One of the popular questions that I have been asked is how you can share contact with others on iPhone.

Three months ago, I have posted 3 great ways to forward a contact to your friends or co-workers. They should work for you but they’re not perfect. And, the solutions depend on 3rd party applications.

With the release of iPhone 3.0, Apple finally built this feature into iPhone and allows you to share contacts with others via MMS (not available for all carriers) or email natively.

To share a contact on iPhone 3.0, simply view your contact and you’ll see a new button called “Share contact”. Tap on it and select MMS/Email to send out the contact. (For those without MMS enabled, you’ll not be prompted with the option and your contact will be sent out via email)

The contact is delivered in a standard vCard format. When you or your friend receive an email with vCard attached, simply tap on the attachment and you can add the contact.

I’ll continue to post other iPhone tips about iPhone 3.0 OS. So, stay tuned.

One of the notable features that comes with iPhone OS 3.0 is Push Notification, that allows you to be notified in background even you have closed the application. Push notification is particularly useful for instant messaging application.

However, for those using jailbroken iPhone (especially 2G), you may find Push Notification does not work for you. Thanks for iPhone Dev Team again. They work really hard and bring us a PushFix to rectify the Push Notification problem.

How to Fix Push Notification

The PushFix is now available on Cydia and you can simply follow the procedures to install the fix.

Note: PushFix is still under testing and not officially released yet. I have installed it on two 2G iPhones and they work. But use at your own risk. If you’re not adventurous, you better wait for an official fix from iPhone Dev team.

1. Launch Cydia

2. Tap “Manage” and then tap “Sources”

3. Tap “Edit” button and then tap “Add” button.

4. Type in “http://cydia.iphoneil.net” for the cydia/apt URL and tap “Add Source”. Cydia will then verify the URL and register the repository URL. When complete, tap “Return to Cydia” to continue.

5. Once registered, tap “iPhoneil.net” and look for “Push Fix”. Tap on it.

6. Then tap “Install” button, followed by “Confirm” to install PushFix.

7. Wait until the install process completes and tap “Reboot Device” to restart iPhone

8. After reboot, it’s supposed the installation of PushFix is complete. But you can go to launch YouTube for verification. If you can successfully launch YouTube, that means the Push Notification is fully installed. Otherwise, go back to step 1 and install the PushFix again.

9. Finally, re-install those iPhone applications (say, BeejiveIM) that support Push Notification again to enjoy Push Notification on jailbroken iPhone.

Note: You may require to configure your email or Wifi password again after installing the PushFix.

So far, the PushFix works fine for me and I can still receive instant message from friend even I quit BeejiveIM.

The Stack feature on Mac OS X will soon be ported to iPhone 3.0. Steven Troughton-Smith, the developer behind Stack 3.0 for iPhone, has posted a video preview of this application.

If you do not have Mac background, you probably haven’t heard of Stack. Stack is simply a quick-launch menu in the Dock that lets you quickly access your favourite or recently-opened applications. The developer has ported this slick feature to iPhone 3.0 and it looks pretty awesome.

The application is now under private testing and will soon release to public. As usual, this application only works on jailbroken iPhone.

To learn more about how Stack works, check out the video:

Finally, iPhone Dev team changed their mind and released redsn0w 0.8 to jailbreak iPhone 3GS. Redsn0w 0.8 is a light-weight and easy-to-use jailbreak tool to jailbreak iPhone 2G, 3G and 3GS, as well as, iPod Touch 3.0. It supports Windows, Mac OS and Linux platform.

Redsn0w should not be new to you, if you have already jailbroken your iPhone 2G/3G on iPhone 3.0. The latest version (i.e. 0.8) of redsn0w adds the jailbreak support for iPhone 3GS, as well as, comes with the below fixes (according to Bigboss):

1. Proper kernel patches which will enable logome (after it’s updated for 3.0).
2. Supports Mobilesubstrate and Winterboard on iPhone 3GS

Unlock iPhone 3GS using Ultrasn0w

Along with the update of redsn0w, iPhone Dev Team also releases ultrasn0w 0.8 to add the support of iPhone 3GS unlock. As claimed by the team, stability of ultrasn0w should be drastically improved.

The new version of ultrasn0w can still be used for iPhone 3G unlock. So, if you experienced any unlock problem on ultrasn0w 0.6, you may try out the latest version.

Tip: For iPhone 3GS user, after running ultrasn0w, you may need to go to Settings->General->Reset and tap Reset Network Settings to make it work.

You can download redsn0w 0.8 (Windows / Mac) from Bigboss. For the jailbreak procedures, it should be very similar to the old version of redsn0w and you can check out the jailbreak guide here.

Mac users, this is a great news for you. GeoHot has ported Purplera1n, the jailbreak tool for iPhone 3GS, to Mac OS X.

