iPhone 2G, Firmware 3.1.2(7D11) and Pwnage 3.1.4

It's been a while since I've played with the PwnageTool (almost 6 months since I've upgraded to a contracted iPhone 3G account). My old iPhone 2G has been kept around just as a glorified iPod Touch. That said, I do miss having Copy and Paste on this old iPhone as well as starting to feel left out when new app updates require firmware 3.0+.

Reading the latest updates from the awesome iPhone Dev team, looks like Pwnage 3.1.4 for Mac is rocking out and pwn'ing the latest 3.1.2 firmware with ease. According to their blog post, previously unlocked iPhones doesn't even have to enter the dreaded DFU mode.

I simply grabbed the Pwnage tool 3.1.4 and build a custom firmware based on the latest 3.1.2 (7D11) for the original iPhone (2G) and Option-Restored the custom firmware within iTunes onto my iPhone. Since I am not using this iPhone any longer for phone calls or data plan, so long as it has the latest firmware and supports a few apps here and there, its good enough for me. Again, this old iPhone is not functioning as a basic iPod Touch for me.

Info on iPhone 3.0 Unlock from Dev Team

Here is the 411 on iPhone firmware 3.0 unlock. Apparently, the Dev Team is on the verge of release a torrent for their latest breakthru code name: UltraSn0w. The crazy thing here is that they may be able to unlock not just the good ole' iPhone 3G but the new 3G[S] as well. It appears that they've been able to hacktivate the baseband (04.26.08) from the new firmware 3.0 which is applicable to both 3G and 3G[S].

So folks, keep your F5 button free and clear of obstruction starting tonight and watch closely as the iPhone Dev Team is about to make more history again.

Demo of iPhone 3.0 pwn'd:

Jailbroken iPhone NES Emulator: RAD!

I feel adventourous tonight. Trying new things left and right. Check out what I've been playing all night: NES Emulator of my favorite NES game of all times: Battle City!

SBsettings a great way to manage Pwn'd iPhones

Many have argued that the iPhone unlock/jailbroken community exists for a good reason, that is they can bring features and applications far more flexible than what apple allows. This even dates back to the firmware 1.4 days prior to the official app store being available, 3rd party app stores such as Cydia and Installer were there to provide a large library of apps to enhance an iPhone's capabilities.

Recently, I learned a pretty cool jailbroken app called SBsettings from an intern, Edouard, at my job. This application has a very slick shortcut to allow you to quickly toggle various settings on your jailbroken iPhone (ie. Bluetooth, Brightness, 3G, EDGE data, WiFi, Power, etc...). Once installed, all you have to do is swipe your finger downward from the top of the screen (between the clock and battery gauge). It will bring up the SBsettings menu which allows you to control the on/off switch to various controls.

In addition to the previous mentioned shortcuts, SBsettings lets you access some crazy defined settings to your liking. For example, advanced power off menu (reboot, safe mode, etc...), customize your dock, hide/show icons, respring the springboard and a whole lot more. SBsettings is a really great jailbroken app; only if this can be made available as part of the real iPhone firmware.

Some thoughts on Mobile Applications

There is no doubt in my mind mobile application is the key to future of smartphones. I always knew the limitation of a phone’s screensize posed inherent challenges to prevent same user experience compared to desktop web applications. We must capitalize on a phone’s native feature set (input, output, keyboard, touchscreen, UI, OS) to provide a robust mobile experience which is only possible via mobile apps.

A quick history: Mobile apps have come a long way. Gone are those days when we have to pay or download an app to our desktop and use a sync software to install the application to your handheld. Today, most applications can be downloaded and installed over air directly from handset if you provide a download link within its browser. This is true across all platforms (Symbian S60, iPhone OS X, Windows Mobile and yes, even Palm OS). With Apple’s iTunes leading the way and Google’s G1 Marketplace to follow, the market for mobile applications is aggregating and serious money is being thrown at this new marketplace.

A few random thoughts come to mind when thinking about monetizing mobile applications:

1. To monetize anything in the mobile space has proven to be difficult, there hasn’t been any substantial growth in the mobile ads space which has been pushing for quite some time, seeing iTunes rock out with their high volume is very exciting. However the iTunes eco-system has now been tainted with loads of free or cheap applications fighting for first page ranking, making it very difficult for those interested in selling for a at a premium for a higher margin

2. Iconfactory’s Principal Craig Hockenberry’s “letter to Steve” (an amazing piece and analysis of iTunes store) brought out lots of interesting points, however, I can’t help but wonder if mobile applications should cost money at all? I, generally, prefer to download free open source applications for my desktop, so why should this mentality change in the mobile space? In my opinion regarding to Mr. Hockenberry’s concern about iTunes store becoming more cluttered and higher priced apps don’t get the light of day, perhaps mobile apps companies should build in a marketing fund outside of iTunes to help market their higher priced mobile applications. Same practice as desktop software or video games for that matter. Seems like Apple listened, a little bit.

3. As far how to monetize and be rewarded if mobile applications were free, the Cydia installer within jailbroken iPhones seems to be working out quite well where it is being subsidized by ad supported revenue (see screenshot). Granted, I don’t know if the actual developers see any of that ad dollar in this scenario, I certainly have paid attention to a few ads myself while downloading awesome, function-enhancing applications free of cost to me. Perhaps there is something here.

PWNAGE 2.0.2 Instructions

I was able to update firmware 2.0.1 successfully to my first gen iPhone using PWNAGE 2.0.2.

The instructions below are for those who's PWN'd their iPhone prior. In my case, I PWNed the my first generation iPhone with 2.0 firmware.

