Yes, this is something you need an iPhone to understand

December 16, 2007 9:40 PM

It has been awhile since we had an iPhone post, but for the couple million people who own one, and despite Apple's best efforts, there is lots of exciting (if hard to find) free software being developed for people have have jailbroken their iPhone: read comics and manga; play NES , Gameboy, or LucasArts adventure games; experiment with crayon physics; download files; emulate HP calculators; and sync without iTunes. In early form: send an MMS, Playstation emulation, and video recording. There are also many web applications. [Yes, you need an iPhone to run these applications]

I purposefully left off the applications that are available in the slick Installer program that is automatically placed on the iPhone when it is jailbroken, but there you will find excellent IM clients, an ebook reader, a voice recorder, and lots of other stuff. Also, some high-quality web pages built for iPhone users: Weather Underground, Digg, Leaflets, BBC Podcasts, and Zinio magazines.

posted by blahblahblah (56 comments total)

How soon before someone writes an iPhone simulator for the PC?
posted by Steven C. Den Beste at 9:48 PM on December 16, 2007

So you have a cellphone which, out of the box, is locked to an awful telecom network, comes crippled to third-party software installations, lacks basic functions like video recording, MMS, filesystem browsing, bluetooth file transfer, SIM-swapping, or plain old cut and paste of text, and needs "jailbreak" hacks to break the firmware into accepting installs of external apps. But hey, look, you can use two fingers to zoom stuff!

Still sticking to my Nokia 6600 and 770, thanks.
posted by brownpau at 9:53 PM on December 16, 2007 [4 favorites]

For someone that is very new to apples: is there a good guide for installing programs without the installer?
posted by aburd at 9:54 PM on December 16, 2007

My phone makes phone calls.
posted by Ohdemah at 9:55 PM on December 16, 2007 [1 favorite]

So you have a cellphone which, out of the box, is locked to an awful telecom network, comes crippled to third-party software installations, lacks basic function

Christ, that's pretty much the case with every cell phone, with very localized or equally expensive exceptions.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 9:57 PM on December 16, 2007

"some high-quality web pages built for iPhone users"

Put the bees on the what now?

Web pages for one brand of mobile phone?

Wow.

So, is it gonna become like 1998 all over again, where you have different pages for different phones, instead of Netscape and IE?
posted by krinklyfig at 10:02 PM on December 16, 2007

Christ, that's pretty much the case with every cell phone, with very localized or equally expensive exceptions.

Not outside the U.S. And you can buy 'legit' unlocked versions of lots of other phones. The iPhone really is locked down, and the fact that you need to run 'jailbreak' to use 3rd party apps is really, really lame.
posted by delmoi at 10:02 PM on December 16, 2007

Christ, that's pretty much the case with every cell phone, with very localized or equally expensive exceptions.

Not really, just phones you buy from the carriers.
posted by lovejones at 10:04 PM on December 16, 2007

So you have a cellphone which, out of the box, is locked to an awful telecom network, comes crippled to third-party software installations, lacks basic functions like video recording, MMS, filesystem browsing, bluetooth file transfer, SIM-swapping, or plain old cut and paste of text, and needs "jailbreak" hacks to break the firmware into accepting installs of external apps. But hey, look, you can use two fingers to zoom stuff!

Yes, but it also has a fairly big hard drive and a bit more processing power than your phone. So with the jailbreak it can do anything that your cellphone can do plus much much more. Oh yeah, and that two finger zoom thingy.
posted by aburd at 10:04 PM on December 16, 2007 [4 favorites]

I should say that having owned Treos and Windows Mobile phones, the quality of reading (and watching TV/movies) on the iPhone is what makes it exceptional. Web pages are actually enjoyable to read, and fact that I can read books, comics and even technical PDFs without pain is terrific. Better and more flexible than any other ebook reader or portable browser out there (including the Sony Reader and the Kindle), even though my other phones had more applications and were much more open.
posted by blahblahblah at 10:08 PM on December 16, 2007

You can buy unlocked iPhones outside the US too. Specifically in Germany, if I remember correctly. And the whole "despite Apple's best efforts" thing is a bit deceptive, they've said they won't purposefully break 3rd party apps other than ones that let you use another cell network, and there's an SDK coming in January, with an app signing system based on what Nokia does, most likely. So it's not really particularly more closed than any other phone.
posted by Joakim Ziegler at 10:12 PM on December 16, 2007

Not really, just phones you buy from the carriers.

