Filed under: Software, Internet Tools, iPhone
Installer.app beta for iPhone: Install, update iPhone apps over Wi-Fi
All sorts of interesting iPhone apps have sprouted up these past few weeks, but unless you're checking out our own Erica Sadun's excellent work with iPhone apps, they can sometimes be hard to find or install. While Apple wants us to keep twiddling our thumbs in anticipation for true apps to come to the iPhone (perhaps they are just waiting for Leopard), a new Installer.app (of course, a beta) could help simplify things by acting as an iPhone app management hub. Installer.app can install and update a good handful of iPhone apps (with more to come, I'm sure) over Wi-Fi, and uninstall them as well. Of course, you'll need to use
Thanks Abdul
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Randall said 10:54AM on 8-12-2007
How do you load this file into your phone using iFuntastic?
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WickDC said 11:24AM on 8-12-2007
WOW, perfect! And a "Launcher" now as well which is exactly what we need since SpringBoard won't scroll.
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grimmet said 11:31AM on 8-12-2007
upload via ifuntastic does not work (its not even implemented yet )
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David Chartier said 11:35AM on 8-12-2007
The latest version of iFuntastic, which came out last week:
http://www.tuaw.com/2007/08/07/ifuntastic-2-5-for-iphone-brings-full-file-browser-even-more-cu/
Offers a full iPhone file browser. As I understand it, all you need to do is use this browser (and there are others available) to place this new Installer.app into your iPhone's Applications directory, and *poof* it works.
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Cameron Hunt said 11:54AM on 8-12-2007
Damnit, include a link!
http://iphone.nullriver.com/beta.html
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Cameron Hunt said 11:59AM on 8-12-2007
@David Chartier
As far as I know, iFuntastic doesn't let you install apps, only change graphics ringtones, carrier logo and SpringBoard display.
Shaun Inman has a nice tutorial for Intel Macs:
http://www.shauninman.com/archive/2007/08/09/hacking_the_iphone_on_an_intel_mac
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Kras said 12:01PM on 8-12-2007
Thanks for the link! Thought I was blind, as I could not find the link on the post...
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David Chartier said 12:02PM on 8-12-2007
#6: Since the iPhone isn't technically open to 3rd party apps yet, you're right in that this isn't some kind of streamlined process. However, the iFuntastic 2.5 version that I linked in my comment:
http://www.tuaw.com/2007/08/07/ifuntastic-2-5-for-iphone-brings-full-file-browser-even-more-cu/
offers a full iPhone file browser. You can dig into every little nook and cranny of the iPhone's file system. With this new feature, you can place apps in the iPhone's /Applications folder to more or less install these applications.
Does that clear things up?
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David Chartier said 12:10PM on 8-12-2007
Sorry for forgetting a link in the post folks. FWIW, the 'Read' link at the bottom left of our posts typically links to whatever site or app we're talking about, though that word is admittedly a bit cryptic and we've had quite a bit of internal discussion about it as well, since it's used across all Weblogs, Inc. blogs.
A link has been added in the post itself, as that is typically our policy to help cut down on confusion like this. I simply forgot when I originally penned this.
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Cameron Hunt said 12:15PM on 8-12-2007
@8
On the iFuntastic release. Their page says:
"Check out the 'Browser' page:
You can edit and replace any graphic on the phone!
You can replace any system sound!
You can color your SMS balloons!"
From: http://www.iphonealley.com/news/ifuntastic-v2-5-0-released-now-includes-full-file-browser
It doesn't say you can install apps, because you can't.
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David Chartier said 12:18PM on 8-12-2007
#10: You're right that it isn't an 'official' installer like the Mac OS X Installer.app or Windows' Add/Remote Programs, but placing applications in that folder is actually how you get them to install and run on an iPhone. That's how people are getting Doom, that NES emulator we wrote about and all of Erica Sadun's apps like the screenshot snapper, voice recorder, etc. running.
So you're right, it isn't an 'official' app installer but it *is* the method people are using to get apps to install and run. Maybe the iFuntastic feature description needs to get tweaked a little bit, but this is the way that everyone is doing it.
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Patrick McCarron said 12:31PM on 8-12-2007
David you seem to be missing the point, iFuntastic doesn't allow you to upload applications to the iPhone. It doesn't have a fully functional file browser. It only allows those features mentioned in #10. The news that has been reported here, and other places, about the functionality of iFuntastic being a fully functional file browser is incorrect. Sure you can see all the folders, but you can't place things, delete things, etc.
The way people are getting the apps onto the iPhone is via SSH/SCP directly.
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David Chartier said 12:32PM on 8-12-2007
While I haven't used any of the command line apps (not SMRT enough), I hear stuff like iPhoneInterface and iPHUC (wonderful name, eh?) are also how people are installing these apps:
http://code.google.com/p/iphuc/
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David Chartier said 12:37PM on 8-12-2007
#12: Patrick, yea you're right. I have been confused. I saw the file browser in iFuntastic and figured that's what everyone was talking about. I'll update the post.
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Cameron Hunt said 12:39PM on 8-12-2007
@11
I know how to install apps on my iPhone, I got Terminal.app and Installer.app, but I seriously disagree that iFuntastic can be used to upload news files. It only replaces existing one.
Here's a screenshot of my iPhone via iFuntastic:
http://flickr.com/photos/shrimpdesign/1094657068/
Maybe people are using iFuntastic to jailbreak it (like I did) and THEN install SSH or something.
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Joel said 12:43PM on 8-12-2007
I'll have to pass until this process is a little more automated. It isn't that I can't follow instructions and "hack" my iPhone, but I just don't wanna take the time or effort. Playing around with iFuntastic is as far as I have taken things so far.
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Wes Morgan said 1:17PM on 8-12-2007
For those of you claiming that iFuntastic 2.5 can install apps on your phone, have you actually done it or are you assuming that it's possible because it now has a "file browser" feature?
iFuntastic 2.5 CANNOT install applications, as far as I can tell. (And it seems to be the consensus on the iPhone Alley Forums as well: http://www.iphonealley.com/forums/showthread.php?t=601)
If you know otherwise, please post a step-by-step how-to for those of dullards that can't figure it out.
Unless that happens, everyone should stop posting that iFuntastic 2.5 can install apps on the iPhone. It can't.
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kkabell said 1:19PM on 8-12-2007
http://wulffmorgenthaler.com/default.aspx?id=ec0e4676-c0d0-4b4b-a964-3e051fc3c98b
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Ben Englert said 1:56PM on 8-12-2007
This is quite simply excellent. I will so buy whoever wrote this a beer of six.
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Randall said 2:51PM on 8-12-2007
I installed this onto my phone, but it freezes whenever I try launching it. Is anyone else having this same problem?
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