Top iPhone Resource

Shriya and I use Gmail and Google Calendar extensively. iPhone’s native Calendar is nice but Google Calendar lets us access our events from our computers as well. Plus, I have tons of contacts already filled out in my Gmail that would be nice to have them in my iPhone.

With Google Calendar, you can also subscribe to other Calendar (CalDAV) compatible services like Remember the Milk, Anyvite, etc.

How to Sync Google Calendar with iPhone?

With this little tip, you can integrate Google Calendar right into your iPhone Calendar using Google Sync. I am going to assume you have upgraded to OS 3.0 and get to 2.2 later.

iPhone OS Version 3.0

1. Open Settings in iPhone
2. Open Mail, Contacts, Calendars
3. Tap on Add Account
4. Select Microsoft Exchange

   

5. In the Email field, enter your full Gmail address
6. You can leave the Domain field empty
7. In Username, enter your full email address
8. In Password, enter your Google password
9. Hit Next and enter m.google.com in Server field

   

10. Press Next
11. Select the Google Services you want to Sync - only Calendar & Contacts supported at the moment
12. Choose ‘Keep on my iPhone‘ to keep your existing contacts and events in your iPhone.
13. And you are done!

Gotchas

• Google Calendar and Contacts will automatically sync if you have Push (Settings -> Mail, Contacts, Calendars -> Fetch New Data) enabled. Push settings can also drain your battery faster so play with it and see how your battery holds up with various intervals.
• You can choose which of your Google Calendars to Sync by going to http://m.google.com/sync in Safari
• You can only create 1 Exchange ActiveSync account. So if you already use one for work you are out of luck. Thanks Apple!
• After the Sync is done, you chose to see All Calendars or just specific Calendars in iPhone

  

• With iPhone OS 2.2, you won’t see the screen where you can chose to Keep your existing Contacts in iPhone. You have to heed the warning that you will lose your iPhone data and hit Sync twice.

Hope you were able to set up your Google Calendar and Contacts in your iPhone with these instructions. Let me know if you have any questions and I’ll try to answer them.

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Hello there! Hope you found a nice app, or a cool hack or the latest iPhone news. Don't miss future updates, grab our RSS feed or follow us on Twitter and get free updates.

If you have used a previous generation iPhone, you are probably aware of this little trick.

If you are a new iPhone 3GS user, you might not have stumbled on this yet and will appreciate it.

While listening to music on your iPod (iPhone), if the screen locks out you don’t have to unlock the screen to skip, forward, pause etc. Just quickly press your Home button twice. The iPod screen will be overlayed in your locked screen. It lets you

• Skip to previous song
• Skip to next track
• Shows you album cover
• Adjust volume

If you use the Apple’s earphones, you can do this right in it. If you use some other earphones like I do, you might like this handy little way Apple has provided us.

Also, did you know that Apple has been renaming everything in their site from iPhone 3G S to iPhone 3GS? I like it. Do you have a tip to share of your own? Hit the comments section.

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Dev Team released their iPhone OS 3.0 jailbreak software this past weekend for both Windows and Mac.

RedSn0w or QuickPwn for so easy to use, we had our iPhone 3G jailbroken within minutes. But, we weren’t able to unlock it as redsn0w only supported unlocking the original iPhone.

UltraSn0w is capable of unlocking iPhone 3G and make it work on any carrier. Here’s how you’d do it

• Upgrade and jailbreak your iPhone OS 3.0 with RedSn0w or PwnageTool
• Run Cydia or Icy
• Add the repo repo666.ultrasn0w.com to Cydia or Icy. Note that ultrasn0w has a number 0 in the name.
• Search for ultrasn0w in cydia and install it
• Reboot your iPhone 3G
• Voila!

Dev Team notes that T-Mobile USA users should disable 3G before using ultrasn0w. If you have already used, share your experience with ultrasn0w here in comments or on Twitter with us.

