Sure, it was already possible (if complicated) to jailbreak a first-gen iPhone running the 2.0 software under Windows, but this is the one-click tool all you crazy cats with those extra G’s need if you don’t have a Mac — too bad no one’s come up with a better name than “pwn” yet. Please, people. Let’s do better.
PS.- As usual, you run the risk of totally destroying your phone mucking around with this stuff, so don’t say we didn’t warn you.
Feeling a little left out after yesterday’s Mac-based Pwnage Tool festivities, Windows users? Fret not, because the ever-vigilant, ever-studious hacking community has managed to come up with a series of steps to get you back on your feet again with a fully pwned first-gen handset. The whole shebang isn’t necessarily for the most casual jailbreakers — let’s just say it isn’t quite as straightforward as the Mac procedure yet — but it’ll allegedly get you going if you’re starting with an iPhone running 1.1.4 (there are additional steps if you jumped the gun on 2.0, you impatient son of a gun, you — think of it as penance). As always, exercise extreme caution, understand that this could cause your iPhone to spontaneously combust into a useless pile of metal, plastic, and ash, and let us know how it goes in comments.
Update: It’s looking like the video isn’t functioning right now — we’re looking for a mirror and will let you know when we find it.
Update 2: Video is up after the break! Just do it.
[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
It’s only 4pm ET and the iPhone 3G has already had a pretty rough go of it, with most customers forced to wait for Apple’s activation servers to get back online and render their devices operational. AT&T just told us that the servers are back online, though, and that activations are occuring for 3G customers — we’re guessing that means first-gen upgraders are seeing things work as well. Lines are still killer right now, but now that the servers are back up, let’s hope the chaos subsides a bit.
Update: Most AT&T stores are out of stock — if you must have an iPhone today, it looks like an Apple store is the only way to go. Have fun in line!
We want to love you, iPhone apps — we really, really do. Unfortunately for us, a lot of you are sucking pretty hard right now. Between the sluggish behavior, poorly implemented UIs / features, and lack of necessary services… well, let’s just say it isn’t pretty. Still, we can’t say how much trouble is caused by the new firmware, and there are a few really bright beacons of light out there (we’re hoping their numbers grow). We didn’t try all 500+ applications (fitness? puhlease), but we did handle quite a few, and we’ve rounded up the best and worst that we’ve seen so far for your viewing pleasure. We’d love to hear from you too — what apps are you loving or hating right now?
The best:
Remote
Apple mixes it up with the indie developers and turns in a responsive, intuitive and extensive interface for controlling iTunes remotely. Setup is a breeze — though we weren’t really expecting anything less from Apple — and we’re nerdy enough to sit two feet from our computer and choose songs via the iPhone. This app clearly benefited from the money, time and testing advantage Apple has over the “competition.”
Ms. Pac Man
Good old school vibe, nice choice of control methods, and solid, professional feel. Game makers take note, you could learn something from one of the classics.
File Magnet
This one is kind of cool. It lets you upload PDFs, Office documents, pictures, movies, and audio files wirelessly to your phone to view or listen to. It requires Leopard and a separate uploader app, but it works seamlessly and does exactly what it claims to. We’re hoping they add some basic editing functions here, or allow you to export to other apps that can.
Guitar Toolkit
If you’re a guitar player, this has a handful of tools (tuner, metronome, etc.) that are actually useable and handsomely presented. Still, the plucked strings could be a bit louder if you’re trying to use them to tune.
CityTransit
If you live in NYC, this service not only gives you a full MTA subway map and separate line guides, but also provides a location based stop-finder, and OTA updates of train trouble or service outages direct from the source. At $2.99, you probably can’t afford not to have this in New York.
Twittelator
The free (and superior) alternative to Twitterrific. It may not be as handsome, but it’s not hard on the eyes, and definitely gets the job done a lot smoother.
Bomberman Touch
It’s got a badly translated plot, old-school graphics, and control that we can live with (though it’s no Ms. Pac Man). Oh, and it’s Bomberman.
Hold Button
This might be the single greatest “productivity” app ever coded.
The worst:
AIM
You’re kidding us, right? This is the best chat we can get for one of the world’s most advanced phones? Almost every instant messenger program that was available for jailbroken phones make this look like My First Coding Project. Buggy UI, annoying lack of mute, no icon message updates (or updates at all), and rapid fire message downloading when you reopen make this pure, unadulterated fail.
NetNewsWire
No ability to add or remove feeds, improper display of feed names and hierarchy, and no way to zoom out on large stories or pictures are just a few of the problems we have with this app. Back to the drawing board — the competition isn’t sleeping guys. Like a lot of free apps, it just feels like a sleazy way to tether you to an online service.
