NTP shows fall 2007 lawsuit fashions, sues AT&T, Sprint, Verizon
Filed under: Cellphones, HandheldsRemember those crazy sons of guns at patent holding firm NTP that ended up working RIM for a shade over $612 million? They’re back at it, throwing lawsuits at AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon — that’s three of the States’ four national carriers, in case you’re keeping count — for alleged infringements of eight patents involving mobile email. The firm seems to be something of a one-trick pony seeing how mobile email was the issue at hand with RIM and later with Palm; for a company that does nothing but sue other companies, two-thirds of a billion dollars seems like a plenty healthy bank account, but heck, what do we know? At this point, we’re assuming that once they’re done suing every company that’s ever offered, used, or mentioned “mobile” and “email” in the same sentence, we’ll finally be able to put this issue to rest — but until that day comes, watch your back, folks, because NTP’s back on the prowl.Update: Silly us for thinking NTP wouldn’t just go ahead and make it a nice, round four! T-Mobile’s been caught up in the suit, too, with its Sidekick services specifically called out (among others) for infringement of NTP’s email patents.[Via Phone Scoop] Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsOffice Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!
Source: cellphones.engadget.com
iPhone SIM unlock giveaway: round 2
Filed under: Announcements, CellphonesiPhoneSIMfree’s finally launched, and the crew that software unlocked the iPhone has hooked us up with five iPhone unlocks to give away to you, our faithful, iPhone obsessed readers. We’ll be giving one away each day of the week this week. Here’s how it works.Details about the unlock Bring your own iPhone. We’re not supplying the device, just the unlock. You must send us your iPhone’s IMEI; you can’t resell the unlock. If we don’t receive your IMEI in a timely manner, we may award the unlock to someone else. We will not be offering tech support on the unlock. Once you’ve got it, it’s out of our hands, ok? We do not make any guarantees about the unlock. We’re not guaranteeing that it will work when your phone gets the next Apple update later this month, that it will work with your SIM or your carrier, or even that it will work on your phone. We’re not even going to guarantee you won’t end up with a bricked phone. We’re just handing it off to the winner, the end. The other regular rules (yeah, there are always rules): Leave a comment below. That’s it! Who loves you, baby. You may only enter this specific giveaway once. If you enter this giveaway more than once you’ll be automatically disqualified, etc. (Yes, we have robots that thoroughly check to ensure fairness.) In other words, be careful when commenting and if you submit more than once, only activate one comment, ok? If you enter more than once, only activate one comment. This is pretty self explanatory. Contest is open to anyone worldwide! Duh. Winner will be chosen randomly. Entries can be submitted for the next 24 hours. After that we’ll move on to the next iPhone unlock. Good luck! Permalink | Email this | CommentsOffice Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!
Source: cellphones.engadget.com
iPhone SIM unlock open source code, application released!
Filed under: Cellphones digg_url = ‘http://digg.com/apple/iPhone_SIM_unlock_open_source_code_released’; We’ve got it fresh from the people who engineered this piece, people; hacker Zappaz and his crew have released an early, dirty, uncompiled version of their proof of concept iPhone SIM unlock source code. Hit the link and check it out — we just suggest that unless you’re a serious hacker you not use it yourself (yet) until the kinks are worked out.Update: iPhone Dev Wiki is reporting that another compiled unlock solution has appeared, called iUnlock, developed by the iPhone Dev Team with credit to Zappaz. We’ve yet to verify that either solution works, but the iUnlock software appears to be in a more complete state. More up here. Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsOffice Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!
Source: cellphones.engadget.com
Don’t worry, iPhone hackers: Apple doesn’t hate you
Filed under: Cellphones It’s really an ethical dilemma for the ages. On one hand, you love your shiny new Apple toy so much, you just have to hack in new functionality, on the other hand you can’t bear to think that the mighty Steve Jobs thinks ill of you and your hacker ways. Well now you can finally put those fears to rest, because Apple’s Greg Joswiak has officially confirmed a “neutral” stance on the iPhone hacking issue. That is to say, Apple doesn’t plan to maliciously attempt to break native, third-party applications in forthcoming firmware updates, but at the same time Apple won’t go out of its way to ensure those updates don’t break third-party applications accidentally, and certainly isn’t offering support to the hackers of any kind. We’d say it’s a step above “frenemy,” but not quite to the point where Steve’ll be demoing Jailbreak at his next keynote. Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsOffice Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!
