We really want to shake things up with the website reboot, so we are preparing a PC built for less than $1,000 to face off against one of those $5,000 Mac Pros. This definitely is not your average “I’m a PC Campaign” stunt. We here at theApplesauce love Apple, they create some amazing operating systems and software. But they don’t make their hardware, they just pick homogenized year old parts and sell them for 5x their actual worth. So in the next few weeks we will show you how to build your own Mac Killer… That runs OSX… And won’t make you bankrupt!
Yeah so we are going to try and rebuild the site. I figured I would start with a little guide to get that super perty MMS on your 2G iPhone?
Download: http://www.theapplesauce.com/ATT_US.ipcc
1. Jailbreak 3.0
2. Run all the Cydia updates.
3. Search for “ActivateMMS2G” in Cydia
4. Install it.
5. Reboot it (mine froze, so I had to manually do it)
6. On your iPhone go to http://unlockit.co.nz, select Continue, Custom APN, V3 Tethering + MMS, then your carrier.
7. Hit Create Profile
8. Hit Install, Install Now
9. Done
10. Reboot
11. Open “Run” and execute the line of code listed below:
“C:\Program Files\iTunes\iTunes.exe” /setPrefInt carrier-testing 1
12. Plug your iPhone in and start iTunes
13. Get to the page with the Update and Restore page
14. Hold shift and click Restore
15. On the bottom right change the drop down from “iPod/iPhone Software files” to “iPhone Carrier Configuration Files”
16. Select the newly downloaded ATT_US.ipcc
17. Click Open
18. Reboot your iPhone once it finishes updating
19. Go back to Cydia, go to manage, select packages, click “ActivateMMS2G” and reinstall it.
20. Reboot your iPhone
21. Open Settings, Messages, and enable MMS Messaging.
That is all. Supposedly this will enable Tethering but that hasn’t yet worked for me.
Most people will only have to do steps 1-5, however I needed to do all of these steps for some reason to get my MMS working. Also keep in mind you may need to get AT&T to unblock your MMS capabilities (I was able to get on family MediaNet)
When I first put the Triple.fi 10 vi’s in my ear and listened I felt that there must have been a mistake. The bass was muddy and the treble was lacking. I swapped on the foam earbuds and that helped a little bit but not enough. They didn’t even sound close to the Super.fi 5s I had recently listened to. Needless to say I was very disappointed. Maybe they needed to be broken in I thought, but other UE products I have reviewed didn’t need to be.
I hooked up the Triple.fis up to my amp cMoyBB amp (review coming very soon!) and let them play music for 20 hours or so and then put them back in. After this, things were completely different. One of my standard test tracks is “Dani California” by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Two things I look for in this song are around 0:45 there is this guitar riff that is very easily missed with mediocre speakers and headphones. Usually the riff is drowned out by the harmony. As with all of the in-ear monitors I’ve reviewed here, I could pick that part out. So it passed one test for decent IEM capabilities. If it passes this bar (which the Apple IEMs don’t, for instance), I listen carefully at 2:20 listening for a similar background riff. I have never heard this more clearly than with the TF 10 vis. Playing Antonio Vivaldi’s Four Seasons showed me the treble range. One flaw that many earphones have, though minor, but including even the UE Super.fi 4 vi’s, is that when both bass and treble are playing simultaneously– such as when both a bass guitar and a splash cymbal are playing, the bass can greatly drown out the treble. Because of the TF 10 vi’s (and pro’s) 3 driver system, this doesn’t happen at all.
So the Triple.fi 10’s are great… what’s the catch? Well for one, they are expensive. With a street price of >$330, these are more than likely more than your MP3 player cost. But what do you get for that money? The same driver system used in their custom lineup used by industry professionals and musicians. The accurate response and soundstage, which is almost unbelievable, are what cost so much. Other downsides: they look ridiculous in your ears and take up an enormous amount of space; they don’t sound $200 better than the Super.fi 5 IEM’s, and take a long time to figure out the best way to get them to fit properly in your ears.
The odd fit is mitigated by the fact that the cable is semi-rigid and will stay the way it’s bent near the ear. This makes it very easy to wrap around the ear pointing up. This is how I feel they fit the best, but YMMV. Also, the cable is actually the right length to do that, unlike the SF 5vi’s since the microphone is actually near your mouth now. Also, the cable is replaceable. This means that if the connector that goes to your iPhone or whichever device you own starts bending and eventually breaks (the most common failure of headphones that I have seen) you can just order a replacement set and not lose the majority of the $330 investment that you made.
Should you get these very expensive IEM’s? That’s really something only your budget can decide. The sound quality is impeccable. If you absolutely want the BEST in sound, from non-custom UltimateEars, get these. In fact only one other set of universal IEM’s even gets close, and that’s a $500 set of Shure earbuds. These are a much better value. If you don’t need the absolute best, get the Super.fi 5 earbuds and save yourself over half the money for only a little compromise. They look more normal too. These are for the person who must have the best, but not the person who wants the best value.
Concensus:
Triple.fi 10 vi - 9.0/10
[Ultimate Ears Triple.fi 10 vi] - $419.99 / $337.97 street
This may seem like an odd comparison but the truth of the matter is that both of these headphones are in the same street price range and they are both semi-open headphones. The Bose Triports may not seem like it from the picture, but that little mesh screen allows the headphones to be open to the outside world. Both of these headphones also reduce outside noise slightly, and have very good qualities in terms of sound reproduction.
The Bose Around-Ear headphones had a very comfortable fit; I could listen to them for hours without noticing them, but the Sennheiser fit was even better. The HD595s also came with a nifty table/shelf mount so you could hang the headphones up after. The construction quality of both appeared to be about the same, but from the experience of some of my friends, the Triports started falling apart so that they were loose within a few years and would squeak and turn in directions not designed to turn.
Now the important part: Sound quality. The Bose headphones had a very warm response. The frequency response graph isn’t flat however and the bass is raised above flat levels. This creates a warm ambience, and if one of the holes (one of the ports) are covered, the response is reverse. A very bright and tinny response is seen. This is how the HD595s are but much more flat– until you get into the 8,000+ hz range. At that point, the response graph goes crazy! It appears that the drivers in these headphones can’t reproduce some frequencies well at all (over -10db) but others are overproduced (+5db). The Bose headphones do this too, but not quite as badly.
Obviously the audience of these headphones are different, so you should choose based upon which type of music you listen to more. For bass heavy music, such as Rap, Hip Hop, R&B, and some Rock, the Triports will suit you better, while for Classical, Acoustic rock, and anything you need to monitor precisely, the HD595s should be the cans you choose. These are both great headphones, but I think the HD595s are better– not that all music sounsd best with them, but you can tell when you’re hearing well made music, and poorly made music. If you have to, use an equalizer. You can hear poorly mastered tracks much easier with the HD595 so don’t plan to use them with Satellite radio or 64kbps (maybe even 128kbps) MP3s. I’m going to try to get some HD650’s to compare the HD595’s to for monitoring music. Watch out for our next review
Concensus:
Bose Triport - 7.5/10
Sennheiser HD595 - 8.5/10
[Bose Triport] - $125.95 / $125.95 Amazon
[Sennheiser HD595] - $299.95 MSRP / $181 Amazon
As always, shop wisely because the street prices on these (and most other) headphones are much lower than from the manufacturer.
Just a quick note to our readers: Apple Stores will be pricematching this Black friday (Mac Mall’s sub $850 MacBook included). Get your wallets ready and save this BF at Apple retail stores.
Most electronics aficionados know that the best earbuds in terms of sound quality come from only a handful of manufacturers. Ultimate Ears, a company that’s only 13 years old, has risen from a small manufacturer to a very notable name in in-ear monitors. So notable that in fact that everybody I know has a favorite artist that uses them for their own studio buds. You may not know this, but this includes Incubus, The Killers, Metallica, The Rolling Stones, John Mayer, Maroon 5, Sheryl Crow, Aerosmith, and Linkin Park among others. That doesn’t even include non-musicians that use Ultimate Ears earbuds (Carmen Electra, Jessica Alba, Senator John Kerry, John Travolta… and the list goes on). You can check for yourself here. You WILL be amazed.
