iPod iTunes Zone

by Daniel Crew Truner
At least four different hacker groups have cracked AT&T’s lock on iPhone cellular service.

Four independent projects have claimed that Apple’s iPhone can be unlocked, allowing users to use the phone with cellular providers other than AT&T.

At least one of those projects, the Belfast, U.K.-based iphoneunlocking.com has claimed that it has received a warning call from a law firm purportedly representing AT&T.

An AT&T spokesperson said that the company had no comment on this claim.

All iPhones currently require registration through and contract with AT&T to unlock the product’s phone, Web browsing, iPod and other functions. Apple has a five-year exclusive deal with AT&T as the sole service for the iPhone. This effectively limits iPhone owners to areas in the United States covered by AT&T’s GSM network.

The iphoneunlocking.com group is a branch of Unique Phones which sells unlocking guides and claims to provide support for more than 1,500 handsets. The group claimed that it was “poised and ready to release remote software unlocking services” for the iPhone as of Aug. 27.

However, the group wrote on its blog that it received a telephone call from a Menlo Park, California law firm early that day that “presented issues such as copyright infringement and illegal software dissemination.” As a result, the company said, it will hold off on releasing its product until it has evaluated its legal position.

No specifics about their iPhone unlocking software are available.

Another group, iphonesimfree.com claimed on its Web site that it offers the “world’s [sic] first (and only) software driven sim unlocking service for the iPhone,” although the site may not have been updated since the iphoneunlocking.com announcement.

Though the group’s Web site offers no background on the participants or further information, the site promises that individual licenses will be on sale starting next week, along with bulk purchases of 500 licenses or more. No pricing was stated and no third party has verified that the software exists or works.

The Web site Engadget claimed that it received a demonstration of this groups ability to unlock an iPhone.

The process required a SIM card from another cellular service active account (in this case T-Mobile). Most iPhone functions such as SMS, Web browsing, e-mail and Google Maps were functional, though the “visual voice mail” feature remains an AT&T-only feature.

Representatives of the group were not available for comment.

Other methods of unlocking iPhones have appeared on various hacker forums, some of them needing additional hardware, such as a SIM card reader/writer.

The “SuperSim” method, posted on the Hackintosh forums requires users to extract data from the standard AT&T SIM card and then reconfigure both the iPhone along with a new SIM card with some of the extracted data. The forum offers no word on whether this violates the iPhone’s warranty or allows users to apply Apple’s software patches and upgrades.

A similar unlocking procedure was posted on the forums of Bladox a company that sells the Turbo SIM card. The company labels the Turbo SIM as a product for SIM Toolkit-based mobile applications deployment. This method also requires reprogramming.

Much of the initial work in digging out many of the iPhone’s hardware secrets was done by the open, non-commercial group calling itself the iPhone Dev Team, which discourages direct links to its Wiki pages in order to not stress the site servers. However, the site is easily found through a basic Web search.

The project is a “community effort” with no official leader, states their Wiki pages, and they say that “we want to share all the information we discover. It’s in everyone’s best interest for us to share the progress that has been made on making the iPhone an open platform.”

The group was possibly the first to discover how to open the iPhone’s file system and delve into other secrets that formed the basis of hacks by other parties, such as the MAME arcade game emulator.

The earlier hardware hack developed by a group led by New Jersey teenager George Hotz was neither free (in terms of hundreds of hours of time) nor easy. Hotz documented the process on his blog.

Hotz outlined 10 steps to unlocking the iPhone, steps that included opening the iPhone, soldering and modifying the iPhone’s firmware.

Though he initially attempted to list the modified iPhone on the auction site eBay, Hotz wrote that he traded it to Terry Daidone, the founder of Certi Cell which sells aftermarket handset parts as well as used and refurbished handsets, for a Nissan 350Z and three unmodified iPhones.

In Hotz’s most recent blog post, he recounted that he has arrived at college and has also started consulting for CertiCell and Pure Mobile. He wrote that he is also trying to develop a hack that will add GPS functionality to his iPhone.

Apple representatives did not respond to requests for comment.

source: eWeek

By Eric Pfanner
In the same converted 19th-century fish market where Apple three years ago announced the European introduction of its iTunes music store, Nokia said Wednesday that it would soon introduce its own digital music service, along with an easier-to-use, Apple-style mobile interface and an Apple-style touch screen handset.The Nokia Music Store, scheduled to open later this year, would let users download songs from the Internet to their computers or directly to mobile phones, over wireless networks, which is a feat that Apple’s recently released iPhone cannot do.

