Fashion and You:Indulge Yourself
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
0
comments
ANDROID ON iPHONE
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
0
comments
Maybe you want to liberate your iPhone from Apple's clutches. Maybe you just want to tinker with something new. Either way, you've seen Android running on the iPhone, and you want to try it for yourself.Still a Work in Progress
Although this port does everything that you expect your smartphone to be able to do, it isn't usable for day-to-day activities just yet--I haven't implemented any power-management functions, so a fully charged iPhone running Android will last only an hour or so.A few bugs and performance issues remain, too, so while the phone will be usable, it won't be fast. If you do something unexpected (such as forcing the iPhone off), there is a small chance that you may end up restoring your device. However, it is impossible for any bugs to brick or disable your iPhone permanently.
How to Install Android on Your iPhone
Here's how to install Google's Android OS on your iPhone. Be forewarned, though: This hack isn't for the faint of heart.
What You Need
1. A first-generation iPhone or an iPhone 3G with firmware versions between 2.0 and 3.1.2, jailbroken with Redsn0w, Blacksn0w, or PwnageTool. If you already updated your handset to 3.1.3 or to a 4.0 beta, you must use PwnageTool to create a jailbroken 3.1.2 .ipsw file to restore down to.
Note that I am explicitly excluding the iPhone 3GS, all iPod Touchmodels, and the iPad. This hack will not work with those devices (yet). I am also explicitly excluding iPhone OS 3.1.3 and all of the 4.0 betas. It will not work with the Spirit jailbreak, either.
If you haven't yet jailbroken your iPhone, don't worry--it's a simple process that consists mainly of pressing buttons on the device when prompted and clicking the next button in a wizard. I humbly recommendRedsn0w, since I wrote much of the code for that program.
2. A 32-bit Linux system or virtual machine (I recommend Ubuntu). See "How to Easily Install Ubuntu Linux on Any PC" for instructions if you don't already have Ubuntu.
Although much of the process can be conducted on any machine, one of the tools involved (called 'oibc') has not yet been ported to Windows. In addition, the binaries I provide are compiled on a 32-bit Ubuntu machine.
All of the utilities compile for Linux and Mac, however, so if you're feeling adventurous, compile the sources at github.com/planetbeing/iphonelinux and github.com/planetbeing/xpwn instead of using the binaries.
3. The prebuilt images and binaries; the exact files you use depend on whether you have a first-generation iPhone or an iPhone 3G.
4. The iPhone OS 3.1.2 .ipsw file for your device, namely either iPhone1,1_3.1.2_7D11_Restore.ipsw or iPhone1,2_3.1.2_7D11_Restore.ipsw. Chances are, you already have this file somewhere on your computer, but if you need it, you can download it.
5. The firmware for the Marvell WLAN chip inside the iPhone. Go to the URL, and on the right side of the page you should see a drop-down menu labeled 'Choose your platform'. Select Linux 2.6 - Fedorafrom the drop-down menu and click the Search button underneath. Download the file labeled SD-8686-LINUX26-SYSKT-9.70.3.p24-26409.P45-GPL. You'll get a file called SD-8686-LINUX26-SYSKT-9.70.3.p24-26409.P45-GPL.zip.
Android on iPhone, Step-by-Step
The first steps collect the multitouch and WLAN firmware for the iPhone. We cannot legally redistribute these binary blobs, so it is necessary for you to extract them from the .ipsw file and Marvell's Website.1. On the Linux machine, create a folder named firmware in your home directory.
2. Extract SD-8686-FEDORA26FC6-SYSKT-GPL-9.70.3.p24-26409.P45.tar from SD-8686-LINUX26-SYSKT-9.70.3.p24-26409.P45-GPL.zip to a temporary folder.
3. Extract FwImage/helper_sd.bin and FwImage/sd8686.bin from SD-8686-FEDORA26FC6-SYSKT-GPL-9.70.3.p24-26409.P45.tar and put them inside your 'firmware' folder.
4. Rename helper_sd.bin to sd8686_helper.bin.
You have your WLAN firmware at this point. Now for the multitouch firmware.
5. On the Linux machine, create a folder named idroid in your home directory and extract utils/dripwn from the prebuilt tarball (.tar archive) you downloaded into it.
6. Copy or move the 3.1.2 .ipsw file you obtained from Apple's Website into the same 'idroid' folder as dripwn.
7. Start a command-line shell (Terminal under Ubuntu) and navigate to the 'idroid' folder you created. You can type cd ~/idroid to do this.
8. Go to this page if you have an iPhone 3G or this page if you have an older iPhone. Copy the VFDecrypt key.
9. In the shell you started earlier, if you have a first-generation iPhone, type the following:
./dripwn iPhone1,1_3.1.2_7D11_Restore.ipsw [the VFDecrypt key you copied]
If you have a iPhone 3G, type the following:
./dripwn iPhone1,2_3.1.2_7D11_Restore.ipsw [the VFDecrypt key you copied]
10. After a while, the command will finish and you will have zephyr_main.bin, zephyr_aspeed.bin, and zephyr2.bin in your 'idroid' folder. Move these files into the 'firmware' folder.
You now have all the files needed for Android, and you can begin installing it.
11. If you haven't already, install the OpenSSH tool on your iPhone viaCydia.
12. If you just installed OpenSSH, connect to your iPhone via SSH, log in as root with the password alpine, and type passwd root to change the password for root. Then, enter passwd mobile to change the password for the mobile user.
Don't skip this step. All of the iPhone worms out there affect you only if you haven't changed the SSH password from the default.
13. Extract prebuilt/android.img.gz, prebuilt/cache.img, prebuilt/ramdisk.img, prebuilt/system.img, prebuilt/userdata.img, and zImage from the prebuilt tarball.
14. Use the 'scp' command or an SFTP client to upload all of these files into the /private/var folder on the iPhone.
You can use these commands on Linux, if you wish to use scp instead of an SFTP graphical-interface client. Assuming you're in the same folder as the files, enter:
scp android.img.gz root@[ip address of iPhone]:/private/var/
scp cache.img root@[ip address of iPhone]:/private/var/
scp ramdisk.img root@[ip address of iPhone]:/private/var/
scp system.img root@[ip address of iPhone]:/private/var/
scp userdata.img root@[ip address of iPhone]:/private/var/
scp zImage root@[ip address of iPhone]:/private/var/
scp cache.img root@[ip address of iPhone]:/private/var/
scp ramdisk.img root@[ip address of iPhone]:/private/var/
scp system.img root@[ip address of iPhone]:/private/var/
scp userdata.img root@[ip address of iPhone]:/private/var/
scp zImage root@[ip address of iPhone]:/private/var/
15. Using the SFTP client or scp, create a folder called firmware in the /private/var folder on the iPhone; afterward, upload all the files from the 'firmware' folder you created earlier to it.
If the 'firmware' folder you created earlier is inside your home directory, you can use the following command:
scp -r ~/firmware/ root@[ip address of iPhone]:/private/var/firmware
16. Reboot your iPhone. As a safety precaution, check to make sure that the files are still present after the reboot and that they all have the right sizes. An incorrect file size is one that does not exactly match the source file size (for example, system.img is not 71327744 bytes, android.img.gz is not 2161556 bytes, or zImage is not 2364280 bytes on the 3G or not 2356044 bytes on the older iPhone).
Many people have trouble with this process because not all of the files reached their iPhone in one piece.
17. Extract utils/oibc, utils/loadibec, and prebuilt/openiboot.img3 from the prebuilt tarball into your 'idroid' folder.
18. Shut down the iPhone and place it into Recovery Mode: With the iPhone powered off and plugged into the computer via USB, push Hold and Home simultaneously, and then let go of Hold after the backlight turns on. Continue holding Home until the 'Connect to iTunes' image appears on the screen.
19. Run the following commands in Terminal (you'll need to install libusb-0.1-4 with Synaptics or 'apt-get' if you haven't already):
cd ~/idroid
sudo ./loadibec openiboot.img3
If all goes well, the 'openiboot' boot menu should now appear!
20. Use either the volume-control buttons or the Hold button to select the second menu option, Console. Tap the Home button to launch it.
A text-mode console should start running on your screen, ending with a 'Welcome to openiboot' message.
21. Type sudo ./oibc in Terminal.
The same messages that appeared on the iPhone screen should now appear in Terminal. You should next make a backup of the NOR (the device on which the iPhone's bootloader is stored) in case something goes wrong, so you don't brick your iPhone.
22. Type nor_read 0x09000000 0x0 1048576 in Terminal/oibc. This will read the entire NOR into main memory.
23. Type ~norbackup.bin@0x09000000:1048576 in Terminal/oibc. A file will appear in the 'idroid' folder called norbackup.bin. Keep this somewhere safe.
