Thanks to intrepid iPhone problem-solver and electrical engineer Renaud, tethered jailbreaking may become a thing of the past. The iDongle holds a standard 9-volt (PP3) battery and has its own dock connector to link up to an iPhone 3GS running firmware 3.1, 3.1.1 or 3.1.2.
This "standalone tethered boot" allows the iPhone user to reboot their jailbroken device anywhere, anytime, without a computer. In addition, the iDongle will even jailbreak and/or hacktivate your iPhone if necessary.
As any iPhone user knows, only bundled Apple software like the iPod app will run in the background while your phone is doing other things. Now AppleInsider reports this is all about to change.
Third-party applications will be allowed to run in the background in iPhone OS 4.0, the next step in iPhone firmware development. Although version 3.0 is capable of full multitasking, Apple has limited all but its own apps from staying open while running other software. Right now the Phone, Messages, iPod, Voice Memos, and Mail apps run in the background, along with some others.
Now you can record videos on the original (2G) iPhone and iPhone 3G without jailbreaking. Camera Plus Pro enhances the photography experience on any iPhone running OS 3.1 or later.
Many iPhone owners were disappointed that firmware 3.0 only supported video recording on the iPhone 3GS. Now thanks to Global Delight Technologies anyone with an iPhone can record and share video.
Camera Plus Pro is available on the App Store for a limited time at 33% off regular price ($1.99). The app comes loaded with video recording, photo taking and photo editing features including:
The FeedLine 1.3 update is the first iPhone application to hit the App Store that supports Google Buzz public feeds. The app is primarily an RSS reader and goes for $0.99.
FeedLine does not require a Google Reader account, and supports RSS, Atom, and Google Buzz formats. Real-time news alerts can also be configured for specific terms and delivered using FeedLine.
Google Buzz was recently announced and allows Google users to share photos, videos, and conversations in a social networking application similar to Twitter or Facebook.
Wireless carrier AT&T's new policy of allowing some bandwidth-heavy iPhone applications to run over its expanded 3G network is now being put to the test. SlingPlayer Mobile allows users to stream video content from their Slingbox to iPhones anywhere 3G or Wi-Fi is available.
The previous version of SlingPlayer Mobile, first released last year, restricted streaming video to Wi-Fi only at the request of AT&T. Video quality is still better over a Wi-Fi connection, as the stream has to be optimized for 3G speeds.
Could it be that Apple plans to reveal iPhone OS 4.0 as early as March 14th? Multiple sources have received anonymous tips pointing towards a demo of the new OS by Apple next month. This date roughly coincides with the first iPad ship date, and has led to speculation that iPhone OS 4.0 may ship on the new device.
Apple has typically announced updates to its iPhone hardware in June. This year should be no different and the company is expected to reveal its fourth-generation iPhone on schedule. What has thrown industry watchers off track is that the iPad was announced in January running iPhone OS 3.2. This operating system is not yet available on the iPhone.
In a move said to be preparation for the iPad release, Apple has doubled the App Store size limit on 3G cellular network downloads to 20MB. Previously users were prompted to use a Wi-Fi connection or iTunes to download applications larger than 10MB.
The change could put more bandwidth pressure on the AT&T network, however the company has been frantically working to improve speeds and capacity nationwide ahead of the iPad and 4G iPhone releases later this year.
Well it didn't take long to hear from iPhone owners who tried the 3.1.3 firmware update to fix their existing battery problems. Some people are reporting the same problems, if not worse after updating to 3.1.3 from 3.1.2 or earlier iPhone OS versions.
Previously, many users updated to 3.1 software so they could take advantage of MMS functionality on AT&T and found that an unwelcome side effect was shortened battery life on the iPhone 3GS. (Learn how to turn on MMS without updating your 3.0 firmware here. Some have speculated this has something to do with the iPhone losing and acquiring the 3G signal repeatedly which drains the battery.
The iPhone allows up to 11 home screens. Including the dock, this means a total of 180 application icons can be visible at any one time (unless you use this firmware 3.1.2 trick to get more). The iPhone actually allows more than 180 applications to be installed.
Problem is that some of the icons will go missing. So how do you run these "hidden" apps? Open Spotlight to search your iPhone and run them from there.
Apple has limited the number of home screens on the iPhone to 11. Even though that adds up to a total of 180 applications including the dock, some users want more space. This is possible on firmware version 3.1.2 thanks to a trick that doesn't require jailbreaking.
Follow these steps to get more than 11 home pages on your iPhone:
