With Apple’s self-imposed June deadline for a public iPhone OS 2.0 release looming, hackers are working hard to ensure that tools for unlocking (allowing it to operate with non-sanctioned wireless carriers) and jailbreaking (allowing full read/write filesystem access and installation of unofficial third-party applications) the device remain intact after the OS upgrade is released.

Now the author of the most popular unlock/jailbreak tool for Mac OS X and Windows, “Zibri,” has vowed that his “ZiPhone” utility will work to unlock and jailbreak iPhones running OS 2.0 despite enhanced security measures developed by Apple.

Zibri writes:

“Firmware 2.0 will require a new iTunes version and a new “mobiledevice” framework. If it were for me I would not even bother to hack this version but I know many of you are going to upgrade so I will release a new ziphone version after the official release. I already patched activation (lockdownd) and unlock / Fake IMEI (baseband firmware).”

Some pre-release editions of iPhone OS 2.0 can already be unlocked and jailbroken with the use of Pwnage, a tool exploits a low-level vulnerability in the iPhone’s boot process to allow the installation of custom OS files. This has allowed users to install pre-release versions of the iPhone OS, such as OS 2.0, which normally require expressed authorization and a special signature from Apple.

Feedback? info@iphoneatlas.com.

It’s been months since Steve Jobs and Apple announced the iFund, a $100 million investment initiative managed by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers that will provide venture capital for “market-changing ideas and products that extend the revolutionary new iPhone and iPod touch platform” Several of our readers submitted applications to the iFund, but have yet to hear about the fate of their requests.

Seattle-based Pelago Inc. was the first company to receive backing through the iFund. The KPCB site says that Pelago’s social discovery service, Whrrl, will be available on the iPhone as a native application in June 2008.

If you’ve been accepted or rejected by the iFund please let us know at info@iphoneatlas.com.

Check Point has announced the availability of Check Point VPN-1 for the iPhone. The product enables an encrypted connection between the iPhone and their VPN-1 gateway protecting in-transit data according to the vendor. The software according to Bob Egner, Vice President of product management was developed to answer the increasing requests for a secure means of accessing corporate network and IT resources with the iPhone. Check Point is offering a simple configuration that provides instant, secure connectivity through their VPN-1 gateways. More information is available here. VPN-1 offers many administrative features that can take advantage of a shared secret password and certificates for all of the iPhones on your network.

Apple has posted a new Knowledge Base article about iPhone/iPod Touch backups that is definitely worth a read. The article describes when backups occur, the difference between syncing and backing up, and how to restore from backups. It also details the process for deleting unwanted backups:

“You can also use iTunes to create a backup of settings and certain other information on your iPhone or iPod touch to use in case you want to restore the software on your iPhone or iPod touch or transfer this information to a different device. Backup information includes information such as mail settings, text messages, notes, call history, contact favorites, sound settings, widget settings, certain network settings, and other preferences.”

Feedback? info@iphoneatlas.com.

The latest build of iPhone OS 2.0 (5a258f), now available to developers who have been accepted into Apple’s $99 iPhone Developer program, includes a feature dubbed “Import SIM Contacts” that presumably does as its name implies, extracting contacts stored on the SIM and copying them to the iPhone’s internal storage. Theoretically, this would allow SIM cards pulled from other phones to have contact information transferred to the iPhone permanent — assuming the cards came from the same carrier.

This task could previously be accomplished with some jailbreak applications like “SIMport,” though with mixed results.

Feedback? info@iphoneatlas.com.

AT&T introduced a new Text Accessibility Plan (TAP) for the iPhone today developed with the help of representatives from the hearing and speech impaired community. The plan was developed for people who are deaf, hearing impaired or have another speech or hearing loss disability.

The cost of the iPhone only TAP is $40.00 per month. TAP includes: unlimited SMS messages, unlimited data usage (email and web) and Visual VoiceMail (which would have limited use for the hearing impaired). Voice calling is available at $.40 per minute on a pay-per-use basis. So phone calls can be placed in an emergency if needed.

Customers need to qualify for TAP by submitting an application to the program.