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iPhone OS 3.0 has a lot of new features. But, I keep discovering little thoughts tweaks here and there. In fact, I had missed this one and came to know from Patrick of my favorite iPhone blog.

You are probably loving the copy, paste functionality much in OS 3.0. But, did you know instead of holding down the backspace button to delete characters, you can undo your whole typing in input fields by just shaking your iPhone.

This feature is definitely nifty but it would be super cool to have some sort of undo history function added to it. But, hey I welcome even this small but thoughtful add-on.

In fact, if you just copied and pasted a blob of text in the wrong place, just shake your iPhone to undo the whole paste.

Hi5 to Patrick for this tip!

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Dev Team has come through again and have released their jailbreak and unlocking (iPhone 2G)  tool for Windows hot on the heels of OS 3.0 PwnageTool for Mac.

The RedSn0w released works on Windows and Mac OS. Redsn0w works just like QuickPwn for Windows and version 0.7.1 has just been released with a bug fix for Windows.

An important thing to note is that,

Redsn0w can jailbreak

• iPhone 2G
• iPhone 3G
• iPod Touch (original) and iPod Touch 2G

Redsn0w cannot jailbreak

• iPhone 3GS

Redsn0w can unlock

• iPhone 2G (both unlocked and original)

Redsnow cannot unlock

• iPhone 3G
• iPhone 3G S

If you have a iPhone 3G and rely on unlocking for getting cellular service, you have to wait until Ultrasn0w is released sometime soon via Cydia.

Before you attempt the jailbreak, I strongly recommend reading and re-reading instructions by Dev Team. Also, make a backup of your iPhone via iTunes before you get started.

How to Unlock iPhone OS 3.0 with Redsn0w?

Here are the steps you need to follow word by word. Again check if your device is supported with this version of  Redsn0w.

1. Create a folder in your desktop named Quickpwn
   1. Download RedSn0w and place it in the Quickpwn folder
   2. Extract the RedSn0w.zip into the Quickpwn folder
   3. Download the relevant OS 3.0 firmware
      3.0 (2G):  iPhone1,1_3.0_7A341_Restore.ipsw
      3.0 (3G): iPhone1,2_3.0_7A341_Restore.ipsw
2. Connect your iPhone to iTunes and select your iPhone.
3. Hold the Shift button and click on Restore
4. Now, select the ipsw file from the Quickpwn folder and hit the Open button
5. Once iTunes has finished updating to the new 3.0 firmware, launch the redsn0w.exe file from your Quickpwn folder.
6. Click Browse and select the firmware ipsw file in Quickpwn folder
7. Once the firmware has been successfully verified by redSn0w, click Next
8. Select Install Cydia in this screen and click Next
9. Now plug your iPhone into the computer and make sure its turned OFF before clicking Next
10. You will be guided by RedSn0w through the DFU mode - its not hard. Just follow the instructions on the screen as follows
    • Hold down the Power button for 2 seconds
    • Without releasing the Power button, hold down the Home button for 6 seconds
    • Without releasing the Home button, release the Power button. Continue holding the Home button for 29 seconds
11. Your iPhone will now reboot
12. RedSn0w will begin uploading the new RAMDISK to your iPhone
13. Once RedSn0w tells you it’s done, click on Finish.
14. Wait till your iPhone reboots again (5 mins) and you will see Cydia app in your Springboard.

Now enjoy your jailbroken iPhone or iPod Touch and have fun with stuff like iPhone Winterboard themes!

We will be updaying this post with screenshots for illustration soon. So, please check back if you need further help with that.

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Dev Team has come through again and PwnageTool for iPhone OS 3.0 has been released.

Remember, this is for Mac OS X only. PC users will have to wait a bit longer as always.

DO NOT use PwnageTool of you are using a 3G iPhone with yellowsn0w unlock and rely on unlocking to get cellular service!