Twitterrific
Well it looks nice — but jumpy, sluggish performance make this a pain to use. Also, ads? It doesn’t inspire us to pay for this, it inspires us to download Twittelator.
What’s the point of an application that offers slightly less functionality than the iPhone site? The world may never know.
NYTimes
Okay, you’re the world’s greatest news source, right? So why can’t your iPhone app load pictures or update properly, and why are you using our miniscule bandwidth to display ads? We don’t know… do you?
Ebay Mobile
Look, we all need to shop on the go, right? But we don’t all need to use an application that looks like its buttons were lazily stolen from Flash templates circa 1999. It’s ugly, it’s sloppy. It doesn’t alert you to bidding wars or potential upsets. Get it away from us.
Almost, but not quite:
Super Monkey Ball
Touted as being the high-water-mark for the iPhone’s graphics performance, Super Monkey Ball doesn’t disappoint in that department. Controls are difficult (to say the least), and that can dip the fun-levels kind of low — since you have to tilt the screen away from you to move the monkey, you sometimes miss the action altogether. Still it’s a good time once you get the hang of it, though some of those kinks can be pretty maddening (no real pause?). Needs some tightening up, but still quite playable.
Mobile Flickr
Worth the cash if you’re a Flickr addict, and mobile uploads are a joy, but a serious D- on presentation, and suffers from the buggy feel of so many of these apps.
Whrrl
We’re loving the concept, and plan on tricking our friends into joining up into our own little Whrrl-based restaurant-reviewing mafia, but this is another app that needs (a lot) more time in the oven.
10:32AM ET: Indeed, depending on what employee you talk to, in-store activation via iTunes is either “slow” or “down” — but either way, they’re handing you the phone unactivated, which needs to be completed by connecting to iTunes from the comfort of your home. Beware: if you’re upgrading, your old SIM will be immediately bricked, so you’ll be phoneless until you complete the activation!
10:21AM ET: We’re hearing that Apple’s activation servers are having intermittent problems, with lines coming to halt at both Apple and AT&T stores, and that some carrier stores worldwide are sending people home because they can’t activate phones. Stranger still, some people are being told that they can “activate at home using iTunes.” We’re getting more info as fast as we can, we’ll let you know.
9:42AM CT: Things are wild in Chicago as well — at least 500 strong at the Apple flagship on Michigan Avenue, 100 at the AT&T flagship on State, and at least 200 at the AT&T store on Chicago. Austin and Andy here started waiting at 3PM yesterday, through some major rain — that’s nerd dedication.
Keep going past the break for updates from Chicago, NYC, the rest of the US, and all the other international mayhem. Also, be sure to hit us up with your own pictures and experiences at the email address above!
Update (live from the Cube): It is an absolute zoo at Apple’s 5th Avenue store in New York. While the line doesn’t seem as long as last year, the feeling of desperation is considerably thicker. And yes, the hippies are here — they got new sunglasses. See below.
7:36AM ET: Unlike the first iPhone launch, people in line seem to be slightly informed about their position or the protocol for getting into the store. On the other hand, Apple seems to be far more in control this time. Still, the amount of yelling makes it seem like a riot could break out at any moment. We’re going to hit the crowd and hear what’s on the minds of the obsessive, twisted individuals waiting this out.
8:01AM ET: They’re going in!
8:11AM ET: And they’re in! Apple employees are doing their ego-booster / cult thing by standing at the door and cheering like maniacs. Same as last year, just way, way more G’s.
8:19AM ET: And they’re coming out! About 15 minutes after it all began, customers are slowly trickling out with phones in hand. Here’s wishing you good luck, AT&T network!
Keep reading after the break for more from the cube,
7:55AM ET: You’re not going to believe your eyes, but our main man Greg Packer is not only in this line… he’s at the head of it! Greg tells us he was shepherded into line by the kind souls here who knew him from last year — and he’s ready to sign a new contract with AT&T. We’re only a few minutes from the start of the mayhem… stay tuned!
8:59AM ET: “Just got my 3G iPhone from one of the AT&T stores in NYC. Some details: 1st in line arrived at midnight; I was number 14 arriving at 6:00 am; no 16GB iPhones (only 50 8GB); according to the store manager, none of the AT&T stores received the 16GB model.” [Thanks, William]
8:37AM ET: From inside the 5th Ave. Apple store. [Thanks, Scott]
Meanwhile…
While you slept the iPhone 3G made its way to Japan and the backpacked through Europe with a little 00:01 launch celebration (puff puff, ‘ere) with T-Mobile in The Netherlands, scroll on down for all the awesomeness.
