Articles by Casey Chan
Unlike the original iPhone which withstood the rigorous tests of sweaty palms, fingerpints, keys, and just daily life with relative ease, the iPhone 3G has some quality and durability concerns that the original iPhone never had. Insert the need for a case. The Griffin Nu Form Case for iPhone 3G ($24.95) is a stylish solution that hopes to offer better grip and protection from the elements while still looking good. How does it perform?
Read on for the rest of the review!
This is fun. It’s like a game of cat and mouse between Apple firmware and the jailbreaking community, Apple launches an update and the iPhone-dev team works feverishly to jailbreak said update. This time, they are said to be putting the finishing touches on PwnageTool 2.0.2 which will be able to jailbreak the “snappier” 2.0.1.
Excited much? Well, there still won’t be Installer.app because Installer 4 isn’t ready for the primetime yet but a new version of Cydia will be there so you can still get some apps. There still is a lot of catching up to do on developing jailbroken apps and it still won’t unlock the iPhone 3G, but all in due time. We’ll follow up with a link to PwnageTool 2.0.2 when it is released.
So it’s been a day since 2.0.1 was made available and we at TiPb would like to know how it’s been running on your iPhone. Did this bug-fixer of an update actually fix any bugs? Or are we all getting suckered into believing that the update has made things snappier? Pains in the update process? Backups faster? Apps Crashing? Or are things just less sucky? Maybe you completely avoided the update..anything and everything, we want to know!
Personally, things have “felt” a little bit smoother. Contacts load noticeably quicker but my SMS is still a good couple of seconds too long. No crashes to report yet but I did have one ginormously big hiccup after updating: the mail app crashed on launch. I had to completely restore and set up my iPhone as a new iPhone which was more than mildly annoying, to put it lightly. So other than that, YAY 2.0.1. Woot.
So TiPb faithful, how is 2.0.1 treating you?
Bummed out that the (PRODUCT)Red iPhone never came out? Regret your White iPhone? Wondering how to turn your iPhone 3G, let’s say, blue? Well Colorware, the electronics color customization company, has just announced that they are going to be lending their amazing talents to the iPhone 3G.
Though obviously there won’t be an option to buy an iPhone 3G directly from Colorware, you will be able to send in your iPhone for customization that includes a variety of colors and finishes. Colorware also offers the opportunity to change the color of the frame, sim card tray, button, ear buds and dock.
For those looking for a solution to make your iPhone unique, Colorware is a great option. The process starts at $150 but the envious stares from your friends may be worth it. Any takers?
Read. Thanks to mrHiDefinition for the tip!
Have you checked out our forums lately? The community is growing and the commentary is getting better and better each day. Unconvinced? I’ll bring out a thread, a post, a topic, or a comment directly from the forums and post it on TiPb’s front page every week to prove it to you. We here at TiPb love the interplay, quid pro quo, repartee with our readers, so step up your creativity and tighten up your diction, you could be next!
This week we have a tip from forum member, h22kai, on how to swap out your broken iPhone 3G for a brand, spanking new one at the Apple Store. We at TiPb have heard of more hardware issues dealing with the iPhone 3G than any other Apple product in recent memory, so if you own an iPhone 3G and are running into build quality issues, feel free to take a look at h22kai’s list!
It includes simple advice like restoring your iPhone prior to your Genius Bar appointment and more specific suggestions like removing any discount from AT&T.
Go Check out h22kai’s tip on how to swap out your broken iPhone 3G at an Apple Store!
We’ve had our fair share of gripes and complaints about AT&T here at TiPb but we don’t give them enough credit for trusting Apple and letting them go wild with the iPhone. Sure, they may be out to squeeze every dollar from their customers, but few carriers would even imagine giving Apple the freedom to create the. best. gadget. ever.
Plus, AT&T is well aware of the attention and added dollars they get by having an exclusivity agreement for the iPhone, so it comes to no surprise to us that one of those old, reputable, print companies is reporting that AT&T has added another year of exclusivity (until 2010 now). If AT&T were to lose the iPhone now, it’d be a complete disaster since the iPhone is starting to entrench itself in the market.
So I guess since AT&T will never give up on the iPhone, it’s on Apple to make every customers dream come true and deliver a fully unlocked iPhone. Maybe then, carriers will begin to lower their prices and the power will come back to the consumers.
Update: Macrumors lets us know that, strangely enough, it’s back in the App Store. It doesn’t show up in a search, but you can download it via this iTunes/App Store link.
Update 2: …aaaand it’s gone again, at least in the US. Le Sigh.
The Interweb is abuzz about this little program that popped up on the App Store yesterday, so aptly named NetShare. The concept of the app is to essentially use your iPhone’s 3G or EDGE (god knows why) connection for your laptop. It creates a proxy and establishes a pseudo-hotspot with your iPhone’s connection leaving you free to surf the web on your laptop. It’s tethering, more or less.
How this got passed Apple and AT&T who knows. But it looks like has already been kicked out of the App Store. Did any of the TiPb faithful get their hands on this app while it was hot? Anyone get it to work? From what TiPb has been hearing, it’s really hit or miss. Let us know.
Maybe Apple wanted the developers of NetShare to get the app right before they put it out again…wish for it and it’ll come true…wish for it and it’ll come true.
Patent filings sometimes clue you in to the direction a company is headed with their devices. Sure, some are crazy and others are ridiculous, but you can get a general sense of what the company is trying to accomplish in those stencil-like drawings and comic-like blurbs.
Well, Apple has filed a patent that strongly hints toward developing an add-on/dongle/hub/dock-type device that will accept AM, FM, HD, or satellite radio along with cable TV, satellite TV, antenna, or IPTV. The multiple connecting devices, as shown in the patent filing, could range from being a dock, a stereo, or even a computer.
What makes this Apple patent unique is its ability to “tag” information about the current movie, TV show, or song, allowing you to save the information presumably to let iTunes develop a list of movies, shows, and music you might be interested in.
Honestly, I’m lukewarm about this “media extender” device coming into fruition partly because I would hate to have a dongle attached to my iPhone and more importantly, can’t imagine Apple pushing media that isn’t sold through their iTunes pipeline.
Either way, this patent filing makes for good conversation. What do you think?
Hmm. YESSIM has claimed that they can unlock iPhone 3Gs using a YESSIM SIM card for all the unlocking purposes. They have video-proof complete with convoluted instructions and a dodgy FAQ on their website. The Sim Unlock was developed in Europe and requires a jailbroken iPhone 3G. Are we taking this with an ordinary grain of salt or a Mt. Everest sized one?
What raises TiPb’s eyebrow is the fact that their website has common spelling and grammatical errors. Plus it seems like they’re pimping their product more than showing the process. But hardware Sim Unlocks do seem to be from foreign countries and use some mysterious, voodoo magic to unlock the iPhone. So I guess if they’re right, we can forgive them for everything.
What do you think? Is this legit? Or should we wait until a non-SIM Unlock method?
So there have been some reports that the white iPhone 3G has been showing cracks in its plastic housing already. From the pictures shown, some look like it could be scratches while others look almost, definitively cracked. I knew that the plastic would not be as durable as the original iPhone’s but cracks in the casing? That’s a lot worse than I ever imagined.
Is this a case of internet propaganda or could this really be happening? Anyone with white iPhone 3Gs like to tell their side of the story?
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