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#3 Geek.

“Don’t install today’s iTunes 9.2 if you plan on using Spirit for fresh JB (but it’s fine for PwnageTool & redsn0w users)”

Which means if you want to keep your 3.1.2 or 3.1.3 firmware (and not upgrade to iOS4.0 when it comes out on June 21) AND want to jailbreak it, then don’t upgrade to iTunes 9.2.

But if you want iOS4.0 when it comes out, then you’ll have to upgrade to iTunes 9.2 as the iOS4.0 is only available through this.

For those already jailbroken, users from worldwide forums report that it is compatible with iTunes 9.2.

#3 Geek.

Why didn’t someone think of this years ago? Such a simple but brilliant idea! Perfect for Apple fanboys or even a casual Apple shopper who just wants to read up on Apple products- coz you know, they just look so pretty….

On the 15th June 2010, Apple quietly loaded their official online store app (called ‘Apple Store’) onto the App Store. This is one nifty app that allows you to do most of the things you visit Apple.com for – peruse all Apple products, browse its features & tech specs, read reviews, place orders and even pre-order your very own iPhone 4!

It’s essentially the Apple website squeezed into a handy app for you on the go. It will even find Apple stores anywhere in the world and make reservations for Genius Bar, Personal Shopping, Store Events and One to One training appointments. However, when I tried this for my local Apple stores here in Melbourne, Australia (Chadstone & Doncaster), the only available Genius Bar appointments seem to be for the next 24 hours only (24 hours based on US time too! which means its unless I can travel back in time !) However, everything else seems to work still – including my local store events schedule.

You probably gathered by now – it’s only been released on the U.S. App Store tailored for US residents. So many of the features (e.g call Apple, appointments, pre-order and online shopping) won’t be useful for those outside the US. Still…pretty cool if you just want to drool over some of their white goods.

No word on the release into the Australia App store or other countries yet. As usual, I’ve posted some screen shots for you! And let me know if you want to know how to get a U.S iTunes account without a U.S credit card etc

#3 Geek.

That’s 5 iDevices on the current market! (I’m ignoring the very ancient iPhone 2G coz really who still has that?) I thought I knew the Apple specs inside out, back to front but I got caught out when someone asked me why doesn’t my iPhone 3G have video? I thought it did – but obviously not!

All these iDevices use the same firmware and operating system, run the same apps and has the same multi-touch screen. Some have cameras while others have better screen resolutions…and how about the RAM?

I did some homework and compiled a table below showing how these 5 iDevices stack up against each other in terms of hardware. Click on the image to enlarge.

Now I can sleep at night…

#3 Geek.

EDIT :

We all saw how great the iMovie iPhone app was during the its promo by Steve Jobs at the WWDC June 2010 – but it appears that it’s only available on iPhone 4 despite iOS4.0 being fully compatible on iPhone 3GS as well.

According to the news site TidBITS, the iMovie app for iPhone requires the processing prowess of the new Apple A4 processor – which is only used on the new iPhone 4 and iPad.

This ‘backdoor’ upgrade only works on a Mac because it was only originally intended for iPhone developers and all iPhone development has to be done on a Mac. So, sorry Windows users.

This is for those who can’t wait until June 21….

How do I get iOS4.0?

1. Download and install iTunes 9.2 beta

2. Download iOS4.0 gold master build

3. Plug your iPhone into iTunes 9.2 and once you have selected your iPhone under ‘Devices’, press alt/option+click on the Restore button and select the iOS 4.0 ipsw file.

4. Voila! Done! Let iTunes do its work and restore your iPhone to iOS4.0 like normal.

Make sure you do a backup of your iPhone before you start this process, because all restores will wipe out everything on your iPhone – and you can restore from backup. NOTE : your photos will be lost and not restored for some reason so make sure you save them.

To download iTunes 9.2 beta and iOS4.0, please refer to this link which is my source (the download section is right after their FAQ).

I haven’t tried this myself because I want to keep my jailbreak – even though jailbreak is also available for the iOS4.0 now, it is only for specific base band iPhones and not yet officially publicly released by the Dev Team…

I’ve posted a picture of an iPhone 3GS running iOS4.0 from one of my readers.

#3 Geek.

Have you ever wished you could give your iPhone a boost in battery life? But don’t want to be carrying about an ugly black box? Well, this is one backup battery pack for your iPhone 3GS and 3G exuding sophiscation and innovation. In addition to its unique design, it uses EL lighting technology on its front panel to display its power status – just like your iPhone battery icon! This kind of creativity is the first in the world and is designed by essential tpe.

