I don’t know about you but I’m not a fan of the plastic back to the current model iPhones. When the iPhone 3G was released, Apple went with the plastic back, over the stronger and better looking, in my opinion, aluminium backing that the original iPhone wielded due to radio issues. I’ve often thought whether it would be possible to replace the backing of the iPhone 3GS with something a little more hardy and slick looking. Well now, despite some nay-sayers, an Austrian man with a passion for perfection has proved that it is possible, if a little costly to do.

Titanium iPhone courtesy of Engadget

Martin Schrotz, having made several prototypes, first by hand then machine, before taking the plunge and having the back made out of a titanium alloy. It doesn’t half look good, and certainly will provide the phone with a little more protection than the thin plastic, but it has a serious downside for your average Joe, and that’s the hefty cost of about the same as an iPhone 3GS on it’s own. Yeah, not something I’m likely to fork out for, but if you’ve got the funds and the will, perhaps you can get Martin to make you one.

Hop on over to the fine folks at Engadget for more photos of the metal wonder.

[Via Engadget]

In a break from tradition we’ll start with the bad. Virgin Media announced this week that it would be  snooping into 40% of it’s customers traffic using a technology called CView, which conducts Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) in an effort to determine the rate of music piracy across it’s network. Yes that’s right, Virgin is going to examine everything that goes to and from your computer if you happen to be in the lucky 40%. What does this really mean? Well if you’re pirating music across an unencrypted network like BitTorrent, VM will know and what they’ll do about it is unknown. Virgin are set to launch a music service in conjunction with Universal and their official line is that they want to gauge piracy levels. I don’t know about you, but piracy or not, I don’t want people snooping at everything I do or send across the Internet including email, IM, Waves and surfing. Maybe it’s time to protect yourself by changing providers or using a SSL tunnel to a proxy you trust.

Well that’s the bad out the way, how about the ugly? Are you living off Daddy’s trust fund or have recently come into a load of money? Do you have £1.92m burning a hole in your pocket? Well I’ve got just the thing for you. How about a solid gold iPhone encrusted with 136 flawless diamonds just in the front bezel? The iPhone 3GS supreme features a very rare, single cut, 7.1 carat diamond for a home button and 53 flawless diamonds making up the Apple logo on the back. Nice. But I think I’ll stick with a vanilla 3GS thanks, all that gold can’t be good for reception.

On with the good and more Apple rumours this week. Apple names it’s hardware via strict numerical numbering system, a single generation number followed by a decimal iteration number. For instance the current generation of Macbook Pro is  5,3 for the mid-2009 15″ model. An iPhone identified as 3,1 has been spotted by a software analytics program operating in the San Francisco area. The current iPhone 3GS carries an iPhone 2,1 identifier and it was spotted in much the same way in testing in October 2008, eight months before it’s eventual release. What does this mean? Well, we already knew Apple was likely to release a new iPhone in just over 6 months time, but the 3,1 identifier indicates that Apple will consider this a major hardware refresh. Whether this means a move to a PA Semi ARM chip, an OLED screen or a forward facing camera for mobile iChat is anyone’s guess. Others have speculated that the 3,1 moniker actually refers to the iTablet/iSlat/iPad, which is entirely possible as current rumours suggest that the fabled device will use the iPhone OS rather than a fully fledged OSX. I guess time will tell but my money is on another iPhone iteration.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Speaking of video calling, Fring bought one-way video calling to the iPhone this week with an app update. While one-way video is not particularly useful, other so you with the iPhone can see the other person, given hardware limitations, it’s better than nothing right? Maybe this’ll be more useful with the iPhone 4th Gen?

How about a solar powered aeroplane? Not possible you say, can’t generate enough juice from the sun to fly a plane. Well if you meant something like a 747 you’d be spot on, no chance with current solar energy tech, but how about something with the wing span of an Airbus but only the weight of a car? Well a one Captain Piccard (I kid you not), having successfully conducted runway testing has managed the first ever solar powered flight. OK, they only managed a 28 second flight at the dizzying height of one meter for 350 meters, but it’s a start right? Whether this proof of concept will ever produce something that you can actually use to fly to somewhere exotic it’s unlikely without a huge leap in photovoltaic tech, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a fantastic achievement. Next step for Bertrand Piccard and his team is a 36 hour day-night-day flight, so best of luck chaps, I’m routing for you.

In other news this week, Google has killed off development of Gears now that HTML 5 is making headway. Google’s plan for Gears was to introduce the concept of rich, offline webapps like Google Docs, Wave and Gmail and force adoption of a standard that did away with the need for plug-ins like HTML5. Now that it’s mission is complete, Gears will cease development but be maintained for the near future, as more and more browsers become HTML5 compliant.

