Touch Grind Review

Posted by nkbish0p at 18:24 0


Category: Games
Version: 1.2.2
Price: £2.99

Description

For anyone that was a teenager in the early 2000s and like extreme sports, the word "tech-deck" is probably familiar. For anyone unfamiliar with these, a tech-deck was a finger-skateboard, a minute skateboard that you "rode" with your fingers to do tricks.

Unfortunately at the time, I for one was pretty awful with a fingerboard, but now, help is on hand as there is now an iPhone app that allows you to control an onscreen fingerboard around a virtual skatepark and perform a variety of manoeuvres such as flips, spins and grinds which earn the player points which you can combine to get a new high score.

However, there is a big problem with this application. The fingerboard takes up almost the entire screen of your iPhone, so it is impossible to get a good understanding of whereabouts in the park you are! This is even more frustrating when you realise that the skatepark is actually quite small and you may spend a lot of time running into the edge walls.

If you play touch grind HD on an iPad, (or search youtube for a video of it) you will see what I think touch grind should have been from the onset. Although I believe it is great fun, it is equally frustrating trying to line your board up to complete the perfect grind when practically all you can see on the screen is a giant skateboard!


Touchgrind on the iPhone

Touchgrind HD on the iPad - a much better version of the same app.

Rating

3/5 although I think this app is a GREAT concept, it fails to execute its potential with its poorly thought out view perspective.

Dropbox review

Posted by nkbish0p at 19:37 0
(or how to turn your 16gb device into an 18gb device absolutely free)

Category: Productivity
Version: 1.2.2
Price: £free

This is a great app and it's also free, so you don't really have anything to lose by installing it. You will also need to download dropbox for your computer from the website < href="https://www.dropbox.com/">here.

Description

For anyone not familiar with dropbox, it is essentially a way to back files up online for free. For example, if you have a word document that you would like to access on two computers, say one at home and one at work, you can save the file into the dropbox folder on your computer and this will automatically save it to your online dropbox account, allowing you to open it on your other computer at work. From this perspective you could use dropbox to replace your USB flash drive, or to back up important files that you do not want to lose.

However, there is a more interesting use for dropbox in my opinion. If you install the dropbox app onto your device, and copy files into the dropbox folder on your computer you will be able to access these files on your device any time you have an internet connection without using up any of the storage on your device. This is great if like me you have a relatively small capacity phone, but lost of videos and songs you would like to listen to away from your computer.

For free, you get a 2gb dropbox account, but you can pay a subscription to dropbox and get 100gb of storage for $20 a month. This essentially gives you up to a 132gb iPhone!

Unfortunately for dropbox the iPhone and iPod touch impose some limits that reduce its functionality a little. For example, it will only allow you to play files on your device that your device is able to play "out of the box" you cannot use this app to play divx video for example.

Rating

4/5 unfortunately for dropbox its functionality is limited by the iPhone which means it loses a point. Alternatively, if you would like to play video content that your iPhone cannot play out of the box without converting it first, try Airvideo.



Doodle Jump Review

Posted by nkbish0p at 15:13 0


Category: Games
Version: 1.16
Price: £0.59

I'm going to say this straight away; in my opinion, this is the best game currently available on the iPhone and iPod touch and in my opinion everyone that owns an iPhone or iPod touch should download and install it immediately. It has been in the top 10 apps on the iTunes app chart for as long as i can remember and is a highly addictive and competitive game.

Description

Doodle jump is an extremely simple game. In my opinion, the simple games for this platform are usually the best. The idea of the game is to jump your "doodler" (a small character that you control with the accelerometer) between platforms and to get as high as you can. As you get higher and higher the types of platform change, you get platforms that disappear, platforms that move and platforms that you have to move around the screen yourself. There are also creatures between some of the platforms that you must shoot or jump onto in order to get past. The game ends if you miss a platform and fall of the bottom of the screen or if you jump into a creature, a black hole or a UFO.

However, the key to doodle jumps success in my opinion is the fact that you can play against your friends, by comparing your high scores across facebook. This makes the game extremely addictive, as you will constantly be trying to get the high score out of all of your friends, believe me, once you play this game a few times you will not want to stop.

Doodle jump also has frequent updates, though in my opinion these usually add little to the game as they are usually just composed of themes to make to world look different, for example one theme makes the "world" look like a jungle.



Rating

5/5 a fantastic example of the type of app that makes the iPhone a great gaming platform. Buy it now.
Posted by nkbish0p at 17:22 0
Below lies the current best jailbreak methods for every apple iDevice. I will attempt to update this page regularly as apple produces new firmware versions. It is important to remember that upgrading your firmware will remove your jailbreak and it advised that if you want to keep your jailbreak, you check here before updating. Follow me on twitter @bb0Nk for latest updates regarding this page.

==============================================================

If you are not sure which model iPod touch you have, read this guide

==============================================================

iPhone 2G and iPod touch 1G

Both of these devices are no longer supported by apple's firmware updates and as a result, have latest firmware 3.1.3. This is very easy to jailbreak using SPIRIT.

