Boost Mobile Leaks their own Phone: Samsung Galaxy Prevail

     Boost Mobile is a wireless carrier that provides contract-free wireless service for devices such as cell phones. There are a few Boost-like services around, including Cricket Wireless, Virgin Wireless, and MetroPCS. All of these companies have been rushing to get smartphones, because most of the phones were going to the big guys like AT&T or Verizon.
     Boost offers one BlackBerry phone and one two Android phones, one of which they just added today.
     Boost was supposed to hold a big announcement later today that would introduce it's latest phone. It seams they may have leaked the details early, as information about the new Samsung Galaxy Prevail appeared on the Boost website. Samsung makes pretty much one Galaxy phone which they give to all of the carriers with different names, for example Verizon calls their Galaxy phone the Samsung Fascinate.
     The Samsung Galaxy Prevail will be available for online purchase shortly, and will cost $179.99. Boost offers monthly plans for $50 per month, or a daily plan for $2 per month. Both plans come with unlimited talk, text, web, email, and IM. Boost also has an interesting program with it's $50 plan called Shrinkage. Shrinkage lowers your bill more and more the longer you stay with Boost. For example, if you pay on time every month for 18 months, your bill would only be $35 per month instead of $50.
     At $179.99, this is not the cheapest Android phone on the Market, but it is close. One of the major benefits of the Prevail and Boost Mobile is the lack of an annoying two year contract. Unlike Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, or Sprint, you have no responsibility to keep on paying the $50 per month for two years.

Nook follows Kindle with New York Times Paywall

     A paywall for the New York Times website was announced a few weeks ago, and went into affect March 28, 2011. This paywall allows users to read 20 stories per month, and then they must pay for the ability to read stories on the New York Times website. This paywall costs $15 per four weeks, but print subscribers can access all of the stories for free.
     Recently, Amazon announced that those who subscribe to the New York Times via the Kindle will get free access to the New York Times website, just like print subscribers. Now, Barnes and Noble is following suit. Any subscribers to the New York Times on the Nook will now be able to access all of the stories online without a paywall.
     Currently the New York Times iPad app is free and ad supported, but that is not going to last forever. I wonder what the iPad subscribers would get once they have to start paying.
      So if you subscribe to the New York Times via Kindle or Nook, have a good time surfing up the New York Times website, while I carefully count my stories, trying to keep it under 20.

[HOW-TO] - Untethered Jailbreak iOS 4.3.1 Using Sn0wbreeze 2.5

I prefer using Redsn0w to Jailbreak iOS 4.3.1. Its a much shorter and simpler way. But if you want to use sn0wbreeze, you can check the instructions below.

And if you encounter the iTunes Error Code 1013 or Error Code 1611, you can check this post to fix it.

The sn0wbreeze 2.5 released by iH8sn0w can now be used to carry out untethered jailbreak for iOS 4.3.1 by creating custom firmware. Sn0wbreeze 2.5 allows you to preserver your unlockable baseband to be unlock with ultrasn0w. The guide below will help you to Jailbreak any iOS 4.3.1 device in just a few steps.

This Jailbreak Supports:

• iPhone 3G/3G[S]/4
• iPod Touch 2G/3G/4
• iPad
• Apple TV 2

Required Downloads:

• Sn0wbreeze 2.5
• iTunes 10.2.1(1) or later
• An iOS 4.3.1 device

Steps:

Step 1: Open Sn0wbreeze close pop-ups and read warning then press next button.

Step 2: Drag n drop or navigate your iOS 4.3.1 Software Update and press next button.

Once your iOS 4.3.1 iPSW identified then press next.

Step 3: Now select Expert Mode option and press arrow to continue.

Step 4: Once you press next after selected “Expert Mode”, then just select “Build IPSW” and press next blue arrow.

Sn0wbreeze will begin Processing to create custom Jailbroken iOS 4.3.1 Software Update for iPhone 4, 3GS, iPad 1, iPod touch 3G and 4G.


Step 5: Once your custom Jailbroken iOS 4.3.1 Software Update is successfully created then follow the Sn0wbreeze instruction to entering DFU mode or use below easy DFU method .

Put your device into DFU mode

• Connect your device with iTunes
• Hold down the Power and Home buttons together for 12 seconds
• Release Power button but keep holding the Home button for 15 seconds

When your device in DFU mode then Sn0wbreeze get the following message from thier iREB software.

Step 6: Now open iTunes and hold down left “Shift” key and click on “Restore” button and select Sn0wbreeze Custom iOS 4.3.1 and after that iTunes auto detect you Custom iOS 4.3.1 and start Restoring.

Congrats! Your iOS 4.3.1 Device is successfully updated and jailbroken iOS 4.3.1.

[Source: How To Jailbreak Untethered iOS 4.3.1 Using Sn0wbreeze 2.5]

[Success!] - Untether Jailbreak My iPhone 4 iOS 4.3.1

Finally, I managed to Jailbreak my iPhone using Redsn0w today.
Initially, I encountered an endless loop in the Recovery Mode but finally managed to resolve this using this method below.

