Everything You Need to Know About iOS 4.3.3 Jailbreak

Apple released iOS 4.3.3 (4.2.8 for Verizon iPhones) last Wednesday, less than three weeks after the previous software update. The new firmware included a fix for the location tracking file that Apple has gotten into so much water over (is that considered Cider?).

Chances are, most of you didn’t consider 4.3.3 big enough to update from 4.3.2. But with the Verizon iPad 2 problem fixed and the infamous tracking bug patched, we may not see another update until iOS 5 is released. If that’s the case, then this will likely be the last jailbreak for several months, so why not update?

Currently all iDevices that are compatible with Apple’s latest firmware can be jailbroken, excluding the iPad 2. There is still no jailbreak solution for Apple’s latest tablet, but the Dev Team did give us a status update yesterday. For every other device sporting iOS 4.3.3, there are currently 3 ways to get the job done.

RedSn0w, PwnageTool, and Sn0wbreeze have all been patched to support the new iOS update. Each method uses i0n1c‘s untether exploit and Geohot’s bootrom exploit from LimeRa1n, but all 3 are different and have their own benefits. If you need help sorting through all of the information, iDB has you covered.

1. PwnageTool – This software has been around for 3 years. It’s released by the Dev Team, who are widely known in the jailbreak community, but it’s only available for Mac users. However, if you have the option, PwnageTool is highly recommend for unlockers who need to preserve their baseband. It also has some neat options like pre-installing Cydia packages and sources. After PwnageTool jailbreaks the new firmware, you load it onto your device via iTunes. Click here for the tutorial.

2. RedSn0w – This application is also pushed out by the infamous Dev Team, and is available for both Mac and Windows platforms. For folks who don’t need the extra customization options, RedSn0w is your best bet. Once you point it toward the proper firmware, the software takes care of the rest. No need for popping back into iTunes. Click here for the tutorial.

3. Sn0wbreeze – Developed by the young hacker iH8sn0w, this method is currently the only one that supports Verizon iPhones on 4.2.8. Like PwnageTool, it also allows you to preserve your baseband for future unlock capabilities. You can enable custom boot logos as well as hidden multitouch gestures. Also, like PwnageTool, Sn0wbreeze creates a custom IPSW file that you’ll use iTunes to restore with. Although it’s loaded with features, it’s also the one we seem to get the most complaints about. Therefore, it’s not recommended for those looking to simply install Cydia. Click here for the tutorial.

Hopefully that cleared some things up for the curious. Those are currently the only 3 methods available to jailbreak iOS 4.3.3, though the Chronic Dev Team has been rumored to be working on a new version of Greenp0is0n.

Will the Next iPhone Be Called ’4G’?

Will Apple call the next gen iPhone the 4G? Most have been calling the unannounced device the iPhone 5, but recent reports speculate that Apple could end up calling it the 4s (like the 3GS).


AT&T has changed its 4G nomenclature to include devices that previously weren’t fast enough to be considered “4G.” In AT&T’s latest series of marketing campaigns, they have started to call slower devices “4G.” The devices that are referenced by AT&T posses the same speeds as what is expected from the next iPhone.

This is My Next explains the 4G terminology,

“To be very clear, “4G” meant virtually nothing already; it just means less than ever now. Of course, branding is often meaningless and misleading — no surprise there — but in AT&T’s case, it also means that HSPA users are being placed on “4G” data plans that are completely independent of their “3G” equivalents. This isn’t merely a possibility, it’s already happening to everyone that’s got a device with “4G” in its name. And there’s nothing stopping them from pricing these plans differently or offering 4G-specific data buckets down the road. With AT&T’s promise to launch 20 “4G” devices this year, we’re looking at a lot of subscribers — and many of them won’t be on HSPA+ or LTE.”

4G devices originally possessed speeds of up to 21Mbps on T-Mobile’s HSPA+ network, but AT&T has started calling average, 14.4Mbps HSPA devices ’4G’ as well in its marketing.

Handsets like the HPalm Veer 4G and HTC Inspire 4G have been given the 4G title, even though they operate on the same Qualcomm chips as the iPhone.

The next gen iPhone is expected to use the same Qualcomm chip as the current Verizon iPhone, which would make it a dual-mode phone for all U.S. carriers. Verizon’s CFO recently let the cat out of the bag by calling the next iPhone a “global device.”

Because AT&T is already calling devices of the same network caliber as the iPhone “4G,” it stands to reason that the carriers will want Apple’s next smartphone to adopt that naming scheme. Even if Apple refused to call it the iPhone 4G, the device would still be classified as 4G by the carriers.

We’ve had the iPhone 2G, 3G, 3GS, and 4. Apple moved away from the “G” with the latest generation. It’s highly doubtful that they would return to that convention with the next iPhone. Apple has never been the type of company that would allow a carrier to decide on things like product names.
Source:- 9to5Mac

How to Browse Cydia On Your Desktop Computer

Looking for jailbreak apps and tweaks in Cydia can be a very slow and painful process. Cydia usually has to load almost every single user action, and browsing for content can take quite a long time.

Cydia Search is a new resource developed by Planet-iPhones that allows you to search and browse for Cydia content from your desktop computer. With a full set of browsing and navigation options, Cydia Search takes the pain out of using the iPhone to browse for jailbreak content.


Cydia Search is a quick and easy way to read all about the apps/tweaks, etc available through Cydia on a jailbroken iPhone.

You can browse by repos, categories, and top rated/newest packages. When you search for something, the package’s information is available right there in your desktop browser. The description, author, hosted repo, file size, homepage, sponsor, etc. are all quickly available for any package through Cydia Search.