4:59PM in Auckland, New Zealand – We paid a visit to the soon-to-be first ten iPhone 3G owners waiting for Vodafone’s midnight New Zealand launch — despit the cold, people seem in pretty good spirits. More soon as the launch gets under way.
Midnight in Auckland – The New Zealand swarm begins! Hundreds gathered to line up down the block and way around the corner for a shot at a device.
8:49PM in Tokyo, Japan: Line around the block and past the train station at Softbank store in Harajuku [Thanks, Kristoppher T.]
4:15 PM in Tokyo, Japan: About 30 people are lining in front of SoftBank flagship store, which opens at 7 AM tomorrow. [Thanks, Thomas Bertrand]
3:26AM in Winter Garden, FL: “We started 36 hours early from Winter Garden, Florida. Can’t wait” [Thanks, Andrew Reifel]
1:02AM in Vancouver, BC: “Absolutely no one is lined up anywhere in Vancouver, BC. (Both Fido and Rogers locations.)” [Thanks, Michael Bettiol]
6:45PM in Sydney, Austrailia [Thanks, David Pincus]
11:00AM in Denmark, Copenhagen: “My friend and I started the line in Denmark at 4:30PM (GMT+1) on July 9th and it will be available at 00:00 on July 11th.” Sounds like their ten tent was lit on fire or something… stay safe, kids! “But it is totally worth it. We are now around 20 in line and have got a lot of Danish media attention.” Ah, that explains it. [Thanks, Preben Uhrskov]
08:17AM in Palo Alto, CA: “We interviewed the first 3 guys waiting in line @ the Apple Store in Palo Alto, CA. last night. They talked about their love for the iPhones and the big plan on utilizing public utility to power their Xbox 360 to play Guitar Hero.” Public power was never put to such good use! [Thanks, yummyporky]
00:28AM in Omotesando, Japan: “Hi, I’m now lining up at Harajuku area, about a few hundred meters away from the shop. Japanese media have estimated the crowd to be around 700-1k. I’m now around 6xx.” He got to shake hands with the CEO of SoftBank, pretty fancy, but it sounds like he won’t be getting his iPhone for a good long while, CEO germs or no. [Thanks, Cheung Ka Wai]
10:00PM in Gothenburg, Sweden: We got a blank MMS forwarded to our email. [Thanks, 467064*****]
11:50PM in Wellington, NZ: “Just got back from the Wellington Vodafone launch with these images.” The real question is, where did you get those snazzy jackets? [Thanks, Alice Gott]
05:36PM in New York, NY: “I am 14yr old and my father is giving me an iPhone for my birthday. I am in line at the 5th avenue store (26th in line) and all around me people are selling last gen iPhones for as low as $50. I am considering buying one of those instead of paying $299 for a new one.” Don’t do it, little man! You’ll regret it the rest of your life. Or for like, four days.
04:42PM in Calgary, AB: “Just drove past the one of the few stores in Canada that will be opening early tomorrow for the launch. Looks like Calgary hasn’t caught the fever cause it was completely dead. I’m sure if a crowd forms tomorrow it will be a frenzy of people thinking there in for another free pancake breakfast that have been happening all week as part of the annual Calgary Stampede. Just another testament that Rogers has left a bad taste in the mouth of Canadians.” [Thanks, Loren]
11:54PM in Stockholm, Sweden: “Here is a picture from Stockholm Sweden. When writing there are 330 eager iPhone wanters in line.” [Thanks Johan Andersson]
2:50PM in Palo Alto, CA: Looks like there’s 3+people, the chairs in the back there are totally empty, which is wierd. Also, the lady in the foreground on the right is blocking Numero Uno’s face. [Thanks Andrew Ryan]
6:16PM in Montreal: “All quiet on the Quebecois front, as both the main Rogers and Fido stores (across the street from each other) on Ste-Catherine are devoid of iPhone campers as of 30 minutes ago. Attached is some photo documentation. Sorry about the over exposure, it’s not my camera. If you want to do me a solid and through in a link in the attribution to propellerhead.ca that’d be right nice of you. Or not.” [Thanks Adam]
10:39PM Rotterdam, The Netherlands: DJ Meta mixes an iPhone from within an iPhone 3G.
11:58PM Rotterdam, The Netherlands: The iPhone 3Gs arrive by armored car.
00:00AM Rotterdam, The Netherlands: The iPhone 3Gs are handed to the T-Mobile store manager.
00:09AM Rotterdam, The Netherlands: After being whisked outside you’re looking at the first iPhone 3G owner in The Netherlands.
Early AM, Indianapolis: iPhone 3G camping at an Indiana mall grabs the attention of the The Man. [Thanks, Joe G]
5:55AM in Chicago, IL
Thank’s to Engadget for some pics
