So I haven’t received my iPhone 4 yet. They are apparently sold out everywhere for the next three weeks. But I got a chance to check out my friend’s a couple days ago. I was impressed.
My initial impression was that the iPhone 4 feels great in your hand. It’s slightly heavier, but the extra weight gives it a solid feel. What’s more, it has almost all of the features that I have been wanting for years.
iPhone 4 Camera
The camera quality is excellent when compared to my 3GS, and the HD video quality is stunning. My friend also showed me a movie he made in 5 minutes on the iMovie iPhone app, and it was impressive, considering it was made on a phone.
I also love Apple’s implementation of the flash options and the front-facing camera switcher in the Camera app. To enable the flash, disable it, or set it to Auto is as simple as tapping your preferred option at the top of the screen. Switching to the front-facing camera is also a matter of tapping once at the top of the viewfinder screen. And the LED flash itself seems to be of reasonable quality.
iPhone 4 Speaker
The speaker seemed to me to be louder and improved with regards to audio quality.
Other Observations
It was also just a pleasure to hold in my hand. Touching the buttons and using the interface was a characteristically-Apple experience. The speed was also noticeably improved, and iOS4 is a great acquaintance to the iPhone 4. Folders and multitasking were meant for iPhone 4.
I didn’t get to make any calls or use any apps, but overall the experience was undoubtedly superior to the iPhone 3GS. While I have been plentycritical of past iPhones, with the iPhone 4 there is less to complain about — though, don’t worry, I will have plenty to critique once I receive mine in the mail and begin to actually use it. Nevertheless, to me it seems that the iPhone has finally come of age. If the iPhone were a human male, I would say that after three years of growth and experience, iPhone 4 is now, at last, a man.
No one is without flaws, however, and I am sure I will become acquainted with the iPhone 4’s weaknesses given some time. But overall I am impressed and almost proud to see that this device, which I have scrutinized and observed since its infancy, has finally grown up.
(Of course, let’s not forget there have been issues reported that should make any reasonable person hesitate to spend hundreds on the iPhone 4.)
Here are some more photos, taken with my 3GS:
What Do You Think?
Do you agree with my initial impressions of the iPhone 4? Is it all it’s cracked up to be? I would love to know what you think.
You may have heard of the critical issues facing a number of iPhone 4s as early as launch day. Most notably, many iPhone 4 owners report a diminished cellular signal when holding the phone by its left bezel (where the antenna is located), others report shattered phones (not just displays), and some people have even had seemingly-permanent yellow spots on their iPhone 4 displays.
Should You Be Worried?
Let me say right off the bat that the iPhone has always had issues, and some of its problems are unresolvable. The iPhone is a stunning piece of hardware, but even Apple engineers can’t create a perfect product. My previous iPhones have suffered from a faulty dock connector, an echoing earpiece, shattered glass, a stained bezel and lately a weakened home button on my 3GS. It is inevitable that iPhone 4 will have its issues, too, especially over time.
Luckily, most of the time I had a problem (with the exception of the shattered glass incident), I got a replacement iPhone from the Apple Store for free. If your iPhone 4 has a serious issue, you will likely have no problem getting a replacement from Apple, as long as the incident is within the terms and timeframe of the warranty. Yes, you may be inconvenienced if you buy a faulty iPhone 4, but in most cases Apple will probably accommodate you and replace your phone without a problem. My experience with the Apple Store Geniuses has overall been positive.
Still, it is worth evaluating the claims made about faulty iPhone 4s, so that you can decide whether or not to take the plunge and buy the new iPhone just yet.
Here is my evaluation of the three main iPhone 4 issues, according to my research and best judgment. Note: As of this writing, I have yet to get my own iPhone 4.
1. Yellowing Screen
Some of the alleged problems may actually be non-issues. Consider the Apple support tech who said the yellowing on some screens is “residue from manufacturing” that will disappear in a short time.
Then again, other support technicians told customers to replace their yellowed phones at the Apple Store. We will have to see if these yellow marks disappear over time.
