Wisetechie Blog : Ctrl your Tech Life

We keep you updated on the new Iphone 3G, and as things would have it a lot of companies are making software exclusively for the Iphone 3G, many of them like Ebay, and certain GPS GIS companies are innovating hard. So what do you expect from google ?

A supercool version of Gtalk which perhaps shows your GPS location and allows you to talk with crystal clear voice clarity. Well sorry, but thats not gonna happen. The Gtalk for Iphone will only be a text chatting service, disappointed ? So are they just porting Jabber for the Iphone in fancy Google colours ?

The Indian Iphone users will also be disappointed, but dont be. Skype will answer your Iphone needs

Your friendly Iphone 3G reminder for Indians looking to buy the new Iphone

Remember when the Iphone 3G launches in India, it will only be available from Airtel and Vodafone and will probably be locked and come with a hefty plan and high termination fee. Your best bet is still to get the old Iphone for a bargain and get it unlocked, that baby still turns heads. Also other market players like HTC Diamond, Cruise etc. and Asus P320 phones may be given a thought. Personally i am addicted to Windows Mobile these days.

Our Iphone for India posts are indeed the most popular posts on the blog ever with around 500 comments :O , anyway i was reading Techcrunch today and it seems that the new Apple Iphone 3G will be sold only with a contract. Moreover it will be activated in-store only. So unlike last time you wont be able to buy the phone without contract and unlock it. Apple and AT&T surely have learnt their lesson, but this strategy will ofcourse decrease total Apple Iphone sales while increasing AT&T customer numbers. This is because earlier people were buying the Iphone to unlock it, but now that wont be happening. Also more people will be forced to activate and stay with AT&T, meaning more customers for them and rivals will be losing customers. T-Mobile needs to think quick now

Also cancelling it will need $175 , so Iphone 3G may not be the next big thing after all. Disappointing !

While you wait for the Iphone in India, have a look at these awesome Iphone commercials , i wonder if data speeds in India will allow such high speed internet !

Iphone Commercial 1 - All these Years !

Continue reading »

ne of our readers Mac Kalvin has successfully run his Iphone mobile on Airtel India’s network after unlocking it. He has also compiled a step by step procedure to unlock the Iphone. Here are also some photos showing proof of the Iphone working on Airtel, the photos have been taken by Mac Kalvin. All these things are being posted here with permission from him.

In case you encounter any problem, you can clarify it with him, feel free to call him, IM him or email him (he says).

Airtel Network being received by Iphone

Airtel Customer Care being called on 121

Airtel Symbol and Edge Symbol on the Iphone

You may also download the PDF detailing the step by step unlocking of the Iphone from this link (external)

Iphone Unlock PDF (Updated)

How to unlock the iPhone using the anySIM program (New !!!)

Disclaimer :: Unlocking the Apple Iphone might void your warranty of the Apple Iphone, furthermore proceed with unlocking at your own risk, we will not be responsible for any damage caused as a result of you trying to unlock your Iphone.

And in the end, if you unlock your phone, please shoot a small video of the unlocked phone and send it to us.

Also the Iphone after being unlocked properly will run on Hutch, Airtel, Idea etc. and all other Indian GSM networks.

Also do not buy the iPhone from indiatimes or other such shops, they are selling it for 45000 rupees, you can get an iphone for Rs.16000 only and you can unlock it yourself for free.

Sorry for calling you crazy, but there is no sane person in India who would buy an Iphone. I know a few friends(rich and a little ignorant about technology in general) who have bought the Iphone from America or asked their uncles to bring the Iphone to India during their next trip. Most of those who already have got the Iphone in India are banging their heads on the wall. Because even after weeks of its launch , they still cant make it work on Airtel or Hutch. The iPhone is just a paperweight or an iBrick as some people prefer to call it

Despite our warning in our previous post, one of the readers bought a phone, and wrote to me. He thanked me for the good advice and then used the choicest swear words for me saying i should have been more clear that he should not have bought an iPhone, so here i am being more clear, if you are an Indian living in India, dont buy the iPhone just yet.

Thats the truth about mobile phones and the Indian people. Most Indian teens watch Gadget Guru on NDTV and feel they are topshot techies. Well here is an eyeopener, Gadget Guru wont make you a techie, maybe a tech salesman. Sometimes i feel if i had the budget of NDTV and i was asked to make a show like Gadget Guru, how much i would do. A Tech show should cater to a tech audience not a general demographic as Gadget Guru does. Ok, enough of NDTV bashing.

Again i repeat, unless you have 20k rupees in spare, dont buy an iPhone in India

In a boost to the grey market sellers of Palika Bazaar, Nehru Place etc., it seems that hackers are indeed making progress while busting the Iphone’s defences and unlocking it in the process. A person named Jon Lech Johansen has almost cracked the activation feature of an Apple Iphone, even though it is not using other sims yet, but one is able to use Wifi and Ipod capability of the Iphone using his method without any activation. the full unlocking is expected to take 1-2 weeks. And expect the Iphone to hit India 1 week after that.
So the iBrick becomes an Ipod, i can see the dealers at Palika Bazaar smiling already ! But for now people in India will have to wait for the Iphone.

As anger mounted on the Iphones activation fiasco, Apple should see what the people are facing

When you search for “My Iphone got activated” , Google corrects you , it tells you to search for “my Iphone not activated”

I went to Nehru Place today, chatted around with a few mobile phone dealers. I asked them by when could i buy an Iphone in India. Most of them said within a week or two i will be able to get one. And unlocking i asked , they said it will be a Rs.500 job, costs them nothing once they learn the procedure. Anyway i continued going deeper and the trail got murkier. I asked a dealer how can they be sure to Unlock the Iphone, he told me that his ‘contacts’ in Apple had assured him that the Iphone was unlockable and that they would be given the process to do so.

But here i would like to warn all readers reading this, the Iphone will be officially launched in India in 2008, dunno, but the marketing team of Apple is plain dumb. India is a huge market for Smart Phones and they delay the launch forcing people to goto Grey market dealers. Now these grey market dealers are anything but honest. And they too like the Apple marketing team are plain dumb. Most of them were unaware of the new activation thing on the Iphone. They thought that unlocking the Iphone will be like unlocking any other Symbian phone. Many of the dealers actually confidently told me that the Iphone is symbian based. I almost died laughing. With such ill-informed and studpid salesmen, i would advise everyone to wait atleast for 3-4 months before even thinking about the Iphone in India, unless you see proof of proper functioning in front of you.

Many features will be unavailable even if its unlocked and not activated. Activation will require more money from your pocket and seriously i dont see this working. The Iphone will not let you use all its features unless its fully activated.

Dont be misled by dealers of Palika Bazaar and other such places, you might regret your decision. Say iWait to the iPhone.

Later Addon -

Many of our readers have successfully unlocked the Iphone, such that the Iphone now works in India. If you too have done the same, please make a video of the Iphone working on Airtel/Hutch and send its link to use.

Its almost confirmed that the Iphone works in India now, but beware of software updates, as some of them may relock your phone.