Vocab
I’ve compiled a list with frequently used words here on iPhoneFreakz.com.
Accelerometer
A tiny 3-axis device that monitors the iPhone’s position in it’s envorinment.
It is responsible for changing the way the screen is viewed in Coverflow and Safari amongst other things.
It will also be responsible for the movement in the upcoming games. See the following video.
Activation
A new iPhone without activation is actually nothing more than a nice looking Brick.
You really can’t use it for anything else then call for emergency. :)
Here comes the activation in place.
It opens your iPhone up for normal operation.
To do this, yo should connect your new iPhone to iTunes so you can officialy activate with AT&T (in the US) and other carriers around the world.
Baseband
The baseband is actually the controller of all actual phone functions in the iPhone. It act as a middle man between the iPhone software and the hardware.
It’s responsible for all voice or data traffic onto the phone (cell)network.
The baseband is also the one that locks your new phone to the Apple carrier like AT&T.
When you unlock your iPhone the baseband is modified to allow communication to other wireless carriers.
The latest baseband in use is 04.04.05_G and it works with the 1.1.4 firmware.
Bootloader
The bootloader is actually a piece of hardware that loads the software to operate the iPhone.
There are 2 known bootloaders on the iPhone.
1) The Baseband bootloader (see above)
2) The ARM Core bootloader (loads the operating system MACOS)
The iPhone has 2 different Baseband Bootloaders (3.9 and 4.6) known (eg March 08).
The 3.9BL allowed us to load a hacked baseband which matches the firmware version.
Apple updated it to 4.6 BL and made it require a baseband of a newer firmware version.
The Dev Team released a 3.9 fakeblank BL which allows to load our hacked baseband matching any firmware.
Brick or the iBrick.
A “brick” describes a device that cannot function in any capacity (such as a machine with damaged firmware).
The 1.1.1 firmware update bricked a lot of iPhones.
Users couldn’t reactivate their iPhone to get past their ???Please connect to iTunes??? screens.
Although the phones where still able to call the emergency number, all other features where rendered unusable by the update.
Since then the name iBrick was widely adopted.
DFU Mode
DFU stands for Device Firmware Update.
If a restore using Recovery Mode doesn’t work you will want to use DFU Mode as a last resort.
When you have placed your iPhone in DFU Mode it does not load the OS before attempting the restore.
To activate this mod you, hold the Sleep/Wake and Home buttons for +-10 seconds.
Just before you would normally see the Apple logo,
release the Sleep/Wake button and keep hold the Home button until an iTunes detects an iPhone in recovery mode.
In DFU Mode your iPhone screen will be black with nothing displayed.
EDGE
Enhanced Data Rates for Global Evolution (EDGE) is a Broadband Cell network.
It has been known as the 2.5G standard and is the Cell network the iPhone uses.
EDGE can supply speeds up to 384 kbit/s.
/etc/fstab
The fstab (file systems table) lists all available disks and disk partitions on your iPhone.
emulators
Emulators allow your iPhone/iPod touch to play or run apps or games designed for other platforms. Eg. Playstation, Gameboy, Genesis, etc.
File system
The iPhone or iPod touch has 2 file systems.
1 for it’s private files, that is about 300mb, this holds all system file and apps.
2 the rest of the memory where you can find your data (pictures, music, video, etc).
Firmware
Firmware is the operating system for the iPhone as Windows or Mac osX or linux is the one for your pc.
Newer firmware versions always add functionality, bugfixes, and improve stability.
iPhones first shipped with 1.0.x firmware.
iPhones now are shipping with 1.1.4 and version 1.2 (2.0 Beta) is available to select developers.
GSM
Global System for Mobile Communications, a popular mobile phone standard used by the iPhone.
iPhoneDev
You can find all developer related information on hackint0sh
Installer.app
Installer is a UIKit based software installer for the iPhone.
It works by downloading packages over WiFi (wireless networking) or EDGE.
It supports installing, updating and uninstalling applications from multiple sources.
For more information about sources see our Sources and adding sources pages.
An alternative is Cydia, however there aren’t as much sources available for this tool as for the Installer.
Jailbreak
The process of gaining access to the iPhone’s root filesystem,
and allowing third-party applications to run on the device.
When you have Jailbreaked your iPhone with Ziphone, you will have Installer app on your springboard.
You can use Installer to install most every application you would need on your iPhone.
Recovery Mode
Whenever you notice that your iPhone or iPod touch isn’t responding any more like it should, you can revert to the recovery mode to restore your system.
The process to get into recovery mode
Hold the Sleep/Wake and Home buttons until the iPhone reboots.
Once you see the Apple logo, release the Sleep/Wake button and keep hold the Home button until an iTunes logo and the usb cable appear on screen.
You can then use iTunes to restore your firmware.
SDK
SDK is short for Software Development Kit and it’s a library of software that helps you develop applications and utilities.
Apple has just released the iPhone SDK which is the set of tools needed to create applications that run on the iPhone.
The iPhone SDK is currently only available to Beta testers and works only on MAC OS X.
You will also need the beta 1.2 firmware to test your applications.
SIM lock
A limitation imposed by the manufacturer of a Cell phone to lock a phone to 1 specific carrier.
The US iPhone is SIM locked and can only be used with AT&T.
Springboard
The iPhone default application launcher or the iPhone home screen.
ssh
Secure shell.
This is a shell that runs on your iPhone or iPod touch using port 22 and allows you to connect wirelessly to a Unix shell.
Toolchain
For the iPhone/iPod touch it’s a compiler and linker created by Patrick Walton of the University of Chicago.
It allows developers to develop applications that can run on the iPhone and iPod touchs ARM processor.
Unlock
Opening up your iPhone for any GSM sim card.
Apple has limited the use of the iPhone to a select few wireless carriers (eg AT&T, Tmobile,etc).
January 23rd, 2009 at 10:32 pm
Wonderful and insightful!
March 17th, 2009 at 5:29 pm
Hi, Is there is any possibalety to downgrade or unlock new baseband fimware 02.30.00 its came with 2.2.1. please reply me if there is any way to get it.
November 9th, 2009 at 6:38 am
sorry i saw your post just now but yes there is a way with blackra1n RC-2
November 9th, 2009 at 6:40 am
———————–edite———————–
but you have to use itune 9 or it will give you error 1604
January 12th, 2010 at 4:41 pm
Sorry, guys, but a Bootloader is a software! (not a hardware..).
February 5th, 2013 at 5:03 pm
Just make a backup with timecapsule and make a fresh installation!