2. Weak Signal
The antenna in the bezel seems like a more serious problem. Many iPhone 4 owners report that covering the bottom left side of the iPhone with your palm or fingers causes you to lose reception and transmission.
Ironically, Apple placed the antenna in the iPhone 4 bezel in an attempt to improve cellular signal, but the placement is affecting the signal when the bezel comes into contact with your hands. However, when you put a case (or an Apple Bumper) on the iPhone 4, the signal issue goes away.
Could this antenna issue trigger a recall of iPhone 4’s? In my opinion, it is doubtful that Apple will admit to the problem, but if they do, I imagine they will simply tell you to put a case on your phone. We’ll see.
iPhone has a history of cracking, and it seems the problem could be worse this time around, since the entire body is now made of glass.
One iPhone 4 owner, Jared Franklin, shattered the rear glass on his new iPhone after dropping it on the same day he received it. Ouch!
I shattered the glass display of my iPhone once, and it cost me $250 at the Apple Store to replace it. Now I have to worry about the back of my iPhone 4 as well as the front!?
Judging by the amount of comments from my readers on that post who also cracked their iPhone screens, it looks like Apple is going to make even more of a killing off of the poor iPhone 4 users who drop their devices.
Don’t expect much to be done about this issue. Apple never has, and probably never will, admit that they are creating easily crackable iPhones. They will simply blame your “negligence” and make you cough up a couple hundred more dollars.
Time Will Tell
Clearly, the question of the iPhone 4’s reliability is a bit hazy right now. There have been early reports of potentially serious issues, but only time will tell whether these problems will plague a significant number of iPhone 4s.
For this reason, if you haven’t yet bought an iPhone 4, I would urge you to consider waiting 2 or 3 weeks to see how all this pans out.
Who knows? Maybe given enough complaints, Apple will acknowledge the antenna issue and correct future shipments. And maybe the yellow hue will disappear and the iPhone 4 screens will be undamaged afterall. But… don’t expect much to be done about the glass — cracked iPhone screens are a common occurrence, and Apple rarely shows mercy when it comes to replacing iPhones that have cracked.
As for me, I am not going to lie and say that I am waiting for the problems to go away before I buy the new iPhone. I actually called all around town today and learned that the iPhone 4 is sold out everywhere. I decided not to pre-order when I read claims that Apple would ship pre-ordered iPhone 4s a week late, but now I am without the new iPhone while preorders actually arrived a day early for many people.
Despite the issues, the iPhone 4 is a remarkable piece of hardware. If you haven’t gotten a chance to drool over it yet, go check out TiPB’s iPhone 4 gallery.
What is Your Experience?
Have you gotten an iPhone 4 yet or will you wait to see if the issues are resolved? Whether you have or have NOT had problems with your new iPhone 4, I would love to hear about your experience in the comments.
A few years ago I dropped my iPhone on the ground, cracked the glass, and paid a whopping $250 to get it replaced.
I wrote a couple posts about the cracked iPhone screen incident and have since received hundreds upon hundreds of comments on them from readers who also had bad experiences damaging their iPhone screens. A couple of lawyers even claimed Apple deserved to be sued over the issue.
Now, Steve Jobs has announced that Apple has developed a new “glass that’s 30 times harder than plastic” for iPhone 4.
Did Apple develop a stronger iPhone glass in response to the thousands of iPhone users who have made the expensive mistake of cracking their iPhone screens?
Hopefully fewer people will be victims of cracked iPhone screens once the new iPhone is released. Has this ever happened to you?
Now that it has been a couple of days since Steve Jobs’ keynote at the WWDC, are you excited for iPhone 4? Are you satisfied with all that the new iPhone has to offer?
Personally, I am stoked about all the announcements except for one thing, no FaceTime video calls over AT&T’s 3G network. Nevertheless, I am looking forward not only to multitasking, folders and the iOS4 update, but also to iPhone 4’s great new hardware changes, including a front-facing camera, a much faster (A4) processor, and iMovie for iPhone. You can read all about iPhone 4 on Apple.com.
