Google Maps now supports  “Get Directions” on its map application both on the web and the iPhone. I have tested a few routes and they are fairly accurate bar a few shortcuts I know of. Please test it in your cities and leave us a feedback if it works for you.

It works well for showing car routes but could not list any known public transport routes.

Google maps on iPhone (driving across multiple cities)

Google maps on iPhone

Google Maps Directions in India

Hope you won’t have to ask for too many directions in new places now!

However, the site also says -

The simplest workaround I’ve heard of for the DFU issue is to copy one or two of the 10.5.5 frameworks files over the newer ones.

But till a definite guide is not released by the iPhone Dev team, we suggest you update to the latest build only if you have to.

Surprisingly, the agenda varies considerably across countries and India will get only a subset of the sessions that are presented in North America (no game development or web development sessions for you India!). Considering how small Apple’s developer engagement footprint in India is, this is at least a start.

Head off to http://developer.apple.com/events/iphone/techtalks/ for session details and registration.

We don’t know the exact venues yet. We plan to be attend at least one of the two events in India and will keep you posted.

I have been playing this game for almost a month now (can’t say the same for some of the more expensive games I have bought (I am talking to you Super Monkey Ball) and I still go back to Blocked atleast once a day.

Blocked is a puzzle game where the objective is to slide a blue colored block out of the playing area. There are obstacles in the form of other gray colored blocks which you have to move around to get the blue block out. You simply use your fingers to slide the blocks around.

There are 100 levels categorised into Easy, Medium, Hard, Harder and Hardest. I have finished about 80 levels in a month’s time and might take another couple of weeks to finish the game. There is good replay value because you can always pick up an older level and start playing again. If you leave a game in between, it starts of from the point where you left so you can take your time finishing a level.

I have to mention that I was stuck on level 64 for a very long time (almost a week) and also asked a few friends if they could solve it but it turned out to be a really tough level. I finally gave up and googled for a solution but nothing came up. Finally I looked up the creator’s site and in the FAQ section I found this -

• Is it possible to beat every level?

Sure is! I did it again just last week!

• Even level 64?

If you must – The trick is to get the two vertical blocks above the blue block, as seen in this pic. If you can get to the layout below, you’re only a few moves away!

Drop us a line if you like more reviews/suggestions for iPhone/iPod touch applications. We would love to know the apps/games you have been using on your device!

Here is the full quote and screen shots of Installer 4.0

Hi folks! Many of you are wondering what’s up with Installer 4. No, we haven’t slowed down the work on it, and are currently in the final stages of hooking the GUI to the back-end. We will be contacting the authors of the major repositories in a few days to invite them into the testing process and to prepare for the upcoming repository changes.

Well, here is an update from the guys who are developing Installer 4.0 for the new firmware -

http://russianiphone.ru/blog/2008/07/11/installer-4-short-facts-1/

A few choice quotes from their post – “In the final stages of development”, will be available “immediately or shortly after the iPhone Dev Team releases new PWNAGE.”

Some of the features of the new version are (besides compatibility with firmware 2.0) -

• Downloads much more compact packages listing from the server, resulting in over than 3 times less bandwidth.
• The script behind the repository is smart enough to filter the packages based on the firmware version you’re using and only give you the packages that can be installed there.
• Moved from plists to sqllite (makes it much faster to go through the apps)
• Multithreaded
• Dependencies are downloaded automatically

They have done a really good job of explaining the procedure with screenshots (the way we like it!). Please read the whole thing before starting the procedure. You might want to print it out.

I made two mistakes when I tried to unlock my phone-

1. I updated my 1.1.4 firmware to 2.0 before running Pwnage. Big mistake! Took me almost 45 minutes to get back to 1.1.4. To downgrade from 2.0 to 1.1.4 read this.
2. I wasted a lot of time getting my firmware 2.0 iPhone to go into the DFU mode. It is a little different from the DFU mode of previous versions. In 2.0 you don’t see the iTunes logo with the cable, instead it is a black screen. The way to enter DFU mode in 2.0 - Plug into iTunes…Power phone off… hold power + Home for EXACTLY 10 seconds… release power but continue to hold home (screen will be black)… and within 20 seconds iTunes will recognize it.

If you have any issues upgrading to 2.0 do let us know in the comments. We will try to help you out.

Cheers and enjoy firmware 2.0. It is awesome!

Update: Windows users, click here

]]> http://www.imacusers.com/guide-how-to-unlock-your-iphone-firmware-20-with-pwnage/feed/ 0 http://www.imacusers.com/unlock-your-iphone-with-firmware-20-pwnage-20-released/ http://www.imacusers.com/unlock-your-iphone-with-firmware-20-pwnage-20-released/#comments Sun, 20 Jul 2008 03:33:29 +0000 KSB http://www.imacusers.com/?p=33 9 days after firmware 2.0 was released, the iPhone Dev team (bunch of hackers from around the world) has released Pwnage 2.0 a tool which unlocks iPhones with the new firmware.

2 caveats, it works only on the Mac and unlocks only the first generation iPhone. It can only jailbreak iPhone 3G but not unlock it.

Download the tool here (mirror). You will also need the iPhone firmware version 2.0 which you can download from here.

Keep watching this space. We will post an installation guide today.

Cheers!

You can click the Check for Updates link to have iTunes check for updates for any of your applications. You’ll be prompted to sign into the iTunes Store. In case an update is available, iTunes will take you to the an App Store page which will have just the updates specific to your apps listed:

From here you can either click Download All Updates or click the Get Updates button next to each app. I have a feeling that these are not “delta” updates i.e. you end up downloading the complete app (the newer version) all over again. In case of “heavy” games that could mean having to download anywhere between 20-50 MB.

The update process works from iPod Touch/iPhone as well. Just click on the Updates button in the App Store application, select the app you want to update, tap it to go to its detailed description and then click the Update button.

The Update button will turn into a green Install button, tapping on which will ask you for your iTunes Store credentials. After you sign-in, the updated version of the app will start downloading and will eventually replace the existing version on your iPod Touch/iPhone.

Kudos to Apple for having thought through the update/upgrade scenarios!

In a press release Apple’s CEO Steve Jobs is happy to announce these figures and adds “iPhone 3G had a stunning opening weekend,” and “…the new iPhone 3G is clearly off to a great start around the world.”

That brings the total number of iPhones sold since the launch of the first generation phone to more than 7 million.

Interestingly, Apple also managed to sell 10 millions apps from the iPhone/iPod Appstore in these 3 days. The press release states that “More than 800 native applications are now available on the App Store, with more than 200 offered for free”

Interestingly 8 out of the top 10 paid apps are games. Also worth mentioning is the fact that none of the Electronic Arts (EA) games (including Tetris and Scrabble) show up in the India App Store, and possibly other international App Stores. I can understand that a game like MLB at Bat (publisher: mlb.com) will have a limited appeal outside the US, but Tetris and Scrabble? Come on!

So, have you taken the App Store in India for a spin yet? Let us know how it went for you!