Apple has released a 3.1 beta for the iPhone SDK. Both the SDK beta and firmware are available for testing and development to paid members of the iPhone developer program. As pre-release software, any details about this new release remain under NDA.

A pre-installation advisory and beta release notes are available as per Apple's usual release strategy. As before, you cannot use the 3.1 SDK to create applications for submitting to the App Store, so if you plan to download it be prepared to create a separate installation directory.

The new release comes just on the heels of the public 3.0 firmware. Its full-dot-number indicates that it contains more than just minor bug fixes (a relatively minor revision would probably be listed as 3.0.1).

Thanks to everyone who sent this in.

AdMob is one of the bigger names in iPhone ad-supported applications. They provide embeddable advertisements that developers can incorporate into otherwise free apps. Recently, third-party ad networks like AdWhirl and Tapjoy have appeared on the scene, offering to negotiate ad displays from multiple sources to increase developer revenues and increase fill rates. Yesterday, citing increased technical complaints and parameter obstruction, AdMob announced that it would no longer work with these third party mediation services.

This move affects developers who turned to dynamic advertisement solutions from third parties. AdMob will continue to allow developers to use their own solutions for maximizing ad fill rates outside these services.

Ad-supported applications are not particularly common in the App Store, where they have been relatively unsuccessful as a monetizing solution (jailbreak apps on Cydia and Icy have provided somewhat more effective results). App Store titles must compete in a huge market with delays in providing updates. The relatively close relationship between software creators and their target audience and quick update/release cycles appears to work better with ad-supported models than the more formal App Store environment.

Further details about the AdMob policy change can be found on their blog.

Apple has quietly pushed out software updates for both the Apple TV and the Remote application for the iPhone and iPod touch. The update, identified as version 2.4 for the Apple TV, and version 1.3 (24) for the Remote app, adds gesture support for controlling Apple TV from your iPhone or iPod.

Our in-house Apple TV geeks, Megan Lavey and Christina Warren, both installed the updates and gave them a try. Megan indicated the gestures were quick and responsive, and coupled with the ability to use the iPhone/iPod keyboard to search for shows, the new versions made it much less tedious to navigate through your shows.

Boxee users may wish to hold off on updating, however, as it seems that you may not be able to reinstall Boxee after completing the update. Also worth noting is that the new Remote app requires the 3.0 software update to be installed on your iPhone or iPod touch.

Thanks to everyone who sent this in!

At times, iPhone developers might like to test out applications without going through the formality (or challenges) of ad hoc distribution. Ad hoc distribution was introduced by Apple to allow software testing on up to 100 registered devices. It is, admittedly, a bit of a pain.

Developers must collect device information (the "UDID", aka their unique device identifiers), register that device at the iPhone developer portal, create an special provisioning certificate, add a special entitlement, and build an ad-hoc only version of their software to distribute along with that certificate.

If all that seems like a hassle, well, yes it is. It is, however, the proper, authorized, and recommended way to distribute pre-release software, whether for testing or reviews. But there is another way.

If you know for sure that your target audience is another developer, the process becomes way easier. You can simply compile a normal development build of your application and send a copy of that build to another developer.

That's because each registered developer has the ability to sign applications. Although the app was built to work with just the in-house devices you've registered for development, another developer can re-sign that application using the simple command-line script shown here.

#! /bin/bash 
export CODESIGN_ALLOCATE=/Developer/Platforms/iPhoneOS.platform\
/Developer/usr/bin/codesign_allocate
 
codesign -f -s "iPhone Developer" $1.app

This script uses Xcode's codesign utility to sign the already compiled version of the application. Once applied, you can then install the application through Xcode.

So is this a general distribution solution? No. And thank heavens for that; free trading of app binaries would rapidly lead to piracy. This approach allows developer-to-developer testing and collaboration only. The development signing is limited to the units you have personally registered.

If you want to try this out, follow the link at the start of this post. It leads to a testing folder I keep around and occasionally stock with software that I need tested. It also includes a copy of the script, which you must make executable (chmod 755 signit).

Hey, iPhone 3G owners: Please do not download the 2,1 firmware files listed below. They are for the 3G S and will not work on your phone. Read the whole post for details. The correct firmware for the 3G will start with "iPhone1,2" instead.

