iPod Site

Don?t you just love the look of wood?  I do and this looks like a neat way to protect your iPhone and give it that special look that only wood can provide.  Don?t have an iPhone?  Neither do I but if you have a nano then click this link.

Check out all the wood cases here at Miniot

via Engadget Mobile

With billions available to them and the government looking to auction the 700Mhz band, even Apple is rumored to be interested in moving without AT&T

Cupertino (CA) - Apple is thinking about entering the FCC wireless auction fray, according to an article by BusinessWeek.  The article says the iPhone maker could plunk as much as $9 billion dollars into buying space on the 700 MHz band.

Two unnamed sources talked to BusinessWeek that Apple was interested in the spectrum, but also added that the company was ?leaning against? the purchase.  BusinessWeek believes Apple wants to build an iPhone exclusive network which would cut the company?s ties to AT&T.

The FCC is planning on selling the spectrum next January.  Auction participants must spend at least $4.6 billion dollars to enter the bidding, but a price war could make the bids rockets into the stratosphere as Google and the major telecommunications carriers enter the fight.

Television stations are mandated to go all digital by 2009 and will vacate their 700 MHz analog bands.  The spectrum has been called ?beachfront? property by FCC officials.

While there is nothing wrong with competition, an Apple network will not be competition. It will just be another vehicle to soak the consumer that buys their closed devices by herding the iSheep into 2 year contacts and newer (and probably more expensive) iPhones. At least Google would be offering a benefit to consumers by making the advertisers or marketers foot the bill.

Link at: http://www.tgdaily.com/content/view/33781/118/

Well I suppose that if you are an iPhone application developer it is nice to know that Apple doesn?t hate you. Gearlog had a nice piece up today on ?Apple?s Joswiak: We Don?t Hate iPhone Coders?.  According to the article, Apple doesn?t oppose native application development but is taking a neutral stance.  It is a very interesting (and short) piece that I think you will like.

After the post, there was an update to the post.  Joswiak wanted to make clear: ?not hate? doesn?t mean ?like? or ?support.?

So to summarize: Apple will neither forbid nor support native code on the iPhone/Touch. They will not design software updates specifically to break native apps, but if the updates happen to break native apps or your native apps turn your iPhone into a rutabaga, don?t go crying to Apple, ?cause it ain?t their problem. Capiche?

 ? for the iTunes 7.4.1 ringtones re-rename workaround to be discovered

So iTunes 7.4.1 came out with some goodies for folks but with it they blocked the custom Ringtone naming that users had to add their own ringtones to their iPhone without buying them on iTunes. Ah, but it didn?t take long for those ?3rd party folks? to get it back   ? so there!!

So how do you get it all back?  Engadget Mobile has the iTunes 7.4.1 ringtones re-rename workaround for you in their forums and here?s how to do it:

First, follow the steps of the original method

• Create your ringtone, save it as an AAC file.

• Rename the m4a extension to m4r.

• Double-click to play in iTunes.

Now, if you?re upgraded to 7.4.1

• Go back and re-rename that m4r file back to m4a. That?s it.

• Plug in your iPhone and that ringtone will be added to your syncable ringtones list ? and it won?t pop up the error from before.

• Play your ringtones constantly for the next 10 hours until 7.4.2 comes out.

Don?t you just love it?

OK, let me get this strait. I go to the iTunes Store, purchase Round and Round by Ratt for $0.99, and then Apple is NICE enough to allow me to pay another $0.99 to download a 30 second ring tone version of the same song? Am I reading this correctly? Oh boy, I am so happy. I get to pay double for my music?

If you don?t have to buy the song and just download the ring tone, I can see a value. But If I buy your song for $0.99, do I not own it? Shouldn?t you ?Give? me the ringtone free? I know there are many more important issues to complain about in this world, but double charging me for DRM content rubs me the wrong way. What do you think?

Jesus Diaz of Gizmodo thinks??You will be able to pick any segment of the song for the ringtone, using a graphic editor to customize them to a total length of 12 to 21 seconds. The ringtones will sync automatically with your iPhone. And yes, for 99 cents on top of the song price, it?s a rip-off.?

Update: PT (Phillip Torrone) from Make Magazine confirmed that you *can?t* make your own ring tones from songs you own the new itunes. Of course, there are workarounds and he will post a how to soon!

For the first time, iTunes users will be able to customize actual tracks to create their own iPhone ringtones. With half a million tracks to choose from, iTunes gives you creative license to select, edit, and play.

Create your unique ringtone from more than half a million songs on the iTunes Store. Buy a song for 99

There has been quite a bit of buzz about the iPhone?s $200 price drop. The problem is that most of the buzz was not praising the large discount. Most of it was from the iSheep and Early Adopters that jumped on board in the 1st two months. I happen to be one of those. I purchased 3 iPhones myself. I am not real upset about it, but it is funny. Matt Miller made a post today on the subject too. (Apple rewards iPhone beta testers with $200 early buyer penalty)

This letter came out today and might impress the buyers. I am gonna try to get some of my Beta Tester fees back too. Apple?s PR Department have done well to do something like this to settle the air. I don?t know if you?ve seen the stock price, but it?s down since all the announcements.

