Todays & Tomorrows Technology

It seldom fails to impress me how quickly accessory manufacturers can knock together third-party gadgets for new devices, and Brando is certainly at the top of their game for flooding the market with “do I really need this?” trinkets. Their latest addition is a so-called “Flexible Mini Capsule Microphone” for the iPhone 3GS, intended to take advantage of the thousands of people now recording dreary YouTube videos on their new smartphone.

Unlike the handset’s integrated microphone, which is at the bottom of the handset, the Brando mic can be tilted, rotated and generally angled to point at whatever it is you’re filming. Alternatively you can twist it back to face yourself, ideal for catching every vocal nuance of your voice-over.

Both white and black versions will be on offer, and no battery is required. Gain is listed at 25+dB, but if you’re really looking for polished audio you’d still be better off sourcing a separate, powered microphone. It’ll also play nicely with the iPhone 3G, iPhone 2G and iPod nano 4G, and be priced at $14 when it lands at the end of July.

We’re not entirely convinced by the name 22Moo, but now that iPhone OS 3.0 supports third-party peripherals we’re sure we could find some bag-space for their GameBone Pro controller. Intended to be used with an iPhone or iPod touch, the GameBone Pro hooks up via Bluetooth or Apple’s dock-connector, and has an 8-way D-pad plus six buttons.

There’s also a 2,000mAh Li-Ion battery, which not only powers the GameBone Pro’s functionality but – if you use the wired connection – can recharge your iPhone or iPod touch, too. A row of LEDs shows charge status.

The controller also has integrated speakers, a microphone, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. It’s set to hit shelves in mid-September, but we don’t know price yet; 22Moo are asking potential customers to suggest what they’d pay for the GameBone Pro, which seems like an obvious way to find your shiny new peripheral now costs fifty cents.

It hasn’t taken hackers long to enable unofficial tethering on iPhone handsets running OS 3.0, and its taken carriers even less time to put out the predictable dire warnings regarding anyone found using such hacks. UK carrier and official Apple iPhone partner O2 have issued a statement suggesting that anybody found using tethering without their official “Bolt On” package will be charged or disconnected.

“Internet rumours suggest that some customers have modified their iPhone to enable Internet Tethering without the purchase of the Internet Tethering Bolt On. Any use of this particular feature without the purchase of the Bolt on is specifically prohibited under our terms of service.

Under those terms we reserve the right to charge customers making modem use of their iPhone or disconnect them. If customers wish to use the Internet Tethering feature on their iPhone 3G or iPhone 3G S, we recommend taking the Bolt On which is available from Friday 19 June” O2 statement

The carrier has been less forthcoming about how they will check for unofficial tethering use, though it seems likely that anybody with high traffic rates will stand out and be investigated. Like other carriers, O2’s so-called “unlimited” iPhone data package actually has a 3GB limit, and they closely monitor traffic for signs of P2P or VoIP use.

Arguably, O2’s stance is more understandable than, say, AT&T. At least the former offers a tethering package in the first place – albeit an expensive one, charging £14.68 ($24) for 3GB per month or £29.36 ($48) for 10GB – whereas AT&T won’t offer official tethering at all until later in the year.

As we know, iPhone OS 3.0 brings with it the potential for tethering on your Apple smartphone, using the handset’s 3G connection to get your laptop, netbook or other mobile device online while on the move. Apple have done all they can to make it straightforward – you can tether over USB or Bluetooth, with minimal setup - but the carriers seem less enthused. Some, like AT&T, don’t officially support it yet, while others, such as O2 in the UK, will allow you to tether but have an expensive extra data plan you need to add.

One thing we know about iPhone users, though, is that if you show them a sign saying “no entry” they’ll work out a hack to enable it, and sure enough there’s now a simple way to turn on iPhone tethering no matter your carrier or tether-plan status. All you need do, in fact, is visit help.BenM.at on your iPhone and install a new local carrier profile configuration file.

There are files for tethering on multiple carriers – not just the official Apple partner in each company, but rivals for those using their iPhone unlocked – and more apparently being added all the time. Plus, there are install files for MMS support, including AT&T who have previously said that they won’t be officially enabling it on the iPhone until late summer.

This is one of those cases where “because you can” might not mean “you should”; carriers have been very clear now and previously as to the fact that tethering data is not considered part of an “unlimited” on-device data package. If you do attempt it – and obviously there’s also risk in installing any software from an unknown site – then bear in mind your carrier will likely be monitoring data traffic to identify any unofficial tethering or MMS use.

You wanted cut & paste, you wanted better search and you wanted landscape-mode QWERTY: Apple have delivered it all. iPhone OS 3.0 has been released, and you’re a 230MB download away from it.
The upgrade is free for iPhone and iPhone 3G users, and will come as standard on the new iPhone 3G S when that launches this Friday. It’s also available for iPod touch owners, but they’ll be charged $9.95 for the privilege.

As you might expect, Apple’s servers are currently under huge strain, and speeds are right down. To update, hook up your iPhone or iPod touch to iTunes and hit the update button; we’re doing the same, so let us know how you get on in the comments.

