Today at approximately 10:30 AM Cupertino time Apple released version 1.1.1 of the iPhone’s software. Some people, like yours truly, could not wait and jumped right in. In my case that was a mistake. Changes in 1.1.1 are covered here.
There were several preliminary reports that pointed to success for “modded” iPhones. Please note by modded I am referring to iPhones that have had third-party applications installed, or in iPhone terminology “jailbreaked” (modified to get around Apple’s walled-in garden). This is not quite as invasive as “unlocked” iPhones. By unlocked I mean iPhones that are not only jailbreaked, but have also been modified to allow carriers other than AT&T.
In reality the 1.1.1 update will kill any third-party applications or modifications, and more importantly (at this time) will prevent them from being installed afterwards. DO NOT UPDATE if you value your third-party applications or modifications!
The Good
I downloaded and applied the 1.1.1 update without issue, as far as bricking my iPhone is concerned. Again, this was a modded and not unlocked iPhone. I didn’t restore to factory fresh before updating, as some do, I just jumped right in. iTunes didn’t complain and dutifully did its thing.
Sure enough when I fired up my iPhone the iTunes WiFi Store was present. It works well, and performs as advertised. However, it is strictly for music: no video or podcasts are available. It would be much more useful for me if I could download TV shows and podcasts too.
Apple claims the iPhone is louder in speakerphone mode, and to me this seemed true. The iPhone won’t win any awards for loudness, but it did seem improved.
Video out has been added, if you buy the proper cable. This does not interest me, but time will tell.
The other added features, such as the ability to use the space bar to enter periods are welcome but not huge in my opinion.
Regardless, this is the most extensive iPhone upgrade to date.
The Bad
Although this is an extensive update, it doesn’t address any of the most widely criticized missing iPhone features: lack of cut and paste, no MMS, no Flash support in the Safari Web browser , and the inability to use the camera for video. There were no updates to Bluetooth either, so using stereo headphones or a GPS with the iPhone are still not possible.
Disturbing, to me, is the fact that most of the iPhone’s updates so far have centered around Apple’s pocketbook. Ringtone support brings revenue, and obviously the WiFi iTunes Store is designed to generate revenue.
I have my doubts that we will ever see cut and paste et al. Too bad, as the iPhone is an extremely powerful device, and would benefit from such features immeasurably.
The Ugly
Soon after I installed 1.1.1 it was time to see if I could again jailbreak my iPhone with either iBrickr or AppTapp Installer, the two most common methods of doing so. They both failed, and I had to restore to 1.1.1 after each failure. Uh oh.
So I could not reinstall my beloved FiveDice, NES, Mobile Finder, Summerboard, or any of the dozens of apps and utilities I had installed and grown to like or need.
Checking online I found I was not alone. If you value your third-party apps or mods more than the new features in 1.1.1 DO NOT UPDATE!!!
Rest assured that as I type this the iPhone developer community is feverishly figuring out how to get back into the game. Nate True, a popular iPhone developer, wrote this in his blog: “I’ve managed (with the help of the iPod Touch dev team) to boot the iPhone in restore verbose mode which will hopefully give us some insight into what we can do to crack the new firmware.”
This is both comforting and scary: as far as I know the iPod Touch is much more locked down than the iPhone. I sure hope this is not going to be a permanent lockout. If that is the case I predict a large outcry.
Finally, it’s disturbing to me that Apple has chosen to take such a hard-line stance against third-party development. I have been using third-party applications for several months now. None have hurt my iPhone, or even caused it to need a hard reset (restore). These applications were either alpha or beta releases, and all were developed without the benefit of a true SDK. Compare this to, say, my Palm Treo and the difference is striking: the Treo crashed regularly with even applications that it was delivered with–many times requiring a hard-reset.
So in closing I will state that in my opinion the OS X in the iPhone is clearly stable enough to support third-party applications. Apple, free the iPhone!
Continue reading:
- Everything New Apple Just Announced (Septembe
- Apple Watch Pre-Order
- Apple Research Kit launches with 5 Apps
- Apple TV now only $69
TAGS:
