While Jailbreaking iPhone 3.1 on the original iPhone 2G and iPhone 3G has made some strides, there’s still no sign of an iPhone 3GS version. What there are signs of, however, are more and more apps taking advantage of iPhone 3.1-only APIs, meaning they can’t be run on iPhone 3.0, meaning they’re not available to iPhone 3GS Jailbreakers.

So far these iPhone 3.1-only apps are confined to a few camera-specific apps, but including the new features of the update, as augmented-reality functionality spreads, never mind whatever comes with the iPhone 3.2 beta when it appears, the number of incompatible apps is only going to grow.

So here’s our question for iPhone 3GS Jailbreakers — are you still content to wait for the Dev-Team to Jailbreak (and allow safe unlock of) 3.1, or are you getting tempted to restore to the plain vanilla OS? And how long will you wait?

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

iPhone 3.1-Only Apps Getting iPhone 3GS Jailbreakers Down?

It’s time for some good old forum action. Reading From the Forums is a great way to see what all of the current hot topics are on the TiPb forums. In order to create any new threads of your own or reply to any of the existing threads, you must be a registered member. Becoming a member is a simple process that will only take a few minutes out of your day, so if you have not already already done so, head on over and register now.

Rene has started an excellent thread for those of you who want to know more about iPhone 3.1 along with iTunes 9 – TiPb’s iPhone 3.1 Software Walkthrough is the place to go if you’d like to know what has changed in the software and/or need a link to send to some of your friends who have similar questions.

This next thread was started by xtremeyouth1 and he poses an interesting question – Will there be a new design for 4th generation iPhone? It’s never to early to start speculating!

Last up for today we’d like to remind everyone who is in search for cool wallpaper and ringtones to please visit our dedicated forum – iPhone Wallpapers and Ringtones. That thread is the place to be for the latest and greatest to customize your iPhone.

See you on the forums!

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

From the Forums: iPhone 3.1 Software Walkthrough, 4th Generation iPhone, iPhone Wallpaper & Ringtones

So, how’s your battery life doing under iPhone 3.1? If you jumped on it immediately last Wednesday, or had a few days to try it out at least, have you noticed any big changes? Much better? Much worse? Or is it pretty much the same?

Yeah, we ask this every time there’s a new firmware, but that’s just because Apple seems to be tweaking things every time there’s a new firmware.

So, win, lose, or draw, let us know how it’s working for you. And if you’re having battery problems, remember to check out TiPb’s How To: Troubleshoot iPhone Battery Life Problems guide.

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

How’s Your Battery Life with iPhone 3.1?

Every week a few of us from team TiPb, bloggers and forum crew alike, will bring you our current favorite, funnest, most useful App Store apps, WebApps, jailbreak apps, even the occasional accessory, web site, or desktop app if the mood strikes us. As long as they’re iPhone (or iPod touch) related, they’re fair game.

So who’s on deck this week and what are our picks? Find out after the break!

Chad’s Pick: Chipotle

The iPhone is revolutionary. Why? I just placed an order for a Chipotle Burrito on my iPhone! You can create an online account, give your order a name, pick a location and voila! The order interface is easy and clean. You can add multiple orders and pay wih your credit card all on your iPhone. Yummy! [Free - iTunes link]

Chris’ Pick: Lion Pride

I just downloaded and have been trying Lion Pride. This game is similar in some ways to games like Harbor Master and Flight Control – except you are a lion trying to eat your prey! You control a lion or lions, and try to hunt your prey – between stalking and outright chasing your food items, between different strategies for different prey, the game can be quite involving. The normal game is $.99, but if you want to try it first, there is a “lite” demo for free. [$0.99 - iTunes link

]

James’ Pick: iVillain Theme (Jailbreak)

I tried not to. I really tried not to jailbreak. I was happy with my “stock” iPhone 3GS. Then I saw this theme…and I liked it. I could resist no more. If you have seen the HTC Sense UI, you will recognize it immediately as a “port” of the skin to the iPhone. It was easy to install and configure. There are also a few variations of the them included in the link. [Free - Web link]

