Guts of a 3G iPod Shuffle
iSuppli is reporting that the 3rd gen iPod Shuffle only costs a measly $21.77 to make. Apple is making such a huge profit on these little things. It is only a matter of time before the Chinese manufactures create a cheap clone to the shuffle.
Here’s a break-down of the parts:
- Processor – $5.98
- Storage unit – $6
- Lithium Ion Battery – $1.20
- This leaves only about $9 for the case and screen
“That’s about 28% of the device’s retail price. The smaller the component cost as a percentage of price, the higher the potential profit. This suggests the per-unit profit margin on the shuffle is higher than on other iPod models. The component cost for the first iPod touch released in 2007, for instance, amounted to about $147, or about 49% of its $299 retail price. The component cost of the third-generation iPod nano, also released in 2007, amounted to about 40% of its retail price”
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The wonderful world of all things Mac has been fairly quiet this weekend — there hasn’t been much news to post on. So in my spare time, rather than search for funny videos on YouTube or keep changing the wallpaper on my Mac, I decided to jailbreak my iPhone so I could let you all know how it went.
I haven’t been too bothered about jailbreaking my iPhone. I’ve never really been interested in anything a jailbreak can offer. Everything I’ve wanted has been available either from the App Store or has already been built-in to the iPhone by Apple. At least that’s what I thought, until I started playing around once the process was complete. Another thing that put me off jailbreaking was it seemed there was always a chance that something wouldn’t be quite right. Last time I looked in to jailbreaking, on firmware 2.0, I had read many comments from people who had experienced problems with WiFi, received no signal and many other issues following a jailbreak that, to me, just didn’t seem worth it. However with this version of QuickPwn from the iPhone-Dev Team, there were very, very few comments from users experiencing problems. So I decided to give it a try. After all, if I didn’t like it, I only had to restore my iPhone and send it back to basics.
To start, I downloaded QuickPwn for Mac. Now I must point out, there are various warnings on the iPhone-Dev Team’s website about using QuicPwn if you wish to benefit from a soft-unlock in the future. It is advised that you use the more advanced, PwnageTool if you want the chance to soft-unlock later. However PwnageTool is currently only available on Mac, whereas QuickPwn is available for both Mac and Windows.
I am using an iPhone 3G, firmware 2.2 on O2. I am in the UK on an O2 contract so I have no need for a soft-unlock and therefore was happy just to use QuickPwn. I must also point out there is another warning with regards to QuickPwn on the new, late-2008 MacBooks/Pros — there seems to be a problem with the iPhone entering DFU mode on these systems. However I gave QuickPwn a try on my new MacBook just to see how it went. I should have trusted the warning — my iPhone failed to enter DFU mode and would not turn on. I was just stuck with the Apple logo. One restore later and one lesson learned, I decided to boot up Windows XP in Boot Camp and see if QuickPwn in Windows would be successful.
The process was surprisingly simple, and successful on XP. I plugged in my iPhone, waited for QuickPwn to recognize it, then switched it off whilst still connected to USB. I then started my iPhone back up holding down the home & power buttons, then releasing the power button, keeping the home button depressed for a short period to enter DFU mode. It worked fine in Windows and started to build a custom IPSW file from my iPhone 2.2 firmware bundle. Once this process was complete, the custom firmware was installed on my device and once the iPhone started up, Cydia and Installer were present on my home screen.
Cydia and Installer are two applications that allow you to download and install other third-party applications from various sources. Most of the applications available aren’t allowed in the App Store for various reasons, however most are really quite useful.
So far, the applications I’ve found to be most fun and useful are:
- Cycorder — records video, and the quality is pretty good.
- Make It Mine (MIM) — changes your carrier/operator name to anything you want.
- WinterBoard — applies themes and various other tweaks to your iPhone’s appareance and operation.
- MxTube — search and download videos from YouTube directly to the iPhone.
- NES — a Nintendo “NES” emulator that allows you to play ROMS.
