The Apple yourPHONE
From Mod Mania
Apple yourPhone
Jacob Cavallaro s3200432 Mod Mania
The Apple iPhone is arguably the most waited for and greatest phone ever and the greatest part about it, it was only released in the US (sarcastic). Because of its restriction to only be sold in the US, it caused a universal outcry to produce more products around the world. This caused a lot of angry Apple lovers around the globe, but what it did create was one of the largest modifications to one of the most loved and hated products ever made.
Apple soon realised that customers were buying 100’s of the product and were selling it on eBay or in other ways to get the product across the world. They then teamed up with telecommunications provider AT&T and the phone was locked to that provider. It was a big move from apple knowing that there are customers with other providers. The big reason was to stop customers selling the product to others because now it was impossible to use in other countries. In time ‘die hard’ fans of the iPhone became smarter and more knowledgeable of the iPhone and the lock was now able to open. Again Apple doing what it does best, it went to the heart of where the product was being sold and put a limit on how the product is bought, so it was now, only credit sales, no cash and there was limit placed on all credit cards, now only 2 phones could be bought on the one credit card. However by now there was a fair amount of the iPhone floating around in many countries. I know because I am one of them.
I received my iPhone in September 07’ and spent most of the month searching websites, forums and sourcing information on how I can ‘Jailbreak’ the iPhone system. I couldn’t believe that there were so many websites that are devoted to this product. It is looked up to as a pioneer, a god even. The product is ground breaking, everything about it, the touch screen, its hi-speed wifi, and accelometer, internet capabilities, camera, keypad that learns when you type. The websites all try and give you some information or some way to jailbreak the system, the websites are all very similar and all require that you connect the iPhone via itunes which is extremely dangerous and if done wrong can shut down the iPhone and turn it into nothing better then a paper weight.
By choosing to jailbreak the phone in itunes you need to be sure that it will not update to new software and that’s where many people get caught out. By doing that it will cause the phone to shut down, and therefore keeping the phone in its original 1.0.1 format is the only way. You need to keep the AT&T sim card in for the jailbreaking process and once that is done then you remove and put in your, Vodafone, Telstra, Optus, 3 Network etc, sim card and run a freeware program such as “iphone unlock”, “AnySim” or Ziphone. Running one of these programs whist connected via the USB runs a screen on the phone that looks like a DOS screen; this is connecting to the local networks so that the phone can work on the country’s telecommunications network. Once this modification is done your iPhone is now a working iPhone, and now the ‘moding’ fun begins.
Your new iPhone with its 3.5inch touch screen, 2mp camera and all the widgets you need…well maybe not but that’s where the moding comes into it. With the basics given to you by apple like phonebook, ipod, text, weather, stocks, photos and camera, safari, calendar, notes, you tube, maps, clock, calculator and settings, there basically isn’t any fun there. That’s the best part about jail breaking with programs such as ‘Ziphone’ it gives you another widget (apples programs) such as ‘Installer’. This program lets you download a heap of new and better widgets that allow you to do so much more and enhance your iPhone even further. The installer program has programs inside it that let you download they are called packages. To activate all the packages there is a package called ‘CommunityServices’ this allows you to use third party sources, basically allows you to download programs that people have uploaded to the Internet and lets you download them for your own use. Some of the packages cover things such as; call data, development, dictionaries, eBooks, flashcards, games, health, iclarified, iphysics, leisure, localisation, miscellaneous, multimedia, network, productivity, sources, system, themes, tweaks and utilities. In each of these packages there are endless amounts of widgets that can be downloaded, for example there are around 60 games that can be downloaded and over 150 themes. Once you have established this fantastic widget you can transform your iPhone into your ‘ownphone’.
The iPhone is quite basic with a lot of features missing, such as no Bluetooth, no video camera, no MMS, no message forwarding or group messaging capabilities, but there are a lot of fantastic new features that makes the iPhone brilliant and what makes it even more brilliant, is that the features that are missing, can be downloaded (except Bluetooth). What makes this moding of the iPhone process so easy and I guess fun, is the high-speed wifi that’s built in, its speed allows you to transfer data at the same speeds of your connection and doesn’t lag.
