Mac|Life iPhone 3.0 RSS Feed

3.1 Software Update Could Fix Wi-Fi and Battery Issues

JC Domingo — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 12:58:21 -0500

Since the 3.0 software release last month, many users have posted on the Apple Discussions board that Wi-Fi signal strength has decreased and, in some circumstances, an iPhone can't log in to hotsopts forcing users to rely on EDGE and 3G connections for internet connections. MacNN reports that users can be within feet of a hotspot and not be able to retrieve a connection. Resetting either the device or the router seems to resolves the issue.

In addition, the current software could be the primary reason for some unusually heavy battery drain RapidRepair CEO Aaron Vronko said in an iPodNN article. The iPhone 3G may drain in two hours, and the first-generation iPhone can barely last a day on standby.

Even though many users are in desperate need for a change in their phones’ software, the 3.1 beta is still available only to developers, and no release date has been confirmed. Downgrading to the previous version has been suggested to solve some current issues.

iPhone OS 3.1 Beta Enhances Features

Arvind Srinivasan — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 11:55:13 -0500

Forget the buzz surrounding iPhone OS 3.0. That’s old news now. After some developers messed around with the beta release of the 3.1 OS, they reported some exciting feature enhancements. Of course, all these reports violate the developer's NDA, some people are just Chatty Cathys. The iPhone Blog is reporting that the 3.1 OS beta supports:

- Voice Control over Bluetooth
- MMS support for AT&T (This doesn’t mean you can use it yet, but merely that AT&T can flip the switch and have it work)
- Improvements to OpenGL and Quartz
- Non Destructive Video Editing (Giving you the option to “save as copy” after trimming videos on your iPhone)
- APIs to allow third party apps to access and edit videos
- Updated modem firmware

Chances are, at least one of these features excites you a little, but don’t get ahead of yourself. There is no release date yet for the 3.1 beta, and there will probably be a few minor updates (3.01, 3.02, etc.) before this one is pushed out the door. We shall wait patiently.

iPhone Users Devour Data from Apple's Servers

Arvind Srinivasan — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 12:57:15 -0500

There are big numbers, and there are BIG numbers. The amount of data downloaded from Apple’s servers during the iPhone OS 3.0 launch would fall in the latter category.

CNET reports that Apple served 1.3 petabytes, or 1.3 million gigabytes, in a period of 5 days. Of course, this is nothing in comparison to heavyweights like Hulu and Youtube that host huge HD video files, but is an impressive feat nonetheless. A load like that, though, would have made the server rooms responsible for the hosting hotter than a sauna on the equator during July. Which would serve as some explanation for the delays encountered during the launch.

What $55 per Month Will Buy, Other Than (Possibly) iPhone Tethering

Susie Ochs — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 14:04:13 -0500

If the recent rumors are true and AT&T does plan to offer iPhone customers a tethering plan for $55 per month, people will have some decisions to make. Tethering or electricity? Tethering or something shiny from QVC? To help you decide, we've compiled an uncomprehensive list of items $55 a month will buy...

You could ride the buses, light rail lines, and historic cable cars of San Francisco to your heart's content with a MUNI Fast Pass, which will be $55 per month starting this July (up from $45, which it's been since I moved here).

A bottle of Bling Bubbly Sparkling White Grape Juice, not counting shipping or tax. Nonalcoholic toasts all around!

The 3.06GHz 24-inch iMac with a 1TB hard drive and 4GB of tasty, tasty RAM (retail value $2,199) can be purchased from Apple.com for payments as low as $50/month with financing from Juniper.

The Nibbler's Bonanza gift box of delicious old-world sausage, Wisconsin cheese, and other treats from Usinger's, the best sausage company in America. (This includes shipping from Milwaukee to me here in California, which requires dry ice and speedy FedEx guys. Godspeed, sausage products!)

A lovely bouquet of tulips from FTD for your wife, mother, or school lunch lady. Flowers every month?! Every woman's dream.

You could watch 200-plus channels of satellite TV, including HD service and a DVR, with the DirecTV Choice Xtra + HD DVR package, just $54.99 per month for the first year.

If you saved that $55/month for the whole year, you'd have $660, which is enough for this fly pair of Jimmy Choo Peep-Toe d'Orsay heels, or one-year Mac|Life subscriptions for you and your 32 best friends. (And even more if you subscribe via Amazon!)

A delicious 750mL bottle of Lapis Reposado Tequila, because one really killer hangover per month builds character.

2 dozen TaylorMade golf balls from Walmart.com, because it's hard to find those suckers in the woods.

A brand-new pair of black Levi's 501 jeans, even if they're not on sale. Get a new pair every month and you'll never have to wash your jeans again. Unless you wear them to a bonfire party. Then they'll smell like smoke.

11 $5 footlongs from Subway. That's two entire workweeks of lunches, plus a bonus sandwich to store in the glove compartment for emergencies!

What would YOU buy?

Rumor: AT&T Will Charge $55/month for Tethering

Susie Ochs — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 11:29:09 -0500

How much would you pay to use your iPhone as a wireless modem, sharing its 3G network connection with your MacBook so you can get online with a nice big screen and actual keyboard? How about $55?