And those are just a few. As I previously said, I couldn’t really see a whole lot of point in jailbreaking before, however until completed the jailbreak and started playing with my iPhone, I didn’t realize what I was missing out on. Also, since jailbreaking my iPhone, I have experience no issues whatsoever. Everything works just as it did before the jailbreak only my iPhone is a bit more fun! If ever I need to reverse the jailbreak process, all I need to do is restore my iPhone through iTunes and it will be back to normal.
Unfortunately I didn’t take any screenshots of the QuickPwn process, however here are three screenshots of the iPhone after the jailbreak; one of the NES emulator, one that gives an example of how you can change the “theme” of your iPhone and it’s carrier name, and one that shows a Family Guy modified SMS theme:
I’ve had a great experience with the iPhone 3G jailbreak and the iPhone-Dev Team really have done a fantastic job. However I’m sure there are people out there who haven’t had such a great experience and may have caused serious damage to their iPhones, not to mention the fact that if you had any problems and took the iPhone back to the Apple/O2 store without restoring it first, your warranty would be void. So please, if you try this, be careful and read all instructions and warnings over and over and over again! Mactropolis does not recommend jailbreaking and is not responsible if anything goes wrong.
Following the release of the new 2.2 iPhone/iPod Touch firmware earlier today, Apple have now released an updated Software Developmemt Kit — build 9M2621.
The new SDK download is larger than the previous release at 1.56GB. It is said that the new SDK offers overall system stability and performance improvement, although, Apple are yet to release any details publicly.
If you’re a registered iPhone developer, you can download the new SDK from the iPhone Dev Center. You will need OS X 10.5.5.
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Today the long-awaited iPhone/iPod Touch 2.2 firmware became available through iTunes, just as previous rumors had suggested. The new update includes everything we expected plus a little more.
Street View is now a feature of the Maps application and this is something I was looking forward to. I had chance to play around with it for a bit earlier today and it’s certainly quite impressive. It’s cool to take a walk around New York when you’re thousands of miles away. As well as routes for driving, Maps now also offers public transport and walking routes.
Podcast downloading is another feature included in the update. You can now download podcasts directly from iTunes on your device. The Safari bar has changed and now displays both the address and search bars side by side, just like the Safari browser for Windows & Mac. Other features in the update include improved sound quality for visual voicemail, fewer call drops and decreased call set-up failures, the option to turn off auto-correction when typing, plus lots more.
One thing that was rumored that hasn’t materialized was the ability to tether the iPhone and use it’s connection to access the internet on a computer. Some believed this would be another feature we would see in 2.2 however its absence is a disappointment.
The download weighs in at around 250MB but is certainly worth the wait. For more info, visit Apple’s software update page for the iPhone.
The new iPhone firmware 2.2 is still only in its 2nd Beta and already the iPhone ‘DevTeam’ have successfully performed a jailbreak and unlock. According to DevTeam Apple are still yet to fix the unreleased firmware that is prone to the ‘pwnage’ jailbreak and unlock. I find it unlikely however that Apple will make the 2.2 update available without fixing this little glitch first.
The news was posted on the DevTeam’s website just four days ago and it has already received over 200 comments. An unlock for the 2.2 firmware seems to be what everyone is waiting for and many people are eager to know how the DevTeam are progressing with this.
There is currently already a jailbreak for the 2.1 iPhone/iPod Touch firmware which will allow users to install third party applications not available in the App Store. Please note: we do not recommend jailbreaking your iPhone/iPod Touch.
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The guys over at MacRumors have today reported that the new iPhone 2.2 firmware will include full Google Street View. The 2.2 firmware, currently in Beta 2, has today been seeded to developers.
MacRumors had previously reported that the Beta 1 of 2.2 firmware included the APIs for Street View, however it was not enabled.
Other seed notes also indicate that ‘line-in’ audio accessories are now supported in the SDK.
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