Magnuson Moss May Not Apply

iPhone Update Impressions

Well, the first major update is out. It brings some cosmetic changes to the iPhone, and fixes a few glaring issues. The ability to purchase tracks on iTunes is great, and I can see iTunes going a long way with this. For example, if Apple could get radio stations to have some sort of standardized 'now playing' list in exchange for money or shared revenue or something, perhaps one could buy a song that one heard on the radio and liked. That would be a much more dramatic tie-in than say, Starbucks.

The other major niggle fixed by this update is the ability to set different alert sounds for text messages, and linked alert sounds to the overal ringer volume. In other words, incoming text messages and calendar alerts now have a chance of actually grabbing my attention. Apple added 'chime', 'glass', 'horn', 'bell', and 'electronic'. Needless to say, I'd rather be able to buy a ringtone and assign it; there's got to be some sound effect CDs in their iTunes Music section, or maybe some gong sound at the beginning of a song or something, but the selection of alert sounds and ability to change their volume is a welcome change. You know, like someone pulling a splinter out of your arm. I'd like to go on record to state that this update is also better than a poke in the eye.

Still, there are things I was hoping for in the update that aren't here yet. There's still no To-Do functionality, still no Stereo Bluetooth, still no OBEX Bluetooth. There's no Notes sync, no SDK or Widgets support (unless Apple's hiding it for a later surprise). Apple still has a long way to go with their iPhone software, and if this update is an indication, there will be many many months before me and pure bliss.

In all though, I wouldn't change the scores I gave to the iPhone when I first reviewed it. As a quick recap, I gave it 7/10 if you're coming from the smartphone world, 9/10 if you're coming from the featurephone world. The lack of ringtones and alert messages were major flaws, to be sure. But the lack of installable applications, games, To-Do lists, editable office documents (Notes still doesn't cut it; who can write anything major in Marker Felt?), Stereo Bluetooth, ObEx, USB Mass Storage, eBook reader, cut and paste, Exchange, no multiple recipient SMS, no AIM or other instant messaging, no video record, no wireless sync....

Restoring 1.0.2 Instead of 1.1.1

• On a mac, hold down the "option" key while clicking on the "restore" button. Then you can select the firmware file you want, just look for the file named iPhone1,1_1.0.2_1C28_Restore.ipsw, it should be in your home folder under Library/iTunes/iPhone Software Update.
• On a Windows PC, hold down the "shift" key while clicking on the "restore" button. Then select the firmware version you want -- you should be able to find it if you've restored 1.0.2 before by searching for all files and folders and looking for *restore.ipsw

Undocumented Features of 1.1.1

Along with the official changes of yesterday's update, there are some unofficial changes that aren't good enough to make a bullet point on Apple's list. Which is weird, because some of these are huge.

• You can now select different alerts for incoming messages:
  Settings -> Sounds -> New Text Message -> choice of:
  Tri-Tone (default), Chime, Glass, Horn, Bell, Electronic
• International keys are available by holding down the letter key.
• The iPhone mail application supports MP3 and .wav Attachments
• includes the closed captioning abilities promised
• enables a debug console for MobileSafari for web developers to find errors on their pages:
  Settings -> Safari -> Developer -> Debug Console [on/off]
• breaks every 3rd party jailbreak -- the iPhoneDevWiki team will have to reverse-engineer the iPhone all over again
• since the iPhone can't be jailbroken, there is no way to get 3rd party ringtones on the iPhone.

iPhone Update 1.1.1

figure 1:Apple's 1.1.1 update is out, and it clocks in at 152.3 MB

Apple released their long-promised 1.1.1 update to the iPhone, and it looks like the update is "all clear" for anyone that has not hacked their iPhone. They also posted another training video to go with the update, starring the same fellow from Apple's earlier training videos (see here, here, and a creepy but funny mashup here).

I received an email from Wireless Imports in which they advise unlockers wait to apply the update:

We have just received confirmation that it is NOT safe for anyone to update their iPhones software at this time. If you do upgrade the software you will have your phone relocked back to AT&T and there is nothing currently we will be able to do to assist in re-unlocking your phone.

