Archive for the ‘iPhone Apps, Games & Downloadable Content’ Category

We’ve talked about Multifl0w before, one the first jailbreak apps to give a multitasking UI to the iPhone. At the time, I wasn’t really a fan because I thought that ProSwitcher was a much better application. Things have changed a lot since then. Apple developed their own multitasking feature, and ProSwitcher was left for dead by its developer who recently said he will not update it. Read More

"Multifl0w Brings Awesome Multitasking to the iPhone" is an article by the iPhone Download Blog sponsored by the iPhone Store. Feel free to leave a comment or discuss this topic in the forum. For the latest iPhone info, don't forget to follow me on Twitter.

Those of you who own an iPhone 3G or an iPod Touch 2G (non-MC model) can jailbreak/unlock iOS 4.0.2. To jailbreak your iPhone 3G 4.0.2, you will have to use RedSn0w 0.9.5b5-5.

How to Jailbreak iPhone 3G iOS 4.0.2

Step 1: Make sure you have the latest version of iTunes installed (iTunes 9.2).

Step 2: Download iOS 4 (not iOS 4.0.2) for iPhone 3G to your desktop from our iPhone downloads section.

Step 3: Update your iPhone to iOS 4.0.2 via iTunes.

Step 4: Download the latest version of RedSn0w from here.

Step 5: Point RedSn0w to the iOS 4 (not 4.0.2) you downloaded in step 2.

Step 6: Select “Install Cydia”.

Step 7: Follow the onscreen instructions.

Step 8: Let RedSn0w do the hard work for you. Once jailbroken, your iPhone will reboot.

How to Unlock iPhone 3G iOS 4.0.2

Since iOS 4.0.2 didn’t update the iPhone baseband, you can still use UltraSn0w to unlock your iPhone.

Step 1: Jailbreak your iPhone using the method described above.

Step 2: Go to Cydia and search for UltraSn0w. If it’s not there, you might have to add the following repo: repo666.ultrasn0w.com

Step 3: Install UltraSn0w.

Step 4: Reboot your iPhone.

Tell us how it goes for you by leaving a comment below.

[Thanks Bruce for the tip]

"Jailbreak & Unlock iOS 4.0.2 on iPhone 3G" is an article by the iPhone Download Blog sponsored by the iPhone Store. Feel free to leave a comment or discuss this topic in the forum. For the latest iPhone info, don't forget to follow me on Twitter.

The iPhone 4 antenna issue claimed another victim, and a big one! Apple’s Senior Vice President of iPhone Hardware Engineering Mark Papermaster isn’t on the payroll anymore. The NY Times article that broke the story doesn’t know if he was fired or if he resigned.

However, according to John Gruber, Papermaster did get fired over the antennagate:

From what I’ve heard, it’s clear he was canned. Papermaster was a conspicuous absence at the Antennagate press conference. Inside Apple, he’s “the guy responsible for the antenna” — that’s a quote from a source back on July 23. (Another quote from the same source: “Apparently the antenna guys used to have a big chip on their shoulder. No more.”)

I’m a bit confused here. According to Apple, there is no antenna problem with the iPhone 4, so why did Mark Papermaster got ousted? Sarcasm apart, someone had to take the heat for this.

"Apple Exec Gets Canned After iPhone 4 Antenna Issue" is an article by the iPhone Download Blog sponsored by the iPhone Store. Feel free to leave a comment or discuss this topic in the forum. For the latest iPhone info, don't forget to follow me on Twitter.

Apple recently introduced a new category in the App Store called “Try Before You Buy”. This category brings together the free or “lite” versions of popular iPhone applications. If this is a move to put an end to app piracy, then it’s a big fail!

As a point of comparison, the Android Market let’s you use the full version of an app for 24 hours. If you don’t like the app, you just get your money back. I don’t understand why Apple doesn’t implement such a policy in the Apple Store.

Personally, I want to try the full app, not a watered down version of it. While Apple made a step in the right direction, I think it’s still not enough.

What do you think?

