Hats Off To iPhone Software Developers

I have often been harsh on the people out there making third party software for the iPhone because the programs are not perfect, but they deserve much more credit than that. The developers out there have been working so hard to bring us software that Apple has not provided us and Apple continues to block it out. It is a shame, but soon they will be able to make the software without Apple interfering.

I would just like to take a moment and say thank you to those that have been hard at work making these third party software applications for the iPhone. They have been great a lot of times and have actually been good enough to have Apple copy them. There are two things in particular that Apple has copied with this latest update.

Google Maps have copied Navizon with their pseudo GPS. The work that Navizon did to develop that software gave Google and Apple the idea to add that feature to Google Maps on the iPhone. It is rough to see the efforts of third party software developers being copied with the knowledge that the copy is actually the one that will win. Just because Google Maps is native on the iPhone Navizon will not have a chance. I would like to congratulate Navizon for their efforts though as they obviously have made the iPhone better.

Customization of the iPhone home screen is now possible with the new update 1.1.3 and it works a lot like the others that were out there. All of the jailbreaks that I got allowed me to download a program that would allow me to move icons on the iPhone home screen and that is exactly what Apple decided to copy. They can be moved around and then you can add pages to put more icons. This is essential if you have more icons to put on there with the third party apps. Thank you to those that developed the original software that allowed multiple pages on the iPhone home screen and the smooth way of seeing the other pages. Apple copied this almost exactly, but that should be the best type of flattery.

Thank you to those out there working hard to make third party software for the iPhone as it has made the iPhone better in every way.

iPhone 1.1.3 Jailbreak

It turns out that the jailbreaking community has another jailbreak process in the works and have gotten it to work. The only problem is that it takes a lot more effort than most will be willing to take. Read the full story here.

The only problem with the whole jailbreaking effort now is that if you have the latest software upgrade 1.1.3 then there is not a way for you to jailbreak it yet. This is not a problem if you kept the iPhone on the old version 1.1.2, but now there is no going back. Good news though, Apple is releasing the dev kit to all of the software developers soon. This means third party software that will not be booted by Apple constantly.

I am excited to see what all of the developers can come up with if they have the tools and access they need to tap into the power of the iPhone. Stay tuned for updates on the third party software coming out.

Is iPhone Jailbreaking or Unlocking Worth It?

It is a lot of work to make sure that everything keeps working when you use a product in a way that it was not intended to be used. I have unlocked my iPhone a couple of times, but it is now completely locked and jailed. Before you chastise me for selling out, here me out:

The first reason I restored my iPhone is simple; it was glitchy when it had third party software on it. I never had my iPhone crash or glitch at all until I unlocked and put third party software on it. I thought some of the things that I could put on it were cool, but it would often make the iPhone lock up and I would have to restart it. This never happened before I unlocked it and has never happened since I restored the iPhone and left it standard.

The second reason is that there are really no third party programs that compare to the user friendliness of the standard Apple software. I love the way that the operating system works on the iPhone and the interaction is amazing even still. However, I have to hand it to those out there that are working on their own and are able to make programs that can even work on the iPhone; it is very impressive to me.

The third reason is that you have to work hard to keep up with all of the changing software and updates. This may be more of a time issue for me, but it seems like a very difficult task just to keep it working with all of the iPhone firmware updates. This also cripples the third party software though; because it is constantly changing the third party software is constantly trying to keep up with the changes rather than actually being free to truly grow in its robustness. This leads to software that has a lot of potential, but is constantly being struck down by Apple.

Overall, unlocking or jailbreaking your iPhone can have a lot of great advantages, but I have found that it is too time consuming for me. I liked some of the options that the third party software added, but I truly enjoy my iPhone much more overall without the hacks. Once the actual third party software that natively works on the iPhone comes out it will be a lot better because all of those that are creating programs right now will have more freedom to make truly great programs that work flawlessly on the iPhone.

Should you Jailbreak or Unlock your iPhone

Recently I have been thinking about my thoughts towards my iPhone since jailbreaking it and have come to some conclusions. I don't like my iPhone as much with crazy third party applications on it. I know this may come as a shock since there are a lot of things that the iPhone lacks, but it is true and I am going to take a little time here and explain why I think that is.

When I first got my iPhone I was extremely happy and loved everything about it. The way that you go through menus and make calls and surf the web are great. All of those things were a completely new experience to me and made the iPhone undoubtedly the best phone that I have ever had. As time went on though, some of those first impressions wore away and started to let me think about the things that I would still like for the iPhone to be able to do. There is the huge lack of 3G that still bothers me and also not having flash on the Safari browser. Those are the two things that have made me mad time and time again. I also would like to use the iPhone to connect my laptop to the internet. The connection is so slow that it would not really be that great, but sometimes I am in a bind and need flash and internet on the go and there is none with the iPhone.

So what do these flaws have to do with anything? Well, even through all of those flaws and many more unmentioned, the iPhone is the best cell phone ever made. I know that is hard to swallow for some, but I am sticking to it. The iPhone has been a pleasure to use and has given me much less stress than any of the other phones I have had including simple old nokias to my most recent T-Mobile MDA. I have never had such a great experience with an electronic device besides my MacBook Pro.

