The iPhone is an amazing device that simplifies previously clumsy mobile features in an elegant package. But if you want to dive past Apple’s sparse instruction manual, and especially if you’re looking to hack your phone, you’ll need to learn a few terms.

 

3G: The fast wireless network used by the new iPhone 3G. Speeds range from 700k per second to 1.5Mbit/sec, but availability is usually restricted to urban centers.

 

A-GPS: Assisted GPS. When the data from a GPS satellite isn’t enough, as when someone is indoors or surrounded by large buildings, A-GPS cross-references local cell towers for coordinates in order to pinpoint a user’s location.

 

 Accelerometer: An instrument built into the iPhone which detects movement and compensates appropriately. For example, when you turn your iPhone onto its side and Safari moves accordingly, that’s the accelerometer in action. Ditto when your fire up PhoneSaber and start making lightsaber sounds by swinging your phone around.

 

App Store: The official Apple repository of third-party software for the iPhone 3G. The App Store was launched along with the iPhone 3G and has extended the device from a phone and media player into a powerful mobile computing platform. Though many programs cost between $0.99 and $9.99, plenty of excellent free apps are also available on the App Store.

 

ARM Processor: The brains of the iPhone. Also known as the Advanced RISC Machine processor, ARM was used in the Newton, as well as in the Game Boy Advance, mobile phones from Sony Ericsson, Nokia phones such as the N95, and most recently, the iPhone.

 
Aspen Simulator: Utility included within the iPhone SDK that allows developers to emulate an iPhone from within their computer, so they can test their Web apps, native apps, and how their mobile layout will look and function without having to push the app to an iPhone. 

 
Baseband: The area of the iPhone’s firmware memory used by the radio chip. The baseband has usually been the toughest component to hack and modify.  

 

Bluetooth 2.0+EDR: Bluetooth is a wireless protocol which allows devices to talk to one another over short ranges. EDR refers to Enhanced Data Rate, meaning data will move faster between similarly enabled devices. Primarily used for peripherals, on the iPhone Bluetooth enables the use of wireless headsets. But the iPhone’s Bluetooth capabilities are crippled, since you can’t sync over Bluetooth, use the network to tether your phone to the computer, and Apple doesn’t yet support A2DP, a protocol that lets you use wireless Bluetooth stereo headphones.

 

DFU: Device Firmware Upgrade. If you’re going to load custom firmware onto the iPhone, you’ll have to put the phone into DFU mode in order to “restore” your phone to your desired settings without iTunes taking control. DFU mode boots the iPhone up without the iPhone OS loading. To put the iPhone into DFU mode:

1. Open iTunes and connect the iPhone,
2. Hold the Home and Sleep/Wake buttons at the same time for 10 seconds until the iPhone shuts down. If the Apple logo appears, you need to start over.
3. Release the Sleep/Wake button but continue holding the Home Button for approximately seven more seconds. iTunes will inform you that the iPhone is in Restore mode. The iPhone screen should be blank.

From there, you can install your own firmware by clicking the Restore button while holding down the Option key, then browsing for your firmware file. This mode is helpful if you've jailbroken your iPhone and you need to virginize it for the latest Apple-approved firmware. Note: Once you are in DFU mode, you can't exit from this mode without a restore of the firmware.

 

EDGE: The data network used by AT&T. EDGE is widespread, but at speeds 150kbit to 200kbit per second in ideal settings, it isn’t very fast.

 

Geotagging: The practice of adding metadata to a geographic location. For instance, when you bookmark a page in the Google Maps app on your iPhone, you’re geotagging. Apps, including the Camera app, will also geotag photos taken on the iPhone, so they can be identified by location once uploaded to services like Flickr or SmugMug.

 

 

GPRS: General Packet Service Radio. Not quite 3G or EDGE, GPRS offers decent but not zippy data transfer on a GSM data network. GPRS is the foundation which EDGE is built upon. It provides data rates from 56kbit up to 114kbit per second.

 

GPS: Global Positioning System. Originally a creation of the military, GPS consists of a series of satellites in orbit able to pinpoint one’s position on the ground with high accuracy. GPS soon migrated to consumer devices such as in-car navigation. The price of GPS has plummeted recently, making it possible for your iPhone to tell you where you are and how to get to where you’re going.