If you were up all night waiting for the new iPhone OS to arrive, you're in good company -- we were too, until we began getting Twitter reports from users in Hong Kong and Sweden that the local carriers sent out SMS alerts to their customers suggesting when they could download 3.0. Those times both align with a 10 am PT/1 pm ET go time, and that's when we're calling it for now; Engadget concurs. That's why you're still seeing 2.2.1 as the most current version in iTunes; the new version hasn't been released yet.

Those with a command-line bent and an inability to wait without doing something can launch Terminal and type in the following every few minutes to see whether 3.0 has launched, rather than repeatedly clicking the Check for Upgrade button in iTunes (note that the up-arrow in Terminal reloads the previous command):

curl -s -L http://phobos.apple.com/version |\
 grep -i restore |\
 grep '_3.' | open -f

The results will look something like URLs ending with this:

iPhone2,1_3.0_7A341_Restore.ipsw
iPhone2,1_3.0_7A341_Restore.ipsw

The model number indicates which unit has downloadable firmware. As of right now, only the iPhone 3G S firmware has been updated. That's the 2,1 iPhone model. Yes, the 1,2 iPhone 3G model was considered a revision of the first generation 1,1 iPhone as it only had moderate hardware changes. The two iPods are 1,1 and 2,1 for the first and second generation.

(No, for those wondering in the comments, you cannot download the 2,1 firmware and install it on your iPhone or iPhone 3G -- it will only work with the 3G S.)

To download, copy the URL and paste it into Safari's download window or use any other favorite method to retrieve the firmware. Then hold the Option key and click Update in iTunes. Navigate to the firmware (the ipsw file), select it, and 3.0's good to go. Of course, you can also download directly through iTunes as soon as the update is available.

Update 4: I am working with an AT&T spokesperson to try to detangle the contradictory information discussed below. No results as yet, but will update when that becomes possible.

Update 5: The prepaid crackdown for iPhone applies to only some prepaid plans. PayAsYouGo GoPhone customers will be affected but not PickYourPlan GoPhone customers, who will be safe from service degradation. Brad Mays of AT&T tells TUAW that they are briefing their reps to better convey the distinction to customers.

Similar carrier restrictions are apparently not limited to the United States. TUAW reader Robin forwarded a screenshot from the UK, which directs customers to this O2 information page. Customers are being urged to change from normal prepaid plans to an authorized O2 iPhone tariff.

Update 6: Brad Mays emphasizes that PAYG customers do not have an official iPhone Data Plan and that PickYourPlan data "is necessary to make the 3.0 software work properly with their device". PAYG customers are directed to this page for more information. He added, "[O]ur reps are now fully aligned around this information."

TUAW reader Daniel B. called AT&T today and writes that he was offered a prepaid PYP option with a $30 iPhone data plan. This is the first we've heard of PYP prepaid accounts being offered, believing AT&T would no longer provide this option. I have, once again, contacted Mays to see what's going on.

Original Post
I just spent the last half hour on the phone with AT&T, and I can't quite believe what I heard.

I am an AT&T customer, and have been so since the weekend that the iPhone debuted. I am on an official iPhone GoPhone plan. I have paid monthly for two years and am up to date on said payments. After two years, AT&T now tells me that I will either begin a new contract on my existing equipment, or lose access to a reliable data plan.

My jaw is dragging the floor.

When TUAW reader Daniel Burkholder tipped us off this afternoon, I thought he was somehow misled by the text message that appeared on his iPhone. It reads:

AT&T Free MSG: A new software upgrade for iPhone will be available on 6/17. This upgrade may affect your data service. Please visit att.com/iphone or call 800-901-9878 for a representative. If you download the software and are not on an approved iPhone data plan, your data service will be interrupted.

So I called, despite the fact that I am on an approved data plan. Sure, my account is grandfathered in, and new iPhone 3G purchasers can no longer get GoPhone activation (click the "New to AT&T" link to see the relevant section), but it's never been an issue.

I was told that AT&T was asking customers to move to a contract plan as they no longer plan to support prepaid data. "This is a recommendation," the technical support person told me. "If you decide not to go, it's okay but we're informing customers that service will not be up to par."

I asked if they were deliberately cutting out GoPhone customers from full Internet access (and mind you, I asked this in several ways, at least three or four times), and was told 'Yes.' "This will affect logging onto the Internet and using your data services."

How will they detect this? According to the technical representative, their equipment will be checking the SIM and using the account information when accessing AT&T's data services. "Based on your plan, you will not receive the same quality service on your GoPhone plan, even with the same equipment. This is a technical change on AT&T's end on how we service that data plan." Gotcha -- so nothing at all to do with the 3.0 OS upgrade, but merely a convenient point of transition.

