So the long awaited 2.0 software has finally been released. But what if you already have an unlocked iPhone.
Is it worth upgrading to ? Short answer..................YES

There are many benefits to upgrading your iPhone's software. Firstly updates can include new applications for your iPhone. The 2.0 software update includes the App Store, a place where you can download and install numerous new apps for your iPhone right from inside iTunes. There are both free and paid for apps available. And there are a lot of great free apps. You can search and install apps via iTunes or through the App Store on your iPhone. If you install an app an your iPhone, then sync it with iTunes on your computer iTunes will copy the new app into your iTunes library and vice versa if you install the app on iTunes it copies it to your phone when synced again. iTunes will also Backup your apps and contacts, calendars, etc whenever you sync. This is great if you need to restore your phone since you will have all your apps, contacts, etc back the way they were before restoring.

Also included in 2.0 is a scientific calculator (just turn your iPhone sideways when using calculator), a new search function in your contacts, the ability to read iWork and Powerpoint files inside Mail, the long awaited ability to import your contacts from your sim card to your iPhone. To find out about more of the new featres included in version 2.0 CLICK HERE

Every software update for the iPhone includes a large list of bug (errors) fixes. These fix many issues users have with the phone such as the phone taking a long time to return to the home screen, or the screen freezing for no reason. Along with these much needed bug fixes improvements relating to the battery life, display clarity and many other issue can be fixed by software updates.

If you do have a currently unlocked iPhone IrishiPhone.com can upgrade it tot the latest and greatest 2.0 version giving you all the new features while still leaving you with an unlocked iPhone.
See our Personal Unlocking section for more info

IrishiPhone.com

There are a lot of rumours flying round at the minute about the fabled Macbook Touch.
These are the same rumours that circulated around this time last year. I posted a few mockup pictures of what I would like the new Macbook Touch to look like. If you have read any forums on the new notebook you will have probably seen some of my pictures as I am happy to say a lot of people seemed to like them.




Last year when these rumours were saying how the newest and bestest Macbook ever was on its way in days I was planning a holiday to Florida. I was also planning on buying a new Macbook Pro over there. It made sense since Apple sell the notebook in the US for $2499 and in Ireland they were selling the same notebook for €2499. Yes that's right the exact same price in euros. Thankfully I decided not to hold off for the new super duper Macbook Touch and went ahead and bought my Macbook Pro. Money well spent. And considering I saved about €800 and still no sign of this new touch notebook I am glad I did.

Of course that doesn't man it's not on it's way. I hope it is, and I hope it's everything we have all wanted. I mean the speed at which technology s advancing at the moment is astounding. Every week there seems to be double the RAM or HD space there was the week before for the same price. The only thing that has remained fairly stagnant is the overall design and usability of notebooks. They all still seem to have that annoyingly small trackpad. We need something dynamic and revolutionary. Something that makes you see the advantages of notebooks. Something that turns portable computing into a much more easy to use product.

IrishiPhone.com

A lot of people have been asking whether the iPhone 3G can be unlocked. They also want to know where to get one and how.





First off the 3G iPhone is not yet 100% unlocked. It can be unlocked to use as basically an iPod touch with 3G. You will NOT be able to use the phone features. This of course is the main difference between the iPhone and iPod Touch. This does not mean that it will never be unlocked. There are a LOT of smart people working non stop to try and fully unlock the 3G iPhone. As soon as there is any progress with this the information will be posted here in the NEWS section on IrishiPhone.com.

Now onto HOW to get a shiny new 3G iPhone for yourself. The process for buying an iPhone has now been standardised throughout the world. This process is basically the same system which was first introduced worth o2 in Ireland. You will not be allowed out of the shop with the phone if you do not sign up to a contract there and then.
This means no walking into the store and buying an iPhone and getting it unlocked somewhere later.
There is only one real option for people who want an iPhone but don't want to pay the crazy bill.
You can go and buy an iPhone, sign up a contract, cancel your contract after 30 days, pay the cancellation fee, get your iPhone unlocked. DONE

IrishiPhone.com

Today Steve Jobs announced the long awaited 3G version of the iPhone.
The 3G model is due for sale on July 11th across 22 countries.
Along with the much needed 3G support there is number of other improvements to the iPhone:
And a new maximum price of $199, which of course will convert into €199 in Ireland because we never get anything for the same price as the US

• Firstly and most noticeably is the black plastic back. There will also be a version with a white back for anyone who wants to stand out. The white version will be 16GB and cost $299.
• The phone is thinner than before.
• Also thankfully there is now a flush headphone socket. The headphone socket was a major gripe for many iphone owners who wanted to use their own headphones instead of the phones provided by Apple with the iPhone, the problem was the headphone socket was recessed and nearly every normal headphone connection would not work with the socket. If you did want to us your favourite headphones with your iPhone you had to buy an adaptor to connect them. Now that issue is gone and I for one am really delighted.
• Improved audio
• GPS Support
• Much better battery life:
• 300 hours of standby
• 2G talk-time now has 10 hours (as opposed to 5)
• 5 hours of 3G talk-time (most phones only have 3 hour 3G talk time)
• 5 to 6 hours of high-speed browsing
• 7 hours of video
• 24 hours of audio

Check back here soon for more updates on the new iPhone

IrishiPhone.com

The iPhone has had a huge 100 pounds slashed off it in the UK. Check out o2's UK site for info on this by clicking here .

