Hold down both both the power button as well as the home button for 10 seconds.

Finally release the power button while continuing to hold the home button down until redsn0w detects your iPhone 3G.

The iPhone will now reboot once it is detected by redsn0w.

The application will now begin the process of uploading the new ramdisk.

Once this is complete you will be notified that the jailbreak process is complete. Click the Finish button. Even though redsn0w completed it’s process your iPhone will still be finishing up. This can take up to 5 minutes. Be patient, when it’s done you will have a jailbroken iPhone 3G with Cydia/Icy on the SpringBoard.

Unlocking Process

Now if you are looking to unlock your iPhone follow these steps below.

• If you are unlocking for T-Mobile USA be sure to disable 3G.

• Run Cydia or Icy

• Add the repo repo666.ultrasn0w.com to Cydia or Icy. That last “o” is actually the number zero “0”.

• Search for ‘ultrasn0w’ in cydia or icy and install ultrasn0w.

• Reboot your iPhone 3G.

Enjoy your freshly unlocked iPhone 3G running the 3.0 software!

The wait is over ladies and gentleman. The Dev-Team has released their latest software to unlock iPhone 3G’s running the 3.0 software. Again, it is important to remember when a 3G S jailbreak application is released do not use Ultrasn0w with the iPhone 3G S.

To unlock your iPhone 3G 3.0 is as simple as jailbreaking your device, downloading Ultrasn0w via Cydia, and running the software. For full detailed directions be sure to check out the Dev-Teams blog.

Before you decide to jailbreak and unlock there are a few things you should know. If you do not know what you are doing – please do not attempt this as there is a possibility you can permanently damage your device. Regarding jailbreaking, remember most of the apps available will not work on 3.0 due to the developers not updating their apps yet. So be careful on what you install.

Want to learn more? Visit Jailbreak Central in TiPb forums.

Apple’s Knowledge Base once again steps up in the handy-dandy reference chart department with a feature check-list showing highlighting some major features supported by all iPhone models, by the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3G S, and by the new iPhone 3G S alone.

There are some caveats, however:

1. Peer-to-peer connectivity requires compatible applications, which can be downloaded from the App Store when available.
2. The original iPhone does not support using Bluetooth for peer-to-peer connectivity. It can use Wi-Fi and cellular data networks for peer-to-peer connectivity.
3. MMS is not available in all areas; fees may apply. See your carrier for availability.
4. Internet tethering is not currently offered in the United States and some other countries. See your carrier for availability.

[via Daring Fireball]

Two iPhones, 6 apps. We know the iPhone 3G S is supposed to be “on average” 2x faster than the iPhone 3G, but stats are stats and what we’re interested in is real-world usage. A few seconds here, a dozen or more there, and all of a sudden they add up to minutes.

In this video we launch apps on each iPhone 3.0 device at the same time, but imagine if every time the iPhone 3G S finished first, we immediately launched the next app. We wouldn’t make you sit through that much iPhone 3G lag, but that makes the point.

Also, we put a few webpages into Safari, then launched a heavy app, waited for it to load, then exited and went back to Safari to see how many would still be in memory.

Let’s just say, double the RAM makes more than double the difference…

NOTE: iPhone 3G S need not apply!

While I don’t have anywhere near the midichlorians Jeremy has for all things Jailbreak, I can tell when the infamous iPhone Dev-Team has their game on:

redsn0w is an easy to use, multi-platform, multi-device jailbreaking and unlocking (iPhone 2G only) tool for the iPhone 2G (original iPhone), the iPhone 3G (but not the 3GS) and also the iPod touch (first and second generation). Currently it is available for Windows and Mac OS X (there are some issues using redsn0w with OS X PPC, please use an Intel Mac until we have this problem resolved).

They point out that that redsn0w provides similar functionality to Quickpwn, and provide more instructions in their full post.

As always, experts only and proceed completely at your own risk. If you don’t understand something — put your iPhone down and back away slowly!

If you need help, check out our iPhone Jailbreak Central forums.