I pushed further, asking whether I could move to a postpaid plan without invoking a two-year contract as I already fully owned my equipment and had been a customer for two years on my current plan. "You will have to enter a new contract as this service change is not compatible with the iPhone prepaid. You cannot enter a postpaid contract without a two year commitment."

The technician pointed out that "the iPhone has drastically cut prices" on recent models. I responded that my 2G iPhone was working fine. He pointed out that this was an official AT&T policy and that they have decided that "all prepaid customers should transfer into a contract plan for the iPhone."

I asked him to point me to an official policy statement but he said at this time only the text messages going out are available as official communications with customers. "This is an official iPhone advisory. We are informing customers by text messages."

So this is how AT&T rewards me for two years of customer loyalty: I either have to start paying up another $20+ per month and commit to two years of additional service (without any further breaks on equipment or contract terms, if I don't choose to buy a 3G S right now), or accept that I'm going to be paying good money each month for a plan with substandard data service. Based on the fact that the data pinching will happen deliberately on AT&T's end, I'd call it a strongarm approach and a rotten way to treat customers.

It's one thing, if you're going to make a change in the terms of service for an admittedly legacy (but still perfectly usable) service plan, to clearly communicate customer options well ahead of the transition date, and to work with loyal users to find accommodations that satisfy. It's quite another thing to lower the boom with two days warning: upgrade or suffer.

Update Official statement here, which does not yet shed any further light on the matter. Developing.

Update 2 Three different AT&T reps checked my *specific* plan using my account information, which is the original iPhone GoPhone plan and said that yes, I would be affected and that no, this didn't just affect people who stuck SIMs into iPhones

Update 3 We have a query into AT&T PR that has not yet been replied to, asking why service reps are giving information that seems out of line with the statement

A new kind of App Store rejection is making the rounds in the iPhone World. It's not about violating the SDK. It's not about objectionable content. It's about Apple empowering its reviewers to reject software without providing any substantive reason or feedback. TUAW reader Kenneth Ballenegger received the following rejection notice for his iLaugh application.

This kind of rejection is a gamechanger. Devs have complained that Apple's review policies to date have been inconsistent and arbitrary, since it was relatively easy to compare rejections and demonstrate the multiple standards in play. This rejection shields Apple's internal processes even further. Instead of moving towards transparency and responding to developer concerns, Apple has pointed itself in the opposite direction.

Making this rejection sting more, the app already was in the App Store; this submission was a bug-fix update. The premium edition of the same app, submitted at the same time, was approved without issue. It seems that previous and current approvals for the same application would argue in favor of letting this version through, or at a minimum providing an explanation of what's wrong with this one. As Christina posted yesterday, developers aren't getting straight answers about App Store rejections, even at WWDC.

"Sole discretion" hides a lot of possible review errors, both subjective and accidental. It makes it harder than ever for smaller companies to appeal rejections and denies them a factual basis on which to evaluate whether their rejection was issued in error. It also gives a firm answer to those who have been hoping for a transparent ticketing system and a open appeal process. Apple isn't interested; it's their store, their rules, and Caveat Developer to anyone whose business plan depends solely on Apple's beneficence.

An app full of admittedly lame jokes might be an appropriate candidate for App Store rejection, but the combination of veto power, the opaque review/appeal process, and inconsistent and capricious application of Apple's ax adds up to a troublesome situation in the developer ecosystem and in the App Store.

Postscript: Kenneth writes in to clarify that the 1.1.1 bug-fix update submitted 3 months ago was rejected. This will not affect his 2.0 Lite version, which was just submitted.

When word about the Pogoplug hit TUAW central, we debated to see who would luck out and and cover the device. Apart from a few cuts and bruises, nearly all of which will mend in a matter of weeks if the doctors are to be believed, I won. The past few days, I've had the pleasure of road testing a unit. And it's awesome.

The Pogoplug offers a USB NAS adapter, i.e. a network-attached storage system, that gives you network access to your data from home and on the road. With NAS you can use common protocols like AFP and SMB to connect to a remote disk. And you can do so easily. That's a big win, because choosing and setting up these remote devices has been a deal killer for many otherwise interested people. As Brad Dietrich, Pogoplug's CTO, told TUAW, "[Until now], the state of home networking has been too complicated and geeky for most people." Pogoplug provides a simple solution.