Here is the Dev Team complete post and here are the most important points you should know before attempting to jailbreak your iPhone with the relevant parts highlighted (by me)

• GOLDEN RULE: If you are using a 3G iPhone with yellowsn0w and rely on yellowsn0w to obtain cellular service, then you should NOT use PwnageTool right now. UltraSn0w is not included with this release and therefore your baseband will be locked and unable to use an operator other than the official one it was bought for. UltraSn0w will be release via APT (cydia and icy) soon. If you have an original iPhone (1st generation) then 3.0 unlock works with this PwnageTool release.
• Yellowsn0w in its current form will NOT work with the baseband version that is present in the 3.0 update, you will need Ultrasn0w, which will be released sometime soon, Ultrasn0w will work with all iPhone 3G models (but not 3GS), even ones that were previously unlockable, Ultrasn0w (when available) will be released via APT (this means you can get it via Cydia or Icy).
• Please read all parts of this post before downloading and using these tools.
• Read items 1, 2 and 3 again and again.
• At the bottom of this post are the bittorrent files for the 3.0 capable version of PwnageTool.
• This app is suitable for the recent 3.0 release.
• PwnageTool will NOT work for the iPhone 3GS.
• PwnageTool WILL work for Original iPhone (1st Generation), Original iPod touch (1st Generation) and the iPhone 3G.

Official PwnageTool 3.0 Download (bittorrent link)

iPhone 3GS and iPhone 3G (with yellowsn0w) unlock as well as PC users will have to wait until DevTeam posts further developments. Stay tuned here or on Twitter and we will bring you updates as we get them.

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Apple has updated and posted the iPhone OS 3.0 User Guide (pdf link) online.

Get your hands on it now!

Here are a few posts that can help you find some cool iPhone OS 3.0 features that you weren’t aware of

• 100+ Hidden Features in iPhone OS 3.0
• AT&T WiFi auto-authentication on OS 3.0
• iPhone OS 3.0 plus 46 security bugs
• How To: See New Push Notifications Settings in iPhone OS 3.0
• The Push is On: Apple Turns on Push Notifications
• Big Update: Evernote for iPhone 3.0 is Here

Have a good reading time! I am awaiting my iPhone 3G S shipment to be delivered by Fedex today and will post our unboxing pictures later on.

If you got your iPhone 3G S already, post your thoughts in the comments. We wanna hear from you.

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Just connect your iPhone or iPod Touch to your iTunes and click Update.

Voila! You’ll see that Apple has released the much awaited iPhone OS 3.0 for your iPhone.

Here are the complete list of OS 3.0 features mentioned in the OS 3.0 screen.

iPhone OS 3.0 Software Update

This update contains over 100 new features, including the following:

• Cut, Copy & Paste with shake to undo
• Landscape keyboard in key applications
• Enhanced Messages application
  - Send and receive photos, contacts, audio files, and location via MMS*
  - Forward and delete single or multiple messages
• Added search feature in Mail, Calendar, Notes and iPod
• Spotlight search across iPhone
• Support for CalDAV and subscriptions in Calenda
• Improvements to Safari
  - Performance
  - HTML 5 support
  - HTTP Streaming audio and video
  - Auto-fill usernames and passwords
• New Voice Memos application
• Sync Notes with a Mac or PC via iTunes
• Internet Tethering over USB and Bluetooth*
• Browse and download movies, TV shows, and audiobooks from the iTunes Store**
• Stereo Bluetooth***
• Wi-Fi auto login
• Enhanced Stocks application
• More Parental Control options for Apps, Music, Movies and TV Shows
• iTunes account creation and login**
• YouTube account login and access to subscriptions, ratings and favorites**
• Shake to shuffle
• New languages, dictionaries, and keyboards
• Find my iPhone and Remote Wipe via MobileMe (subscription required)**
• Support for more Exchange policies
• Create and send Exchange meeting invitations
• Search mail on server (Exchange Server 2007 and supported IMAP servers)
• Search LDAP company directory
• VPN on demand and VPN proxy support
• Encrypted configuration profiles
• Encrypted iTunes backups
• 1,000 new developer APIs, including:
• In App Purchases
• Apple Push Notification Service
• Accessories support
  - Peer to Peer Connectivity
  - Embedded Maps
  - iPod Library Access
• Bug fixes

