Turn Your iPod Touch Into an iPhone 4G

Another fine article from the folks at LifeHacker.com
The latest iPhone and iPod touch are nearly identical devices, ignoring the pesky reality that the latter isn't a phone. We can fix that. Here's how to turn your iPod touch into a viable (and cheaper) iPhone alternative out of the box.

Back in the day, turning your iPod touch into an iPhone required a jailbreak, but now, thanks to some wonderful apps and other tools, using your iPod touch as an iPhone alternative is a piece of cake.

The iPhone and iPod touch have always been similar devices, but now that Apple's added a front-facing and regular camera to the iPod touch, they're practically identical. You can even make video calls on both devices. The only real missing feature is the phone. Thanks to VoIP (Voice over IP) apps like Skype and Line2 (see more details below), you don't even need to jailbreak to solve that problem.

Although it's easier than ever to use your iPod touch as a full-fledged iPhone, there's still a little work involved. You'll need the right apps and potentially some extra hardware. Let's take a look at your options and how you can work around the shortcomings of an iPod touch-turned-iPhone.

What You'll Need

What you need is actually kind of obvious, but here's a quick overview:

• An iPod touch - We'll be concentrating on the latest (4G) hardware, but in most cases this guide will be applicable to any iPod touch.
• A VoIP App - We've already mentioned Skype and Line2, but we'll take a look at additional options
• A Constant Wi-Fi Connection - If you're looking to have a fancy home phone, your home Wi-Fi network will do just fine. We're going to take it a little further, however, and take a look at actually using your iPod touch no matter where you go.
• Extra: An iPod-compatible Headset - Because the iPod touch isn't supposed to be a phone, you'll want to make sure you have a headset unless you don't mind always talking on speakerphone. Apple only includes earbuds, so you'll have to go out and buy a pair (of Apple's or anyones, Bluetooth or wired). While you can technically use newer iPod touches without a headset, it's not designed to be a phone and a headset will make everything much better.

Once you've got it all, it's time to get started. Here's a quick list of what we're going to cover in case you want to jump to a particular section:

1. Getting Phone and SMS Service
2. Maintaining Constant Connectivity
3. Other Options (Jailbreaking, etc.)
4. Is It Worth It? Pros and Cons

Getting Phone and SMS Service

Your iPod touch isn't meant to have phone service, but thanks to a number of ambitious software developers, you have a few options for making Wi-Fi calls on your iPhone. The most obvious choice is Skype, but there are better options. Here's a look at a few, including what we think works best.

Great for International Calling: Skype

The great thing about Skype: You can make free calls to other Skype users. While maybe not the best overall phone substitute, you can utilize Skype's more limited VoIP features for absolutely no money. Costs come in when you want a real phone number people can dial, or you want to call out, but it really works the best when you're going Skype-to-Skype. In my tests, reliability varied quite a bit. When Skype maintained a call, the quality was quite good. Strangely, despite offering Skype plenty of bandwidth, I'd sometimes cut out during calls and not realize it and others would become tinny and incomprehensible without any network issues. This remained consistent on various Wi-Fi networks. Although it happened more often when calling an actual phone number, the problem still occurred with other Skype users. When Skype works well, however, it works very well, but without consistent results it's hard to recommend it as your primary phone application. Also, while Skype can handle text messaging just fine, it is a little expensive ($0.112 per message at the time of this writing). Since the app is free, however, it's certainly worth installing on your iPod touch as a no-risk option.

Skype via the iTunes App Store

Most Versatile: Fring

Fring was the first-to-market app with various features like VoIP calling, video chat over 3G, and more. What's great about Fring is that it works with all kinds of communication tools you probably already use. Got a GTalk account? Great! It'll work. Do you subscribe to a service that uses SIP (Session Initiation Protocol, or more basically a protocol that makes two-way communication possible)? You're covered! While Fring won't offer you SMS text messages, you can communicate through several instant messaging services (AIM, MSN, ICQ, etc.) as well as social networks (Twitter and Facebook). Call quality is pretty good, and if you have a SIP account you can actually use it as a phone app. The nice thing about Fring is that it gives you a lot of choice. What you pay depends on the services you choose. Although your needs will dictate whether it's the right "phone" app for you and your iPod touch, it's certainly a usable option.

