Top 10 Things Voted To Get Fixed on the iPhone
November 9th, 2008 by iPhoneTechZone
Pleasefixtheiphone.com has been inviting iPhone user to vote on the things they would most want to be seen fixed or added on their phone and out of the 359 719 votes and 1 800 suggestions these are the top 10:
- Ability to Send and receive MMS natively
- Ability to Sync without any wires
- Copy/Paste
- Ability to write text messages in landscape mode
- Ability to read Flash content on the Web
- Fix those annoying browser crashing.
- Make the whole screen clickable when taking a picture. Not just that tiny button that is hard to find when you try to take a picture of yourself with friends. Alternatively simply making the volume button the shutter button.
- Getting rid of those unwanted standard iPhone apps icons can’t be deleted or hidden. How many of us have any use of checking stocks?
- Video recording
- When using multiple browser pages in Safari, previously loaded pages shouldn’t be reloaded when you return to them. A simple setting to increase the browser’s cache limits would be useful especially for ajax web apps, like google reader, that force you to start from the beginning when they are reloaded.
Don’t hesitate to go and vote yourself. Hopefully Apple will take good not of these suggestions…
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PwnageTool and QuickPwn noqUpdated and workinf for iPhone firmware 2.1
September 14th, 2008 by iPhoneTechZone
Oh, so soon? After hearing about Apple incorporating preventive measures into iTunes 8, I was a bit worried that the iPhone Dev-Team would take some time before they came up with a smooth and safe PwnageTool for my iPhone. But they did it, and in record time. Just a day after the iPhone 2.1 software was released (5 days after iPod touch 2.1 was released), the iPhone Dev-Team got their show on the road with PwnageTool 2.1, and QuickPwn 1.1.
The ‘pwn’ goes around iTunes 8’s protection, without hacking or patching a single core file of iTunes or Mac OS X. The tool will unlock and jailbreak first generation iPhones. iPhone 3G will only be jailbroken, as will the first generation iPod Touch. This tool is not tested on the iPod Touch 2G, as the developers claim they don’t have any to test it on! Too bad they don’t accept any donations.
If you are confused about the differences between PwnageTool and QuickPwn, let me put it in simple words. QuickPwn lets you pwn your iPhone after you have officially updated with iTunes. On the other hand, PwnageTool will create a custom firmware which you then use to update your iPhone. Both tools will achieve the same end result, but with PwnageTool you have more control as to what packages you want to install, whether you want a custom boot logo or not, etc. QuickPwn, on the other hand, is much quicker. Both tools are very easy to use.
This time round the team has decided to go the BitTorrent route to reduce the server loads, especially during the initial stages. If you are wary of BitTorrent technology, they also have direct download mirrors listed by third party hosts. The whole thing feels like it’s a community event! If you are having trouble with downloading the 2.1 update via iTunes, iClarified lists official download links so you can get it using your preferred download manager.
The tool is currently only available for Mac OS X, but a Windows version should be out soon.
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Just how durable is the Apple iPhone?
September 12th, 2008 by iPhoneTechZone
One of the most common questions that a new iPhone user will ask is how strong or scratch resistant the iPhone is. After all, the phone looks more delicate than a newborn child, and for the first few days you’ll want to carefully place it on a soft cloth every time it leaves your hand. OK, maybe not you, but I certainly did so for two whole months before I got used to the idea that it’s not as delicate as it looks.
Let me put it to you straight—the iPhone’s screen is virtually scratch proof. Yes, unlike the plastic screens on other phones, the glass screen of the iPhone is resistant to key scratches and whatever else you can throw at it. Don’t believe me?
Here’s a video of PC World doing the iPhone 3G: Torture test:
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The duality of Apple
September 8th, 2008 by iPhoneTechZone
When the iPhone hit the market in June of 2007, it literally knocked the industry on its collective ass. It had an intuitive touchscreen that would respond to finger touches as opposed to random other knocks and jostles. The applications included a shockingly cool web browser!
Check it out:
For the first time, a phone could display regular (as opposed to mobile-formatted) websites, either portrait or landscape, and with touch-driven zoom options! And that was just the tip of the iceberg. ITunes was seamlessly integrated, making this a truly multimedia phone. There was GPS, Wi-Fi, instant messaging, video, and more all driven through a miniature version of Mac’s much-lauded operating system. There were even select third party applications you could buy (more on this later).
But even as the early-adopter segment cleaned AT&T and Apple stores out of their inventory, there was a growing discontent among some of the fan boys.
To give you some perspective on the origins of this anti-Apple angst, I invite you to take a trip with me back to the year 2001. Steve Jobs was in the 4th year of his second go-round as CEO at Apple, Pixar Studios (Jobs’ baby) was still riding high on “Toy Story,” and a new digital audio player called the iPod had just debuted to the general public. The iPod, although slow to pick up steam, proved to be a gadget juggernaut and within three years it was a pop-culture darling. Uber-trendy Apple was revered for creating a device that “just worked” for the average consumer. The iPod was simple and intuitive; a stark contrast to Microsoft and the Windows gauntlet. However, the blissful Apple experience came with a hefty price tag: thirty percent more $$ on average than its competitors. And then there was the dreaded vendor lock-in.
