TekDig» Review: Core Cases for iPhone – TekDig

Review: Core Cases for iPhone

Dave — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 02:57:00 +0000

In my quest to get my new iphone all set up, I had to buy a case. I can't have it riding around unprotected, even if it has a nice new Zagg invisibleSHIELD to protect the screen. Buying a phone case from the web is tough because it is hard to get a good look at the thing. I took the gamble on a Core Cases for iPhone, so I though it would be good to show it off in more detail than you can get from their web site.

I love a bargain... Since mine is a first-generation, it only costs $9.95. The modern version for iPhone 3G and 3GS lists for $29.95. Three times better? No, I think they are just cleaning up old inventory. Even better, the web page for the older case has a coupon code that will give you five dollars off your order, regardless of which case you buy. (I could tell you the code, but I'll leave it up to you to find it on this page.)

Core Cases has great customer service... The order page wouldn't accept the coupon code, so I fired off a quick email to their customer support. I honestly didn't think they would write back to someone wanting a five dollar discount on a ten dollar order. To my surprise, I had a response within the hour, and they had fixed their ordering system so that coupon worked.

A closer look... The case comes in two parts that slip together. Here they are side-by-side. The part on the left flips over and covers the front. The part on the right covers the back and has a cut-out at the bottom that leaves the black strip of the original iPhone exposed. (I am not sure why it needs that hole, but there it is.) The interior is a little fuzzy to protect the iPhone from wear.

How it fits together... I could try to explain how the case fits together, but I thought it would be easier to show it in action. This isn't exactly high-quality stop-frame animation, but it should give you an idea of how the case works:

The bottom line... I recommend Core Cases. Mine is holding up well after more than a month of use. It only adds a little bulk to the phone and it seems plenty sturdy. My only complaint is that the metal can be a little slippery at times. (I haven't tried drop testing, and I don't plan to.)

Review: Zagg InvisibleSHIELD for iPhone

Dave — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 17:33:00 +0000

Picking a product...

The InvisibleSHIELD screen protector advertisements have always caught my eye, so I decided to give it a try on my new (to me) used iPhone. I have used ScreenGuardz screen protectors before, but I don't recommend them. They look bad (they always have bubbles) and they aren't very rugged. On the other hand, InvisibleSHIELD looks super tough and the installation process looks challenging. I figured it would be an interesting project, and I wasn't disappointed.

Zagg sells "Front Coverage" and "Full Body Coverage" varieties. I settled on front coverage because I wanted the additional shock protection of a hard-shell case. (I will review Corecases in my next post.) Besides, the installation process looks super-fussy, even more than I can stand.

Finding a deal...

The best price I could find was from the Zagg online store, using the coupon code "ZAGG20". That gave me 20% off the retail price, and shipping was only $2.99. That's a better deal than the online stores that take a dollar off the price and then make it up with a six dollar shipping and handling charge. (Its always worthwhile to check the final price; I've found that if an online store makes it hard to see the shipping and handling charges, then they are probably overcharging.)

Once I had the product in hand, I read through the instructions a couple times and waited until I had plenty of time to complete it. Installation was still tricky. The video makes it look easy, but I think their hand model was a ringer.

Getting it done (second time is the charm)...

The biggest thing I learned is that they don't give you any idea how sticky the adhesive is. I mean really sticky. Really, really sticky. The installation fluid is intended to keep that under control, so I recommend you use plenty of it. (Use as much as you think you should, then use a little more.)

The first time through things were a little too dry. I was able to apply to the screen, but it wasn't aligned well, so I pealed it off. I should have reapplied the fluid at that point, because my second attempt went poorly. Then I accidentally let the adhesive back touch the table I was working on, and it was all over. It picked up some crud and there was no way it was going to look right. (Did I mention how sticky this thing is?)

I ordered a replacement, and the second time through I used a lot more fluid and things were much more under control. I was able to get the screen aligned pretty easily.

The results...

At first, the screen is pretty tacky; it takes a day or two for the fluid to evaporate. Once it does, the InvisibleSHIELD is still not as smooth as the bare glass of the iphone, but that really isn't a problem.

I am pleased with the results. I can't say how well the InvisibleSHIELD will protect my screen because I haven't had a major incident yet. After a few weeks of normal use, the iPhone screen and the InvisibleSHIELD have remained in good shape, and the screen doesn't show any marks from riding around in my pocket.

My advice: if you decide to try the InvisibleSHIELD, take your time, use plenty of the installation fluid to keep things slick, and you should have good results. You might also want to read another review by The iPhone FAQ.

How to sync iPhone to Google Contacts and Calendar

Dave — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 01:00:00 +0000

About a year ago, I moved my contact list and calendar into Google Contact List and Google Calendar. That has proven to be a good thing because it gave me a way to get organized and have one "master list". At the time, I knew that it would be inconvenient to not have access to the information when I'm away from the computer but I figured I could find ways to deal with that as I went along. In fact, getting an iPhone has proven to be a huge step forward.

