Google Maps-Street View on the 2.2

December 5th, 2008 - I couldnt wait to put this post the moment I tried the Google Maps-Street View feature, it was amazing and even surreal for a moment. This feature came with the 2.2 Update and I think this is by far the only meaningful change worth talking about

It took me some time to figure out where the hell was this feature, navaigating the Maps. So here's how you see it...

1. Tap MAPs on the Home Screen
2. Type the name of a US City or US Street Address (this works best for the so-called "first-world countries")
3. Then Tap on the icon (as indicated below) on the left of the Address listed.
4. Woosh! it is almost like Magic, you are transported to a 360 degree view of that Street or any famous Street of that city

Check this. Wonder when this will capture images of Mumbai, now that is surreal for sure

You can move around the screen (works only in Landscape mode) by using your fingers and also pinch to zoom in and out. When you see a white arrow on a Street name (like the one shown in the pic above), just tap the arrow and it will take you further ahead of the road, all the way up to a point where there is nothing else to see...wow :) Try it to believe it !

Upgrade to 2.2 - Complete

December 1st, 2008 - I completed the 2.2 Upgrade on my iPhone today. This update was released by Apple on Nov 21 and though it did not boast a whole host of features that still remains on the wish-list, it was expected to make the O/S a little faster and fix the usual bugs. I was interested but I was cautious like I am every time an Upgrade comes out. So far I haven't had any issues Upgrading but all that changed with 2.2

For the first time I experienced what it might feel like when your jailbroken iPhone suddenly gets locked (cannot use the SIM card) by the original software. I had read extensively about this Upgrade and it did point out that it might lock the phone but all information was pointing to the 3G iPhone and nothing about the 2G (first-gen). Now after having done the Upgarde, I can confirm, the 2.2 Upgrade will not only take away all the customization (courtsey jailbreak) but will actually LOCK the phone.

So what's the solution, well the Dev Team came out with the 2.2 QuickPwn software within 24 Hours of the official release of 2.2 Upgrade and it was capable of jailbreak + unlock. I was about to find out.

I followed the usual procedure to Upgrade...mind you, this is for the first-gen (2G) iPhone only

1. Download and Install 2.2 Upgrade via iTunes (you should have the latest version of iTunes). Just connect the iPhone and start iTunes, you will be prompted for an Upgrade
2. Once the software is installed, your iPhone will reboot and you will see a notification in iTunes that "this SIM card is NOT supported" which basically means, the phone is LOCKED. You will not be able to do anything except make emergency calls. Intrestingly, the phone is updated with your last known Backup and all your Media is in-place except you cannot access it coz the phone is locked
3. Run the QuickPwn 2.2 software and follow the instructions, you need to check the option UNLOCK besides adding Installer and Cydia. You will be prompted for the good ol binary files 3.9 and 4.6, you can get them here and that's about that, you need to get the iPhone in the DFU (Recovery) Mode correctly just like the on-screen instructions prompt you and you are done

Enjoy the new software and jailbroken ofcourse !

Now, two things that was a learning from this Upgrade was, first NEVER Upgrade if you know there is no UNLOCK option available (in this case QuickPwn 2.2).

Second was rather a GEEK discovery...QuickPwn 2.2 for Windows (Vista) does not self-extract/run if you are running an Anti-Virus like Kaspersky in the background. Close the Anti-Virus temporarily and the software should run....it was one helluva task to find that information but worth the wait

So there you go, the 2G (first-gen) iPhone running the latest 2.2 software.