[HOW-TO] - Fix iTunes Error 1013 When Updating iPhone 4 to iOS 4.3.1 [SOLVED]

I was trying to Jailbreak my iPhone iOS 4.3.1 today but encountered a big problem when it cannot exit from the Recovery Mode. I tried several methods to kick out of Recovery Mode using Tiny Umbrella and Fix Recovery but failed. The error 1013 kept appearing after restoring the iOS 4.3.1.

Finally, I found a simple solution shown below;

If you have tried updating to the recently released iOS 4.3.1 update on iPhone 4 and encountered Error Code 1013 or Error Code 1611, then you are a not alone. This has been a common issue across all iOS devices updating to iOS 4.3.1 and Apple Support Discussion forums are full of users complaining about this issue.

This bug has apparently been reported to Apple but if you don’t fancy waiting for an official fix, you can follow this guide to try and successfully update your iOS device to 4.3.1.

Update (April 11, 2011) - Read this article regarding Apple official statement regarding the problem - "Unauthorized modification of iOS has been a major source of instability, disruption of services, and other issues"

Before doing so, you may also like to try and restore using a different computer.
Warning Note: This will result in your iPhone 4 baseband being upgraded to the latest version.
How to Fix Error Code 1013:

Mac OS X:
Step 1. On your Mac, go to your “Applications” folder.
Step 2. Now navigate to the “Utilities” folder.
Step 3. Launch “Terminal”.
Step 4. Type “sudo nano /etc/hosts” (without quotes) and hit return.
Step 5. Enter your password
Step 6. Use the down arrow key to find the “gs.apple.com” entries. Once the cursor is in front, make sure you comment out the line(s) by entering “#” in front of the text.
Step 7. Save the file by pressing CONTROL+O.
Step 8. Exit the nano editor by pressing CONTROL+X.
Step 9. Restore your iDevice.

Windows:
Step 1. Start --> Programs --> Accessories
Step 2. Run Notepad or WordPad 

Step 3. Click “Open..” from File menu.
Step 4. Browse to Windows/System32/drivers/etc 

Step 5. In “files of type:” select all documents
Step 6. Open “hosts”
Step 7. Delete all line that has “gs.apple.com” or something like that 

Step 8. Hit Save
Step 9. Restore your device

[@Gustasn0w for Windows steps | Tech-Exclusive for Mac steps]

UPDATE (April 6, 2011)
Also try to check out this Tip from Karthik.

• In TinyUmbrella, go to Advanced tab and make sure you uncheck “Set Hosts to Cydia on Exit” option.


• As a double check, make sure you don’t have an entry in hosts file in your computer for gs.apple.com. If you do, comment it out and try the restore process again.

[UPDATE - April 11, 2011] - Someone posted and claimed that this error only happens to people who have tried Jailbreaking previously. Also checked another post here which stated:

"Well, another case of hurting the good, while trying to go after the bad. What the issue is apparently Apple put in a check point feature around version 4.2.1 that checks for users who are redirecting their connections to gs.appl.com. If the itunes process suspects this, your phone firmware management process stays in recovery mode. You get error 1013 which says you have a hardware error and list numerous hardware related things for you to check. So my iphone sat on my dresser for two months under the belief that I had a hard ware issue. Well the fact of the matter is that there was nothing wrong with my phone. Apparently there are users who jail brake their iphone to run other apps, and for those users, they have an entry in their hosts file that redirects gs.apple.com to a website that is set up to assists jail break users. all this not endorsed by apple. The checkpoint feature that apple put in to detect this uses a timer and waits for a response between your system and gs.apple.com. If the timer threashold elapses, an assumption is made that you are redirecting your gs.apple.com connection, and are a jail break user. Your phone gets put into recovery mode. Problem with this is that there are ligitimet users who have host files that are ligitemt and does not redirect their connections to gs.apple.com. In my case I use a 60,000 line hosts file to redirect adware, malware, and other vulnabilary type sites. The lenth of time for my PC to search thru this file exceeds the threashold period involved in the checkpoint process, and even though the gs.apple.com entry does not appear in my hosts file, an assumption was made that I was a redirection of gs.apple.com user, and my phone was put into recovery mode. to fix my problem I tempoaryily used the default hosts file of 

##

Host Database

#

localhost is used to configure the loopback interface

when the system is booting. Do not change this entry.

##

127.0.0.1 localhost

255.255.255.255 broadcasthost

I have no reason to prevent my system from talking to gs.apple.com. It just takes a little longer to do so. There are thousands of iphone users right now who have iphones locked into recovery mode, probably because they are on a slow internet connection and their threashold is being exceeded. These folks are innocent victims of of the pursuit of the jail break users. Apple needs to figure out another way to do this with out impacting loyal customers. Apple. shame on you. "

[HOW-TO] - Jailbreak iOS 4.3.1 Untethered with Redsn0w 0.9.6rc9 and PwnageTool 4.3 for iPhone /iPod Touch / iPad

Dev-Team has released iOS 4.3.1 untethered jailbreak for both Redsn0w 0.9.6rc9 and PwnageTool 4.3, the jailbreak support all iOS devices except iPad 2


NOTE: Users who rely on ultrasn0w unlock MUST stay away from Redsn0w.


