mercurious

After pulling an all-nighter, iPhone has been modded

As companies embed full-fledged computers into consumer entertainment products, such as Sony PSP, Apple TV, and iPhone, and then proceed to lock them down to restrict their functionality in the name of stability and security, legions of enthusiasts heed the call to open them up again, to enjoy the computer hidden within.

At the time of this posting, iPhone Modding is very difficult for the inexperienced — not for the faint-of-heart or command-line averse. After a lot of trial-and-error and hours of research, we have installed some third-party standalone applications into the Spring Board (iPhone Home Screen). We can only assume that as modders enjoy more success, and more true third-party programs are written, more user-friendly applications will be released to streamline and simplify the process. That said, crude, but essential tools are starting to appear that allow a patient, persistent and somewhat fearless enthusiast to get started modding.

As you can see from the screenshot, the highlight of the modding is the installation of a Nintendo NES emulator which can put hundreds of games at your fingertips. Although, obtaining the game ROMs is of dubious legality, and the games lack sound and many have buggy graphics. The real lesson learned in this exercise is that there’s probably a very good reason why iPhone didn’t launch with any games — the multi-touch interface truly requires a comprehensive rethinking of game design and controls.

A Do-It-Yourself Work Ethic Required

Only recently, a step-by-step iPhone modification guide suitable for beginners→ emerged for getting started. Since, then, we’ve written our own guide← that consolidates and adds detail, especially for beginners. By far, most articles out there at the moment, assume you are familiar with UNIX and know about toolchains.→

At posting, the modding possibilities are nascent, including adding the following new applications and features into an iPhone:

• Custom ring tones
• Custom graphics and skins
• Screenshot tool →
• Sound recording application →
  
• Tetris →
• TicTacToe →
• Nintendo NES Emulator →

Where To Begin

The iFuntastic↓tool, while crude, is a good place to get started and become familiar with the Jailbreak process. → It’s helpful to install this first, as it does get you started with the ardous process of setting up the toolchain. Use iFuntastic to do simple, but high-impact modifications, such as alter the Spring Board (home screen), customize iPhone UI graphic files, and easily add custom ringtones. iFuntastic only supports Mac Intel machines at this time.

An essential alternative to iFuntastic is iActivator↓, which also peforms the Jailbreak process and manipulates the activation process, and works on Mac Intel and older PowerPC systems.

In addition, we figured out iphonedisk→, which mounts some parts of the iPhone file system as a network drive for easy drag-and-drop file installation.

But first, there are so many dependent programmer tools that must first be installed, including subversion and specialized iPhone modding tools like the unfortunately named iPHUC→. A decent guide for installing iPHUC→ is available.

The main key to gaining access to your iPhone is enabling SSH→, which allows secure command line access to the iPhone’s UNIX file system. However, this should be carefully considered, as enabling this feature certainly opens your iPhone up to future hackers who will now have a way into your handheld computer as you wander through open WiFi networks.

At the moment, the various executives at AT&T and Apple have nothing to worry about. This mod movement is restricted to the realm of enthusiasts. But it’s only a matter of time before refined GUI interfaces for iPhone customization and third-party application development and management emerge. Remember that modders got Windows to boot on the Mac Intel machines very quickly. Apple responded with Boot Camp offering native, official support to be offered in Mac OS X Leopard (10.5). It’s not a matter of if but when a truly open iPhone platform appears.

Doesn’t the iPhone look even better with a full set of buttons?