Fring via the iTunes App Store

Best Option: Line2

Line2 is designed to be a complete phone application, and it delivers. The app itself is free to download and try, but after 30 days you'll need to pay $10/month. This might sound like a lot, but you're provided with unlimited calling in the US and Canada, as well as unlimited text messages. (Text messages work great, and the SMS app looks a little nicer even than the iPhone's default Messages app.) Compared to an iPhone plan, you're saving a ton of money. When you sign up for Line2, you'll get a number in any of their available area codes. If the area code you want is not available, you can always switch later when they add it. You can even port an existing number if you're ready to make that jump. Line2 also lets you forward calls to other numbers when you're not available or would just rather send the call elsewhere. Whenever someone calls, you have the option of hitting the Forward button. Currently Line2 needs to be running, at least in the background, in order to notify you of incoming calls (which it does very nicely). If you do not have Line2 running, calls will be forwarded automatically (or sent to voicemail). It would be awesome if the app could send a push notification when it's not running, but backgrounding Line2 is an easy enough way to make sure your calls come in. Quitting it is also a nice way to avoid receiving a phone call. Overall, you get everything you really need out of phone service with Line2. Paying $10 a month is pretty reasonable if it's not in addition to your existing phone bill.

Line2 via the iTunes App Store

The Bottom Line

It's really not a bad idea to download each of these apps, as every one is free. While Line2 is our pick for best phone service and text messaging, if you need to make a cheap call outside of North America (or you simply do not live in North America), you'll want to have Skype. Fring is also useful for making various free calls through virtually any alternative service and provides you with social networking, so under the right circumstances it might be a better phone app for you. Regardless, it's good to have all three. They each have their own advantages and having them all will ensure you'll be able to make any kind of phone call for hardly any money.

Maintaining Constant Connectivity

If you're only using your iPod touch as a home phone, your home Wi-Fi network is really sufficient for handling any incoming calls. If you want to use your iPod touch as a phone outside of your house, however, you really only have two options. The first is accepting that you're at the mercy of free Wi-Fi and that phone calls are only going to come in when you're connected. On the plus side, pretty much everywhere you would want to receive a phone call has free Wi-Fi these days (at least in the US, anyway). On the downside, chances are your car isn't Wi-Fi-enabled. If you need to be able to make and receive calls from your car, a deserted parking lot, when you're out camping, or any location where Wi-Fi signals won't reach, you're going to need some sort of cellular data plan.

If you need constant connectivity, the easiest option is to subscribe for a data plan with a mobile hotspot, which will run you about $60 a month for 5GB (or unlimited, depending on the carrier) of data. Sprint offers the Overdrive, which (in some areas) can provide you with a 4G signal, and Verizon has their very popular MiFi (which only offers 3G). We're going to look at using the Verizon MiFi with the iPod touch in some real-world situations to see how it stacks up to true iPhone service.

Wait, why is this better?

$10 a month seems pretty reasonable for just Line2 phone service, but if you want contant connectivity, throwing in $70/month for the Verizon MiFi is a lot. How exactly is this better than just buying an iPhone? Well, if you get the cheapest, most limited plan the iPhone offers it's not—you'd actually be spending $10 more by getting a MiFi and using Line2 on your iPod touch. If you get AT&T's unlimited plan for iPhone, however, you'd save $45 per month by using a MiFi and Line2 on your iPod touch. Here's the breakdown:

(Click to enlarge.)

(Click to enlarge.)

If you don't use your iPhone that much and can stick to the bare minimum, this might not be worth it for you. If you need all the power of an unlimited plan but don't want to spend $115, pairing a cellular data hotspot with your iPod touch and using Line2 could be a great alternative. Let's take a look how this configuration worked in real-world scenarios.