Aptly named “the icon”, this would automatically charge your iPhone once you connect it, and will show you the remaining power while you disconnect it. “the icon” boosts your iPhone’s talk time by up to 3 hours, or audio playback by up to 18 hours. It is also a “Work with iPhone” product certified by Apple.

It is only available in a handful of countries in Asia currently but this is one product I’m looking forward to get my hands on once they find distributers in Australia (and others).

Other pretty products by essential tpe…

#3 Geek.

Now that the 2010 South Africa World Cup is only 48 hours away, everyone is getting excited and iPhone 4 talk is increasingly but intermittently being interrupted by World Cup chatter. In your offices, posters are pinned, world cup sweep organised, national colours displayed, soccer memorabilia on show – but do you have the right 2010 World Cup iPhone app?

I downloaded and installed 10 world cup apps for this review. I was hugely dissappointed…only 3 apps made the cut, one of which is only available in the U.S Appstore. I know it might seem pointless to write about something that is not available in the Australian App Store – but I’m desperate and the app is worth my 2 cents of opinion! Plus it’s still POSSIBLE to get it….Leave comments below if you guys want to know how to setup a U.S iTunes account without a credit card – so you can download free U.S exclusive iTunes content and Apps.

Below I will summarise what I liked and disliked about the 3 apps that made the cut. And I will also name and shame the other 7!

Not in any particular order…

Edit : ESPN Fifa app is now also available in the Australian App store.

(1) World Champion $3.99 (Seller : Geometix GmbH Science & Solutions)

What I liked :

• Menu options sorted by Dates, Groups, Teams, News + More. Perfect for people would only want to quickly glance at schedules, scoreboards and teams.
• Easy to navigate menus
• You can tag your favourite team
• Some information are linked between menu for easy navigation
• Live updates on game scores and stats (so they advertised)
• The ‘More’ menu option did give me slightly more information such as top scorers, stadiums on a map, world rankings of each team and the World Cup history

What I didn’t like :

• Opening screen is cheap and tacky
• The user interface and design doesn’t wow me

Summary :

• Perfect app for schedule checking with some news and basic stats to keep you in the loop

Let me show you what I mean :

• Click on the pictures to enlarge and take a look at its menus

(2) 2010 World Cup South Africa $3.99 (Seller : Infindo Technology)

What I liked :

• Loads of news contents categorised by Headlines, Top News, Photos
• Choose matches by date – clearly and specifically without scrolling down the screen
• Quick information snapshot of the chosen game, including live commentary and stats (so they advertised)
• Push notifications for instant alerts for breaking news and match status
• Video gallery for press conference, interviews etc
• Leaders for goals, shots, fouls and HEAPS of other tournament stats

What I didn’t like :

• Slower to load menu options due to more content than other apps
• Contents not linked between menus. This leaves digging for the specific information you know it has but you want
• Not tailored for quick schedule checking of your favourite team or groups or games

Summary :

• Content rich app means you’ll be the walking news and stats of the 2010 World Cup. But you gotta go dig it up from the app first!

Let me show you what I mean :

• Click on the pictures to enlarge and take a look at its menus.

(3) ESPN 2010 World Cup – FREE on U.S. App Store only!* (Seller : ESPN)

* Leave comments below if you want to know a way around this.

What I liked :

• The user interface. It’s sleek (really cool), easy, intuitive and quick to navigate.
• Scheduling orientated interface which I really liked
• It has news, team info, World Cup history, top team rankings
• You can add more than one favourite team for quick access

What I didn’t like :

• It’s only available in the U.S. App store (why do they do this!?!?)
• Doesn’t seem to have live commentary, scoreboard or game stats

Summary :

• Sits between the above 2 apps. It looks awesome, great user interface, good news contents, scheduling orientated BUT lacks anything that is live – that is commentary, scores, stats, updates etc

Let me show you what I mean :

• Click on the pictures to enlarge and take a look at its menus.

Time to name and shame!

Below are the apps I thought either had terrible user interface, were counter intuitive, did not adopt local Australian time or absolutely no news or stats contents. The top icon is the icon on the App Store and below it is a screenie of its menu.

Hover your mouse over the images for the name of the App…

#3 Geek.

Apple released its iOS 4.0 yesterday exclusively to developers of its iPhone Developer program. This is used by developers to submit their iPhone apps that are compatible with iOS 4.0 and is also the version that will come shipped with the next gen iPhone 4 as well as downloadable for free for existing iPhone 3G and 3GS owners on June 21.