Which is pretty much 99.9% of all cell phone customers, really.

I get it now: Some of you really don't like Apple. That's what this is about.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 10:12 PM on December 16, 2007

How does the iPhone's surface look after getting fingered all day long? I got a Sony Ericsson Walkman, which isn't even touch sensitive, and the surface automagically gets all smudgy.
posted by Foci for Analysis at 10:13 PM on December 16, 2007

So with the jailbreak it can do anything that your cellphone can do plus much much more.

So this adds a built-in GPS somehow?
posted by markr at 10:16 PM on December 16, 2007

An iPhone simulator, by the way, is very likely coming with the SDK, I think. t'd be hard to develop apps otherwise. But it'll probably be Mac only.
posted by Joakim Ziegler at 10:16 PM on December 16, 2007

quantity of features do not equal quality.

You can argue features all day long, I've been using the iPhone for two weeks now, and I can't imagine going back to any other phone. It does less so much better than other phones do more.
posted by billyfleetwood at 10:26 PM on December 16, 2007 [2 favorites]

The ScummVM port is reason enough to get an iPhone. I want Loom!
posted by wemayfreeze at 10:34 PM on December 16, 2007

And of course, this stuff all applies to the iPod touch. The screen is apparently not as good as an iPhone's, but it's bright enough that the smudges are invisible while it's on, and the DPI is high enough (and the auto-zoom on web pages works well enough) that it's a pleasure to read on.
posted by maledictory at 10:56 PM on December 16, 2007

How does the iPhone's surface look after getting fingered all day long? I got a Sony Ericsson Walkman, which isn't even touch sensitive, and the surface automagically gets all smudgy.

Sure. Depending on how dirty my fingers are when I use it. If it gets too smudgy, I automagically wipe it on my shirt. Done. Been months now, no scratches on the glass (it's tempered). No need for a holster, protector, or sleeve.

I was dubious, I admit. I liked to push what I could get out of a phone. I was a Sony fan myself. It was (ironically enough) more compatible with OSX the the iPhone is. It has its limitations, I admit. But in terms of day-to-day use it slays all else.

But here's the best part: This is the first version of the first phone from this company. It will only get better and fuller-featured from here. In less than a year the idea of "jailbreaking" and being limited to web apps will be over. I hold in my hand The New PC.

When my iBook bit the dust I replaced with the new iMac--I eschewed the laptop; I knew that the phone did a great job of filling the laptop role in my life: in my pocket, invisibly, ubiquitously, with no maintenance or worries. Even without hardware revisions my phone will get more powerful over the next couple of years.

If you want to bitch about it, wait another year or so. Give Apple the chance to drop the ball.
posted by sourwookie at 11:09 PM on December 16, 2007

And I tried Windows Mobile for a few weeks. I learned that the only thing worse than Windows was less Windows.
posted by sourwookie at 11:11 PM on December 16, 2007 [3 favorites]

So you have a cellphone which, out of the box, is locked to an awful telecom network

Show me one that isn't awful.
posted by sourwookie at 11:16 PM on December 16, 2007

I kind of like maddox's view on the situation...
posted by MaryDellamorte at 11:25 PM on December 16, 2007 [1 favorite]

I admit that the Maddox piece is funny (in a Beavis and Butthead sort of way) but I don't even know why he bothered to write it. And in my experience I can reset a server from any browser (though he is right about the ellipses...) ON VERSION 1.1.1!!!!
posted by sourwookie at 11:38 PM on December 16, 2007

I love my iPhone. It's not for everyone but for me, it's the best mobile phone I've had for a while.

This isn't why I'm posting though. I've got a tip. Double the font sizes in your metafilter profile from your iPhone to make browsing this website more enjoyable.
posted by seanyboy at 11:54 PM on December 16, 2007

Seconding wemayfreeze - I was going to wait until iPhone 2.0 but once I heard that there was a Scumm port I am now seriously considering getting one now.
posted by ooga_booga at 1:09 AM on December 17, 2007

Apple should (not) take a cue from Sony with what that company is doing to their PSP. The PSP is essentially a mini-computer ripe for the hacking. Sony, in their infinite wisdom, does everything it can to squash hacking on the PSP with constant firmware updates. If left alone, the PSP would (arguably) be far more successful than it is now, and the same thing can be said for the iPhone.
posted by zardoz at 1:24 AM on December 17, 2007

Which is pretty much 99.9% of all cell phone customers, really.