Products compatible with this software update:

• iPhone
• iPhone 3G
• iPhone 3G S

* Compatible only with iPhone 3G and iPhone 3G S and requires support from your wireless provider.
** Not available in all regions or in all languages.
*** Compatible only with iPhone 3G and iPhone 3G S.

For feature descriptions and complete instructions, see the user guide for your iPhone at:
Apple - Support - Manuals

For more information about iPhone, go to:
Apple - iPhone - Mobile phone, iPod, and Internet device.

To troubleshoot your iPhone, or to view additional support information go to:
Apple - Support - iPhone

For information on the security content of this update, please visit this website:
Apple security updates

Jailbreaking iPhone OS 3.0

If you’d liketo jailbreak your iPhone OS 3.0, you may want to hold your horses until QuickPwn and PwnageTool 3.0 is released by Dev Team. In the meantime, you can check out the ultrasn0w - 3.0 unlock software demo shown last night.

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The new iPhone 3GS has officially been announced. With tons of juicy features and we will be covering them in detail in the coming weeks as soon I get my hands on one.

Here are some of the important features announced

• Video - 30fps VGA video with in-phone editing support
• HSDPA - 7.2Mbps on supported carriers
• Camera - 3 megapixel, autofocus, autoexposure, tap to focus, better low light sensitivity
• Improved battery life - in Wifi mode, Internet surfing mode, etc
• Turn-by-Turn direction support - in Google maps and via apps like TomTom
• Performance - reporting almost twice the speed in most operations
• Colors - Black and White

iPhone 3GS Videos

• New iPhone 3GS TV Ad
• iPhone 3GS Guided Tour

Pricing in US

iPhone 3GS has been announced at the following prices and will be available on June 19.

• 32GB iPhone 3GS - $299 with contract
• 16GB iPhone 3GS - $199 with contract

The current iPhone 3G will continue to be available at

• 16GB iPhone 3G - $99 with contract

So, the $99 iPhone rumor was correct after all. It was a little disappointing to not find the front facing camera but the rest of the features are enough to make me go out and buy a 32GB iPhone 3GS! How about you?

If you have been holding off on buying a iPhone so far, I’d say iPhone 3GS makes a pretty good case for buying one.

iPhone OS 3.0

iPhone OS 3.0 will be available on June 17th for download via iTunes. And you can read about iPhone 3.0 new features here. if you have a jailbreak iPhone, please wait until the Devteam releases Quickpwn 3.0 or Pwnage 3.0 before updating your iPhone OS!

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If you are excited about iPhone OS 3.0 and the possible new iPhone hardware to be announced in today’s Apple WWDC 2009 event, here are 3 good live blogs you can follow.

• Engadget Live blog
• Gizmodo Live blog
• Ars Technica Live Blog

If you missed any of the live blogs, after the event is over you can find the WWDC 09 keynote video here.

Also, if you are on Twitter - follow me at @TopiPhone to get updates as the keynote progresses.

We will be back with more updates soon. Stay tuned.

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After all the rumors that went around the blog world about the iPhone 3.0 OS, today it was great to find out most of them were indeed true.

Are you ready for the long list of features (over 100) that are coming in iPhone 3.0?