Caution: currently spirit will not work with iTunes 9.2. If you are using iTunes 9.2 and wish to use spirit uninstall iTunes and install version 9.1.1 from here.

  1. Make sure your device is updated to the 3.1.3 firmware.
  2. Download spirit from http://spiritjb.com/
  3. Connect your device to your computer and run spirit.
==============================================================

iPhone 3G

The iPhone 3g is still receiving updates from apple, so each update will require a new jailbreak. Currently the iPhone 3g has firmware up to 4.0. This firmware can be jailbroken using REDSN0W. This will also allow you to use the multitasking and homescreen wallpaper features given to the 3gs with ios4.0.

  1. Make sure your device is updated to the 4.0 firmware.
  2. Download redsn0w from here for mac or here for windows.
  3. You will also need to download the iPhone1,2_4.0_8A293_Restore.ipsw file which can be found here.
  4. Click browse and select iPhone1,2_4.0_8A293_Restore.ipsw. Its logo will look like a grey lego brick with an iTunes logo on one side and a picture of an iPhone on the other.
  5. Follow the on screen instructions. (more detail can be found here)
==============================================================

iPhone 3gs

The iPhone 3gs is still receiving updates from apple, so each update will require a new jailbreak. Currently the iPhone 3g has firmware up to 4.0.

The iPhone 3gs is currently much more complicated to jailbreak than any other apple device and the firmware cannot be downgraded easily. Therefore if you own an iPhone 3gs and want to keep it jailbroken it is VERY STRONGLY ADVISED that you do not update your firmware until it is possible to jailbreak the firmware you are upgrading to.

  1. If your firmware is at 3.1.3 or below and you do not wish to update to ios4.0 just yet, simply jailbreak using the method for the iPod touch 1g then open cydia and select "make my life easier" THIS IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT. This is called backing up your SHSH files.
  2. Although it is possible to jailbreak an iPhone 3gs to work with the new ios4.0, this process requires an earlier jailbreak, an iPhone manufactured before week 40 and pwnagetool which requires a mac computer and is an extremely complicated process. Therefore, at present I will not be posting a method on how to do this as people in this position will have previous jailbreak experience. However, if you would like me to upload this method, please leave a request and i will post it.
  3. Therefore, as an alternative until a better jailbreak solution is presented for ios4.0 for the iPhone 3gs, I would advise users to jailbreak at 3.1.3 using the method for the iPhone 2g. If you have already updated your firmware to ios4.0 and you have previously backed up your SHSH files i would advise you to downgrade to firmware 3.1.3 using the method outlined in the iPod touch 2g section, using the iPhone2,1_3.1.3_7E18_Restore.ipsw firmware file from here

==============================================================

iPhone 4

No jailbreak currently available, check back soon.

==============================================================

iPod touch 2g

The iPod touch 2g is still receiving updates from apple, so each update will require a new jailbreak. Currently the iPod touch 2g has firmware up to 4.0. This firmware can be jailbroken using REDSN0W. This will also allow you to use the multitasking and homescreen wallpaper features given to the 3gs with ios4.0.

The iPod touch 2g is much more complicated to jailbreak than the other iPods above and the firmware cannot be downgraded easily. Therefore if you own an iPod touch 2g and want to keep it jailbroken it is strongly advised that you do not update your firmware until it is possible to jailbreak the firmware you are upgrading to.

Before attempting to jailbreak your device, check your model number by going to settings>general>about and scroll down to "model". If this value begins with "MC" then you will only be able to perform a tethered jailbreak with ios4.0. This means that whenever your iPod switches off, you will need to connect it to your computer to make it run again. If your model number begins with "MB" you will not have this problem.

  1. Make sure your device is updated to the 4.0 firmware.
  2. Download redsn0w from here for mac or here for windows.
  3. You will also need to download the iPod2,1_4.0_8A293_Restore.ipswfile which can be found here.
  4. Click browse and select iPod2,1_4.0_8A293_Restore.ipsw. Its logo will look like a grey lego brick with an iTunes logo on one side and a picture of an iPhone on the other.
  5. Follow the on screen instructions. (more detail can be found here)
If you have an "MC" model iPod touch and wish to be able to do an "untethered" jailbreak, you will need to have firmware at 3.1.3 or below. If this is the case, follow the method for the iPod touch 1g at the top of this page.

If you have an "MC" model iPod touch and wish to be able to do an "untethered" jailbreak and you have already updated to firmware 4.0, you will need to downgrade your firmware to 3.1.3 before you can jailbreak it. This can only be done if you have previously saved your SHSH files on cydia. If you have not done this already you cannot downgrade your firmware. To downgrade your iPod touch, do the following:

THIS METHOD IS COMPLICATED AND I ADVISE USERS NOT TO ATTEMPT IT, BUT TO USE THE TETHERED JAILBREAK METHOD INSTEAD.

