This was my first experience purchasing an app in the Cydia Store, and it was pretty painless.  I verified through my Google account first (you can also do so through Facebook), then paid with my Amazon Payments account.  I had 3G Unrestrictor installed in a few seconds.

So does it work?  It’s been working perfectly for me.  This is a much more polished approach to tricking your iPhone - you can add apps you would like to trick directly in the app without a reboot or respring - no more hunting for package names and SSH’ing into your iPhone.  Well worth the $2 in my opinion.

The author had version 1.0.1 out the day after release, so hopefully we’ll see some good support through Apple’s inevitable software updates.

Having issues?  Comment below!

I’ve been using NuevaSync’s free service since it began last year to sync my contacts.  I’m an Outlook user and my contacts live there, so I exported them to my Gmail account and signed up for NuevaSync’s free service using the Exchange interface.  It’s not a great solution because my contacts don’t stay synced unless I manually export from Outlook to Google, and if I remove the NuevaSync Exchange account on my iPhone, I lose all of my contact info.  Not a very elegant.

But now NuevaSync offers an email service as well that provides push functionality from a variety of email solutions (including Gmail).  This comes at a price of $25.  It’s certainly cheaper than MobileMe, if not less robust.  I figure I’ll give it a year since they provided me with the free contact syncing for a while, and see where their product goes.

So far, the pushes have been very fast - only a few seconds behind my BlackBerry.

I should note that NuevaSync’s service also provides calendar synchronization, which is a very big deal for many people.  I use the BlackBerry for that, so I haven’t bothered with that feature.

I have heard rumblings of Google providing synchronization services using Exchange - that would be perfect for my needs.  I wonder if this will happen, because that would very likely take paying customers from Apple’s MobileMe service.

So I now have my shiny 3GS safely jailbroken using the Iphone Dev Team’s latest tools, and happily running Intelliscreen and Elert, along with my other favorite JB apps like SBSettings.  But I am missing one of the best hacks from the the OS 2.0 days…Tricker ThreeG and VoipOver3G to allow SlingPlayer on my iPhone 3GS.

If you’ve ready the other articles on this blog, you’ll see I had to be among the first to get the SlingPlayer app for the iPhone and promptly use VoipOver3G to allow me to stream over the 3G network.  That worked flawlessly, but now I hear gossip about possible application theft - is Tricker ThreeG just VoipOver3G with a donation link, or just gone from Cydia to get retooled for the 3GS?  (Read here and here for slightly more information).

Someone will figure this out soon - until then, I’m still pretty happy playing with all of the other new 3.0 apps.

UPDATE: As reader John Michael points out in the comments below, Jordan Clark has released Tricker ThreeG in Cydia, which is an alternative to using VoIPover3G for those who don’t wish to modify the VoIPover3G file.  Tricker ThreeG is a nice one step solution to get SlingPlayer working on 3G.  (Thanks John and Jordan!)

Jailbreakers rejoice!  SlingPlayer works over 3G using VoIPover3G!  Read on for our first impressions of the app and how quickly you realize that 3G is a must for this app.

First impressions:

Wow, it’s just as easy to spend $29.99 as it is $.99.  I wonder if the people who bought the “I am Rich” app for $999.99 felt like this.

Installed easily enough, and found my SlingBox by simply using my regular Sling email/password.  The interface is indeed quite nice, reponse is a bit sluggish, but many times better than my Orb setup.

WiFi only is simply unacceptable.  Out on the deck, the WiFi was spotty and lost connection.  Must fix.

Installed VoIPover3G from Cydia.  Tried to SSH insto my phone to find out what the SlingPlayer bundle indentifier is.  Realized I didn’t have SSH installed yet (since my last OS update).  Threw in Boss Prefs for good measure.

After SSH’ing using WinSCP and following this guide, I found that the bundle identifier is “com.slingmedia.SlingPlayer”.  Added that to “/Library/MobileSubstrate/DynamicLibraries/VoIPover3G.plist”.

Did a soft restart, then disabled WiFi to see if SlingPlayer will start up….SUCCESS!

Watched the last few minutes of a Dane Cook special on Comedy Central - seemed to work just about as well as when WiFi is enabled.  Admittedly, a very early observation.

That’s all for now - glad to see that this will work over 3G with VoIPover3G.

1. It’s $29.99
2. WiFi only - it won’t work over 3G or Edge

These are 2 pretty big caveats if you ask me - the price is in line with Sling’s other mobile options, but when  you remove the ability to stream over the cellular network, you remove the single biggest reason for having the player in the first place.  There are clearly many reasons for this - most notably, the huge influx of bandwidth that AT&T would have to furnish - but I still have a hard time paying the same price for software that is missing its biggest feature.  In my opinion, the price should reflect this.

That being said, this site exists to chronicle gadgetry, and we will certainly be giving our thoughts on SlingPlayer installation on the iPhone as well as a full review.  I know one big question the jailbroken community will be asking is whether or not apps such as voipover3g will be able to get around the WiFi requirements - stay tuned, because we’ll be trying that out.

Also, look for a comparison for SlingPlayer vs. the Have/Orb solution we currently have on our iPhones.  Hopefully, Hava will be able to learn a few things from the Sling AppStore applicaiton process and we’ll get some competition in this field (and lower prices).

Sound off below and add any questions you’re looking to get answered with our SlingPlayer coverage.

