iPhone Firmware 1.1.3 100% Confirmed, Breaks Unlock Apps

Here's a video of the iPhone Firmware 1.1.3, with confirmation that the leak is real from Natetrue, famed iPhone hacker. Like before, the update breaks unlocks and third-party apps, patching previous vulnerabilities at the same time. The video shows how to move icons around in the Springboard, wobbling to indicate they can be dragged and dropped around, which is kind of an Apple-meets-Nintendo touch:



We had some doubts, but now we can tell you we are sure: the new firmware 1.1.3 is real. Or as Nate puts it: "if it is a hoax, they did a buttload of work." The fact is that it installs normally and it works perfectly. For those not familiar, Natetrue is one of the most respected and veteran iPhone hackers and the author of the popular app iBrickr.

Nate goes on to say that "it installs on the phone no-questions-asked and for that you need to have Apple's private key, which i can confirm that the iphone hacker community does not have—as much as we would love to have it." Indeed, Apple's private encrypted key, used to authenticate all accesses to the iPhone most-private guts, hasn't been uncovered yet by anyone in the world.

In other words, no firmware upgrades can be installed without the knowledge of this key. Furthermore, the idea that someone would have access to this key and spend months to create a fully functional firmware update, with key new features and without any documentation whatsoever seems just absolutely silly.

Effects on unlocks and Third-party applications

The update breaks AnySim's unlocks. Logically, you can't unlock this update using AnySim and there's no alternative to iTunes for activation. If you want to activate, it will only work using iTunes and a standard AT&T account. Nate says, "that is the only way we have been able to activate so far." Nate tried to upgrade an AnySim 1.2u iPhone and it failed. Even while he was able to force it to boot, the phone refused to activate even with a normal AT&T SIM card. "I suspect it's due to the fact that the baseband could not be upgraded to the 1.1.3 'required' version", he says.

Other updates remain untested, like iPhone Sim Free or any of the hardware-based ones, like TurboSIM. In theory, these should work just fine, but jailbreak and activation would be absolutely impossible for the time being. We would have to wait until the update gets released in the open to try new alternative activation methods.

Your favorite third-party apps will be gone too, with no possibility of return for now. The update fixes the bugs which allowed "the jailbreak method we were using for 1.1.2, locking us out again, as expected."

Other effects

Like previous firmware upgrades, whatever is in the user partition remains unchanged. Only the Apple-owned part is affected by 1.1.3. So for those of you who claim that this is a fake because it says "Nate" in the network instead of "AT&T," that's the reason. He changed the network name in 1.1.2 using a program by Erica Sadun, of TUAW, called Make It Mine.

New features and future releases

The list of new features are confirmed too: all are correct, but he couldn't confirm if they are the only ones or not.
Many of you would be wondering how this could have happened, knowing the extremely tight security around the iPhone firmware updates. We don't know, but apparently the leak has occurred because "someone wanted to help the unlock effort." The source of the leak is completely anonymous, even to the people who have had access to the upgrade.

Why the update hasn't hit Torrent yet? The code could be watermarked to catch any leaks "so for now it's screenshots and videos." Also, distributing it won't make much sense at this point: according to Nate the iPhone 1.1.3 Firmware update could hit as soon as next week.


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For Nokia, Excess is a Vertu

Its luxury division is booming as a high-end cell phone becomes the latest status symbol for the world's richest people

And you thought you were a big spender, splashing out a few hundred on that Apple (AAPL) iPhone or LG (TK) Prada cell phone this holiday season.

For the very rich, a high-end cell phone means something else entirely. They're plunking down thousands —even millions—for handsets loaded with gold, gems, and other over-the-top extras.

The biggest purveyor of cell-phone bling is Vertu. This British subsidiary of mobile phone giant Nokia (NOK) makes phones costing from $6,500 to $72,500. Even the lower-priced models boast fine materials such as Italian leather and 18-carat gold, while top-of-the-line units are studded with hundreds of diamonds and other precious stones. And every phone has access to a concierge service that can help you, say, charter a private jet to the Bahamas.