In the U.S., perhaps, but it's certainly not the case in Europe. The iPhone is nifty, the lock-in is not.
posted by grouse at 1:25 AM on December 17, 2007

If a page is 'specially built for the iPhone', it just means it's a small page that's designed to fit in the small window. You can still use them just fine from a computer.

With the iPhone, you basically have two competing drives. First, you have people who want to use it like a computer, and since it's based on OS X, it is one. But you have AT&T's drive to keep you in chains, to A) make you pay more money, and B) to prevent you from using their 1G data network much, which is very, very weak. I don't know whether Apple actually wants to limit users or not; it's been hard to tell from their rhetoric. They seem to want to sell it as an appliance, not a computer, and seem at least complicit in the handcuffs idea... but they also don't seem terribly hostile to jailbreaking, just unlocking to move to different carriers.

I think, in the end, you'll see iPhones that allow totally free custom development, but not until next generation. Once Apple moves onto a 3G chipset, with good bandwidth, AT&T's primary reason to keep users stifled will go away, and I suspect at that point you'll be be able to run whatever the heck you want.

It'd sure be nice to be able to stream Radio Paradise from anywhere. :)
posted by Malor at 1:29 AM on December 17, 2007

I decided against an iphone, but I've been really happy with my ipod touch. Haven't hacked it yet -- I figure why not just wait 'till the SDK in a few weeks, that'll make things easier -- but it's really is an amazingly nice mp3 / video player, even without all the extra bells and whistles.

I'm reasonably rough on my electronics and the screen seems to have survived just fine so far.
posted by ph00dz at 1:47 AM on December 17, 2007

I play Zork on mine. All cell phones work equally horribly here (and so mine isn't really a phone just a fancy wifi app) but I really don't have to have a laptop with me while I'm out and about to keep an eye on this place which has changed my whole idea of mobile computing really. Thanks for the post.
posted by jessamyn at 3:08 AM on December 17, 2007

"And of course, this stuff all applies to the iPod touch."

I bought Mrs Mutant and myself iPod touches for our two month wedding anniversary. Amazingly nice little iPods with screens just made for videos and pix. We mostly use them as webpads at home, but I do like toting the little guy around on my walk to work rather than the 80GB 5th gen I still own. In fact the touch screen is so superior to the other iPods I don't even like to watch movies on my 80GB anymore.

I jailbroke my touch and while I'm not sure if this applies to iPhones, a jailbroken iPod touch can and does crash.

Crashes manifest themselves as either one of the built in apps no longer launches (i.e., Contacts, Calendar, Settings, etc) or launches and promptly quits. I've had two total lockups as well since jailbreaking the device.

I did install a fair amount of apps (but that's the point, yes?) so I'm not super annoyed as a power off / on cycle has so far always fixed the problem.

Once the SDK is out and if I can still get freeware apps for the touch I'll do a restore. But that's only if and only if I don't have to pay for the same software I've been getting for free.

A very impressive and vigorous group of third party developers has embraced the touch and while some of the software is a single step ahead of proof of concept (lots of silly games based on the accelerometers) there is some very solid product being delivered.
posted by Mutant at 3:23 AM on December 17, 2007 [3 favorites]

I didn't mention, and probably should have, that I like mine very much. I haven't even updated it from the 1.0 release, and I haven't added anything to it. I'm running it exactly as it originally shipped, and I like it a lot. It's very, very handy to be able to browse the web anywhere. In a way, it's like holding all of human knowledge in your hand... SLOW human knowledge, mind you, but it's out there. And the maps are fantastic, quickly updated.

It's handy on long trips, particularly if you have problems. The iPhone is an amazingly potent problem-solving device; between the incredibly complete maps, searchable for almost anything you can imagine, the regular Web access, and the built-in phone, there are darn few problems you can't fix sitting in your car. You can find anything or anyone you need, and contact them, all in the same device. And it's so small and light that you can tuck it into a front jeans pocket and entlrely forget it's even there until you need it.

I just wish it had a GPS. Apparently, a third-party company is going to ship a $90 unit that will clip onto the bottom of the phone. I'm highly interested; if they get that working right, it'll be nearly perfect.

With 3G, a GPS, and easily-installable custom apps, it would nearly be a required purchase.
posted by Malor at 4:29 AM on December 17, 2007

I play Zork on mine.

