3G iPhone Preference Found in Beta 5 Firmware

[giga Veteran]

Note that this is not fake, it is in the beta 5 .ipsw, but will normally not show up on an EDGE iPhone. Turning 3G on will just crash the phone if you use an EDGE phone. If you do not believe me, then decrypt the beta5 rootfs dmg, and see for yourself in /Applications/Preferences.app/Network.plist

http://theappleblog.com/2008/05/11/3g-ipho...eta-5-firmware/

[Cara Veteran]

That took longer than I thought it would have to find. ;)

[Julius Caro]

Wait a second, a mobile phone that lets you turn off a feature that could potentially result in a person spending A LOT of money? I'm sure a lot of companies would sell their soul to make apple remove that button :p

[Roger H. Veteran]

why? turning off 3G would be great for people that don't live in any 3G areas. Right about now this is AT&T's 3G network:

Click to see larger images at the source

As you can see, AT&T doesn't have that huge of a 3G network right now (as of March 31, 2008**) One would think they'd only sell it in areas where they sell 3G to sorta keep up to the demand but Apple would NEVER allow that. They'd just sell it in their stores anyways. Therefore you have lots of people buying 3G Iphone with no 3G anywhere around for 100s of miles.

Oh and yeah, i know most of their 3G phones now are sold where they don't have 3G enabled and the options to turn off 3G is disabled there so i guess it would make sense for AT&T to make Apple turn it off but i doubt they would allow that. Apple wouldn't want to get a bad rep on battery life just cuz of AT&T.

** - after that map went up, some other sites have been reported to be 3G enabled but they don't reflect that on the map. It only shows updates up till march 2008.

[bdsams Veteran]

I dont think many were shocked by this but atleast we know!

[[bear]]

nearly 100% 3G coverage here in Austin, TX :-D

[Des429]

turning off a data connection does save a lot of battery. i have a cingular 8525 and when i turn off the connection (i use 3G also), it saves battery life by a few hours, so i think it's a good idea to have a feature like that.

[Hurmoth]

Wait a second, a mobile phone that lets you turn off a feature that could potentially result in a person spending A LOT of money? I'm sure a lot of companies would sell their soul to make apple remove that button :p

Spending a lot of money? :blink: You do realize that the iPhone's plan includes unlimited data, right? My plant is $60/month and I download a ton of ****.

turning off a data connection does save a lot of battery. i have a cingular 8525 and when i turn off the connection (i use 3G also), it saves battery life by a few hours, so i think it's a good idea to have a feature like that.

Same here. Turn it on only when you are using it would be a huge benefit to the device for battery life.

[Cara Veteran]

Makes you wonder what is brewing in Cupertino doesn't it? ;)

Finding this today followed by...

[Hurmoth]

^ I am shocked that everyone is out of stock so soon. I mean there's still more than a month before WWDC, which is when iPhone 2.0 is expected to launch, so I'm curious if they'll launch sooner?

When I read this on MacRumors, I called my local AT&T Store and they're out of stock too and they stated they are not expecting new shipments for 4 to 6 weeks.

[Cara Veteran]

they'll launch sooner.

Edited for content ;) :whistle:

Oh, quick edit, don't trust what AT&T stores say, they have no idea when their next shipment will come from Apple, the best they know is about the delivery schedule they have had in the past. As with all vendors and resellers of Apple products, shipping dates are not given out on new or refreshed products as it would lead to leakage.

[Hurmoth]

^ Interesting... :D

Well, I applied for a new credit card with 0% interest for 12 months, so bring on the new iPhone and MacBook Pro :yes:

[Nashy]

Wait a second, a mobile phone that lets you turn off a feature that could potentially result in a person spending A LOT of money? I'm sure a lot of companies would sell their soul to make apple remove that button :p

you realise ALL 3G phones allow this right...

[MrA]

Wait a second, a mobile phone that lets you turn off a feature that could potentially result in a person spending A LOT of money? I'm sure a lot of companies would sell their soul to make apple remove that button :p

I don't think 3G would cost the user any more than EDGE or GPRS.

why? turning off 3G would be great for people that don't live in any 3G areas. Right about now this is AT&T's 3G network:

You wouldn't need to turn off 3G. If there's no 3G, the phone would revert to EGDE automatically (like it reverts to GPRS when EDGE isn't available).

[Roger H. Veteran]

You wouldn't need to turn off 3G. If there's no 3G, the phone would revert to EGDE automatically (like it reverts to GPRS when EDGE isn't available).

True, this happens now with my phone but the option is still needed as having the 3G radio CONSTANTLY scan for a WCDMA signal is what kills the battery. The GSM radio (unless they are integrated now) will always be second to 3G. As soon as you go anywhere, even if GSM isn't over used and 3G is, the phone still switches to 3G mode because the radio is constantly scanning and locking onto the signal when found.

you realise ALL 3G phones allow this right...

Hehe, sure.. only if that were true in the USA. AT&T blocks that option for god knows what reason. My Blackjack II and all the other 3G phones i know of has to do the CIA NSA GOVT secret codes to get into a menu to turn it off or hack into the software to get it back.

[wellofsouls]

Spending a lot of money? :blink: You do realize that the iPhone's plan includes unlimited data, right? My plant is $60/month and I download a ton of ****.