That Warm Luxury Feeling

The market for such luxury is bigger than you might think. Parent company Nokia doesn't disclose sales figures, but Neil Mawston, associate director at the British telecom consultancy Strategy Analytics, reckons Vertu sells about 200,000 handsets a year at an average $8,000 each. That works out to a cool $1.6 billion, nearly 3% of Nokia's $58 billion revenues.

And, says Mawston, "Vertu is Nokia's version of Ferrari. It creates a warm luxury feeling for the rest of the phone line."

Vertu's president, Alberto Torres, says sales are on track to rise 120% this year. That follows 140% growth in 2006 fueled by booming sales in Russia, China, and the Middle East. "From what we've seen, the creation of a multibillion-dollar market in luxury phones over the next few years is very possible," Torres says.

Sales Up Everywhere

The success of Vertu contrasts with Nokia's strategy of bringing low-cost phones to the masses in emerging markets (BusinessWeek.com, 8/10/07) such as India and Brazil. Surprisingly, these countries are now some of Vertu's most important markets as the mega-rich across the developing world seek the trappings of their newfound wealth.

According to Vertu's Torres, sales in Russia already outstrip those of any country in Western Europe, while the Mideast market should clock triple-digit growth until 2010. Demand is strong in more developed countries, too, with U.S. sales up 200% last year. And Vertu plans to enter the tech-savvy Japanese market in the second half of 2008.

Now some luxurious extras on Vertu handsets are starting to migrate to less expensive Nokia models. In December the Finnish company unveiled two versions of its 8800 series, priced at almost $1,500—that include leather casings and sapphire-encrusted keypads.

Diamonds Are Forever, Until You Upgrade

"Nokia can use what has worked well at Vertu and take it to a wider audience," says Steven Hartley, senior analyst at London telecom consultancy Ovum. "Vertu will remain an aspirational brand, but its ethos will filter down into more mainstream phones." The relationship between Nokia and Vertu could help the Finnish company fend off rivals that are increasingly targeting superrich customers.

Already companies such as Switzerland's GoldVish and Russia's Gresso offer handsets with diamond finishings and solid gold cases that run into the thousands of dollars. The prize for the most expensive phone, though, goes to Russian data-protection company Ancort, whose platinum-covered, diamond-studded Crypto smart phone sells for $1.3 million.

Luxury watchmakers such as Tag Heuer (LVMH.PA) have announced plans to enter the luxury mobile phone market, too. And British custom-phone manufacturer Amosu has thrown its hat in the ring with a diamond-encrusted version of the iPhone that retails for $40,000.

"As Vertu makes more and more money, other vendors will start to look at this market more seriously," says Strategy Analytic's Mawston. For now, however, the combination of Nokia technology and strong customer demand gives Vertu a clear edge in this fast-growing luxury business.

Via Business Week

Google Phone In Spring 2008?

Google, apparently has taken substantial amount of floor space at the upcoming Mobile World Congress trade show in Barcelona, Spain, leading some to speculate that the company might actually be ready to launch its Android based phones

While there is certainly an outside chance of the Google Phone launch, the more realistic and plausible scenario will be Google showing off a few prototype handsets. HTC, is the only handset maker that has publicly said that a device will be available in late 2008.

So why the big presence in Barcelona? Well Google has to win the hearts and minds of the mobile world, find partners and show the seriousness of its mobile efforts.

Via GigaOm

Best "iPhone Killer". Who?

So, there are many iPhone competitors at the market of mobile phones. Thus, we wish to ask the Internet users " iPhone Killer " in your opinion, can make a real competition at the market of mobile phones? Express your opinion!

# Samsung F700

First iPhone Killer - Samsung F700 is an ultra smart HSDPA capable 3.5G mobile phone. The Samsung F700 phone is an elegantly designed mobile phone which includes best range of multimedia features with download speeds of up to 7.2Mbps. The handset supports GPRS, UMTS (3G) and EDGE minus WiFi. The Samsung F700 mobile phone is built with a touch screen with Drag and drop facility and QWERTY key pad. Samsung F700 handset comes with a 5 MP digital camera with auto focus and flash. It also includes a secondary camera to make video calls. You can watch videos, listen to songs, share your photographs and send and receive email with a Samsung F700 handset.