A nifty iPhone frame on the right side of each package’s page in Cydia Search displays screenshots from the package’s iPhone-optimized page in Cydia. These screenshots allow you to read the package’s changelog.

Unfortunately, you can’t see screenshots for packages in Cydia Search.

Cydia has needed a desktop companion for a very, very long time. It’s nice to see some method for browsing the jailbreak store on the desktop. We haven’t heard anything new about Cydia for Mac. Hopefully saurik still plans on developing a new version of Cydia for the desktop.

What do you think of Cydia Search? How can desktop computers and Cydia merge effectively? Hopefully one day we’ll see a full-fledged Cydia store for the Mac.

Apple might buy Nuance after all

In a strange slip up last November, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak said that Apple had purchased Nuance Communications for its Speech recognition technology. Apple, of course hadn’t, but the reason it was such a big deal was because the deal, on many levels, did make sense.

 Nuance is the recognized global leader in speech recognition technology and importantly provides the speech recognition capabilities behind the Siri Artificial Intelligence application that Apple purchased last year (which likely accounts the confusion in Woz’s statements).  Siri is expected to be a huge part of Apple’s iOS 5 which is due to be previewed at WWDC next month.  One significant advantage of Google’s competing AndroidOS over Apple’s iOS is its OS-level integration of speech technologies and the resulting Voice Actions features.


Apple’s acquisition of Siri is seen as a way to not only match Google’s speech recognition but then leapfrog Google with Siri’s Artificial Intelligence (shown below):

 The problem is that Apple doesn’t own the underlying speech technology and if you’ve followed Apple, you know that it likes to own and control the important technology it uses.  We discovered in December (just a month after the Woz slip up) that Apple was hiring all kinds of speech recognition scientists.  But is Apple building its own Speech recognition engine to take on the likes of Google and Nuance?  Probably not.

According to TechCrunch, Apple is significant negotiations with Nuance to either licence the software or even an acquisition of the company.

    Apple has been negotiating a deal with Nuance in recent months, we’ve heard from multiple sources. What does that mean? Well, it could mean an acquisition, but that is looking fairly unlikely at this point, we hear. More likely, it means a partnership that will be vital to both companies and could shape the future of iOS.
At the time of the Woz slip up, the company was valued at $5B (though shares went a little nuts that day, sorry).  Today, Nuance is worth $6B and an acquisition would likely be much more costly.  Apple however has been building up a cash horde for just such an occasion and now has ten times more than Nuance’s value in the bank.

While TechCrunch says a deal is unlikely, a tie-up still makes a lot of sense.  Speech recognition is a core functionality for mobile devices now and even more in the future.  And apparently Siri is playing hardball.

    Nuance CEO Paul Ricci can be as hard of a negotiator as Apple’s own Steve Jobs, we hear. And so there has been a standoff, and negotiations have been ongoing for months.

    Again, from what we’re hearing, all types of possibilities are still on the table, including an acquisition. But again, that’s not as likely as an expansive licensing agreement at this point. In buying Nuance, Apple would immediately screw over several other competitors that use the technology and it would bolster their position. And given what Google has been building, it seems unlikely that the government would have a big problem with the buy.

We’re pretty sure Apple isn’t worried about screwing over Nuance’s other customers and it fels like Nuance CEO Paul Ricci is gunning for a buyout from this information.  But clearly, Apple

With a likely unveiling of iOS 5 next month, a deal of some sort would appear imminent.

Source:- 9to5mac

Apple Negotiating Deal With Nuance for Speech Recognition in iOS 5?

 TechCrunch reports that Apple is rumored to be negotiating some sort of deal with Nuance Communications, the speech recognition company behind the Dragon NaturallySpeaking engine that powers a number of popular applications for Mac OS X, iOS, and other platforms.


Apple has been negotiating a deal with Nuance in recent months, we've heard from multiple sources. What does that mean? Well, it could mean an acquisition, but that is looking fairly unlikely at this point, we hear. More likely, it means a partnership that will be vital to both companies and could shape the future of iOS.

The report notes that Nuance's technology is already used to drive personal assistant software from Siri, a company purchased by Apple last year. Apple has also been said to be preparing to bring a substantial integration of Siri's artificial intelligence and voice control capabilities into iOS 5 presumably set for release later this year.

The other option is for Apple to build the technology themselves. And some recent job postings suggest they may be thinking about that. But to get to where Nuance is today it would take a long, long time. Perhaps more importantly, it's well known in the industry that Nuance holds key patents for their technology and is very aggressive in protecting them. Even Apple would have a hard time dancing around this if they did go it alone.
According to the new report, it is unlikely that Apple is seeking a direct acquisition of Nuance, given the company's $6 billion market capitalization and reports that the company is known for driving a hard bargain, including in negotiations with Apple to keep Siri's services alive after the acquisition, negotiations that have reportedly yet to lead to an agreement.

While an acquisition is still a possibility, a more likely scenario seems to be an expansive licensing deal that would provide Apple with the technology it needs at a substantially lower cost than an acquisition while also giving Apple time to build out its own in-house expertise to potentially replace Nuance at some point down the road.

Conde Nast to Offer In App Subscriptions for iPad

 The flood of news regarding companies rolling out support for in app subscriptions for their magazine content continues today with a report from the New York Post claiming that Conde Nast is set to launch the subscriptions for eight of its titles. The New Yorker is said to be the first to gain the feature, beginning next week.

Conde is expected to make the New Yorker available next week to capitalize on coverage of Osama bin Laden's death.


But by the end of the May, Conde will have the seven other magazines that are currently selling single-copy-only editions on the iPad available via subscriptions, including Wired, Golf Digest, Glamour, Vanity Fair, Self, Allure and GQ.
As part of the rollout, Conde Nast will drop single-issue digital prices to $1.99 from the existing $3.99 and $4.99 price points, and new annual subscriptions will be priced at $19.99. Subscribers to the print editions of the eight Conde Nast magazines available on the iPad should also receive free access to the digital editions.