Now of course this is a big indication that Apple want to clear out their inventory for the coming 3G version of the iPhone. But if you can live without 3G this is a great time to get an iPhone at great price. At today's rate you would get a shiny new iPhone for €211. Add in €65 to have it unlocked with iPhone and that brings your total to €276 for an iPhone.

Not bad when you compare this to o2 in Ireland. For the exact same phone they want you to pay €399. So that's a nice little saving of over €100. And don't forget that o2 or the Carphone Warehouse won't let you walk out of the shop in Ireland without first signing up to a contract. If you want to compare o2 Irelands price plans click here.

• So what should you do. Go on, Reward yourself. You deserve it. You've worked hard.
• Take a leisurely drive up to the North. Go to an o2 shop (or Carphone Warehouse) in Northern Ireland.
• Tell the sales assistant you're buying an iPhone for a relative up north.
• Provide them with a valid Northern Ireland address.
• Pay with your credit card (Credit card can be from any country).
• Buy yourself a lovely new iPhone.
• Come home. Have IrishiPhone.com unlock your iPhone safely and quickly.
• Pop in your sim card.
• And then pat yourself on the back for being so savy, not falling for o2's Irelands nasty little iPhone rip off.

Will the price drop follow suit with o2 in Ireland. I think the only thing that follow suit in Ireland is when there is a price rise. Then everyone is quick to raise there price. So my advise is go get a great phone cheap now. The o2 UK price drop will only last until June so hurry, hurry.

If you have any questions about your iPhone check out the FAQ page on IrishiPhone.com.
For any questions about unlocking your iPhone in Ireland just use the Contact Form here

IrishiPhone.com

IrishiPhone.com was featured just this week in an excellent article in weekly online magazine Village.ie about the iPhone in Ireland.

I spoke to the journalist writing the article but unfortunately the article had already gone to print when we spoke. But having visited IrishiPhone.com and obviously liking what he saw he decided to mention the site anyway. He was a very down to earth guy who seemed really interested in what I had to say. He writes a lot of articles on Gadgets for Village.ie so there is more than just iPhones there.

The article titled "Unlocking iPhone’s illusions" gives a fair run down of o2's pricing scam..... I mean scheme in Ireland compared to other countries. It also tells how many people have had their iPhones unlocked and working fine in Ireland on Meteor & Vodafone networks even though o2 says they will not work.

If you would like to read the full article just click here

IrishiPhone.com

Those of you out there thinking of updating your iPhone to 1.1.4 be aware. What do I mean you say. Well if you use any o2-IRL, o2-UK, etc sim cards in your iPhone it will start using edge and charge you a lot for it. Because edge is pre-configured on the iPhone for the official carriers.
I checked my account online with o2. Well I upgraded to 1.1.4 and put in an o2 -IRL pay as you go sim card. I went to the Settings>General>Network and there was no edge menu.
Strange I thought. Although I had heard of people loosing edge or wifi when unlocking sometimes. So decided to check my email even though I wasn't connected to a wifi network. Well it checked my emails without a hitch. And took €3 of my credit for checking 2 emails. So I searched high and low for an answer and nothing. Then checked my account online with o2ie. There was 19, yes 19 texts to a 9011 number. Never heard of the number before. So I downloaded BigBoss Prefs and turned edge off with it. That worked fine. But it seemed like the wifi was just on non stop even when the phone was in sleep mode. Well that's no use since wifi is such a battery drainer.




I then took out my o2-IRL sim card and put in a Vodafone-IRL sim. And as if by magic the edge menu was back where it should be. So I took out my Vodafone sim and put in my o2 one while still in the edge menu. Then I set my edge settings to APN=noedgeplease Username= noedgeplease Password = noedgeplease. Then hit home button and the edge menu is gone again. But when I tried to check my email without wifi it tells me I am "not subscribed to edge". Perfect, just what I wanted from the start.

So if you have already upgraded to 1.1.4 on your precious iPhone make sure you have edge settings either disabled or filled in with something useless.


- Take out your official carrier sim card and put in any unofficial.
- Go to Setting>General>Network>Edge
- Take out the unofficial sim and put back in your official sim card
- Enter APN=noedgeplease
- Enter UserName = noedgeplease
- Enter Password = noedgeplease
- Hit Home button
- Restart iPhone
- Make sure wifi is off
- Click Safari and you should get a box saying your are "not subscribed to edge"

Hope this helps anyone with the same problem

IrishiPhone.com

The iPhone arrived in Ireland only a few days ago. But has it been as popular as when launched in other countries.
Well here are some pics from Dublin on launch day Click here to view have a look and you decide.
Is it because of the hefty price tag on the phone. I think not when people are used to paying €400-€600 for sim free phones.
So is it because of the o2 price plan. Me thinks this could be the case.

o2 Ireland price plan:
€45 euro/mo: 175 minutes, 100 texts, 1GB data
€65 euro/mo: 350 minutes, 150 texts, 1GB data
€100 euro/mo: 700 minutes, 250 texts, 1GB data

Now let's compare the plan to o2 UK:
£35 (€46) 600 minutes 500 texts
£45 (€60) 1200 minutes 500 texts
£75 (€99) 3000 minutes 500 texts
Plus: Unlimited Data (Email/Web) & Wi-Fi (O2 Hotspots)

Hopefully not many people will be foolish enough to go and sign up for these crazy tarrifs
The same sort of thing happened in the UK when the phone launched there
And of course o2 raised the minutes/texts bundles

But at the moment it just screams Rip Off Republic

IrishiPhone.com