(SIGH) This is where things get complicated. Although Apple’s iPod was revolutionary in the digital music player market, many a consumer had no idea that upon purchasing it, the music they purchased via the iTunes music store was largely playable ONLY on the iPod. The actual songs were copy-protected and encoded in a format NOT playable by other MP3 players! Many consumers were shocked to find out that they could not share their iTunes music with a friend, or even back it up to another computer. Apple kept tight control over every aspect of purchasing and playback, all in the name of “stability and usability” for the consumer. It was like buying a car that comes with a driver. But, that driver will only take you to destinations he deems appropriate or safe.
Fast-forward to 2007, and the iPhone is attracting the same criticism as its iPod brethren. Only this time, the lockdown is positively stifling. Although consumers have the power of a portable computer in the palm of their hands, only “Apple approved” applications can be sold via the iPhone application store. Hackers ultimately produced a “jailbreak” application to open the iPhone so that consumers could use features the way *they* wanted, not necessarily the way Apple wanted.
In under 60 seconds, a plethora of non-Apple approved applications became available to iPhone owners. Thus began the war between Apple and the Hackers. You see, the one constant about Apple, Inc. is that they *MUST* be in control at all times. Hackers jailbreak the iPod, Apple updates and overrrides the jailbreak, Hackers patch the override, and so on ad nauseum. It is a never-ending war to either keep the iPhone locked down or open it for all.
And that is the real decision that potential iPhone consumers must ultimately make. Do you want Apple to drive? Or would you like to be in the driver’s seat, constantly vigilant for Apple updates or kill switches that will replace you at the helm? Do you trust Apple to always accept the “best of breed” applications into their store? Or would you rather “roll the dice” and figure out what works for you while dodging sniper shots from Apple?
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Few Funny Tricks and Pranks to pull on a friends iPhone
September 3rd, 2008 by iPhoneTechZone
iPhoneTrick is a creative way to play a practical joke on someone else’s iPhone or use your own to pull a prank. And really it is, what you have to do is really easy, just take a iPhone of any of your friends or colleagues, and open the website http://www.iphonetrick.com/ in the safari browser and let the magic begin.
So what all you can do, see the video below :
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Web Browsing statistics: iPhone VS Competition
September 1st, 2008 by iPhoneTechZone
Did you ever wonder how many people use their iPhone to access the internet?
Web search using an iPhone has gone up from 0.31%, to a record high of 0.48%. With this, iPhone OS is still the fourth most popular operating system for net browsing after Windows, Mac OS and Linux.
Windows retains the first position at 91. 02% followed by Mac OS and Linux at 7.76% and 0.82% respectively. Playstation (0.04) and SunOS (0.01) comes after the iPhone. With this rate of growth, the market cap of Apple too is growing at a maddening speed. The next report will bring a striking figure again, no doubt.
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The Missing Features in the Apple iPhone 3G
August 31st, 2008 by iPhoneTechZone
Apple iPhone 3G is a popular and magnificent phone, for its market breaking user interface and ease of use. But if you compare iPhone 3G with the other smartphones, you find many features are obvious omissions. Many people have come to expect iPhone 3G to be feature-laden, however Apple has omitted features that are common nowadays, either because the iPhone software is not as developed yet, or it is design decision to keep the phone’s ease of use appeal.
Apple has made clear that iPhone 3G new features will be rolled out via future firmware updates. New iPhone firmware release has become as anticipated as new Apple product launches, and the next update iPhone 2.1 software is expected in September.
We list below 19 missing features of iPhone 3G, features that we come to expect. Some are hardware specifics that are not possible via firmware upgrade, some are feature requests, some are features you can get now via third party applications, and some features are best left out of iPhone 3G.
- Video camera for video recording. And a front facing camera for video chat. We hope these could make it to next version of iPhone hardware, in summer 2009? And make it HD capable.
- Copy & Paste. This is a much sought after feature which Apple thinks is low priority. Can we get this feature by next update please?
- No MMS support. It is not a deal breaker for us not to have MMS, but it is nice to have nonetheless.
- Can not forward SMS. Do we really need to use another application for this simple task?
- Can not use iPhone 3G as modem for your Mac and PC. Apple recently took down iPhone app NetShare that has this capability. There is rumors that Apple is working with AT&T to make this feature available.
- No Adobe Flash. Which means many websites can not be viewed on iPhone. Maybe Apple is worry people will play Flash games on the iPhone rather than buying native iPhone games.
- No Java and J2ME support. These are standard software on Symbian based phones. Apple is unlikely to include Java and J2ME, and we hope it stays that way.