I had decided to jailbreak my iPhone so that I could review some applications that are available for it right now and review a couple of them, but there has been an added amount of stress or clutter associated with it. Firstly, I have to wait to update my iPhone because otherwise I will lose my programs. This is kind of a hassle. Secondly, the programs are buggy at best and are not to the level of Apple quality. This was to be expected, but I really don't need any of the programs that I have on my iPhone and they don't work great so why do I have them at all. I am content with surfing the web, texting, emailing, and taking pictures. The third party applications out there do not really tap into the flaws the iPhone has so they don't really make the iPhone better.

The conclusion is this. I have the money program on my iPhone right now to keep track of my finances for November. Once I am done with that, I will take the jailbreaking off of the iPhone and go back to plain Apple iPhone. You know what though, I will not care a bit. I loved the iPhone just as it was and everything worked great. I want to have that back and no more crashing (did I mention that the iPhone started crashing from time to time only after I did a jailbreak).

So I encourage all of you out there that are thinking about unlocking or jailbreaking your iPhone to simply wait until next year when Apple starts releasing software programs that are actually made to work on the iPhone.

Great Way to Keep Track Of Finances on Your iPhone

I have been using the Money program on the iPhone this month to keep track of my finances. This has been very helpful and easy. Instead of carrying around a lot of receipts and entering them in on my computer later, I just keep track of them on my iPhone as i go and there are no receipts in my wallet.

This program is very simple and has its flaws, but overall it is great. The biggest complaints that are due to the roughed out look of the program. It does not seem like there was a lot of time put into the program once it was working properly. There could be a lot more features and options that would make it an awesome program, but I have not found a program that works better for keeping track of money, so this is the program that I recommend.

What is the best third party application on the iPhone?

There are lots of third party applications out for the Apple iPhone now, but which one is the best? Obviously it depends on what tyoe of program you are looking for. I am going to do a review of the best applications that I have used on the iPhone so far for a few different categories. Today's review is Customize:

Customize is one of the most basic applications for the iPhone, but it does a great job doing what it is intended to do; allow you to customize your iPhone. The reason I like this application so much is that it is easy to use and allows for tons of customizations. You download customization packages from installer and then you have options when you launch Customize. Everything is laid out very simply and allows you to change all of the icons and sounds. It is almost like the settings that your settings are missing. The only problem I have had with this application is Summerboard interfering. If you do not turn off the dock background for a theme for instance, when you change it in Customize it will not change. Thankfully Summerboard allows you to turn off individual segments of the themes so that you can use Customize on the things that you want to.

If you want an application that allows you some freedom on the iPhone without messing it up too much then Customize is a great place to start.

iPhone Jailbreak Working Great Now

I have been working with the installer and getting all of the applications that I think look interesting downloaded and on my iPhone. Here is a list of some of my favorites so far:

1. VNotes (to take voice notes on your iPhone)
2. Customize (an original name for an original product. Ok, not really, but it does allow you to customize a lot of things like buttons backgrounds and sounds if you are tired of the default.)
3. Money (I am actually going to keep track of my finances this month because of this program)
4. Labyrinth (a fun game that makes good use of the iPhone's Accelerometer)
5. Lights Out (the most popular and solid game on the iPhone right now)
6. ToDo List (simple, but it is kind of cool)

It took me a while to get all of these apps working because they would not work without the OpenSSH program that they don't tell you about. You have to jailbreak your iPhone with jailbreakme.com, then download the summerboard, community resources, OpenSSH, and BSD Subsystem. After you download all of that then you can download other apps and they will work.

Happy Jailbreaking!

Easiest iPhone Jailbreaking Unlock Ever

A great iPhone Jailbreaking option is now available. I decided just to check it out and start using these unlocks to review for those out there that are considering it. I will tell you how it works and help you find the things that I find most useful, and I will try to stay up with all of it.

The first thing you need to know right now is how to unlock or jailbreak your iPhone. There is an extremely easy way to do this now. All you have to do is go to http://jailbreakme.com, select install AppSnapp and it will load on to your iPhone. All you have to do is wait for the screen to say slide to unlock and it is done. Worst thing that could happen is that you would have to do a full restore through iTunes, but it will not get bricked. Enjoy!

I will have updates soon as to what apps I have found most useful.

Third Party Apps Back on iPhone

It looks like there is still a way to get around the new Apple iPhone Software Update and get the AppTap installer back on the iPhone. You can read all of the details at iPhone Atlas. Basically, it is a way to trick your iPhone into using the outdated software update that is likely still on your computer. This is a very interesting attempt at appeasing those that have already switched their iPhones to the new software, but want the third party applications right now.

For me this has been too much hassle to do. It is very cool and I would love to have third party apps back on my iPhone, but it is a very time consuming passion to keep them on there and keep the iPhone up to date. Every time Apple comes out with a new software update, people are scrambling to fix their jailbreaking software and get the third party apps working again. This is going to be a constant battle between Apple and iPhone hackers. Maybe I will have time for this kind of stuff again soon, but not today.