I think he's referring to the turning off Data Roaming mode, not the 3G mode. AT&T is known to charge its iPhone users insane amount of international roaming fees, so I guess they'll not be happy when iPhone include such a feature :p

[Nashy]

True, this happens now with my phone but the option is still needed as having the 3G radio CONSTANTLY scan for a WCDMA signal is what kills the battery. The GSM radio (unless they are integrated now) will always be second to 3G. As soon as you go anywhere, even if GSM isn't over used and 3G is, the phone still switches to 3G mode because the radio is constantly scanning and locking onto the signal when found.

Hehe, sure.. only if that were true in the USA. AT&T blocks that option for god knows what reason. My Blackjack II and all the other 3G phones i know of has to do the CIA NSA GOVT secret codes to get into a menu to turn it off or hack into the software to get it back.

Oh that sucks!

Although, down here our Prices for 3G and GSM are the same, so I guess they simply don't care.

[Roger H. Veteran]

yeah, prices for both are the same here though. I don't turn off 3G cuz i'm in and out of 3G most of the time but if i lived in east bushtown then i'd just disable 3G all the time instead of leaving both radios on. I'm also hoping AT&T after turning off TDMA/Anolog will have enough spectrum to launch 3G on 850 instead also so that we can get the same coverage. 3G is run on 1900 in most places, as soon as you go inside or far out you drop back to GSM mode.

[Nashy]

yeah, prices for both are the same here though. I don't turn off 3G cuz i'm in and out of 3G most of the time but if i lived in east bushtown then i'd just disable 3G all the time instead of leaving both radios on. I'm also hoping AT&T after turning off TDMA/Anolog will have enough spectrum to launch 3G on 850 instead also so that we can get the same coverage. 3G is run on 1900 in most places, as soon as you go inside or far out you drop back to GSM mode.

Telstra down here has just started running 3G on 850. Although I think deep behind all the hype it's caused, it may just be a flashy quick edge system.

3G with the other mainstreams down here and in NZ Vodafone Aus/NZ and Optus (Singtel), and Three operate 3G on the 2100 band, which is the standard here.

Telstra shut down their CDMA network and chose the 850 to push coverage to something like 98% of the population, which is a huge feat in Australia.

[The_Decryptor Veteran]

Most of our population are in the cities, if they covered 98% of Australia, then it'd be a feat.

[Nashy]

Most of our population are in the cities, if they covered 98% of Australia, then it'd be a feat.

Screw the cities, anyone can do that.

The fact that I can drive 1.5 hours out of the main town in North QLD and still have near full coverage is a feat, and proves Telstra is doing what it takes to get rid of CDMA. Well, done what it takes now :-p

[CCRATA]

True, this happens now with my phone but the option is still needed as having the 3G radio CONSTANTLY scan for a WCDMA signal is what kills the battery. The GSM radio (unless they are integrated now) will always be second to 3G. As soon as you go anywhere, even if GSM isn't over used and 3G is, the phone still switches to 3G mode because the radio is constantly scanning and locking onto the signal when found.

Hehe, sure.. only if that were true in the USA. AT&T blocks that option for god knows what reason. My Blackjack II and all the other 3G phones i know of has to do the CIA NSA GOVT secret codes to get into a menu to turn it off or hack into the software to get it back.

Huh? The service menus are easy to find :) Heck most of the codes to get in are posted on ATT's own forums

[Hurmoth]

I think he's referring to the turning off Data Roaming mode, not the 3G mode. AT&T is known to charge its iPhone users insane amount of international roaming fees, so I guess they'll not be happy when iPhone include such a feature :p

There's already an option in the iPhone to turn off Data Roaming. It has been there for a while now.

And regardless, AT&T doesn't control the iPhone. This is why Apple wanted so much control over the device, so that they could service the customer, not the service provider servicing themselves.

[Rappy Veteran]

Just after I got one they take them out the shops...might have to purchase the new one tho.

[Hurmoth]

3G iPhone in May, Another Device at WWDC?

In April, SwitchToaMac.com published a rumor that Apple would be launching the 3G iPhone earlier than expected... in May. At the time, we dismissed it, as the rumor didn't seem to correspond with the circulating expectations that the new iPhone would be launched in June at WWDC. Apple's dwindling stock of iPhones in both the U.S. and U.K. however, has made us look at this rumor once again.

As mentioned, SwitchToaMac's source claimed that the 3G-capable iPhone would be announced in May, with the belief that it would be available for purchase the day after the announcement.

The reason for a pre-WWDC announcement? Reportedly, Apple would instead announce a brand new portable device at WWDC. No other details of what this device might be, but there have been rumors that Apple was developing a mini-tablet multitouch device for launch in 2008. This PDA-like device would reportedly have a higher screen resolution (720x480) and be about 1.5x the size of the existing iPhone.

Repubblica.it first reported (in April) that they expected the Italian 3G iPhone launch "in the next few weeks", suggesting a May launch. While Telecom Italia and Vodofone did announce their intentions to supply the iPhone in Italy, no formal announcement had been made from Apple. Meanwhile, Apple's supply of iPhones has dwindled to nothing and our retail sources have indicated that they too will not be receiving many (if any) more iPhone shipments, leading many to speculate that the 3G-capable iPhone launch will be sooner than expected.

We don't necessarily believe this rumor is true, but present it as an interesting possibility. Obviously, we'll see between now and WWDC if it has any merit.

Would be cool if they released it this month. I'm poised to purchase :)