Now before you get too excited let me just off by saying this jailbreak is not for Apple’s latest hardware, iPhone 3G S. This is only for the iPhone 3G or iPhone 2G running the 3.0 software.

Now with that said, the Dev-Team has released the proper tool for Mac OS X users to jailbreak your iPhone 3G’s running 3.0, PwnageTool 3.0. Be warned, if do not know what you are doing, don’t attempt it!

This is the low down on our tools for use with the 3.0 firmware from Apple, read the whole post in full before attempting anything. Because of some bugs and unexpected changes this will be a multipart release, starting with the release of PwnageTool for Mac OS X. QuickPwn for Mac OS X and Windows will follow sometime soon, please don’t bug us about it, we are working flat out to get everything finished to release them.

So there you have it expert users. And for those less certain of their skills, more and more jailbreak options will be available to you in the near future. Sit tight and be patient.

Just a little reminder for those of you who are waiting for the Dev-Team to unveil the 3.0 software unlock for iPhone 3G, there is a live demo tonight.

On Tuesday evening (just before the big Apple release) we’ll do a live demo of the yellowsn0w carrier unlock working on official 3.0 firmware. The actual link for the feed will be twittered by @MuscleNerd and also placed here when the feed starts. The demo should answer everything you need to know about the new yellowsn0w. But it’s good news for iPhone 3G unlockers everywhere.

Keep in mind this unlock will not work along with the iPhone 3G S hardware. It is noted they may or may not be working on cracking the latest Apple has to offer.

P.S. For the new iPhone 3GS, please don’t expect periodic updates about any progress we have or don’t have. Nothing gives Apple the upper hand like someone tweeting or blogging partial hack results.

The cat and mouse game continues…

When Tim Cook said Apple wasn’t going to leave a price umbrella for the competition, did anyone really think he meant the (as of this writing still) current 2008 iPhone 3G would sell for $99 on contract?

Of course, exact pricing will vary by region/carrier and eligibility, contract-wise. Still, if a new customer can walk in AT&T, drop $99, and walk out with a still highly functional iPhone 3G with free upgrade to 3.0…

Hot.

Who knows how long it will last, so if that’s your magic number, go get it!

Tomorrow is WWDC 2009. We’ll no doubt get a second preview of iPhone 3.0 and hopefully a release date to go along with it — if not the actual release itself.

We’ve done our best to cover iPhone 3.0, both through our massive and continuously updated iPhone 3.0 Beta Walkthrough, and our ongoing iPhone 3.0 blog posts. But what will that release — tomorrow, later this week, or later this “summer” — mean for current owners of the 2007 original iPhone 2G and the 2008 iPhone 3G, never mind the 2009 iPhone… whatever it ends up being called.

Let’s take a look!

2007 iPhone 2G on 3.0

Apple has provided an unprecedented amount of software updates — free software updates — for iPhone owners. What originally shipped with OS 1.0 received a series of interim updates until 2008, when they got 2.0, and now 2.2.1.

Even after the 2-year subscription accounting model Apple users is on the verge of expiring, Apple announced back at the iPhone 3.0 Sneak Preview Event that they would also be providing 3.0, free of charge, to iPhone 2G owners. (That expiration date might even play a factor in the 3.0 release date, who knows?)

Controversially citing hardware limitations, however, at least 2 major features won’t be made available:

• MMS
• Stereo Bluetooth

Of course, it won’t get new features tied to the new hardware. It didn’t get GPS and 3G last year, and it won’t get the presumed digital compass, storage, RAM, CPU, etc. upgrades this year — which means video recording is likely off the table as well. Other than that, your 2007 iPhone be made 2009 hardware fresh.

2008 iPhone 3G on 3.0

Apple demonstrated iPhone 3.0 on the current, iPhone 3G, and all the improvements publicly shown so far were shown specifically for the iPhone 3G.

That means, come iPhone 3.0 release day, the very least iPhone 3G owners can expect is what Apple showed — and what most developers have been using since March.

Of course, developers who dug into the 3.0 code have found extra functionality. Some of it, like the digital compass, would require new hardware. Video recording may or may not require the additional storage, RAM, CPU power, of the new hardware.

Everything else, however, will be made 2009 good for your 2008 iPhone.

2009 iPhone ? on 3.0

Well, that’s the question now isn’t it? Apple hasn’t announced any new iPhone for 2009 yet, but they’re widely expected to tomorrow. Based on the code strings referenced about, it will include new hardware features and boosted internals.

So, at the very least, if you decide to upgrade to new hardware along with your new software, you’ll get everything the iPhone 3G gets… and probably more.

Conclusion

So, if you’re still rocking the iPhone 2G with no interest in upgrading, Apple still has a pretty nice present coming your way with 3.0. Feature-set alone, it will be like getting a whole new phone.

For iPhone 3G owners with not intention of changing, you’ll still get everything you’ve been promised so far. And, yeah, it’ll feel like a whole new phone.

And for those of you who simply must have the third generation hardware, either as an upgrade or as a first time iPhone owner, well, we ain’t seen nothing yet.

We are all aware that WWDC is only one week away. If history is any indication of what is to come, that means we should be introduced to the next-generation of Apple’s iPhone and if we follow previous patterns, we should start seeing the iPhone 3G supply starting to run thin on all levels.

AppleInsider is now reporting that Best Buy headquarters has sent out a memo to all of it’s stores saying to expect little to nothing in terms of iPhone 3G supply for the next few weeks. Last year we saw similar shortages but they occurred a few months prior to WWDC, April to be exact.

So, after all the previous rumors covering Austria to Australia, Canada and back what do you readers think? Ready to pick yourself up a new iPhone? Sound off in the comments!

It was not that long ago TiPb passed along some warning signs we’d seen about AT&T cracking down on iPhone users who currently not on an iPhone data plan. Well they’ve gone and given all of you rebels out there one more warning for good measure.

After some digging around in AT&T’s myWireless application, we have found yet another dose of legalese from AT&T that states they can and will change your data plan and charge you accordingly if you are currently using an iPhone with any data plan other than the iPhone data plan.

While this is nothing earth shattering, we figured we would pass it along so, if AT&T started following up on the warnings, our readers wouldn’t be caught by surprise.

Switch to the appropriate data plan or possibly end up with a larger than normal bill? We know iPhone data use is hammering AT&T’s network, but is this the best way for them to go about things?

The DLO SlimCase for iPhone 3G is available from The iPhone Blog Store for $39.95. If you are looking for a case that allows you to easily remove your iPhone while still keeping it secure when in the case, this one might be for you!. Let’s see how it measures up after the break!

Design

The DLO SlimCase comes with the case and wrist strap. There is a nice leather finish on the outside of the case and a soft, non-scratch material on the inside. This material allows the iPhone to slide into the case smoothly, yet holds it in place securely as well. The included wrist strap attaches at the top of the case and does not impede placing the iPhone in or out of the case.

Daily Use

When I first looked at this case I was perplexed as to why the whole top half of it was open. As you can see in the pictures, there is no flap or clip to keep the iPhone from falling out! However, after spending some time with the case, I feel this design was done for three reasons; 1) easy access to remove the phone as needed for docking, etc. 2) to keep the form factor compact 3) complete and unobscured access to the iPhone’s external buttons.

The DLO SlimCase is durable and stylish. The removable wrist strap comes in helpful too. The smooth leather case allows it to easily slip in your pocket and I feel it is protected. The only concern I have is if the case is dropped. I feel fairly confident that the iPhone will stay in the case, but the issue is the top corners; they are unprotected and if it takes the brunt of a fall, could harm the iPhone’s shell.

Using this case daily, I did not encounter any problems. It didn’t get stuck in my jeans pocket and it held up well under the daily abuse a case can get. I kept the wrist strap attached, but found that the case gave the iPhone sufficient grip so I did not use it. The Big question I know is on your mind: with a gaping opening at the top of the case, did the iPhone stay in securely? The answer is yes. The iPhone does fit securely, I had no issues with it coming loose.

