Two weeks on the iPhone 2.0.2

I was on iPhone 1.1.4 and was not planning on upgrading anytime soon. I used SMSD to send template commands to the EasyLoad universal loading service. I also was concerned with the various problems people were encountering with the latest iPhone OS 2.0.


But then, my phone started having problems. First, apps crashed more often. Then, podcasts started to crash too. Finally, after removing Instinctiv Shuffle, my phone went into the Apple boot screen and never left it.

UPGRADING
Biting the bullet, I downloaded the latest Pwnage tool and iPhone firmware. After several hours waiting for the download to finish, I proceeded to upgrade and the process went without a hitch. Other than a rather empty home screen, nothing noticeable seem to have changed from the older version.

I tried exploring the new installer 4 beta, but all that's available are themes and country profiles. What happened to the jailbroken apps??

I then turned to the App Store where I found a ton of new software. But since I had to rely on reviews instead of actual demos, I started trying the applications in the "Top Free" category.

FREE APPS
Nope, I didn't try the Facebook app. Mostly because I hang out at another social network offering free text notifications. But Aurora Feint did live to the raves I've been hearing about it--an addictive game that's so polished, it surprises me that it's free!

Aurora Feint is a puzzle game similar to Bejeweled and Tetris, but also uses the iPhone's tilt sensor to enhance game play.

Other notable free apps include Apple's own Remote, the Cube Runner game, and Brain Tuner, a mental exerciser where you're presented with basic math problems that needed to be answered by Wrong or Right.

HACK STORE
After tinkering with the free apps and too cheap to buy some, I searched the net and found a way to install apps without Apple's FairPlay copy protection. Check out the MacUser.me forums for detailed instructions.

After the procedure, I was able to install a select number of apps including the omni-present Super Monkey Ball, which is a very difficult game to master. My current favorite is Asphalt 4: Elite Racing. Great graphics, sound and gameplay that rival TV-based consoles.

I was also able to get Cro-Mag Rally and Crash Bandicoot, but I still prefer Asphalt 4. Other than games, the other amazing application I found was Jugaari's Jaadu VNC. It's way ahead of the free Mocha VNC for iPhone 2.0, and VNSee for the jailbroken 1.1.4. Be warned, however! Jaadu is not free. It's $5 for the click version (no keyboard) and $25 for the full version. Expensive, but a real lifesaver if you need to control other computers while on the go.

BATTERY
I have since been able to adjust to my new 2.0.2 environment. But one thing that's noticeable is battery life is now shorter. I do admit that I play more games lately more than I text.

Will Google's Chrome spell Firefox's death?

Google introduced Chrome yesterday as the next generation of browsers. It also came out with speed benchmarks claiming speed superiority over existing browsers Internet Explorer, Firefox and Safari.

Today, Mozilla has fired back with its own speed claims showing that the upcoming Firefox 3.1 is still faster than Chrome, particularly in javascript execution. "We're very much in the game and moving fast--'reports of our death are greatly exaggerated,'" says Brendan Elch, JavaScript pioneer and TraceMonkey coder for Firefox.

But why is Firefox particularly defensive? We don't see Microsoft or Apple defending their browsers against Google's new product.

Of particular note is Mozilla's relationship with Google. Just last week, before all the shine of Chrome was announced, Mozilla extended its search deal with Google for another 3 years. With most of Mozilla's money coming from Google ($57 Million for 2006), it's natural that the Firefox folks are particularly threatened by recent events.
The best case scenario for Mozilla after three years is that it will still be a player in the browser space, but with a smaller market share and smaller Google income. The worst case would be for Google not to renew its deal and let Firefox die. Either way, Firefox is in a no win situation.

Google's new browser uses Safari's webkit

Google has just introduced Chrome, its vision for the ubiquitous browser. We already have Internet Explorer, FireFox, Safari, Opera, and countless others, so why another one? As if fixing the CSS compatibility issues wasn't enough!


But the good news about Chrome is that it's based on Apple's Webkit. The same engine running Safari. Because of this, we should see a higher level of priority by designers in making sure their sites are compatible.

Chrome is now available for download. The irony is it's currently only available for Windows.
← Previous  1 2 3 4 … 6 Next →