Times Square Video Billboards Hacked Using an iPhone?

The iPhone has been known for many useful things, but hacking Times Square billboards is a first.

A video has been posted on YouTube showing a man who uses his iPhone to hijack video billboards in Times Square. CBS news has commented on the video, claiming that they would assume it’s fake, but if it’s in fact real, they’ll be the first to purchase one…

“First off I’m going to state that I do not know if this is in fact real or fake. My gut is telling me it has to be fake… but if it’s real, I’m so going to buy one!

Here’s some words from the hacker on how he did it:

The way it works is pretty simple: plug in my transmitter into the iphone 4 and play back any video clip. you can play it through the ipod feature or through the camera roll. the transmitter instantly sends the video signal to the video repeater and the video repeater overrides any video screen that it’s being held next to. it doesn’t matter what shape or size the hacked screen is because the hack video will simply keep its correct dimensions and the rest of the hacked space will stay black.

i chose times square for my demo because it has lots of video screens to try it on. it is also one of the most monitored and secured areas in new york city and that made it that much more fun  . you can see in my video that the repeater is pretty powerful but the signal is not very stable yet. i’m working on that. i will post a new video later this week explaining how i made this prototype.

Honestly, looks like complete BS to me. I highly doubt it was that easy to hack the billboards. Check out the video yourself below!

What do you think? Real or fake?

[via CultofMac]

Daylight Savings Time Glitch Has Caused Much Grief for iPhone Owners

Daylight Savings Time has stuck again! A bug that reportedly caused the iPhone’s internal clock to not adjust properly to Daylight Savings Time has resurfaced with the recent time change.

Two days ago, we told you about a glitch with the iPhone’s clock not changing to the correct time for the DST “spring forward” of one hour. At the time of the report, no one was really sure to what extent this clock glitch was affecting users.

Complaints seemed to not be as wide spread as the last time there was a DST issue, but many people were (and still are) experiencing problems with their alarm not going off at the right time…

Apple’s clock in iOS seems to be pretty broken. The iPhone’s clock and alarm app have now malfunctioned on the last two DST time changes. The alarm app also broke on January 1st of this year.

There’s still no way of objectifying the symptoms of this clock glitch, and many of you have voiced various types of complaints. We’ve seen issues with the iPhone’s clock on various carriers, including Rogers and other carriers outside of the U.S.

The glitch seems to be an iOS issue, as the problem is also not restricted to a certain generation of the iPhone.

It seems that most iPhones with this clock glitch have reset themselves to the proper time, but some users have reported that their alarm is still going off an hour earlier than it’s supposed to.

If there still seems to be something wrong with your iPhone’s clock and/or alarm, we’ve heard several methods for possible fixes. A simple restart should reset the clock, and you can also try switching the Time and Date settings from Automatic.

We’ve also heard that switching Airplane Mode on and off could fix the glitch. When the iPhone goes into Airplane Mode, the device’s radio transmitters are turned off. When Airplane Mode is turned back off, the iPhone will get a refreshed carrier update. That refresh should reset the clock to the appropriate time.

Apple has not released an official statement on this bug.

What is your experience with this recent glitch? Was your iPhone affected? If so, let us know your story below!

iPhone 5 to Have Two SIM Cards for Dual Phone Lines?

From the same website that brought us the iPhone 5 renderings comes more speculation on Apple’s new iPhone. The site, iDealsChina, is a chinese parts reseller. They don’t have a perfect track record, but they did correctly predict the iPhone 3G and iPod 4G design changes.

Their latest prediction is that the iPhone 5 will hold two SIM cards. They claim it will be for the purpose of supporting dual phone lines, but I’ve got a better guess. The iPhone 5 is rumored to include a Qualcomm Gobi cellular and data chipset. Why does that sound familar?

It’s the same chipset used in the Verizon iPhone 4, which supports both GSM and CDMA connections. What’s so special about this and the possibility of dual lines? Besides the obvious of being able to combine work and personal lines into one device, you could use dual carriers on one iPhone.

Imagine having service with Verizon and AT&T- you’d almost always have coverage. You could use AT&T for the faster data speeds, and switch over to Verizon if the service got spotty. What if the phone switched seamlessly between the 2 carriers based on coverage?

All fantasies aside, these rumors bode well for Verizon customers, whose eligibility for theiPhone 5 is still unknown. It would definitely make sense for Apple to release their next iPhone on multiple carriers, but only time will tell what the Cupertino company has in store.

Does anyone think dual lines sounds like a good idea? Is 4G more important than dual carrier capability?

Capcom Drops Street Fighter IV Down to $0.99, With All Proceeds Going to Relief Efforts in Japan

Capcom, the Japanese game publisher that’s perhaps best known for its Street Fighter series, is engaging in one of the most important fights in the company’s storied history — the fight for survival.

After the devastating earthquake and tsunami hit the island in an almost unbelievable proportion, Capcom is doing what it does best to help those in need — it’s letting characters from its most famous franchise do the fighting.

Today, the company dropped the price of Street Fighter IV for the iPhone to $0.99 and promised to donate all proceeds of the sales to relief efforts in Japan…

Along with the company’s generosity by means of App Store proceeds, Capcom will also limit the operation of its Japanese offices in order to conserve needed energy.

Of course Capcom is just the latest company to extend its support to those in need as a result of the terrible disaster that has devastated the Land of the Rising Sun.

Sympathy and condolences continuously pour out from the hearts of all iDB staff, and from our readers as well.

If you’d like to help Capcom support the cause, you can purchase and download Street Fighter IV here. Remember, if you purchase before March 22, all proceeds will go towards relief efforts in Japan.