Facebook also broke news this week that it’s reached an enormous 350m users, that’s more people than many small countries, and that it’s beefing up it’s privacy measures to help keep it’s users safe. Facebook also said that regional networks are going the way of the Dodo as they’re no longer functional due to the total number of users. Regional networks were designed to help people find each other and allow only certain people to see your information. Now that some regional networks have in excess of 1m people in them, they no longer fulfil the purpose they were designed to do. Fair enough I say, it’s not like I absolutely need regional networks with all the other work, college and misc networks available to connect to friends.

Click here to view the embedded video.

With Google about to make the PND market pretty mixed up with it’s free turn-by-turn navigation software for Android and others, GPS manufacturers like TomTom have been searching for weapons to fend off the Google invasion. Step forward Voice Skins, the folks behind other amusing celebrity voice packs like Homer Simpson, with what could be the best voice to hit your TomTom, Snoop Dogg. Fancy Mr. Dogg on your TomTom? Well for the bargain price of $12.95 you too can get Snoop to guide you to your destination. Eat that Google!

That’s your lot for this week, check back next Friday for more cherry picked stories from the tech world for your reading pleasure.

OK, it’s not like that’s the end of the world, it’s still an incredibly capable device, plays some great games and can use almost all the apps that the 3GS can. But what about those features that set the 3GS apart? Well with a few apps and tweaks you too can get your 3G to do almost all of the new tricks the 3GS has and give your old trusty an extra burst of life.

First up, voice control. There’s not much in the new 3GS has that means it’s the only iPhone capable of using voice control, it’s just that Apple wanted to really set the 3GS apart from the 3G and Original iPhone with some unique features, voice control being one of them. Never fear though, because through the magic of the App Store your 3G or Original can also rock voice control. Vocalia, an app that essentially replicates the control and voice search functions built into the 3GS, is available for the pultry sum of £2.39. Featuring a HAL type eye which acts as your input button and indicator, the app translates your garbled speech into contact names, music tracks or even bookmarks. You can even use it just by lifting the phone to your ear just like the Google search app. With a quick vocalisation you can be calling your mate’s phone, playing an album, individual track or artist or browsing your favourite Geek site, at least that’s the premise.

Does it work? Yes, it does and pretty well. With a bit of prompting you can get it to narrow down and play whatever track you can remember, or pick any contact in your address book and call them. Is it useful? Simply put, No. I’ll elaborate on that a little, it’s as useful as any other speech recognition app for controlling computers or devices. Nine times out of ten, it’s easier and quicker just to reach over and hit a button. The voice control is the same on the 3GS, most people don’t use it because it’s not as quick as using your fingers and therefore is resigned to the ‘gimick’ side of things rather than being a real feature. The only exception I’ve found to the rule is the Google Voice search app, which normally saves me time, but even that I don’t use very often.

So don’t get me wrong, if you’re a fan of voice control then Vocalia works admirably, but I just don’t think it’s useful.

On to the second feature to replicate, Video recording. Now this one’s not quite as simple as just downloading an app. It’s not that it’s hard, but it certainly takes a little longer because to get video recording on your 3G or Original iPhone you have to jailbreak it. OK, before we start on this one, I have to admit I’m a huge fan of quite a few jailbreak only apps and features that Apple simply wouldn’t allow in the App Store. Whilst it is true that jailbreaking makes App Store piracy possible, it’s by no means the sole reason one would jailbreak their iPhone and so it’s unfair to label it with that moniker. With that bit of spiel out the way, I’d like to introduce you to Cycorder. Jay Freeman, the man behind many of the best jailbreak features and functions including Cydia, has authored a nice, free, ad-supported (pretty unobtrusively I might add) video recorder for the Original and 3G. While the quality of the recording is fairly limited by the relatively weak hardware available on the non-3GS iPhones, Cycorder makes the best out of it and in decent lighting you can get pretty good 15fps mobile phone videos out of your iPhone for free. We’re not talking movie quality here, but who really uses their phone for anything more than short clips of your mate bladdered out of his mind with a marker pen all over his face after an epic night out?

There are of course alternatives for pretty much everything on the iPhone and it would be unfair to talk about video recording and not mention Video Recorder for 3G. It’s billed as ‘a powerful iPhone orientated video recorder’ that can record to .mov and upload it to YouTube. Sounds great, but there’s a snag and it’s a pretty hefty $19.95 price tag. For the kind of videos you can actually get out of your iPhone I think $20 is pretty steep, especially when Cycorder gets the job done in a very Apple like, minimal fuss, maximum enjoyment kind of way.