At this time we do not know if you will be able to use your AT&T sim card with the phone even though it is locked back to AT&T.

Again we ask that you DO NOT upgrade to the new software under any circumstance.

We will send you another email when we have more information on this matter.

Unsurprisingly, if you've hacked your iPhone, Apple has broken 3rd party applications and re-locks iPhones that were previously unlocked. Applications that were installed on the iPhone remain on the iPhone, although there isn't a way to launch those applications until hackers jailbreak the iPhone again.

Unfortunately, Apple's language in the patch update indicates their willingness to dump the warranty on anyone that's unlocked their iPhone and thereby saw it bricked with this update. If you hack your iPhone in the future, you will want to get used to waiting a few days or more past an update to see how the update could affect you. Let someone else be the hero. [via]

iPhone's Java Omission a Mistake?

Bob Brewin, distinguished engineer at Sun, had this to say about the omission of Java on the iPhone:

"I think it's a mistake. I think it would provide a lot more flexibility in applications being developed."

iPhone Added to Metasploit

figure 1: the "Grand Theft Auto" font is a nice, subtle touch

There's a story floating around about the iPhone being added to metasploit, which is a system used for making shellcode. Shellcode is code that takes advantage of bugs to run otherwise unauthorized code. Incidentally, the more stories I read about it, the more they all seem strangely familiar.

So what is the eventual impact? Well, it means that the iPhone is going to get hacked, likely by some of the best. If there are crippling bugs in the iPhone (and there are always crippling bugs), expect hackers to find them eventually. It could also lead to better unlocks (the official unlock, even), more secure software, and security software suites (unofficial, of course) for the iPhone. Granted, the other edge of the sword brings identity theft and spying, but like Nietzsche said, you can't have good without bad. If you think Nietzsche was godless swine, pretend the quote comes from The Facts of Life's opening song instead.

SplashID: A Challenger Appears

iTunes Ripple Effect

figures 1 and 2: Sir Richard Branson of Virgin and Edgar Bronfman Jr.

In a brief article at sibling WMExperts.com site, I wrote yesterday that I was unsure how Amazon got EMI and UMG to provide media in a no-DRM format. Well, apparently Chairman Walter Bronfman of Warner Music Group informed investors that they were reconsidering DRM on their music; they might remove it. And lo and behold, here it shows up on Amazon.com with no DRM. I think they did more than just reconsider by then, they probably had it all done. The cause for his change of heart is telling:

"We need some online competition" for Apple's iTunes Music Store, Bronfman said. He conceded the iPod is "the default device" and iTunes the "download model."

Warner's Bronfman told investors that one problem for his industry is that consumers are more loyal to the iPod than to any particular artist. That means the industry's content must play on an Apple device.

Lastly, Richard Branson's Virgin Digital music store is kaput. I do pity the companies that bought into Microsoft's Windows Media Plays-For-Sure license, especially now. The margins have to be so seriously thin, I'm not sure how any of those companies could differentiate on anything within the service except for price per month.

VOIP Calls Made on iPhone

figure 1: 'Something went wrong !' and 'EVERYTHING OK !' are both indicators of success.

Currently requires the use of terminal on the iPhone to tell the iPhone to use its on-board SIP stack to place the call over WiFi instead of via the SIM card. To use the terminal application, in turn requires that you first Jailbreak the phone using an application like iBrickr or iFuntastic. This is not an application for the inexperienced or the faint of heart.Instantitating the SIP Stack for TruPhone.

Amazon Brings iTunes-like Store

The MP3s are 256kbps, which puts them more or less on par with Apple's $1.29 256kbps iTunes Plus AAC files; standard iTunes purchases are at 128kbps ($.99). The bummer of the service is that albums are $11.99.

Amazon has managed some key wins in terms of the top 100s of things, however. The top 100 songs are $.89 apiece; top 100 albums are $8.99 or less. The labels they've managed to grab are EMI and Universal, plus some 20,000 independent labels.