Making Calls

Line2 was our app of choice for making 3G VoIP calls on the iPod touch. As a test, I drove from Pasadena to Hollywood, covering areas with both little and heavy traffic (which is about a 90 minute drive for those of you who aren't familiar with a standard Los Angeles Sunday afternoon). While not a scientific test, this provided a bunch of different situations to gauge how the MiFi handled making a VoIP call while moving long distances at various speeds. I spent some time on the highway, some time on the street, some time not moving at all, and ended up walking around outside for a few blocks as well. Basically, I tested out a variety of situations in which you'd enlist the MiFi for calls.

How did it perform? Both better and worse than an iPhone on AT&T.

The first two things I noticed about making VoIP calls over 3G: the call quality was much better than an iPhone call (it's really a beautiful thing), but call lag was a little more prominent than it would be if the call was placed on a real iPhone. Dropped calls happened about as much as you'd expect from an iPhone, although they weren't quite as graceful. Where the iPhone notifies you (with three beeps) when a call is dropped, the iPod touch (using Line2) just pretended the call was still active even though the call had been lost. This isn't great when you're in a car because it requires that you look at the screen. On the other hand, the signal was only ever lost on the highway (whereas with an iPhone, in Los Angeles, it can happen virtually anywhere). When I wasn't roaming around as much, there were times where I couldn't hear the friend I was talking to and he couldn't hear me, but unlike an iPhone, the iPod touch (using Line2 and the Verizon MiFi) recovered in a few seconds and continued to work just fine.

The bottom line? For me, the iPod touch with a cellular data hot spot works about as well as an iPhone, and even better when you're not driving over large distances.

Other Considerations

There are three other things to worry about when using a cellular data hotspot as your means of connecting and calling: how data performs, battery life, and pocket-ability.

When connected to the MiFi, data performance on the iPod touch was excellent. It provided speeds that were as fast or faster than AT&T's network. More importantly, decent speed and connectivity was much more consistent. AT&T's network didn't always respond in some areas, but the MiFi performed admirably anywhere it went.

Battery life, however, is a bit of a problem. The iPod touch will last you all day and then some, but the MiFi will not. If you're lucky, you'll get four hours out of the MiFi before it quits on you, and a little over three is more likely. On the plus side, you can purchase an extended battery to give you a day's worth of use, but that'll set you back an extra $100 and add a bit of bulk to the wonderfully slim MiFi. If you primarily use the MiFi in your car, however, you can always charge it with a USB adapter for your car's power port.

Another downside to using a MiFi for your connectivity is that you have to carry around and charge two devices. The advantage of having your connection separated from the iPod touch is that you can leave the iPod touch in your pocket and place the MiFi elsewhere, allowing you to get a better signal without having to adjust your position. The MiFi (with the standard battery) is also ridiculously slim. Combined with an iPod touch, they're about as thick as an iPhone in a case. This isn't necessarily the most elegant solution, and it's not without it's problems, but all of these sacrifices can save you a lot of money on your monthly cellphone bill, so they're worth some consideration.

Other Options

Using any of the great VoIP apps now available for iOS is definitely the easiest way to add phone service to your iPod touch, but it isn't the only way to do it.

Jailbreaking

Our original iPod touch to iPhone conversion required jailbreaking, and if you're looking for more control, jailbreaking's still a good option. Siphon SIP/VoIP, a jailbreak app installable via Cydia, is still the way to go. It's able to be integrated more closely with the OS than just a regular app (like previously mentioned Fring, it's non-jailbreak competitor) and, as a result, tends to perform a bit faster. If you're cool with jailbreaking your iPod touch and have a SIP provider you want to use to make calls, Siphon is a good way to get that done.

The Apple Peel 520

The Apple Peel 520 is a Chinese-made device (just like your iPod touch!) that adds 3G data capabilities to your iPod touch. It also doubles as a padded case. You just snap in your iPod touch and use an existing data plan to get the job done. While it's not yet available anywhere but China, GoSolarUSA plans to bring the Apple Peel 520 to the United States. While using this device does require a jailbreak, it's as close as you'll get to truly turning your iPod touch into and iPhone.