Source: cellphones.engadget.com
First free, open, GUI iPhone unlock software tested: it works!
Filed under: Cellphones digg_url = ‘http://digg.com/gadgets/First_free_open_GUI_iPhone_unlock_software_tested_it_works’; HaRRo over on the iPhone Dev Team has already upped the ante — just hours after releasing the first free, open source iPhone SIM unlock software, he’s already got an early beta version of the graphical one-click iPhone-based software cooking. We tested out an early build (sorry folks, it’s not quite ready for release yet) and can confirm that despite the visual glitches you see above, it’s already a fully functional one-click unlock solution, not different from IPSF’s paid unlock software. Unfortunately, you still have to actually get the app onto the phone and go through the faux-activation process with your SIM afterward (and re-enable YouTube, if you so choose), but this is the first major step in automating the process of quickly and easily unlocking everybody’s iPhone. More information — including the final build of the GUI unlock — will be posted as it comes to HaRRo’s iPhone unlock site (hit the read link). Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsOffice Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!
Source: cellphones.engadget.com
New Treo 500 pics surface showing off color schemes, back and side views
Filed under: Cellphones Sure, we know the actual event is only a few hours away, but can you ever really see too many pre-release photos of a new mobile phone… especially when it’s this much of a let-down? That’s right folks, feast your sparkling eye-socket-fillers on these new Treo 500 pictures, featuring both variations of the monochromatic, totally mediocre color-schemes that Palm has cooked up. We don’t know where our friends in the Netherlands got these pics, or why the white version’s keyboard is blurred out like a still from a Paris Hilton “video,” but we do know some things, namely: the camera and speaker placement on the backs have changed ever-so-slightly; these phones are thinner, but not that thin; and… these designs look straight out of 1999. Look, we know you’re trying guys, but you’re going to have to do better than a BlackJack-aping, Windows Mobile almost-ran to win our hardened hearts back.[Thanks, Lenny] Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsOffice Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!
Source: cellphones.engadget.com
Vodafone signs Omnifone’s MusicStation service for UK
Filed under: Cellphones, Portable AudioSo Vodafone made another little announcement during the unveiling of their iPhone-less Christmas lineup: an exclusive Omnifone music service deal for our more cultured, special British friends. The all-you-can-eat, MusicStation subscription download service will cost punters a weekly tithe of £1.99 (about $4.03) — an investment which turns to dust once you cancel the subscription. Seems Vodafone, an early favorite for a pan-European iPhone exclusive, is now preparing to compete against a rival European iPhone launch with iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store in addition to Nokia’s imminent Music Store. Good luck Voda-Omni-fone, you’ll need it. Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsOffice Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!
Source: cellphones.engadget.com
iPhone SIM unlock giveaway: round 1
Filed under: Announcements, Cellphonesdigg_url = ‘http://digg.com/apple/Engadget_is_giving_away_5_iPhoneSIMfree_unlocks_Try_and_get_yours’;So if you haven’t already heard, today is iPhoneSIMfree launch day, and the crew that software unlocked the iPhone has hooked us up with five iPhone unlocks to give away to you, our faithful, iPhone obsessed readers. We’ll be giving one away each day of the week this week, starting now! Here’s how it works.Details about the unlock Bring your own iPhone. We’re not supplying the device, just the unlock. You must send us your iPhone’s IMEI; you can’t resell the unlock. If we don’t receive your IMEI in a timely manner, we may award the unlock to someone else. We will not be offering tech support on the unlock. Once you’ve got it, it’s out of our hands, ok? We do not make any guarantees about the unlock. We’re not guaranteeing that it will work when your phone gets the next Apple update later this month, that it will work with your SIM or your carrier, or even that it will work on your phone. We’re not even going to guarantee you won’t end up with a bricked phone. We’re just handing it off to the winner, the end. The other regular rules (yeah, there are always rules): Leave a comment below. That’s it! Who loves you, baby. You may only enter this specific giveaway once. If you enter this giveaway more than once you’ll be automatically disqualified, etc. (Yes, we have robots that thoroughly check to ensure fairness.) In other words, be careful when commenting and if you submit more than once, only activate one comment, ok? If you enter more than once, only activate one comment. This is pretty self explanatory. Contest is open to anyone worldwide! Duh. Winner will be chosen randomly. Entries can be submitted for the next 24 hours. After that we’ll move on to the next iPhone unlock. Good luck! Permalink | Email this | CommentsOffice Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!
