iPhone IM Apps: eBuddy vs fring vs Palringo

Today we are going to compare the three popular iPhone Instant Messenging (IM) apps - eBuddy, fring and Palringo. As of today (16 July 2009), the three software are free to download and use. Each of these programs support MSN, Yahoo, Google Talk, Facebook and AIM.

To start with, Palringo, due to unknown problems, had never worked on the two iPod Touch in our lab. It quits when we press on the software button. Their official site says they support iPod Touch, and we don't know why.

fring has an advantage of in-software Skype SkypeOut calls (and of course you have to pay to use the SkypeOut function). Its fatal problem is that even if you delete/block someone in your contact list in MSN (or other IM), it still shows up in fring no matter how you set the options. This is extremely annoying if you accidentally added some unwelcomed "friends".
- Voice support and direct SkypeOut calls possible
- Skype support
- no flexibility in contact list
- Fring spam is on by default - your buddys will see annoying ads. Make sure you turn it off first.
- Advertisement pops out in an user unfriendly way
- Does not allow users to add friends with a period in the first half of email address

eBuddy is famous for being one of the earliest provider of browsed-based IM software.
- Unlike fring, you can do pretty much with your contact list, including deleting and renaming.
- With the iPhone OS 3.0 update, It also offers continous PUSH support for a customizable period of time (0, 5, 10 or 30 minutes) after user logs out and quit the program.
- It does not support Skype - and it does not support voice chat at all.
- AutoCorrect is disabled by default (but can turn on)
- No advertisement so far

In short, if we need Skype with MSN/Facebook/GTalk on at the same time, go fring. If we don't need Skype, eBuddy for sure. And we are using eBuddy.

Get your iPod Touch upgraded to 3.0 without paying the $9.95

Feel like being discriminated for iPhone users can upgrade for free while you have to spend an extra $10? We have two Touches in our workshop, and we have heard about the following method, which seemed legitimate (as we manage to get the file in apple.com), and we decided to try it.

We have tried the following methods on two iPod Touch 2nd Generation machines and found them working. We cannot guarantee that this trick works in every single machine though. We have not heard any failed attempts thus far.

Here is how this was supposed to work:
(Make sure your iPod isnt modified in some strange way.)
1) Get the "iPod1,1_3.0_7A341_Restore.ipsw" (for iPod Touch first generation) or "iPod2,1_3.0_7A341_Restore.ipsw" (for iPod Touch second generation) from the Internet. This file is basically available everywhere, including the Apple site.
2) Go to iTunes and click your device, and wait until it finishes synchonizing.
3) Hold down "Shift" key (on your keyboard) while clicking the "Recover" button.
4) Select the ipsw file you've just downloaded and saved.
5) The restore should work, all information in your iPod should vanish. Don't panic,
6) as iTunes will prompt you to restore the backup you just sync'ed.

iPod Touch's crappy keyboard.

If you use iPod Touch, you might be very furious that you can NEVER type certain words normally.
After you type "lom" you can never type an "o"; after you type "eun" you can never type an "i".
This is absurdly stupid, but it seems it's a shameless plot to make users fed up of an iPod Touch so that Apple can sell more iPhones.
Of the machines we have tested, only iPod Touch has the problem, but iPhone seems not to replicate this retarded (sorry, but this word is necessary) AutoCorrect.

Drastic price increase of Apple Store

With the launch of iPod Shuffle 3g(3rd Gen), a series of price revisions were taken place in Apple Stores all over the world.

Due to currency fluctuation, some products in Apple Store of various countries skyrocketed. Taiwanese users are already complaining about the price increase of iPod Nano. However, there are more extreme cases in South Korea, which our old post just covered a few days ago.

One week ago, iPod Touch 8G was 280,000 KRW (Korean Won) in South Korea. Now it is 36% more expensive: 379,000 won in official store.

Yes, this sounds a lot, but today's 379,000 KRW is more or less the 280,000 KRW one year ago.

iPod shuffle new generation launched

The Apple store is now loaded with iPod shuffle of the new generation. The most essential stuff you might want to know:

• $79
  
• 4GB
  
• 45.2 x 17.5 x 7.8mm
  
• 10.7 grams
  
• 3.5mm stereo headphone jack
  
• 10 hours music playback
  
• earphones, with remote, without microphone
• able to read mp3 file details (song title ametc) in various languages
  

With an MP3 small like this, it will be easily forgotten/lost if you are careless. Plus, when viewing from the front, lacking the distinctive style of buttons, you cannot really tell it's an Apple product.

(p.s. No, this time don't buy in Seoul, it's 129,000 won which is $83, and doesn't worth the work to tax refund. Just only hoard the iPod Touch there. In Hong Kong, iPod shuffle new gen is just 600 HK dollars = $77)

Discount iPod touch / iPod nano in Seoul

(note: by 11 March 2009, this article is obsolete due to a 36% increase in official price of Apple Korea. Read more)

Our team was on vacation for a few days, and we are just back from South Korea. In Seoul, where home appliances shops are hard to come by, we've found the rare shops selling Mac products in an amazing price.

As the exchange rate of South Korean Won (KRW) has been dropping significantly, prices of iPod products have been dropped to a very reasonable price.


This photo was taken in Frisbee in Myeongdong, the shopping street in Seoul. We were astonished to see that the price of iPod touch after tax (280,000 won minus tax = 263,000 won) could be as low as US$160 (US$1 = 1600 won as of 28 February). That's 30% off. If you somehow go to Korea, you might as well find this "Frisbee" shop in Myeongdong. Just don't forget to file a tax rebate.

iPod nano are in very attractive price too as the table. MacBook, on the contrary, is not as drastically cheaper as iPod series, so we didn't pay much attention to the price. There's no iPhone.