Conclusion

This iPhone case is a double-edged sword; easily removable and slim, yet a compromise on the top corners if dropped. I am giving this case a 3 instead of a 4 because I have concerns if I were to drop the case, would the top corners be protected? If this is not a concern for you, then this is a great case that looks good, has a nice finish and allows you to remove the iPhone easily for docking or other activities.

Pros:

• Nice leather finish
• Easily remove the iPhone as needed
• Case is compact
• Openings for accessing everything you need on your phone
• Wrist strap

Cons:

• Top corners are exposed
• Not dockable

TiPb’s Rating:

The first purchase you make after you get a new device should always be some sort of protection — ideally, a case that suits your needs in the best way possible. You paid good, hard-earned money for your iPhone, after all, and sometimes a simple rubber skin case or hard case will just not do. So what’s left? A nicely crafted holster case, and today I’m going to be taking a look at the Krusell Apollo leather case for iPhone and iPhone 3G. This case can be purchased directly from TiPb store for $34.95. For the full run down on this holster case read on after the break!

Design

When it comes to cases that nicely fit a businessman or businesswoman’s needs, Swedish case manufacturer Krusell is the one brand that pops into my mind. The previous Krusell case that I was able to review, the Krusell Hector, left me fairly impressed with their quality and design. The Krusell Apollo Leather Case was able to get that half right.

First thing to point out is the Krusell Apollo’s Multidapt feature that allows for you to have a few different wearing options. The Multidapt system is simply a fancy name for a swivel clip system that is completely removable from the case, reducing the size of the Apollo’s profile. If the swivel clip system is not your cup of tea, just remove it from the back of the case.

This case has been beautifully hand crafted and solidly put together with very soft genuine leather. The color is black on the outside with a very soft, silver interior. On the exterior of the case you will notice a magnetic flip-top closure, an off-white stitching, and a small Krusell badge. The stitching appears to be exact, with no stray threads or excess glue. There are some minor issues with the functionality, which I’ll get into a bit later, but overall the Apollo is a very well constructed case.

Daily Use

So far this has been a pretty positive review for the Krusell Apollo but it’s not all a bed of roses. Yes, the Multidapt feature is nice and convenient to have but if you do choose to use it be prepared to deal with a very bulky case. So bulky, in fact, that I could not use the Apollo as my daily driver. Now if you are the complete opposite of me and wouldn’t mind sacrificing a slimmer profile to wear the case on your hip, this case may suit you well.

Another worry I have is with the magnetic flip-top. It seems to be a pretty weak magnet and it doesn’t take much to flip open, which of course should be a major concern for anyone, especially if you are active person. So if you do purchase this case, be very wary of wearing it horizontally.

The vertical holster functionality, on the other hand, is suburb with the Multidapt clip. It will securely hold your phone tightly to your side via a belt or pants pocket.

This case also keeps your iPhone 3G very well protected. With some cases that you wear, you run the risk of bumping into something, whether it be the corner of a table or wall, that will severely scratch the iPhone itself or, worst case, crack screen. I’m happy to say with the Apollo those are things you need not worry about.

Conclusion

The Krusell Apollo Leather Case for iPhone 3G is a decent product, solidly built with fine materials. While its style will not win any awards, and personally I feel Krusell missed the mark with the Apollo, it is a way to protect your iPhone 3G while at the same time offering more than one way to carry it via the Multidapt clip.

Pros

• Built from high quality materials
• Multidapt clip allows for numerous ways to carry your iPhone 3G

Cons

• Way too bulky
• Magnetic flip-top seems very weak

TiPb Review Rating

[Ed: New Case-Mate Vrooms in new spectacular colors now available in the TiPb iPhone Store! - Rene]

The iPhone 3G certainly has a ton of case options. Everyone has their own take on what constitutes a good iPhone case—some prefer silicone, others want a hard plastic, some prefer loud cases, others search for more subtle options. We take a look at a lot of cases here at TiPb and there’s a different qualification for the case we’re about to take a look at—this falls under the ‘fun’ category.