Jeremy’s Pick: Local Concerts

Great free app for anyone who likes to be kept in the loop of local concerts. Too many times I find out one of my favorite bands played a live show after the fact, not anymore. Local Concerts pushes all new local live concerts directly to your iPhone. Can’t beat that for the price of…. [Free - iTunes link]

Leanna’s Pick: Enigmo 2

Enigmo was one of the first apps I purchased when the App Store was launched and I loved it. Now Pangea Software has recently released Enigmo 2 and it’s awesome. Instead of manipulating only droplets, you must also direct lazers and plasma with reflectors and gravity balls in 3-dimensional space. If you enjoyed playing the orignal Enigmo, I highly recommend picking up Enigmo 2. [$3.99 - iTunes link]

Matt’s Pick: Otterbox Defender iPhone case

I have been eyeing this case for quite some time & finally I figure I “needed” it. The case is quite worth the price. It literally “seals” your iPhone inside so that no dirt can get inside, I’d definitely say it is spash-proof, but not waterproof. The only really exposed area is the speakers. I unintentionaly did a six foot drop “test” in the case and survived. The only issue I encountered was where – the overlay screen protector sticks to the iPhone screen creating a watermarked effect. It’s easily solved with an anti-glare screen protector (at least this is the one I used.) [$44.95 - TiPb Store link]

Rene’s Pick: iPhone 3.1 + iTunes 9

Had. To. Be. Picked. (Especially after Leanna stole Enigmo 2 from me!) While on the surface iPhone 3.1 appears to contain… nothing on the surface, when you combine it with iTunes 9, all the much-needed bug fixes and feature fill-ins really start to shine — especially with things like in-iTunes app management, and Genius for Apps. Unless you’re jailbroken or desperate for a few early weeks of AT&T MMS and tethering, get this update now. [Free - Web link]

Your Pick?

You’re part of team TiPb too, so what’s your pick? What app was your absolute fav last week? Let us — and everyone — know in the comments!

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Chipotle, Lion Pride, iVillain Theme, Local Concerts, Enigmo 2, Otterbox Defender, iPhone 3.1, iTunes 9 – TiPb Picks of the Week

Updating to iPhone 3.1 this weekend? TiPb’s got your back!

• Complete iPhone 3.1 Software Walkthrough
• Warning for those with jailbroken or unlocked iPhones
• Need help? Having problems? Head on over to TiPb’s iPhone Forums!

We’re also going to keep track of known iPhone 3.1 issues and bugs, so if enough of us find the same problems, we’ll post on them and they’ll automagically get added to the list.

Go luck and happy updating!

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Updating to iPhone 3.1? Here’s What You Need!

On the fence about downloading iPhone 3.1? Wondering what’s changed since iPhone 3.0? Need a handy link to send your friends who may have questions? TiPb’s got your back with our complete iPhone 3.1 Software Walkthrough.

Previously, we took you through all three beta versions, now we’ll take you through the final release.

And we’ll get started, right after the break.

What Hasn’t Changed

A lot. Too much to list neatly this time around. When you finish reading this walkthrough, go back and read our iPhone 3.0 walkthrough. It’s a giant compared to this.

Still, there are a few talking points…

iTunes 9 Features

It’s also worth noting that a couple of new features touted for iPhone 3.1, like Genius Mixes, and App Management are actually contained in the simultaneously released iTunes 9. See our iTunes 9 Software Walkthrough for more.

Bug Fixes

Big .0 releases are typically followed up swiftly with quick .1 bug fixes. While the swift part here is debatable — though on par with last year’s update — the bug fixes aren’t. Among the issues addressed:

• Better iPhone 3G Wi-Fi performance when Bluetooth is turned on
• Fixes issue that cause some app icons to display incorrectly

Note, we’d heard iPhone 3.1 would also fix the Spotlight issue that displayed deleted emails, but Apple doesn’t list it, and we’ve heard reports it isn’t yet fixed. (Though it apparently was in iPhone 3.1 Beta 3. Strange.)