The command uploads the NOR to the computer. After you make this backup, you are now free to modify the NOR. The next step installs OpeniBoot onto the NOR, supplanting the existing Apple iBoot bootloader.
24. Type install in Terminal/oibc.
This process may take a few minutes. Wait until the installation-complete message appears.
25. Type reboot in Terminal/oibc and then exit out of it by pressing Ctrl-C.
The OpeniBoot menu should now come up whenever you boot your iPhone. Note that you can uninstall OpeniBoot from oibc with the 'uninstall' command. Type help for a list of all OpeniBoot commands.
You can still get into the iPhone OS's recovery mode by holding down Home on the iPhone OS option in the menu until the 'Connect to iTunes' image appears (instead of just tapping Home).
You should be finished! Use the OpeniBoot menu to boot Android by selecting that OS from the menu whenever you wish. Unfortunately, no good method to shut down Android exists yet, so the only way to turn it off is to hold down the Hold and Home buttons until you've forced the phone off.
Check out iDroidWiki for more tutorials and tips on what you can do with your new Android iPhone.
thank u
i phone 4
Monday, January 17, 2011
0
comments
Earnings preview: The iPhone vs. Android holiday scoreboard
According to Steve Jobs, the real battle between iPhone and Android phones didn't start until October.
During a rare appearance on Apple's last earnings report, he admitted that Android "outshipped" Apple "as we were transitioning to iPhone 4." And he added that he was most interested in how sales of the two competing smartphone operating systems did during the final quarter of 2010
We get those results tomorrow afternoon. That's when Apple reports its fiscal first-quarter 2011 earnings, and for them that means accounting for its October, November, and December sales--prime holiday shopping time. That's crucial for any consumer goods company, but it's particularly important for the iPhone maker to see how it's doing compared to upstart mobile OS distributor Google and its free Android software. It's been proliferating across hundreds of devices and all major carriers, and over the summer began to show rapid gain in momentum. A report from ComScore last week showed Android just inched by iPhone, but remained behind Research In Motion in U.S. sales.
Of course tomorrow isn't all about the iPhone. Apple observers are anxious to hear how the iPad did during its first holiday sales period and while it's still one of just a few tablets for sale--something that will be very different come next December.
Overall, financial analysts are expecting yet another great showing from Apple: on average they expect revenue of $24.38 billion and earnings per share of $5.38. Here's the breakdown, by major product category, of what to look for.
iPhone: Bernstein Research thinks Apple will say it sold 15.2 million iPhones in its FYQ1, a 13 percent sequential increase over last year. Some of that increase at the end of the year can be attributed to AT&T allowing its customers to upgrade six months early without penalty starting in June. Many suspected it was a ploy to lock customers into new two-year contracts before the Verizon iPhone was announced last week.
Last quarter's earnings call was infused with a little extra drama when Steve Jobs joined the conference call and promptly jumped on the comparisons being made between sales of the iPhone and Android phones. He pointed out that Android "outshipped us while we were transitioning to iPhone 4," meaning for July, August, and September sales, and that he was looking forward to seeing the results of the last quarter of the year. Tomorrow we'll find out.
Obviously the biggest news so far for Apple this year is its introduction--at long last--of an iPhone able to work on Verizon's network. Now that we know Apple makes a CDMA iPhone, the next question is what other carriers that use that technology will be next to get it. KDDI in Japan is an example of a likely candidate.
iPad: Though the iPad debuted in early April, the last three months of the year are likely to bear the best results for sales of the touch-screen tablet. Why? Because Apple had some well-known problems with its supply of the iPad for Apple stores and other retail partners. Even during its last earnings call in October COO Tim Cook admitted that his inventory was still not beefed up to what is typical for Apple.
UBS analyst Maynard Um is telling his investors that the most recent quarter for Apple was likely the first that the iPad was not experiencing those supply issues.
As a result, UBS adjusted its expectations for iPad sales for the quarter, saying it expects 6 million iPads sold instead of the previous estimate of 5.5 million.
The iPad was also available in more places during the holiday season: Apple stores, AT&T stores, plus Target, Wal-Mart, and Best Buy. Verizon also began selling the iPad bundled with a Wi-Fi hot spot in October, all factors which suggest good results tomorrow.
Macs:There was only one new Mac released during the quarter, and UBS says it's expecting good results from it. Holiday sales of the MacBook Air, introduced right at the beginning of the holiday shopping season for $999 for the 11-inch model, was likely to attract shoppers, said UBS.