The Case-Mate Vroom for iPhone 3G ($14.95) is a subtly-fun designed rubber case. From afar the Vroom case looks like a basic, black silicone case that protects the back of the iPhone 3G. Upon closer inspection, whoa what?! The back has tire tread!

Is this merely a gimmick? How cool is it?

Read on for the rest of the review!

Design

Come on. Laugh a little. Ease up. The Vroom case for the iPhone 3G is funny and a definite conversation starter. I mean, it’s a tire on your iPhone 3G! You could even come up with a far-fetched story on how you custom made the case with your old car tire’s or even say its a special edition made by Goodyear or Michelin. I mean, a tire on your iPhone? What other crazy designs can we get?

Jokes aside, the Vroom case is a basic black rubber case that protects the full back of the iPhone 3G while leaving room open for all of the iPhone 3G’s functions. It even comes equipped with a plastic screen to protect the iPhone 3G’s touchscreen. We’re not fans of those plastic touchscreens preferring to go with Bodyguardz or Invisibleshield for cases like these.

But in all, I think it looks great and adds a ton of character to the iPhone 3G.

Usability

The rubber is a lot different from other silicone cases I’ve encountered. Instead of a soft, grippy feel the Vroom case is harder and slicker. I don’t prefer this finish because it doesn’t offer the same amount of grip as other silicone options but I think that’s just a matter of preference.

What’s great about the Vroom case, other than the design of course, is that it doesn’t add much thickness to the iPhone. I found that the case was really easy to hold and didn’t change the contours of the iPhone 3G. And though the rubber is a bit different than most cases, I feel like it’s a stronger grade. Instead of being just a sleeve or a skin, this feels like true tire rubber. I guess it succeeded in its intended effect, right?

But this case does have its fair share of limitations—more thought was put into its design than its actual construction. It attracts lint and dust very easily, I could never really manage to keep the case clean. This may be more of a color issue than anything since dust simply shines on a black case.

Also, this is personal preference but I don’t like it when a case ever-so-slightly exposes the chrome rim around the iPhone. I feel as if you’re going to cover the back of the iPhone you might as well go the extra millimeter to cover the chrome rim.

But in all, the Vroom case offers just enough protection. It’s not going to be mistaken as an OtterBox but it definitely does a good job in preventing nicks and scratches from daily routine.

Final Thoughts

If you’re looking for pure protection, this case probably isn’t for you. I won’t lie, there are better options for you if protection is your biggest concern. For starters, take a look at the TiPb store.

But if you like quirky designs and/or conversations revolving your iPhone 3G case—hey, this is as good as it gets. Let me tell you, when I was testing out this case, I got numerous compliments and questions about its origins. I found that I personally LIKED the case enough to ignore its limitations.

Though it only offers middling protection—this is the case I reach for most for my iPhone 3G.

PROS

• Great, Fun Design
• High Quality Rubber
• Adds Minimal Thickness

CONS

• Offers Average Protection
• Attracts Dust

FINAL RATING:

The Krusell Classic Case for iPhone 3G is available from The iPhone Blog Store for $24.95. If you are looking for a stylish case that zips closed and has a protective clear cover, this case might be for you!. Let’s see how it measures up after the break!

Design

The Krusell Classic Case is form-fitted for the iPhone 3G. The case comes with a removable multidapt clip that can adhere to any multidapt accessory. The clear protective screen allows you to still touch the iPhone touchscreen while protecting it. You also have openings for all of the standard accessible areas such as the sleep button, vibrate, camera, volume and 30-pin connector.

Daily Use

I was excited to get my hands on the Krusell Classic Case for iPhone 3G. Stylish cases are sometimes hard to come by as they are often stripped of their “coolness” for usability and functionality. The Classic Case fits very snugly in the zipped enclosure of the case. So snug, it was a little challenging to zip closed. Once my iPhone was inside, I inspected all of the openings to see exactly how accessible everything was. I have to say, everything was accessible… but… I feel the holes were cut poorly; they did not align properly and headphone jack did not have a sewn seam unlike the other openings on the case. This would lend me to believe that over time, the headphone opening might tear, or become larger than intended.

