Antenna-aid; A Solution To Apple's iPhone 4 Antenna Boo-Boo

As many of us await the free bumpers and cases that Steve Jobs promised us, other companies are looking to take advantage of the situation. A new product has risen, dubbed Antenna-aid and you guessed it, its a band-aid for your iPhone 4 that claims to help prevent signal loss. Much like Consumer Report's suggestion of just using a piece of tape, this is a somewhat innovative idea that tries to get a laugh out of the situation. You can get different colors and you pay $4.99 for 6 band-aids. It isn't free like the bumpers and other cases promised by Jobs but you don't have to wait. Many people have been hopping the bandwagon for the product as well. As for us, we think we'll be waiting for the cases. What do you guys think? Drop us a comment with your opinion.

Adobe's FlashTime Allows Peer-To-Peer Video Calls On Android

Despite Apple's attempt to hinder Adobe, the company is still out and about - this time they released a little demo software of FlashTime, which allows peer-to-peer calls on the Android platform. Built using the upcoming Air 2.5, this peer-to-peer video chat client uses your smartphone's camera to get direct visual communication going with your fellow Android fan. Android users already have other options, such as Fring, to do the same exact thing but the main point is that you can do just about anything with Flash and since it's Flash, it is easy to port around to other platforms. Adobe's Mark Doherty did mention that there are no plans to release the client just yet and that the name "FlashTime" is just a placeholder for now. If we didn't know any better, we'd say they are jabbing at Apple's FaceTime feature, flaunting that the very same Flash software that Jobs said is going to get outdated soon can handle the same features that Apple has been boasting about. Check out the FlashTime demo below:

Apple Pulls Bumper Cases Off The Shelves; Pending Giveaway

As announced on Friday, Apple is planning to provide free iPhone 4 cases (bumper cases and other models yet to be announced) to all the folks who purchased iPhone 4 and future customers, from now through September 30, 2010. Also, anyone who bought a Bumper already is due to get a refund.

Apple has since removed the bumper cases from the store shelves and the online store to prevent people from paying for something they are entitled to get for free. Multiple sources have reported that the online Apple Store had dropped the Bumpers to a price of $0 and marked them out of stock, and both Different District and iLounge are noting the absence of Bumpers from the retail stores as well.

No details yet on the refund/application setup for free cases, but it's expected that Apple will post instructions on apple.com later this week.

Stay tuned for more info on the topic by following us on Twitter and/or subscribing to our RSS feeds.

Dev Team Reports Apple Has Started 'Soft' SHSH Blob Checks

iPhone Dev Team has just reported that with iOS 4 or higher, Apple has started putting ‘soft’ SHSH blob checks in the firmware. What does this mean? It means that - like iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS, if iTunes can’t get the SHSH blobs for iPhone 3G or iPod Touch 2nd generation (due to signing window being closed), the iTunes restore will error out.

According to Dev Team, soft SHSH blob check can be easily bypassed by using Redsn0w, PwnageTool and Sn0wbreeze.

Cydia has also started saving the SHSH blobs for iPhone 3G and iPod Touch 2G. Check the how to guide posted here.

Dev Team reports:

Those of you with jailbroken iPhone3G and ipt2G devices may now have noticed Cydia starting to save your SHSH blobs too, just like it does for iPhone3GS, ipt3G and later devices. That’s because starting with 4.0, Apple started putting a “soft” SHSH blob check in the firmware. The SHSH blob check is very real in the sense that if iTunes can’t get your blobs (because the Apple signing window has closed), the iTunes restore will error out. But it’s “soft” in the sense that those devices can always use redsn0w or PwnageTool to get past the error (the bootroms themselves for those devices don’t require blobs to be in the firmware files, unlike the newer bootroms). Furthermore, since the 3.x IPSWs for these devices don’t enforce it, you can always restore to 3.x IPSWs outside of any signing windows.

So, Cydia is doing this to allow you to continue to use iTunes to restore to 4.x on iPhone3G and ipt2g outside of Apple’s signing window without needing to use redsn0w or PwnageTool to get around Apple’s annoying new restriction.\

You can also backup your SHSH blobs locally by using TinyUmbrella, which can be found here.

Stay tuned for more news and info by following us on Twitter and/or subscribing to our RSS feeds.

iTunes 9.2.1 Released; Brings Bug Fixes And New features

Warning: Jailbreakers must stay away from iTunes 9.2.1 until further notice.

A new version of iTunes just arrived in Software Update. iTunes 9.2.1 to be exact. According to the update, the new version disables older versions of incompatible third-party plugins, addresses minor issues regarding dragging and dropping items, addresses a performance issue when doing a first sync to some devices, addresses an issue upgrading to iOS 4 on an iPhone or iPod Touch with encrypted backups, and fixes some stability and performance issues.

The new features and improvements include syncing with the iPhone 4, synchronization, and reading books on the iPhone or iPod Touch with iOS 4 and iBooks 1.1, organizing and syncing PDF documents as books for reading in iBooks 1.1, organizing apps on your iOS 4 home screens using iTunes, faster backups while syncing iPhone and iPod Touch with iOS 4, and album artwork improvements to make artwork appear more quickly when exploring the library.

More information about the security aspects of the update can be obtained from Apple's Support page.

HTC Droid Incredible To Get Android 2.2 Froyo Update Soon

We just recently received a tip about the HTC Droid Incredible software update that many users are probably waiting to hear about. An email from HTC sent in as a tip mentioned the following information:

I wanted to pass along that the upcoming Incredible MR will also include Froyo (originally it was going to be two separate MRs).