Speaking personally, I'm glad to see some competition in the download music space. Hopefully it'll bring some good changes to the iTunes store instead of extinguishing it. [via]

Lawyers: Read Up on Magnuson-Moss

figure 1: Magnuson Moss Esq., lawyer extraordinaire and warranty expert. He drafted the language of the Magnuson Moss act of 1975.

To the best of my understanding, the iPhone unlocking situation is analogous to using 3rd party ink cartridges in printers. Or buying a 3rd party garage-door opener for your garage door. Also, Apple could require you to re-lock your iPhone before they'd provide any kind of warranty service.

Otherwise, there could be a bit of trouble for Apple if they ditch warranties on iPhone unlockers:

The conclusion here is simple: Apple has, at least in a minor and reversible way, violated the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act. Apple should take action to correct their policy, and require that iPhone customers seeking warranty service, return their iPhone's to locked condition. Apple could also release a software tool that aides in this process, though legally they are not required to... it would make the job of the Genius Bar easier to have such a tool in-house.

Dev Team Statement

9/25 Statement from the iPhone unlockers

Based on download numbers, the iPhone Dev Team believes that, worldwide, several hundred thousand people have unlocked their iPhones. That number continues growing every day. The removal of the lock, a bug, was a major step forward in the iPhone development. It made the iPhone free and useful to anyone, not only to those in certain countries.

Apple now announces that the next firmware update, expected later this week, will possibly break the handset of all of us free users in the World. It speaks of "damage" done to the firmware and "unauthorized access" to our own property, The removal of those firmware problems, which were built in in favor for AT&T, does not cause "damage" as they want to make us believe.

We will provide you with a tool in the next week which will be able to recover your nck counter and seczones and even enables you to restore your phone to a Factory-like state.

In the meantime we advise you not to update your free iPhone with the upcoming firmware. Wait for the next version to be fixed to work properly with your carrier and not break your phone.

Lego Bricked iPhone

figure 1: I spent so much time hunched over Legos that it's a miracle I don't have a hunchback

"It is just about actual size. The service is spotty. And before you ask, yes, it costs $399."

Jobs Intrigued by 3rd Party Apps

figure 1: dirty hippie 3rd-party-developing AppTapp Installer.app-installing AnySIM-unlockers Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak

Though Jobs' Apple Support crew would void your warranty for installing them, Steve went as far to say that some of the 3rd party apps were being looked at very closely by Apple:

"Meanwhile, Jobs acknowledged that third-party developers have started to produce several intriguing, yet unofficial iPhone applications. He said Apple is looking at some of them closely, especially those that don't require a connection to the Internet. It's likely that those applications would be the first of any to receive an official endorsement from Apple, according to Jobs' comments, as those that require Internet access could threaten the 'high standard' of experience customers have come to expect with the iPhone."

Missing Sync for iPhone

Relock Phones

Google Calendar for iPhone

figure 1: This is not my schedule for the day, I swear.

Hate Marker Felt?

Unlockers: Be Careful With Updates

A bit of friendly advice -- if you've unlocked your iPhone, you should be careful with the next firmware update -- don't apply it immediately. Check with news sites and forums to see if the update works fine with unlocks first. Apple released a press release that noted that the current methods of unlock can cause "irreparable damage to the iPhone's software." And as such, they're going to void the warranty of anyone that unlocks their phone, and they'll mark your phone as ineligible for warranty service. There are some reports of people that have been "blacklisted." There's a full rundown of this story after the cut.

Phone Different Podcast #5

In podcast number five, we discuss the crazy amount of news from the previous two weeks. The main topics are sales volume, iPhone in Europe, ringtones, iTunes and firmware updates, GUI unlocking and the risk it brings, and 3G iPhone rumors. And, as always, we discuss some of the best bits from the community.

• Our podcast feed
• Download Directly
• Subscribe via iTunes

Review: Marware Sidewinder Holster

Figure 1: Two Ways to use the Sidewinder

The Marware Sidewinder iPhone Holster ($24.95) is a great holster just by the standards of regular holsters, but it offers a couple of neat tricks you won't see elsewhere - hence the "sidewinder." Read on for our full review - including a coupon good for 30% off on the Marware holster, good this week only.