New Features For Us

• Cut, copy & paste - Works for both text and photos. You can copy multiple photos to Main. Shake to undo/redo a paste.
• A2DP Stereo Bluetooth - pair iPhone to a stereo Bluetooth device
• MMS - forward and delete multiple messages
• Spotlight - search across all your content and apps that support Spotlight
• Search in Mail, Calendar & iPod - special search interfaces including searching in IMAP servers
• Tethering - built into iPhone OS 3.0 - careers will determine pricing
• Auto-login for WiFi hotspots
• Landscape Keyboard - in more apps like Mail, SMS & Notes
• New Calendar types - Gmail and Yahoo friendly CalDAV support
• Note syncing with iTunes in Mac and PC
• Autologin in Safari - remembers username/passwords
• Shake to shuffle - in iPod while listening to music to change tracks
• Parental control - adult content filters to movies, TV shows, apps plus websites and music.
• Enhanced App Store - app subscriptions, purchase additional content like travel guides to new cities, levels to games, etc.
• YouTube account support
• Form auto-fill
• New Stocks app - with news stories and landscape view

New Features for Developers

Developers get over a 1000 new APIs.

• Peer-to-peer connectivity over Bluetooth for gaming and info-swapping
• Ability to take payments within Apps to give access to paid content
• Allows call out to Google Maps
• Turn-by-turn GPS information on iPhone without needed 3G connectivity or Google
• Push notification - finally
• iPhone 3.0 apps can access VOIP via WiFi connectinb
• Audio recording, streaming video
• Access iPhone/iPod music library from other applications

Features that didn’t make it

• No background apps - we still have the jailbreak app Backgrounder (of course QuickPwn 3.0 will have to come out then)
• No better way to arrange and manage apps in your home screen - thank God for jailbreak apps like QuickGold & Categories.

It’s plainly an incredible iPhone OS release with over 100 new features and over 1000 new APIs for iPhone developers. With the imminent competition from Palm Pre in the coming months, Apple has answered back addressing a lot of the long overdue features such as copy/paste, push notification, MMS, etc.

iPhone OS 3.0 will be a free upgrade to iPhone 3G users. iPhone 2G users can also upgrade to 3.0 but won’t have some features like A2DP due to hardware limitations.

iPod Touch 2G users can also upgrade to iPhone 3.0 by paying $9.95. Also, the Bluetooth has been unlocked in iPod Touch in 3.0 firmware.

Apple has again proved that they can listen to their users and respond back, albeit in this instance a little late. If this is a little too late remains to be seen. But, I can’t wait to get my hands on iPhone OS 3.0 that’s set to come out this Summer of ‘09.

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It’s great that the iPhone can receive so many Internet radio stations that I can listen to anywhere I am with the 3G connection.

Wouldn’t it be great if I could play that huge selection through my car’s speakers?

Now, I could. With a FM Transmitter.

What is a FM Transmitter?

If you are unaware of this cool little device, it’s time to learn what it is. A FM transmitter is a small dongle that you could plug into your iPhone or iPod (dockable models) and all your music will be transmitted in a FM radio channel of your choice. Now, you just have to tune your car radio to that station to listen to music from your iPhone/iPod.

HHI All-in-One FM Transmitter

Features

• Hi-Fi Stereo FM transmitting at 88.1-107.9MHz
• iPhone hands free supports taking through car soeaker system
• Charge your iPhone/iPod
• Flexible goose pipe fitting to make it convenient for any car make/model
• Standard USB-A output socket also provides charging for iPod shuffle, Zune, mobile phones, GPS and other devices as well
• High quality silicone gel on the sides and back to prevent scratches

HHI FM Transmitter sells for $35.99 and you can drop it down to $24.99 with the coupon code ‘ifmall‘. This deal ends March 31.

Here are a few more good FM Transmitters

• iPhone and iPhone 3G Fm Transmitter with LCD Display
• Griffin iTrip Auto FM Transmitter and Auto Charger for iPod (Black)
• iTrip Style FM transmitter with Car charger & REMOTE for iPhone 3G iPod Touch 2nd Gen iPod Nano 4th Gen.
• TuneBase FM for iPhone or iPod

Whichever one you choose, enjoy the new found freedom and the huge addition to your listening pleasure while driving.

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