- HD or HD compatible (720p) display. Make HD the minimum and standard resolution for video format, and help users save tons of hours having to deal with another video resolution. And make iPhone a HD video player by supporting HD video out.
- Increase the camera resolution, 2MP is so 90s. Make the camera a respectable replacement for P&S camera. And camera flash please.
- No over the air access to iTunes Store. We heard this feature is coming, so just need to keep waiting.
- Voice dialing support please. We guess Apple prefers us to touch instead, but our hands are not always free.
- Memory expansion slot. We are split on this but it would be nice if we have 32G or 64G options. Why not? Some people are rich enough to pay $1k for a screen saver.
- No wireless sync of Contacts, Calendar etc to Mac? Not even via Bluetooth? Not sure if we will ever get this feature as by design all desktop sync is via iTunes software.
- Allow access to files on iPhones, for example as a storage device when connect via USB on the Mac. Apple could create a special folder on the iPhone for such purpose.
- Wireless printing support. Ability to send photos, email messages etc to Bluetooth or WiFi-equipped printer.
- Bluetooth profile currently support voice only. How about A2DP profile for stereo playbacks and bluetooth keyboard?
- A standard audio recording app from Apple?
- No FM radio, as expected since you don’t get it even in iPods without third party add-on.
- No removable battery. We do not think there will ever be one, judging from past Apple iPods and iPhone. This ‘feature’ makes iPhone stands out from all the other cellphones in the market.
So many features, and so little time. Let’s hope Apple is not making “feature less” into an iPhone feature. All we want now for the imminent 2.1 release is bug fixes and more bug fixes. Stability and security enhancement are top priorities above all else.
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iPhone battery gets more and more criticism about its bad performance
August 29th, 2008 by iPhoneTechZone
Putting together everything that was said from 11 July to today on 3G iPhone, Chapter battery is certainly what he does discuss more users.
The consumption of the device and the ability accumulator have attracted numerous criticisms, but what leaves more perplexing is the swing of data that can be found online: the experiences reported by users, more or less known, are incredibly variable.
For example Guy Kawasaki, legendary Apple Evangelist says to be able to obtain almost 3 days of standby and on his blog provides some tips to move closer to its benefits; Walt Mossberg, on the other hand, says it barely lasts the day, while acknowledging intense use of the device.
The iPhone seems to suffer much more than other devices use intense, perhaps the accomplice is it’s wide screen and the power required to chip processor and radio.
Best way is to do without WiFi, Bluetooth, 3G and lowering the backlight to get more out of the device.
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Orange & France telecom admit limiting 3G iPhone speeds
August 29th, 2008 by iPhoneTechZone
The 3G iPhone’s poor speeds are the fault of the network operators, not the device itself. In France, at least, this is very true. French wireless network operator Orange has admitted that it is slowing down the surfing speeds of mobile phones on its 3G network.
Wired surveyed readers all over the globe. In contrast with other tests performed on the 3G iPhone itself (which suggest the device has a bad radio air interface), it seems as though the wireless networks themselves are to blame for slow 3G speeds. At least according to Wired’s survey.
In France, Orange is the network operator that offers the 3G iPhone. After taking a look at Wired’s data, many noticed that Orange customers were experiencing the slowest speeds. You can imagine the consternation of Orange customers.
Ars Technica reports, “Orange has revealed that all 3G devices on its network are capped at download speeds of 384 Kbps, roughly one-fifth the download speeds that T-Mobile users have been getting and a little over 5 percent of HSDPA’s theoretical maximum speed. Never fear, though: Orange will be upping the cap to a whopping 1 Mbps by Sept. 15, but the boost may not be enough to clam consumers now that the trickery has been revealed.”
I would not want to be a customer service representative at Orange right now.
How do speeds compare in the United States? Well, according to Apple, the 3G iPhone is capable of hitting the theoretical speed of 3.6 Mbps. I spoke to AT&T about this issue when the iPhone was first released in the United States. While the device may be capable of hitting 3.6 Mbps, it won’t go any faster than 1.4 Mbps on AT&T’s network. AT&T was not clear with me if the speed restraint was a real-world usage scenario (which is likely) or an actual cap on data speeds.
Any way you look at it, AT&T’s U.S. customers are seeing faster 3G speeds than those using the Orange network in France. But that’s not saying much.
Apple has acknowledged the issue, and says a fix will be made available for poor reception issues in September.
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AT&T Expands International Data Plans for iPhone
August 27th, 2008 by iPhoneTechZone
For “only” $120 and $200 per month, respectively, join the company’s current international plans for smartphones, which offer 20MB and 50MB in the same countries. “AT&T has worked diligently to provide affordable options for international roaming because the feature-rich mobile experience of iPhone is indispensable to users,” said Bill Hague, executive vice president of International for AT&T’s wireless operations. “With these new international data plans, iPhone users can access more data in more countries for less cost.” AT&T says customers can make calls in more than 200 countries and access the Internet in more than 150 countries, more than 60 of which offer 3G coverage.
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