What Pogoplug brings to the party is a remarkable ease of use that crosses past any issues of firewalls and port setup and delivers remote storage to normal (i.e. read "non-geek") humans. It transforms remote file access into a consumer device. And best of all, it provides this for just $99.

Here at TUAW central, we fell into a debate last night about the merits and tradeoffs of MiFi and the iPhone. If you haven't heard of MiFi, it's a portable EV-DO router from Verizon. For $149 for the equipment (there's a $50 rebate), and for $60/month, you get up to 5GB of WiFi based data that you can tether and share.

The MiFi has a fairly limited WiFi range (about 20-40 feet max) and supports only 802.11b and g. Battery life seems limited to about 4 hours of active use. So why the attraction, and why the debate? After yesterday's slightly disappointing iPhone updates, namely the hefty hardware prices for in-contract customers and lack of AT&T announcements on tethering, I felt that the MiFi might provide a cost effective tethering solution for iPhone, iPods, and laptops.

The reasoning works like this. If you can bear to stick another gadget in your pocket or backpack, both iPods and iPhones can use MiFi's data plan. You can Skype to your heart's content (or, realistically, up to the 5GB monthly limit). This helps especially if your EDGE or 3G coverage is already awful when compared to Verizon's EV-DO network. MiFi gives you the opportunity to dump your entire iPhone plan and replace it with possibly better data. And with no US tethering yet announced for the iPhone, MiFi offers laptop as well as iPhone data; its WiFi connection appears to be platform agnostic.

So are you ready to dump your iPhone data plan? If so, you'll want to consider a phone number for your iPhone. If you've already got an AT&T plan on another phone, just pop in the SIM. If not, consider Pay As You Go. For $100, you can buy a one year credit that charges at either $0.25 a minute or $0.10 a minute with a $1/day minimum. This gives you a phone number for incoming calls, allows you to use Skype for outgoing calls, and should you have problems with MiFi or just aren't carrying it along, you can use those minutes to place normal calls. Obviously normal AT&T plans have better per-minute and SMS rates.

There are drawbacks. Along with convenience (now carrying two gadgets around? Plus your laptop?), you give up Visual Voicemail. It's one of the iPhone's nicer features. Pay As You Go, for example, gives you regular voicemail but it's not quite the same. Plus, the $60/month price? It's okay for what they give you but it's no huge bargain. Here's a quick summary of some of the the pros and cons of this approach.

Pros

• Tethering. Above-board and sharable with a couple of nearby friends.
• Works with iPod touch.
• For that matter, works with iPhone in a laptop-free way that an Express Card does not
• Skype becomes a reasonable communication option

Cons

• Two gadgets to charge, two gadgets to carry
• No Visual Voicemail
• Skype is what it is, lagged audio and all
• For a data-only plan with tethering, pricing is not great but it's pretty much in-line with other plans out there
• Bulkier than express card

Thank you to the TUAW reader who sent us the MiFi tip!

June 8, 2009.

Today's a day filled with incredible anticipation for Apple fans. The Apple Worldwide Developers Conference opens with a keynote by Apple Senior VP of Product Marketing Phil Schiller, who is widely expected to announce the availability of the 3rd generation of iPhone firmware and hardware, provide a release date for Snow Leopard (Mac OS X 10.6), and hopefully throw in a few surprises in the meantime.

While TUAW has no "assets on the ground" inside the keynote (Brett Terpstra will be outside for developer interviews immediately afterward), our team is preparing for full meta-liveblogging of the event. Join us for this event beginning at about 10 AM Pacific Time / 1 PM Eastern Time / 5 PM GMT as TUAW bloggers Steve Sande, Megan Lavey, and Erica Sadun provide you with nonstop coverage of the keynote. You can also follow our event-specific Twitter feed for updates throughout the week at http://twitter.com/tuaw_wwdc.

Dear Auntie TUAW,

I was driving home from an appointment today with my brother, and at a stop light, I noticed that instead of the Edge "E", I had this little blue dot. I just assumed that it was where i had connected to WiFi and had no bars, but it was much too big and centered.

My brother, who also has an iPhone, pulled his out to find that we both had the little dot. They are both first Gen iPhones, his 4GB, mine 8GB. I did not know what this meant, but being the Apple nerd I am, I figure I would have heard something of this dot before now.

Do you know what it is? Could it have something to do with 3.0 coming out soon as expected? Thanks, And I look forward to hearing what you think.