 

Jailbreak: Jailbreaking an iPhone means altering its OS via hacking to allow the running of third-party applications that haven’t been approved by Apple. Examples of such apps would include a VOIP program that runs over the 3G network, game emulators, or programs that allow you to examine and change the internal workings of the phone, like OpenSSH. Jailbreaking is accomplished using various tools including ZiPhone and Pwnage Tool.

 

Infineon BGA736 (Tri-Band HSDPA LNA): The radio that allows the iPhone to access high-speed 3G networks....and drain your battery in half the time of the old iPhone.

 

Installer: A program on jailbroken iPhones that installs third-party programs. Installer also catalogues the latest third-party phones for jailbroken phones.

 

iPhone Dev Team: The creators of Pwnage Tool, a program that unlocks and jailbreaks first-gen iPhones, and jailbreaks, but does not unlock, the iPhone 3G.

 

 

iPhone Dev Team Elite: The original iPhone Dev Team split up and formed into two groups, but has since reunited with the jokingly termed “iPhone Dev Team Elite.” into one cohesive hacking partnership. This group is best known for the AnySIM unlocking program.

 

Multi-Touch: Interface system that allows users to interact with a device through touch, while recognizing more than one touch point at a time. When you ”pinch” or expand a webpage or picture on your iPhone, you’re using multi-touch.

 

Push: A feature announced for the iPhone that will allow mail and other data to be “pushed” onto the phone from external servers, similar to how mail works on a BlackBerry. MobileMe is another component of this push initiative, as is the ability to use the function with third-party apps. Apple doesn’t allow apps to work in the background, so “pushing” IM messages, for example, to the phone works around that issue.

 

Quad Band GSM: The ability to access multiple frequency bands on your phone, which enables roaming capability in more countries with varying GSM networks. The iPhone is a quad-band device, meaning it can be used practically anywhere in the world where a GSM network is available.

 

Restore/Recovery mode: If you iPhone won't communicate with iTunes and has gone completely insane, Restore mode could be your savior. Restore mode loads the bare minimum iPhone OS, perfect for a reinstall of the firmware. To place your iPhone in Restore mode:

1. Turn off the iPhone.
2. Hold the Home button as you connect the iPhone to your computer.
3. Continue holding the Home button until you see the iTunes/Dock Cable logo instructing you to connect your iPhone to iTunes. 

 

SDK: Software Development Kit. The set of tools supplied by Apple that allow developers to access the inner workings of the iPhone and create third-party applications.

 

SIM Card: The identification card for the iPhone. Without a SIM, the iPhone cannot access the cellular network. Locked iPhones are programmed to only recognize SIM cards from a designated carrier, but an unlocked iPhone will allow any SIM card that works on a GSM network to be used as that phone’s “hall pass” to access the network.

 

SpringBoard: The SpringBoard is the application within the iPhone that manages changes on the iPhone’s home screen. For instance, when you press down on icons to make them “jiggly” and move them around, that’s the SpringBoard in action. The SpringBoard also allows users to make Web Clips for their favorite sites and Web applications, which appear on the iPhone home screen as a button.

 

Summerboard: Summerboard is a third-party application for jailbroken iPhones which allows users to load modified themes onto the device. Given Apple’s strict adherence to their own user interface guidelines, it’s unlikely this feature will ever appear on unmodified iPhones.

 

Unlock: Unlocking your phone refers to changing its internal software so it can be used with with any GSM carrier. Once a phone is unlocked, it can be used anywhere in the world by popping a local SIM into the phone. Unlocking your phone will void the warranty, so proceed at your own risk.

 

Visual Voicemail: An interface for your voicemail that allows you to pick and choose which mail to listen to, similar to how you answer your email, instead of having to listen to your voicemail in sequence, as most voicemail systems require.

 

Web App: A program that runs remotely on a website. Before announcing third-party apps on the iPhone, Steve Jobs stated that Web apps would be the way iPhone users could extend the functionality of the device. Though there are many excellent Web apps available (like the Amazon interface for the iPhone), using a Web app depends on being connected to the internet and so has limited functionality.

 

Web Clip: An icon on the iPhone home screen that takes the user to a designated webpage. When bookmarking a site in Mobile Safari, users have the option of creating a Web Clip.

 

Zibri: Creator of ZiPhone, a potent unlocking tool for first-gen iPhones. Zibri is hard at work on a 3G unlock, though a peek at his blog indicates continued drama between himself and the iPhone Dev Team.

 

ZiPhone: Another unlocking solution for the iPhone. The developer, Zibri, is currently working on unlocking the iPhone 3G.