News of Conde Nast's decision to join the in app subscription program comes just two weeks after reports surfaced claiming that the company was seeking to slow down its plans for iPad magazines amid weak demand. But with Time Inc. testing the waters with free access to iPad editions for existing print subscribers and Hearst Corporation going all in with full subscriptions through the in app subscription system, Conde Nast has apparently come onboard in order to remain competitive, providing Apple with significant momentum for the platform.
Source:-  macrumors

New iMacs Offer 25% Performance Improvement Over Previous Generation

Earlier this week, we pointed to initial benchmarks from Macworld for the new 3.1 GHz 27-inch Mac, finding the new system to be about 16% faster than the high-end standard configuration of the previous generation overall.

Now that the machines have been out for a couple of days, Primate Labs has put together an early report collating the results from users submitting Geekbench 2 results. While not all models of the new iMac are represented in the database yet, initial reports from Geekbench point to an approximately 25% increase in performance over the corresponding models from the previous generation and up to a 70% increase over low-end "Wolfdale" Core 2 Duo iMacs from two generations ago.


While the improvements aren't as dramatic as with the Sandy Bridge MacBook Pros, there's a consistent 25% performance improvement between Sandy Bridge and Lynnfield at both the low-end and the high-end of the iMac model range (and over a 70% improvement between Sandy Bridge and Wolfdale). While this update may not tempt Lynnfield iMac owners into upgrading, it's certainly a compelling upgrade for Wolfdale iMac users.
Geekbench 2 focuses on processor and memory performance, offering direct comparisons of raw power in each machine. Other factors such as video cards and data storage devices also affect system speed but are not addressed in Geekbench's benchmarking metrics.
Source:- macrumors

Apple's Bud Tribble to Testify in Senate Hearing on Mobile Privacy

As noted by All Things Digital, the U.S. Senate has posted a hearing notice for a Judiciary Committee meeting on mobile privacy scheduled for May 10th at 10:00 AM in Washington, DC. According to the witness list included in the notice, Apple's Bud Tribble will be providing testimony during the session, which is entitled "Protecting Mobile Privacy: Your Smartphones, Tablets, Cell Phones and Your Privacy".

The session will begin with a panel featuring representatives from the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice, presumably to give background and set the stage for testimony as the legislators attempt to learn more about how consumer privacy is handled with mobile devices. Tribble will be joined on a second panel by Google's public policy director, Alan Davidson, as well as several other witnesses from public interest groups and trade association/lobbying groups.

Tribble serves as vice president of software technology at Apple and has a long history with the company. He served as manager of the Macintosh development team and oversaw the development of Mac OS, and later joined Steve Jobs to found NeXT. Tribble returned to Apple in early 2002.

The Senate hearing was sparked by concerns over location tracking information publicized for being stored on users' iPhones and Android-based handsets. The hearing was initiated by Senator Al Franken, and Jobs reported soon after that Apple intended to participate in the discussions as requested. Senate officials
confirmed last week that both Apple and Google would be sending representatives to the hearing.
Source:- macrumors

iPad Display Shortages Linked to Light Leakage on LG-Produced Units

DigiTimes reports that LG Display was one of the primary sources of iPad supply issues last quarter, experiencing problems with light leakage on displays produced by its manufacturing lines that scaled back shipments. The issue is said to have been resolved, with display shipments to Apple's assembly partners ramping up this quarter.


. . .Samsung Electronics shipped a total of four million 9.7-inch panels for iPads in the first quarter, outpacing rival LG Display (LGD) as the largest tablet PC panel supplier for Apple, the sources indicated. LGD's iPad panel shipments reached only 3.2 million units in the first quarter.

LGD was forced to reduce its shipments in the first quarter due to light leakage problem for panels produced at its 6G production lines. The company reportedly has fixed the problem and will resume shipment momentum to Apple in the second quarter, said the sources.

Apple reported surprisingly low iPad shipments of only 4.69 million units for the first quarter, and a report from research firm IHS iSuppli late last month blamed the shortages on display quality concerns and speaker production shortfalls.

Apple's supplier of audio chips for its iOS devices, Cirrus Logic, also reported last month that it had experienced manufacturing issues with components for a new product, presumed to be an Apple device and potentially the iPad 2, although the company declined to specify exactly what device was affected by its production issues.
Source:-  macrumors

iPad 2 Launches in China to Long Lines and Sellouts

 iPad 2 line at Apple's Sanlitun retail store in Beijing

Apple yesterday launched the iPad 2 in China, officially bringing its six Wi-Fi capable models (three black and three white) to the country for the first time. M.I.C gadget has an extensive gallery of photos from the launch at Apple's Sanlitun retail store in Beijing, where hundreds of customers waited in line for the 8:00 AM launch and supplies sold out in just four hours.

Final staff briefing before launching the iPad 2 at Sanlitun retail store

Apple also launched sales through its online store in China, debuting with shipping estimates of 1-2 weeks. But even those supplies quickly dried up and the company's online store has stopped taking orders for all six models of the device, simply noting "no supply" as a shipping estimate.

Preparing to open the doors at Sanlitun retail store

Pricing for the new Wi-Fi iPad 2 models in China is set approximately 15% higher than in the United States, with 16 GB models coming in at 3,688 yuan ($568), 32 GB models at 4,488 yuan ($691), and 64 GB models at 5,288 yuan ($814).