Is It Worth It? Pros and Cons

Now that you know your options, the question is really this: is it worth it? Let's break it down:

Pros

• You save a ton of money over paying for an iPhone (or any newer smartphone, really), whether you get a 3G data plan or not.
• Dropped calls are about as frequent as they are on an iPhone.
• Headset features work exactly the same as they do on the iPhone, so the experience feels very similar.
• The high-end iPod touch offers twice the storage as the high-end iPhone (64GB vs. 32GB).
• The iPod touch, bereft of a 3G radio, gets better battery life.
• If you get a cellular data hotspot (like the Verizon MiFi), you can keep your iPod touch in your pocket while placing the MiFi elsewhere for a better signal.
• A lack of cellular reception in your home is completely irrelevant since you can place your calls over Wi-Fi.

Cons

• Despite being pretty close, phone features are not quite as seamless on the iPod touch as they are on the iPhone.
• Dropped calls are not as obvious as they are on an iPhone, so it's not very easy to tell when you've lost someone without looking at the screen (bad for the car).
• The iPod touch isn't built with the intention you'll use it as a phone, so you need to purchase a headset for it to really shine.
• The iPod touch doesn't provide a GPS, so you will need to purchase an external GPS unit at an addition cost if you want to use it as a navigation device in your car (although you could try relying on Wi-Fi signal triangulation).
• The iPod touch's camera isn't nearly as good as the iPhone 4's.
• If you want to make calls using a cellular data hotspot (like the Verizon MiFi), you have to carry around two devices.
• If you use a cellular data hotspot, its battery life is pretty poor (only up to four hours). While you can get an extended battery for your hotspot that'll last the day, it'll cost you around $100.

Whether or not you're ready to turn your iPod touch into an iPhone, it's encouraging to see how far our options have come. What used to be a pretty in-depth process is now as simple as making good use of the right apps. If you can't afford an iPhone contract or just don't want to, your iPod touch is now a worthy contender.

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Have you turned your iPod touch into an iPhone and have some great tips to share? Let's hear 'em in the comments!

Send an email to Adam Dachis, the author of this post, at adachis@lifehacker.com.

Source: http://lifehacker.com/5636976/how-to-turn-your-ipod-touch-into-an-iphone-4g-edition?skyline=true&s=i

Run Android on Your Windows Mobile Phone

Interested in Android but think you need to buy a new phone to try it out? Actually, your Windows Mobile phone may already have the capability of running Android. Today we show you how and the type of phone you’ll need.

Installing Android

To run Android you will need a microSD card that is not SDHC (typically a card less than 2GB) and a supported Windows Mobile phone (see below). You can check your microSD card compatibility by looking at the card to see if it shows the “HC” label.

The microSD card will need to be formatted in FAT32. Plug the microSD card into the computer and right click on it and choose format.

Note: Formatting a microSD drive will erase everything on that drive. Make sure you have any important files backed up before you format it.

Now that the microSD card is formatted, the first step to installing Android is finding the right Android port for your phone (see below). You will need to find the port that works on your phone as well as the version of Android you want to run. Versions start at 1.0 but typically you will find ports for version 1.6 or 2.1.

Once you have found the right port for your phone and Android version you want to use, extract the files to a folder using 7-zip.

After the files have extracted there should be a folder called “andboot”. Go into the andboot folder and there will be another folder called “startup config” or “startup”. Open this folder and you will need to find the right startup.txt file for your phone. Inside each folder will be a single “startup.txt” file. Copy the file for your phone model to the root of the andboot folder. This file will tell Android what type of hardware you have, how big your screen is, how much RAM your phone has etc. so it is very important to choose the right file. If you are confused on what these phone names are please read below on finding your phone model.

Once you have moved the correct startup.txt file to the andboot folder, copy the entire andboot folder to the root of your newly formatted microSD card.

Plug the microSD card back in the phone and open the file browser on your phone and browse to the memory card. Make sure the phone is plugged into power before the next few steps because on some phones running on battery may cause the phone to hang.

Open the andboot folder and run haret.exe. If the right startup.txt file is in the root of the andboot folder you should be able to click “Run” and you will get a quick loading screen while haret turns off Windows Mobile and starts up Android.

