Posts in Mobile Phones
Vertu unveils S$9,800 Ascent Ti phone
Reuben Lee | Oct 02, 2007
And that's a steal, if you ask us. Coming on the back of models like Vertu Diamond (US$88,000) and Vertu Signature Cobra (US$310,000), the Ascent Ti collection by Nokia's luxury unit is cheap at S$9,800. So ok, maybe there aren't as many precious stones as you'd like. But at least you get some spare change left over.
The latest incarnation of its Ascent series, the Ascent Ti features premium materials including a Titanium chassis, cow-hide leather back, scratch-resistant sapphire crystal face and polished ceramic. For the price, you also get a choice of three colors (black, red and brown). The Ti is expected to retail in Singapore from October.
It's not all flash, fortunately. One of the unique features in the Ascent Ti is the Vertu Fortress technology. This synchronizes important data on the phone such as contact details, calendar and notes to a remote server, (supposedly) maintained in an ex-military bunker at a secure location in the English countryside. So if you do lose your very expensive phone, at least the data can be quickly restored in a new handset, providing some peace of mind; other than expending another S$9,800 for a replacement.
The Ascent Ti will come with support for 3G and quadband GSM networks. It will also be equipped with a 3-megapixel camera, in addition to the standard concierge button that provides 24-hour service worldwide (concierge, a dozen Krispy Kremes right this minute, please!). According to the company's press release, the composer behind many of the James Bond movie soundtracks, David Arnold, has created three bespoke ringtones for the Ascent Ti, complemented by a series of car-themed backgrounds.
Read more about the Vertu Ascent Ti phone here.
Apple iPhone relocked and frozen
Reuben Lee | Oct 01, 2007
The iPhone unlocking saga continues with Apple, as promised earlier, delivering its first blow to iPhone hackers by releasing its latest software update. When installed, this will freeze the iPhone completely. Yes, you read it right. The iPhone will become a brick (read permanently inoperable) if you update your unlocked phone with the latest software from the Cupertino company.
Many of those who did not heed the warning sure learned painfully last Friday when their iPhones were disabled after the software update. When Apple first issued the warning early last week, iPhone hackers advised users with unlocked iPhones to wait before installing the new software updates, promising a fix by this week. So far, we've come across one iPhone fix which will unlock all of a bricked iPhone's functionalities, save for the cellular service.
The good news is, with the recent price cuts, the iPhone is a lot cheaper to replace. So do you think Apple has gone too far this time by rendering the iPhone completely useless, instead of just relocking it and removing the illegal apps? Share your thoughts here with other readers if you've found ways to get around this issue.
Ten steps (actually 11) to unlock your "bricked" iPhone
Russell Shaw, ZDNet.com | Oct 01, 2007
If you've downloaded the latest iPhone firmware on to your previously unlocked iPhone, you have a course of action available to you that will unlock all your iPhone’s functionality except for your phone service.
The ticket is iNDependence, a Cocoa-based app for Mac OS X. This provides a UI for modifying your iPhone.
You can download it here. I guess that would be the first step.
Once you do just that, hackintOsh Member sparx writes that you should:
1. Make sure you have a copy of the 1.0.2 firmware handy in ipsw and decrypted form.
2. Reboot iPhone holding top (power) and home buttons *BUT* release the top button 10 seconds into it (right after the screen goes dark).
3. The iPhone screen will appear to be off, but start iTunes (latest version worked for me on the Mac).
4. Option+Click restore and select the 1.0.2 firmware ips.
5. The phone will restart and error out at the end with an unknown error 1013, this is expected.
6. Restart iTunes and let it get to the screen that says you have an invalid SIM
7. Launch the latest iNDpendence
8. Jailbreak the phone using a decrypted 1.0.2 (it will flash all sorts of error, but stick with it)
9. Activate the phone
10. It will show the SIM error but you should be able to get back in.
Additional stuff for code jocks here.
Via ZDNet blogs
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