Apple has placed considerable focus on building out its presence in China, with the company's four retail stores in the country ranking as the highest-grossing locations in the company's chain of over 300 stores. The company publicly stated in early 2010 that it planned to open up to 25 retail stores in China over the following two years, although the company has reportedly scaled back on the planned number and slowed the development slightly as it has shifted its strategy toward larger, more iconic stores.

Last October, the company opened a Chinese version of its online store as well as a Chinese-language edition of the App Store.

Apple to Move from Intel to ARM Processors in Future Laptops?

SemiAccurate claims to have heard that Apple will be transitioning from Intel processors to ARM processors in the not too distant future.

The short story is that Apple is moving the laptop line, and presumably desktops too, to ARM based chips as soon as possible.
The site seems to believe that the transition will take place after ARM has moved to full 64-bit cores which won't likely be until at least mid-2013.


At that point, Apple can move to ARM without worrying about obsoleting code with an [instruction set architecture] that is on the verge of changing, and no memory overhead worries either. Basically, it looks like the perfect time. Ironically, SemiAccurate’s moles tell us that the boys on infinite loop are planning to move laptops to ARM at about that time. Coincidence? Nope.

Apple has made a heavy investment in the ARM architecture which presently powers their iOS line of products. Apple even made the bold move to take ARM processor design in house with the acquisition P.A. Semi and Intrinsity.

Still, a transition of their Mac line over to a different processor architecture is hard to accept. While Apple did previously succeed in such a transition in the past with the PowerPC to Intel transition, it was not without an incredible amount of engineering to ease the process. Existing Mac applications would be unable to run on the new ARM processors without some sort of emulation layer. Mac applications would have to be recompiled to support the ARM processors.

While ARM is known for their low power processors, last year they announced plans to move into high-performance computing in the future, and has been rumored to moving into the 64-bit space as well.

Codenamed "Eagle," the A15 architecture is ostensibly aimed at netbooks and tablets, but a look at the spec sheet leaves no doubt that ARM is absolutely gunning for the server market that Intel and AMD currently dominate.
SemiAccurate has not been a frequent source of Apple-related rumors, but they do point out they were correct in predicting that Apple would move away from NVIDIA GPUs in their computers.

Report: Apple Looking for New iPhone Ambient Light Sensor Supplier

According to a new report from DigiTimes, Apple is on the lookout for a new supplier for the iPhone ambient light sensor. For those unaware, the ambient light sensor detects the light in the room and alters the screen brightness accordingly. Apple is allegedly unhappy with the current ambient light sensor supplier and has started to explore other suppliers for future iPhones’.

The report states that Apple is currently in talks with two different Taiwan-based companies: Integrated Memory Logic (iML) and Capella Microsystems. Capella is reported to already have shipped out several of its products to Apple for verification. Capella currently provides over one million ambient-light sensors a month to Taiwanese handset manufacturer, HTC.

“Capella, which ships over one million ambient-light sensors to HTC a month currently, has reportedly delivered its products to Apple for verification as the ambient-light sensors currently used by iPhone 4 have been criticized for some problems, said the sources, noting that Capella may received Apple’s orders before the end of the year at the earliest.

Capella shares, which are listed on Taiwan’s OTC market, suffered a major setback recently as sentiment for the stock was blunted by its decreased first-quarter gross margin.”

According to the DigiTimes, Apple may seal the deal with Capella and receive shipments as early as before the end of 2011.

Sn0wbreeze Updated to Support Untethered Jailbreak for iOS 4.3.3 and 4.2.8

As you’ve probably already seen with RedSn0w and PwnageTool, i0n1c has updated his untether exploit to support Apple’s latest firmware. Like the previously mentioned titles, Sn0wbreeze has been updated to support iOS 4.3.3.

This release comes less than 72 hours after Apple dropped the new iOS software, which fixes the location bug we told you about last month. Though many of you folks didn’t have much of a reason to upgrade, for those who did, we have you covered…


iH8sn0w updated Sn0wbreeze to 2.7 and added support for the new firmwares (GSM and CDMA). Whether you are on 4.3.3 or have a Verizon iPhone on 4.2.8, Sn0wbreeze can jailbreak your iDevice by installing a custom IPSW file. You can also setup custom boot logos and even set a custom root partition size.

If you want to check out Sn0wbreeze 2.7, it’s available in our downloads section for Windows users. Not sure how to use this thing? iDB is all over it, just check out our Sn0wbreeze tutorial.

How to Unlock your iPhone 4.3.3 with UltraSn0w

Thanks to the hard work of the iPhone Dev Team, the UltraSn0w unlock for iPhone has been updated to play well with iOS 4.3.3. As mentioned in our previous post about UltraSn0w, this will only work with iPhone 4 baseband 1.59.00, and iPhone 3G/3GS basebands 4.26.08, 5.11.07, 5.12.01, 5.13.04, and 6.15.00.

If your baseband is different from these, then you can’t unlock for the time being. If your baseband matches one of those above but you are on an older firmware, use PwnageTool to update while preserving the baseband.

In this tutorial, we will show you how to unlock your iPhone 4.3.3 using UltraSn0w…


Step 1: Make sure your baseband matches any of the basebands listed above. If it doesn’t, you can’t unlock. If it does, you may update your iPhone to 4.3.3 while preserving the baseband using PwnageTool. Note that you don’t have to update to 4.3.3. If for example you are still on iOS 4.1, you may stay there and still use UltraSn0w.

Step 2: Make sure your iPhone is jailbroken. The easiest way is to use RedSn0w, although it can be tricky as you might accidentally update your baseband. Which is why I suggest you use PwnageTool instead. PwnageTool will not update your baseband.

Step 3: After jailbreaking, go to Cydia and search for “UltraSn0w”. Download and install the app, then reboot your iPhone.