Localscope: One of The Best Location/Navigation Apps for the iPhone [Review and Giveaway]

There’s a plethora of location-based apps to choose from in the App Store. Check-in services like Foursquare and Gowalla are popular, and there are some pretty niffty location-based search apps like Siri Assistant and Where.

Localscope, by Cynapse, is a search/navigation app that encompasses the features of most location-based tools in the App Store. By using the backend of services like Google and Twitter, Localscope allows for a more full and encompassing experience of searching for locations around you…

Localscope unites the best of the location-based search platforms inside a beautifully designed interface. Instead of relying on it’s own backend for search, it pulls from 5 popular location services.

When you open Localscope, you can search for any desired location around you and toggle through the different services to search in. Services like Google and Bing are perfect for finding a location, and services like Foursquare make it easy to see what people are actually saying about that place. You can also narrow your search results by searching in the pre-listed location categories that Localscope provides.

Once you find the location you’re looking for, Localscope offers three different methods for getting you where you need to go. The classic list view and map view are available, and you can easily open the address you’re looking for in Google Maps if you prefer that. Localscope goes the extra mile and allows you to search through augmented reality like Yelp and other similar apps.

Localscope has the best sharing and action options that I’ve ever seen in a location-based search app. Not only can you open locations in the iPhone’s Google Maps app, you can pin locations within Localscope and assign locations to contacts in your address book.

SMS, Email, Facebook and Twitter are all options for sharing locations in Localscope. The sharing works great, and it ties in beautifully with the other social elements of the app.

Localscope is one of the most well designed apps you’ll find in the location/navigation corner of the App Store. Unlike some location apps, you’ll understand how to use Localscope right away. The app combines popular iOS design elements like “pull to refresh,” and the “swipe for quick actions” feature of most Twitter apps.

I took Localscope for a test run this past weekend. I was going to a sushi bar downtown that I’d never been to before. Localscope found the restaurant I was looking for, and it was a breeze to send the location to one of my friends through SMS. I used the map feature to get to the place I needed to go, and I parked a few blocks away to see how well the augmented reality worked. Overall, the app worked great.

The features and design of Localscope make it one of the best location/navigation offerings in the App Store. It’s definitely one of my favorites. I liked it so much that it now resides on page one of my iPhone’s home screen.

Localscope is definitely worth your attention. It’s available for $1.99 in the App Store.

The people behind Localscope have been kind enough to give us four free copies to give away to iDB readers. If you’d like a free copy of Localscope, be one of the first four to comment on this review. We’ll be sending the codes through email to the four winners later today.

UPDATE: Winners have been selected!

What do you think of Localscope? Are there any similar apps that you recommend?

Apple Highlights Best AirPlay Apps in App Store

One of the exciting new features in iOS 4.3 is the universal enhancement made to AirPlay. AirPlay existed in iOS 4.2, but it was limited to native iPhone apps. With Apple’s new 4.3 firmware, developers are given access to AirPlay functionality, allowing them to incorporate it into their 3rd party apps.

AirPlay is not just limited to App Store developers either; authors of web-based applications for the iPhone will now be able to stream video to the end user’s Apple TV. App makers have been pleading with Apple for access to AirPlay APIs (Application Programming Interface) since the feature was introduced in iOS 4.2. But what makes AirPlay so exciting for develepors?

Allowing 3rd party apps to stream audio and video from your iPhone opens up all kinds of possibilities. For instance, gameplay and other aspects that are interactive with your big screen, like cut scenes and replays. If your HDTV is hooked up to a surround sound system, streaming audio from an app via AirPlay would make games like Infinity Blade a blast! (Well, more than it already is.)

Apple seems to be excited about the possibilities too, as they’ve recently made a special section in the App Store featuring AirPlay-enabled apps. These apps range from Discovery Channel HD to FitnessClass. You can actually stream workout videos from the iPhone to your TV!

It’s important to note that the third party support for AirPlay is only on 4.3, which, if you are jailbroken, you most likely aren’t using. There are, however, jailbroken applications like AirVideoEnabler that will allow AirPlay streaming from virtually any app.

Has anyone tried these AirPlay apps out? What are some more possibilities for AirPlay in future apps?

Chpwn Drops More iOS 4.3 Jailbreak Details

The jailbreak community holds its breath as iOS hackers work diligently on a 4.3 jailbreak solution. With their latest firmware, Apple introduced ASLR (Address Space Layout Randomization), which is making the process a little more difficult for jailbreakers. Current jailbreak methods are available, but are extremely limited.

But things look positive as hackers Comex and i0n1c have already shown off their jailbroken iOS 4.3 devices. Now you might be wondering, “If they can jailbreak their devices, why don’t they just release it to everyone?” Well, when these guys jailbreak their devices, they don’t plug their iPhone into the computer and click a button….

Once an exploit is found, they have to test it out, make sure it’s stable. Then they need to write software that’s easy enough for the average joe to use, and make sure that it is stable. But nevertheless we hold vigilant. Especially interested are those who upgraded to iOS 4.3 early (despite our warnings), and early iPad 2 adopters.

The man behind Infinidock and the co-creator of ProSwitcher, chpwn, shed a bit more light on the topic today via Twitter. While he dismisses the Pwn2Own exploits as a jailbreak solution, he does note that comex, i0n1c, and p0sixninja have “other cool stuff.” With three hackers closing in, hopefully an official jailbreak release is on pace to be released this week. As always, stay tuned to iDB for the latest jailbreak information.

Does anyone think we’ll see the jailbreak this week?