Analysts said the move heightened the rivalry between Nokia and Apple at the high end of the mobile phone business. “It was obviously going straight at Apple,” said Seamus McAteer, senior analyst at M:Metrics, a research firm.

While Nokia executives chose suits and ties rather than the black mock turtlenecks and blue jeans favored by Steve Jobs, the Apple chief executive, they acknowledged that Nokia was not above imitating its new competitor.

“I don’t know what is copying and what is original but if there is something good in the world, we copy it with pride,” said Anssi Vanjoki, head of the Nokia multimedia division, which makes the company’s high-end handsets, when asked about similarities between the iPhone, iTunes and the new devices and services announced by Nokia.

In offering wireless downloads, the Nokia Music Store goes beyond the current capabilities of Apple’s iTunes, which requires users to download songs to their personal computers before transferring them to an iPod music player or an iPhone.

The Nokia store, which the company said would be made available first in key European markets, could put pressure on Apple to develop a similar service, analysts said.

The music store also potentially puts Nokia into conflict with operators of mobile networks, many of which have developed music services of their own.

But analysts say that outside of Asia, mobile-phone services like music have been relatively slow to take off, despite the tens of billions of euros that network operators have poured into the technology to enable them.

“Now Nokia is saying, ‘You guys had your chance to run music stores, or whatever, and it didn’t work, so now we’re going to give consumers what they want,’ ” said Paul Jackson, an analyst at Forrester Research.

In addition to the music store, Nokia said it would revive a game platform called N-Gage, with a number of video game publishers agreeing to supply games to download. The company said it would make all of its mobile content and Internet services available under the brand Ovi, which means “door” in Finnish.

Nokia, which is based in Finland, showed pictures and video clips of the interface that would allow users to navigate through the various Ovi services. Analysts said it appeared to resemble the interfaces for the iPod, iPhone and iTunes, whose simplicity has been seen as a key selling point.

But analysts said they were frustrated by a lack of detail about the Ovi offerings.

“It’s a bit of an empty shell for now,” said Mark Newman, chief research officer at Informa Telecoms and Media.

On Wednesday, Nokia introduced several phone models with increased storage capacity for music and other media content, and said it would introduce the touch screen phone next year.

While Nokia clearly has one eye on Apple, analysts said network operators might more directly feel its move into services, and that could affect relationships with device manufacturers.

Orange, which is part of France Telecom, for example, has a partnership with the phone maker Sony Ericsson, under which its Walkman-branded phones send users to the Orange music store at the touch of a button. Apple, meanwhile, has signed an exclusive iPhone distribution agreement with AT&T in the United States and is reportedly pursuing similar arrangements for the pending introduction of the phone in Europe.

Analysts said mobile operators who agreed to carry certain Nokia multimedia phones might try to demand that the company disable features that overlap with the carriers’ own services.

Yet Nokia has a strong negotiating position, analysts added, because it sells about 400 million phones a year - more than one-third of the global market - so the network operators may not be able to drop a popular handset from their lineups.

Despite all the jockeying for position, the appeal of mobile download services remains uncertain. Even in the leading European market for mobile music, Britain, fewer than 3 percent of cellular subscribers downloaded songs wirelessly in January, according to M:Metrics. About 12 percent of subscribers, meanwhile, listened to music that had been transferred to their phones from PCs.

“How to get them to switch over to something like the Nokia music store remains unclear,” said Martin Garner, an analyst at Ovum.

Nokia said it would price music downloads at €1 per song, or €10 per album, in the same range as many existing mobile music services as well as iTunes. In addition, users would have to pay for the use of phone networks for the download, though many operators are starting to offer monthly flat-fee packages.

International Herald Tribune

“It certainly is much easier to use and more well-thought-out than any other cell phone I’ve ever used,” says John Canning, president of Physician’s Computer, a Winooski, Vt.-based software developer for pediatricians. “I used to sit down on the computer, but now I just grab my iPhone.”

There’s a digital ax hanging over John Canning’s head, but he doesn’t much care.

The South Burlington, Vt., resident is too busy surfing the Internet, perusing his e-mail, compiling driving directions and keeping track of the stock market — all on what amounts to a portable computer he cradles in the palm of his hand.Canning bought an iPhone, the trendy gadget from Apple that combines a wireless phone, iPod digital music player and Internet and e-mail applications.

