There have been a lot of reports last week that users of the pre iOS 4 devices, such as devices running on the old iOS 3.1.3 OS, have been blocked the access to the App Store. The Apple Support Forum and other third party Apple and iPhone forums have been filling up with such complaints and concerns for some time now.

There was no clue how this could have happened, or why this happened. Did Apple really do this on purpose so that iPhone uses will start thinking of updating their OSes thereby will decide to buy new iPhones? Or was this just an accidental error that has resulted in a very big and overwhelming response from the user base?

There was no answer for this for quite some time. Developers and hackers might have probably taken up the task by now as one of their priority works, there is no doubt in that. But today, somehow, the access has been given back, or the problem has been fixed. Users of the old iOS 3.1.3 operating system are able to access the Apple App Store on their device just like before.

So, if this was accidental, why was the feature down for such a long time. Did they not notice it the first day when the report was up by so many customers? This could only mean that Apple deliberately had taken down the feature and when so many people started complaining and when Apple came to know that this will lead to no good, the Cupertino based tech giant must have realized that this is going no where are and gave the access back. Do you not think so?

Coming one of the well known iOS developer and hacker, iH8sn0w, the new iFaith is the tool to have if you are an iPhone fanatic and a Windows user. The new iFaith has loads of new features which will surely come in handy when you need them. For example, the new tool now supports the Apple TV firmware, and also Tiny Umbrella SHSH blobs. These are just the two features which I suppose will make some noise.

The new and updated tool has also resolved the issues which most 8 GB iPhone 4 model owners have been complaining. I haven’t tested this particular feature, but my friends told me that it is working just perfectly. So if you are one in this crowd, you are lucky today.

Also, going down the line, iPhone 3GS owners have been complaining that there was some problem when you tried to restore, the Error 21. But it now seems that the developer, or the hacker, has fixed this as well.

Like this, there are are a lot of resolved issues and bug fixes. And as you can below, below is the official and complete list of changes that you can get in this newly updated release. If you are interested, this is the time to download and try it out.

Full iFaith Change log version 1.4.1

• Added Apple TV 4.4.4 (9A406a) support.
• TinyUmbrella iOS 4.4.x/5.x.x blobs are now accepted.
• Resolved rare DFU detection issues.
• Resolved issues with 8GB iPhone 4 Models.
• Resolved iPhone 3GS issues with factory certificates/Error 21 that occurred during restore.
• Resolved iOS Detection issues.
• Removed kill-switch that accidentally got distributed in iFaith-v1.4′s public release.

After a very long beta testing with a closed group of users, the bite SMS developer team has finally made up its mind to release the app to the public, and so it is here. The new version 6 of the app comes with a lot of new features. This also includes the iOS 5 integration, especially this.

Two new features that particularly will be a favorite for many people will be the new QuickResponse and QuickReply functions and their interrelation into the iOS 5 notification center. So just drop the notification area and start composing a new SMS just like that. Is not that cool?

There are a few very prominent  user interface changes as well. I am very sure users are going to like this, because the better the app looks, the better will users like it. Also, if you like the default Messages icon and do not like the icon that bite SMS comes with, then the new version 6 of the bit SMS app will let you retain the icon of the stock Messages app but will change the pointer to point to the bit SMS app instead.

The updated version of the app has already been made available in the Cydia app store. But you have to remember one thing, to access the Cydia app store and to download and install the bite SMS app on your iPhone, you will need to have your iPhone jailbroken, without which it is not possible.

Also, the app is not free, you have to pay $8.99 to get the app. But this is a one time payment. You will be able to download the future versions of the app for free. Which also means that if you have already paid for the app before, you will be able to download the new update app for free now.

The developer or hacker, as some people call, behind the popular jailbreaking tool there is RedSn0w, has finally come up with a new tool which seamlessly jailbreaks the new iOS 5.0.1. Unlike other tools, the new RedSn0w tool does not require you to install any additional firmware on your device. This only means that you download the software, or the tool, connect your iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad to your computer or Mac, and get started with it.

This feature makes the tool one of the best jailbreak tool there is for time being for the newly released iOS 5.0.1. If you are wondering how you are supposed to jailbreak, the instructions are given below. But let me tell you one thing, if you do not know what you are doing, or do not know why you are supposed to do this, please do not do this.

