Independent phone vendors have been illegally selling unlocked 3G iPhone in Hong Kong since its launch but, today Apple has quietly sneaked an unlocked version of the iPhone 3G themselves in to their Hong Kong Apple online store. It looks like their deal with Hutchison Telecom, the exclusive iPhone 3G carrier at launch has expired and the phone is now available online at $5400 HKD ($692USD) for the 8GB model and $6200HKD ($794USD) for the 16GB model. Apple states that phones when purchased online can be activated with any wireless carrier. Simply insert the SIM from your current phone into iPhone 3G and connect to iTunes 8 to complete activation. The price is a bit steep but, competitive compared to the Nokia N95 which goes for $600USD or Blackberry Bold at $750USD unlocked.
Pegged by the numerous issues I encountered when upgrading from Wordpress 1.x to 2.2, I have been hesitant to upgraded to the much talked about v2.6. However, with the release of their Wordpress iPhone app, I was force to make the transitions. I completed the update last weekend and the process (kind of) painless. The only issue that I ran into was my categories table got deleted in the DB upgrade, but it wasn’t all that difficult to resolve. A bit manual, but David Cumps has the solution here. Overall, the update has been really great. The media library is intuitive, the plugin manager is a godsend, but even more the ability to blog from your iPhone via the new app is worth the upgrade alone.
The iPhone Dev Team has released PwnageTool 2.0. This jailbreaks iPhones/iPod Touches running firmware 2.0 to support non-App Store third-party application. The first-generation iPhones can also be unlocked, but the iPhone 3G cannot be unlocked or used with BootNeuter.
I tested this and the Pwanage Tool is flawless. Everything has worked for me so far and I provided an outline of what I did to get my iPhone 1st Gen unlocked and jailbroken with the 2.0 firmware.
Warning: Jailbreak / Unlock at your own risk. I will take no responsibility what so ever for what may occur before, during, after the Pwnaing process. I tried it myself and was successful. Please proceed with caution.
To Jailbreak and Unlock a first-generation iPhone:
Open iTunes 7.7 and connected the iPhone. When the iPhone is detected iTunes will ask you to upgrade your firmware, select the download only and disconnect iPhone after the download starts.
Open the Pwnage Tool
Select expert mode
Chose iPhone 1st Gen / iPod Touch
Browse for the 2.o firmware
Browse for the boot loader
Further customize the third party installer, custom boot / dfu screen, etc and select build (Optional). This will create a custom ipws for you to restore your phone from in iTunes
When the custom ipws file is created, the Pwanage Tool will instruct you on how to put your iPhone into dfu mod. Follow the on screen instruction , dock your phone, and close the Pwanage Tool.
Once your phone is in dfu mode and docked, iTunes will not recognize your iPhone and will ask you to restore. Select “alt” and the restore button, browse for your the custom ipw file you created with the Pwanage Tool and sit back and relax.
Once iTunes successfully restores your iPhone, it will reboot and bootneutral will opened automatically. First, it neutral the boot and then flashed the baseband.
Your iPhone 1st Gen / iPod Touch is Jailbroken and Unlocked
Engadget is reporting that GPS turn-by-turn directions is possible for the iPhone. This is just another reason for me to upgrade my first gen iPhone to the 3G model. It seems that their is no way to avoid the lust over this magical device.Despite the good news, Apple has stated that cut and paste is a low priority feature for them. Lets just hope someone can address this need with an app.
Today, the iPhone 3G finally comes to Hong Kong and I stopped by to party with the mac heads.
Only the 1,500 lucky preregistered customers, which were chosen randomly will be able to get an iPhone 3G in Hong Kong; thats is at least until Three is able to get more supply (I’m guessing it will take at least 2 months).
There are no long lines for the iPhone 3G in Hong Kong due to the pre-registrations process they have setup.
The 1,500 iPhone 3G owners will get a special gift pack that includes a limited iPhone 3G case.
Gizmodo has just reported the new iPhone OS 2.0 software has been unlocked and jailbroken. The software itself has not even been officially released by Apple yet and it has already been cracked by the iPhone Dev Team. Here’s some proof for all you non believers.
The iPhone Dev Team have been working on this since the beta version and now that the iPhone OS 2.0 is out, they will release their Pwnage tool for everyone to unlock and jailbreak their iPhones soon, although the specific date/time is not firm yet.
Gizmodo also questions the usefulness of this unlock because iphones are nolonger widly sold without a contract and is freely avalible is major countries now. It’s true that it may not be benifical to iPhone 3G owners, but for the vast community that are still using their unlocked 1st gen iPhone, this means they can take advantage of the software update as well. I for one am very happy because I relocked my first gen phone yesterday just to try the Apps and would really like to have it unlocked again
MacRumors has just reported the the iPhone 2.0 software is available, but not yet official. To get it you have to download it manually via this link.
Apple has posted an updated guide about firmware upgrades and warns:
Normally if you choose to update, the iPhone or iPod touch software is updated but your settings and media are not affected. If your device currently has a software version prior to 2.0 (1.x) and you are updating to software version 2.0 or later, all data on your device will be erased in order to perform install the new software. In this case, iTunes will offer to create a one-time media backup of your device depending on what content is on your device and what content is stored in the iTunes Library you are connected to. You should ensure that you have enough free space on your Mac or PC to accommodate a backup that matches the capacity of your iPhone or iPod touch (4 GB, 8 GB, 16 GB, or 32 GB) if you proceed with the this backup.