You should get some scrolling text and probably a nice Android logo while the phone boots up the first time.

Note: The first boot is going to take a considerably longer time than subsequent boots. and you may need to calibrate your screen during the boot process so make sure you keep an eye on it.

Once the basic Linux settings are done your new “Android” phone will boot to a welcome screen so you can walk through the rest of the settings like setting up your email account.

Tip: If you are running Android on a phone that does not have an active data plan but does have wifi, you can get around the startup screen by tapping on the welcome screen in this order: top left corner, top right corner, bottom right corner, bottom left corner then tap the Android logo. You can then enable wifi and join a network and set up your gmail account manually.

It is usually recommended that you leave your phone alone while it syncs your information for at least 10 minutes. Once the initial syncing is done the phone should start running faster and you can play around with installing apps. If you don’t wait for the phone to fully sync you may have problems with apps crashing prematurely and a force close dialog popping up.

Change any settings and install any apps you want, they will be saved to your memory card and ready on next boot. All phones that run Android from the microSD card will automatically boot Windows Mobile when the phone restarts. To run Android again, just open the file browser and run haret.exe again.

Android Ports

There are a few different Android ports for Windows Mobile devices and each one supports a different family of device; each family of device has a varying amount of hardware support. Most phones will support the touch screen, hardware buttons, cell phone radio, and data connection, but some ports may not support bluetooth, GPS, or power management. This is not a complete list of Android ports available, but it should cover the most popular Windows Mobile phones.

Almost all Android development on Windows Mobile phones started with the development on theHTC Touch (also known as the HTC Vogue and the Verizon xv6900). The HTC Touch has 100% of the hardware features working and even some features that were not available in official Windows Mobile ROMs. One of the main differences between Android for the Touch and Android for every other phone is the Touch allows for Android to be flashed to the phone’s ROM (NAND memory). This was a big break through for Android development and has increased battery life and speed greatly. Running Android on the Touch can be done following the steps above but it is recommended to run Android by flashing the phones NAND memory. To learn how to do that, start at the Android Touch FAQ thread at XDA-Developers.

Android ports for the HTC Touch can also be used on the following phones with varying success.

• HTC Nike (Neon)
• HTC Polaris (Touch Cruise)
• HTC Kaiser (TyTN II)
• HTC Titan (Mogul, xv6800)

Note: HTC phones all have proper names that come from HTC and in many cases each carrier will give the phone its own branding and rename the phone to something else. For example, the HTC Titan was called the Mogul on Sprint and the xv6800 on Verizon. To find the Android port for your phone, start by finding the proper HTC name of your device. Start on HTC’s site to discover your device’s official name.

XDAndroid supports the most popular touch screen HTC Windows Mobile phones and if you bought a touch screen HTC Windows Mobile phone within the past year, most likely this port will support your phone. XDAndroid runs directly from the phones microSD memory card on the following phones:

• Touch Pro (Fuze, RAPH, RAPH800, RAPH500)
• Touch Diamond (DIAMOND, DIAM500)
• Touch HD (BLACKSTONE)
• GSM Touch Pro2 (TILT2,RHODIUM, RHOD400, RHOD500)
• GSM Touch Diamond2 (TOPAZ)

Andromnia is an Android port for Samsung devices. Currently this port is in the pre-alpha stages and things like the headset speaker does not work. But if you want to test it out it supports the following phones:

• Samsung i900 (GSM, supported worldwide)
• Samsung i910 (CDMA, used by Verizon in the US)
• Samsung i780 (Mirage)
• Samsung i907 (AT&T Epix)

Wing Linux isn’t as quickly developed as XDAndroid but should get the job done if your phone isn’t supported by any other port. Wing Linux supports the following phones to varying degrees:

• HTC Artemis
• HTC Elf, HTC Elfin
• HTC Excalibur, T-Mobile Dash
• HTC Gene, HTC P3400
• HTC Herald, T-Mobile Wing
• HTC Opal, HTC Touch Viva
• HTC Pharos
• HTC Prophet
• HTC Startrek
• HTC Wizard
• Asus P320, Galaxi Mini

You may also want to look at threads for the following phones to check the status of Android on these phones.