Source: cellphones.engadget.com
iUnlock released: the first free, open source iPhone SIM unlock software
Filed under: Cellphones digg_url = ‘http://digg.com/apple/iUnlock_released_the_first_free_open_source_iPhone_SIM_unlock_software’; It looks like the battle’s officially over between iPhoneSIMfree and the numerous unique groups of open source hackers trying to software SIM unlock the iPhone. As we’ve been following in our previous post on the topic, earlier this afternoon iUnlock, the first free, open source iPhone SIM unlock app, was released to the underground just 74 days after the iPhone’s release. Developed by the iPhone Dev Team, it’s not (yet) for the faint of heart and it takes a little longer to do its magic than iPhoneSIMfree’s method, but it works. To pull this off you’ll need iUnlock + nor + the .fls file, which is available in ZIPs all over. We’ve got the app here, but this package doesn’t include all of the files necessary. Good list of links here, or try here, here, here, here, and here.For the how-to, just hit up one of those guides down below. Naturally, we offer zero guarantees that any of this will work. (Read: don’t whine to us if your iPhone gets bricked.) Big ups to the iphone.unlock crew, Draken, and, of course, the iPhone Dev Team. Let us know in comments if this technique works for you.Update: We’ve confirmed the hack! Yes, it’s fully restore-resistant, too, which is great news. We’ll get you all the juicy proof in a few, but we have indeed managed to software unlock an iPhone with iUnlock. Also, HaRRo says the app should be out “very soon” to make this easier on the noobs.Update 2: Depending on activation method, YouTube might not be working after the unlock — ours isn’t. This is, of course, expected behavior. There’s a Windows script here that should hopefully fix you up (again, we don’t make any guarantees), but Mac users will have to look elsewhere. Also, alongside the Mac GUI iUnlock app in the works, the iPhone Dev Team is prepping a Windows version, a simple bash script and an iPhone app — and eventually an all-in-one app that can do everything from the Jailbreak to the unlock.Update 3: We’ve posted our terminal output from using the hack after the break. Go ahead. Nerd out. Also, the graphical version isn’t out quiet yet, but we’ve got the first image of it above. Check it out.Update 5: Ok, the graphical unlock app still isn’t yet out, but we’ve tested an early build, and it definitely works! Check it out here.Read – Official unlock guideRead – Unofficial unlock guideContinue reading iUnlock released: the first free, open source iPhone SIM unlock software Permalink | Email this | CommentsOffice Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!
Source: cellphones.engadget.com
Developing: iPhone Dev Team one step away from free unlock?
Filed under: Cellphones digg_url = ‘http://digg.com/apple/iPhone_Dev_Team_one_step_away_from_free_unlock’; Now that iPhoneSIMfree is in the wild, the iPhone Dev Team folks that started all this hackery have been looking to see how the iPhoneSIMfree hack works, and seem to have landed upon the solution. Apparently the thrust of what the iPhoneSIMfree folks figured out was that it’s possible to write / flash to the baseband of the iPhone — the chip that controls the main voice and system functions of the phone. Apparently Geohot resorted to his hardware hack because it was believed this couldn’t be done. Now that the Dev Team people have observed this flashing in action, they’ve launched into writing their very own unlocker using the same method, which will naturally be released free of charge as soon as it’s ready. All signs point to the free, standalone unlocker being ready soon. On a slightly shadier note, there seems to be a parallel effort to emulate the iPhoneSIMfree server that does the unlocking magic for those currently willing to pay for the privilege. If it’s to be believed, the fake server (and free network unlocking) should be ready to go in a matter of hours.Update 1: The iPhoneSIMfreefree folks have apparently tracked down a willing iPhoneSIMfree licensee to test out the new methods, so it seems we’re certainly getting closer to the server spoof method being ready to go.6:27PM EDT: Turns out that license they thought they’d scored fell through, so they’re still on the hunt for a working one to get the server spoof up and running. No real word yet on the standalone software from the Dev Team.6:35PM EDT: On the standalone front, word is “they are in the process of compiling tools that will make a software unlock possible.”7:32PM EDT: Purportedly the Dev Team has their new standalone unlock working and are making calls with a new SIM. At this point the code still needs a lot of cleanup — the unlock takes 20 minutes, much longer than iPhoneSIMfree — and certainly isn’t ready for end users yet, but it does appear to be working according to those in the know. Permalink | Email this | CommentsOffice Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!
Source: cellphones.engadget.com
