iPhone4idiots

So you might have read iOS 5 has a hidden panorama feature that can easily be turned on if you are jailbroken. Conrad Kramer (@conradev) found out how to do this and it takes about 30 seconds with iFile. While cool that he found this there is a reason it is hidden. It’s quality is not great. Thus, I’m not even listing the simple instructions for enabling it. Ask in the comments if you really want it, but trust me. There is no reason to turn it on. Don’t worry, if you want nice quality panoramic photos on your iPhone check out Dermandar Panorama, Dermandar $1.99. It’s super fast and takes nice quality pictures which can easily be saved to your Camera Roll. Here are a couple of comparisons between the two. Continue Reading…

Should you jailbreak iOS 5? Yes, of course you should. I’m quite happy with my iPhone 4 on the semi tethered redsn0w jailbreak. So there are five Cydia apps I use all the time on iOS 5 that make jailbreaking a must. SBSettings, iFile, Activator, BiteSMS and PdaNet/MyWi are still must have features. I show each one in this video. Check it out and let me know where you are on jailbreaking your iOS device?

So you may have read about BigBoss releasing a semi-tethered jailbreak. If you don’t know the difference keep reading, but before I get asked again – The iPad 2 and iPhone 4S use the same A5 processing chip (at least that’s what I think it is) for which there is no jailbreak for iOS 5. People are working on that. Most other devices can be jailbroken on iOS 5. Specifically, the iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, iPad 1, iPod Touch 4G, iPod Touch 3G. However, it is a tethered jailbreak which I don’t recommend. This semi-tethered is better, but not ideal either. My advice, unless you really need it on your iDevice, just play around with iOS 5 and iCloud for awhile. The untethered jailbreak will be here soon enough. So if you want to know the difference between these jailbreaks Continue Reading…

So iOS 5 is available for download today. You’ve probably heard lots of things about it since IMO this is by far the biggest update in iOS history. iCloud, iMatch, Notifications and more. Frankly its all a little overwhelming even for me. First some details, iOS 5 is available for iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, both iPad 1 and 2 and for iPod Touches 3rd generation or newer. For my jailbreaking peeps, as always, if you update to iOS 5 kiss your jailbreak goodbye for the time being. Yes, there is a tethered one, but who wants that? See the previous post about when a new untethered jailbreak for iOS might arrive. Now for more details on iOS 5 and why the biggest feature of iCloud might not work for many of you. Continue Reading…

I am one happy camper playing with my iPad 2 now that it’s jailbroken thanks to Comex! BTW, over 1,000,000 downloads from jailbreakme.com in 24 hours. Not surprised and I’m sure the vast majority were iPad 2. If you haven’t jailbroken already you really should. Just watch the video here it’s so easy, reversible and legal. So what have I installed and am playing with? Watch the video and then continue reading to see instructions. As always please comment. It makes me feel loved. I’ve also added a new poll. Which of these apps/tweaks would you most want – RetinaPad, Multi-Touch gestures, FolderEnhancer, FullForce?
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Great news for you non-jailbreakers out there. iOS 5, coming this Fall, is a major update where Apple has once again taken some of the best Cydia apps and implemented them into iOS. I guess the best place to start is with the Lock Screen. iOS 5 will provide a Lock Screen that provides more information and allows you to access apps directly by swiping them. No need to swipe to unlock to get to your home screen and then find and tap the app. This is very similar to Cydia app LockInfo. I don’t think it’s going to be as customizeable as LockInfo (why would Apple want you to design the look yourself) but it’s a big improvement. Along those lines you will now be able to access the camera much faster. No need to enter a passcode or slide to unlock. Just touch the camera button on the Lock Screen and it launches. Also, you can now use the up volume button to snap photos. I bet a ton or you have missed a good picture by a few seconds trying to get it launched. This will make all the difference. While this is nice, IMO the biggest and best upgrade in iOS 5 is Notifications. Continue Reading…

Apple is held the annual Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco today. This is who’s who of developers and bloggers that is always filled with major product announcements. Even Steve Jobs is there despite all his health issues. So what did Apple announce? Well, before I get into OSX Lion, iOS 5 and iCloud, IMO one of the biggest news stories at this year’s event is what Apple didn’t announce. For the first time since it’s introduction there will not be a new iPhone released in June. The iPhone 2G, 3G, 3GS and iPhone 4 were all released in June. To me this just shows the next iPhone won’t offer a major upgrade. Sure they’ll add a few megapixels to the camera and maybe a second LED light on the back. Hopefully another major upgrade like removing the home button to allow for a larger display will be coming next year when I’ll be due to upgrade my iPhone 4. Look for the next iPhone to come this fall with the release of iOS 5 which is the most significant iOS update yet! More on that in post later today.

iOS 4.3, Apple’s newest software update for iPhones, iPods and iPads, is now available for download in iTunes. So the question is should you download it? Well, I see three reasons you might want to download iOS 4.3. First,  Safari is supposed to be faster. Apple has added some sort of JavaScript that will make pages load almost twice as fast. I’m a little skeptical, but if true everyone likes more speed. Second, the mobile hotspot is coming with iOS 4.3 (iPhone 4 only). Now, I keep preaching that by far the best and cheapest option to create a mobile hotspot is to jailbreak your iPhone or iPad and use MyWi. However, if you don’t want to do that for some reason but want this feature then you can have it in iOS 4.3. Of course you’ll have to pay ATT or Verizon $20 per month for tethering. Also, on ATT you are limited to connecting three devices to your hotspot. This isn’t a big deal as if you shared any more than three devices on your 3G connection it would be about as fast as dial-up. Perhaps the biggest reason you might want iOS 4.3 is for Home Sharing. Continue Reading…

So the latest firmware update for iOS for the iPod Touch, iPhone and iPad has been given to developers and there are a few interesting things. One is that there will be the ability to turn your device into a mobile personal hotspot (thank you Verizon). Now just because Apple has added this capability into iOS does not mean ATT will allow you to use. Recall iPhones were capable of tethering for almost a year before ATT added the feature. Nevertheless, with Verizon offering it and iOS having the ability it is only a matter of time before ATT adds this nice feature! Just as interesting is the possible death of the home button? Continue Reading…

So what firmware is on your iPhone or iPod Touch?? I’m sticking with 4.1 on my iPhone 4 because I don’t what to lose my jailbreak by upgrading to 4.2.1. About the only thing I would like on 4.2 is Find My iPhone. The 4.2 jailbreak will be out very soon (I’m hoping its an X-mas gift), but whenever it’s certianly real soon. I would think anyone not jailbroken would have updated to 4.2 by now, but then again a lot of you might be like my sister in-law. She hardly ever connects to her computer so she was still on 3.1.3. My iPhone 3G was still on 3.1.2 for a long time as I was afraid the hardware couldn’t handle 4.0 (I finally updated a few months ago since Apple claims to have addressed this issue with 4.1 – mine seems fine). So my new poll question is simple. What is your iPhone or iPod Touch’s current firmware version. Don’t know? Just tap Settings – General – About and see what’s listed as the Version. This is your iDevices operating system and something you should pay a little attention to. I actually have a PC still running Windows 98 as I find it the safest and least likely to get spyware and viruses since it has fewer options. The poll is in the right sidebar.