We are targeting the end of the month/first part of August. As a reminder, below are the highlights:

• Froyo


• 802.11 n


• 3G Mobile Hot Spot


• HTC Widget: Email


• HTC Widget: News


• EAS Updates


• 720p Video Recording


• Amazon MP3


• Skype


• My Verizon

The email confirms the much anticipated Incredible update that began rolling out this weekend will most likely be stopped and a much better and improved Froyo-inclusive update will be pushed out in the coming weeks. The update will also include 802.11n Wi-Fi support, 3G Mobile Hot Spot, 720p recording, and more. All pretty good new for Incredible owners. How do you feel about th delayed update? Is Android 2.2 worth the few weeks of waiting? Let us know in the comments below.

Morotola Droid X Privacy Issues Emerge

If you are one of the people who bought the new Motorola DROID X you bought one rock solid handset but we've been informed of a privacy flaw that the phone has. The Motorola DROID X will actually show text message and call history logs, even if you have deleted these items from the phone, via its contacts history function. It is never a good thing to find out that your new gadget has a vicious security hole revealing some potentially embarassing or confidential material that you would rather keep from others. All you have to do is scroll over to contact history in the contacts app and you'll find the deleted information there. The issue disappears after an entier phone wipe but its still disconcerting that any threaded text message conversation or recent calls will still show up after deletion.

You can check out a quick run through in the video below. After placing a call to Verizon to investigate further the company mentioned that they are aware of and are working on the fix. They did mention that this is visible on other Motorola handsets and it looks like it's tied to the Motorola BLUR's interface.

If you are one of the unfortunate victims of this security hole whether it is a DROID X phone or a different Android model, tell us about your experience below.

Alternate Method To Unlock iPhone 4 With UltraSn0w Revealed

The iPhone 4 has been unlocked with UltraSn0w yet again using another method out of the three ways the iPhone Dev Team has to implement the iPhone 4 unlock exploit. MuscleNerd has shared an unlocked iPhone 4 screenshot. Previously, Planetbeing succeeded in implementing the first way of the unlock. For those of you who don't already know both MuscleNerd and Planetbeing have been working on an iPhone 4 unlock for a few weeks now. They found an exploit to unlock the iPhone 4 and they plan on using 3 ways to take advantage of the loop hole to inject the baseband unlock. Planetbeing has already unlocked the iPhone 4 using one of the 3 ways (which can be found in his video here) and now MuscleNerd has implemented the unlock using the second way. They'll release the one which is more stable, fast and easy.c

This is what MuscleNerd has tweeted:

Yay, got the 2nd of 3 ideas working. http://is.gd/dxTwO <- my ultrasn0w’d iPhone4. Now @planetbeing and I can compare

Here’s the screenshot of unlocked iPhone 4 he shared:

The iPhone 4 userland Spirit Jailbreak is almost ready as well. We'll keep you posted on any news and info about the iPhone 4 unlock and jailbreak.

Stay tuned to us for more jailbreak/unlock news and info. by following us on Twitter and/or subscribing to our RSS feeds.

Alternate Method To Unlock iPhone 4 With UltraSn0w Revealed

The iPhone 4 has been unlocked with UltraSn0w yet again using another method out of the three ways the iPhone Dev Team has to implement the iPhone 4 unlock exploit. MuscleNerd has shared an unlocked iPhone 4 screenshot. Previously, Planetbeing succeeded in implementing the first way of the unlock. For those of you who don't already know both MuscleNerd and Planetbeing have been working on an iPhone 4 unlock for a few weeks now. They found an exploit to unlock the iPhone 4 and they plan on using 3 ways to take advantage of the loop hole to inject the baseband unlock. Planetbeing has already unlocked the iPhone 4 using one of the 3 ways (which can be found in his video here) and now MuscleNerd has implemented the unlock using the second way. They'll release the one which is more stable, fast and easy.

This is what MuscleNerd has tweeted:

Yay, got the 2nd of 3 ideas working. http://is.gd/dxTwO <- my ultrasn0w’d iPhone4. Now @planetbeing and I can compare

Here’s the screenshot of unlocked iPhone 4 he shared:

The iPhone 4 userland Spirit Jailbreak is almost ready as well. We'll keep you posted on any news and info about the iPhone 4 unlock and jailbreak.

Stay tuned to us for more jailbreak/unlock news and info. by following us on Twitter and/or subscribing to our RSS feeds.

Zagg's InvisibleSHIELD Cases Seem To Fix iPhone 4's Antenna Issue

As we are all aware of the iPhone 4's antenna issue, and the fix recommended by Steve Job's himself is to put bumpers/cases to resolve the issue. Folks over at ZAGG stated - that they have conducted extensive testing to determine if our products can help this problem, including internal tests, independent lab tests, and research with consumers in the wireless industry.

The test is clear in the video - "Packets go all over the place" when they don't cover up the antenna spot, then stop entirely when they do. Packets resume going "all over the place" once they release the spot. When the invisibleSHIELD is applied, one can touch the questionable antenna area all they want, but transmission seems to be unaffected.

Of course, you can wait for Apple to setup and start giving out free bumpers/cases or you can get a side-only version of the invisibleSHIELD for just $10, which is a pretty decent solution to the antenna issue, seeing as the shield is clear and fairly unobtrusive. A full front and back solution will cost you $25. Or, you can get a vinyl one with designs on it. [Zagg]

Let us know which bumper/case you pick out and your experience with it of course in the comments below.

Stay tuned for more info on the topic by following us on Twitter and/or subscribing to our RSS feeds.

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