Take this for what you will, but I thought I’d share something I recently stumbled across. I was looking at my ATT account a few weeks ago, and while checking my available minutes I figured I would check to see when I was available for an upgrade. I don’t recall the exact date, but it was definitely around Fall 2010. No big deal, I have an iPhone anyways, and wasn’t planning on upgrading, it was more curiousity than anything. I started skimming my account again today, and checked to see when the other lines on my account were available for upgrade. Then, I noticed something: The date on my upgrade was changed to 7/12/2009. With all of ‘new iPhone’ rumors about, I thought there may be some significance to the change. Any ideas? Feel free to comment, or visit the forums.

iphone-dev team has released… “yellowsn0w”.

We have released the 0.9.1 beta yellowsn0w 3G unlock application. Please note the following:

BASICS

• The unlock works exclusively with baseband 02.28.00. This baseband is provided by the latest firmware update (2.2) from Apple. You’ll need to upgrade to this release using iTunes and then use QuickPwn to activate etc. There are plenty of tutorials about this on iclarified, bigboss, and other established tutorial sites. Because it works on 02.28.00, it is available to everyone on the planet. This means we don’t need to unnecessarily expose holes in earlier basebands, which is an important concern.
• The application is a small daemon that is launched on boot. It injects the payload at boot and also whenever there is a baseband reset. You won’t notice anything about it other than that your third-party sim now works. It’s a small program and unobtrusive. There is no GUI (this is by design).
• You can add the application using the sources outlined below (coming soon). There are Cydia and Installer sources available, so use whichever you are comfortable using.
• yellowsn0w is completely removable through Cydia, the command line, and iTunes.

DETAILS

• There is a known issue with SIM cards that have STK (SIM Toolkit) application menus. These menus are usually items such as “top up” “get credit” “lotto numbers” etc. These menu items confuse the application sometimes. Removing and reinserting the SIM once after reboot (give it about 10 secs 60 seconds (with v0.9.1) after you see the slide to unlock widget) fixes this issue. We’re working on a better fix.
• For those of you using SIM cards without STK menus, the application has some optional arguments that will make the unlock much faster for you. So either experiment on your own (use “yellowsn0w -h” for usage) or wait for a customization writeup.
• After you install yellowsn0w via Cydia, you should return to the Cydia main menu then reboot your iPhone with the 3rd party SIM installed. Wait for the slide to unlock screen, then wait 10 or 15 secs more. If you don’t see your carrier name pop up, then remove your SIM, reinsert it, and wait 10 secs more. This is the step we’ll be working on eliminating next.

RANDOM

• The application is version 0.9 0.9.1. This is considered beta software, you use it at your own risk. You know the score.
• The application is released on a non-commerical basis. Please do not accept pirates and scummy ripoffs of this software. We license this software for single use and in a non-commerical environment (meaning you can’t charge for it). The techniques and methods used are not to be used by third party companies. We are watching you Jody…we won’t be so forgiving this time.
• Direct linking to the repository URLs is prohibited, please only link to this post. We will be checking referers.
• Happy 2009 and enjoy!

The iPhone 3G is used all over the world with all sorts of SIM cards, and we almost certainly will see untested and unexpected situations. If the soft unlock doesn’t work for you on day 1 (literally day 1, of 2009!) then please don’t panic or be impatient. This is new territory for everyone, so enjoy the ride as much as you can

Once you have installed yellowsn0w, please report your success or failure here it’ll help us with the bug fixes.

“We’re getting way too many tips on AT&T being down for it to be a coincidence how’s it going for you? Both EDGE and 3G are pretty spotty for us at the moment in Illinois, but they’re working in NYC, which jibes with reports of a Midwest-specific outage, but we’re also hearing there are troubles nationwide. We’ve pinged AT&T for an official statement, but in the meantime let us know if things are working for you wherever you are.”

Source: Engadget

Just as the title says, I have ATT and my internet kept giving out as I was playing my Xbox. Bad enough I had to stop. What’s happening over at ATT I wonder? Whatever it is, with this many outages this is not some coincidence.

“Christmas is over but the presents keep coming! It seems CrackBerry Santa has leaked the latest OS for the BlackBerry Storm 9530 into the wild! Big thanks to BB397 for tipping us off on the link.

Storm owners wanting to have the latest OS for their device can now download OS 4.7.0.85 for the 9530 Storm. This is NOT an official release, so install at your own risk and only if you’re comfortable with doing so.

The word from those in the know is that this version just may have what it takes to become the next official release from Verizon, though that’s not certain at this point. I haven’t played with the OS too much just yet, but it definitely feels much improved, even over 4.7.0.83 which leaked on the 19th. Some bugs have been fixed, the accelerometer action is definitely quicker and typing feels a bit more responsive. You’ll want to jump into our Storm OS forum for all of the details and findings surrounding this release. My opinion? This is what the Storm should have launched with. Definitely worth an install if you’re a 9530 Storm owner.”