The moding fun starts with the themes and appearances and from this you can make it look and be your own iPhone. With the program ‘Summer Board Preferences’ it allows you to download all sorts of different themes that vary from changing your wallpaper display to changing the calculator feature and everything in between. There are hundreds of these themes and it is just a matter of downloading the package and looking at it for yourself to see if you like the look of the new theme. Thanks to the 8Gb hard drive downloading isn’t a hassle, most of the packages are under 300kb, which helps with the speed of the iPhone as well.
Summer Board Preferences allows you to change not only theme but also theme wallpapers, so you can turn wallpapers on or off or you can choose which one you want on your back ground, whereas without this package the iPhone doesn’t actually allow you to view your wallpapers unless your phone is in lock mode, which is very weird, however for the fan of the ‘Mod’ it is easily changed. Summer Board also allows you to turn off the status bar, the theme icons and even the themed dock that it comes with. The package also comes with some advanced settings, which are handy. Some of these settings allow you to dim the wallpapers so the icons are easily seen and it allows you to hide any of the labels to the icons, so when you become used to and confident with your iPhone your can hide the labels and just recognise the icon to let you know what program it is.
In addition to ‘Summer Board Preferences’ there is another package called ‘Customize’. Now ‘Customize’ is along the same lines as ‘Summer Board Preferences’ but it targets the single icon or the single program. Customize changes the little things such as the look of the battery icon, the way the signal bar looks, even the tiny lock icon on the top. It changes the slide button and charging icon. Customize goes into more detail by changing the text bubbles and the keyboard itself, changing the colours and size and font even. It changes the ‘Skin’ of the calculator and weather widgets, it changes the notes, it changes the stocks, it basically changes the whole look of the iPhone and it makes it your own. It allows you to change the sounds.
Now the iPhone is distinguished by its default ring tone, we’ve all heard it, but everyone likes to have their own ring tone and apple doesn’t let you have anything but the select ring tones that come with the product. Customize allows you to download more ring tones and use them. It also allows you to import songs that you have on the ipod feature and use them as your ring tones, so this mod is a fantastic addition to the numerous mods that you have on your iPhone already. The iPhone has other noises such as the keypad click, the lock click, and the open click and on and off noises. These noise’s can be also modified through customize and some cool replacements such as ‘Mario Brothers’ noises, Simpsons, Family Guy and other cartoon noises, as well as game noises and quotes from numerous movies. There is also a large variety of pictures coincide with the sounds to give it the full ‘Pimped Out’ feel.
The all-new 3G iPhone that is now (thankfully) in Australia has many of the same features and they have somewhat upgraded on the features, but still in fantastic Apple fashion they have still left heaps of room for improvement. The new moding package that comes with all new 3G iPhones is the ‘App Store’. This widget is the same as the 2G’s ‘Installer’ program, however now there are 10 times the amount of packages and a proverbial heaven for mod fans where they can mod there iPhones so much further. I have had a play with the 3G iPhone in stores and the ‘App Store’ widget offers you so much more and so much better, the quality of games and programs available that surpass that of its predecessor, now an ancient (feels like) phone, in terms of quality and moding ability.
One of the best things about the iPhone is, it is virtually unbreakable and if you happen to put to many programs on it and mod it to far you only have to reset it, and start all over again, and it not a painstaking and sad time, it just means you get to search through all the packages again and find and pick the ones that make your iPhone your phone.
It’s great that apple has recognised that the iPhone is a whole new concept in telecommunications, its not just a calling and messaging device it really is your life in one, and a fun life at that. It combines music, games, photos, weather, videos, (you tube), stocks, and even maps. Apple has tapped into a market that for the time being is not going to be declining in the near future. It is the way of the future and the way of all telecommunications. The world is moving foreword and everything is becoming more difficult and that’s where the simplicity and functionality and practicality of the iPhone plays its biggest part, it is bridging the gap between work and play, it allows those to email, talk, capture photos, check their stocks all on the run, and for those of us who love it because its just one big mod. It is a phone essentially but once you have it in your hands and you play around with its features and programs and add games and add new programs and add those new pictures and sounds it becomes your own phone your own modification to your phone, a modification that helps you.
The Apple iPhone, it’s only a phone until the user puts his or her fingerprint on it, by customising and moding it to be best suited to the person’s needs and that’s when the phone turns into the iPhone. The iPhone it’s the way of the future and why not on the way to the future, why not have a little fun moding it on the way.
