$25 CLEAR WI-FI for iOS (Apple) devices (unless unlocked)

My buddy recently got an iTouch, and got this $99 device as well. Its no contract, and supposedly can be unlocked to share with even more devices. Worth a look.

>> Why Clear's 4G iSpot is cheap: it's limited to iOS devices

>> CLEAR iSPOT

Oilra1n Jailbreak OS 4.1 looks to be a HOAX

Looks like comments and ratings have been disabled for this video on youtube to add to the confusion. But if you do the research - most of what Im finding is that its a HOAX. UPDATE: There are rumors of an update to be released 9/20/10.

Jailbreak iPhone 3G on iOS 4.1 with PwnageTool Bundle [Guide]
http://www.redmondpie.com/jailbreak-iphone-3g-ios-4.1-pwnagetool-guide/
iOS 4.2 Jailbroken on iPhone 3GS with Sn0wbreeze [Video]
http://www.redmondpie.com/jailbreak-ios-4.2-iphone-3gs-with-sn0wbreeze-video/
Jailbreak iOS 4.2 on iPhone 3GS with PwnageTool – Complete How to Guide
http://www.redmondpie.com/jailbreak-ios-4.2-iphone-with-pwnagetool-how-to-guide/
jailbreak 4.1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNiMkNtsG0U

Simple Mobile works on jailbroken/unlocked iPhone

Just helped one of the neighborhood kids load NES emulator onto his iphone. He is not with ATT or T-Mobile. He is with Simple Mobile. Thats news to me. Decent looking prepaid plans/pricing with NO contract. Not sure how good the coverage is, but its worth a try. They currently service over 37 states.
URGE Mobile, LLC (urgemobile.com) does National distribution of Prepaid/No contract UNLIMITED wireless. Located in Brooklyn, New York. They have partnered with T-Mobile.
Another option may be H2O wireless.

Tmobile iphone - Step by Step

I went to craigslist and found an 8GB 3G iphone for $150. I borrowed my friends working ATT sim card and took it with me to test in in the iphone to make sure it worked properly. It did. After purchasing, I came home and jailbroke and unlocked the iphone - so it would work on the Tmobile network. The $15 a month unlimited text plan (no contract) is available in the continental US from their website and stores. But you can choose whichever plan that works best for you:

http://www.t-mobile.com/shop/plans/prepaid-plans.aspx?WT.mc_n=PrePdPlnsOvrLowRt&WT.mc_t=OnsiteAd

I walked into a local store, asked them about the details of the plan. They verified. I worked with them to choose the number, get the paperwork done, and they told me the total for the sim card, account setup, taxes etc. come out to close to $30. And some of that cash would end up as minutes on the phone. Since it is no contract, the most I could lose is $30 - and walk away. Its worth a shot right? My plan is to use my office phone, free wifi calls via icall, google voice phone, and any other device to make most of my calls. By giving out my google number as my main number, I can get a txt msg of their voicemail immediately on my iphone. I would not take any calls on the tmobile sim unless I wanted to pay the .10¢ per minute charge. I communicate mostly by txt msg, and anything else - I call from other devices. Seems to work pretty well for me so far. Some friends have complained about the amount of different numbers I call from, but thats a small inconvenience compared to the amount of money Im saving! At the very least, its worth a test. FYI - ATT and Tmobile are the only carriers that work on the iphone. Maybe in 6 months, a CDMA version will be released on the Verizon or similar network. Then there will be even more possibilities.

MISC IPHONE INFO:

enable sending MMS on tmobile iphone 3G and above

http://startupmeme.com/how-to-fix-your-t-mobile-mms-issue-with-iphone-4-on-ios-4-0/

http://modmyi.com/forums/t-mobile/723471-how-fix-mms-problem-after-jailbreaking-unlocking-iphone-t-mobile-us.html#post5389678

How to enable T-Mobile Internet on an unlocked iPhone, iPhone 3G or iPhone 3GS. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikuPn40D2yQ

easy jailbreak for - 4.0.1

http://www.jailbreakme.com/faq.html

jailbreak 3G 4.0.2

http://www.iphonehacks.com/2010/08/how-to-jailbreak-ios-4-0-2-using-redsn0w-for-iphone-3g-users-windows.html

jailbreak 3gs 4.0.2 coming soon (3.1.2 is possible)

http://www.redmondpie.com/jailbreak-iphone-3gs-4.0.2-with-sn0wbreeze-2.0-custom-firmware-windows/

Downgrade 4.0.2 or 3.1.3 to Any Firmware (not for 3GS/iphone 4)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvU_cReQYjQ

unlock w/Ultrasn0w 1.1-1

http://www.iphonehacks.com/2010/08/iphone-dev-team-release-ultrasn0w-11-1-to-improve-battery-life.html

3GS 402 unlock via mac os?

