iPhone Hacks · Hacks, Cracks, Mods, Homebrew, Utilities

There has been a lot of news circulating lately about all the juicy features in the iPhone v2.0 firmware and we are all very excited. But let’s not get too excited just yet, as with every other time there is a firmware update released by Apple those of us with unlocked iPhones need to wait or risk losing use of our iPhone. This is a warning to all of you out there thinking of trying out iPhone 2.0 on launch date, you will lose all your apps for sure. You will also most likely have your iPhone deactivated and jailed.

iPhone-Hacks.com’s advice is to wait, but we know some of you won’t. Luckily the iPhone hacking community is strong and solutions are already in the works. Zibris of ZiPhone fame is already working on a downgrader, here is what he has to say:

Well, here I am still…
The picture above is not a fake.
It’s not even a major breakthru but it’s something.
I am glad to tell you anyhow that 2.0
firmware works pretty well on my iPod 32gb.
All features are enabled.
To install it from windows (or mac) you need
a special beta version of itunes.
Unless you want to loose installer
and all third party apps I strongly suggest you
NOT TO UPGRADE (both iPod both iPhone).
To downgrade the iPod you will need
to uninstall iTunes 7.7 and reinstall 7.5.
Then you will need to put the iPod in DFU mode
and do a full restore back to 1.1.4 (and use ZiPhone)
to have back Installer and all goodies.
With the iPhone it’s more complicated
because you will also need to
downgrade the baseband.
I already have a very preliminary version
of the new ZiPhone which will allow that.

As of today you will have 2 choices:

1. Believe in the community and don’t upgrade to 2.0
2. Say goodbye to Installer and freedom and upgrade.

iCall is a newly announced app coming out on Apple’s App Store. It promises seamless call switching between VoIP via WiFi and regular calls. There will be no hacking involved, they are fully approved Apple developer. iCall has a two tier system with a free version and a ‘pro’ version with added features. iCall is their own service provider so don’t expect to use this application with any of your current VoIP plans like Vonage. It will be interesting to see how this will compare with other services competeing for the iPhone VoIP market. Like the previously released RingFree.

Here is their very short FAQ:

1. We are part of the Apple iPhone developer program. This is not an application for you naughty jail breakers ;-)
2. We are not using any undocumented API calls. We are following every rule that developers must follow.
3. No, you can not have a copy. We are not physically capable of distributing the application to any phones except our development phones. If Steve-ness himself wanted a copy we could not provide it to him. Sorry.
4. Apple has explicitly stated that VoIP is allowed, just not over Edge networks. Steve himself answered this question in the Q&A session after the last keynote speech.
5. We are huge Apple fans and plan to release a version of iCall for OS X, but we don’t have enough developers. (see question 6).
6. Yes we are hiring. Please visit our jobs page. We’ll even pay for you to move to Greenwich, CT.

A video of iCall in action:

AppleInsider has reported on a rumour that the official British carrier of the iPhone O2, will be unlocking 3G iPhones for a nominal charge of £15 after 1 year of service.

For some customers, though, the most important news may come a year later. Separate O2 staff are suggesting that the wireless carrier’s usual policy of offering an unlock code for Pay As You Go phones after 12 months will remain true for iPhone 3G.

No statement from the company can be found on this issue so far and the sources are also unnamed. This little nugget of information will remain marked as just another rumour for now.

People will no longer have to worry about their contact lists being booty called by strangers should they choose to sell their iPhone. Thanks to the upcoming iPhone 2.0’s new secure data removal tool you will be able to actually remove all that highly private personal data stored in the flash memory.

The new tool will not only erase the data, but then also proceed to write over the places in memory that were used ensuring that no one will be able to retrieve anything useful. The process will take approximately 1 hour for an 8GB iPhone and you will need to leave it charging during the process.

*Remember the current 1.1.4 data removal tool doesn’t do a very good job of deleting your data and leaves your data open to prying eyes should you sell it.

