Saturday 17 July 2010

Unlock Your iPhone 3GS for free - Use on any network Vodafone, Orange, O2 and 3 Three UK

As you may have seen from blog posts my iPhone 3GS is with Vodafone UK but doesn't always get the signal I need so I wanted to be able to use alternative SIMs in the iPhone if no signal exists at the location I am at.

There are various websites that offer iPhone 3GS unlocking for around the £20 - £25 mark but I spotted this video on YouTube that allows you to unlock your iPhone 3GS for free.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwZbg9koZaE

Once you have jailbroken your iPhone 3GS then you can load the ultrasn0w package which then unlocks the iPhone. Using Cydia add the URL

http://repo666.ultrasn0w.com

Once rebooted your iphone will be unlocked for free!

I've just tried it with my iPhone 3GS locked to Vodafone UK and it now works with SIMs from 3 and Orange so I can now use my iPhone 3GS on any network.

Thursday 15 July 2010

Apple Announcement - How You'll Feel Flowchart!

With Apple's iPhone 4 announcement tomorrow, we thought you might enjoy Retrevo's fun flowchart/guide that "predicts" how people may feel after the announcement. This is intended to be a fun, (non-serious) look at how various people may respond.

iPhone 4 Briefing by Apple - 16 July 2010

Apple are planning a briefing on 16 July to discuss the widely reported problems with the iPhone 4G.

iPhone 4G Problems

Watch this space for feedback after the conference call.

HTC Wildfire Review (on Three 3 network UK) Android Phone

My latest phone is an HTC Wildfire on the 3 network, my first Android phone. Having most recently purchased an iPhone 3GS I was interested to see how the HTC Wildfire compared and key differences between Android and iPhone OS 3.12

The first noticeable difference is the quality of the case with the HTC Wildfire feeling far more plastic than the iPhone 3GS. This is understandable as they are in different sectors of the market but the screen size of the Wildfire is not far off the iPhone 3GS.

The iPhone cannot be opened as there are no user accessible components. The back of the HTC Wildfire can be removed but this feels very flimsy and one item that probably will not wear well over time if removed frequently. The removal is a tricky process as there is only a small gap to prise the cover off and it feels as it it will break and also damage the edge of the panel.

The look and feel of the user interface is not too different to the iPhone 3GS and the touch screen is equally effective. As my first Android phone it is hard to know what is Android and what is the HTC Sense skin on top of Android but either way the interface works well.

One thing missing is the excellent my3 application that has been on previous 3 mobiles, there may be another way to find this but I've not yet spotted it.

Configuration was simple and the phone was up and running quickly. The boot up time is quite long and certainly seems longer than the iPhone but this isn't something that you do very often.

Once I have used the phone for a few days I will post some more feedback.

Monday 12 July 2010

iPhone 3GS No Service/Searching Problem - Comparison to Nokia 6233


As you can see from the above photo, the iPhone 3Gs is switching between Searching and No Service but the Nokia 6233 has 3 bars of signal on the same network and same location. I'm not even holding the iphone 3GS to affect the signal - the iphone 4G may be even worse if the case is held

Tuesday 6 July 2010

iPhone App - Roadtrip by Darren Stone - Vehicle Data cost & Fuel consumption records

One of the first apps that I loaded to my iPhone was Road Trip by Darren Stone. Originally I had the free version but upgraded to the paid version to allow multiple vehicles to be covered.

It is one of the easiest apps to use and has been perfectly designed to allow you to quickly record the key details with the minimum of fuss. Fuel consumption can be recorded by purely entering the mileage and litres - with the iPhone touch screen this is a piece of cake.

You can also record other expenses such as service costs, tyres etc.

Overall one of the best iPhone apps and I highly recommend it for anyone who wants (or needs) to keep track of their vehicle costs.

Photobox iPhone App -Photobox2Go

I've just received details of a new app from Photobox. They say it has been reviewed as: 'A very good app and one that if you're a keen photographer or just love photos I would highly recommend'


I've now loaded it on my iPhone and will give my verdict shortly

Monday 5 July 2010

PDA Net Review - iPhone Apps for Tethering

With a jailbroken iPhone the option to install a much wider variety of iPhone apps is available. One of the best that I have seen is PdaNet which allows you to use your iPhone for tethering without paying the extortionate additional charges that mobile networks try to charge. Orange, O2 and Vodafone in the UK all charge various amounts from £5 to £15 per month to allow you to use the bandwith that you have already paid for to tether your iphone to your laptop.
The bandwidth included with my contract is 1Gb per month, I rarely use more than 500Mb so it seems totally wrong to be required to pay an additional fee to actually use this spare bandwidth on my computer.

PDA Net allows you to do just this. You need to download the iPhone app and also install the client on your laptop. There is a free version of the app that allows any website other than https. By paying for the app you can access any websites from your laptop.
I have been very very impressed with Pda Net and would highly recommend it to anyone with a jailbroken iPhone 3G or 3Gs.

Friday 2 July 2010

iPhone 4G - Apple finally admits poor signal problems

iPhone 4G - Apple finally admits poor signal problems

Curiously the BBC also state:

However, there have been few - if any - complaints about older iPhones losing signal strength when held in a certain way.

They clearly haven't been reading my blog about the iPhone 3Gs and poor signal. Judging by the number of hits it gets for people looking for the phrase "iphone 3g no service" I am far from alone.

Hopefully they will now fix it although the explanation of the signal being displayed incorrectly is hardly reassuring. Having even less signal on the iPhone 3Gs is not likely to improve it!!

On another blog Brian Klug reports

With my bumper case on, I made it further into dead zones than ever before, and into marginal areas that would always drop calls without any problems at all. It's amazing really to experience the difference in sensitivity the iPhone 4 brings compared to the 3GS, and issues from holding the phone aside, reception is absolutely definitely improved. I felt like I was going places no iPhone had ever gone before. There's no doubt in my mind this iPhone gets the best cellular reception yet, even though measured signal is lower than the 3GS.


This could be positive news for iPhone 3Gs owners like me who experience the No Service error so frequently.

iPhone 4G - Apple finally admits poor signal problems

iPhone 4G - Apple finally admits poor signal problems

Curiously the BBC also state:

However, there have been few - if any - complaints about older iPhones losing signal strength when held in a certain way.

They clearly haven't been reading my blog about the iPhone 3Gs and poor signal. Judging by the number of hits it gets for people looking for the phrase "iphone 3g no service" I am far from alone.

Hopefully they will now fix it although the explanation of the signal being displayed incorrectly is hardly reassuring. Having even less signal on the iPhone 3Gs is not likely to improve it!!

Rory's blog has a more accurate assessment

It may have trouble making phone calls, but the iPhone's fans are so bewitched by its other capabilities, they seem prepared to ignore that.