The iPhone Dev Team have released a video demo of their latest unlocking tools, including yellowsn0w, doing its magic on an iPhone 3G running OS 3.0 which is set to be released sometime in the next 24 hours. They’ve also revealed the development of a new tool, ultrasn0w, which they claim should be able to unlock any iPhone to-date, running any OS version.


yellowsn0w will get its release shortly after Apple push out iPhone OS 3.0 – the Dev Team are being cautious, so as not to give Cupertino’s engineers any time to scupper the jailbreak/unlock setup – but ultrasn0w won’t see daylight until Friday at the earliest. There’s no telling right now as to whether the iPhone 3G S can be jailbroken and then unlocked.

As ever, the tools to do all this will be free – if someone is trying to charge you, they’re not legit. In the video below, skip to around the two-minute mark to see the actual unlock demo.

Security researchers are claiming to have found a way to run non-approved code on iPhones that have not been jailbroken. Charles Miller, a principal analyst at Independent Security Evaluators, and Vincenzo Iozzo, a student at the University of Milan in Italy, have discovered “more than one” technique for loading an application into a factory iPhone as a non-executable chunk of data, which then flicks over to an executable and could potentially be used to monitor the smartphone, listen in on calls or harvest user data.

“If you want to attack iPhones, you have to be able to run code to do whatever it is you want to do. Maybe that is grabbing credentials, maybe it is listening into phone calls, maybe it is turning on the microphone. Who knows? But this all requires that you be able to run code” Charles Miller

Unlike jailbreaking an iPhone, which usually requires physical access to the handset, this new system will work remotely. Apple’s security software – which was bolstered for the launch of the App Store, to prevent copied or pirated apps from being used – usually prevents such exploits, but Miller and Iozzo found several loopholes.

The attack will be demonstrated at the Black Hat Conference in Las Vegas next month. At present it works with iPhone OS 2.0, which is the version Miller and Iozzo developed it on; they’re unclear whether Apple will have addressed the exploit in iPhone OS 3.0, which is set for release on June 17th.

If the prospect of an iPhone 3G S doesn’t appeal, and you’re quite happy with your iPhone 3G or iPod touch, you’ll be pleased to hear that as of June 17th iPhone OS 3.0 will be available. Apple demonstrated the new software update today at their WWDC 2009 keynote, and while much of it was a rework of the original OS 3.0 launch, there were a couple of surprises (plus upgrade costs). Headline features include tethering, “Find My iPhone” and speedier Mobile Safari.
Tethering means that iPhone owners will be able to connect their handset up to their PC or Mac and use its 3G connection to get online. Both Bluetooth and USB hook-ups will be supported, and no specific software is needed. According to Apple, 22 carriers have announced support for tethering as of OS 3.0’s June 17th release, though frustratingly AT&T does not appear to be one of them.

Find My iPhone is a location service available to MobileMe subscribers, and allows a lost or misplaced iPhone to be tracked by GPS. It can then be instructed to make a noise - even when set to silent - or display an on-screen message; if properly lost, not just misplaced, the iPhone can be remotely wiped.

As for Safari, that gets 3x faster JavaScript and the same HTTP audio and video streaming as in QuickTime X. Autofill uses contacts information and stored passwords to fill in forms, and there’s also HTML 5 support including video and audio tags.

Apple also announced that iPhone users will be able to rent and purchase movies on their handset, together with audiobooks, and download them across the 3G network. iPhone OS 3.0 will be a free upgrade to original and 3G iPhone owners, while iPod touch owners will be charged $9.95 for the upgrade.

Apple have announced the iPhone 3G S, a super-fast version of the iPhone 3G where the “S” stands for “Speed”. Packed into the same casing as the existing 3G model, the 3G S has a 3-megapixel camera with autofocus, auto white-balance and the ability to record VGA resolution video at 30fps. It also supports 7.2Mbps HSDPA, network depending, and has a faster processor that, Apple say, makes everything on-average twice as fast.



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Specifically, messaging is 2.1x faster, games are around 2.4x faster, Excel is 3.6x faster, Javascript is 3x faster and the NY Times loads 2.9x faster. Battery life is rated at 5hrs 3G talktime, 9hrs WiFi internet browsing, 10hrs video playback, 30hrs audio playback, or 12hrs 2G talktime.

Videos are saved in with photos in the Pictures app, and can be played, edited and sent by email or MMS. There’s also a built-in digital compass and Nike+ support, while Apple have also boosted hands-free usability by introducing a voice control mode. Holding down the home button calls up a new voice control menu, which allows voice dialing together with control of iTunes. You can instruct the iPhone 3G S to play certain tracks, play “more tracks like this” and ask for a verbal confirmation of what music is currently playing.

The iPhone 3G S will go on sale alongside the iPhone 3G 8GB, which has a price cut - effective today - to $99 in the US on AT&T. The iPhone 3G S arrives in US, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland and UK on June 19th; in the US, it’ll be priced at $199 for the 16GB model and $299 for the 32GB model.