"Apple Introduces “Try Before You Buy” Section in the App Store" is an article by the iPhone Download Blog sponsored by the iPhone Store. Feel free to leave a comment or discuss this topic in the forum. For the latest iPhone info, don't forget to follow me on Twitter.

Today I want to post about an issue I recently had when trying to FaceTime with Tina. Everytime I tried to initiate a FaceTime call, I would get an error message saying “FaceTime Failed – Tina is not available for FaceTime“. What was strange with this issue is that she could initiate the FaceTime call and reach me, but I couldn’t.

So really I thought the problem was from me since I was the one not being able to reach her. This drove me nuts for days. I even went as far as restoring my iPhone, thinking it would fix the issue. It didn’t. The solution was in fact much simpler. Ironically, the issue didn’t even come from my iPhone, but from hers.

I found the fix somewhere deep inside Apple’s support pages. Apparently the problem arises if you ported an old number to your iPhone 4, or if you recently changed your number, which was the case for Tina’s phone.

According to Apple, some of the symptoms are:

• When you are calling someone on FaceTime, the number on their screen is not your number.
• People are unable to initiate a FaceTime call with you.
• After installing a new carrier settings update, FaceTime does not activate.

The fix is really simple:

• In Settings > Phone, turn FaceTime OFF and turn it back ON again
• Go to Settings > General > Reset > Reset all settings
• Done

Immediately after performing this on Tina’s phone I was able to initiate a FaceTime call with her.

Hopefully this will help other people stuck on this issue.

"Fix: FaceTime Failed – xxx is Not Available For FaceTime" is an article by the iPhone Download Blog sponsored by the iPhone Store. Feel free to leave a comment or discuss this topic in the forum. For the latest iPhone info, don't forget to follow me on Twitter.

Today I want to post about an issue I recently had when trying to FaceTime with Tina. Everytime I tried to initiate a FaceTime call, I would get an error message saying “FaceTime Failed – Tina is not available for FaceTime“. What was strange with this issue is that she could initiate the FaceTime call and reach me, but I couldn’t.

So really I thought the problem was from me since I was the one not being able to reach her. This drove me nuts for days. I even went as far as restoring my iPhone, thinking it would fix the issue. It didn’t. The solution was in fact much simpler. Ironically, the issue didn’t even come from my iPhone, but from hers.

I found the fix somewhere deep inside Apple’s support pages. Apparently the problem arises if you ported an old number to your iPhone 4, or if you recently changed your number, which was the case for Tina’s phone.

According to Apple, some of the symptoms are:

• When you are calling someone on FaceTime, the number on their screen is not your number.
• People are unable to initiate a FaceTime call with you.
• After installing a new carrier settings update, FaceTime does not activate.

The fix is really simple:

• In Settings > Phone, turn FaceTime OFF and turn it back ON again
• Go to Settings > General > Reset > Reset all settings
• Done

Immediately after performing this on Tina’s phone I was able to initiate a FaceTime call with her.

Hopefully this will help other people stuck on this issue.

"Fix: FaceTime Failed – xxx is Not Available For FaceTime" is an article by the iPhone Download Blog sponsored by the iPhone Store. Feel free to leave a comment or discuss this topic in the forum. For the latest iPhone info, don't forget to follow me on Twitter.

The winners of the iVogue cases giveaway are:

• Kevin Floria
• Gabby Minch
• Timothy Polumbo
• Patrick Ferree
• Tony Gilmore
• Desire Cardiello Mellano
• Nicholas Dimichino
• Ron Levine
• Paul Jurado
• Andre Manzyuk

Winners should watch their Facebook inbox as I will send them emails soon. Don’t forget to email me back your address!

Thanks everyone for playing. If you didn’t win, try again next time. We’re going to have more and more of these giveaways.

I also want to check iVogue for giving us 10 cases. Check their website. They have some great stuff over there.

"Winners of the iVogue Cases" is an article by the iPhone Download Blog sponsored by the iPhone Store. Feel free to leave a comment or discuss this topic in the forum. For the latest iPhone info, don't forget to follow me on Twitter.

