One big issue with the iPhone or the iPad is that they do not support Flash. The only way to get Flash right now is to jailbreak your iPhone and install an application called Frash. The original steps to install Frash are not very straightforward. You need to know how to get the application binary to your iPhone through SSH and then you have to type command to install it. It’s not for the faint of heart. Thankfully, there are easier steps. The people at benm.at have made a repository for Frash. You can now install it through Cydia without other tools. Here are the steps:

1. Jailbreak your iPhone 4.
2. Tap on the Cydia icon.
3. Tap on Manage and then Sources.
4. Tap on Edit and then Add.
5. Enter http://repo.benm.at and tap on Add Source.
   
6. Tap on Search and enter frash to search the package.
7. Select the frash package and tap on install to install the package.
8. Tap on confirm to finish the installation.
9. Tap on Reboot Device to reboot your iPhone 4.

After the installation is done, you will see a screen like this when you visit a site with Flash content.

Tap the gray rectangular box with Flash text and the Flash content will be loaded.

Even though it’s easy to install the application, don’t get your hopes up too high. I have tested it on several sites and it’s either a hit or a miss. It works well with simple Flash content. I have yet to get it to work with complicated Flash content. What is your experience with Frash? Tell us about it in the comment section.

If you have tried to jailbreak your iPhone before, you’ll know that it is a big undertaking. There are a lot of files to download and a lot of steps to follow. The release of jailbreakme.com has changed all that. All you have to do is use the Mobile Safari to visit jailbreakme.com and slide the slider and you are all set.

As of this writing, this site can jailbreak iPhone 4 with iOS 4.0 or 4.01. It actually exploits a vulnerability of Mobile Safari to jailbreak your iPhone. Therefore, do not expect the site to work for later iOS versions.

Here are the steps with screenshots. As with any jailbreaking, back up your iPhone before you attempt it.

1. Open Mobile Safari and visit this site.
   jailbreakme.com
   
2. Slide to jailbreak. The following screenshots show the progress.
   
   
   
3. When jailbreaking is done, iPhone reboots. You can find Cydia on the home screen.
   

On friday, Apple CEO Steve Jobs announced the iPhone case giveaway to consumers to fix the “death grip” problem: the wireless signal is sometimes muffled because the user is holding the device with a bare hand. This dilemma has been voiced by many users ever since the phone’s release in the US three weeks ago. Despite the company’s denial of such a problem, their free issue of cases will apply to the more than three million people who have already purchased the phone, as well as new buyers through September 30. People who have previously bought a $29 Bumper case will be refunded.

They are also offering a full refund for the phone within thirty days of purchase (with no restocking fee) for unsatisfied users.

[via Huffington Post]

Do you remember those old iPhone apps that simply displayed a white background for you to use it as a fake flash light? With the introduction of the iPhone 4, you can use your iPhone 4 as a real flash light. There are several iPhone apps that can use the flash intended for camera as a flash light. The one I have been using is called LED Light for iPhone 4 Free. It works pretty well, and it also has a strobe light mode where you can have the light flashing. It’s a must-have in an emergency situation where you can use it to get attention.

AppStore Link

iPhone 4 has many more capabilities compared to its predecessors. With FaceTime, video calling will be enabled with its new front-facing camera. Its increased 960-by-640 resolution in a 3.5 inch screen allows you to view images with a never-seen-before clarity. What’s more, it can allow you to use multiple applications simultaneously without sacrificing performance or battery life. This new, soon-to-be-released device also has the ability to record and edit HD video. As Apple puts it, this iPhone “changes everything. Again.”

Pre-order starts Jun 15. Available Jun 24

[via Apple]

Apple has finally approved the Opera Mini browser for the iPhone. Here is the link.

Opera Mini Web Browser

The company claims that they use their servers to compress the data before sending it to your iPhone to speed up page-loads. I did a rudimentary test, and it took Safari 23 seconds to load kombitz.com while Opera Mini only took 13 seconds. I also observe the speed increase when I visit some other sites. This approach definitely works. This feature is useful for older iPhones that use a slower processor.