A Risk-Taker

That made Canning something of a risk-taker. The device is tethered exclusively to AT&T, which offers no wireless service in Vermont and threatens in legal documents and media interviews to terminate the contracts of anyone who buys an iPhone while living here.

Canning is among a sprinkling of people in Vermont and other states nationwide where AT&T has a limited or non-existent presence who have purchased the gadget regardless of the risk.

Those pioneering users have weighed the gizmo’s utility and hip factor against the potential of AT&T expulsion, and they’ve decided the gamble is worthwhile.

“It certainly is much easier to use and more well-thought-out than any other cell phone I’ve ever used,” says Canning, president of Physician’s Computer, a Winooski, Vt.-based software developer for pediatricians. “I used to sit down on the computer, but now I just grab my iPhone.”

iPhone Isolation

Apple released the iPhone to considerable fanfare and critical and consumer acclaim on June 29. The device is available to any of the 284 million people in 13,000 communities across the country to which AT&T says its network extends.

Vermont and Alaska remain the only states where the company has no presence whatsoever; the iPhone also is unavailable to people who live in large but mostly rural regions that lack AT&T coverage in 17 other states.

AT&T devices work in locales without direct coverage through agreements with other companies that do offer service. In Vermont, AT&T’s partner is Unicel.

Earlier this summer, AT&T announced plans to buy Alaska’s primary wireless provider, a move that would leave Vermont alone in its cocoon of iPhone isolation. AT&T says it hopes to complete the deal by year’s end.

Allure vs. Risk

Casting their worries aside, some of Vermont’s most devout Apple enthusiasts have paid US$499 to $599 for one of the iPhone’s two models.

Canning purchased his during a recent stay in Boston. His hotel was next to an AT&T store, and his resistance crumbled each time he walked past the prominent display.

“It said, ‘Buy me, buy me!’” Canning said. “I withheld for the first two days, but I finally broke down on the third.”

Demonstrating the device one afternoon at his busy office, Canning clicked through Web pages, e-mail messages, photographs and a camera interface with a flick of his finger on the touch-sensitive screen. The display read “AT&T” in listing the service provider on whose network Canning’s phone was operating.

“I’ve been using it nonstop,” he said.

Contract Terms

Canning said he’s confident he’s adhering to his contract terms. A provision says users can’t spend more than 40 percent of their monthly minutes on non-AT&T networks, and Canning said he’s closely monitoring his talking and surfing to keep within that boundary.

AT&T spokesperson Mark Siegel points to another contract clause, though, which says users must live in a community that receives direct service.

The company has canceled the contracts of “a very small percentage” of its 63.7 million subscribers, Siegel said, declining to provide figures. People who live in places where AT&T offers no service shouldn’t buy an iPhone, he said.

“Just by doing that, you’re violating the terms of the agreement,” Siegel said.

Conflicted Resellers

The risk of termination is too much for some longtime Apple aficionados. Bert Samsa, who owns Apple reseller MacMan in Fairbanks, Alaska, said he won’t buy an iPhone until he can do so properly.

“The only way we can get one is to go to Washington and lie,” said Samsa, in the Apple business since 1990. “As soon as it’s available, of course, we’ll all jump right on it.”

For employees of Waitsfield, Vt.-based Apple reseller Small Dog Electronics, the iPhone’s allure has proved persuasive enough to overcome the worries.

Chief executive Don Mayer formulated a back-up plan: If AT&T boots him, he’ll sell his iPhone through online auction site eBay. The gadget’s technological advances overshadow potential hassles, he said.

“It is an incredibly innovative and handy device in a nice, small package,” said Mayer, who estimated about half a dozen other Small Dog employees also own iPhones. “I have virtually everything I need in a handheld device.”

source: EcommerceTimes

By Eliot Van Buskirk
Back when I focused on writing and edited MP3 player reviews, we longed for a totally objective way to test the sound quality of MP3 players.  Only certain manufacturers choose to release sound specs for their players, and when they do, the methods for describing sound quality often vary.   We tended to list signal-to-noise ratio and total harmonic distortion specs when possible, and otherwise relied on subjective testing.As it turns out, Michael Degnan and the late James Kim ran 13 of the world’s best MP3 players through an Audio Precision ATS-2 Audio Analyzer at CNET last year to find out how they stacked up in three key areas of objective sound quality.

