Archive for July, 2010

Four of the biggest iPhone and iPad game developers have discounted a selection of their games for the July 4th holiday. Hurry up. Here is the list:

Gameloft:

• The Settlers, $4.99 > $0.99
• Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X., $4.99 > $0.99
• Rayman 2: The Great Escape, $4.99 > $0.99
• Driver, $4.99 > $0.99
• The Oregon Trail, $4.99 > $0.99
• Brain Challenge HD (iPad), $4.99 > $0.99
• Hero of Sparta HD (iPad), $4.99 > $0.99

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Several recent reports reveal that the antenna problem is not unique and can't be a serious reason not to buy the iPhone 4.

According to research group Consumer Reports the signal troubles are caused by human as in case with any other phone.

“Underplayed in the discussion is the fact that all phones are subject to interference from the human who is using them. And even if the alleged signal loss is real, there’s an absence of hard evidence that iPhone 4 reception is problematic compared to past iPhones; indeed there’s evidence of just the opposite”.

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Engadget reports about another hack made in the Book category of an iTunes App Store. 42 of the top 50 books now belong to a seller named Thuat Nguyen, whose company is written as “mycompany” and its site is www.home.com. Almost all of these books have been published in April and have little to no customer reviews or ratings. Though it is claimed that the books are available in English and Japanese language, people report they are actually appear to be in Vietnamese.

Engadget also claims that many people report about iTunes account hacking that became a reason of spending hundreds of dollars on above-mentioned books without any wish and permission of its owners. That cannot be a coincidence, so it is recommended that every Apple customer will check his purchase history in his Apple Account information.

Apple hasn’t yet commented on the situation.

Flash has been ported to the iPad. Unofficially of course. The project is called Frash and is basically a port of Adobe Flash runtime for Android running on iPad using a compatibility layer. Its coming from a well known iPhone hacker named comex.

The YouTube description of the video explains everything about the port as follows.

Frash is a port of the Adobe Flash runtime for Android to the iPhone, using a compatibility layer, by comex ( http://twitter.com/comex ). Frash can currently run most Flash programs natively in the MobileSafari browser. Frash currently only runs on the iPad, but support for other devices (3GS+ only due to technical restrictions) is planned, as well as support for iOS 4.

A release is planned for when Frash is stable. Developers are welcome to join the effort at http://github.com/comex/frash – fork it and send a pull request with your patches.

Shot on an iPhone 4 and edited using iMovie on the phone.

Take a look at the video:

iPhone 2G and iPod touch 1G do not officially support iOS 4. However there is a project called WhiteD00r that aims to bring iOS 4 functionality to iPhone 2G users with a custom firmware bundle.

This bundle is created by Matteo Morando and is based on firmware 3.1.3. It is built with PwnageTool. It incorporates several utilities to adds iOS 4 features such as multitasking, wallpaper, tethering, sms count, and more.

There are 3 different versions - Lite and Full for iPhone 2G and one for iPod touch 1G. Here is the complete feature list:

Take a look at video demo:

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iH8Sn0w has successfully performed a tethered jailbreak for iPhone 3GS with new firmware  iOS 4 and the new bootrom. Unfortunately this jailbreak requires users to have 3.1.2 SHSH blobs saved.

Alright... If anyone has their 3.1.2 SHSH blobs, NOT 3.1.3. Then I'll see if I can produce a tool that will do this job...

Here is a video demo posted by AKinGdom1:

The utility will be available soon. Might be as soon as tomorrow.

Apple has published an official public letter of response to concerns about the iPhone 4 signaling problems. Some would say this is very nice and great. Others would complain this is just a cop out. Well, at least we see that Apple is aware of users' problems. Apple claims, that it's just a software problem of calculating how many bars of signal strength to display. Apple says there is no hardware problem.

Here it the full letter:

Dear iPhone 4 Users,

The iPhone 4 has been the most successful product launch in Apple’s history. It has been judged by reviewers around the world to be the best smartphone ever, and users have told us that they love it. So we were surprised when we read reports of reception problems, and we immediately began investigating them. Here is what we have learned.

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Take a look at this small video where Futurama makes fun of the zombie-like iPhone queues in the latest episode entitled "Attack of the Killer App":

Some people think that Apple should be handing out free cases to keep its loyal customers from going on a strike. But no such thing happens, and most users are stuck with the only official solution to spend $30 on a bumper for their iPhone. However, what you need is just a little ingenuity.

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The Facebook application for the iPod touch/iPhone is now compatible with the iOS 4. Other new features are icons in high resolution, fast switching and also Korean/Russian localizations. There were also several minor bugs fixed.

Facebook is available for download from the App Store for free.

Will.i.am from The Black Eyed Peas is reported to have used the MobileMe Find My iPad service to help catch a thief who had robbed his Bently, stealing jewelry and some other belongings worth $10,000 in total.

Will used the built-in tracking system on his iPad, located the criminal and reported his whereabouts to the police which found some of the stolen goods and gave them back to the singer.

Hip-hop superstar Jay-Z had a lunch with a friend at Nello on the upper east side of New York City. Jay-Z was showing his brand new iPhone 4. Both Jay-Z and his friend seemed to be shocked by something they saw on the iPhone's screen.

via 9to5mac

As expected iAds have arrived July 1. This advertisement for the Nissan Leaf is the first to make an appearance.

The initial launch of iAd rich media ads, featuring advertising from some of the world's leading brands, will begin July 1. At launch, we’ll roll out in North America and ramp up the number of ads served in the weeks and months ahead. For developers outside of North America, iAd will be rolled out in a few months.

Take a look:

The antenna problems of the iPhone 4 are still there. More and more people come across it, and in this video you’ll see the result of one simple touch that completely stops web-page loading.

The problem with the iPhone is not just about it not displaying the signal bars but actually about the real data loss. Quite simple: you leave your iPhone on the table and it loads the web-pages at a normal speed. You touch the problematic area, and the web-page stops loading.

Since the fault is in the design – the antenna is located all around the phone, and it’s quite hard to avoid it unless you have a case for it – at some point the problem is sure to affect everyone, unless you are very close to a cell tower.

While the iPhone is a great invention, at least 40% of the buyers have admitted that they are experiencing this problem, and in the UK the figure is as high as 93%. Apple hasn’t provided any solution yet, except the advice to buy a case or to hold the device in a different way.

In the full-page Motorola advertisement in The New York Times doesn’t hesitate to refer to the iPhone 4 signal loss problems:

"And most importantly, it comes with a double antenna design. The kind that allows you to hold the phone any way you like and use it just about anywhere to make crystal clear calls. You have a voice. And you deserve to be heard."

Not the first case now! Seems like Apple is providing plenty of material for their rivals!