Appmodo reports that AT&T plans to offer tethering toward the end of July, according to a source inside the company. But it'll be steep at $55 per month. The source also claimed that MMS service would arrive in mid July, which is a little more specific than the "later this summer" still on AT&T's official iPhone page.

The MMS news, if true, is fine. AT&T has already said it doesn't plan to nickel and dime users by charging extra for MMS -- if you pay for text messages on your plan, MMS is included in that.

To put it in perspective, $55 per month is more than I pay for my home Internet service, which is used every day without fail, often for hours and hours. Since I've had NetShare (a tethering app that was briefly offered in the App Store before being pulled) on my iPhone, I've used it five times. Five times in a little less than a year. Of course, the official tethering service from Apple and AT&T would be a smoother experience, so perhaps I would use it more, but enough to justify $55 per month, on top of my regular iPhone bill? Probably not.

The best solution, in my opinion, would be an a la carte option, where you could buy a day pass, or even a week pass, for a reasonable fee. It's very unlikely many iPhone users would rely on tethering as their go-to method for getting their MacBooks online, so it doesn't make sense to charge them like they are. Especially since they've already figured out how to do it, albeit unofficially, for free.

What do you think AT&T should do? How much would you be willing to pay for tethering? Comment away while we wait for the official word from everyone's favorite iPhone carrier.

Unofficial iPhone Tethering is Easier Than Ever

Arvind Srinivasan — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 13:53:34 -0500

Are you an iPhone user? Does your patience with AT&T and its lack of tethering get your goat? Well, here's your chance to bring tethering to your iPhone without official support.

Richard Lai has come up with the easiest way to tether your iPhone's internet connection to your computer, as promised by Apple, but delayed by AT&T. This "hack" doesn't involve the Terminal, or even your Mac. It's all done with the iPhone.

Simply navigate on your iPhone to: http://help.benm.at/help.php. Once there, download the MobileConfig file for your carrier. Choose the country your carrier is in, then choose the carrier your iPhone is subscribed to. For the United States, most folks will choose AT&T, but if you plan on unlocking your iPhone on Friday, you can choose T Mobile. The process does requires iPhone OS 3.0.

After the install, on your iPhone, go to Settings > General > Network > Internet Tethering, and enable tethering. Then, plug your iPhone in, and you are ready to go. We're not sure about the legal implications of this method, but we tested it out for you, loyal readers. Click through the gallery below to see how it works for yourself. Previously, users had complained that Visual Voicemail stopped working after tethering, but we experienced no such problems.

Of course, AT&T will probably nuke this method before the end of the week, but think of the extra pain you caused the upper management.

Disclaimer: Tethering your iPhone without the proper data plan probably violates your carrier's contract, and you should definitely back up your iPhone before doing this, just in case anything happens. Don't say we didn't warn you!

AT&T to Offer MMS for Free on Text Bundles

Christine Chan — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 00:27:59 -0500

Even though iPhone OS 3.0 will be out Wednesday and provides support for MMS and tethering, AT&T won't have either of these ready this week. No, AT&T will have MMS ready "later this summer", and no official word on tethering.

While this fiasco may seem to make AT&T look bad to many iPhone users, at least they won't be charging extra for MMS once it is ready. Those that already have a text messaging bundle will not be charged any extra fees to send and receive MMS. MMS will just be another message taken out of the allowed allotment of your plan (unless you go unlimited).

So there is no concern anymore for those that thought there will be insane fees in addition to regular text messaging. If one does not have a text plan, then the MMS will cost money, but it shouldn't be more than the standard pay-per-message for all other phones.

iPhone 3.0 Update Launches June 17

Zack Stern — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 15:36:18 -0500

The iPhone 3.0 software update will be released on June 17; all iPhone customers will be able to download it for free. Both generations of iPod touch owners will be able to get it for $9.95. iPhone developers can download the golden master version today.

At the WWDC keynote, Scott Forstall covered most of the same ground as the previous iPhone 3.0 software demo, showing off push notifications, peer-to-peer Bluetooth support, paid downloadable content, Spotlight search across email and other text, and more. But he introduced a few features that we hadn't yet seen.

- Parental controls now support movies, TV shows, and apps. Hopefully, given those app ratings, Apple can ease off its role as morality police, and the App Store approval process will open up further.

- Find My iPhone, coupled with a MobileMe subscription, tracks down your lost phone. It can show you the location, play an alert sound or message on the phone, and even remotely wipe all the data if it's lost for good.

- Among other software demos, TomTom announced a GPS turn-by-turn driving package, which will be sold this Summer.

- The 3.0 software adds tethering a data connection over USB or Bluetooth, so that you can get a laptop online through the phone.

- This feature requires carrier support... and AT&T hasn't yet joined that party.

- Safari improvements let it read HTML 5, stream audio and video, and autofill fields with passwords or other data.

All together, the presentation lacked many surprises, although we're able to finally able to put a date on our excitement: June 17.