Here’s where the various models of iPod ranked in their tests:

Signal-to-noise ratio
Best: Creative Zen Vision M
5G iPod: 5th
iPod Nano: 8th
iPod Shuffle: 7th

Distortion
Best: 5G iPod
iPod Nano: 5th
iPod Shuffle: 3rd

Frequency Response (flatness of response from 20 Hz to 20 kHz)
Best: Cowon iAudio U3
5G iPod: 8th
iPod Nano: 5th
iPod Shuffle: 4th

Some audiophiles claim that total harmonic distortion should be the true measure of an MP3 player, and the iPods scored well there.  But these tests might also explain why Apple and other MP3 player manufacturers don’t release extensive sound specs.

source: Wired News

Apple Inc shares rose more than 4.5 percent on Wednesday, fueled by excitement over the pending launch of new iPod digital music players, which could entice current users to buy upgraded models.The stock climbed $5.74 to $132.56 in early trading on the Nasdaq, after Apple distributed invitations to a September 5 event in San Francisco. Goldman Sachs said in a note to clients that the date would bring “the almost certain launch of a new family of iPods.”

“The product announcement is likely to include a full line-up of revamped iPods with significantly greater functionality at current price points, including the much-anticipated full-screen video iPod,” Goldman said.

Goldman recommended clients buy Apple shares, saying the next video iPod could drive “an accelerated upgrade cycle.”

Apple shares are up about 55 percent this year, driven by the steady strength of the iPod, which dominates the portable music player market, and the late June launch of the iPhone.

The share gains come despite top mobile-phone maker Nokia’s unveiling on Wednesday of its own online music store, new top-end handsets aimed at rivaling Apple.

Separately, Apple said on Wednesday it will sell television programs in Britain via its iTunes store as part of a push to become a one-stop shop for digital entertainment.

source: Reuters

Veteran Podsters understand that at least once a year Apple performs a feat that at once infuses them with dread and delight: an iPod upgrade. The delight comes from a new look and new capabilities. The dread comes from the realization that you’re a step behind the cutting edge and must consider whether to buy your way back on it.

And here it goes again. The considerably tweaked fourth-generation iPod will roll out this week, and NEWSWEEK got an advance peek. It looks a bit different, operates more efficiently, has a few more features and costs less. Here are the highlights.

While the initial version had a relatively boxy feel, subsequent versions have been curvier and smaller. This one is about a millimeter thinner and, more significantly, eliminates the control buttons that sat under the display screen. Instead, it uses a “click wheel,” where the controls are placed on the compass points of the circular touchpad that lets you scroll through menus. This is an innovation carried over from the diminutive iPod Mini. “It was developed out of necessity for the Mini, because there wasn’t enough room [for the buttons],” says Steve Jobs. “But the minute we experienced it we just thought, ‘My God, why didn’t we think of this sooner?’ ”

More efficient menus. There’s less thumbing required to get to your favorite stuff “Music” is a first-level entry, and now a single click initiates the popular technique of shuffling your library for playback.

New features. You can create multiple on-the-go playlists and delete songs from those ad hoc mixes. And audiobooks are not only easier to find, you can listen to them at normal speed, slower or 25 percent faster, without its sounding like a Munchkin.

Longer play. Coast-to-coasters rejoice: the new iPods are rated for 12 hours of rockin’ between charges—a 50 percent boost in battery life. This is accomplished, Apple says, not by a heavier battery but diligent conservation of power.

Lower price. The top-of-the-line iPod, holding 10,000 songs (40 gigs, as geeks will tell you), now costs $399. The lower-capacity model, with room for 5,000 songs (20 gigs), costs $299. That’s a $100 price reduction for each. (There’s no more 15-gig model.)

Color. Fuggedaboutit. Despite rumors to the contrary, the wide-bodies are still as pure as the driven snow.

Bottom line: If you have yet to jump on the iPod bandwagon, it’s cheaper and more attractive to do so. If you’re already plugged in, the question is whether you should engage in the “iPod Bump,” where you snap up the spiffy new version and pass Old Reliable to a grateful friend or family member (or the highest eBay bidder). If your music collection has exceeded your iPod’s storage space, or your listening binges exceed your current iPod’s battery life—or if you want to hear Bill Clinton’s abridged book in 4-1/2 hours rather than six—consider the Bump this time around. Of course, if your heart went aflutter at the very sight of this year’s model, you’re probably in line at the Apple Store already.

source: MSNBC - Newsweek

Contour Design has announced the release of its new Showcase for iPhone, a case that offers two-layer protection for the iPhone thanks to a combination of shock-absorbing rubber and clear polycarbonate.