So we come to the final feature that really stands out as being different between the iPhone 3G and the 3GS, the compass. OK, you’ve got a faster processor and slightly (and I mean slightly) better battery life, but the compass is truly something different. Unfortunately this is where software alone cannot make any difference. The onboard compass allows you to know which direction your facing (when it works) in the maps app and here’s where a little dosh can help iPhone 3G users out (sorry Original users I’m afraid the lack of GPS kind of rules you out of this one, mind you I understand raw skyhook isn’t all that bad if you can read road names). For the cost of a cheap cup of coffee, you can purchase yourself a handy dandy Pocket Compass, which combined with the Google Maps app should see you to your destination no problem.

OK, that doesn’t help you out with augmented reality apps I admit, but if you sense of direction is as shocking as mine, a pocket compass can really come in handy for a 3G user like myself. You’ll probably find that a decent pocket compass is going to work better than a magnetometer anyway.

So that’s it, now your iPhone 3G, and to some extent your Original iPhone, has almost feature parity with Apple’s latest and greatest. At least it should help some people stave off the massive upgrade charges that networks are asking for and give your portable friend of choice some extra longevity. Myself, I’m going to hold out till the 4th Gen iPhone gets released because for me, the 3GS was just a spec bump. I’m expecting something bigger out of Apple this time round.

The iPhone Dev-Team have just unleashed their latest update to the custom firmware creation tool for Pwnage Tool 3.1.4. It’s now compatible with iPhone 3.1.2 and supports iPhone 2G/3G/3Gs as well as iPod touch 1G/2G but unfortunately not 3G for all you lucky enough to have the newest touch in your claws. Pwnage Tool is however Mac only and that’s the way it’s going to stay according to the Dev Team, but for all those on Windows boxes there’s always Blackra1n or a mate to help you out.

From the team:

SUMMARY:

The iPhone 3GS is now supported out of the box in PwnageTool 3.1.4 (or if you have upgraded to 3.1.x in iTunes)

The iPod 2G is still supported in PwnageTool 3.1.4 but you must already be jailbroken (we’ll update this if there’s a big demand from non-jailbroken ipt2G owners)

The iPod touch 3G is NOT supported

DETAILS:

GOLDEN RULE: If you are using a iPhone 3G or iPhone 3G(S) with ultrasn0w and rely on ultrasn0w to obtain cellular service then you should only update your device with an .ipsw that is made with the new PwnageTool. There are no second chances with this. You need to remember that PwnageTool will provide an upgrade path to newer versions of the iPhone software in the future.

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 3.1.4 capable version of PwnageTool.

PwnageTool will work for the iPhone 3GS

PwnageTool will work for the iPod touch 2G

PwnageTool WILL work for Original iPhone (1st Generation), the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3G(S) and the iPod touch (1st Generation and 2nd Generation) but NOT the iPod touch 3rd generation.

For 3G and 3G(S) users who are Pwned, PwnageTool is your key to updating in the future, just remember to never install an update directly from Apple, always use an .ipsw that has been created with PwnageTool.

There is no Windows version of PwnageTool it is a Mac OS X tool only, we are not developing a Windows version of PwnageTool.

So what are you waiting for? Head on over to the iPhone Dev-Team and go get your jailbreak/updating on.

Block the Haxor!

The patch to solve the SMS vulnerability of the iPhone firmware up to 3.0 is live and available in iTunes. So get on and download the patch (some 280Mb!) before some joker hijacks your phone. Currently Redsn0w is not able to jailbreak it but it seems like just a verification error. Hopefully we’ll get an update for that soon, till now, update to protect yourself or run the risk (although pretty minor) that someone might hi-jack your phone.

O2 was described as ‘furious’ about the news and it may well be, with Ofcom threatening (but not having the teeth to) remove O2’s 3G licence due to it’s poor coverage of the UK, news that both T-mobile and Orange could soon stock the 3G will could really hurt O2’s share price. T-Mobile’s call centres are reported to have already started telling customers it may stock the iPhone. Of course Orange and T-mobile both sell the iPhone in different countries and have the potential to really undercut O2 with ‘budget’ iPhone pricing. From a consumer’s point of view this is great news in the UK (enviable if it turns out to be true for other countries, sorry US) and could mark the beginning of the end for exclusivity of the iPhone in the UK and elsewhere as well as putting sever price pressure on O2. From O2’s point of view this could turn out a disaster for sales with many people still  buying the iPhone 3G due to the lower price and perceived little difference from the 3GS.

