Photo credit: © tap tap tap
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UPDATE: Based on Dean’s comment below, at 10:40: am CDT, I deleted and redownloaded Camera+ to my iPhone 2G, where I had NOT previously performed this feature unlock. Sure enough, the unlock didn’t work on this newly downloaded copy of Camera+. The app still says version 1.2.1. It may be because the “exploit” has already been closed and a revised version of Camera+ has quietly been uploaded to the App Store — that was fast. Or, perhaps the hack doesn’t work on an iPhone 2G. I’m still able to use VolumeSnap on my iPhone 4 where I’d applied the hack on an installed copy.
Purchase, update or reinstall Camera+ at your own discretion. At this point, the hack may not work with the app. Or it simply may not work with your device.
Are you getting this unlock to work? Let us know in the comments below.
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Camera+ is one of the best, most full-featured camera replacement apps in the App Store currently. Click here to read our recent review of the app. According the tap tap tap blog, the latest update of the app has been rejected because of a cool new feature, VolumeSnap. You should head over there – it’s an interesting peek into the backroom of the App Store.
We have a workaround after the jump >>>
VolumeSnap would have allowed you to use your iPhone’s volume buttons to release the shutter which behaves more like a real camera. However, changing the use of the iPhone’s hardware violates Apple’s terms of the SDK, so Apple rejected the app.
But there have been other apps, most recently REAL-CAMERA, which has the same volume snap functionality. Apparently, those features were snuck by Apple’s reviewers during the app review process. The tap tap tap post goes into more detail. The terms of the SDK evelove but it may take quite a while before developers are allowed to use the volume buttons for anything other than adjusting volume.
It looks like tap tap tap did a little sneaking of their own, however. Life In LoFi reader, Reservoir_Dan, alerted us to a backdoor workaround — some might call it a hack — that enables the VolumeSnap feature in the current 1.2.1 version.
Go to Mobile Safari and type – camplus://enablevolumesnap
If, for whatever reason, you want to disable the function, type – camplus://disenablevolumesnap in Mobile Safari.
It works on my iPhone 4 running iOS 4, although it simultaneously keeps adjusting the ringer volume as well. I wasn’t able to get it to work on my old iPhone 2G, which is running iPhone OS 3.1.3.
Apple plans to pull all apps that use the volume buttons for shutter release. There is a very good chance that Apple will pull the current version of Camera+ as well until this hack has been removed from the app. If you were on the fence about Camera+, grab the app right now before it’s pulled.
VolumeSnap is a great feature and I’m holding on to the 1.2.1 version and not updating the app until VolumeSnap becomes an official feature.
App Store link: Camera+
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