Home Screen

With the iPhone 3GS and its accessibility features, you can now enable triple-clicking of the Home Button to toggle VoiceOver, Toggle White on Black, and Ask (which then will pop up a menu offering Turn VoiceOver On, Turn Zoom On, Turn White on Black On).

Voice Control

Voice Control in iPhone 3.0, after holding down the Home button for several seconds, let you speak simple commands to place calls and control music. With iPhone 3.1, it will now also work over Bluetooth.

Just hold down the Bluetooth call button as you would the Home Button, let go, and Voice Control pops up. State your command into the BT mic, and Voice Control will “speak” the confirmation (whether it gets it right or not) through the BT earpiece.

MobileMe Find My iPhone Remote Passcode Lock

Expanding on the Find My iPhone remote tracking and wiping service that came with iPhone 3.0, you can now also remotely assign a passcode lock. This is a nice half-way ground between leaving your iPhone wide open, or having to wipe it clean, if you can’t find it but aren’t sure you’ve permanently lost it.

Messages

Still no MMS for AT&T users. That’s being released on September 25 (though whether it will require an iPhone 3.1.1 update, or just a new carrier file is unknown).

For those outside the US with working MMS, you can tap the action button at bottom, left to save them to the camera roll, just like you could previously do with pictures under iPhone 3.0.

Calendar

Calendar gets a minor tweak in iPhone 3.1. Now event alerts also display the location of the event in the popup. Presumably, this is now considered important glance-able information.

Photos

Video trimming is now non-destructive. Previously, if you trimmed a video, it was automatically saved over the original, meaning you could never undo or go back to the full clip. Now, a Save As… dialog gives you the option of preserving the original and creating as many version copies as you want (an short clip to email, a longer one to share to YouTube, and the full clip to sync and bring into iMovie, for example).

Maps

We haven’t seen this show up yet ourselves, but during Steve Jobs’ iPhone 3.1 overview, the slide behind him listed Sponsored Links in Maps as a… feature. (Maybe that’s why Google CEO, Eric Schmidt was there?). Not quite sure how we feel about this in a built-in app either, as opposed to a site we choose to navigate to in Safari…

Settings

Setting usually accounts for the longest list of changes in a new iPhone firmware, but this time it’s fairly short.

Settings: General: Usage now includes a separate meter for Tethering Data. Apologies again, AT&T users, but for those outside the US — if it proves reliable! — it could help avoid nasty overage charges if you exceed your data cap.

Settings: General: Accessibility includes that aforementioned toggle for the Home Button triple-click to enable quick Accessibility switching. Options include Off, Toggle VoiceOver, Toggle White on Black, or Ask which will launch a pop-up and let you choose between the above and Turn Zoom On.

Settings: Safari now, finally, has that toggle to enable Fraud Warnings for malicious web sites (like phishing sites, malware sites, etc.).

iTunes Store

iPhone 3.1 lets you display available iTunes account credit both iTunes Store, and in the App Store, and allows you to redeem gift cards and other promotional codes.

Also, iTunes U is now “better organized”.

In addition, displacing Podcasts (which moves to the other side of the tracks beneath the More tab) is Ringtones, displayed like music, and available ready-made for $1.29.

App Store

Since the App Store is closer akin to a local WebView, it’s fairly easy for Apple to update the App Store (or iTunes Store) without updating the firmware. Case in point, the night before iPhone 3.1 went live, the App Store was updated to feature “Top Grossing” as one of the view options.

Apple has extended their Genius technology to recommend apps as well in iPhone 3.1. The Genius tab appears under Featured, taking the left-most slot. Once you log in, activate, agree to the terms of service (twice!), Genius will crowd-source other iTunes App Store users with similar tastes in an effort to suggest apps you don’t have but might enjoy. (The app on which the recommendation is based is listed on top of the suggested app — nice touch).

As mentioned above, you can now also see your current iTunes Store credits in the App Store, and you can now also redeem iTunes gift cards, promo codes, and certificates here as well. Feature. Parity.