The key is Google Sync, a free service from Google that allows you to synchronize your contacts and calendar with a number of smartphone models, including iPhone. Oddly enough, Google Sync uses the Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync protocol, so you end up with Apple talking to Google using a Microsoft language. Who would have thought that Redmond would provide the common language for those two? Go figure.

The process is simple. I went to the Google Sync home page, selected"iPhone" from the "Choose your phone" dropdown, and followed the instructions.

Before you begin, make sure you know which iPhone OS version you have so that you can follow the correct instructions. You can find out by going to Settings > General > About. The Version is near the bottom of the screen.

The first step is to backup your data. If you value the information on your iPhone, don't skip this step! In my case, I didn't have anything to backup, so I did skip it, but you get my point.

This is critically important if you are still running iPhone OS 2.0. As you will see in the next step, that iPhone software deletes the existing contacts and calendar and replaces them with what it gets from Google. So, if you have the older software, you need to follow the instructions to move the information from the iPhone into iTunes, and then from iTunes into Google. Once that's done, Google will match what's on the iPhone already, and you will not loose anything when you do the first sync.

If you are running iPhone OS 3.0, then you don't need to move the information from iTunes to Google. It is enough to have a copy of your contacts and calendar in iTunes, just in case something goes wrong with the next step. In that case, you can restore the iPhone using the copy in iTunes.

The second step is to set up your iPhone to use Google Sync. This is where you tell the iPhone to connect to Google using your username and password.

Be sure to pay attention to the part where it says "Unless you want to delete all the existing Contacts and Calendars on your phone, select the Keep on my iPhone option when prompted." Loosely translated, that means if you click the wrong button, you will blow away the information on your phone. I'm notorious for clicking on dialogs as fast as I can, but in this case, it pays to slow down and reflect for a moment. I suppose they tell you to backup your data in step one because so many people suffer from the same click-before-thinking disorder as I do.

That's it. Now that I've done this, everything on my iPhone appears in Google and vice versa. Changes and deletions go across as well. As far as I can tell, none of the information I care about gets lost along the way. Still, you should pay special attention to make sure nothing you care about gets translated incorrectly.
Google suggests the last step is to "learn about options and features". I would suggest that you pay special attention to the known limitations to make sure they aren't going to affect you.

One final word: Be Careful! I have not tried the setup when I had data on the phone, so I can't say first hand if that first sync keeps everything. I tried to convince my sister-in-law to try it, but she was too protective of the information on her iPhone. Honestly, I can't blame her; she has a lot of irreplacable information in there and we really didn't have time to recover if anything went wrong. If I do get her to try it, I'll report back. (I think an post about "how to recover an iPhone from an iTunes backup" would be exciting!)

A Cook’s Tour of iPhone Jailbreak and Unlock

Dave — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 01:00:00 +0000

I recently figured out how to jailbreak and unlock an iPhone. The hardest part, I thought, was finding the right stuff to make that possible. So, rather than writing yet another step-by-step article, I think it would be helpful to provide a cook's tour of what I found, along with links to everything.

When you jailbreak an iPhone, you make it able to install applications from outside Apple App Store. A stock iPhone can only download and install applications that appear in the Apple App Store. Apple approves every one of those applications, and the process is notoriously slow and capricious. Being able to download from other sources opens the phone to interesting applications.

Before I dive in, you need to realize that this process isn't trivial.It took me about four hours spread over two evenings to get it done, and I'm pretty quick at this sort of thing. It took that long party because I didn't have the big picture in mind, partly because most of the "how to" pages I found didn't say much about exact hardware and software versions I was using, and partly because of my trouble with wifi. (If I had to do it again, I could do it in under an hour.)

You should also realize that you're on your own if you damage youriPhone. Apple and at&t don't take kindly to this activity, so if you brick your phone, you will be out of luck.

The last thing to realize is that in fact, Apple says iPhone jailbreaking is illegal. It is worthwhile to read that article to see why Apple's claim FUD.

If you're still with me, here we go. I hope this post will help you understand the big picture and find the stuff you'll need to download. This process worked with an iPhone 2G (the original model), iTunes 8.2.1.6 (latest version right now) running on Windows XP, and iPhone OS 3.0.1 (again, latest version).

iSmashPhone step-by-step instructions gives you the step-by-step instructions. They were clear and complete. They only left me with a few questions, and I try to answer those here. You should read through that entire procedure before you start, and use this article to fill in some of the gaps.

You use the redsn0w software to do the actual jailbreak and unlock.Getting redsn0w is more difficult than most downloads. If you don't already have a BitTorrent client, then I recommend you install µTorrent.I also recommend that you uninstall it as soon as you're done, so that you don't run into the kind of trouble that BitTorrent brings.

Once you have a BitTorrent client installed, you can get the redsn0wsoftware from this page. Just click "download this torrent" to get the zip file, unzip it and run the program. There's nothing to install.