While iDB reported on a rumor regarding an early iPhone 5 release yesterday, I feel a further-ado to its idiocy is warranted. So many questions come to head at the very sound of this. To start, we look no further than eligibility. If this were to come out under AT&T, who could buy it? Most everyone who wanted an iPhone 4, either bought or ordered one, which reset their upgrade date. I know I don’t speak alone when I say I’d be royally ticked off if a newly designed iPhone was released, and I wasn’t eligible for subsidized pricing.

The rumor in question states that similar features would be included, however the antenna would be placed differently, and a 64GB model would be offered. Say What? Not only would the “problem that isn’t a problem” be fixed, but just to add insult to injury, the capacity would be doubled? This would completely negate everything Apple said and “did”, concerning the antenna. If you thought the original issue was a PR director’s bad dream, this fiasco would be a nightmare. Read the rest of this post...

"Dear Apple, Don’t Release It Early… [Rant]" is an article by the iPhone Download Blog sponsored by the iPhone Store. Feel free to leave a comment or discuss this topic in the forum. For the latest iPhone info, don't forget to follow me on Twitter.

A few weeks ago we told you about a trick to activate an iPhone without the original SIM card. This was used by jailbreakers and unlockers who didn’t have the original SIM card to activate their iPhone. It worked well for a while but it seems Apple caught up to it and put an end to it all by hooking the activation wildcard ticket to the ICCID of the used SIM. Fortunately, an alternative method was found to go around the “Different SIM Detected” message you might get.

Step 1: Download iFunBox from here.

Step 2: Download the patched LockDown folder from here.

Step 3: Run iFunBox and sync it with your iPhone.

Step 4: Go to /private/var/root/Library/ and replace the Lockdown folder with the one you downloaded in step 2.

Step 5: Reboot your iPhone.

I haven’t tried this myself but it seems to work well. If you do try it, please let us know how it went by leaving a comment below.

[Sherif Hashim]

"How to Fix the “Different SIM Detected” Issue on the iPhone" is an article by the iPhone Download Blog sponsored by the iPhone Store. Feel free to leave a comment or discuss this topic in the forum. For the latest iPhone info, don't forget to follow me on Twitter.

Well, it only took Apple 4 days to realize they should block access to JailbreakMe.com from their stores’ wifi network to stop those pranksters from jailbreaking iPhones, iPads and iPods. According to 9 to 5 Mac, pointing a device to www.JailbreakMe.com from inside the store redirects to Apple’s website.

I’m sure Ethan will be happy about that.

"Apple Bans JailbreakMe From Its Stores" is an article by the iPhone Download Blog sponsored by the iPhone Store. Feel free to leave a comment or discuss this topic in the forum. For the latest iPhone info, don't forget to follow me on Twitter.

The Administrator for the pirate community Hackulous had some sort of open letter on TorrentFreak a few days ago where he explains why he thinks app piracy is not as bad as you may think. In this long piece, he goes over 4 mains points to convey his idea.

1. Most of the pirates who use our services do so because they simply cannot afford to purchase the applications. One of the prominent members of the Dev Team, planetbeing, described the pirates who use our software as “predominantly in their early teens where money is scarce and time is abundant.”

Since these users have never had any intention or capability to purchase the applications whether or not cracked versions are available, developers of these apps are losing significantly less than what they believe they are to these people.

2. Another portion of our pirates are those who have the capability of purchasing iPhone apps, but not the desire. These pirates typically do not “need” any particular application for free, they just want whatever application that can provide a certain level of entertainment for them.

They are not so much making the choice between purchasing or pirating software A, but rather making the choice between pirating software A or B. So again, the profit lost attributed to this tribe of pirates has been overestimated; these pirates would not have forked over their money anyway, they would just move on.

3. Over three million devices are running our software, Installous, to download and install cracked iPhone apps. The people using these devices are Apple customers who are likely to purchase another device, purchase new Apple products, or refer their friends to Apple. As I have stated before, the people who use our services to trial iPhone applications actually help Apple more than they hurt it.