That’s it. Your iPhone should now be unlocked.

If you use T-Mobile, make sure to turn 3G OFF in your iPhone settings.

UltraSn0w iPhone Unlock for iOS 4.3.3 Released

Just about 2 weeks after releasing the previous version, the Dev Team released today UltraSn0w 1.2.3, a software unlock for iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS. Like its predecessor, this newer version of UltraSn0w doesn’t unlock the latest basebands.

UltraSn0w will only work for the older iPhone 4 baseband 1.59.00, and iPhone 3G/3GS basebands 4.26.08, 5.11.07, 5.12.01, 5.13.04, and 6.15.00…

Again, just to be very clear, if your baseband is different from any of the basebands listed above, you will not be able to use UltraSn0w to unlock your iPhone.

As usual, UltraSn0w can be downloaded from Cydia. Make sure you reboot your iPhone after installing UltraSn0w.

No, Sony, You Are Not Apple!

When Sony is not suing Geohot or trying to get their network back on its feet, their marketing department is hard at work trying to get Apple users to check out what Sony has to offer. As a matter of fact Sony wants Apple users to check them out so bad, that it kinda pretends it is Apple.

Don’t believe me? Look at this ad in the image above. It’s an ad served by Google for Sony. The title of the ad: “Apple”. The description of the ad does mention it’s for Sony, but it is still very confusing, and I even doubt Google authorizes those misleading ads…

Jailbreak iPhone 4.3.3 with Sn0wbreeze 2.7 [tutorial]

Most of you that have upgraded to Apple’s latest firmware, have probably already jailbroken your iDevices using RedSn0w or PwnageTool. If you haven’t yet, you may want to give Sn0wbreeze a try. As we reported earlier, the jailbreak software has joined the iOS 4.3.3 party, courtesy of i0n1c‘s untether.

Although generally mentioned last when discussing jailbreak options, Sn0wbreeze  is still a good choice for jailbreakers looking to hack their iDevices with ease. It’s especially useful for folks with Verizon iPhones, as the software created by iH8sn0w is currently the only way to jailbreak 4.2.8…


It’s important to note that Sn0wbreeze 2.7 is only for Windows users. It will jailbreak all recent iDevices on 4.3.3 and Verizon iPhones on 4.2.8, minus the iPad 2. Now that that’s out of the way, let me show you how easy it is to hack your iDevice using Sn0wbreeze.

Before beginning, make sure you are on the latest version of iTunes and that your iDevice is running iOS 4.3.3 or 4.2.8. Also, if your iPhone is unlocked, or might be in the future, Sn0wBreeze is the way to go as it will preserve your baseband.

Step 1: Download Sn0wbreeze 2.7 from our downloads section. Also make sure to download the 4.3.3 firmware while you’re there (or 4.2.8 for Verizon iPhone users). I recommend saving everything to your desktop to keep organized.

Step 2: Launch Sn0wbreeze and click OK through the warning. Locate the firmware you downloaded, and drag it onto the marked area. Click the blue arrow to continue.

Step 3: Sn0wbreeze will then take a moment to verify the IPSW file you just loaded. Once the firmware is identified, you will be asked to continue.

Step 4: In this menu, select Expert Mode and then you are welcome to experiment with any of the options in General, Custom packages, or Custom boot logos. Once ready, click Build IPSW. Since this can take a while, you can choose to play a game of PacMan while you wait.

Step 5: Once complete, Sn0wbreeze will ask you to put your iDevice in DFU mode. Hold Power and Home buttons together for 10 seconds, then release the Power button and continue holding the Home button for another 10 seconds.

Step 6: If done correctly, you should get a message that says your device is ready to go, and you may now open iTunes and install the custom firmware. Do this by plugging your iDevice into your computer, find it in iTunes, and hold down Shift while clicking the Restore button. This allows you to manually select the firmware that iTunes will use, just find the custom IPSW that Sn0wbreeze just made.

PwnageTool Jailbreak for iOS 4.3.3 Released

With the release of an updated iOS 4.3.3 untethered jailbreak, the Dev Team has also released an update to PwnageTool for Mac OSX users.


PwnageTool 4.3.3 incorporates i0n1c’s updated iOS 4.3.3 untethered exploit. PwnageTool 4.3.3 will allow you to safely restore to an already jailbroken iOS 4.3.3 firmware and preserve your current 1.59.00 baseband so that you may use UltraSn0w to unlock your iPhone…

Supported devices include, the iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, iPad 1, iPod Touch 4G and iPod Touch 3G.

You can download PwnageTool 4.3.3 from our download section. Stay tuned for our full tutorial!

Jailbreak iPhone 4.3.3 with RedSn0w [Tutorial]

Just hours ago, the Dev Team released an update to their popular jailbreak tools RedSn0w and PwnageTool. Those 2 are now fully compatible with iOS 4.3.3 and can be used safely to jailbreak Apple’s latest firmware.

RedSn0w 0.9.6rc15 will jailbreak any device on iOS 4.3.3 except for the iPad 2. This tutorial will show you how to jailbreak your iPhone running iOS 4.3.3 using UltraSn0w. If you have an iPod Touch or iPad, you may follow this guide as well because the steps are identical…

RedSn0w will work with both Mac and Windows.

Step 1: Make sure your iPhone is on the latest iOS 4.3.3 software. Make sure iTunes is up to date.


Step 2: Download RedSn0w 0.9.6rc15 from our iPhone downloads section. Also download the correct iOS 4.3.3 firmware for your device. Leave those items on your desktop for convenience.

Step 3: Launch RedSn0w and browse for the firmware you downloaded in step 2.

Step 4: RedSn0w will ask you if your iPhone is a newer model. Read the explanation provided by RedSn0w and select Yes or No. Click Next to continue.