One reviewer has said that, since the data goes through Opera’s servers, your passwords may be seen by Opera’s employees. Before Opera clears this allegation, you may want to consider not doing banking or entering other sensitive data through the Opera Mini Browser.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Apple is currently developing a new iPhone to debut this summer, along with a new model for Verizon Wireless. No further details have been given on this yet, but this piece of news isn’t shocking: this summer will mark the one-year anniversary of the iPhone 3GS. There have also been plenty of rumors about the phones switching from AT&T to Verizon over the years, with the latest of them coming up just before the iPad’s release.

Updates:

1: The next iPhone’s manufacturing is being contracted by Taiwan’s Hon Hai Precision Industry, the same outfit responsible for crafting all previous iPhones. The world’s first CDMA iPhone will be manufactured by Pegatron Technology. If all goes well, they could begin mass production of this iPhone in September.

2: The next generation of the iPhone will be coming out on Tuesday, June 22nd, known as the iPhone HD.

3: According to John Gruber, the next model will likely have an A4-class SoC processor, a 960 by 640 display, a front-facing camera, and the iPhone OS 4.0 will enable third-party multitasking.

[via Engadget, WallStreetJournal]

One major drawback of using Google Map on the iPhone is that it does not offer voice guidance. Therefore, it is not suitable for navigation unless you have someone read the directions for you. However, the newly updated MapQuest 4 Mobile now offers voice guidance at an attractive price: it’s free.

On top of the voice guidance, the other new features for this version include off-route assistance and twin tap to zoom out. Like Google Map, MapQuest 4 Mobile operates in two modes: Map and Directions. If you log on to your AOL or MapQuest account, your saved My Places will be synchronized to the iPhone. This makes it easy to enter multiple places. A row of icons near the bottom lets you turn on POI (Points of Interest) displayed on the map. It provides a visual cue about the nearby POI.

There are some restrictions about the program. There is only one view offered in Directions mode, which is the north up 2D view. It does not speak the street name (text to speech) either. Some online reviews indicate that this application works in the US only.

MapQuest 4 Mobile on AppStore

Back in December of last year, I reported a web site that offers one free iPhone/iPod Touch game daily for a month. I got some good games during the promotion. A new site goes live this month, which also offers one free app(mostly games) every day. The promotion ends on April 1st, so you get almost 3 months of free games!

http://freeappaday.com

During the previous promotion, I forgot to check the site sometimes and missed out some great games. They introduce an email notification service this time. You can even decide what categories of games you want notifications. For me, I’ll just subscribe to ALL categories.

In addition to the daily free games, you can find some more free games on the front page of site. They are in a box on the right side of the page titled Featured Free Apps.

I have been trying to buy an iTunes gift certificate for a few days. Every time I tried it, I got this message saying:

Your credit card was declined.

Please click Billing Info and update your payment information. If you cancel you may not be able to buy until this billing issue has been resolved

After I clicked on Billing Info and entered my credit card info again. Same message. I even tried on different computers, but the same message came up. When I researched this problem, I found that a lot of people have the same problem. There is a speculation that Apple has disabled the iTunes Gift certificate function without notifying the general public. This speculation is simply not true.

I came across this thread and one user claimed that he or she was able to purchase the gift certificate after contacting Apple’s iTunes support through email. With this information in mind, I contacted Apple’s support yesterday and I just got an email reply from them.

Happy Holidays,

Hello, my name is *** and I would be more than happy to help you today. I am sorry that you have experienced difficulties while attempting to purchase a gift certificate. You should be able to complete your purchase with in 24 hrs.

If you are still unable to purchase a gift certificate let me know.

Have a wonderful day!

I got on iTunes and tried to buy again. Finally, I was able to buy my iTunes gift certificate successfully.  it’s a hassle to contact Apple support, but it can be done. If you do not know how to contact Apple iTunes support. Here is how:

1. Visit  iTunes support.

   http://www.apple.com/support/itunes/

2. Click on iTunes Cards and Codes -> iTunes Gift Options.
3. Click on the Email Us button to submit your request.
   

It takes about one business day for you to get the reply back from Apple. Let us know if this works for you.