If you remember way back when I had an interesting conversation over chat with an AT&T representative where they prove they really can’t do anything.

Today we present to you, the customer and the agent that would like to hang themselves.

Want Turn by Turn on your iPhone from ATT?

Try paying $9/month! For an application.  Lets see, I pay for the data plan, the 450 minutes phone plan, and then cause SMS is not considered data…(go figure) I pay for unlimited SMS which comes out to about 100 bucks a month.  Now you’re telling me you’re going to sell an application and charge a montly fee of nearly 10 bucks a month?!  Screw you AT&T.

For non 3gs phones only you can now jailbreak your iphone. Check it out http://blog.iphone-dev.org/post/128573459/ultras-now . Ultrasn0w also lets you jump carriers.

Including wetwired’s own Prax. Someone asked “How can we be in a recession if people are standing in line to buy a new iphone?”. I replied.. “your tax dollars at work.”

Apparently we’ll have to keep waiting today as it has not been released just yet.

In just under 2 hours we’ll find out if Apple is releasing a new phone and we’ll find out about when the new iPhone OS is being released.   I’ll update here with information as it comes available.

Prax has been testing the iPhone OS 3 for a couple months and has found that the 3g portion is more reliable and seems to work better than it did before.

Update Highlights:

New 15″ Macbook, 7hrs battery life.
Has SD card slot
$1699 price

Note: Apple store is down right now for updates.

Macbook 13″ is getting a professional upgrade starting at $1199

Software Updates:
New version of OSX Snow Leopard will have exchange support, updated finder
Reduced footprint after installing (6GB) I think part of this is them removing some of the legacy support.
Handwriting recognition for the trackpad. (That’s cool).
Safari 4
Coverflow to browsing history
64bit Leopard – all major apps will run 64bit (so faster right?)
Better Tread orgaization for multi-core CPU’s
Easier to put on a windows network
Wow ($29 upgrade for those on Leopard.  Now that’s nice).

iPhone3G

OS 3
Yay, cut and paste!
undo support (ye old cntl-z style)
Landscape mode for other typing apps (notepad or txt msg for instance)
MMS Support (take pics or video and send them)
ATT ready for MMS at end of Summer. That’s right, they need till then to think about getting it ready…(kinda like how 3g still sucks here in Austin.)
Tethering over USB no wireless hack that drains battery faster…but you can use bluetooth (me thinks ATT is not keen on this one)
“Find my iPhone” you can login to mobile me and it will show you where your phone is (GPS/Cell Technology). You can send a message to your phone if its in silent mode from mobile me login and it will play ie – if its under a counch.
Remote Wipe (you can wipe your personal data off the phone if its lost/stolen)

JUNE 17th OS 3.0 will be out.

Apps
GPS – TomTom navigation for iPhone
Including a iPhone TomTom kit – has a dock, window suction cup, charges iphone while docked
Zipcar (car sharing; kinda interesting, website is timing out right now).
Unlock zipcar from app
Star Defense
Airstrip Technologies (Monitor Patient Data on Devices)

New iPhone 3Gs
Faster! 2x faster than iPhone 3g for loading apps (faster processor on this guy now)
3MP auto-focus camera (its on the back not the front)
Macro Shots – better low-light scenario (it really needed that)
Video Capture
Voice Control (nice to have)
Digital Compass built in – turns maps to where you are standing direction wise.
Improved Battery Life
5hrs talk, 9hrs wifi internet

$199 for 16GB and $299 for the 32GB version

Dropping the cost of the 3g to $99 bucks.  And new iPhone 3Gs out on the 19th.

Wetwired is now iphone friendly to those browsing to the site on the iphone.  We’re using a wordpress plug-in that auto-formats the site to a special theme that has some cool features.  Anyway check it out if you have an iPhone.

So now that you know that apple has let skype develop an application for the iPhone that allows you to chat and receive calls. But..and there is a but here, you wouldn’t expect anything less would you? You can’t make phone calls over 3g.  If you have a wireless connection on your iPhone then you can make and receive skype calls without a hitch.   You think At&T would want you to not use your minutes and only use your data unlimited plan? Think again mon frere’.

From the Skype FAQ:

Can I use Skype over 3G?

Most 3G networks should support Skype presence and chat.  However, Skype calling is not possible via the iPhone. Please note that data usage costs apply for using Skype over 3G mobile networks, so we recommend an unlimited data plan.

That said, if you have wireless and want to call locally or internationally its not a bad deal because you won’t be using your minutes – its around $2/month for US nation wide.

Update: According to commenter (cleve) if you jailbreak and use the beta of  3.0 OS for iPhone you can use skype over 3g.  Check out the video here.  The question of course is will that actually last when they roll out with the non-beta version of customers.  I suspect not.

That’s right sports fans, the wait is over as there is a work around until Sirius / XM comes out with its official app.  Through the magic of a iphone application called Pocket Tunes Radio you may now listen to sirius streaming 128bit stations on your iphone.  If you were like me, you were very disheartened to hear about the nicemac application Starplayr that got dropped while it was still in beta.   At least now we have an immediate solution (note to XM subscribers, this is unfortuantly not a solution for you).

Below is the screenshot from pocket tunes website that explains how to do this:
http://www.normsoft.com/kb/idx/55/292/article/

Update: It works for XM as well.  http://www.normsoft.com/kb/idx/55/291/article/

Apple didn’t approve the StarPlayr. No details on why, but for now those of us wanting SiriusXM over the iPhone will have to wait while whatever details that need to be worked out are cleared by NiceMac.

In the interim, they’re saying the beta app will continue to work and that they will continue to pursue getting the software out there for all of us.

