Apple iPhone 3G 'jailbroken' after software update

Hackers have cracked the Apple iPhone 3G’s latest software 2.2 update, meaning users can “jailbreak” their phones to run any application according to: Telegraph.co.uk

Apple released new software for the iPhone 3G last Friday. The iPhone 2.2 software update adds Street View to the Google Maps application along with better directions when travelling on foot or by car, improved call quality, the ability to download podcasts over the air, and an enhanced Safari web browser with integrated search bar.

But now the iPhone Dev team, a group of coding experts, have found a way to circumvent the security features build into the latest software update, meaning iPhone owners can “hack” their handset to install a wide variety of software and applications to the device that aren’t available through Apple’s approved App Store.

Ever since the iPhone was first launched in June 2007, some users have sought to hack their handsets to run whatever programs and software they wanted. But with each new software update from Apple, owners of “jailbroken” iPhones faced the possibility that their hacked iPhone may no longer work. Teams of coders are constantly working on ways to circumvent Apple’s updates to allow jailbroken iPhone owners to continue using their devices.

Apple’s chief executive, Steve Jobs, had hoped that allowing third-party developers to create useful programs for the iPhone and sell them through the official App Store might have put paid to the “cat and mouse game” surrounding attempts to hack the free iPhone operating system. “We try to stay ahead. People will try to break in, and it’s our job to stop them breaking in,” he said.

But some iPhone owners still prefer to hack their handsets in order to access additional features and software not available on non-jailbroken phones, such as the ability to record video through the iPhone’s built-in camera, the ability to copy and paste text between applications, and even to add an external keyboard to the device for easier typing of text messages.

More than 200 million applications have been downloaded from the official Apple application store since it launched in July.

New game brings iPhone into Wiimote territory

New game brings iPhone into Wiimote territory

According to: Cnet ....

The Social Gaming Network, a company best known for its Facebook Platform apps, has launched a new iPhone app that uses the handset as...a gaming controller.

Called "iFun," the app is a takeoff on the Social Gaming Network's existing sports apps: iGolf, iBowl, iBaseball, and the like. But instead of playing on your iPhone, you use your free iPhone or iPod Touch much like the "Wiimote" device for Nintendo's Wii console. (Both gadgets use accelerometer technologies.) It connects via Wi-Fi or cellular network to your PC. You can then play against friends--remotely, and in real time.

Currently, iFun is restricted to a golf game but will soon expand--as well as to other devices with accelerometers in them, like the Android-powered G1. It also uses Facebook Connect for authentication.

Social Gaming Network CEO Shervin Pishevar told CNET News that the company is currently "lining up advertisers" and isound last spring, followed by more funding from Amazon founder Jeff Bezos' venture firm.

And--wait for it--here's the recession angle. Playing the free iFun game on an iPod Touch is &quo interested in turning iFun into a platform for external developers to create their own games. The Social Gaming Network raised a $15 million investment rt;significantly cheaper than buying a Wii for Christmas," Pishevar said.

The iPhone beats BlackBerry when it comes to reliability

Source: Infoworld

An online warranty supplier says Apple's iPhone has substantially fewer failures than handsets from BlackBerry and Palm

A study of new mobile phones from an online warranty supplier has suggested that Apple's iPhone has substantially fewer failures than handsets from BlackBerry and Palm.

San Francisco-based SquareTrade sells extended warranties for electronic goods in the United States. At the weekend, it published a report that looked at the failure rates from more than 15,000 new phones within 12 months of ownership.

After the first year of handset use, it found a 5.6 percent malfunction rate reported on the iPhone, which was "significantly lower" than malfunction rate of 11.9 percent for BlackBerry handsets. Palm Treo users suffered the worst, with a malfunction rate of 16.2 percent.

SquareTrade says it measured the failure rates at the one year mark mostly because the free iPhone was less than 15 months old when the study was conducted. Also, the secondary reason was that the one year mark is traditionally when the manufacturer warranty expires.

On that basis, it projects "the iPhone will have few malfunctions over the 2 year minimum lifetime of a phone" (the length of most mobile carrier contracts in the US). It projects a failure rate of 11.3 percent for the iPhone over two years, whereas it recorded 14.3 percent for the BlackBerry, and 21 percent for the Treo.

The research also rubbished concerns over the limited battery life of the iPhone, as fewer than 0.5 percent of iPhone users reported a battery problem in the first year. Roughly 1 percent of BlackBerry and Treo handsets reported battery issues during the same period.