Starbucks to Give Away Free iTunes Tracks

"“Song of the Day” will offer hand-picked songs from top artists including Bob Dylan, Joss Stone, Dave Matthews, Bebel Gilberto, John Mayer, KT Tunstall, John Legend, Annie Lennox, Joni Mitchell, Keith Urban and Paul McCartney plus great music from up-and-coming artists such as Sia, Band of Horses, Hilary McRae, Frederico Aubele and Sara Bareilles."

Starbucks was in the news for other reasons today too -- they're being taken to task by the National Labor Relations Board for illegal union-busting and myriad other labor-related woes. Full disclosure: I'll take tea over coffee pretty much any day.

iPhone is Usability Champ

figure 1: iPhone vs. HTC Touch vs. Nokia N95

Possible AIM and Picture Updates?

Vodaphone Confident for 2nd Chance

Woot.com Mocks Apple Through Imitation

Woot.com mocks Steve Jobs' open letter to early adopters. It seems they were selling Zunes at $149, then dropped the price to $129, and they got three angry emails. So, they figured that they'd write mock open letter, get a price cut, and get mentioned on some blogs. And it's worked, since here we are. After the break is the full content of their open letter, preserved since I can't find a permanent link to the page. It's witty and cutting, as you might notice in the quick quote posted below:

"If you always wait for the next price cut or to buy the new improved model, you’ll never buy any technology product. I mean, why should you? Truth is, you don’t really need any of this junk. We’re afraid you’ll catch on to that fact and overpaid frauds like me will have to go back into fields like telemarketing and burrito construction. Fortunately, most of you continue to languish in a consumerist stupor, wallets spread wide for us to plunder as we please."

Update: Zune guy's name is Steven Smith. If I just call him Zune guy, he's just as soulless as the company that his tattoos embody. But there's a person behind those tattoos. Sure, he's totally confused. The Zune sucks reportedly sucks pretty bad. Maybe Zune 2.0 won't suck? No, unfortunately -- by the time Microsoft comes out with a decent Zune, all the logos and slogans he's currently got inked on him will be obsolete.

figure 1: Notoriety is a double-edged sword.

Another Exchange Solution

figure 1: Folks, I'm just as surprised as anyone to see their logo here.

iPhone Coming To Scandinavia

Apple To Double iPhone Production?

Orange Confirms Orange in France

Didier Lombard, the CEO of Orange, confirmed that Orange would be the sole provider of the iPhone in France. He didn't reveal any details at all, merely confirming that they were not going to subsidize the cost of the handset. Rumors have indicated that unlimited data will not be part of the deal.

He's probably going to let Steve reveal that information at Apple Expo Paris (Google Translated)next week. Hopefully for Lombard's sake, he didn't reveal any secrets that Steve Jobs wanted to reveal himself; I know that he's punished partners for revealing his secrets before -- ATi was punished around July 2000 for leaking that new iMacs and PowerMacs were coming.

When Does The Next iPhone Arrive?

Even though the iPhone just came out in late June, analysts are desperate for a new version. Over at the Street, for example, they expect a 3G iPhone (with GPS!) in 1Q (January, February, or March) 2008.

Many sites had been saying January earlier, but Jobs' statement about 3G chips not being ready and to expect an iPhone in late 2008 apparently forced some sites to revise their earlier statements. Even after Jobs' statement, some sites are still reporting on a January 3G iPhone introduction and 1Q release.

Dont' get me wrong, I'd be really happy to get a new 3G iPhone with GPS and whatnot. But frankly, I'd rather have improvements on the software side. Features like cut&paste, Office-style software, and actual 3rd-party software support would be smart. I already have a GPS puck, all I need is for Apple to release a version of their iPhone Maps.app that is GPS compatible. Full Exchange support would be pretty awesome. Also on my want list is A2DP, or stereo bluetooth. And yet another, the Nike+iPod compatibility. What's on your want list?