Step 5: RedSn0w will now be preparing the jailbreak data, which should take a few seconds. When it’s done, It will give you several options. Make sure to select Install Cydia. You may select other features such as Custom Boot Logo, but we will not go there in this tutorial. Click Next to continue.

Step 6: RedSn0w is now asking you to make sure your device is both off and connected to your computer. Click Next to continue.

Step 7: You will now have to get your iPhone in DFU mode. Simply follow the onscreen instructions to proceed.

Step 8: If you have successfully entered DFU mode, RedSn0w will start the jailbreak process. You should see a bunch of weird code running through your iPhone screen. It’s all good. This should take a couple minutes. When done, your iPhone will reboot.

You should now have the Cydia icon on your iPhone springboard. That’s it. The whole process shouldn’t take more than a few minutes.

RedSn0w Untethered Jailbreak for iOS 4.3.3 Released

It has been less than three days since iOS 4.3.3 was released by Apple and the iPhone Dev Team has already released an untethered jailbreak for the latest iOS firmware.

As we stated earlier this week, for some odd reason Apple still has not patched hacker i0n1c’s untethered exploit in iOS 4.3.3. Redsn0w 0.9.6rc15 provides an untethered jailbreak on iOS 4.3.3 for the iPhone 4 (GSM), iPhone 3GS, iPod Touch 4G, iPod Touch 3G, iPad 1, and Apple TV 2G. This jailbreak does not support iPad 2 users.

Today’s PwnageTool and redsn0w incorporate @i0n1c’s port to 4.3.3 (it’s ironic that such a long-lasting untether doesn’t even have an official name!). It also of course uses geohot’s limera1n bootrom exploit to inject the jailbreak. The 4.3.3 untether works on all devices that actually support 4.3.3 except for the iPad2.

Redsn0w 0.9.6rc15 is available for download for both Mac OSX and Windows users from our downloads section. Not sure how to use this tool? Make sure to check out our RedSn0w tutorial.

New to iOS: Bing Maps SDK, YouTube app replacement in China?

Two interesting iOS tidbits this morning related to iOS. A rumor has it that Apple is in talks with YouKu, Chinese version of YouTube, over replacing the native YouTube app on iPhones in China because YouTube is still blocked in the country, writes TechNode. A trusted source told the publication that YouKu founder Victor Koo discussed the possibility with Apple’s chief Steve Jobs. The report is questionable knowing Apple has never replaced a standard iOS app with a third-party alternative. The other tidbit is official: Microsoft has released the Bing Maps SDK that allows programmers to embed Bing Maps inside their apps…


The Bing Maps Control for iOS provides bells and whistles such as gesture-based interaction based on the Seadragon engine, adding pushpins and other overlays to the map and displaying your location.


Plus, it can retrieve contextual information for a given map location. I wonder how Google reacts to this…

Last week Microsoft made a bold move by releasing the API Mapping tool designed to lure iOS developers into porting their iPhone apps to Windows Phone devices.
Source:- 9to5mac

Old time Jobs confidant Tribble to testify before Congress

The Loop reports that US Senator Al Franken, who took Locationgate public, posted a list of witnesses for the next week’s Congressional hearing on privacy issues and location data gathering practices by Google and Apple. On the list is Bud Tribble, Apple’s vice president of software technology. Jobs and Tribble go way back. He’s been with Jobs since they built the original Macintosh and could be considered his right-hand man.

Tribble, an expert in software design and object-oriented programming, is credited with helping design the Mac operating system and user interface, serving as the manager of the original Macintosh software development team. He then followed Jobs to NeXT, Inc., where he was one of the founders acting as vice president of software development.


He also spent some time at Sun Microsystems where he was charged with guiding e-commerce software R&D as chief technology officer for the Sun-Netscape Alliance. He was also vice president of engineering at Eazel where he headed development of next-gen user interfaces and Internet services for Linux.

The engineer earned a BA degree in Physics at the University of California, San Diego and an MD and PhD in Biophysics and Physiology at the University of Washington, Seattle. Bud Tribble will represent the Cupertino firm at the hearings scheduled to take place next Tuesday, May 10 at 10:00am.

Per Senator Franken’s office, the Congressional hearing will be entitled “Protecting Mobile Privacy: Your Smartphones, Tablets, Cell Phones and Your Privacy.

 Another photo of Bud Tribble (standing next to Steve Jobs) taken at Andy Hertzfeld’s 40th birthday party in 1993.

Source:-  9to5mac

iOS 4.3.3 untethered jailbreak, unlock now available

If you recently upgraded to iOS 4.3.3 that fixed Locationgate woes, you’ll be delighted to know that untethered jailbreak and unlock for iOS 4.3.3 is now available. The iPhone Dev-team have updated their PwnageTool and redsn0w programs so it’s now possible to jailbreak iOS 4.3.3 using Mac and Windows in a way that doesn’t require connecting the device to a computer each time it’s rebooted.

The iOS 4.3.3 untethered jailbreak is based on the exploit created by @i0nic for iOS 4.3.1. The updated redsn0w tool also allows you to turn on multitasking gestures, the team noted in a blog post. If you wish to unlock your device for use with any carrier, there’s an app for that.



To unlock an iOS 4.3.3 device, use the ultrasn0w tool. Remember that ultrasn0w at the time of this writing only worked with iPhone 4 baseband 1.59.00 and iPhone 3G/3GS basebands 4.26.08, 5.11.07, 5.12.01, 5.13.04 and 6.15.00. Use a custom IPSW to update to 4.3.3 in order to avoid updating your baseband. You may wanna use excellent ipswDownloader for Mac to easily find and download any iOS firmware build. This app also figures out your baseband version and tells you whether your iOS version can be jailbroken and unlocked. If you’re on Windows, download the f0recast app that checks whether your device is unlockable or tethered with a USB connect.