A couple days ago, the developer only released the purplera1n for Windows. And now, most Mac users can enjoy the jailbreak of iPhone 3GS.

Same as the Windows version, I’ll walk you through the procedures for the jailbreak. But before I show you the steps, make sure you read through the below points:

1. First, purplera1n is still in beta and this guide is for Mac. For Windows user, please check out the jailbreak guide here.
2. Purplera1n is designed specifically for iPhone 3GS jailbreak. Let me repeat it’s for iPhone 3GS. If you’re looking for jailbreak guide for iPhone 3G or 2G, please refer to the guide here (Windows / Mac).
3. Make sure you’re using iTunes 8.2.
4. Same as other jailbreak methods, use at your own risk (though it has been proved to work on some iPhones) and jailbreaking will void the warranty.
5. Also, jailbreaking with Purplera1n does not support Winterboard and voipover3g.

Okay, if you’re sure to go for the jailbreak, read on and follow the procedures. It’s very straightforward.

Procedures to jailbreak iPhone 3GS

1. First, download purplera1n from www.purplera1n.com. You can click on the Mac icon to download the purplera1n.zip.

2. Extract the purplera1n.zip and then connect your iPhone 3GS via USB

3. Launch purplera1n that you have just extracted.

4. Click “Make it ra1n” button and wait. It’ll automatically put your iPhone into recovery mode, jailbreak and reboot.

5. After reboot, you should find a new icon called “Freeze” installed. Tap to launch it and tap the “Install Cydia” button to install cydia.

6. Once installation completes, reboot your iPhone.

That’s it. After reboot, you can launch Cydia and install other 3rd party applications.

Tip: You can download ultrasn0w via Cydia and use it to unlock iPhone 3GS.

While we’re waiting for iPhone Dev team to release the jailbreak tool for iPhone 3GS, let’s try the alternative way to jailbreak the new iPhone using Purplera1n. In this post, I’ll go through step-by-step with you how you can use Purplera1n for the jailbreak.

Before we dive into the jailbreak, there are a few things you should note:

1. First, purplera1n is now still in beta and available for Windows only. For Mac user, please refer to this guide.
2. Purplera1n is designed specifically for iPhone 3GS jailbreak. Let me repeat it’s for iPhone 3GS. If you’re looking for jailbreak guide for iPhone 3G or 2G, please refer to the guide here (Windows / Mac).
3. Make sure you’re using iTunes 8.2.
4. Same as other jailbreak methods, use at your own risk (though it has been proved to work on some iPhones) and jailbreaking will void the warranty.
5. Presently, jailbreaking with Purplera1n does not support Winterboard and voipover3g.

Okay, if you have read the above points and am sure to go for jailbreaking, read on for the jailbreak procedures.

Procedures to jailbreak iPhone 3GS with Purplera1n

1. First, download purplera1n from www.purplera1n.com. You can click on the Windows icon to download the purplera1n.exe

2. Connect your iPhone 3GS via USB

3. Launch purplera1n.exe that you have just downloaded.

4. Click “Make it ra1n” button and wait. It’ll automatically put your iPhone into recovery mode, jailbreak and reboot.

5. After reboot, you should find a new icon called “Freeze” installed. Tap to launch it and tap the “Install Cydia” button to install cydia.

6. Once installation completes, reboot your iPhone.

That’s it. After reboot, you can launch Cydia and install other 3rd party applications.

While GeoHot released the first-ever jailbreak solution (known as Purplera1n) for iPhone 3GS, the iPhone Dev team also posted a demo video to show off how ultrasn0w can unlock the new iPhone 3GS.

But please keep in mind that this is just a demo only. The iPhone Dev team has decided to postpone the release of Jailbreak tools until the release of iPhone 3.1. So, right now please be patient.

Or if you’re adventurous, you may try out Purplera1n to jailbreak iPhone 3GS.

You probably think iPhone Dev team finally decides to release the jailbreak solution for iPhone 3GS.

But it’s not…

The first jailbreak solution for iPhone 3GS is released by GeoHot, who is the same guy that developed an unlock solution for the 1st generation iPhone dated back to 2007.

GeoHot named the jailbreak application as Purplera1n, which is now in Beta and available for Windows only (but no Windows 7 support). The developer also mentioned the Mac version will be released shortly.

Earlier, iPhone Dev Team posted a note that they have found a solution to jailbreak iPhone 3GS but considered to release the tool to general public until iPhone 3.1 debuts for certain reason. It seems like GeoHot doesn’t agree with the dev team as he mentioned in his blog:

Normally I don’t make tools for the general public, and rather wait for the dev team to do it. But guys, whats up with waiting until 3.1? That isn’t how the game is played. We release, Apple fixes, we find new holes. It isn’t worth waiting because you might have the “last” hole in the iPhone. What last hole…this isn’t golf. I’ll find a new one next week. Also your purplera1nyday files ensure that you can always get back to a jailbroken state, so if you have it it’s just a matter of tools.