http://tipsneeded.com/jailbreak-iphone-3gs-ios-4-0-2-firmware/

http://tipsneeded.com/unlock-ios-402-with-ultrasn0w/

iPhone Security Tips to Keep your iPhone Secure

http://www.iphonehacks.com/2008/10/security-tips.html

http://www.iphonehacks.com/2009/11/how-to-change-your-jailbroken-iphones-root-password.html

iphone firmware

http://www.felixbruns.de/iPod/firmware/

How to boost volume on your iPhone/iPod

http://www.wonderhowto.com/how-to-boost-volume-your-iphone-ipod-329308/

http://forums.macrumors.com/archive/index.php/t-744573.html

iphone service and repair (check serial to see if your iphone is real)

https://selfsolve.apple.com/GetWarranty.do

http://cydia.hackulo.us/

then, install "Installous" and "Appsync 4.0"

http://www.iphonespies.com/iphone-news/hackulous-tutorial-how-to-get-free-iphone-apps/

iphone game pad

http://www.greedmontpark.com/2010/08/02/iphone-game-pad/

emulators for iphone

http://www.pure-mac.com/iphone/emulators.html

http://apt.123locker.com/

AT&T cracking down on shadow iphone users

OK the options are as follows:

01- put your sim back in your old phone, call att & deny that you have an iphone, and have them not change your plan. Put the sim card back in the iphone after the phonecall. Rinse and repeat. And hope they give up before you do.

02- call att and tell them you never purchased an iphone with them - and you do not authorize them changing your plan.

03- Get out of your contract and go with somebody other than ATT and keep your iphone:

http://www.walletpop.ca/blog/2010/04/14/how-to-get-out-of-a-phone-contract/

http://cellphoneforums.net/alt-cellular/t255105-how-get-out-cellular-service-contract.html

tmobile phone plans 

http://www.t-mobile.com/shop/plans/Cell-Phone-Plans.aspx?catgroup=Individual&WT.z_shop_plansLP=individual

04- change the IMEI of the phone so that ATT cannot tell it is an iphone (may cost upto $50)

>> Can only mask IMEI on 2G (4.6 BL iPhone)?
>> iPhone | How to Change Your iPhone IMEI with ZiPhone (Windows)
>> Hide/Cloak hacked iPhone existance from Carrier (AT&T) : Possible?

TETHERING
I tried to use my sim with a Medianet plan on an iphone too and I faced the same problem of not being able to
connect to the internet. I did some research and realised that the phone was missing AT&T’s data settings. Hence I went here and installed the proper settings. Although tethering did not work on my phone (probably because I was on iPhone 3.1), the data connection went active.

FYI - Boost Mobile's phones and network are iDEN, not GSM. The iPhone is a GSM phone.
Even the iPhone GOPHONE is unable to access the web.

>> Unlock CNS (Carrier Not Supported) iDEN i465 Clutch Boost by JIC Technology
>> Give Your Old iPhone New Life With Prepaid Data and Minutes
>> Turn an Older iPhone into a Prepaid Voice and Data Unit

$15mo T-Mobile Prepaid Unlimited Text + iPhone FTW

 

Goodbye AT&T, welcome back T-Mobile! So I was paying around $50 monthly to ATT for 450 minutes. I recently heard about a tmobile pay-per-use txt only plan for $15 a month - no contract. Costs $10 for activation - and I got $3.25 credit on the account. If I want to make a phonecall with this account - its .10 cents a minute. I dont plan on paying for calls via my tmobile sim. I do plan on using texting for most of my interactions. If I want to make a phonecall, I can do that via wifi. And I am within wifi range for most of the day (home/work). I am using gizmo+google voice, icall, and vonage - to make free phonecalls - as best I can - via my jailbroken/unlocked 3G iphone. My reasoning is that me and my friends are doing more and more texting.
>> T-Mobile Prepaid Plans $50 Unlimited Talk/Text or $15 Unlimited Text Started May 16

Aretta Communications VOIP

Thus begins my new opportunity with Aretta Communications. Im hoping to learn something new, and help streamline their workflow and overall make things better for their customers. Much thanks to my buddy Kris Sheets (Director of Operations and also AAUG) who told me of the opportunity and got me in the door.
Aretta (simply stated) does VOIP. The service is priced, not per extension(or per seat)—as is typical in the hosted VoIP business—but by the maximum number of simultaneous calls the account is provisioned for (i.e., the number of lines). See our rates/pricing here. Aretta Facebook page.

make free calls on iphone

UPDATE: Unlock iPhone 3G/3GS iOS 4 With Ultrasn0w 0.93

Ultrasnow 0.93 is compatible with all basebands since iOS 3.0, they include, 04.26.08, 05.11.07, 05.12.01, and 05.13.04. This only works with phones that were previously jailbroken. This worked for me (I accidentally upgraded my phone to 3.1.3 with 05.12.01 baseband).