To all iPhone customers:

I have received hundreds of emails from iPhone customers who are upset about Apple dropping the price of iPhone by $200 two months after it went on sale. After reading every one of these emails, I have some observations and conclusions.

First, I am sure that we are making the correct decision to lower the price of the 8GB iPhone from $599 to $399, and that now is the right time to do it. iPhone is a breakthrough product, and we have the chance to ?go for it? this holiday season. iPhone is so far ahead of the competition, and now it will be affordable by even more customers. It benefits both Apple and every iPhone user to get as many new customers as possible in the iPhone ?tent?. We strongly believe the $399 price will help us do just that this holiday season.

Second, being in technology for 30+ years I can attest to the fact that the technology road is bumpy. There is always change and improvement, and there is always someone who bought a product before a particular cutoff date and misses the new price or the new operating system or the new whatever. This is life in the technology lane. If you always wait for the next price cut or to buy the new improved model, you?ll never buy any technology product because there is always something better and less expensive on the horizon. The good news is that if you buy products from companies that support them well, like Apple tries to do, you will receive years of useful and satisfying service from them even as newer models are introduced.

Third, even though we are making the right decision to lower the price of iPhone, and even though the technology road is bumpy, we need to do a better job taking care of our early iPhone customers as we aggressively go after new ones with a lower price. Our early customers trusted us, and we must live up to that trust with our actions in moments like these.

Therefore, we have decided to offer every iPhone customer who purchased an iPhone from either Apple or AT&T, and who is not receiving a rebate or any other consideration, a $100 store credit towards the purchase of any product at an Apple Retail Store or the Apple Online Store. Details are still being worked out and will be posted on Apple?s website next week. Stay tuned.

We want to do the right thing for our valued iPhone customers. We apologize for disappointing some of you, and we are doing our best to live up to your high expectations of Apple.

Steve Jobs
Apple CEO

Source : Apple

Apple Introduces All New iPod nano :

World?s Most Popular Music Player Now Plays Video- Apple introduced today the all new iPod nano, bringing video playback, an enhanced user interface featuring Cover Flow. The new iPod nano features a larger two-inch display with 204 pixels per inch, which lets users watch their favorite movies, TV shows and music videos in the same resolution they currently enjoy on the video iPod. iPod nano also includes three fun games, and additional games can be purchased from the online iTunes Store. iPod nano delivers up to 24 hours of audio playback or five hours of video playback on a single charge, and is encased in a beautiful new all-metal design made with anodized aluminum and polished stainless steel and comes in five new colors ? silver, black, blue, green and a red special edition.  Available today, the 4GB iPod nano comes in silver for just $149 (US) and the 8GB model is available in silver, black, blue, green and a red special edition for just $199 (US). All iPod nano models include earbud headphones, a USB to 30-pin cable and a Universal Dock Connector.

Apple Introduces New iPod Classic - 

New 160GB Model Holds Up to 40,000 Songs-Apple introduced today the new iPod classic, featuring 80GB or 160GB of storage that holds your entire collection of music, photos, video, podcasts and games-up to 40,000 songs or 200 hours of video. Now in its sixth generation, the new iPod classic delivers all the features customers love about their iPods, plus an enhanced user interface featuring Cover Flow and a new all-metal enclosure. iPod classic is priced at just $249 for the 80GB model and $349 for the 160GB model. Both iPod classic models are available immediately worldwide in silver and black. The 80GB iPod classic model is $249 (US) and the 160GB iPod classic is $349 (US).

Apple Unveils iPod Touch - 

Revolutionary Multi-touch Interface & Built-in Wi-Fi Wireless Networking - Apple today introduced the new iPod touch featuring Apple?s revolutionary multi-touch user interface that enables users to find and enjoy all of their music, videos and more on its gorgeous widescreen display with just the touch of a finger. First introduced on iPhone, the multi-touch interface uses pioneering new software to present the perfect user interface for each application. The iPod touch also includes Wi-Fi wireless networking, the first on any iPod, and three amazing applications that use it-Safari, the most advanced browser on any mobile device, lets users wirelessly view web pages just as they look on their computer, and features Google Search or Yahoo! oneSearch; Apple?s YouTube application lets users wirelessly watch over 10 million free videos from the Internet?s most popular video website; and the new iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store lets users wirelessly browse, preview and buy songs and albums from the most popular online music store in the world. The iPod touch is 8 mm thin, and is priced starting at just $299. The new iPod touch is scheduled to be available later this month. The 8GB iPod touch model is $299 (US) and the 16GB iPod model is $399 (US).

Apple Unveils the iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store - 

Wireless Music Downloads Directly to iPod touch & iPhone- Apple today unveiled the iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store, offering music fans the ability to browse, search, preview, purchase and download songs and albums from the iTunes Music Store over a Wi-Fi network directly onto their iPod touch or iPhone. With the iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store, music fans can start enjoying their music purchases immediately on their iPod touch or iPhone with no computer required. Once they connect their iPod touch or iPhone back to their PC or Mac, downloaded music will automatically sync back into their iTunes library. If users have only partially downloaded a song
or album onto their iPod touch or iPhone, their computer will complete the download automatically. Prices and selection on the iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store are the same as on the regular iTunes Store.