To jailbreak iPhone 3GS, you can head to purplera1n.com and download the purplera1n.exe. Make sure you’re using iTunes 8.2 and run the program on Windows with iPhone 3GS connected via USB.

Please note the jailbreak program is still in beta and I do not have a chance to test it. If you’re adventurous and can’t wait for other jailbreak solution, you can go ahead to try it out. But remember to backup your iPhone via iTunes before you take any jailbreak action. And, do come back and leave us message about the jailbreak result.

Note: Purplera1n is designed for iPhone 3GS jailbreak. If you’re looking for jailbreak solution for iPhone 2G or 3G, please check out this jailbreak guide (Windows / Mac)

Other than those prominent features (e.g. video editing, voice control), iPhone 3GS has come with some minor but nice touches. One of them is the battery percentage switch in Settings that allows you to change the battery life indicator to percentage representation.

I’m sure not all of you are using iPhone 3GS or have any plan for the upgrade. But you probably want to use this precise battery meter to show the battery life on iPhone 2G/3G.

In this post, I’ll walk you through and show how you can change the battery indicator to percentage form. And, don’t worry. This guide is not just designed for iPhone 3GS and it applies to all iPhones (to be exact, jailbroken iPhone).

For iPhone 3GS

1. Go to “Settings”

2. Tap General -> Usage

3. You can easily change the battery indicator to percentage by turning ON the “Battery Percentage” option.

For other iPhone users

I’m not sure why Apple does not release this minor feature to older version of iPhone. But if you have jailbroken iPhone, you can also change to battery percentage with minor tweak.

Tip: If you haven’t jailbroken your iPhone, you can follow this jailbreak guide for iPhone 3.0 (Windows / Mac).

1. Launch Cydia

2. Search for SBSettings and install it

3. Once you complete the installation, you can launch SBSettings by swiping across the status bar.

4. Tap “More” button in SBSettings

5. Tap “Extras & Options” and turn ON “Numeric Battery”

6. Click Home button to go back to home screen and you’ll notice that the battery indicator changes to percentage.

As always, leave me comment and let me know if this works for you.

For those who are waiting for Backgrounder’s support for iPhone 3.0, this is a good news for you. Backgrounder has released a new version to support iPhone 3.0. You can now use this cydia app on jailbroken iPhone and put application to run in background.

However, don’t expect Backgrounder comes with all features as its predecessor. It’s a preliminary release and provides basic function. All the optional features (e.g. badges) are not available for this release. But hopefully, they will be available soon.

You can install the Backgrounder app via Cydia. To use Backgrounder app to run iPhone app (e.g. BeejiveIM) in background, simply press and hold the Home button for a while until you see the “Backgrounding Enabled” message.

To disable backgrounder, press and hold the Home button again until you see the “Backgrounding Disabled” message.

If you’re new to Backgrounder application, you can further refer to this post for details.

Facebook is one of my favourite iPhone application. Joe Hewitt, the core developer of Facebook’s iPhone application, has posted a note on Facebook that a new version of the app will soon be released.

As described by Joe, the upcoming Facebook release will add numerous features:

1. The “new” News Feed
2. Like
3. Events (including the ability to RSVP)
4. Notes
5. Pages
6. Create new photo albums
7. Upload photos to any album
8. Zoom into photos
9. Easier photo tagging
10. Profile Pictures albums
11. A new home screen for easy access to all your stuff, search, and notifications
12. Add your favorite profiles and pages to the home screen
13. Better Notifications (they link to the comments so you can reply)
14. Quickly call or text people right from the Friends page
15. Messages you are typing will be restored if you quit or are interrupted by a phone call

If you’re regular Facebook user, you’ll love the new version that allows you to accept event invitation, create new photo album, etc.

The developer does not give the exact release date but you can expect it to release shortly. Stay tuned.

Though Apple does not disclose any details about the iPhone 3.1 beta update, some iPhone developers have downloaded the beta firmware and found out the new features come with this update:

Here are the known features and possibly more to come soon:

For iPhone User:

1. (For iPhone 3GS only) Now Video Editing gives you the option to trim your clip then “Save as copy…” rather then replacing the original video clip.
2. (For iPhone 3GS only) Voice Control works over Bluetooth.
3. iPhone now vibrates when arranging icons.
4. Updated AT&T profile to 4.2
5. The baseband version is updated to 5.08.01. This will fix the holes used by ultrasn0w and makes ultrasn0w fail to unlock iPhone 3G. So, don’t upgrade to iPhone 3.1 beta if you need to unlock iPhone 3G

For developers:

1. OpenGL and Quartz got improved.
2. APIs to allow third party apps to access videos and edit them.

Stay tuned to keep update about iPhone 3.1 news.