Samsung F700 Hands-On Video:

# LG PRADA

Second iPhone Killer - LG Prada. LG teams up with the fashion house Prada to bring you a beautiful mobile gizmo, the LG Prada KE850. The LG KE850 Prada is a glamorous creation meant to carve a niche for itself with its sensuous black looks. You will be enamored with the exclusive Prada- style 3 inch touch screen display of the LG KE850. The LG Prada is a luxuriously designed handset with a smooth and glossy leather casing. The LG Prada is a perfect gizmo for the music-lovers with its multi-formatted audio player and a decent memory size. The LG Prada KE 850 also packs up different features like a 2 megapixel camera, an MPEG4 video recorder and a document viewer.

LG Prada Phone Video Test:

# Nokia Aeon

Third iPhone Killer - Nokia Aeon. The concept phone will feature a full surface touch screen display that replaces the traditional keypad. Its unique design gives this concept phone an extremely sleek and sexy look. Nokia should use some perfected material that doesn't leave fingerprints on Aeon's touch screen display; otherwise, you will probably spend half your time wiping it.

Nokia Aeon Video:

# Neonode N2

Fourth iPhone Killer - Neonode N2. It's the patented screen technology that enables the unique design of Neonode N2 and makes it so easy to use. You do everything on-screen simple and convenient. Neonode N2 is also an open platform, which means that you can download all the additional applications and features you want your device to have. With Neonode WRR you can also record and fill your Neonode N2 with music from radio channels on the web. It's the patented screen technology that enables the unique design of Neonode N2 and makes it so easy to use. You do everything on-screen simple and convenient. Neonode N2 is also an open platform, which means that you can download all the additional applications and features you want your device to have. With Neonode WRR you can also record and fill your Neonode N2 with music from radio channels on the web.

Neonode N2 Hands-On Video:

# Neo1973

Fifth iPhone Killer - Neo1973. The device, getting thrown together courtesy of the OpenMoko project with the goal of open-sourcing both the phone and the platform, will drop first in $200 "Hacker's Lunchbox" trim (for the aforementioned hackers) late this month featuring a seemingly bombproof plastic box to hold your GPLed bundle of joy and its dev tools.

Neo1973 Video:

# Asus Aura

Sixth iPhone Killer - Asus Aura. The Asus Aura phone will be featured a sliding QWERTY keyboard, a movable navigation module with navigation buttons, a 3.9 touchscreen display, a 2MP camera, GSM, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth connectivity. It has some things that the Apple iPhone doesn't, such as HSDPA and UMTS. Sadly, the Asus Aura is just a concept.

# FIC-GTA001

Seventh iPhone Killer - FIC-GTA001. Linux-based, GPS-equipped, quad-band GSM/GPRS phone direct, worldwide, for 350USD or less, in Q1, 2007. First International Computing's (FIC's) "Neo1973" or FIC-GTA001, is the first phone based on the open-source "OpenMoKo" platform.

# BenQ-Siemens Black Box

Eighth iPhone Killer - BenQ-Siemens Black Box. The interesting concept phone from BenQ Siemens. Similar to a concept phone call BenQ Siemens Ruby , the Black Box uses a touch screen as its keypad. Depends on the functions you are using, the touch screen change the control layout immediately.

# Meizu M8

Ninth iPhone Killer - Meizu M8. In terms of raw specs, the M8 is said to sport standard GSM, TD-SCDMA for 3G data, a 3.3-inch widescreen (720x480) display, Bluetooth, and an ARM11 CPU. What's more, they've upped the ante in the camera department, beating Apple's picture-taker by one whole megapixel. The 3MP cam on board is also capable of recording video at 30fps (at the device's full 720 x 480 resolution).

Meizu M8 Video from CeBit 2007:

What your choice?

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Exclusive: Apple to adopt Intel's ultra-mobile PC platform

Kasper Jade

Published: 10:00 AM EST

Apple Inc. will form a closer bond with once-rival Intel Corp. early next year when it begins building a new breed of ultra-mobile processors from the chipmaker into a fresh generation of handheld devices, AppleInsider has learned.

The two firms have been rubbing the sticks ever since the Spring of 2005, when Apple agreed to use Intel's desktop and mobile class processors to further the development of its Mac product line, leaving behind an ailing relationship with PowerPC chip supplier IBM.

In the months that followed, Intel went on to form an internal 'Apple Group' comprised of engineering and sales staff who serve to aid Apple's engineers in Intel-related product development, while pitching to the computer maker new technologies from its own internal skunkwork operations. 

By last March, the two industry heavyweights were admittedly on to something when Deborah Conrad, vice president and director of Team Apple at Intel, told a group of CNet reporters that Apple's way of looking at the world was making Intel "think different" about its own business.

"That's really what's interesting about Apple, is they look at our technology in a very Apple way," she said, adding that when it came to the prospect of future gadgets other than the iPod, her team got "very, very excited."

The pair's first foray into this extended venture appears to have been the Apple TV wireless set-top-box, which employed a down clocked Intel Pentium M "Crofton" chip at its core. But what's on tap next promises to push the envelope in a completely different direction -- ultra-mobile PCs.

People familiar with the matter tell AppleInsider that Apple will soon emerge as one of the largest supporters of Intel's "Menlow" Mobile Internet Device (MID) platform -- the same platform the Santa Clara-based chipmaker has been harping about for the past several months.

More specifically, those same people say, Apple has taken a liking to the upcoming 45-nanometer (nm) "Silverthorne" chip, agreeing to use it in not one but multiple products currently situated on its 2008 calendar year product roadmap. 

Introduced at this year's Spring Intel Developer Forum (IDF) with availability slated for early 2008, Silverthorne is aimed specifically at cell phones, ultra-mobile PCs and other MIDs. The chip is expected to be as fast as the second-generation of Pentium M processors, but use only between half a watt and 2 watts of electrical power -- about one tenth as much as a typical notebook chip.

For his part, Intel chief executive Paul Otellini has gone on record in placing the advancements due with Silverthorne in the same light as those delivered by the original Pentium microprocessor way back when.

"The importance of the new Silverthorne chip is only comparable with the 8088 processor or Pentium,” he told the German-language Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung in a June interview. Otellini added that his firm plans to deploy a whole "product family" of 45 nm Silverthorne chips in the near future aimed at capturing the "top 10 to 20 percent of the cellphone market.”

While those people familiar with Apple's product roadmap did not specify in which products the company planned to utilize the Silverthorne processors, two seemingly apparent contenders appear to be the second-generation 3G iPhone and the much rumored Newton successor / ultra-portable slate computer.



That's because, in addition to its extremely favorable power envelope, Silverthorne can fit onto a scant 74mm by 143mm motherboard -- paving the way for lighter, sleeker industrial designs. What's more, Intel in September announced plans to offer ultra-mobile PC builders such as Apple the option to build WiFi, 3G, and WiMAX technologies into their Menlow-based chip packages, such as Silverthorne.

While embedded support for these features threatens Apple's ongoing relationship with several component makers like South Korea-based system-on-a-chip (SoC) supplier Samsung -- whose chips power both the iPhone and new iPod touch -- it presents several cost- and space-saving opportunities for iPhone-like gadgets going forward.

Speaking at the Spring IDF, Otellini said Silverthorne focuses more on cost-efficiency than any of his company's recent designs, which should help Intel boost margins while simultaneously making ultra-mobile computing more affordable worldwide.



"Silverthorne is the most cost efficient processor since the 286," he said, wielding a 300mm wafer containing a whopping of 2500 of the 45nm processors. "But it is about 100 times faster."

Otellini promised that the average price of a Silverthorne-based product would be approximately $100, which in itself suggests numerous inexpensive devices for Apple. However, several pricier products are also expected to sport the technology alongside added features.

It remains unclear whether Apple will be ready to divulge details of its own Silverthrone-based products at next month's Macworld Expo, or if those announcements will be reserved until a later date to coincide with general availability of the Intel chip.

Nevertheless, Apple's decision to adopt the Menlow platform further suggests a longer-term strategy that would indeed see the electronics maker step up to that platform's successor, Moorestown, in 2009 or 2010.