The iPhone must be activated using the usual means of activation with iTunes. Once the iPhone is activated the customer can call the AT&T National Center for Customers with Disabilities to learn more about the iPhone TAP program. See the this site for more information.

Rogers Communications, the largest wireless carrier in Canada, will soon be carrying the iPhone. Atypically, however, the announcement comes directly from Ted Rogers, President and CEO of Rogers Communications, with no co-announcement from Apple and scant detail. Rogers’ statement reads only:

“We’re thrilled to announce that we have a deal with Apple to bring the iPhone to Canada later this year. We can’t tell you any more about it right now, but stay tuned.”

Speculation holds that the lack of detail — no specific release date, etc. — indicates the pending introduction of a 3G-capable iPhone. Rogers rolled out its 3G (HSPA) network in late 2007, for areas of Canada including Greater Vancouver, Victoria, Whistler, Calgary, Edmonton, FWinnipeg, Saskatoon, Ottawa/Gatineau, Greater Montreal, Quebec City and others.

Feedback? info@iphoneatlas.com.

We’d like to welcome David Martin to the iPhone Atlas editorial team. David has more than 20 years of experience in the industry as a programmer, systems and business analyst, author, and consultant. He cut his teeth on the memorable Commodore PET writing in BASIC doing advanced things with the POKE command, learned assembly language programming on the Commodore Vic 20 and C64, and later spent several years working on and testing Space Shuttle applications. Recently, David has produced a number of high-profile articles for MacLife. He comes to CNET’s iPhone Atlas with deep knowledge and passion for the iPhone/iPod Touch platform.

When David isn’t writing, you’ll find him spending time volunteering in his community, teaching, spending time with his Dachshund Bertha (and her new little buddy Gretchen), family or friends.

Though it’s somewhat buggy and a significant drain on battery, a new unofficial application distributed under the jailbreak umbrella allows users to replace the static wallpaper (background) image on their iPhones with dynamic videos in the .mov format.

In order to use this application, dubbed vWallpaper, use our guide to jailbreak your iPhone and get it ready for unofficial third-party applications. Next, add the software repository i.danstaface.net to Installer.app — as described under “Adding sources” in our guide.

Next you’ll need to put some movies on your phone in the appropriate directory. Follow these steps:

Install an SSH client or file transfter utility capable of transferring files via secure copy (scp), like Cyberduck for Mac OS X or WinSCP for Windows.

Determine your iPhone’s IP address — make sure your iPhone is connected to a Wi-Fi network, then get its IP address by tapping Settings, then “Wi-Fi,” — tap the arrow next to the name of the Wi-Fi network to which your iPhone and look at the IP Address.

• Connect to the iPhone in your file transfer utility, using the username root and password alpine
• If you’re using a command-line client (such as the Terminal in Mac OS X Type scp -r
• Put properly sized movie files (320×480, for the iPhone’s screen) in the following directories: /Applications/vWallpaper.app/Library/Skrew/Videos and /Library/Skrew/Videos. A modmyifone thread links to some great sample videos.
• Restart your iPhone, then use vWallpaper to set your wallpaper movie.

Below is a video demonstrating vWallpaper in action. Click here to see it if you’re on an iPhone.

Again, this application has some bugs and can cause problems with battery life as well as conflicts with other applications, but it certainly qualifies as a stellar concept.

Feedback? info@iphoneatlas.com.

The latest build of the iPhone SDK (beta 4) and accompanying iPhone OS 2.0 beta release (5A258f) include support for “active” and “inactive” applications. Though some developers initially interpreted this inclusion as the addition of the ability to run third-party applications in the background — a notable omission from the initial SDK. However, it appears that the new capability only allows third-party applications to remain active while the device is locked (asleep) or there is an overlaid window.

Apple’s documentation reportedly states: “When an application is inactive, it is executing but is not dispatching incoming events. This occurs when an overlay window pops up or when the device is locked.”

Regarding the use of background processes, Apple’s documentation still says:

“Only one iPhone application can run at a time, and third-party applications never run in the background. This means that when users switch to another application, answer the phone, or check their email, the application they are using quits.”

Feedback? info@iphoneatlas.com.