Test #1 of a real computer: Passed.

Now, can we get Conway's Life and NetHack running on it?

please?
posted by eriko at 5:19 AM on December 17, 2007 [1 favorite]

I'm a software engineer for a large mobile phone manufacturer, and we get unlocked phones at a pretty good discount.

I use an iPhone.

Going forward, it will be the standard which I judge all other mobiles against.
posted by kableh at 5:26 AM on December 17, 2007

This is funny because I have a greasemonkey script that replaces all posts about apple products with "blah blah blah blah" so this came up as "blah blah blah blah [more inside] blah blah blah." posted by "blahblahblah"
posted by srboisvert at 6:24 AM on December 17, 2007

Okay, for those of you who use your iphone/ipod touch primarily for browsing, why didn't you just get a Nokia N800 or N810?
posted by malaprohibita at 6:30 AM on December 17, 2007

for those of you who use your iphone/ipod touch primarily for browsing, why didn't you just get a Nokia N800 or N810?

That was what I was going to get myself until I wound up with a hand-me-down iphone. I think the N810's with their GPS and neat little keyboard are great. They also allow you to work with stylus or finger touching on the screen which solves my stepmoom's "fingernails too long for iphone!" problem.
posted by jessamyn at 6:36 AM on December 17, 2007

I want an iPhone, just not yet. My current cellphone sucks, as most do and browsing the web on it sucks even worse than hardcore suckage. But hey, I can buy ringtones and other crap from Cingular Mall!

But having a well designed device that functions as phone, browser, mp3 player, mini computer and visual voicemail soon won't just be luxury, it'll be pretty damn necessary.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 6:41 AM on December 17, 2007

But here's the best part: This is the first version of the first phone from this company. It will only get better and fuller-featured from here. In less than a year the idea of "jailbreaking" and being limited to web apps will be over. I hold in my hand The New PC.

No, you will not hold in your hand The New PC unless you toss your current version in the trash and pony-up for the new version.

I agree with you that this is only the first version, but that's why I don't buy first versions of much of anything. I prefer not to pay (a premium) for the privilege of being a corporation's beta tester/focus group member.
posted by spock at 7:02 AM on December 17, 2007

I wound up with a hand-me-down iphone

There are already hand-me-down iPhones? Jesus.
posted by grouse at 7:08 AM on December 17, 2007

oh, mutant! That is so great. I am getting an iPod touch in exchange for a website pretty soon.. can you do ssh, and input notes and other pda type stuff?
posted by By The Grace of God at 7:16 AM on December 17, 2007

For someone that is very new to apples: is there a good guide for installing programs without the installer?

If you have OpenSSH installed then you can just SFTP the applications into the application folder. The SDK comes out in February, which may make the process of putting applications on your phone simpler.

And yeah, I'm sure your Nokia phones are nice and all. Really.
posted by chunking express at 7:34 AM on December 17, 2007

So this adds a built-in GPS somehow?

Yep.
posted by nicwolff at 7:43 AM on December 17, 2007

i have one, and do love it... the maps feature has saved me time and again.

except i found the one flaw...

I can't text to multiple people at once! That was a bit of a heartbreak. Does jailbreaking make this possible (i'm skiddish about messing with mine)? Or is there any news on this being addressed in the next release?
posted by elfollador at 8:12 AM on December 17, 2007

For those experiencing crashing after jailbreaking your iPhone: if you are using SummerBoard to launch apps, be sure to turn off the "dim wallpaper" setting in SMBPrefs.
posted by hellphish at 9:56 AM on December 17, 2007

Is it true that the iphone still cannot copy and paste text?
posted by exogenous at 10:10 AM on December 17, 2007

It is true. Every night I cry myself to sleep about it.
posted by chunking express at 10:25 AM on December 17, 2007

I can't text to multiple people at once! That was a bit of a heartbreak. Does jailbreaking make this possible (i'm skiddish about messing with mine)? Or is there any news on this being addressed in the next release?

Jailbreaking is completely reversible, by the way, so it is pretty low-risk. I haven't heard of any widespread problems either. I haven't had any crashes.

And this might solve your SMS problem.