Overall, the firm estimates 3.9 million Macs sold during the quarter, which would be 16 percent more than last holiday.
iPod: Bernstein estimates Apple sold 19.3 million iPods, down 8 percent from holiday sales last year. That's despite a brand new iPod Touch with FaceTime and a "retina" display, but not much of a surprise: iPod sales have been dropping each quarter for more than a year.
Apple savvy in focus: The iPhone 4 camera
Apple's iPhone 4 camera packs a technology that a lot of buyers of the phone may have missed: a new image sensor tech that is coming into focus--pardon the pun--as camera makers like Kodak adopt the technology in higher-end cameras
The technology, called backside illumination, or BSI, was highlighted by Steve Jobs when he took the stage to roll out the new iPhone, as Joshua Goldman of CNET Reviews wrote here.
Apple's savviness shines through here. The company had to do its homework to get out in front of this trend, particularly in smartphones, which are not necessarily known for having the latest and greatest camera technology.
BSI sensors improve the image sensor's sensitivity--by boosting the amount of light captured--and, as a result, improve low-light performance while reducing noise. Sony was one of the first to announce the technology back in 2008. Another company, OmniVision, has made this available for smartphones.
OmniVision's BSI design takes the traditional CMOS (complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor) image sensor and turns the image sensor upside down, which is actually the most unobstructed way for light to strike the pixel. Why? Because conventional front-side illumination image sensors are left with relatively little photo-sensitive area after all of the transistors, dielectric layers, and metal circuitry are added on top.
I stumbled across one of the most recent applications of the technology during my trek across the vast north, central, and south halls at CES earlier this month. There, I bumped into the Kodak booth, where the U.S. camera company was showing off its new high-end EasyShare Max--(which is also mentioned here).
To contrast the difference with conventional sensors, Kodak has posted an example of a BSI sensor-generated image on its EasyShare Max page. In ad copy, Kodak describes BSI as follows: "CMOS sensors deliver higher quality pixels--better pixels are better than more pixels. Kodak's first BSI CMOS sensor delivers stunning low-light picture quality with less noise and less blur--no flash needed."
The copy about better pixels is important--a point Apple has made too. Kodak, to date, has been mostly an advocate of more pixels, not necessarily better pixels.
And Kodak is late to the BSI sensor party. It is not only following Apple but a host of other camera manufacturers like Sony--most recently in its Cyber-shot--and Samsung, as CNET Reviews has pointed out in the past.
But the fact that Apple, a smartphone maker, was one of the first to get this into a phone demonstrates Apple's tech smarts and heightens the anticipation for future iPhone 5 and iPad 2 products.
Report: All iPhones with OS 4.3 to get mobile hot spots
Yesterday Verizon (finally) announced that it is getting the iPhone for its wireless network. It wasn't much of a surprise--the rumors have been around for years and really came to a head in the last couple of weeks. But a revelation that wasn't widely expected was that the Verizon iPhone could work as a personal Wi-Fi hot spot. This essentially allows the iPhone to act as a Wi-Fi access point for up to five devices, allowing them to connect to Verizon's 3G network wherever the phone has coverage.
This type of easy tethering caught the attention of some AT&T iPhone users, as the feature is not available on current iPhones. The Verizon iPhone was noted as running a version of iOS 4.3, whereas current GSM iPhones are running 4.2. Thus the rumors started swirling that 4.3--released to developers today--would bring the feature to all iPhone's capable of running the OS, Verizon or AT&T-based.
And now, BGR, formerly known Boy Genius Report, says that the feature will indeed be available to all iPhones capable of running 4.3. Right now, that's looking like iPhone 4 on Verizon and AT&T, as well as the 3Gs on AT&T, or unlocked on another GSM provider.
For the personal hot spot to work, it's likely that the phone will have to have carrier support. Right now, AT&T charges a premium for Internet tethering, which is essentially what this is, and Verizon allows it with its top data plan. There's no telling now how other carriers, like T-Mobile, would implement it, if at all.
Of course, this is all according to a BGR source, who remains a mystery. It could be all false, but considering that the current version of iOS allows for USB and Bluetooth tethering, it doesn't at all seem far-fetched. We'll find out when 4.3 gets pushed to all iPhone users, whenever that is. But the next logical question is: will iPads with 3G get this feature?