Sony Xperia 1

HTC Leo (HD2)

Extra links

If you still can’t find what you are looking for I recommend checking out these links for more information.

XDA-Developers forum

PPCGeeks forum

Connect-UTB

HTC Linux

Source: http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/20703/run-android-on-your-windows-mobile-phone/

How To Unlock an iPhone

A step-by-step guide to unlocking the iPhone's SIM card and making it available to other cell carriers' networks.

Cyrus Farivar,Friday, September 14, 2007 05:00 PM PDT, PCWORLD

If you're one of the million people who've purchased an iPhone since the end of June, you probably signed up with Apple's exclusive carrier in the U.S., AT&T, when you activated your phone. That means your iPhone identifies itself to AT&T's network using an AT&T SIM card, a smart card that's located in a small tray between your iPhone's sleep/wake button and its recessed headphone jack.

But what if you're planning a trip to Europe and rather than paying AT&T to use the networks of its European partners, you want to take advantage of the favorable rates and local phone numbers offered by replacing your AT&T SIM card with a pre-paid European card? Or what if you'd prefer to use T-Mobile as your cellular provider, rather than AT&T?

In the past month several groups have announced that they've found a way to "unlock" the iPhone, allowing it to use a SIM card from any provider. (Keep in mind that this is only half the story: the iPhone uses the GSM radio band for its communications, meaning that it'll only work with providers that use the GSM network. In the U.S., that means T-Mobile and AT&T.)


In August, a group of hackers demonstrated a method for unlocking SIM cards and sold its software to resellers, who in turn began selling it to the public for as much as $100 last week.
But another group has came up with its own hack that, with the help of some free, open-source software, lets you unlock your iPhone in about an hour, free of charge. Below, I'll show you how it works - and it does work, because I've used this technique to unlock my own phone. (One important caveat: Certain AT&T-only features, such as Visual Voicemail, will not work when you're connected to other cellular networks.)


Before we get started, you'll want to disable the iTunes helper application that may get in the way of the installation. Make sure iTunes is not running, then open OS X's Activity Monitor in the Utilities folder of the Applications folder. Search for or scroll down to iTunes Helper, select it, and then click on the Quit Process button in the top left of the screen. You'll also need your iPhone, your data cable, and a Wi-Fi connection to the Internet.
(If you haven't already activated your iPhone with AT&T-and aren't planning to-you need to conduct a fake activation. To do this, you'll need to follow the excellent instructions at ModMyiPhone and download and install a program called iNdependence.)

Install AppTapp

Apple doesn't support the installation of third-party applications on the iPhone, but the enterprising developers at NullRiver have created a program called AppTapp that will let you install including chat clients, games, and other pieces of software - including those that are needed to unlock your iPhone. (For more detailed instructions on using AppTapp, see our iPhone Hacking Kit.)
Download and install AppTapp. Once you run the program, the first thing it will do is ask what version of the firmware you're running. If you've just updated your iPhone, you probably have Firmware 1.0.2-select that and click on Continue.
Assuming all goes well, you should get a screen that begins with the words: "Congratulations! You have successfully installed AppTapp Installer onto your iPhone." You should then find a new application on the iPhone's home screen called Installer.


The next instructions will require downloading some applications from the Internet to your iPhone-so make sure your iPhone is connected to a WiFi network. Launch the Installer program, and you'll see a long list of various applications that you can install. Scroll down, then select and install-in order-Community Sources, BSD Subsystem and OpenSSH.

Perform the GSM Unlock

First, download and install Unlock.app, lockdownd, and Cyberduck.
Then go to the iPhone's General settings and set Auto-Lock to Never. Next, you'll need to get your iPhone's IP address on your local network. To do this, go to Settings: Wi-Fi and click on the blue arrow next to the network that you're connected too. Write down the IP address, as you'll need it for later.


Now, open Cyberduck and click on the Open Connection button in the top left of the window. In the connection window, type the IP address that you just noted. Make sure that SFTP (SSH Secure File Transfer) is selected, and that you are using Port 22. For the username, type root, with the password of dottie.