Why, you ask? If a majority of our three million users are pirates, the value in Apple’s devices is significantly higher: These millions of users, who would otherwise be incapable or unwilling to purchase apps, now have a rich source of entertainment that greatly enhances their experience with their devices.

Apple does not like piracy, but as long as piracy increases the value of jailbroken iPhones, they have no need to be passionate about stopping it. As music has shown Apple and Steve Jobs himself, DRM can always be defeated. Apple is in fact embracing piracy for what it can accomplish for their company.

4. Piracy also helps to expose an application to the masses, much like music piracy helps artists and bands get more publicity. Without cracked app sites like apptrackr, a lot of applications would be left languishing in the pits of the App Store among the rest of the 240,984 apps (at last count) available.

I think these are some valid but very candid points.

What do you think?

[PlanetBeing]

"Pirate Explains the Logic Behind iPhone App Piracy" is an article by the iPhone Download Blog sponsored by the iPhone Store. Feel free to leave a comment or discuss this topic in the forum. For the latest iPhone info, don't forget to follow me on Twitter.

The FTC’s reasoning is that making such documents public, “could reasonably be expected to interfere with the conduct of the Commission’s law enforcement activities”. This is a nice way of saying they don’t want to screw themselves if they in fact act upon the lawsuit. This is where Apple enters the picture. Whether or not the suit has any merit is still in question, however, to refuse access is an indication that this isn’t good for Apple, and certainly suggests that the investigation is very real.

Steve Jobs went public about this via a letter in April, in which he degraded Adobe’s software, calling it “unfit for the modern mobile area of computing”. Also included in the not so loving letter was Job stating that porting such programs, would hinder performance, and leave users with “sub-standard apps”. He obviously hasn’t downloaded any fart machines. Nevertheless, I’d guess that Jobs wishes he would have went about this differently.

Whatever this refusal means, one thing is certain. There is more to this story than anyone is privy too. It seems strange that if the document was meaningless, the FTC wouldn’t have a problem making it public. The FOIT isn’t something you’d deny unless you have feel you might compromise its content, legally. We here at iDB will continue to follow this closely and update you as the information comes our way. Until then, enjoy your Flash free iPhone’s.

Any thoughts?

[Apple Insider]

"An Adobe Flash Flood Headed Apple’s Way?" is an article by the iPhone Download Blog sponsored by the iPhone Store. Feel free to leave a comment or discuss this topic in the forum. For the latest iPhone info, don't forget to follow me on Twitter.

So we’ve all seen the diamond bezeled iPhones over the years, as well as gold plated. Usually they are thousands upon thousands of dollars and don’t even look that nice. If you’re more of an outdoors kind of geek, then look no further for the first wooden iPhone 4!

Case maker KARVT has come out with these surprisingly good looking skins, for the iPhone 4 and 3GS. Pre-orders for the lumber looking protectors start at $25 for your iPhone 4, and $14 for the 3GS. I can’t accurately inform you as to how well they work, but they don’t seem to be oak, so no throwing your devices to test them. As to whether or not the case helps or hurts your signal, you better just knock on wood!

"Wooden iPhone Case" is an article by the iPhone Download Blog sponsored by the iPhone Store. Feel free to leave a comment or discuss this topic in the forum. For the latest iPhone info, don't forget to follow me on Twitter.

Until last week when the iPhone 4 was finally jailbroken, your only option to tether the iPhone 4 was to go through the official, legit and expensive way: AT&T. If like me you think that an extra $20/month just to tether your iPhone 4 is a little too much, we’ve got a solution for you. It’s called MyWi.

We’ve talked greatly about MyWi on iDB before but for those of you who just arrived let me tell you briefly what it does. MyWi is an app that let’s you turn your iPhone into a wifi hostpot. Turn it on and share your iPhone Internet connection with computers around you. That’s how simple it is.

Tethering Your iPhone 4 Using MyWi

Step 1: Make sure your iPhone 4 is jailbroken (see iPhone 4 jailbreak instructions)

Step 2: Launch Cydia and search for “MyWi 4.0”.