The title says it, and the following shows it:

• $60/month. 150 minutes + unlimited evenings/weekends, 400 MB Data, 75 SMS sent, unlimited incoming SMS
• $75/month. 300 minutes + unlimited evenings/weekends, 750 MB Data, 100 SMS sent, unlimited incoming SMS
• $100/month. 600 minutes + unlimited evenings/weekends, 1 GB Data, 200 SMS sent, unlimited incoming SMS
• $115/month. 800 minutes + unlimited evenings/weekends, 2 GB Data, 300 SMS sent, unlimited incoming SMS

Furthermore, add a value pack and receive the following:

• $15/month: Call Display, WhoCalled, Caller Ring Trax, 2,500 Sent Text Messages and 2,500 Call Forwarding Minutes
• $20/month: Call Display, WhoCalled, Caller Ring Trax,10,000 Sent Text Messages and Fido Evenings starting at 5:00 p.m. and 2,500 Call Forwarding Minutes.

Not bad considering their previous data plans were a joke.

Weighing at a whopping 1.2 gigabytes (GB), The iPhone Software Developer’s Kit (SDK) has been updated to Beta 8 (build 9M2199a)! Alongside the SDK, Apple has also seeded iTunes 7.7 beta to developers!

New Features in iTunes 7.7:

• MobileMe Support - “Use MobileMe to have push email, push calendars, push contacts, and bookmarks delivered over the air to your iPhone.”
• “Applications” in iTunes Sync with the option to sync “All” or “selected” applications.

Stay tuned for more details about the SDK and iTunes 7.7 beta!

Download the iPhone SDK: developer.apple.com

Darxun of the new site iphone3dgames has just released his first of what appears to be a series of games coming out labeled “Cybersaurus”. This is a native iPhone App that can be easily installed using Nullrivers Installer App Just add iphone3dgames.com to the sources list and hit refresh. You’ll then find it under games. This will also check back for new games released on this source in the future so you won’t miss out.

Here are the game features:

• 11 full 3D levels , 6 different planets and environments.
• 3D Engine with astonishing light system .
• 3D Audio engine.
• Full 3D Animations.
• Different characters.Every enemy has a different AI.
• Adventure style.In order to finish the game you have to accomplish various tasks such as collecting items,ecc

Adobe claims to have a working version of their Flash player for the iPhone development emulator. Remember this Flash player is only for the “iPhone Emulator” which means it’s running on a computer, they recognize more work will be required to ensure functionality on the iPhone device itself.

During Adobe’s Qtr End 5/30/08 Earnings Call which took place on June 16, 2008 5:00 pm ET. Shantanu Narayen Adobe’s President and Chief Executive Officer was quoted answering the question; “…just to follow-up was on the Apple iPhone 3G — any update on Flash support within that device?”

With respect to the iPhone, we are working on it. We have a version that’s working on the emulation. This is still on the computer and you know, we have to continue to move it from a test environment onto the device and continue to make it work. So we are pleased with the internal progress that we’ve made to date.

Two videos have recently been uploaded at youtube in response to one another, showing some of the iPhone’s military applications. The first video below is a genuine iPhone hack it shows use of a native iPhone App controlling an iRobot PackBot. What’s a PackBot you ask? iRobot describes them as robots for “Helping warfighters and first responders tackle dangerous missions”.

This fully featured remote control program uses streaming POV video and a direct WiFi connection to the PackBot. Authors of the software Rodrigo Guiterrez and Jeff Craighead of South Florida University claim that next up they plan to utilize the phone’s accelerometers and a full screen video display to deliver a “you are there” experience for bot-steering.

The second video isn’t so much an iPhone hack because it uses a web app and could be achieved using most mobile browsing devices these days. But they did choose the iPhone to program their remote controlled UAV fly over reconnaissance mission.

Engadget has posted a long Q and A post, which answers some of the questions you might have about the recently announced iPhone 3G.

And I quote from Engadget:

So, what’s with the new iPhone 3G?

Well, it’s pretty much the same iPhone as before — except now it’s down to $200, and has way faster 3G data, A-GPS (which is even better than regular GPS), as well as a flush headphone jack (which is great for anyone who doesn’t want to use Apple’s bundled headphones). Oh, and it’s also a little thinner around the edges, and a little thicker at the center. If you want to know what it was like to try out, check out our iPhone 3G hands-on.

How’d they get the price so low? The iPhone used to be crazy expensive.

Actually, depending on how you do the math it’s not actually cheaper. Now, in some countries the iPhone is free when you sign up for service, and in the US you’ll pay $200 for the 8GB model — half what it was a month ago — so you’re definitely paying less up front. But the data plans cost more now, so you might wind up spending more money over the long run.

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