How to Jailbreak iOS 5.0.1 w/ RedSn0w 0.9.9beta 9

• Step 1: Place your device into DFU mode
• Step 2: Download (Mac, Windows) and run RedSn0w 0.9.9b9
• Step 3: Click Jailbreak. Once it finishes the jailbreak, place your device back into DFU mode
• Step 4: In RedSn0w, click to Extras > Boot Tethered. It will boot your device back to your Home screen.
• Step 5: Run Cydia to update to the latest files.

A lot of users of the new iPhone 4S have complained that the iPhone always pops up an error message saying “Invalid SIM” or “No SIM card installed”. After this, the iPhone would remain useless to use because the SIM card was not being detected. This was a major problem as this would happen very often, leaving its customer with no means of communication at add times of the day. Some people said rebooting the device would fix the problem for the time being, but it could occur again any time, even after just five minutes of rebooting.

Anyway, recently, Apple updated the iOS 5.0.1 firmware on many iPhone 4S devices, but mysteriously, did not change the version number of the OS. This has interested a few people. Why would Apple do that? Some people have suggested that since Apple has its international iPhone 4S launch coming up very rapidly, it wants to make sure the OS of the iPhone 4S is proper. So sent out the updates to other phones anyway.

But a lot of other people have a different opinion on this one. They suggest that this was to fix the SIM card problem that the owners of the iPhone 4S have been facing for some time now. And it so happens, that there is a new help page on Apple website that asks users to reset the iPhone 4S if they face the SIM card problem. Resetting the device will take up the new version of this SO with the update and the issue will be patched.

That is some good way to fix the issue without letting users know about that. But anyway, have you got your iPhone 4S updated with this new iOS 5,0.1 update? Do you see the changes?

One of the best things about iCloud is Find My iPhone features, which lets you find and remotely wipe your iPhone when it is stolen. But a new bug has been discovered which lets the thief use your account to send messages from the iMessage app:

Our attention was drawn to this story by Ars reader David Hovis, whose house was recently burglarized and his wife’s iPhone 4S was stolen. According to Hovis, his wife deactivated her iPhone with her carrier, remote wiped it, and immediately changed her Apple ID password—”we picked up a new iPhone the next day, figuring that our insurance would end up paying for it,” Hovis told Ars.

For most users, this would be the end of the story. The phone number had been transferred to a new device and the old one had been deactivated; what more is there to say? A lot, apparently, and in the form of iMessages. The thief who stole Mrs. Hovis’ iPhone had sold the device to an unsuspecting buyer elsewhere in the state, and the buyer had begun sending and receiving iMessages from the phone as Mrs. Hovis—even though the stolen phone had apparently now been activated under a new number.

MacRumors forum says that permanently deleting your Apple ID is the solution to this until Apple fixes this. A security expert has explained why it happens like this:

“I can only speculate, but I can see this being plausible,” Zdziarski told Ars. “iMessage registers with the subscriber’s phone number from the SIM, so let’s say you restore the phone, it will still read the phone number from the SIM. I suppose if you change the SIM out after the phone has been configured, the old number might be cached somewhere either on the phone or on Apple’s servers with the UDID of the phone.”

So, be careful.

If you have a MacBook, you will for sure love the glowing Apple logo on the back of the display on the laptop. The iPhone, another of Apple’s products, has the same Apple logo behind its display, but there is no glowing logo. Here is one simple mod to actually make the logo glow on the iPhone also. But let me tell you right now, there is some amount of work involved, not software work like jailbreaking, abut hardware work like actually opening up your iPhone’s rear end. If you are up for this, carry on reading.

Chinese manufacturer K.O Gadget has come up with this mod. For $42, you will be shipped a kit of stuffs you will need to do this. You will get a new back cover for your iPhone, made of the same glass material as the one the original iPhone back cover is made of. You will get another light strip to put into the phone which will glow. This will be place inside the phone in such a way that the glowing part will be aligned to the transparent logo on the back cover.