1. Download the iPhone 2.0.1 restore firmware: here for 3G and here for 2G/EDGE version
2. Launch PWNAGE 2.0.2, choose your appropriate iPhone
3. Next screen, the PWNAGE will ask if you have a real iPhone contract (answer accordingly, this determines if your phone needs to be unlocked)
4. Provide your admin password when prompted and a custom firmware should begin to build
5. One more question should pop up again: If you have PWN'd before. (answer accordingly, if unsure, just say no)

If you never PWNed before, you'll need to following the screen prompt to get your iPhone into DFU mode. Much of what I learned is from this site when PWNAGE 2.0 first came out.

As for me, since it's been PWNed before, I simply launched iTunes and hold "ALT-Option" and clicked Restore; then I pointed to the newly build custom restore for 2.0.1 to complete the process.

I don't know how 3G iPhones would work, so good luck and please understand that if you decide to do this, you are doing so at your own risk.

Pwnage 2.0.2 Released, Finally!

Woke up this morning, approx. 7AM, saw iPhone Dev Team blog posting a sweet greeting of "Good-Morning" where they released their PWNAGE tool version 2.0.2 developed to help you unlock and activate iPhone 2.0.1 firmware.

To download the tool, try here and here.
To grab the iPhone 2.0.1 firmware, its here for 3G and here for 2G/EDGE version.

When I launched PWNAGE 2.0.1, it automatically prompted a new version is available so I was able to download and install with one click. I haven't tested this new version myself, want to be sure if things are stable. Remember, 3G iPhone still can't be unlocked, just jailbroken and rumor has it that you should not do this if you want it to be future update compatible, not certain how true this is.

PWNAGE 2.0.2 is obviously designed to pwn iPhone 2.0.1 firmware which can improve some bugs like slow keyboard and application launch (ie. contacts, etc.), in addition, Cydia (3rd party application installer) has been improved as well as for the first time, Installer 4 (another 3rd party application installer) is build into the firmware. It is the reason why PWNAGE 2.0.2 was delayed from launching on Thursday 8/7/08.

Update: I pwned 2.0.1 using PWNAGE 2.0.2 this morning, its pretty awesome. I documented my instructions here.

PWNAGE 2.0.2 - Not Yet Due to Bug Found

Update (8/9/08 - 7AM) PWNAGE 2.0.2 Released as of this morning, apparently iPhone Dev Team pulled an all nighter. Download it here.

iPhone Dev Team blog recalled their last post "Its Sparkling" and posted their latest update "It isn't Sparkling - Yet!" Bottom line is a bug could ruin some .ispw build so they want to hammer it out to make sure it is bullet proof prior to releasing. Take your time iPhone Dev Team, we'd rather have a stable release than rushing into this. iPhone Dev team signed off by saying they'll see us in the morning, so expect an update or possible release Saturady morning.

BTW - the whole "sparkling" reference is the feature built-into PWNAGE software that auto updates to the latest version.

Pwnage 2.0.2, maybe tomorrow!

(Update 4 !!! PWNAGE 2.0.2 Officially Released! Get it here. I tried it out, working great, my instructions are here.)

(Update 3 !!! iPhone Dev Team just updated an entry titled "It isn't Sparkling - Yet!", a bug is found which may prevent some macs from finalize .ispw build, I covered it here, looks like we got to wait a day or two longer for PWNAGE 2.0.2 to be released)

(Update 2 !!! Finally got through their blog, apparently, they got everything working but yet to release. Any time now. Stay tuned)

(Update 1 !!! Pwnage 2.0.2 Released today - Friday 8/8/08. I can't get through the iPhone Dev Team's blog, must be too many people using them)

The folks building 3rd party app "installer 4.0" will be releasing their app soon, so the Pwnage guys are waiting for that to roll out the build together. Guess we'll have to wait until Friday.

Hours away from PWNAGE 2.0.2 (for iPhone 2.0.1 Firmware)

'Nuff said...

PWNAGE 2.0 and iPhone Apps Not Working Right?

Some first generation iPhone folks with PWNAGE 2.0 are noticing a bug, when launching applications installed from the App Store, the app would launch for a second or two and crashes back to Home Screen. The fix seems to be easy enough, simply re-PWN it.

I went through the process of re-pwning a new custom firmware, this time, I built the custom firmware by answering "yes" to the question: Have you Pwn'd before? Once built, simply connect your iPhone to iTunes and hold down "option key (mac)" and click "restore" and select the freshly built firmware. Because you've pwn'd it once, you no longer need to boot into DFU mode first to restore the newly built firmware.

The apps seem to work fine after that!
Update 7/25/08: This happened again to me, but I am onto something. It appears that the first set of applications I downloaded reside in iTunes, this somehow conflicts with the same set of apps I re-downloaded onto the iPhone itself. To get a clean scratch, I deleted all apps off of my iTunes, sync with iPhone to remove all apps. Downloaded all the apps I wanted to iTunes again, then sync'd it with the iPhone. So far so good.

Update 7/26/08: The iPhone Apps crashing issue appears to be isolated from PWNAGE. Looks like the general iPhone/iTunes Apps situation is a big mess. Other people are reporting the iPhone Apps crashing as well as another issue (I also noticed it earlier today) that iTunes is not sync'ing up well with iPhone's applications. It appears that iPhones can get application updates without problems but iTunes is not seeing the same updates. Even if you updated your applications via iPhone, it will not sync back to your iTunes library. As for me, because of this complicated update situation, even on an all-stock 3G, non-PWNED iPhone, it is yielding some sync' errors with iTunes.