Once connected, navigate from /private/var/root to the main directory by choosing the / item. Next, navigate to /usr/libexec and drag the file named lockdownd (the one you downloaded earlier) into it. It will ask if you want to overwrite the existing file-click on Continue to do so.


Now, in Cyberduck, drag the Unlock file from the Mac's desktop into the /Applications folder at the top of the main window. Once that's done, turn off your iPhone and remove the SIM card, then turn your iPhone back on and choose the application on your iPhone called Unlock.
Assuming everything went smoothly, there should be a white screen that says "All files found. Ready to go. Press Start." Once you press start, it will take about 20 minutes for all the files to install.


The progress messages will appear at the top of the screen as it progress-once you see "Completed" then you're finished. Insert a new SIM card of your choosing into your iPhone. Congratulations, you've just unlocked your iPhone!
(If you're planning on using a T-Mobile SIM card in your iPhone, you'll want to modify the iPhone's settings. Follow the instructions at the bottom of the ModMyiPhone tutorial to make sure the settings you enter conform to your T-Mobile data plan.)

The aftermath

One Macworld editor tried this approach - minus the faux-activation step - on his iPhone and was able to insert a T-Mobile SIM card from a co-worker and get the iPhone up and running on the T-Mobile network, as if it were her phone.
(To swap SIM cards in your iPhone, insert an unfolded paper clip into the small hole in the top of the iPhone, next to the headphone jack. This will open the iPhone's SIM card slot, allowing you to remove your AT&T card and replace it with a different one.)


We don't know if future Apple iPhone updates will break this functionality. But if you're about to embark on a European vacation, or if you avoid downloading those iPhone updates, this method will allow you to use the SIM cards of other cellular providers in your iPhone, provided that those providers also use the GSM cellular radio frequencies.
[Cyrus Farivar writes for MacUser, The Economist, National Public Radio, Slate, and others. He is proudly using his new iPhone on T-Mobile's network in Oakland, California.]

1998-2010, PCWorld Communications, Inc.

The First 10 Steps to Modding the iPhone

The First 10 Steps to Modding the iPhone

Warning

There are some things you should know before you perform anything on this site. There is obviously some risk involved here, but everyone I know of has been able to restore their iPhone by using iTunes. I’ve heard no report of anyone damaging their iPhone by modding it.

• This site is not for those uncomfortable around computers, and especially the command line or Terminal. If you aren’t sure about something on here, then I recommend stopping what you are doing and hooking up your iPhone to iTunes and signing up for a contract with AT&T.
• You risk voiding your warranty.
• Any modifications you perform on your iPhone, including bypassing activation, will be reset if you should install a firmware update provided by Apple. It’s a matter of redoing everything you previously did to get your iPhone back the way you had it once you update.
• Read the instructions in their entirety. Do not read into the instructions, follow only what is there. If you can’t follow directions, you may may damage your phone requiring a replacement from Apple.
• I am not responsible for your results if they are less than what you expected. You assume all risks. I recommend seeking help in iPhone hacking forums or in the irc room. Check my links page to find them.
• If you have not activated your iPhone via AT&T, then you will lose the ability to use your YouTube icon following the instructions on this site. This ability may be restored by the hacker community, or if you should decide to restore your phone via iTunes and sign up for a service contract with AT&T.
• If you have not activated your iPhone via AT&T, then you will not have visual voicemail or YouTube access unless there is another iPhone that is properly activated via AT&T in your family plan.
• If you have not activated your iPhone via AT&T, I have noticed Yahoo mail does not work with the iPhone in a modded state. This may apply to all other mail access like Gmail .mac, AOL et cetera.

The reason I made this page is because sometimes instructions get pretty lengthy and they don’t need to be. When I posted my first tutorial on here there were, and still are, 10 steps that must be performed before you can perform your first mod on the iPhone, at least according to the way I write.