The big question about the Slingbox app other than the normal interface, streaming quality, and overall responsiveness - how much is this thing going to cost?  Hava has reportedly said that they won’t charge for their iPhone app, and SlingMedia currently charges a steep $40 for their application other mobile devices.

Before the App Store came around and bottomed out the price of mobile software, $40 wasn’t that uncommon for a good app.  That was necessary in order for software companies that wrote what many times amounted to “botique software” to make a profit.  Now with iTunes’ amazing distribution capabilities, you can charge a fraction of the original price and get a huge response for a much larger install base.

Let’s just hope SlingMedia can keep up with the inevitable flood of support requests on their website, and that their software is relatively bug-free.

Anyone watching “24″ on Fox probably can’t help but giggle a little whenever the show talks about the magical “CIP device” .  For those of you who don’t watch, it is a tiny firewall-destroying device that can tunnel through those internet tubes and allow its user to hack into everything from any air traffic control tower in America down to water plants, and presumably, your grandfather’s pacemaker.  Yes, it’s the ultimate in “applied gadgetry”, and lucky for us, it’s also the ultimate “plot device”.

Use those powers for good, not evil

I have to actually send a check (a check!) to my water company, every 3 months.  If I had one of those CIP devices, I bet I could hack in and pay my bill every month.  But once I hacked in, how would I control the fate of thousands?  According to “24″, I’d be able to poison the water supply.  Is there a “Release Poison” button that we should know about?

What you will need

1. A PC (Vista, XP Service Pack 2, or XP Media Center Edition) with a TV Tuner installed. I’ll use a Hava Platinum HD Media Streamer as a “wireless” TV Tuner.
2. Orb installed on a PC (free, link)
3. OrbLive installed on your iPhone ($9.99, link opens AppStore)

1. Install TV on your PC (If you already have this, skip to step 2)

As I mentioned above, I use a Hava Media Streamer as my TV Tuner. At first, I had a USB TV Tuner, but that meant I needed a separate computer next to my set top box. Instead, I bought a Hava Platinum streamer from Amazon for $79, hooked it up to my home network (I have an ethernet jack by my set top box), and ran component video cables and audio cables from my set top box to the Hava. I also attached the IR blaster that came with the Hava to the set top box - very important and necessary to change channels. After connected all cables, I ran the installation disk. This installs the PC Player and the drivers that enable your computer to use Hava as a TV Tuner.

During the Hava setup, I was able to choose my set top box. I have AT&T U-Verse, and was happy to see it as an option.

Important: There is an option that asks if you need to press “OK” or “Enter” to change channels. On my U-Verse, you actually don’t have to do this, but the U-Verse set top box turns off after a while, so you’ll need to say yes to this so your box “wakes up”. The setup automatically configures the IR Blaster for changing channels and emulating the U-Verse remote control.

Do you have Windows Media Center installed? If yes, continue below, otherwise go to step 2.

In my case, I have Windows Vista Ultimate (which includes Media Center), so I fired up Windows Media Center and it detected a new TV Tuner. For this setup, I told Media Center that I did not have a set top box. You need to do this because the Hava drivers will take the command directly from Orb on what channel to change, so Media Center acts as a sort of middleman. I continued the setup and was able to successfully watch TV and change channels with Media Center.

2. Install Orb on your PC

Now that your TV Tuner is installed, you’ll need to install and configure Orb. Orb will detect if you have a TV Tuner installed. Choose “Yes” to configure live TV. When asked if you have a set top box, answer “No”.

If you have Media Center, Orb will ask if you use it for Live TV. Since we just set that up above, answer Yes. Enter you zip code and look for your local listings based on the set top box you have and complete your installation.

If you don’t have Media Center, you need to specify the type of connection. Answer “cable”, and continue. Orb will scan for channels. A few members on the MyHava forums said at this step, they entered a channel number and ensured Orb could change the channel. I don’t believe you have to do this for each channel, because Orb will download your program guide based on your zip code, and will retrieve the channel and guide information for you. Continue and complete installation.

Once Orb starts up, it may take a few minutes for your guide to be updated. Some have reported issues recently on the Orb forums regarding issues with program guides - I had to be a bit patient, but my guide showed up after several hours.

3. Install OrbLive on your iPhone

Now for the easy part - go to the AppStore and get OrbLive. You can try OrbLive Free first - this app lets you choose from 3 randomly selected channels to make sure your configuration works. This is a good test for those who want to make sure everything is set up right before spending 10 bucks.

4. Success! Live TV!

Now you should be able to start the OrbLive application and choose Video - TV - Live TV, and your guide should be displayed. Choose a channel and enjoy live TV!

Please comment below with any errors or omissions in this article, and happy streaming!

The Competition

Orb, SlingMedia, and Hava are all vying for their spot on your iPhone. Orb started it all when they released OrbLive to those with Jailbroken iPhones and iPod Touches back in May. They they went all legit and got approval to move to the AppStore last November, charging $9.99 for the effort. Some were upset, as Orb had always been free, but I always wondered how Orb made any money…I guess they needed their payday.

SlingMedia recently announced that they would be bringing their own player to the iPhone. SlingMedia is the clear front runner for streaming media over the internet, so it will be great to see some competition in the iPhone TV realm. It should be ready sometime in the first quarter - let’s hope that means by March 31st.

Hava followed suit and also announced their own iPhone application to be released in the second quarter. Applied Gadgetry can’t wait to compare these two applications back to back

Until either of these apps is released, let’s look at how to stream live TV today.