With love from your nephew,

Andrew Dixon

Andrew, sweetheart,

Speaking of the iPhone, are you including enough roughage in your diet? Now that I'm entering onto what we oldsters can only term our "tender years," I've grown to realize that bulk, bulk, bulk is the key to world happiness. Fiber is health; health, fiber. That is what we know at TUAW, and all ye need to know for better digestive function.

As for your question, that little blue circle means you youngsters were connected to a GPRS network, aka General Packet Radio Service. When the iPhone first debuted, it displayed the EDGE "E" when connected to GPRS. This made pedants cry. Newer firmware versions show this blue circle instead. As noted below, GPRS is quite a bit slower than either EDGE or 3G.

To check this icon out for yourself, you can browse through your iPhone files using sftp (on a jailbroken iPhone) or iBrowser (for iPhones with the developer deployment). The EDGE and GPRS icons live in /System/Library/CoreServices/SpringBoard.app and are named FSO_EDGE_ON.png and FSO_GPRS_ON.png. You'll need to convert the compressed iPhone-style png images to Mac compatible ones using a utility like fixpng.

Send my love to your brother and don't forget to wear a scarf to keep your neck warm!

Love and hugs,

Auntie T.

With WWDC just a short while away, iPhone users everywhere are looking forward to the upcoming 3.0 firmware release promised back in March. So when will 3.0 debut? Apple hasn't said[1].

In March, Apple promised that 3.0 would appear this Summer, causing pundits to speculate that the firmware and a refreshed iPhone line might hit the streets in early July, around the one year anniversary of the 3G model. July 11 marks the date that the 3G iPhone and App Store finally launched.

Rumors have been flying in recent days that 3.0 might bow as early as next Monday. The recent release of iTunes 8.2 supports that idea, indicating that Apple may be closer to a 3.0 update than originally thought. TUAW readers point out that apps which have publicly announced remote notification support have begun appearing in iTunes, albeit in 2.x releases.

There's no reason I can think of that Apple should have to wait for new hardware before releasing the 3.0 firmware to the general public. In fact, I'd greatly welcome an earlier release for enthusiastic reasons I cannot expand upon due to the ongoing NDA. Others have pointed out that a staggered software/hardware release might avoid the iTunes server capacity issues that plagued the 2.0 firmware release.

So when do you think Apple will start shipping 3.0? Let us know in the comments and cast your vote in this handy poll.

[1]...pation

Are you an App Store developer? Are you looking to keep track of how your applications are doing from the convenience of your iPhone? The open source AppSales Mobile application has made a place for itself in the developer community, offering up-to date statistics with daily and weekly reports from the iTunes app store. You'll need a developer license to run it, however, as it's not available in the App Store. You must download the source, compile it in Xcode, and install it onto your iPhone.

AppSales Mobile offers an easy-to-use settings page. Just enter your iTunes Connect user ID and password and choose the currency you want to work with (this defaults to the euro, so US devs will probably want to change it to dollars). Return to the main menu and click the refresh button. If you've got a solid network connection, your reports will download in a matter of minutes.

If the rumors are to be believed, then cameras and the iPod are getting it on lately, because in about nine months (or whatever the gestation period is for gadgets -- you're welcome for that mental image) we'll be seeing lots of iPods with lenses in them. First up is the fine folks at iLounge, who claim they've seen the newest iPod nano, and it's got a camera right where your finger usually is. They also say the new version has a lower click wheel and a smaller action button. You may laugh (it does look pretty silly), but on the other hand, I just saw the nanos during a trip to the Apple Store the other day, and I held it by its corners... while I was watching video. Add that to the rumor that Apple is adding in video recording to the iPod lines, and it becomes slightly more credible.

In fact, we're not the only people who've seen that line of reasoning: Computerworld's Seth Weintraub follows the same path, speculating that not only is Apple beefing up the camera capabilities on their iPod lines, but they're set to branch the iPod touch off into a digital HD camera/"photography computer": "Imagine an iPod Touch with a good camera and lens. That's about it." All rumors, of course, but he says it's very easy to see happening, and we have to agree.

What's nicer than to come back into a nice, cozy space shuttle after a hard day fixing the Hubble Space Telescope, taking off your sweaty space suit, and the listening to some tunes on your iPod?

TUAW reader Brandon pointed out a photo (below) from the latest mission that showed Astronauts John Grunsfeld and Andrew Feustel grinning in the shuttle mid-deck after the third extravehicular activity (EVA). Plastered to one wall with Velcro are an iPod and some sort of speaker system.