Step 1: Download iOS 4.3.1 for your device (download links at the end)
Step 2: Update/Restore to iOS 4.3.1 firmware using the IPSW file via iTunes 10.2.1. (NOTE: If at this step you encountered Error 1013 and the iPhone is in an endless Recovery Mode, use this method to kick out from the Recovery Mode)
Step 3: Start Redsn0w and point it to the official iOS 4.3.1 firmware file.




Step 4: Now simply select “Install Cydia” and click “Next”.



Step 5: Now make sure your device is both OFF and PLUGGED IN to the computer before you click “Next”.

At this stage you will be presented with a screen where you will be guided on how to enter DFU mode. Quickly hold “Power” button and then while holding the “Power” button, you will now have to hold “Home” button too. Now after few seconds release “Power” button but keep holding “Home” button until installation begins.

Step 6: Wait shortly. Once done, your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch will restart automatically and you will find it fully jailbroken (untethered) on the latest iOS 4.3.1 firmware.

Download Redsn0w 0.9.6rc12 (Mac) <-- Latest Apri. 10, 2011
Download Redsn0w 0.9.6rc9 (Windows)
Download Redsn0w 0.9.6rc9 (Mac)
Download iOS 4.3.1 for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch
Download iTunes 10.2.1 for Windows / Mac OS X

[SOURCE: Jailbreak iOS 4.3.1 Untethered with Redsn0w 0.9.6rc9 for iPhone /iPod Touch / iPad]

WARNING WARNING [Source: Dev Team] — ultrasn0w users don’t update yet!  We need to first release an update to ultrasn0w that fixes some incompatibilities when FW 4.3.1 is used on the older basebands supported by ultrasn0w.  And remember once we do fix ultrasn0w for 4.3.1 (we’ll announce it here and on twitter), you must only get there via a custom IPSW from PwnageTool, Sn0wbreeze or xpwn!  Don’t ever try to restore or update to a stock IPSW, or you’ll lose the unlock!
For everyone else, redsn0w is the easier program to use (and redsn0w runs on both Mac and Windows).  Please check out places like iClarified for some excellent guides on how to use both PwnageTool and redsn0w.

FOR MAC USERS
iPhone Dev Team has just released PwnageTool 4.3 to bring untethered jailbreak for iOS 4.3.1 with the help of i0n1c's untethered exploit. PwnageTool allows you to create full untethered iOS 4.3.1 custom firmware files. As you know PwnageTool is a Mac OS X tool, check out the supported devices after the jump.



Supported devices:
iPhone 4, 3GS iPod Touch 4G, 3G iPad 1 (Unfortunately iPad 2 still not supported) Apple TV 2G. Important 


Note: If you rely on ultrasn0w unlock, you MUST use this version of PwnageTool which creates custom 4.3.1 firmware with preserving the unlockable baseband to be able to unlock your iPhone again using ultrasn0w 1.2

Download PwnageTool 4.3 for Mac
Download iOS 4.3.1 for all iPhone, iPod touch, iPad and Apple TV 2G

Google Implements 5 New ways to View Blogger Blogs on April 1st; No Joke

     Google's blogging service, Blogger, allows users to easily create professional looking blogs easily and for free. At the recent tech conference called South by Southwest, Google announced an entire new interface for it's Blogger platform. This new interface with be cleaner and more simple.
     Although the new Blogger interface is not yet in effect, some small new features have been introduced slowly by Google. The newest, and probably one of the biggest, new feature in Blogger is the new ways to view a Blogger blog. This new update brings five new layouts to any Blogger bog, and can be seen by adding a "/view to the end of any Blogger blogs's URL. For example, to view this blog in any of the five new formats, go to gadgetreview-s.blogspot.com/view.
     The new formats are called Flipcard, Mosaic, Sidebar, Snapshot, and Timeslide. All of these show the blog posts in different ways. For example, Flipcard is just all of the posts arranged a little squares in a grid that flip around when you mouse over them, while Timeslide is all of the posts in three side by side lists, each smaller than the one before it, going by date.

Flipcard

Mosaic

Sidebar

Snapshot

Timeslide

      A lot of these views are almost completely based on pictures, for example, in Snapshot mode, any posts without pictures won't even show up. One of the problems with this is that although Blogger allows you to add pictures to your posts just by entering the photo's URL, any photos that were inserted like this will not show up in any of these viewing modes. I personally have used mostly only photos directly from the web, and plan on downloading them all and reposting them in my blog.
     This is definitely a step towards what Blogger showed off at South By Southwest, it gives any blog a cleaner a simpler interface, and it is something that you probably will see on a lot of blogs very soon.