Intel shows off iPhone-like concept device running on Moorestown platform | Image courtesy of DailyTech.

At the most recent Fall IDF, Intel executives flaunted an unnamed Moorestown processor, describing it as the 'chip the iPhone would have wanted.' Similar to Silverthorne, the 45nm design bundles an integrated memory controller, video encode/decode engine and graphics processor all on a single SoC.

During an ensuing demonstration, executives whipped out an iPhone-like ultra-mobile PC in apparent homage to Apple, explaining that the Moorestown-based device could run constantly for 24 hours between charges.

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Nokia to W3C - "Ogg Is Proprietary, DRM Good"

Nokia has filed a submission with the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) objecting to the use of Ogg Theora as the baseline video standard for the Web. Ogg is an open encoding scheme (On2, the company that developed it, gave it and a free, perpetual unlimited license to its patents to the nonprofit Xiph foundation), but Nokia called it "proprietary" and argued for the inclusion of standards that can be used in conjunction with DRM, because "from our viewpoint, any DRM-incompatible video related mechanism is a non-starter with the content industry (Hollywood). There is in our opinion no need to make DRM support mandatory, though."

DRM -- Digital Rights Management, or Digital Restrictions Management -- is technology that prevents you from using some files by taking over part of your computer so that it won't obey your requests. DRM is always proprietary. Before a DRM is released, it is infected with "Hook IP" -- a patent or trade secret that is introduced to the technology so that the only way you can implement the DRM is by licensing the Hook IP. Anyone who licenses the Hook IP is forced to promise to make their DRM behave as intended, preventing uses and taking over computers and devices. Without Hook IP, a company could implement the DRM but leave out the restrictions, shipping products that allow all the uses their competitors' products deny. Hook IP gives the DRM maker something to sue over if this happens.



So DRM is by definition proprietary. If it's not proprietary, it can't be DRM.

And, of course, Ogg Theora is not proprietary. It does have some patents covering it, but those patents have been surrendered, to all intents and purposes.

Most importantly, the W3C is probably the purest anti-proprietary standards body on the planet, having already rejected any kind of licensing conditions or fees for its standards, setting the bar for anyone who wants to add to the Web: such additions have to be as free as the Web itself.

Nokia intervention here is nothing short of bizarre. Ogg is not proprietary, DRM is, and DRM-free may be a "non-starter" for Hollywood today, but that was true of music two years ago and today, most of the labels are lining up to release their catalogs without DRM. The Web, and Web-based video, are bigger than Hollywood. The Web is not a place for proprietary technology or systems that take over your computer. For Nokia (and Apple, who also lobbied hard for DRM inclusion) to get the Web this badly wrong, this many years into the game, is really sad: if you haven't figured out that the Web is open by 2007, you just haven't been paying attention.

Some Slashdot commenters have pointed out that they have technical problems with Ogg Theora. That's a valid discussion to have -- if the W3C is going to pick a video codec, its technical merits should be discussed. But remember, that's not what Nokia is objecting to: they are arguing that Ogg is proprietary (it isn't) and that DRM should be part of a Web standard (it shouldn't).

PDF link to Nokia's W3C submission

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Pownce Mobile Now Live!

Pownce now has a full featured Mobile site for use with mobile devices. Looks great on the iPhone!

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MS targeting iPhone Safari in next Win Mobile?

The next version of Microsoft's mobile OS beyond Windows Mobile 6.1 will be the first to directly tackle advancements brought about by the iPhone, according to statements the company has made at the recent Mobius conference and echoed by Engadget. The unnamed update will effectively port a desktop version of Internet Explorer to the handset environment to render web pages in a largely accurate manner similar to that of Apple's mobile Safari browser. Programs for managing music, photos, and other content will also be made easier to use than current incarnations.

A longer-term update will bring more dramatic changes, Microsoft says. The software developer hopes to make the interface much easier to use with fingers compared to today's OS, which includes numerous small elements that are often difficult to activate without a stylus. It would also include a global search feature similar to those found in Windows Vista or Mac OS X as well as a correlation feature that offers context-sensitive information such as e-mail addresses depending on current actions.