That gets us to our main point: Are the consumer level products that Ultimate Ears makes as good? If you read our review of the Super.fi 4vi’s, you would have seen that they can make an extremely capable product for a reasonable price (The street prices of these monitors is sometimes 40% off of the list price… Use the wonderful tool of Froogle). In my opinion, it is worthless to have an iPod with 160gb of free space if you’re juts going to listen to it through the stock tinny-as-hell earbuds since you’ll likely have better sound reproduction if you sing the song yourself. If you’re going to buy a $300 iPod, why would you skimp on the tool that allows you to hear the loads of music you have loaded onto it? You shouldn’t. If the 4vi’s were good, the 5 and 5vi’s are WONDERFUL!!
I listened to my usual sample list through both the 5 and 5vi monitors and noticed that the 5vi’s are slightly louder (maybe 5%). With a splitter and just one earphone from each in my ear at a time, the sound quality was exactly the same. With the 4vi’s and 5vi’s together, the 5vi’s blew the 4vi’s away. I gave the Super.fi 4vi’s a 9/10 because of the sound quality, value, and aesthetics… but I feel badly now because these are at least one point better, but still not quite perfect. There is only one caveat which applies to the vi model only. These in-ear monitors are said to work just as well upside down, but that makes it so the microphone isn’t near your mouth and thus not quite as audible to a caller. But the price difference between the 5 and 5vi is so little that I can only recommend getting the 5vi model in case you eventually get a phone that supports it since it works in regular headphone ports too. And… the BEST PART, these come with FOAM TIPS!!!!! This allows them to reduce noise MUCH better than the 4vis and have bumped these earbuds up to the rating that they are. After going back to other earbuds, my ears yearn to listen through the 5vis again. These are keepers, and as of now, these are the best earbuds that I have ever used… surpassing the previous 4 reviewed, Bose Triport earbuds, Etymotic ER6i’s… pretty much anything close to this price range. To top it off, they’re still comfortable after wearing them for 4 hours.
Concensus:
Super.fi 5 and Super.fi 5vi - 9.5/10
The Apple Sauce considers these HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
[Ultimate Ears Super.fi 5] - $169.99
[Ultimate Ears Super.fi 5vi] - $189.99
The OtterBox Impact case for the 3G is well-designed. The basic skin is made of silicone rubber—a durable, expensive material that’s best for this job. All but the touch face and the switches and plug-ins are protected. But the silicone is thin in most areas and thick in the corners, where impacts will occur. The corners are also reinforced to add to the durability. Thus the overall package is lightweight but highly protective. It would be difficult to damage the iPhone when it is dropped a few feet onto any flat surface. I had no problems accessing the orifices, which are all readily available and do not require flipping a cover open. Overall, this is a very good product, well thought out and effective.
Concensus:
OtterBox Impact 3G – 9.5/10
[OtterBox Impact 3G] - $19.95
With all the last minute info coming light just hours before the announcement. It is very easy to overlook something.
MacBook Pro
$1099: 2.1 GHz, white, 1 GB memory, 120 GB disk
$1299: 2.4 GHz, white, 2 GB memory, 160 GB disk
$1499: 2.4 GHz, black, 2 GB memory, 250 GB disk
MacBook
$1299: 2.0 GHz, 2 GB memory, 160 GB disk
$1499: 2.4 GHz, 2 GB memory, 250 GB disk
-Wired
Why is it that the highest end Macbook Pro only has a 2.4ghz CPU? While the current generation has a max of 2.6ghz. I truly believe the next generation of Macbook Pros to have quad core CPUs.
Another thing that has yet to be talked about since all these leaks is whether or not they will have Blu-ray players, unfortunately I take this as a sign that they have not been included in this model refresh.
Engadget recently recieved an annomous picture claiming to be the newest update in the Nano line, planned to be announced this Thursday. In my opinion it is the real deal, to top it off it is in my favorite color 
Today invites went out to reporters informing of an event on September 9th. This is assumed to be the yearly event when new iPods are announced. It was also assumed that new Macbooks would too be announced, however it appears that will not happen until later in the year.
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We really want to shake things up with the website reboot, so we are preparing a PC built for less than $1,000 to face off against one of those $5,000 Mac Pros. This definitely is not your average “I’m a PC Campaign” stunt. We here at theApplesauce love Apple, they create some amazing operating systems and software. But they don’t make their hardware, they just pick homogenized year old parts and sell them for 5x their actual worth. So in the next few weeks we will show you how to build your own Mac Killer… That runs OSX… And won’t make you bankrupt!
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