  1. Search the internet for a iPod2,1_3.1.3_7E18_Restore.ipsw file. It may not be legal to host this file so you may have to use a torrent website. Download it.
  2. Open iTunes, connect your device and perform a full backup.
  3. You will need to put your device into DFU mode. To do this, switch your phone off whilst it is connected to your computer then hold the home button for 3 seconds. Continue holding the home button and also hold the power button for 10 seconds. Release the home button and continue holding the home button until your computer recognises your device. The screen should be black.
  4. Navigate to C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\ (or Mac users can get to “/etc/” directory by going through “Go –> Go to Folder” from Finder.) and locate “hosts” file
  5. Open this “hosts” file in Notepad (for Windows) or TextEdit (for Mac OS X) and add this "74.208.105.171 gs.apple.com" right at the bottom of the text file.
  6. Hold down your shift key (or the alt key if you are using a mac) and click the "restore" button on the page for your device in iTunes.
  7. Browse for the iPod2,1_3.1.3_7E18_Restore.ipsw file that you just downloaded and select it.
  8. Allow your device to be restored to this firmware, this can take some time.
  9. If you get an error message, ignore it
  10. Now download a program called Recboot from here and run this to get your iPod out of recovery mode.
  11. Jailbreak using the method for the iPod touch 1g.
  12. Open cydia and select "make my life easier" THIS IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT. This is called backing up your SHSH files.

==============================================================

iPod touch 3g

The iPod touch 3g is still receiving updates from apple, so each update will require a new jailbreak. Currently the iPod touch 3g has firmware up to 4.0.
Currently, the iPod touch 3g can only be jailbroken up to firmware 3.1.3.

The iPod touch 3g is much more complicated to jailbreak than the other iPods above and the firmware cannot be downgraded easily. Therefore if you own an iPod touch 3g and want to keep it jailbroken it is strongly advised that you do not update your firmware until it is possible to jailbreak the firmware you are upgrading to.

If your iPod touch 3g is already at firmware 3.1.3, follow the method for the Ipod touch 1g.

If you have already updated your iPod touch to ios4.0, you will need to downgrade your firmware to 3.1.3 before you can jailbreak it. Remember, this can only be done if you have previously backed up your SHSH files in cydia, otherwise downgrading is impossible. Use the downgrade method above, but replace
with
iPod3,1_3.1.3_7E18_Restore.ipsw. This file can be downloaded from here

==============================================================

iPad

The iPad is still receiving updates from apple, so each update will require a new jailbreak. Currently the iPad has firmware up to 3.2.

To jailbreak the iPad on firmware 3.2, simply follow the method for the iPhone 2g from step 2 onwards.

==============================================================

identifying your ipod touch

Posted by nkbish0p at 11:14 0

This is a short guide on how to identify which model of iPod touch you have. This is important for users that would like to jailbreak their device.

As of June 2010, there have been 3 different iPod touch models.






If your iPod touch look like the top picture, you have an iPod touch 1g (1st generation).

If your iPod touch looks like the bottom picture, you have an iPod touch second or third generation (2g or 3g). The iPod touch (3rd generation) can be distinguished from iPod touch (2nd generation) by looking at the back of the device. In the text below the engraving, look for the model number. iPod touch (2nd generation) is model A1288, and iPod touch (3rd generation) is model A1318.

How to watch TV for free on your iPhone, iPod touch or iPad

Posted by nkbish0p at 18:10 0
Simple tutorial for today, but very useful especially at the moment whilst the world cup is on. I am going to show you how you can watch free-view television on your iDevice without even needing to jailbreak it first!

All you need to do is open safari on your device and browse to the website:

iphone.tvcatchup.com

If you do not already have an account at tv-catchup.com, you will have to create one and sign in before you use this service. Some of the channels you can view are listed below:

bbc1, bbc2, itv 1, 4, 5, itv 2, five usa. e4, itv 3, itv 4, more 4, bbc3, bbc4, fiver, film 4, bbc news, cbbc, citv, 4+1, e4+1, itv2 +1, cbeebies, 4 music, more 4 +1, itv 3 +1, itv 4 +1, film 4 +1, bbc parliament.

The service works over both mobile internet and WIFI, but quality is reduced dramatically if you are using mobile internet.

Bonus:

If you are using a jailbroken iPhone, and would like to watch WIFI quality video over your 3g mobile network search for "3g unrestrictor" in cydia and install it. This will allow you to view high definition video even when you are not connected to a WIFI network.




Best value iPhone 4 tariffs

Posted by nkbish0p at 20:01 0
Now that the iPhone is available from all of the UK's major networks, getting the best value deal can be difficult and confusing.

To save you the effort of shopping around to find the best iPhone deals, I have compared every tariff for the 3 biggest networks (o2, orange and vodafone) and compared their contracts to find the best value deals at every price point, for every handset.

All of the available contracts can be seen here:



To find the best value contract for your price point simply click the handset and contract length that you are interested in from the links below:




Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)