How To Jailbreak iPhone, iPod Touch Using Spirit For iPhone OS 3.1.3, iPhone OS 3.1.2 [Windows]

Jailbreak iPhone 3.1.2 Firmware with blackra1n (see link above for better way)

http://www.redmondpie.com/jailbreak-iphone-3.1.2-firmware-with-blackra1n-zni327/

Browse Flash Websites on your iPhone and iPad [No Jailbreak Req.]

http://www.redmondpie.com/flash-on-iphone-ipad-ipod-touch-using-cloudbrowse-9140784/

gv mobile is free and makes free calls

(with iphone jailbreak)

http://www.redmondpie.com/gv-mobile-2.0-for-jailbreak-iphone-now-available-on-cydia-9140358/

icall is free

http://itunes.apple.com/app/icall-free-voip/id293837001?mt=8

vonage on iphone is free and makes free calls
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5kZoniTFEE

skype to skype is free

http://www.skype.com/intl/en/features/allfeatures/skype-to-skype-calls/

skype free to residential/biz

+18003733411


>> Get Rid Of Your Forced iPhone Data Plan & Save Money Your Monthly Phone Bill

iCURRENT (news reader)

Overall, its interesting, but still lacking in areas to make it more compelling.

PROS

-easy to setup to match my interests

-but just a step above what a RSS reader does (how is it more different?)

-i like the content channel page format

-i like the front page of the newspaper feel

CONS

-info nuggets not easily portable? ex: for use in igoogle

-cant sort by content type? (video, audio, podcast, ebook, and most viewed, etc)

-content display should look more segmented (look at tweetdeck or similar for ideas)

-logo/banner needs improvement

-i dont see that they advertise their facebook page, or their twitter page

-is there a forum to discuss issues, or blog for your site/team?

-iphone/android app? or atleast an ETA on mobile app?

-embeddable html badge for websites - to show/share the users content channels

-read my post dated 071409 here

More reviews: 01 | 02 

*not to be confused with - http://current.com

SANYO XACTI REVIEW

$150 - sanyo vpc-cg10 1600847
PROS
-easily grab still frames from MP4 video for photos (only use photo option if you need flash)

-has most options/functionality compared to others (image stabilization is good for handhelds - Zi8 does not have this)

CONS
-does not include SD CARD (most dont) (i bought an 8GB for $30 at a local store)
-slow/no response on snapping photos (2 options - simply record video and grab still frames from the video, or hit the button and countdown outloud - 3,2,1... and it snaps within 3 secs)
-short battery life (really short, i suggest buying a backup battery)
-UI could be simplified (other similar camcorders are much easier to use)
-cant manage files/SD card easily
-no light when doing video (use an external source - from cellphone or better)

-no mic jack (for pro recording of audio (Zi8 has this))

>> a good review in the comments here

OTHER OPTIONS TO CONSIDER WHEN PURCHASING A CAMCORDER
-return policy, recording time, format of video, under water, carry case, HD camcorder, flash for night photos, night vision, battery life, memory, image stabilization

Why isnt there a cellphone/camcorder that will do all this? (video on iphone looks pretty good)

KODAK Zi8 REVIEW

(Gathered info for someone else on this product - I bought the Sanyo Xacti (see next post))
>> this site talks about issues with Zi8

the ZI8 records in H.264 MOV and the audio is AAC LC format.

>> firmware update 1.06 for Kodak Zi8 

>> vimeo forum on 1.06 firmware

Just to let you know AnyVideoConverterPro works nicely converting MOV to MP4 with the setting of x264 (video codec), and 1000 (video bitrate) when converting a 1080p video. I then move this MP4 into Vegas 9 with none of the audio/video sync issues. Final video quality appears good. I suppose there are many converter apps out there but since I already owned this one and tried it with success, just wanted to let you know.

This just rewrites the mov wrapper so that Sony Vegas can see the video. It doesn't change the original video and is very fast. 

One approach that I found did work when using .MOV files (albeit not 100%) was to rename the .MOV file to an .MP4 extension and then import that file into Project Media. From there I could then bring the .MP4 file into the Vegas editor and the audio track did indeed show and play. However, one drawback was the video and audio were out of sync by about 5 seconds. I can ungroup the video and audio and manually adjust video and audio to be in sync. Not ideal. 

>> x264vfw codec
x264vfw is the VfW (Video for Windows) version of well known x264 encoder + ffh264 decoder (from FFmpeg project)

Sony published a quicktime update that fixed the problem of no audio importing, but it's now out of sync

http://bit.ly/7sCJIs 

SOURCES

http://www.redban.com/blogy/?p=364

http://forums.creativecow.net/thread/24/903832

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secure_Digital#Speeds