Every time I wrote a tutorial about a new mod, I always started it off by repeating those 10 steps. In an effort to keep the page length down, and the reader happy, I’ve decided to not post those introductory steps on future tutorials. Once you perform these 10 steps, you won’t have to again. So if you should happen to read any tutorials of mine and are surprised when they start off at step 11 instead of 1, you’ll know why. I’ll provide a link to this page from the tutorial.

So here they are, “The 10 Steps”

Step 1.

Make sure your iPhone is docked and charged.

Step 2.

From iTunes, make sure you have a backup of your phone and all settings (if you want to keep them). Simply connect the iPhone to your computer and iTunes will sync your iPhone. Automatically backed-up information includes text messages, notes, call history, contact favorites, sound settings, widget settings, certain network settings, and other preferences.

Step 3.

Press CTRL ALT DEL which will open up the Windows Task Manager. Click on the “Processes” tab and ensure both iTunes.exe and iTunesHelper.exe are not running. If they are, then highlight their names one at a time and click the “End Process” button.

Just click Yes at the pop up warning.

Step 4.

Make sure the iPhone is on.

Step 5.

Create a folder called phonedmg at your root (C:\) level. Click the “Start” button then click “Run…”.

Type: cmd and click the “OK” button.

You are now using what Windows calls the command shell. Type: cd\ then press enter/return. You should see the C:\> prompt.

Type: mkdir phonedmg then press enter/return.

Step 6.

Download the software restore file from Apple. Click here. Once the file is downloaded, most browsers may automatically decompress the file and leave a folder called iPhone1,1_1 on your desktop. If your browser did not do this, and you have an .ipsw file instead, then rename the extension to .zip and decompress it yourself.

Note: do not place newer firmware files in this folder! Use the file from the link I have provided.

To rename the file you can just click on the file once, and then once again (do this slowly) and the name of the file will become editable showing you its full name.

If the file does not end in “.ipsw”, you’ll have to turn on file extension display by going to the Tools menu -> Folder Options -> View tab -> and then uncheck the box for “Hide extensions for known file types” then click the “Apply” button.

Right-click the iPhone update file and choose “Rename”. Give it the “.zip” extension and press enter, and confirm that you want to change the extension.

Click “Yes” at the pop up warning screen.

Now double-click the file to open its contents. Extract the contents to the phonedmg folder.

Step 7.

Place the software restore files you downloaded from Apple (the iPhone1,1_1 folder) into the phonedmg folder. Do not place the whole folder in here, just what’s in the folder.

Step 8.

Download the “Jailbreak” program here. Put this file into the phonedmg folder.

Step 9.

Download the iPhoneInterface (v 0.3.3) program here. Put this file into the phonedmg folder.

Step 10.

Download the iTunesMobileDevice.dll from here. Put this file into the phonedmg folder. You have now completed all the initial preparatory steps needed to mod the iPhone. You will never have to repeat these steps, provided you do not delete anything in the phonedmg folder.

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Source: http://www.iphone-hacks.com/iphone-tutorials/the-first-10-steps-to-modding-the-iphone/

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Untethered Jailbreak for iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch

Spirit – Untethered Jailbreak for iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch

Posted by Noskire, May 3, 2010

Awesome! Those of you that’ve been waiting for a Jailbreak for the iPad and an untethered jailbreak for the iPhone and iPod Touch — it’s here — no more waiting on Geohot. That’s right — Spirit is here to satisfy those needs. Spirit jailbreaks all current devices: iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch on firmwares 3.1.2, 3.1.3, or 3.2. Spirit, however, is not a carrier unlock tool — it only jailbreaks said devices.

    Requirements

        * Any iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch on firmware 3.1.2, 3.1.3, or 3.2.

        * An activated device: one not stuck on the Connect to iTunes or Emergency Call screen.

        * Any version of iTunes 9 (including 9.1.1).

        * Syncing with iTunes before trying this highly recommended.

Note: On iPad, all this is still sort of beta. Some packages in Cydia, not designed for iPad, might screw up your system and require you to restore. Be careful.

Download Spirit:
Spirit Jailbreak for Windows Download
Spirit Jailbreak for Mac OS X Download

- source: spiritjb.com

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