It would appear that the iTunes update for 7.4.2 is your standard average bugfix release. Did it fix my store download issue? Why yes. Yes, it did. Their update notes that it fixes issues with iTunes Plus ringtone purchases along with anything else that it fixes.
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figure 1: A screenshot of the 1.1.1 firmware from the rebate site. I think Apple used to be better at keeping stuff like this secret.
Apple said a firmware update was coming during their “the Beat Goes On” media event on September 5th, and it looks like they’ve posted pictures of it on their Early Adopter credit site. Our current firmware version is 1.0.2, and the link shown gives a version number of 1.1.1. This is kind of curious from a versioning number standpoint, usually companies release 1.1 or 1.1.0 before they release 1.1.1, but perhaps one of Apple’s release candidates failed.
I imagine that speculation will run rampant as to what Apple will ship in this update, but I think it’s safe to assume that we’ll get some updates to the home button (perhaps the iPod touch media controls), since there’s a new ‘Home’ section in the General settings. There’s also a tantalizing ‘International’ tab. Whether that will be support for the international networks or preferences to avoid crazy international roaming charges, I don’t know. I think that odds are good that it will be support for other international carriers, since AT&T likes them their roaming charges. It’s also plausible that the ‘International’ tab simply brings international keyboard support.
We’ll likely know for sure on or by the 18th. As to when we’ll see the update in iTunes, we’ll see the update on any given Tuesday.
The arrival of iTunes 7.4 brings a few troubles to the plate for anyone that has hacked their iPhone (it’s safe to assume that there will be similar troubles for every new iTunes version). Some users report the inability to perform jailbreak. Other users report that iTunes has broken their custom ringtones (see also here). Fret not, though.
- Ambrosia Software promises an iToner update to get their ringtones working again
- EFKSoft promises an iPhoneRingToneMaker update to get their ringtones working again
- iPhoneAlley, makers of iFuntastic, are entirely silent on the matter
Some people have reported issues performing jailbreak. Apparently the short-term fixes are to perform jailbreak with either the 3.0 version of AppTapp Installer.app, or to use the new OSX App iNdependence, a GUI application for jailbreak, activation, SSH, and ringtone / wallpaper / application installation. I’ll post an update for Windows h4×0rz as soon as I find one that’s confirmed to work with iTunes 7.4, but I’ll wager that iBrickr will win this race.
For me, it’s a 38.5MB update. It includes compatibility with all of the new iPods, and the new ringtone support for the iPhone. It also brings the long-rumored ‘ringtones’ tab to fruition. There’s still no 8th tab, though… maybe we’ll know when our iPhone update comes out.
Holy smokes! Apple has put a $200 price cut on the 8 GB iPhone, and dropped the 4GB version altogether. That’s right, the 8GB iPhone is now $399. Where do I line up for my $200 check? I’m equal parts filled with rage for paying a $200 early adopter fee, and equal parts filled with glee for a $200 price cut. I’m glad that it makes the iPhone that much more accessible for everyone else. I just feel a little sore when I sit, that’s all.
I have colleagues that believe the price cut is a portent of a hardware refresh. I have a hard time believing Apple would refresh their iPhone hardware so soon after launch, but I should float the idea out as speculation. I believe a 3G version is possible, perhaps in the 1st or 2nd quarter of 2008. The part of me that hopes I’m wrong is the part of me that wants my iPhone to be new forever. Sigh
There’s an iTunes update tonight that will bring Ringtones support. For a select portion of their music catalog (about 500,000 songs altogether, or 8% of the songs available on iTunes), you can make a ringtone if you’ve already purchased the song. All in all, the song to play on the iPod and the song to play as a ringtone is $1.98. Song portion: $.99, same as always. Ringtone: $.99. I think the extra fee is for the ‘public performance’ licensing aspect of ringtones. It will be interesting to see if the iTunes update breaks iToner, iFuntastic, or the indomitable iPhoneRingtoneMaker. Let’s hope not.
The iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store will come to the iPhone in an update later this month. Look for it on a Tuesday afternoon this month, I’d bet. You will be able to purchase any music from the iTunes store and download it via wi-fi. I doubt you will be able to purchase it via EDGE. After all, it’s not the iTunes Wireless Music Store. Why not, though? It’s easier to say, and less cumbersome to type.
The iTunes Wi-Fi Music store will also be available from a bunch of Starbucks in most areas by 2009. The Starbucks in the larger top-ten cities in the US will get the update treatment first, and Starbucks figures they’ll have “most major metro areas” by late 2008. Um, I could rollout a storewide wi-fi network faster than that.
In other iPod news, Steve announced the iPod sister to the iPhone, the iPhone touch (8GB for $299 and 16GB is $399), to be available later this month. It’s slightly smaller, you’ll note from the picture above, and its application functionality has obviously not been totally disclosed. Notably missing from the iPod Touch thus far is a notes app and a maps app…. Hmmm.
The iPod, newly rechristened the iPod Classic, saw updates bringing a new, drastically thinner 80GB version ($249) and a thinner-than-the-previously-thickest 80GB version is the 160 GB version ($349).
The new iPod Nano, regarded by many as an ugly duckling, gets the full iPod treatment. It gains a video-quality screen, and is available in 4GB ($149) and 8GB ($199) versions, and it still works with the Nike+iPod sport kit. As you can see in the picture from Apple’s website above, it’s a little wee thing, absolutely tiny.
Huh. Apple’s iPod lineup looks like a steamroller right now. The Zune, Creative Zen, Sony Walkman line, et al, all look like bumpy roads waiting to be flattened this holiday season.
We still don’t know for sure the bugs fixed by update 1.0.2, but it looks like the speculation has been condensed into an article that speculates that it was for wi-fi and camera updates. In another totally unrelated site, someone waxes about how easy it has been to update the firmware on the iPhone, the rate at which updates have come, and the rate of feature improvement, especially compared to other devices. You can read that other totally unrelated not-at-all-a-sister-site-to-the-first-site here.
There’s a new iPhone update available. As usual, if you’ve hacked an iPhone, it may be worthwhile to just restore it to normal before you even bother updating. Apple hasn’t disclosed what’s been updated just yet (they just say that the update includes bug fixes), but I’ll post again if I notice anything that’s different. I don’t expect much; the update is only 3.7 MB. If you’ve hacked your iPhone, expect a recovery update in the 90 MB range.