Another piece of good news for unlockers is that ultrasn0w will work just fine on the 3GS without any modification. So for all those AT&T haters, there’s not long to wait! Of note however is that although the exploit is still there, Apple has made inroads to make it more difficult to get to showing Apple hasn’t given up on the cat and mouse game of jailbreak.

Personally I’m most excited by the prospect of the new 3GS hardware powering some decent emulators. By recent developements I think that’s a really promising area compared to the 3G. Now will someone knockup a N64 emulator so I can get my Mario Kart on whilst on the go?

Hit the jump for some PSX emu action.

Click here to view the embedded video.

So WWDC is in full swing, fancy new developer stuff sprouting from left, right and center. The keynote that kicked it all off is probably the most talked about event at WWDC and it delivered on many fronts debunking rumours and confirming suspicions. As with all Apple announcements the air of secrecy that Apple manages to protect makes forcasting what’s coming like playing bingo.

Hit the read link to see how we did this year.

So how did we do?

iPhone 3GS

Storage bump – 16Gb and 32Gb replacing the 8Gb and 16Gb - on the money with that one

More RAM
New processor (incremental speed bump most likely)
- Although exact details aren’t available the stated 2x faster average definitely comes from a faster processor and more RAM

3.2Mp camera (no zoom or flash just a straight drop-in sensor replacement)
- 0.2MP out, not bad, autofocus with tap-to-focus also bolted in there

Digital compass (magnetometer)
- Present and accounted for.

Video recording
- Check

All the trappings of the current 3.0 beta (MMS, Copy/Paste, Spotlight etc etc)
- Goes without saying plus some extras like Voice control

7.2Mbps HSPDA (rather than the limited to 3.6Mbps current chipset)
- S for speed baby, not just on the processor front

Change of back plate to a matte finish (hopefully less scratch prone)
- Sadly missing, nothing other than the addition of a S on the back has changed on the appearance front

Possibly:
802.11 N (rather than b/g)
- No additions just b/g (time to upgrade to a dual band router)

Front facing camera for video calling
- Absent, although I’ve never really considered mobile video calling viable because of the cost issues at least in the UK.

Budget iPhone (I wouldn’t put it past Apple to keep the current iPhone 3G like they have done the White Macbook as a ‘budget’ offering)
- Bingo! Right on the money with this one.

Predictions for WWDC, because WWDC is much bigger than the iPhone:

iPhone revision 3 announced for release in July
- 1/2 month out, didn’t realise they’d have their act together so soon.

iPhone 3.0 firmware made available for download from the keynote for original iPhone 3G owners
- 17th July, not what I was hoping for but it’s not that long to wait I guess.

Snow Leopard goes Gold
- Apple didn’t say but they committed to a September release and only $29 for the privileged (bargain if you ask me)

Snow Leopard shown off to the Apple faithful to be released July/August/September
- Just in with that one

Lots of talk about the new technology behind Snow Leopard including perhaps a road map to a new file system to replace the ageing HFS
- No talk of file systems but lots of new goodies in Snow Leopard including new GPU hookins and Grand Central Dispatch to name but a few.

MacBook and possibly MacBook Pro incremental refresh (processor, memory, HDD bumps)
- Got a bit more than I was expecting from this one. Definitely didn’t see the 13″ MacBook Pro coming, but pleased none the less because I miss the 12″ PowerBook from yester year

Talk of or presence of Steve Jobs returning (might be in the panel of Apple Execs up on the stage for the keynote)
- No mention of a Jobsian return but they haven’t said anything to indicate he won’t be back in July.

Overall I was quite saticefied with the WWDC keynote. From an iPhone prespective you could feel a little hard done by with no radical changes available, but a faster device with video/autofocus camera and a compass, I’m pretty stoked about an upgrade in 6 months. Mind you it also pleases me that it’s not so radically different that I can’t resist until I’m actually eligible for the upgrade. Is it a Pre and Android beater? Time will tell.

From a Snow Leopard perspective I’m even more impressed and excited than before WWDC. I definitely wasn’t expecting the upgrade to cost so little, puts Microsoft’s Windows pricing to shame! I’m looking at Snow Leopard as a building and consolidating upgrade that makes subtle changes to an already winning formula but with big performance upgrades. It’ll make my year old MacBook Pro all nice a new again and likely run a bit faster.

What are your thoughts on WWDC so far? Pleased? Cheesed off at AT&T for basically killing all the new goodies you could get on your iPhone 3G? Left wanting more from a new iPhone? Hit us up in the comments.