Here is an interesting video, that compares two iPhone 3G firmwares – 4.0 and 3.1.3. The recently announced iOS 4 seems to be much slower.

Left: iPhone 3G running iOS 4.0 (8A293, upgraded as restore, without final restore from backup)

Right: iPhone 3G running iPhone OS 3.1.3 (7E18)

However many users report that they have the speed of 3.1.3 on iOS 4.0.

The BlackSn0w Unlock utility by Geohot has been updated by MSFTGuy and PushFix to work with the latest firmware 3.1.3. However it works only with baseband 05.11.07 (!!!).

This modified version of BlackSn0w works for iPhones upgraded with PwnageTool or Sn0wbreeze, preserving the baseband version 05.11.07. Users who have updated to OS 3.1.3 by any other method have the 05.12.01 baseband so BlackSn0w and UltraSn0w will not work.

This new version of BlackSn0w will be very useful for iPhone 3GS OS 3.1.3 / Baseband 05.11.07 users who can’t downgrade to earlier versions but still need unlock.

According to iHackintosh, this new version also fixes a small bug making WiFi much more stable.

Blacksn0w RC2 will be available on ModMyi repo soon. If you don’t want to wait just add the source http://cydia.pushfix.info/ to Cydia and install it now.

Important: Blacksn0w for 3.1.3 is still in RC stage and there may be some issues or bugs. This is not an official update performed by Geohot, who has clearly indicated that he will not be updating any tools for the 3.1.3 firmware.

Several users report that Apple started allowing iPod touch owners to upgrade to iPhone OS 3 for no charge.

The information initially comes from PocketGamer’s Tracy Erickson:

Syncing a second generation iPod touch today with an older version of the software prompted me to accept the free upgrade. How exciting.

Just as when asked to download and install the latest firmware on an iPhone, iTunes simply asks for confirmation – no signing in to pay for the software.

Sounds like free a good price for iPod touch 3.1.3 upgrade.

PS: Jailbreakers: think before updating – you might lose the ability to jailbreak your device if you upgrade the firmware.

Update: Several users confirmed the free update. However a number of users report that they are still asked to pay for the update.

It looks like Apple has started banning iPhone hackers from the iTunes App Store.

A few day ago Sherif Hashim, the iPhone developer and hacker, tweeted that he had found an exploit in the latest iPhone OS 3.1.3, which could enable the unlock on 05.12.01 baseband for iPhone 3GS and iPhone 3G. Yesterday he has been banned by Apple for the so called “security reasons”. It seems that Apple is quite angry! Here is what Sherif gets when he tries to access App Store from his iPhone:

Sherif Hashim’s Tweets:

“Your Apple ID was banned for security reasons”, that’s what i get when i try to go to the app store, they must be really angry ))))

and guess what my apple ID was, “sherif_hashim@yahoo.com”, what a fool was me not to notice )), can’t help laughing, they are babies ))

Another iPhone hacker named iH8sn0w, the developer of Sn0wbreeze (PwnageTool alternative for Windows), tweeted saying he was also banned by Apple right after he released an exploit known as XEMN:

@sherif_hashim lol, they did that to my ih8sn0wyday[@t]googmail.com too. (right after I posted XEMN)…

For now Apple isn’t banning Jailbreakers – they’re banning people who actively work to find exploits in the iPhone software to create Jailbreaks for the rest of us.

Sherif Hashim has discovered an exploit which may allow unlock of the latest iPhone OS 3.1.3 baseband 05.12.01. Such unlock utilities for previous baseband versions were called blacksn0w, ultrasn0w и and yellowsn0w. MuscleNerd, the member of DevTeam, has already confirmed it is working. So the timing of the unlcok release is totally up to them right now.

Here is an official update from DevTeam:

“We’ve started to look at his crash but it’s a long road between any given crash and a fully working unlock, and we couldn’t put an ETA on it even if we wanted to. It’s not even guaranteed that an working unlock will come from this particular crash — it’s just too early to tell.”

Geohot has tweeted  saying that the jailbreak is easy but it only helps those who are dumb enough to upgrade.

I hear rumors going around that the 3.1.3 jailbreak is hard. It isn’t. But the only people it helps are those dumb enough to upgrade. Sorry.

These words indicate that it is unlikely the BlackRa1n jailbreak will be upgraded soon to support the new firmware.

Apple has just released new firmware 3.1.3 (7E18) for iPhone 3GS, iPhone 3G, iPhone 2G, iPod touch, iPod touch 2G and iPod touch 3G.

The update includes:

• Improves accuracy of reported battery level on iPhone 3GS
• Resolves issue where third-party apps would not launch in some instances
• Fixes bug that may cause an app to crash when using the Japanese Kana keyboard
• Other security updates (more info)

So this is a minor update, which fixing only the accuracy of the 3GS battery meter and the stability of some third-party app launches. This update is avaliable via iTunes.

New firmware 3.1.3 also introduces a new version of the baseband, the 05.12.01. So if you need unlock do not update! DevTeam also warns us:

If you care about your jailbreak and unlock, don’t update your device – 3G and 3G(S) owners should pay particular attention to this warning.
PwnageTool and redsn0w are not yet compatible with 3.1.3

Experimenters show that the latest version of redsn0w 0.9.2 is able to jailbreak iPhone 2G, iPhone 3G and iPod touch 1G. Just point it at the 3.1.2 IPSW (download here) after doing update or restore to firmware 3.1.3. Sounds like DevTeam will release an updated version of redsn0w that will handle firmware 3.1.3 officially. They say iPod touch 2G with firmware 3.1.3 is also jailbreakable.

Users report that unlock software, blacksn0w and ultrasn0w, doesn;t work with the new baseband.

TheBoyGenius report that they have found some very interesting data while analyzing the access statistics to their web site:

We can see that this data is related to the new iPhone firmware 3.1.3 and 4.0!

The iPhone OS 3.1.3 should only be a minor update over the current version and could be released even in several days. Firmware 4.0 will probably be released after testing phase and several private beta versions for developers. Rumors say this new version 4.0 will be released together with iPhone 4 some time in June or July next year.