Features include a hinged door, full access to the iPhone’s touch screen, sensors, camera, and ports, and an included low-profile holster that can hold the Showcase forward or backward in both vertical and horizontal positions.

“The Showcase is our flagship case, and we wanted it to perfectly complement the iPhone,” said Mike Jackle of Contour Design. “This Showcase, like all others in this product line, uses the dual layers of rubber and polycarbonate to perfectly contour to the phone. We met our goal with a case that is strong and stylish.”

 The Contour Design Showcase for iPhone is available now and sells for $35.

source: www.ilounge.com

Belkin, continuing its fundraising efforts for breast cancer research, has introduced its latest cases for the iPod nano and iPod shuffle. Belkin will donate 10 percent of the retail price of each pink- and bone-colored case to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

The cases include the Sport Amband for iPod nano, which features “stitchless” construction and sells for $25, the Remix Acrylic for iPod nano, which offers a clear acrylic front, soft touch back, and also sells for $25, the Statements case for iPod nano, which features a folio-style design, interior mirror, and is priced at $25, and the Sport Armband for iPod shuffle, which is made from a rubber material, features reflectors for nighttime use, and sells for $20.

Mark Reynoso, President of Belkin International, said, “Our new pink- and bone-colored iPod cases celebrate the active lifestyles of women, their empowerment, and their strength. We are proud to support The Breast Cancer Research Foundation, and we hope to raise awareness while positively affecting the lives of women and their families everywhere.” All four cases will be available in mid-September.

source: www.ilounge.com

Bose has revealed its new SoundDock Portable iPod speaker system, a battery-powered take on the company’s popular SoundDock. The SoundDock Portable, which appeared on Gizmodo earlier today, features a retractable Dock, auxiliary input, a redesigned remote, and a rechargeable lithium-ion battery.

 According to reports, the system will run off the battery for three hours at full volume, or “much longer” at reduced settings. The system measures 6.75 inches tall, 12 inches wide, and just over 4 inches deep, and weighs just under 5 pounds.

The Bose SoundDock Portable will be available at the end of September and is priced at $400.

source: www.ilounge.com

Many new iPhone owners are searching far and wide for some sort of protection policy for their new baby, *just in case*. Apparently the iPhone is not eligible for insurance through AT&T’s insurance providers; not surprising. A plausible option would be for one to add the iPhone onto your homeowner’s insurance policy.

Here are two other viable options to protect your Apple iPhone. Note: iPhoneNews.ca is not affiliated with Apple Inc of SquareTrade and we are not necessarily endorsing either option, just “putting it out there”.

Option 1: An AppleCare Warranty from Apple.

Apple Inc will be offering an AppleCare extended warranty for the iPhone in July. The iPhone AppleCare plan will essentially extend the regular 90 day warranty for an additional year. Cost? Around $70. This iPhone warranty plan is both simple and safe, but it won’t cover any accidental “incidents” involving your iPhone. That means you are on your own for any problems that are not manufacturers defects or simple software glitches; so no replacement if you drop your iPhone while getting onto the subway.

Option 2: A SquareTrade CarePlan.

SquareTrade has been in business since 1999. Their warranties are financially backed by an A rated insurer and they are the leading provider of extended warranties on eBay. SquareTrade also has an online management system for you to manage your warranty.
They have a new basic CarePlan for the iPhone. Cost? 10% of item price, so $49.99 - $59.99 depending on which iPhone you have purchased from Apple. The coverage is equivalent to what you get with the AppleCare warranty. They say that if something does happen to your iPhone, they will either fix it, or pay you the full $499-$599 replacement value for the iPhone. SquareTrade also guarantees that replacements/repairs will be conducted within 5 days.

SquareTrade will also be providing an enhanced CarePlan with accidental damage coverage (something that an AppleCare warranty doesn’t offer) in the near future. This WILL cover you if you drop your iPhone. You can check their website in the coming weeks to purchase this plan.
Here is a link to the SquareTrade warranty page.

Note: Neither of these coverage plans will cover losing the iPhone, so keep your eyes on it at all times - Not that you wouldn’t be doing that anyways!

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