I would love to know what you think. Did the iPhone 4 announcements live up to your expectations?
7 of 10 of the current trending topics on Twitter are related to iPhone. Since Twitter is basically the pulse of the nation, iPhone’s dominance of the current trending topics is testament to the device’s popularity and the incredible hype that Apple is able to generate over it.
The following iPhone-related topics are trending. Click on the links below to see what people all over the world are saying about iPhone 4:
This iPhone Jailbreak guide aims to thoroughly cover the topic of how to Jailbreak your iPhone.
This guide lists some of the top Jailbreak software, with jailbreak instructions for the latest iPhone versions, from iOS 4.0 onward.
Don’t forget to check out the iPhone jailbreak FAQ below and the comments section for answers to common jailbreak questions, jailbreak pros & cons, etc.
iPhone Jailbreak Instructions
For detailed iPhone jailbreak instructions, scroll down for a database of directions on how to jailbreak your iPhone.
Scroll down further for an introduction to jailbreak, pros & cons of iPhone jailbreak, and the iPhone jailbreak FAQ.
This Ultimate Guide to iPhone Jailbreak contains helpful information for jailbreaking your iPhone for most of the recent iOS versions. I have included text resources with directions on jailbreaking using the best jailbreak software, plus some videos on how to Jailbreak the iPhone.
Note: I have not attempted all of these iPhone Jailbreak instructions, but am compiling what information I have found and selected with my best judgment. Let me know what is helpful and what is not.
Text Resources
The following guides contain jailbreak instructions and download links necessary for jailbreaking various iPhone models with different iOS versions.
To see what version of the iOS (operating system) you are running, go to Settings >> General >> About.
Choose the iPhone Jailbreak guide that is right for you. Read everything extremely carefully, including comments, before attempting to Jailbreak. I have not personally attempted all of these, so jailbreak AT YOUR OWN RISK.
In short, iPhone Jailbreak is the process of hacking an iPhone to free it from Apple restrictions.
Because the iPhone is far from flawless as Apple created it, millions of iPhone users have flocked to Jailbreak in search of changes and improvements to their devices. iPhone has been held back by limited customizability, text message privacy issues, arbitrary data restrictions, and a lack of true multitasking capabilities. But iPhone Jailbreak can solve all of these problems with apps and fixes available in Cydia and Installer.
What is Cydia?/What is Installer?
Cydia and Installer are the unofficial “App Stores” of the Jailbreak world. Developers create apps and tweaks and different utilities and upload them to these package managers, which organize everything into categories. The differences between Cydia and the App Store are the lack of an app approval process, and the lack of access limits on the iPhone software. In other words, with iPhone jailbreak, you can do things Apple did not design the iPhone software to do.
Why Jailbreak iPhone?
No restrictions. Want a custom wallpaper on your home screen? Custom icons for your apps? Internet tethering? A category system for organizing your apps? The ability to hide native iPhone apps you don’t use? You can do all of this and more with iPhone Jailbreak.
To join the subculture. Sick of Apple’s stranglehold on the iPhone? Those who Jailbreak iPhone belong to a movement of people who demand more from their iPhones. And they’re not gonna let Apple stop them. Beat the system: Jailbreak your iPhone.
Unlock iPhone. To unlock your iPhone and use it on any carrier, you must first Jailbreak your iPhone. Some of the best Jailbreak software below also lets you unlock the iPhone, though unlocking is generally beyond the scope of this tutorial.
Why NOT Jailbreak iPhone?
The folks at Apple know what they are doing. Apple is first and foremost a design company, and there is no doubt the iPhone is a remarkably designed piece of hardware and software. By controlling the user experience, Apple ensures that your iPhone “just works,” and you don’t have to worry about managing battery life or any other technical details.
