Preface
Jason Chen over at Gizmodo, 2+ years ago threw down the gauntlet and started the iPhone Hacker Challenge: Make the Nike+ iPhone Work With Nike+ Sport Kit. To my knowledge no one yet has successfully met this challenge until now.
At first I kept watching and hoping Apple/Nike would support the iPhone 3G. With each new firmware update the rumour mill would start and people would say finally Nike+ would be available on the iPhone 3G. Sadly it still isn’t and the rumours are getting quieter and fewer with each passing update.
This is nothing more than a proof of concept – to say that the iPhone 3G has no technical limitations to being able to run Nike+. It might not have the built in hardware like its big sister, the 3GS, but neither does the Nano and it at least gets a receiver. Maybe the battery will drain faster, maybe there are incompatibly issues with other accessories and it is a necessary trade-off, or maybe tethering won’t work, but whatever the reason(s) is, my hope for releasing this proof of concept is to get Apple/Nike to reconsider their decision and support the iPhone 3G. I believe there are a group of consumers that would gladly spend money on the Nike+ Sport Kit if they are able to use it with their iPhone 3G.
Warning
I take no responsibility for the method described below. I am simply describing the method I used and what I found to have worked. This may or may not brick or otherwise damage your iPhone since this is something your iPhone wasn’t intended to do. And remember: this is the internet.
Other accessories, such as bluetooth handsfree headsets may or may not work. I don’t have any so I’m unable to confirm or deny.
If you still brave and willing to continue then please: Backup, Backup, Backup.
Requirements
Software
A method to decrypt the firmware - vfdecrypt
A method to extract the files from the firmware: I used Acute System’s Transmac
A method to copy files to your iPhone and ssh: I used winscp and putty
A method to edit plist files: I used plist Editor for Windows
ldid from Cydia for pseudo-signing – see here
iTunes v9 (I am running 9.0.2.25)
Additional Files
Firmware for the iPod Touch 2G v3.0 (7A341) – here
The firmware key
Patched iapd file – here or here
Hardware
A jailbroken iPhone 3G running v3.1.2 firmware (7D11) with SSH access
And obviously the all important Nike+ sensor and receiver kit
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Now that you have a fresh new install of Windows 7 on your Dell Mini 9 here are some tweaks to help out in making it just a little bit better.
Disable Hibernate
This one is almost a must since I had no space left an the 8GB SSD drive. Start Command Prompt as Administrator and then run:
C:\Windows\system32>powercfg -h off
You will now have an extra ~1 1/2 GB of additional free space
Reduce the Page File Size
I decided to play this safe and not disable the page file entirely but rather reduce it to the minimum 200MB. Right-click Computer –> Properties –> Advanced System Settings –> Advanced Tab –> Settings under Performance –> Advanced Tab –> Change under Virtual Memory.
You can run without any page file but if you do run out of memory, apps will likely crash.
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I recently picked up a Dell Mini 9 which came pre-installed with Windows XP and a load of Dell software that I didn’t want or need – apparently MS Works is still alive and well. So wanting to make my new netbook more dated, I decided to install Windows 7 Beta.
Without an external DVD-ROM drive the setup was a little more involved – mainly having to install Windows 7 from a USB drive. So without further ado, if you are thinking of do this as well here is the process:
Here is what you will need:
- 1 x Windows 7 Install x86 Media (I used Beta build 7000)
- 1 x USB Drive (at least 4GB)
- 1 x working machine (the bootstrap machine)
- 1 x Dell Mini (the target machine)
- ~2hr x Time
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Ever since I got my first car – ipod integration was a necessity. My first car only had a cassette player so even CDs were out of the question. Not being mechanically inclined (I don’t even change my own oil, which reminds me…) I opted for the FM transmitter route. Plug one end of the cable into the cigarette lighter, the other into the ipod, tune both the transmitter and the stereo to the same change and presto you can listen to your ipod in the car.
There was 2 major downsides though – a) driving into another city and occasionally in the same city you would get interference and 2) my gps also needed to use my one and only cigarette lighter when it was low on power. Obviously trying to drive and change frequencies was out of the question (especially on the highway) and my gps ended up taking a backseat to my ipod.
So looking around for other options – new stereo that had an auxiliary in or ipod hook-up and then I saw ipod2car. Sure enough they had one at my local BestBuy for my VW Golf ’03 and reading the back of the box it seemed easy enough. AndI figured if I found that I was out of my element then I would get it “professionally” installed.
The ipod2car connects to the back of your factory (guessing also aftermarket) sterio, meaning you will need to disassemble your dash. Did I meantion I don’t even change my own oil. After a little bit of search vwvortex.com, I figured out that I need some special key that fit into the slots circled below and you will need 2 – one for each side. I opted for just 2 pieces of metal fit though mangled up my fingers pretty good. Once both keys are in the stereo will just slide out with a little pull.
The ipod2car connects to the back of the CD player so I also had to slide that out (easier once the stereo unit is out). Now there are 8 dip switches on the ipod2car box thingy you will need to set first. The manual that comes in the box is pretty clear on which ones need to be in which position for your model.
Once I had the ipod2car box thingy connected to the back of the CD player, it was a matter of running the wire from the box out to the dash so I could attach my ipod. Back to vwvortex.com and I figured out how to detach (hint: there are 3 screws on the bottom) the glove box just enough to get my hand in so I could pull the wire through. Now VW was nice enough to leave a hole in the top the glove box that I just pulled the wire through. Seems like they were anticipating this…
And then running the cable from the glove box to the centre dash
And the finished product
Now for my actual setup, I don’t actually have the ipod mounted like that. I don’t want to have to tuck away the ipod each time I park and it gets in the way of a bunch of the controls and the cup holders - but don’t let me persuade you from trying it out.
In order to use my ipod, I have to set the stereo to CD and then select CD Changer which isn’t a huge deal since it remembers. It is possible to control some aspects of the ipod from the stereo buttons – really just next, previous, skip forward and skip backwards. Everything I read online seemed to indicate that it wasn’t possible to have the song title or artist display on the stereo. This may be possible with newer stereos…
Pros
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Sound quality rivals playing a CD
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Discrete
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Easy enough to install (a most likely fairly inexpensive to have installed – think case of beer to your car friend)
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Pauses when you turn off the car and resumes from where you left off
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Cigarette lighter can now be used for other things
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Charges ipod when not playing
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Compatible with most car stereos and ipods (believe 1st & 2nd gen ipods aren’t supported)
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Widely available
Cons
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Next and previous on the stereo skip a song (i.e., next will go 2 songs ahead) – this may because I didn’t set the dip switches properly or one got flipped while trying to install it behind the CD Player
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Replaces CD Changer and/or Satellite Radio??
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Not as inexpensive or easy to install as the FM transmitter or cassette deck options
Next step, voice activation…
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