Apple Ringtones - In addition, iTunes customers will now be able to create custom ringtones by selecting up to a 30-second segment from over a million participating songs on iTunes and easily sync them onto their iPhone. Once a customer has purchased a participating song from iTunes, including previously purchased participating songs, it will only cost 99 cents to make up to a 30-second segment of that song into a ringtone and easily sync it onto their iPhone. Customers can personalize their ringtones by choosing which portion of the song they want to use, and setting custom fade in and fade out points. iPhone users can assign a custom ringtone to be their default ringtone and they can also assign them to individual callers in their address book. Customers still have full use of the originally purchased song.

iTunes 7.4 released - Apple today also released the next generation of the world?s most popular music and video jukebox, iTunes 7.4, now available as a free download at http://www.iTunes.com. iTunes 7.4 includes a larger viewing area for movies and TV, filling the entire iTunes window for a richer, seamless video playback experience that looks better than ever. You can now rate entire albums as well as individual songs.

 Apple and Starbucks Announce Music Partnership - 

Wirelessly Find and Buy Music at Starbucks -   Apple and Starbucks today announced an exclusive partnership that lets customers wirelessly
browse, search for, preview, buy and download music from the iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store at Starbucks onto their iPod touch, iPhone or PC or Mac running iTunes while at a participating location. When a customer enters a participating location, their device will automatically recognize the iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store using a high-speed Wi-Fi wireless network with no connection fee or hotspot login. Customers will be able to browse, search and freely preview millions of songs, including a new ?Now Playing? service which displays the name of the song playing in the Starbucks store at that moment, then easily buy and download songs or albums directly to their device. Prices and selection on the iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store are the same as on the regular iTunes Store. The service will make its debut at more than 600 Starbucks company-operated locations in New York and Seattle on October 2. After its debut in New York and Seattle on October 2, the iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store will continue its national rollout to 350 Starbucks stores in the San Francisco Bay area on November 7; 500 stores in Los Angeles in early February 2008; 300 stores in Chicago in March 2008; and additional markets throughout the US later in 2008.

Apple Sets iPhone Price at $399 for This Holiday Season - 

Apple today announced that it is on track to sell its one millionth iPhone before the end of September, and to make iPhone affordable for even more customers this holiday season, it is lowering the price of the most popular iPhone model with 8GB of storage from $599 to just $399.

Source: Apple press releases 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

Late last year, the U.S. Copyright Office ruled that users can legally unlock their phone in order to use it on a competing carrier?s network. Phillip Torrone from Make Magazine posted an article last week touching on this subject.

This is a grab from this Copyright Office Document.

So, what is the hold up? What legal battles does iphonesimfree.com face?

OK, so it *is* legal to unlock your iPhone, but should you? Will future updates disable the unlocked phone? We have hackers smart enough to break the lock, I am sure Apple has hackers working on their side too. Do they care? Who knows, I am sure ATT has to care.

What do you think?

Here is one kid that is thankful he worked hard on his love for technology. George Hotz is the 17-year-old who unlocked the iPhone and he is now working for CertiCell.  They were the company that ended up giving him a Nissan 350Z and 3 iPhones for his unlocked iPhone.  He was a very happy Camper  hacker!

George was the first to unlock and iPhone so it can work with GSM networks especially the European networks. Hotz teach his new employers how to unlock the iPhone. Terry Daidone of CertiCell said ?We do not have any plans on the table right now to commercialize Mr. Hotz? discovery. However, we are keenly interested in having Mr. Hotz assist our engineers in developing solutions to other software related challenges including software updating, re-flashing and memory elimination of repaired and or refurbished cellular handsets?

Nice going kid!!

via iPhone Alley

Initial story of Holtz getting the Nissan 350Z and the three iPhones posted here on Mobilitysite on Saturday

Geohot, the guy that showed you his unlocked iPhone in this video,  put that iPhone up on ebay. According to Crunchgear, it was up to $3,000 when they posted their story, but now it shows ~ $500 and closed due to seller posting error. If you want a shot at it again, keep your eyes open, but I doubt it will be relisted. He either sold it for some sick amount to someone and took his listing down or someone ?upstairs? sent some legal hounds out to shut it down.

UPDATE: Ebay made him take down the auction. Additionally, he traded it to someone for a Nissan 350z and 3 iPhones. Wow

Terry Daidone, the founder of Certicell contacted me this morning, and offered to make a trade for the iPhone. I traded it for a sweet Nissan 350Z and 3 8GB iPhones. I will be sending the iPhones, unlocked if they wish, to jpetrie(the first donater), gray(the reversing genius), and iProof(who is truly amazing at finding stuff online) Thanks a lot everyone. I leave for college tomorrow, and this has been a great end to a great summer. If I ever do anything more with the iPhone, it?ll definitely be posted here. Also I contacted iphonesimfree and offered to verify on this blog their claims of a software unlock. No response yet?

Extra $3G Lying Around? You Could Have an Unlocked iPhone!