Appletell

A German court has issued an injunction banning that country’s iPhone users from downloading a Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) called Sipgate onto their iPhones. The program allows users to make phone calls using a wireless internet connection, rather than using a cell phone connection (and paying carrier T-mobile in order to do so).

Their reasoning is interesting:

The core point of the argument was that in order to use Sipgate the iPhoner would have to jailbreak their Apple iPhone handset and thus breach the contract with T-Mobile.

The court apparently agreed with that argument.

MORE »

The list of apps that are only available for jailbroken iPhones has gotten one shorter with the release of Tris at the App Store. OK, so Tris won’t do any of the things Apple won’t allow that some jailbroken apps will, but it’s a blast to play.  Plus, you don’t have to jailbreak your iPhone. I, for one, would never do that (...again..at least, I don’t want to...yet).

Tris is free, open source, and awesome.

Details after the break.

MORE »

As part of a new plan to prevent cracked iPhones, the 3G iPhone will not be sold online. Also, activation of your plan must be done in-store as well. You will now be unable to go to an Apple store and just buy an iPhone; you are obligated to sign a contract for a service plan in order to purchase a phone. Apple has yet to discover any 3G iPhone cracking programs, but they are doing this as a preemptive strike against possible unlocks. In the WWDC keynote, Steve pointed out that many phones had been unlocked, and these actions are a result of those actions. No pre-orders for the phone are available either, so expect sizable lines at Apple stores around the world come July 11th.

Some people may have been ecstatic when they heard the price drop to $199 (now cheaper then an iPod Touch), only to have their joy squashed by the fact that you must pay an arm and a leg for service. AT&T’s voice-only (no data) plans start at $40, and data plans start at $30.  I think that a pay-as-you-go option could be a good move by AT&T and Apple for those who want an amazing Apple product without the constraints of insane AT&T prices.

Do you think the price of the plans are worth it? What do you think of Apple’s actions against cracking? Sound off in the comments below.

Via [MacRumors]

If tools like iJailbreak weren’t easy enough to use, a new company based out of Amsterdam has created a tool for jailbreaking your iPhone, but for a price. iPhone Sim Unlock promises that their software will be “100% functional.” When you pay the $29 USD or 19.95 EUR, you’ll get access to detailed instructions regarding how to unlock your iPhone. The company even claims that you’ll be able to unlock your iPhone in less than 3 minutes. In addition, you’ll get unlimited updates, a free wallpaper pack, 24/7 live support and extra downloads. Is it worth it? Probably not, other free hacks will work fine, the only real use of this package is the support. With the growing community of jailbreakers, I’m sure they’ll be able to help you, and if not, comment and we’ll help.

Developed by Hanwang.com.cn, HWPen is a new third-party application availible for jailbroken iPhones and iPod Touches.  This handwriting recognition app can understand both English and Chinese language input, but it is still in beta so I imagine more language support will be coming as it progresses.  You can find a full forum discussion about this app at modmyifone and can install it by adding “iphonecake.com/src/all” as a source on Installer.app.

I’m sure you all remember Apple’s infamous Newton product that came with handwriting recognition, and I’m guessing the service is a lot better on an iPhone than a Newton.  At least I hope so because I don’t think we want another Simpson’s episode about the iPhone.  Let us know what this application is like if you have installed it and whether or not it is worth downloading.

For those of you who couldn’t wait, VoIP is now available on the iPhone.  Coming from an Israeli startup, Fring can be downloaded via Installer.app on any Jailbroken iPhone.  This applications supports a variety of services, such as Skype, MSN Messenger, and AIM, making it perfect to help keep in contact with people.  TechCrunch has a nice video up and points out that due to the high amount of minutes on most phone plans, this app’s real strong point would be for international calls and IM on the go.  As you would expect, the VoIP only works with Wifi due to the amount and speed of data needed.  Right now it is still in beta, but the company points out, “The special pre-release version will enable iPhone users to get an early taste of fring and discover the freedom of being able to take their fring contacts and buddies from their other favorite online communities mobile on their iPhones.”

One part Apple may not like about this is the fact that the app is always on and connected to give the user real time feedback on their contact lists which goes against their no background processes policy.  However, since it comes from Installer.app, there isn’t much Apple can do.  If you have already downloaded this or plan on it, let us know how it is.  We’re interested in what the interface and call quality are like.

Would you use VoIP on you iPhone?

The iPhone is in need of a native Twitter client. The web apps like Hahlo and ThinCloud are great, but there’s something about a desktop-class application that just makes it “feel” better. Users with jailbroken iPhones or iPod Touches can now be satisfied with a great native Twitter client: MobileTwitter. I installed this on my iPod Touch yesterday and I love it. It’s a great alternative to Hahlo or any of the other web-based apps. Although, it does use more system resources, and therefore battery life. The interface is uncluttered and clean, like most iPhone apps. It’s now the only way I tweet from my iPod, and probably will be until the iPhone SDK is released.

For free, this app is amazing. If you’re obsessed with Twitter and tweeting on-the-go like I am, this is a must-have for you. You can download the app through Installer under community sources. Or, if you like to install things manually - you can do so at this website.

Via [TUAW]

It looks like the iPhone Dev Team has done it again, but this time taking it to whole new levels. Previous releases from the iPhone Dev Team have helped you Jailbreak your iPhone and get it working on pretty much any GSM carrier, but this new tool named ‘Pwnage’ will allow you to get to the core of your iPhone.

So, what do we mean by core? We mean you are able to get below the current OS and install another OS on the device (when/if one gets coded). This functionality opens up the iPhone to a whole new level of hacks and hopefully some very cool new uses for the device.

The Pwnage Tool kit was supposed to be released yesterday, but the Dev Team would like to make a few more changes with the GUI and also release both a Mac OS and Windows version of the software, so you can expect a release in the next week or so.

Read [DevTeam] via [iPwner]

I know all I ever talk about is the iPhone, but that’s where the news keeps coming from. Today, it’s specifically coming from an app dubbed iLiberty+. Erica Sadun of iPhone and TUAW fame just got a refurbished (and cheaper) iPhone, and downloaded the app to free her iPhone of Apple’s crippling. In one go, Liberty unlocked and activated her previously jailbroken iPhone (though the app jailbreaks as well). Erica reports some unstableness she experienced while using the app, but nothing too major to stop anyone from successfully tweaking their iPhone. This seems like one of the easiest ways to get all three tasks done at once, as well as a few other fixes and tweaks. So if you’re one of the few people who doesn’t have an unlocked, jailbroken iPhone, grab Liberty+ and tweak away.

[Liberty+] via [TUAW]

13 Year old developer AriX has just released version 0.6 of iJailbreak. This amazing and simple app automates the process of jailbreaking your iPhone or iPod Touch. iJailbreak is a free download and makes jailbreaking your iPhone and now iPod Touch as easy as clicking a few buttons. 0.6, the latest release of iJailbreak has full support for the 1.1.4 firmware and allows you to “freely enable the $20 iPhone apps.”

I talked to Ben Feldman, the co-developer last night and he told me that even though the iPhone SDK is out, he still recommends jailbreaking your phone. iJailbreak is a free download, however they will gladly accept donations.

Via [iJailbreak]