The web browser update may depend heavily on technology pioneered in the company's Deepfish project, which adds a whole-page view of a site and maintains the original layout rather than attempt to fit the contents to the smaller view window common to cellphones.



Microsoft has not issued a schedule for when it expects any of the updates to appear, though the firm is expected to release Windows Mobile 6.1 by early 2008 and typically does not issue frequent updates to the software.

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Verizon Embraces Google's Android

In yet another sudden shift, Verizon Wireless plans to support Google's (GOOG) new software platform for cell phones and other mobile devices. Verizon Wireless had been one of several large cellular carriers withholding support from the Android initiative Google launched in early November.

But given the stunning U-turn Verizon Wireless made Nov. 27, announcing plans to allow a broader range of devices and services on its network, Chief Executive Officer Lowell McAdam says it now makes sense to get behind Android. "We're planning on using Android," McAdam tells BusinessWeek. "Android is an enabler of what we do."

McAdam's Open-Access Campaign

Though skeptics see ulterior motives and question just how easy Verizon will make it for rival products to get on its network, the surprise embrace of an open-access model and of the Android software culminates a dramatic yearlong evolution in the company's thinking. The effort, championed by McAdam, involved meetings with the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission and late-night bull sessions with the top two executives at Verizon Communications (VZ), which owns Verizon Wireless in partnership with Vodafone (VOD).

All the while, McAdam kept focus by carrying a crumpled piece of paper in his pocket with seven bullet points defining what an open-access policy would mean to Verizon Wireless. "The paper is all wrinkled and it's got coffee stains," he says.

McAdam was more amenable to shifting gears thanks to time spent during the 1990s in Europe and Asia, where the wireless industry is more of a free-for-all. As vice-president for international operations at AirTouch Communications, now a part of Verizon Wireless, McAdam says he was impressed that European and Asian mobile carriers backed technologies that allow subscribers to switch to rivals with ease.

By contrast, Verizon Wireless has created the most profitable U.S. cellular business by tightly restricting the devices and applications allowed to run on its network. But over the past year, the company's leadership came to conclude that it was time for a radical shift. Such a move, they reckoned, might help Verizon Wireless keep growing while holding down costs.

Combating Market Saturation

When Verizon Wireless was founded in 2000, it ran 27 call centers to provide customer service. The company cut back to as few as 17 centers at one point, but the count is now back to 25, each with about a thousand employees. The company's 2,300 stores, staffed by 20,000 employees, are also costly. While workers in those stores used to spend nearly the entire day signing up new customers, now only a tenth of their time is consumed by new subscribers. Instead, the bulk of their energy goes to helping current subscribers with questions and problems. McAdam & Co. decided the business model was not sustainable. "If we get to 150 million customers, boy, that's a lot of overhead," says McAdam.

In an open-access model, though, Verizon Wireless won't offer the same level of customer service as it does for the roughly 50 phone models featured in its handset lineup. Though the company will insist on testing all phones developed to run on its network in the open-access program, Verizon plans only to ensure the wireless connection is working for customers who buy those devices. "They have to talk to their handset provider or their application provider if they have particular issues," McAdam says.

What's more, the open-access approach may enable Verizon to tap into niche markets that haven't been worth targeting. Verizon Wireless subsidizes the cost of all the handsets it sells directly to customers. Thanks to the costly process of developing phones with the likes of Samsung and LG, then testing each for hundreds of factors such as how hot the screen gets, only devices with mass appeal get the nod. "I can't go to 100" handsets in the lineup, says McAdam. "If a particular product can't generate 100,000 [purchases], it's not worth doing."

But with "outside" devices developed under Verizon's new policy, handset makers will bear most of the development costs. And because users won't be buying such devices from Verizon, the company won't be subsidizing those purchases. As a result, Verizon's network may come to support hundreds of devices, many customized for non-mass-market needs the company doesn't serve. "This allows them to add customers onto their network without having to spend as much to get them," says Todd Rosenbluth, an industry analyst for Standard & Poor's (which, like BusinessWeek, is a unit of The McGraw-Hill Companies (MHP)).

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