But the iPhone does have a weakness it seems, namely its touch screen, with one third (32 percent) of all reported iPhone problems were screen related. The majority of these screen problems were "dead spots", found on some screens.

SquareTrade also examined the cause of accidental damage to the iPhone and found that users found the iPhone quite slippery to hold, making the iPhone the more accident prone than any other handset. The BlackBerry meanwhile seems to have fewer software faults than the other two handsets.

SquareTrade says it examined customer data on 15,000 phones over the last two years. Apparently, it randomly selected 6,678 BlackBerry, 5,651 Treo, and 4,902 iPhone handsets covered by SquareTrade Care Plans between October 2006 and October 2008.

It included all handsets marketed under the iPhone, Treo, and BlackBerry names and purchased brand new. Only malfunctions reported directly to SquareTrade were included in the data. The company also insists it does not have affiliation with any handset manufacturers cited in this study.

Premium iPhone Apps

From: www.pcmag.com

We've shown you a selection of free iPhone apps we've tested out. Now take a peek at some iPhone apps you actually might not mind paying for.

The Apple AppStore is chock-full of free iPhone stuff to download. We've already shown you a few of the coolest free iPhone apps available, but what apps are actually worth paying for? To find out we took five premium iPhone apps for a test drive.

Our favorite of the bunch is Avatron's Air Sharing app. Apple doesn't make it easy to use your iPod to store non-media files, even though the device is perfectly capable of doing so. Air Sharing comes to the rescue with a handy app that turns your iPhone into a networked drive that can wirelessly transfer files to and from your computers, while also letting you view a wide variety of file types on your phone. It works with Mac, Microsoft, and Linux, and it gives you Web access to files on your iPhone This handy app costs $6.99, but if you're the type who needs access to files on the go, it's well worth the cost.

One bewildering omission is the iPhone's lack of cut-and-paste functionality. TextGuru rectifies this oversight by giving you the ability to cut, copy, and paste in documents you create with the program. In addition, it also lets you view PDF and Microsoft Word files. It's a little rough around the edges, but for $4.99 you can cut and paste on your iPhone to your heart's delight.

While SpeakEasy Voice Recorder isn't the only app out there that can turn your iPhone into a voice recorder, its simple interface and its ability to download files to play in iTunes make it stand out among the crowd. Technical limitations, like the inability to record actual phone calls, detract from the otherwise-perfect SpeakEasy, but, for $1.99, you get a simple app that provides a more foolproof way of downloading your recordings to your computer for archiving or transcribing.

OneTap Movies is a prime example of an app that just isn't worth the cost. It helps you locate a nearby flick when you're on the go, but so can other apps that don't charge you $1.99. Our advice: Save your money for the popcorn.

Another example of an overpriced app is BeejiveIM, which sells for a whopping $16. Of all the apps that let you use your favorite instant-messaging applications on your iPhone, Beejive, so far, is the only one that lets you stay connected to multiple IM services on your iPhone when you close the app. Might be worth the price for IM addicts until Apple finally lets third-party apps run IM apps in the background. Otherwise, we've gotta say it seems too expensive.

Read the short descriptions that follow and decide for yourself whether these premium apps are worth your investment. Also, be sure to check out the full range of phone and PDA apps we've reviewed in our product guide. More are on the way! If you've got a favorite iPhone app you'd like us to consider, tell us about it on this article's discussion thread.

Featured in This Roundup:

Air Sharing for iPhoneAir Sharing

Air Sharing turns your iPhone into a networked drive that can wirelessly transfer files to and from your computers, while also letting you view a wide variety of file types on your phone. At $7, it's not cheap as iPhone apps go, but it's well worth the outlay.

BeejiveIM for iPhoneBeejiveIM

For a whopping $16, BeejiveIM gives you the ability to stay connected to multiple instant-messaging services on your iPhone—even when you close the app.

OneTap Movies for iPhoneOneTap Movies

The OneTap Movies iPhone app can help you locate a nearby flick when you're on the go, but so can other apps that don't charge you $2. Save your money for the popcorn instead.

SpeakEasy Voice RecorderSpeakEasy Voice Recorder

SpeakEasy Voice Recorder stands out among the many voice-recording iPhone apps, thanks to its simple interface and ability to download files to play in iTunes. A few technical limitations keep it from being a perfect solution, however. Still, it's only $2.

TextGuru for iPhoneTextGuru

A full-featured text-editing app, the $5 TextGuru finally adds cutting and pasting to the iPhone. Its implementation isn't ideal, however, and the interface could stand a few additions to make this a standout program.