Step 3: Download and install the free MyWi trial then reboot your iPhone.

Step 4: Launch MyWi and tweak the settings to your liking:

• Change the hotspot name
• Change the channel
• Enable Wep security
• Enable USB/Bluetooth tethering

That’s it. You can now tether your iPhone using MyWi. Your iPhone doesn’t even have to be plugged in your computer. You can just use MyWi as a hotspot, but remember it will drain your battery like crazy.

While MyWi is not illegal in itself, AT&T (or your local carrier) might have a policy in place to prevent you from using apps like MyWi. As long as you don’t get caught, it’s all good…

If you want to keep MyWi after the 10-day trial, it will cost you about $20. Although it comes with a hefty price, I believe MyWi is one the best jailbreak apps out there.

"Tethering: How to Tether the iPhone 4" is an article by the iPhone Download Blog sponsored by the iPhone Store. Feel free to leave a comment or discuss this topic in the forum. For the latest iPhone info, don't forget to follow me on Twitter.

Yesterday TUAW reported on an iLounge leak, concerning several possibilities around new iPods, iPads, and yes, an early release of an iPhone 5 type device. Now, even iLounge themselves stated that they think such a device would be “highly unlikely”, however my blood started to boil just thinking of such a scenario. The rumor is that Apple would be releasing the device 6 months earlier than its previous summer cycle.

This would be entirely due to the well documented antenna issue. The speculation doesn’t stop there though. The “story” continues with saying that the likelihood of an “iPhone 4.5″ would be more of a possibility. Having the device be similar in design, minus the antenna placement, come in a 64GB model, and run on Verizon‘s CDMA network. Are you getting mad yet?

Let’s be real for a minute. It wasn’t that long ago when rumors of an iPhone Nano were flooding throughout the grapevine. Obviously we know what came of that. I will say that if Apple thinks releasing a bigger capacity, differently placed antenna device designed to run on Verizon as a way to “not disrupt the Apple faithful”, they are sorely misguided. Time will tell if there is any substance to this, but keep your torches handy.

What do you think?

"Early Release of an iPhone 5?" is an article by the iPhone Download Blog sponsored by the iPhone Store. Feel free to leave a comment or discuss this topic in the forum. For the latest iPhone info, don't forget to follow me on Twitter.

You can find the biggest Apple Store in the world at Covent Garden in London. Now watch this video and take a quick virtual tour of Apple’s largest store in the heart of London, including a stretch Genius Bar and new Pro Labs education areas.

The store will open to the public this Saturday at 10 am.

[Electric Pig]

"Come Take A Tour of the Biggest Apple Store in the World" is an article by the iPhone Download Blog sponsored by the iPhone Store. Feel free to leave a comment or discuss this topic in the forum. For the latest iPhone info, don't forget to follow me on Twitter.

If you were asked how much you paid for your iPhone, I suspect the common answer, (contract free phones aside), would be either $200-300 plus tax, depending on the capacity you opted to purchase. After politely hanging up on Best Buy today after I was told I would have to pay $13 to have an already $30 InvisibleShield “installed”, I started thinking. About what you ask? I got to thinking how much cash has just my current iPhone 4 cost me, in the 6 weeks or so I’ve owned it.

I went with the 32GB model for the logic stemming from the “it’s better to have unused space than too little space” module. So let us take a quick tally type glance at how much my iPhone 4 has really cost me, so far:

• iPhone 4 + tax+ upgrade fee – $330
• Applications/Music since launch day – $125
• Belkin Vue Grip Case – $25
• 2 generic cases from Hong Kong – $8
• Car charger + cable to plug into the Mazda 3 – $40
• 2 months worth of data (petty, but real) – $60

Total: $588

Now, I didn’t include my monthly AT&T bill simply because I would have a phone of some sort, even if it wasn’t an iPhone. This comes to an average of $100 per week thus far! Don’t worry, I know there are readers here who paid more than just to walk out of the store with their current iPhone. However just like it is with them, it’s all personal choice. No one, (that I’m aware of) has ever been “forced” at gunpoint to buy an iPhone and its accessories. That would be a pretty far-out stick-up though.

