Apple Has a Backup Design for the New iPhone?

Apple has a backup design more similar to the iPhone 3GS in case of production problems with the new design leaked by Gizmodo, according to DigiTimes.

On a side note, Apple initiated the iPhone 4G project at the end of 2008. According to our sources, Apple actually has another product codenamed N91 for the project, which offers less change from previous iPhones compared with the N90. It's a parallel product to back up the N90 in case there are major delays due to significant modifications in casing, display resolution, digital camera support and so forth.

In regards to AMOLED touch panels, DigiTimes notes that Apple did speak with Samsung Mobile Display about the possibility; however, production capacity was a big issue.

SMD only has the capability to fulfill 50-60% of iPhone orders at the moment even it dedicated all AMOLED capacity to Apple. Of course, cost is always a concern. AMOLED panels cost US$34-38. TN panels cost less than US$10 and IPS panels around US$20.

Finally the report indicates that the Verizon compatible iPhone is still in early testing and won't be available for some time.

Pegatron will indeed assemble an iPhone, but the manufacturing cooperation is still at the EVT (engineer verification test) stage. There are two more stages - DVT (design verification test) and PVT (process verification test) - before mass production. Though there were reports that shipments for this particular device will begin in the second half, we believe 2011 is more likely.

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AT&T Confirms June iPhone 4G Launch to Employees?

AT&T has reportedly confirmed a June iPhone 4G/HD launch to its employees, according to the BGR.

Title says it all, but you didn’t really need a confirmation, did you? The phone will be available for purchase in June, not July, and from what we’ve heard, it won’t even be late June.

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AT&T Must Unlock Most of Their Phones

AT&T has settled a class action suit by providing unlock codes for any AT&T phone that required a contract less than 10 months.

Of course this does not include the iPhone...

Those eligible are:
1) Customers with postpaid accounts who have completed a minimum of 90 days of active service and are in good standing and current in their payments.

(2) Customers with prepaid accounts who have provided a detailed receipt or other proof of purchase of the handset.

(3) Customers who own handsets for which AT&T has an exclusive sales arrangement with a manufacturer of less than 10 months will have to wait until the 10-month period expires before they can receive an unlocking code.

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Br Hagard

iPhone 4G Rendered in Different Colors!

Renderings of the iPhone 4G in five different colors have been posted on iSpazio by Seraphan.

Which color do you prefer?

Read More [via Nathaniel] [via 9to5Mac] 

Terminology [ Unlock,Jailbreak,Activate ]

Here is some general terminology you may hear in reference to iPhone hacking. People often confuse these terms so I will attempt to help clarify them:

Unlocking vs Jailbreaking - Jailbreaking is the process of opening the phone up for installation of 3rd party apps. Unlocking is the process of allowing non-approved SIM cards to be used on your phone. If you have an approved provider, you only need to jailbreak your phone, not unlock your phone.

Activate - The iPhone has two levels of SIM card protection. The first is in the baseband and requires some form of unlock to bypass. The second is in the operating system and requires either iTunes or a hacked lockdownd (hactivation) in order to bypass. Most jailbreak methods will also hacktivate your phone for you to bypass activation. When the phone comes from Apple, it has on it only the option to slide for emergency call. Activating your phone will allow you to see the icons on the home screen. Activation is required for any form of unlocking.

Hacktivate - Activation of the iPhone via patching rather than via iTunes.

Baseband - The baseband is a subsystem on the phone that handles phone line communication. Modifying this subsystem is how unlocks are achieved. These are updated in iTunes with new firmware versions. iTunes will not downgrade your baseband. Baseband versions are like 4.01.13_G (1.1.1) 4.03.13_G (1.1.3) etc.. Currently, an iTunes restore will not modify your baseband unless your baseband is erased or downgraded prior to the restore.

Bootloader - The bootloader is the first thing that runs on the phone. The bootloader is not upgraded by iTunes (yet). Phones have the same bootloader that they came with. There are two shipping bootloaders, 3.9 and 4.6 (out of box 1.1.2 and newer). The bootloader can be downgraded using hacking methods. It is risky downgrading your bootloader because of something goes wrong, you cannot repair it (at the time of this writing).

Firmware - The firmware is the operating system installed on your phone. The firmware versions include 1.0.2, 1.1.1, 1.1.2, 1.1.3, 1.1.4.,2.0, 3.0, 3.01, 3.1, 3.1.2, 3.1.3 All jailbreaking only affects the firmware, not the bootloader or baseband. This is why restoring will undo a jailbreak but will not affect an unlock.

Restore / Upgrade - iTunes provides two options to change the firmware on your phone. Restore and upgrade. Restore is a full erase and reprogramming of your device. This will result in a factory fresh device. All songs and contacts are wiped out. Upgrade will only wipe out the smaller disk partition leaving all your songs and settings intact. Upgrade is only useful if you are trying to go from one version to the next version of firmware. It will not solve any problems on your phone unless they are naturally solved by the new firmware. I generally recommend using restore in all cases.

TurboSIM, Hypercard, X-Sim, StealthSIM - These devices tricked the phone’s baseband into thinking that an authorized SIM card was inserted. In effect, the phone appeared unlocked. These devices no longer work on newer phones.

DFU Mode vs Restore mode - DFU (device firmware upgrade) mode is a special mode that bypasses the operating system and lets you upgrade the device. When in DFU mode, the phone will have no display on the screen. Restore mode is more common. In this mode you can also restore or upgrade your device, but it is not as drastic as DFU mode. Many restore problems can be solved by using DFU mode.