If you are thinking that your iPhone will look screwed up and think and all, you are wrong. This mod is made up only to enhance the looks of your iPhone, so do not worry, nothing is going to happen to the looks, but your warranty will be void for sure. The procedure is pretty simple:

• Remove the 2 screws flanking the iPhone’s dock connector port
• Slide open and remove the rear panel
• Remove the 5 screws near the flash
• Lift up the power connector of the screen
• Position the light panel, then connect and mount it using the 3M sticker (details will be provided after purchase)
• Replace the 5 screws near the flash
• Slide on the included rear panel with the transparent logo (so that the light is visible through it)
• Replace the 2 remaining screws flanking the dock connector port

We have seen Siri being used for almost everything now. We have seen controlling the home automation system, controlling your TV, and even locking and unlocking your house doors. But all these need the user to have installed a Siri Proxy and configure it. Which also means that the iPhone needs to be jailbroken. But what if you do not want to install Siri Proxy or you want to do something cool without having to install Siri Proxy? Well, here is something cool.

Use the new Wolfram for Siri, you can go very close to shopping appliances and electronics, by just speaking into your phone. Wolfram’s database has been updated to include Best Buy’s product catalog now. This means you can access the whole Best Buy product range on your iPhone by just speaking into your phone. But how do you do that? Will you get the whole list of thousands of products listed on your phone?

No, you will not get the whole list of thousands of products on your phone. You need to tell Siri which product in particular you want to have a look at, you just need to prefix the name of the  with ‘wolfram’. For example, if you want to browse for tablets in Best Buy, you just need to activate Siri on your iPhone and say “wolfram tablets” and you will get the complete catalog of tablets that are available on Best Buy.

But, you can not directly buy from here. That is, there are no links on the search results that you get. So you just have the option to look at the product details of the products you want. But we can say this is the first step to something awesome coming our way. We may get the option to buy it in the future. So, if you are interested, you need to test this.

When it started a few weeks back, the awesome iTunes Match was a United States only feature. But starting from yesterday, we have seen the service being extended to more countries. But a lot of users have experienced difficulties in signing up for the service in these other countries. But never the less, the service is international now.

Today, Mac Rumors is reporting that the Cupertino based tech giant is extending the service to more countries. These now include Germany, Mexico, Ireland, Spain, and more. This is a really good news for Apple fans residing in these countries. Mac Rumors also says that the people who have signed up newly in these countries are not facing much difficulties in the process.

“MacRumors readers in a number of countries have been reporting over the past few hours that they are being presented with updated terms and conditions for the iTunes Store mentioning iTunes Match. And now prominent links to iTunes Match have appeared on the front page of the iTunes Store in at least Canada, Ireland, Mexico and the United Kingdom.”

Also, as you can see from the screenshot above, some people have even uploaded the screenshots of the software matching their music on the cloud. If you are not sure what the service will do, iTunes Match will have a look at the music in your iTunes library and will match the songs present in its cloud music store. Then, it will add the songs found to your iCloud account so that you can stream music straight from the cloud and will not need to have music on your local storage. The service will also provide you suggestions and recommendations of new songs which match your tastes.

Now that you know what it does, you can decide whether you want to sign up or not.

Facebook is the hottest social networking site out there today, it has been like this for a few years now, and will be for a few more years to come. The social networking site continuously updates its features to make it more and more attractive, user friendly, and feature rich. And whenever there is something new to announce, the company hosts a developer conference or event just like Apple does. Apple’s such event is called the WWDC, and Facebooks’s developer meet is called the F8.

A couple of months back, in September, Facebook announced one of the most popular features of the site, the Timeline. Using this, you will able to see all the activities of a Facebook user in one simple long stream. The stream can go back to the birth date of the user, if the user wishes to show that much. But anyway, this feature is fairly new and all Facebook users have got it yet, nor is it the default right now.

The mobile app of Facebook, for both the iPhone and the iPad, have not yet been updated to include this new feature. So if you open a Facebook profile on the mobile app on any of these devices, you will just see the old Facebook profile. But you already know how to access the Timeline feature of a Facebook profile on the iPad’s mobile Safari browser. But how do you do it on the iPhone? It is fairly simple actually.

All you have to do is open the mobile Safari browser on your iPhone and access the mobile site of Facebook, m.facebook.com. Now, just open anybody’s profile, and if the user’s Timeline feature is activated, you will be able to see it on your iPhone. If you want to activate yours, go to www.facebook.com/about/timeline on your computer.