Still… shit. I REALLY wanted that app.

Out.

I’ve uploaded this app onto my phone, and so far it’s pretty nifty.

The tv.com app, released by Viacom, allows one to watch show clips and full episodes from many shows on CBS and Showtime. The app works well on wifi and 3G, but can be spotty on EDGE. I’ve used it a few times tonight, and it shows video pretty well through the streaming player software on the iPhone.

The downside is that not all shows are listed with full episodes yet, but more are coming. The upside, of course, is that the app is free.

You can pick it up here. Enjoy.

Out

Since I have their advertisement on the site and I use the product I thought I’d pass along some savings.  If you’re a fan of zagg invisible shield products go here. Buy a full cover for your iPhone or other gift and you can get 30% off whatever you’re buying by entering the code “sitewide30″.

The offer ends the 31st.

Here is the video of the scratch proof. Yes, I’ve tried this myself after I put it on – its not fake advertisement.

Their products have been featured on CNN as well.

Well sports fans its me again your friendly iPhone junkie to bring you an update on whats happening in the world of iPhone hacking.  I have managed to drag myself away from WoW long enough to write a post, So let’s go….

Break these chains…

The big news that hit today is our favorite iPhone hacking group has finalized a hack to allow us 3G users to use our iPhones on different carriers, other then ATT.  This hack, known as a software unlock, updates the basic software that controls the telephone portion of your phone to allows it to talk to other networks.  This is pretty big news, it gives you the option to take your iPhone overseas with you and plug in someone else’s SIM (Subscriber Identification Module) into your phone and use it on their network.  This isn’t just for you globe trotting folks either, you can use say a T-Mobile SIM in your iPhone or any other GSM provider either here in the US or abroad.  So say goodbye to those huge ATT bills and unlock your iPhone and take it someplace cheaper.

The update that had to crash the party…

Apple has been dancing around ways to try to disable ways to pwn the iPhone for a while now but this time they took some pretty drastic action.  With the recent release of 10.5.6 Apple has found a way to thwart would be jail breakers at the OS level.  When the update is applied to a 10.5.5 makes it so the machine will no longer recognize the iPhone in what we call DFU mode, or restore mode.  So if the computer can no longer recognize the phone in this state, it renders any software talking to the phone useless.  Of course by now the small army of iPhone hackers out there are already hard at work at finding a way around this, it should only be a matter of time before the adopters of this newest update can enjoy a nice jail broken phone.

So long and thanks for all the swag…

Normally when I write on this blog its mainly about the iPhone and iPhone related news, but today I want to take a break from that and give tribute to a long standing event that as of this morning has its days numbered.  Earlier today, Apple computer issued a press release stating that they would be pulling out of Macworld, a long standing Apple/Mac OS trade show. And the upcoming one that is scheduled for early next year (2009) will be the last that Apple computer will be attending or putting on.  I understand their reasoning behind not wanting to spend the enormous amount of money that comes with putting on a show of this size, but it also saddens me as a computer user.

Let me impart to you some of my history with computers, I grew up using Mac’s in my household, since I was 3 years old when I started using a Mac 128k in my dad’s study I knew I would be using computers for the rest of my life. After getting into computers, I wanted to learn more about new an exciting products and technologies, this info was usually presented by Apple in the form of trade shows, Macworld being the largest.  So every year about this time I would start to keep a weary eye on the mailbox, and eventually the web, in hopes to find some information about what Apple could be releasing that year at Macworld.  Even in my later years when I switched over to the world of Start Menus and keystrokes like Ctrl-Alt-Delete, I would still watch the keynotes of Macworld while sitting at my desk in front of my Windows machine and talk to my dad over AIM while they were going on to discuss the latest and greatest  from the fruit flavored company.

So to you Macworld and Apple I would like to thank you for all the great product annoucments and memories you have provided me over the years, from the newton to e-world, Mac OS 6-10, and of course the iPhone.  Thank you for always putting on a great show and keeping me on the edge of my seat waiting to hear about your next new rabbit you are pulling from the proverbial hat.  As a sidenote in the same press release Apple said Steve Jobs, the turtle neck man himself, will not be giving the keynote this year, this is most likely due to his declining health , I wish you well Mr. Jobs, and hope to hear many more annoucments from you in the future via webcasts.

Man, the ubernerds are at it again. Check out the iPhone Dev Team site for info, and I’m sure Pylorns will have a step-by-step walkthrough out there soon enough. I’ve done the jailbrake to 2.2.1, and it works pretty smoothly.

Out.

The 2.2 release has been put out for iPhone users to download, and there are some new features on some apps. A quick ‘n dirty review below:

- Google Streets view in maps feature: This is incredibly cool. I’m not a major user of the street views online, but having it on the phone is really nifty- and kinda creepy. I looked up my grandmother’s address, and it pulled up just fine complete with a 360 degree view of her neighborhood. Just seemed… yeesh.

- Google Search relocated in Safari browser: Others are calling this an excellent adjustment to save screen real estate in the browser. I say… meh. I mean, it’s nice and all. Just not a huge change like others are saying.

- Podcast Over-the-air Download capability in iTunes: Okay, this one’s really nifty. They’ve finally added podcast downloads over wifi on the iPhone, and I love it. Now, if I want to get the latest episode of a favorite podcast and I’m not at home to get it, I can do so from my phone. Very convenient, very cool. I’ll be using this one.

Overall, some nice additions to the software- and yes, this means I killed the jailbrake I’d done to the phone a while back to get these updates. I can live without the jailbrake, to be honest. It killed battery life, had serious bugginess and I dropped calls with it. All of these problems were less severe once I went back to Apple’s firmware.

Out.