So, how much as your current iPhone cost you since you bought it? Obviously if I went off the numbers of my 3GS, the number would be much steeper (& painful). Nevertheless, post your numbers in the comment box if you dare see what your precious piece of history has cost you.

"How Much Your iPhone Really Costs" is an article by the iPhone Download Blog sponsored by the iPhone Store. Feel free to leave a comment or discuss this topic in the forum. For the latest iPhone info, don't forget to follow me on Twitter.

If you were asked how much you paid for your iPhone, I suspect the common answer, (contract free phones aside), would be either $200-300 plus tax, depending on the capacity you opted to purchase. After politely hanging up on Best Buy today after I was told I would have to pay $13 to have an already $30 InvisibleShield “installed”, I started thinking. About what you ask? I got to thinking how much cash has just my current iPhone 4 cost me, in the 6 weeks or so I’ve owned it.

I went with the 32GB model for the logic stemming from the “it’s better to have unused space than too little space” module. So let us take a quick tally type glance at how much my iPhone 4 has really cost me, so far:

• iPhone 4 + tax+ upgrade fee – $330
• Applications/Music since launch day – $125
• Belkin Vue Grip Case – $25
• 2 generic cases from Hong Kong – $8
• Car charger + cable to plug into the Mazda 3 – $40
• 2 months worth of data (petty, but real) – $60

Total: $588

Now, I didn’t include my monthly AT&T bill simply because I would have a phone of some sort, even if it wasn’t an iPhone. This comes to an average of $100 per week thus far! Don’t worry, I know there are readers here who paid more than just to walk out of the store with their current iPhone. However just like it is with them, it’s all personal choice. No one, (that I’m aware of) has ever been “forced” at gunpoint to buy an iPhone and its accessories. That would be a pretty far-out stick-up though.

So, how much as your current iPhone cost you since you bought it? Obviously if I went off the numbers of my 3GS, the number would be much steeper (& painful). Nevertheless, post your numbers in the comment box if you dare see what your precious piece of history has cost you.

"How Much Your iPhone Really Costs" is an article by the iPhone Download Blog sponsored by the iPhone Store. Feel free to leave a comment or discuss this topic in the forum. For the latest iPhone info, don't forget to follow me on Twitter.

Computerworld is reporting that the tycoon chip company Intel, is leading the pack of potential buyers of the German semiconductor company, Infineon Technologies. It goes without saying, (but I’ll say it anyway), that this would be a nice payday for the company. Samsung and Broadcom have also shown interest.

Currently, Infineon produces chips for some iPhones and the iPads. Blackberry, Samsung, and Nokia are all buyers and users of the German company as well. In case you crawled out from under the a rock this morning, that’s a LOT of cellphones. While nothing comes painless when making a gigantic deal (platform differences in Europe), the risks are believed to be outweighed by the benefits.

It’s no secret that Intel has been figuring out a way to get themselves into the lucrative smartphone game, and it seems like buying the farm is their best shot at milking the cow.

"Intel Inside (Your iPhone?)" is an article by the iPhone Download Blog sponsored by the iPhone Store. Feel free to leave a comment or discuss this topic in the forum. For the latest iPhone info, don't forget to follow me on Twitter.

MiTube is a new app in the App Store that allows you to stream and most importantly download videos from YouTube to your iPhone. Some of you will probably remember a similar app in Cydia that was called MxTube, which was actually developed by the same guy, Max Weisel.

Something tells me MiTube won’t stay in the App Store for too long, so get on it while you. Oh, and it’s free. No more excuse for not downloading MiTube.

[French iPhone]

"MiTube: A Jailbreak App in the App Store" is an article by the iPhone Download Blog sponsored by the iPhone Store. Feel free to leave a comment or discuss this topic in the forum. For the latest iPhone info, don't forget to follow me on Twitter.