Also take note to fully sync prior to proceeding. In order to install this firmware, you will have to do it manually by pressing the Option key when pressing the “Check for Update” button in iTunes. Then select the .ipsw file manually. If for some reason your download is a “.zip” file, rename it to “.ipsw” before proceeding.
Micheal Arrington of TechCrunch has successfully updated to the iPhone 2.0 Software (took about 30 mins) and installed Apps. See video below:
To see more demos of iPhone Apps refer to TechCrunch.
No reason for me to complain. Fortune has done the analysis and it turns out that Hutchison Three in Hong Kong and Macau is the cheapest way to get your hands on a iPhone 3G with a plan.
Some comparisons (all expressed in U.S. dollars for the equivalent of a 2-year contract):
* Hutchison in Hong Kong: $955 (500MB voice and data) to $1,532 (2,200 min., unlimited data)
* O2 (TEF) in the U.K.: $1,698 (75 minutes, unlimited data) to $3,588 (3000 min., unlimited data)
* AT&T (T) in the U.S.: $1,879 (450 min., unlimited data) to $3,318 (unlimited voice and data)
* T-Mobile (DT) in Germany: $1,366 (500MB data) to $3,374 (5GB data)
* Rogers (RCI) in Canada: $1,624 (150 min., 400 MB data) to $2,932 (800 min., 2GB data)
I am currently using an iPhone and love what it has to offer. My major draw to this device was the seamless integration with iTunes and the ability to have an all-in-one device that can be my phone, PDA, and iPod; but needless to say there are a lot of draw backs with the iPhone. For one, the call quality is not all that great and the reception is not on par compared to similar devices. In addition, the email experience is not even close to what Blackberry can offer and the non-replicable battery makes it really hard to use it as a media device when you really need to use it as a phone throughout the day.
Blackberry Sync got a tip for the yet to be announced and now highly anticipated BlackBerry 9500 aka Thunder. It will feature a huge 360×480 touch display (slightly larger than the one on an iPhone) and will run OS 4.7 rather than 5.0. The Thunder will be available in both GSM and CDMA format and will run a carrier music store that will allow users to purchase songs from their device (similar to iTunes on the iPhone). “Haptic Techonloy” will be built to provide users with real feedback when the display is pressed. It also features both SureType and a full QWERTY keyboard. So when the Thunder is upright it will use a SureType keyboard (think Pearl) and when it’s sideways a full QWERTY keyboard. Plus it will also sport a 5 mega pixel camera.
There has been a lot of iPhone clones out there, but non-has really caught my eye like the Thunder has. Let me explain, I have always thought that BlackBerry got it right with the phone and email / web portion of their device; however, they have been lagging far behind in the media and data syncing arena. With the introduction of the Bold (geared towards business users) and the Thunder, they may have the perfect combo to really challenge the iPhone. With the addition of their new Media Sync application, it will allow oriented BlackBerry smartphones to sync their iTunes music with their BlackBerry. The real draw for me is while I am in the States, I can finally leave T-Mobile and AT&T and hope to the more favorable Verizon network.
TechCunch just broke the news that Apple’s App Store is now live. To access it, download iTunes 7.7 here. Once iTunes has upgraded, you can access the App Store here.
You can buy apps on iTunes now, but you’ll need the iPhone 2.0 software to actually use them on the iPhone, which isn’t yet available.
Micheal Arrington over at TechCrunch made an awesome intro video demoing the App stor, which is embedded below:
There are 27 pages of applications currently available, 7 of which are FREE applications. There are also a lot of books being listed as applications as well. I went through most of the apps and below are some of the ones I found interesting:
AIM (free) - Instant messaging finally on non jail broken iPhone or iPod Touch.
Moo-Cow-Music Band ($9.99) - Visual instruments that allow you to create music from scratch. Each instrument was created to leverage the power of the iPhone or iPod Touch (i.e. touch interface).
Battle at Sea ($3.99) - Brings back of the classic strategy board game, Battle Ship. Users can play against the computer or friends via LAN.
Bloomberg (free) - Gets you up-to-date with stock quotes and related financial news.
Movies (free) - Browse movies and Showtime, read reviews, watch trailers, buy movie ticket, and get directions to the theater all from your iPhone or iPod Touch.
Brain Challenge ($9.99) - Similar to the DS’s brain age but for your iPhone or iPod Touch.
Checkout Smart Shop ($4.99) - Read reviews, and compare prices online and at local retailers while at the store. If this isn’t smart shopping I don’t know what is.
Evernote (free) - documents and media synced to the web and accessible anywhere with an Internet connection.
iLingo ($9.99) - Awesome language learning tool. Each language is sold separately as oppose to the buddle they sell in retail stores.
NetNewsWire (free) - Get syndicated with your latest blogs / RSS feeds.
Jott (free) - A mobile note pad. Notes crated by speech translated into text and synced over the cloud.
Mobile Flickr ($2.99) - Easy way to post photos to your Flickr account (supports tags, sets, and groups) and elopers others photos.
Numba ($9.99) - A numbers brain game. Can’t tell for sure if it’s really awesome yet, but looks very appealing.
Super Monkey Ball ($9.99) – Game that uses the iPhone accelerometer to guide a little monkey encased in a ball to victory through various obstacles.
Twittelator (free) – A twitter app that lets you post messages, photos and find your friend utilizing maps.
Stage Hands ($7.99) - Control your Keynote. Have live notes of the current side and utilize the highlight and spotlight function for a particular slide all from the iPhone or iPod.