The clear protective screen was a nice addition. It allows you to use the capacitive iPhone screen to enter text, select apps, etc. I did run into two distinct issues: 1) the clear cover is not flush against the touchscreen, so sometimes I would have to “press” the screen in order for anything to work and 2) there is a distinct opening directly above the 30-pin connector on the bottom of the case. Depending on where you keep your iPhone (I tend to carry mine in my jean pocket) you can accrue unwanted lint and dust between the cover and the touchscreen.

Speaking of 30-pin connector, this case is not dockable unless you unzip the bottom of the case and slide it out, you can however, plug in your standard cable for charging and syncing. The included multidapt clip works… like a clip. If I had more multidapt accessories, it might be a little more exciting. To be honest, I left the clip off about 90% of the time.

Conclusion

While this case does have a few shortcomings in my opinion, it does look cool. The multidapt accessory is a definite bonus if you can take advantage of it and the Euro-styling is catchy. One of the big advantages of this case is that it protects it without adding a real bulk. The screen

Pros:

• Stylish
• Case is compact
• Openings for accessing everything you need on your phone

Cons:

• Not all openings are stitched
• Dust and lint can easily get between the screen and protective cover
• Not dockable

TiPb’s Rating:

The forums continue to grow here at TiPb and that is without a doubt a great thing. We are rapidly approaching a crazy time with WWDC coming up this June so the rumors and new iPhone talk is a buzz. All of the following threads have to do with, you guessed it, iPhone OS 3.0 software and new hardware.

If you are reading this site, chances are you are a big fan of Apple and it’s ever popular iPhone. But with that said, most of us know that it’s not a perfect device. So new forum member, lindawittsell, wants to know what are the 3 biggest drawbacks of the iPhone?

The next thread we have for you today is one for anyone thinking about purchasing an iPhone now or in the near future. The big question being, should I wait for new hardware to be released or bite the bullet now? We here at TiPb think it would be in your best interest to wait but if you see a deal that simply can not be passed up, go for it. One thing is for sure, technology never slows down so no matter when you pick a device up, around the corner a newer better version will become available.

This thread was started by PirateNinja and he may have gotten some false information from a AT&T sales rep. This rep claimed that there absolutely will be no new iPhone hardware this summer. In the end, they are salesmen who want to sell you anything they can. While we are 99% sure there will be new hardware, what types of stories have you heard from other AT&T reps? The best advice we can give you here is don’t believe everything you hear or read. As for me personally, I’ve learned that you get the more accurate information from places like TiPb and it’s forums than you will from any type of sales rep from any cellular company.

Lastly, we would like to point out that if you are a developer or a current user of the iPhone OS 3.0 software be sure to check out TiPb’s iPhone Developer Forum. Feel free to discuss the new features, bugs, unannounced features, etc… Just don’t ask anyone for the software or developer codes or you risk being banned from the forums.

See you on the forums!

I will be honest here and say I’ve never been a fan of any refurbished products and AT&T is not making refurbished iPhone 3G’s any more enticing. It seems that AT&T has once again gotten some stock of refurbished 16GB iPhone 3G’s and are dumping them for the price of $149.99.

So you’re saving 150 bucks from the price of a new iPhone 3G, but is getting locked into a two year contract worth it at this point as all signs point to a new iPhone coming in the next few months? How about a measly 90 day or more warranty depending on the life of that particular phone? And finally, how about the chance your refurbished phone comes with a few dings and scratches?

Refurbished Phones and Devices Refurbished phones are previously owned devices that have been unused or lightly used and returned during the 30-day trial period. Each refurbished phone is independently quality tested and loaded with the latest software to meet current factory standards. Some refurbished iPhone 3G devices will have minor scratches. Refurbished iPhone 3G devices carry a warranty of 90 days or more. For details about the warranty on your refurbished iPhone 3G go to www.apple.com/support/oss/.

We say pass on this deal and either go in for a new device or hold out until this summer for the rumored new iPhone. If you simply do not care about the above concerns, this deal is for you.

*If you do make this purchase and want to check the status of the warranty go to Apple’s site and input your serial number here.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]