Source: Crackberry

Well this is sure to be a great leak. In fact, I am upgrading to it as I write this. Expect the official one in the next few days.

“Ha, you or someone you love just paid full retail for an iPhone 3G a few days ago, didn’t you? We’ve always heard that the best deals come after Christmas, but people just never learn. All smack talk aside, those who didn’t get a new cellie under the tree, but did acquire a Benjamin or so courtesy of cash-stuffed holiday cards, can certainly score a big deal today. AT&T is now offering the 8GB iPhone 3G in refurbished form for just $99 with a two-year agreement, while the 16GB refurb is $199 on contract in either black or white. Call us crazy, but we don’t foresee these hanging around in stock for too awfully long.”

Source: Engadget Mobile

Wal-Mart getting the iPhone and now AT&T is selling refurbished ones this cheap? This really is the new “Black Friday”. Get them while their hot before its too late 

“Listen, we know that something’s going on with Sprint  take the move toward leased access for WiMAX on Clear and the recent big sale of cell towers, for example but this is just getting fishier and fishier. Now, it looks like Sprint is trying to up its total subscriber count by paying Virgin Mobile an additional $2 per customer it signs through the end of the year while also dropping the minimum wireless services tab it was previously obligated to pay. Apparently it takes about 11 yes, eleven  Virgin customers to equal the revenue generated from just one Sprint customer, and since the carrier’s organic subscriber tally has been on the decline lately, maybe it’s starting to rely on its MVNOs to pick up some of the slack.”

Source: Engadget Mobile

What is up with Sprint lately? As Engadget said, they keep getting fishier and fishier. Now they are trying to up its total subscribers? Wow. 

“BENTONVILLE, Ark. - Wal-Mart will start selling Apple’s populariPhone on Sunday, the chain said, confirming earlier reports by employees.

Bentonville-based Wal-Mart Stores Inc. will become the second independent retail chain after Best Buy Inc. to sell the phone. It is also sold at Apple Inc. and AT&T Inc. stores.

Wal-Mart will sell the phones for $2 less than the regular price with a two-year contract: $197 for the 8-gigabyte model, or $297 for the 16-gigabyte model. Best Buy is discounting the phone by $9.

Reports that Wal-Mart would sell the phone, but not the exact launch date or the terms, surfaced early this month through store employees who had been briefed.”

Source: Yahoo!

Good news to everyone not near an Apple, Bestbuy, or AT&T store! Wal-Mart will now be carrying iPhones. Everyone has a Wal-Mart around don’t they? Now when you are out picking up the groceries you can snag one of these 

“Well isn’t this a nice little piece of information to wake up to on Christmas morning. Seems that while we were all sleeping, Clearskies08 was leaving us all a nice present from our friendly neighborhood Rogers/Fido reps upcoming handset presentation. That’s right folks, what you are seeing above is a pic of the 9520 Storm which will soon be available on Rogers in Canada. This device will have 3G HSPA bands for North America and comes with WiFi built into it.

Not only was the 9520 Storm introduced, but the 8200 was as well, the 8200 being a 3G HSDPA Pearl Flip with WiFi and GPS built in AND a second video camera for video calling!!!!!!”

Source: Crackberry

Well Merry Christmas to you Canada dwellers as well. Through Rogers you soon will be able to receive a BlackBerry Storm model for yourself….that includes Wi-Fi! Im starting to get a little jealous over the Wi-Fi . Once you get it though, you will love the storm just as I love mine. 

Welcome to Mobile Brew!

BKFraiders7 will be leading our effort on this site. Please contact him if you want to help.

The wait is almost over. Straight from the dev-team’s mouth, the iPhone 3G has been successfully unlocked through SOFTWARE, just like the original iPhone. The updated unlocking tools are set to hit the net new year’s eve. Maybe your new year’s resolution will be to try every cellular network you possibly can with your iPhone. Here’s a bit from the dev-team about the unlock:

• The target release date for the unlock is New Year’s Eve 2008.
• This unlock method is available to iPhone 3Gs that have 2.11.07 baseband or earlier, we did warn you.
• You can tell what version baseband you have by going to Settings->General->About->Modem Firmware
• The unlock requires a jailbroken 3G iPhone.  It’ll be installable via Cydia and so it doesn’t matter if you have a Mac or PC.
• Please refrain from updating your baseband, regardless of what version you’re at.  We’ll have complete directions on New Year’s Eve.
• We’ll stream a live demo of the unlock before Christmas (see the update at the end of this post)