If you just want to perform an untethered iOS 4.3.3 jailbreak, I recommend handy step-by-step guides for redsn0w or PwnageTool. The below video shows how easy it is to perform an untethered jailbreak of iOS 4.3.3 via redsn0w 0.9.6rc15. For newbies, iClarified.com provides a wealth of jailbreaking and unlocking guides. And if you need a reason to jailbreak, Cydia creator Saurik has a few.

As for the iPad 2 jailbreak, it’s still pending per a note over at the iPhone Dev-team blog.

    The iPad2 jailbreak remains under development. As you may know, the original exploit @comex developed in the first week of the iPad2 release was mysteriously fixed by Apple within days of its development. Partly because of this, don’t expect much public discussion of the iPad2 jailbreak until it’s actually finished and ready for release (and please avoid asking about it). In all liklihood, it will be a userland exploit like the first (unreleased) one, not dependent on bootrom dumps. The first one can’t be released even for those with the original 4.3 firmware due to legal (distribution) reasons.

The new iMac does 450 Mb/s WiFi

The latest iMac family is full of surprises and one overlooked enhancement is the inclusion of souped up WiFi capable of hitting 450 Mbps speeds over wireless networks. Hardmac spotted a reference to this capability in the iMac’s system information. Apple first brought rhe 450Mbps WiFi features in the 2011 MacBook Pro family, but they haven’t been actively advertising it.

Apple changed their Airport card and also installed 3 antennas (instead of 2 before), something indispensable to be able simultaneously to use 3 channels of 150 Mbits/s.

In order to take advantage of the 450Mbps data transfer you need a compatible base station (either the current-generation Airport Extreme or Time Capsule). Make sure to connect to the base station using the 802.11n mode on the five gigahertz band GHz, with the simultaneous dual-band mode turned on.

Of course, real-life speed varies depending on a number of conditions, such as your wireless reception, room configuration, interference and so forth.

Hardmac was able to achieve wireless data speeds of about 22 megabytes per second between a 2011 MacBook Pro and a base station.

This compares to the 14.6 megabytes per second achieved on the previous generation MacBook Pros.

Hitpad, a hip way of following trending topics on your iPad

Oh, another pretty news reader, that’s what you must be thinking, right? Pay attention for Hitpad is your personalized window to relevant content that helps put those trending topics on Twitter and Google Trends into perspective by combining tweets, videos, images, news articles and web links into a uniquely designed news flow.

“Five minutes with Hitpad is like spending an hour browsing around”, developers Jay Meydad and Nir Holtzman Ninio wrote in the app’s iTunes description. So how does Hitpad differ compared to dozens of regular feeds readers or visual news readers such as Flipboard?


For starters, Hitpad employs some Google search magic to determine the most important things you should know today in your areas of interest and lay them out cleanly in a rich visual dashboard. Trending topics (which seem pretty accurate and relevant, by the way) flow in the lefthand bar and the remaining bars divide content relevant to the trending topic at hand in several media categories, such as news, tweets, videos, web links and photos.

The app is tuned and personalized based on your interests and agnostic to the publishers that are providing the data. But don’t take my word for it, take Hitpad for a spin (free download).

Apple now #2 smartphone maker globally, ranked 35th on the Fortune 500 list

Apple’s been on a roll lately. They sold a record 18.65 million iPhones in the first quarter and for the first time zoomed past Microsoft in terms of profitability. The 49,400 Apple employees helped the company earn $14 billion annually and pull 30 percent growth in earnings per share. Recognizing those strides and Apple’s rising fortunes, the company is now ranked 35th on the Fortune 500 list of America’s largest corporations. Just a year ago, Apple was 56th on the list. Fortune explains:

    The company not only continues to expand its reach in existing markets, it also keeps creating new ones. Take the iPad, which showed the world the power of tablet computing when it was introduced last year. iPad 2 followed, and was one of the most highly anticipated electronic products this year.

And according to the latest smartphone survey by IDC, Apple has beaten Research In Motion and became the world’s second-best smartphone maker, right behind Nokia…

The entire market grew 79.7 percent year-over-year on quarterly shipments of nearly 100 million smartphones, IDC reported. The Finnish cellphone giant’s share of the global smartphone market continued to drop in the first quarter amid the transition to Windows Phone software and uncertainties surrounding its Symbian handsets.

Nokia earned the #1 ranking with a 24.3 percent market share on shipments of 24.2 million units. Even though they topped the year-ago quarter by nearly three million units, it was a modest 12.6 percent growth and they lost an incredible 14.5 percentage points of market share.

Apple, meanwhile, grew 114.4 percent annually versus the industry growth of 79.7 percent. The company took 18.7 percent share of the global smartphone market based on sales of 18.65 million iPhones and is now within six million units of market leader Nokia. RIM, Samsung and HTC round up the list of top 5 smartphone vendors with 13.9 percent, 10.8 percent and 8.9 percent market share. Looking at the entire cellphone market, not just smartphones, Apple is the world’s fourth cellphone maker among all handsets sold (and they control half the industry’s profits).

Source: IDC Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, May 5, 2011
Note: Vendor shipments are branded shipments and exclude OEM sales for all vendors.

Here’s how IDC explained Apple’s rise:

    Apple reached a new record shipment volume in a single quarter, and inched closer to market leader Nokia with fewer than six million units separating the two companies. The company posted market-beating year-over-year growth and recorded triple-digit growth in two key markets: the United States, with the release of its CDMA-enabled iPhone, and Greater China. Additionally, the company enlisted South Korean Telecom and Saudi Telecom as carrier providers of the iPhone.