Phone

Copy and Paste comes to the Phone Keypad. Just tap and hold and the input area will change from dark blue to light blue, and the Copy Paste menu will pop up.

The iPhone Paste feature is “smart” enough to change alphanumeric phone numbers to pure numbers (i.e. 1-800-FLOWERS to 1-800-356-9377).

Contacts also get direct copy, so you can hold your finger down on a contact field, just like a picture in Photo, to trigger the copy pop-up menu.

Conclusion

Like the recently released Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard, iPhone 3.1 doesn’t provide a lot of fancy user-facing updates (we likely won’t see those until Mac OS X 10.7 and iPhone 4.0 respectively). What it does is fix things that needed fixing, and fill in missing functionality that needed filling in. And, it throws in a couple small feature enhancements, just because.

Free for both iPhone and iPod touch 3.0 users (iPod touch 2.x users will still need to cough up $9.95 to pay the subscription accounting devil’s dues), if iPhone 3.0 was a must-have for the sheer magnitude of its new functionality, 3.1 is a no-brainer update to make the must-have that much nicer-to-have as well.

[Thanks to everyone who contributed screenshots and descriptions for this walkthrough, especially Justin, Jeremy, and James. If you noticed we missed anything, drop us a note in the comments and we'll update as needed.]

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

iPhone 3.1 Software Walkthrough

Now that the dust is starting to settle after the return of Steve, we would like to take a moment and issue another friendly reminder to all of you who currently using an unlocked iPhone 3G or the 3GS – do not install the iPhone 3.1 update via iTunes. You will lose your unlock and it may be permanent as Dev Team’s MuscleNerd stated on Twitter earlier today:

3G+3GS unlockers..you must not update to official 3.1! unlock needs pre-hacked 3.1 with 04.26.08

So what does that mean, well like I mentioned earlier do not update via iTunes. You must first hack the 3.1 software to include modem firmware 04.26.08. If this confuses you, please do not attempt to unlock your phone until an easier way is released.

We here at TiPb are wondering, what about iTunes? Have any of you with unlocked iPhones updated to iTunes 9.0? Let us know how it went in the comments!

As always, be safe out there, as we are not responsible if you blow up your iPhone.

*If you have questions regarding unlocking please visit our iPhone Jailbreak and Unlock forum.

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

iPhone OS 3.1 and Unlocking Don’t Mix Well: Yet…

Apple, following their announcement at the It’s only rock and roll, but we like it special music event, has just posted iPhone OS 3.1, promoting it’s Genius App Recommendations, Genius Mixes, Downloadable Ringtones ($1.29 – ouch!), and support for iTunes 9’s App Management feature.

Just plug in your iPhone, hit Update, sit back, and enjoy the new hawt. (Jailbreakers and unlockers should hold off unless you want to lose your jailbreak/unlock.)

For more on iPhone 3.1, see TiPb’s iPhone 3.1 feature page.

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

iPhone 3.1 Now Live! Go Get It!

AT&T is promising MMS on September 25, along with a software update to enable it. Sounds like iPhone 3.1 to us. Show it off at the September 9 Music Event along with the third generation iPod touch, then release it a couple weeks later to coincide with MMS?

WhenWillApple reports that AT&T MMS is already working for them in Florida under iPhone 3.1 Beta 3. and while it might just be another random network test, could it also be a sign of what’s to come?

Anyone else rocking AT&T MMS on iPhone 3.1 Beta 3? Say where and when in the comments!

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

AT&T MMS Already Working on iPhone 3.1 Beta 3, or Just Testing?

UPDATE: WhenWillApple thinks they know what’s going on with the 3.1 fix.

Looks like the tempest has run out of room in the teapot, as that bug we linked to earlier, about iPhone 3.0 Spotlight showing email messages that should be well and truly deleted, seems to have indeed been crushed in iPhone 3.1.

[Via WhenWillApple]

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Updated: iPhone 3.1 Fixes “Deleted Email Appearing in Spotlight Search” Bug