The jailbreak was done on the iPhone using the jailbreak tool called Redsn0w and was announced by the iPhone Dev Team – one of the more prominent jailbreaking teams in the community.

More on this once it becomes publicly available!

#3 Geek.

So I’ve read the hands-on reviews and watched Steve Job’s keynote presentation and also drooled all over my desk in the morning… A lot of you would have already read or heard about iPhone 4’s key feature additions and changes – and I’m sure there’s definitely at least ONE tech geek or Apple fanboy in your office.

In response to Chunga’s request, I want to highlight what I think are 4 wow factors of the next generation iPhone 4. The wow factors will only be of physical hardware – I won’t touch on the software enhancements because iPhone 3GS owners can upgrade to the new software for free on June 21.

1) ‘Retina’ Display

If Steve Jobs’ excitement is any measure of the wow factor, then this must be a WOW. Apple has called it the ‘Retina’ display because according to Steve Jobs, the iPhone 4’s screen has more pixels per inch than the human eye can distinguish (if the iPhone is held 25 to 30cm away). The LCD screen boasts a super high pixel density of 326 pixels per inch – 26 more pixels than we humans can distinguish. Comparing to iPhone 3GS, it is four times the number of pixels and double in its screen resolution to an uber 960-by-640 pixel resolution. This makes it the highest resolution smartphone on the planet!

Let me show you an example – the photo to the left was taken by PCWorld’s Senior Editor Melissa J. Perenson and it shows an icon on iPhone 4’s screen compared to the same icon on iPhone 3GS’s screen. It makes the iPhone 3GS look like VCR tapes comparing to blue ray!

Edit :

Steve Jobs’ above claim on the Retina display has been disputed by Raymond Soneira, president of DisplayMate Technologies, who said “It is reasonably close to being a perfect display, but Steve pushed it a little too far”.

Read more about Soneira’s reasoning here.

2) Stainless Steel Frame = Antennas

Apple decided to turn its sleek, cool stainless steel frames on the sides of iPhone 4 into a couple giant antennas – frame lining on the left for WiFi, bluetooth and GPS and on the right for cellular network. Whoever at Apple thought of that is a genius! I thought that was a seriously cool feature. This innovation has allowed Apple to make iPhone 4 even thinner – 24% thinner than iPhone 3GS and maybe even thinner than your pen?

Let me take this chance to show you what Apple packed! into the iPhone 4. Below, you’re looking at the back of the iPhone 4.

3) Design awesomeness and glass backing

I’m definitely taking to its hard edges, thinner and flat design. Comparing to its predecessor, this is a seriously sexy looking smartphone – only 9.3mm thick AND with glass backing. What? Glass backing you say? Sure did! This hardened glass is just about as tough as Sapphire crystal and supposedly 30 times stronger than plastic. I don’t know how well 3rd party cases will sell because who would seriously want to cover up such beauty…

Speaking of cases, Steve Jobs suggests you buy one of their new iPhone protectors, called Bumpers. Unlike full-body cases, Bumpers only protect the outline of the device and has holes in the sides for the volume buttons. I’m not the type who would buy beauty but hide it – especially now with glass display and backing!

4) 5 mega-pixel camera and HD recording

Although this has been long lagging and long time coming, these features will – for me – complete the package. Apple has upgraded its back facing camera to 5 megapixels with an addition of an LED flash. It has also introduced a secondary camera in the front and implemented video calling and recording up to 720p (HD) at 30 frames per second with audio. That’s pretty awesome…A note to self, though, the Facetime video calling only works over WiFi and not on 3G network (yet!).

#3 Geek.

For me, the leaks had taken a little bit of wow factor off the release of the much antcipated next generation iPhone – iPhone 4. But having watched their video that was shown at the conclusion of Steve Jobs’ WWDC keynote presentation today, I was still impressed…or was it their crisp video production and effective sales pitch?

Check it out! iPhone 4

#3 Geek.

Edit :

Engadget posted alot of photos of the new iPhone 4, first hands-on review, as well as a video showing the new FaceTime video calling feature in action.

Some takeaways about iPhone 4:

– As we said, it’s shockingly thin.

– The screen is truly outrageous — you basically cannot see pixels on it. We’re not being hyperbolic when we say it’s easily the best looking mobile phone screen we’ve ever laid eyes on.

– The build quality is really solid. The home button feels much snappier, and on the whole it just feel like a tightly-packed device, but it’s not heavy.

– The side buttons are really nice and clicky.

– iOS 4 is very familiar — there’s not a lot added to fit and finish.

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