 Source:- 9to5mac

Source:- 

Apple to ARM its Macs in 2013?

Former Inquirer writer Charlie Demerjian at SemiAccurate (via MacRumors) today posts that Apple’s laptop transition from Intel to ARM is a “Done deal”

    The short story is that Apple is moving the laptop line, and presumably desktops too, to ARM based chips as soon as possible. With A15/Eagle allowing more than 32-bit memory access, things look up, but it seems silly to do so before the full 64 bit cores come in the following generation. Nvidia is directly telling certain favored analysts that they will have Denver out in Q4 of 2012, maybe Q1/2013, and that uses the full on 64-bit ARM instruction set. It won’t be out by then, but that gives you a good estimation of when that ISA will break cover from one vendor or other. Think mid-2013.

Scholars of recent history would point to Apple’s two earlier architecture transitions as example’s of Apple’s hardware flexibility.  That being said, two-three years from now iOS might be more of a laptop-capable OS from which Apple could build some, if not all of its laptops on.

Interestingly, nowhere in the post is any mention of the word Mac or Macintosh.

SemiAccurate was even more so on their previous assertion that Apple was heading away from NVIDIA as a GPU/chipset provider, though with NVIDIA’s “bumps” issue and growing competition with Apple and its Tegra line, it wasn’t a hard assertion to make.

Paper Phone Demo Could Hint at Future Smartphone Technology

Twenty years ago, I think most of figured we’d be living like the Jetsons by now. But flying cars are few and far between, and the closest thing we have to our own personal robot maid is the Roomba vacuum.

However, there is some neat stuff on the horizon, and this prototype by Roel Vertegaal is certainly proof of that. He is debuting his “Paper Phone” at the Association for Computing Machinery’s Computer Human Interaction conference next week. Folks planning to be in attendance should preset their faces to stunned…

According to ModMyi, the device is scheduled to be unveiled at the May 10th Vancouver event. Its creator, who also happens to be the director of Queen’s University Human Media Lab, says that the Paper phone is a “pocket-sized computer as thin and flexible as a sheet of paper is.”

You can interact with the device by bending it, flipping the corner to turn pages, or writing on it with a pen. While the technology seems cool, it’s still far from being ready to implement in consumer products. Currently there is only one prototype of the Paper phone device.

From the looks of the video it is running an older version of Android software, but I believe this could be used in several instances (interactive newspapers or maps anyone?). While I like that the device is so thin, I can’t see ‘bending’ as a fluid form of input. It’ll be interesting to see how this technology takes shape (no pun intended).

iPad 2 goes on sale in Mainland China, lines to ease up in the US?

 

lines in Shanghai

iPad 2 goes on sale in China today.  That means fewer gray market people waiting on line in the US…which means it should be easier to get one everywhere.

It also goes on sale in Thailand today, lines below: (thanks @aunonline)

New Apple 13.3″ MacBook Pro dual-core Intel Core i5 2.3GHz: $1049

MacMall via eBay Daily Deal has the 13-inch MacBook Pro dual-core Intel Core i5 2.3GHz for $1049 with free shipping.  That’s $150 off and the lowest price we’ve seen for a new unit.  Features include an Intel Core i5 2.3GHz dual-core processor, 13.3″ 1280×800 LED-backlit widescreen glossy LCD, 4GB RAM, 320GB 5400 rpm hard drive, Airport Extreme (802.11a/n) wireless, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, multi-touch trackpad, iSight webcam, Mac OS X 10.6, and more.

Apple has last year’s MacBook Pros refurbished starting at $929

Thanks to AT&T’s marketing tactics, the next iPhone will be ’4G’

…in fact, if Apple turned on the HSPA part of the Gobi 14.4 chips in its Verizon iPad and iPhone, they’d already be 4G, at least according to AT&T.

Joanna Stern noticed today that AT&T has started calling regular old 14.4Mbps HSPA devices 4G in its latest marketing materials.  Until recently, the pseudo ’4G’ was reserved for HSPA+ on T-Mobile and AT&T which tops out at 21Mbps.  However, with the release of the HPalm Veer 4G, HTC Inspire 4G and  Motorola Atrix 4G, AT&T has extended the ’4G’ down to speeds of  14.4 Mbps, the same speed as those Qualcomm chips that Apple loves.

Most industry watchers expect the next iPhone to run on some version of the Qualcomm chip that the Verizon has which would let it do double radio duty and be operable on all US networks.

As Stern notes, AT&T is paving the way to charge extra for the benefit of using the newly branded ’4G’ which doesn’t sound good to us.
Soruce:- 9to5mac

OWC has a 480GB solid state drive for your MacBook Air

And it costs a whopping $1,580 – enough to buy you a brand new 13-inch Air with 256GB flash storage. Courtesy of Other World Computing (OWC), the Mercury Aura Pro Express SSD upgrade is being advertised as the first and only third-party solid state storage upgrade for Apple’s ultrathin notebook.

We’re not sure about that, but it’s certainly the most capacious SSD for the Air at this point. Available sizes include 180/240/360/480GB variants priced at $480/$580/$1,180/$1,580. The 480GB module is nearly twice the capacity of the flagship 13-inch MacBook Air model. OWC provides the tools necessary for installation of your SSD.


Solid state drives have no moving parts and use memory chips to store your data.

This makes them much less prone to failure due to wear or accidental drops plus you get a significant speed bump over the mechanical hard drive.

In fact, everyday computing on the new MacBook Air feels much zippier than the top-of-the-line iMac from the previous generation.

This includes everyday tasks like booting your machine, but also an instant-on performance, launching apps, switching between tasks (especially in low memory situations) and so forth.