Apple Confirms T-Mobile in Germany

Steve Jobs on 3G

Steve Jobs was asked at "Mum is no longer the word" press event why there was no 3G on the iPhone. His response was telling; it's important enough that I transcribed the money quote of his response: "We've got to see the battery life for 3G get back up into the five-plus hour range, before it's really suitable for [the iPhone]. I think we'll see that hopefully late next year. But right now, you make a really big tradeoff to go to 3G, and that's really bad battery life."

Bill Maher Insults Early Adopters

"New rule: stop bitching that Apple cut the price of the iPhone. Early adopters always pay a premium. Early adopters being a business term meaning dips***s who stand in line for 6 hours for a freaking phone. It's not a price cut, it's a repeal on the nerd tax. If you didn't have to be the first on your block to have the latest gizmo, you'd now have an extra $200 to spend on your imaginary girlfriend."

iTunes Updated: 7.4.2

Apple Confirms O2 in UK

At their "Mum is no longer the word" event yesterday, it was confirmed that Apple will partner with O2 to bring the iPhone to the UK. The iPhone will go on sale November 9, and will be available from Apple's retail stores, as well as O2's stores and Carphone Warehouse locations. The 8GB model will sell for £269, and the plans include unlimited data as well. I'm glad to see that unlimited data and prepaid minutes made their way across the pond, as confirmed by the pricing chart below. Given how the Europeans like their texting, I wonder if the amount of SMS messages will be enough.

Breaking: Woz Brokers Handshake Between Griffin, Ferrera

figure 1: Woz is now apparently openly dating Kathy Griffin. Just humor me, I'm sick.

Steve "Woz" Wozniak, Segway-Polo-playing co-founder of Apple, brokered a handshake at the 2007 Emmy Awards celebration. The handshake marks the end of formal Kathy Griffin / America Ferrera hostilities. This handshake will likely go down in history as one of the more famous handshakes -- right up there with Sadat-Rabin.

Rumor: iPhone on Vodaphone?

A picture of the iPhone linked to BMW's iPhone stereo surface showed up on BMW's website, and it shows Vodaphone's network logo instead of T-Mobile's. There have been rumors that T-Mobile has clinched the deal in Germany. And yet, here we have the above photo. My understanding was that Vodaphone would get the territories not covered by Orange, O2, and T-Mobile, but we won't know until Apple says for sure. Which they'll probably do at their "Mum is No Longer the Word" event tomorrow. Failing that, there's Apple Expo Paris a week or so later. [via]

Another Full GUI Unlock Available

figure 1: what you see when you launch AnySIM.app. Apart from installing it, instructions for this app should require a FAQ.

Another full GUI SIM unlocking application is now available. AnySIM.app is the official unlocking application from the iPhone Dev Wiki crowd. AnySIM is going to be a bit difficult to install for now, as it hasn't been brought over to installer.app yet, but that should be fixed in the next day or so. If you can't wait and you're comfortable with SSH and the Terminal, installing it should be a breeze. It is significantly easier than the command-line not-for-the-faint-of-heart unlock, and AnySIM's unlock only takes 3-5 minutes, as opposed to upwards of 20 for some other methods.

We had linked to an iPhone unlocking application that worked fine earlier in the week, but there was apparently some drama with it and it wasn't by any means an official version (that didn't stop it from being the version I used, however).

New Version of Firmware Coming

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.

iPhone Early Adopter $100 Credit

Does the iPod Touch have Bluetooth or Not?

figure 1: the only reason I can think of to include Bluetooth for an iPod that isn't a phone is for Stereo Bluetooth, or A2DP. That, or wireless syncing. Either would be fine really.

Apple's MobileSafari Browser

Information Week reviewed the browsing experience on many current U.S. handsets, and came to the conclusion that the iPhone provided the best user experience. I'll provide two quotes to give some context.

"There's no need to compare the Safari browser on the iPhone with a desktop browser. It is a desktop browser"

"The good news, as you might expect, is the Apple iPhone. The genius of Apple is its ability, over and over again, to completely reinvent, from the ground up, the user interface for hardware, and to support it with brilliant software. Web browsing on the iPhone is a paradigm shift, a completely different experience -- just as the BlackBerry was, in its time, a paradigm shift."