You will need to download a "iphone restore" file. Note that these files are specific to the hardware and operating system. In my case, I downloaded iPhone1,1_3.0.1_7A400_Restore.ipsw, which is for the iPhone 2G and firmware 3.0.1. If you have a different model, or are running a different version of the OS, then you might be able to find the right ipsw file on the iSmashPhone rescue page.

The solitary option screen in redsn0w has three check boxes. You can choose Cydia or Icy (or both) to install applications outside of the Apple AppStore. If you aren't sure, you can install just Cydia and use it toinstall Icy later.

The other option is "Unlock". Unlocking makes an iPhone able to workwith carriers other than at&t. The only reason phones are locked to one carrier is so that the carrier can collect service fees for as long as you use it. Unlocking gives you flexibility. It will not get rid of your obligations if you signed a contract, but it does permit you to change carriers and keep your device.

If you decide to unlock, then you will have an extra step in the process. You will need to download these files: bl39.bin (3.9 Bootloader) and bl46.bin (4.6 Bootloader).

The rest of the iSmashPhone step-by-step instructions are detailed and accurate, so as long as you follow closely, you should be ok. Best of luck!

Fixing iPhone WiFi Connect Problems

Dave — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 01:00:00 +0000

When I bought my used iPhone, it was not able to connect to my wifi network. I would select the network, and it simply would not connect. At the time, this was especially frustrating because the iPhone did not give any feedback when it failed to connect (more on that later). In the end, I found a solution that was super easy, and is probably the first thing you should try if you're having trouble with wifi.

Since it had been wiped clean and restored to factory settings, I assumed I was starting from a good place. My first thought was that Apple had decided to disable wifi until the phone was activated for mobile use. My iPhone buddies didn't think that was very likely, since the at&t data plan works independently of wifi. (One goes through the Mobile Web, the other goes through a wireless network hotspot to reach the internet.)

I tried removing the password from my home network. Although the iPhone stopped showing the lock icon and stopped prompting for a password, it still wouldn't connect. (I put the password back on my network eventually.)

Google search is probably the best debugging tool in the world. Aftersearching around for a while, I came across How to Fix Wifi Grayed-out Problem. Although I didn't have the same problem as he did, it took no time to try it, and it fixed the problem.

All I had to do was to go into Settings, tap General, scroll to the bottom and tap Reset, then tap Reset Network Settings. After that, Iwas able to connect to my home wireless network. Entering my crazy longand complicated network password was a pain, but at least I only had todo it once.

Once I had the wifi connection working, I learned that the Wi-Fi Networks panel (under Settings) does give connection feedback, but it is subtle. Here's how it works:

While the iPhone is trying to connect, the Wi-Fi Networks panel shows a spinner next to "Choose a Network..."

Once the iPhone is connected, the Wi-Fi Networks panel shows a check mark next to the network name.

If the iPhone cannot connect, then the Wi-Fi Networks panel simply shows nothing: no spinner, no check mark. Tricky, eh?

I should mention that the Settings panel itself does give good feedback on Wi-Fi connection. Here's how that looks:

When the iPhone is not connected to wifi, the Settings panel clearly says "Not Connected"

When the iPhone is connected, the Settings panel shows where it is connected.

If I had realized this when I was trying to get the phone to work, I would have saved a bunch of time. But as it was, I was focused on that one panel and missed this important point. Maybe you can save some time now that you know!

Buying a used iPhone

Dave — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 01:00:00 +0000

I bought a used iPhone a couple weeks ago. I'm a little surprised to admit that. You see, I gave up smartphones a few years ago after carrying a Treo 650 for nearly a year. It was a brick, the web performance was awful, and that experience pretty well cured me of the urge to get a smartphone. I carry a LG enV2 now, and it does what I want (makes calls,has a full keyboard for text, and fits in my pocket).

But here I am out to lunch with some buddies, and they are all showing me the cool applications and stuff, and next thing I know one of the masks "hey, you want to buy old iPhone?" and I'm saying yes. I borrowed it for the weekend and on Monday I was paying him $60 cash. Go figure.

So, now I own the original iPhone 2G with 16GB. The screen is in perfect condition, and the thing hardly looks used. It doesn't have the better network, and it doesn't have an auto focus camera, but it will run the latest iPhone OS 3.0.1, so I have copy/paste and the other goodness that comes along with iPhone OS 3.0.

The nice thing about this phone is that I'm not locked into a contract.All I need to do is unlock it, and I'll be able to use any carrier and any plan, including a pre-paid account. I like the idea of not being locked into a 2 year contract, because I loose interest in these things pretty quickly, and I'll probably be back to using my enV2 in a couple months.

So, what's next? Here's my immediate list:

Buy a screen protector and case.
Get my email and calendar on the phone.
Jailbreak and unlock the iPhone, then figure out what carrier to use.

Once I finish that stuff, I'll either be hooked or it will be on the shelf, neglected and alone.