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iTunes store over EDGE

by Brett Terpstra May 26th 2008 at 1:00PM

Alex at iPhoneBlog.de (Germany) tipped us off to a simple "hack" they discovered while doing speed tests between EDGE and WiFi. It involves creating an ad hoc network with your computer or a hotspot and changing the default route of the network to point to the IP address of your EDGE connection. Accomplish that and you should be able to run applications over EDGE that are normally WiFi-only, such as the iTunes store.

I can't test it right now, but I'm sure that some of you will be eager to give it a shot. The speed tests in the video look decent considering the obvious handicaps. If you happen to sprechen Sie Deutsch you'll probably be able to glean more details from the post. You'll also want to check out the podcast on using Skype over EDGE.

Thanks, Alex!



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Alex at iPhoneBlog.de (Germany) tipped us off to a simple "hack" they discovered while doing speed tests between EDGE and WiFi. It involves...
 

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Niiro13

The problem is that you're limited to the Wi-Fi range. Why not just use the internet on the Wi-Fi? (unless in the rare case that they don't have internet)

Though there's a glitch I've encountered that makes the iPhone think it's on Wi-Fi while really it's on EDGE. There is no range limitation as it has been tested along a good distance of a highway.

Even the EDGE symbol shows...but it allows iTunes access and YouTube high quality videos.

Of course for YouTube, it took ~10 minutes for 15 seconds of a 30 second video to load...so it's kind of useless =/.

June 02 2008 at 5:43 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Eric Taylor

I had trouble getting this to work --

Could someone post a step-by-step using the commercial wifi method (as opposed to the ad-hoc network method)?

Cheers!

May 27 2008 at 11:09 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Dave

@Justin-

I suspect it would be pretty trivial for AT&T to packet shape away, if not outright block, any network traffic they suspect as being VOIP.

They may be looking the other way on all these other applications jailbreakers are using right now that use ports other than the standard HTTP and Mail ports, but once the traffic starts flowing that cuts into their precious "voice minutes" revenues, you can bet they'll plug it up quick.

May 26 2008 at 7:52 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Alexander Olma

Thanks for the article Brett!

May 26 2008 at 3:04 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
3 replies to Alexander Olma's comment
Blaktornado

No doubt Apple will plug it.

May 26 2008 at 2:48 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
2 replies to Blaktornado's comment
Christopher Price

My point was, Apple can't block it. This article is just pointing out using iPhone with Wi-Fi. The only twist is, the Wi-Fi is being powered by an unconventional source.

May 26 2008 at 6:24 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
GrizzlyAdams

Actually they can block this in a firmware update. They just have to enforce route and interface binding.

May 26 2008 at 9:33 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Christopher Price

This isn't anything new really. This is the same trick as using a 3G phone to provide iPhone with a 3G connection using Wi-Fi.

iPhone doesn't (can't) scrutinize where the internet is coming from once it's being fed a Wi-Fi connection.

It's also well known that Apple is only satisfying the demands of carriers by making the iTunes Store Wi-Fi only. And, the carriers have a good point... imagine AT&T customers trying to stream movie rentals over 3G? Their network is already overloaded in many areas...

- Christopher Price
http://www.PhoneNews.com

May 26 2008 at 1:49 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
3 replies to Christopher Price's comment
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