As far as Navizon, at least in Boston, WiFi triangulation has been accurate to several yards in most cases. But I agree that built-in GPS is better.
posted by blahblahblah at 10:52 AM on December 17, 2007

I don't understand what that Thin Lizzy song has to do with the iPhone.
posted by Kwine at 11:15 AM on December 17, 2007

Blazecock Pileon: I get it now: Some of you really don't like Apple. That's what this is about.

Huh? Nokia's been making phones that are as good as the IPhone for years -- brownpau mentioned one of them -- and, as a result, they can be had for about half the price. Not to mention the fact that they aren't locked down even half as much as the IPhone is. They have software issues, more than they should, and you're right, that's common to cell phones, but the IPhone's lockdown is tighter than any of them. You can pull the SIM card out of any given Nokia and port it into pretty much any service, so long as you're paying for data; trust me, it's possible, and it makes those of us who like to muck about with such things very happy, because, if something isn't possible, it's at least possible to try to work around it. Now, the IPhone is a great product, and it seems to be pretty workable, but it's much less open than other phones, and costs more than comparable products to boot.

I love Apple. The next computer I buy is going to be an Apple, and I can't fucking wait. But I'm not dropping cash on an IPhone, and I'm not going to pretend that it's a product that's up to their standards.
posted by koeselitz at 11:19 AM on December 17, 2007 [1 favorite]

Still sticking to my Nokia 6600 and 770, thanks.

I'm guessing not everyone wants to carry both a phone and a mini-tablet in their pocket.
posted by gyc at 1:25 PM on December 17, 2007

Nokia has not been making phones as good as the iPhone for years, nobody has. The only way in which these things compare is in spec-list checkboxes, and they're meaningless for actual humans.

Sure, the iPhone doesn't have a GPS streaming co-ords via bluetooth or even a IrDa port, but in the tasks it does do it batters the nuts of the competition. I've had and used smartphones for years, and they all fucking suck. Like the Nokia N80 I hoved against the wall after it took SO LONG to start the camera that the thing I wanted to shoot had ended, and even then it said "out of memory". Or the Windows Mobile edition that can't send contacts via SMS. Or the Motorola that wouldn't turn on if the battery was flat, even if it was plugged in. And so on, forever.

There is more to phones -- or any device -- than the spec list. The iPod had less space than a Nomad, mind.
posted by bonaldi at 2:20 PM on December 17, 2007

Also: I'm pretty sure MMS is coming to the iPhone. When I changed my tariff this week, I got a letter from o2 detail the new prices: it was all iPhone-specific, and included "200 multimedia messages."
posted by bonaldi at 2:21 PM on December 17, 2007

Still sticking to my Nokia 6600
Hey, Brownpau, isn't it great when you're typing an SMS, and you go to type 'd', 'e' or 'f', but nudge red, which is right next to 3 and cancel out of the SMS app, and then it saves it to drafts? I sure loved having a drafts folder full of half-written texts, me.
posted by bonaldi at 2:25 PM on December 17, 2007

Ha ha, yes, bonaldi! That has bitten me repeatedly, as unfortunately the 6600 came on the edge of Nokia's "LET'S EXPERIMENT WITH UBER-WEIRD KEYBOARD LAYOUTS" design phase. But when I look at it, that has still sucked far, far less for me than not having cut and paste and not being able to text multiple friends. As for your N80, I avoided the N80 after I read about exactly those problems.

> I'm guessing not everyone wants to carry both a phone and a mini-tablet in their pocket.

Tell me about it. I was really, really looking forward to the iPhone, because while I love my Nokia, I was getting tired of juggling 2 or 3 devices for all my communications and mobile data organization needs. Based on my experiences with my iBook (5 years old and still going to this day!) I was pretty certain Apple would make a killer mobile device that would be all my wishes granted, like the Penny Arcade comic. I was counting down the days till I could pop the SIM out of my 6600 and stick it in an iPhone.

Imagine my disappointment. Not only could I not swap the SIM to stay on my network, but getting an iPhone was an effective trade-down from the features I wanted, with only multi-touch and Safari in exchange. That's a good deal for a lot of you, sure, but not for me, with the experiences I'd had as a mobile user in Asia. If the iPhone and its requisite AT&T plan are the best that mobile tech here has to offer, then U.S. telecom still has a heck of a lot of catching-up to do.
posted by brownpau at 2:38 PM on December 17, 2007

I love how het up you all get about your goddamn cellphones. Now, which OS sucks more?
posted by middleclasstool at 2:53 PM on December 17, 2007