Jailbreak could (maybe?) brick your iPhone. “When someone develops something for an Apple product and that development isn’t sanctioned by Apple, you run the risk of it not working as it should, conflicting with the device itself, or just all-around bricking that iPhone,” warns Chris Pirillo, who prefers not to Jailbreak his iPhone because “my iPhone just works already.” But I have never heard of Jailbreak completely ruining an iPhone. The consensus at this forum seems to be that the chance is “extremely slim.”
Every iPhone update from iTunes disables even the best Jailbreak software. Every time Apple comes out with an update for iPhone, they find a way to prevent hackers from cracking the code again. Hackers then scramble to Jailbreak the iPhone again and release the new methods. That means if you like to download Apple’s iPhone updates, you are going to have to figure out each time how to Jailbreak your iPhone yet again. Do you really want to play this cat and mouse game?
iPhone Jailbreak could increase your risk of getting a virus on your device. The only two iPhone viruses ever reported have spread across iPhones that have been Jailbroken. That’s not to say the iPhone platform as Apple built it is totally secure. In fact, some say compromising an iPhone’s security is “child’s play” (i.e. easy).
Jailbreak voids your iPhone warranty. If your iPhone is bricked because of Jailbreak, or if your iPhone has another problem and it happens to be Jailbreaked, your warranty becomes void. I once saw a sign at the Genius Bar of The Falls, Miami Apple Store that warned customers not to Jailbreak iPhones or they would void their warranties. Harsh. However, if you simply restore your iPhone software (via iTunes) to factory settings, then you should have no trouble at the Genius Bar.
iPhone Jailbreak Videos
Jailbreak iOS 4.1 on iPhone 4, 3GS, Using Limera1n
Jailbreak Unlock 3.1.1 and 3.1.2 Mac and Windows:
iPhone 3.0.1 Firmware and Jailbreak with Redsnow 0.8:
How To Jailbreak NEW 3.0 Firmware For iPhone,iPhone 3G … On Windows/Mac:
Jailbreak & Unlock 2.2.1 iPhone 2g, 3g, and iPod Touch:
Jailbreak iPhone 2.2:
ZiPhone Jailbreak is History
I made this video a couple of years ago to demonstrate how to Jailbreak with ZiPhone. ZiPhone is now obsolete for most iPhone versions, so please do not try to use it unless you know what you are doing. This video has been posted here for historical and humorous purposes only.
Read: Once-Great ZiPhone Jailbreak Now Sadly a Scam.
ZiPhone Jailbreak: (Was) So Easy a Caveman Could Do It
iPhone Jailbreak FAQ
Still confused about jailbreak? Need help jailbreaking your iPhone? Check out the following iPhone Jailbreak FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) or request help in the comments area below.
What is jailbreaking an iPhone? What can you do with a jailbroken iPhone?
To jailbreak an iPhone means to modify it in a way that makes the file system accessible. With the file system unrestricted, you are able to customize the iPhone in ways other than those intended by Apple. For example, with a jailbroken iPhone, you can add passwords to individual apps, trick the iPhone into believing it is using WiFi when it’s using 3G (i.e. for FaceTime calls), add to-do lists to your lock screen with LockInfo, change your app icons, and much more.
Is it easy to jailbreak iPhone?
It depends what model and what version you are jailbreaking. Sometimes, jailbreaking an iPhone is as easy as clicking a button, and sometimes you are required to download multiple files and modify the file system. See the jailbreak guides above for the model and version you would like to jailbreak.
How do you jailbreak an iPhone?
If you’re wondering how do you jailbreak an iPhone, simply scroll up on this page and find the software that pertains to your iPhone version. Then, click the link to the jailbreak instructions for your particular version and follow directions. Good luck!
Is jailbreaking bad for your iPhone? Will jailbreak brick my iPhone?
Jailbreak is not always completely reliable, but it is not bad for your iPhone, per se. Sometimes your iPhone will become unusable when attempting to jailbreak. However, this is almost always easy to fix by simply restoring your iPhone via iTunes. Sometimes, a jailbroken iPhone will act up or become glitchy, but you can always restore.
Does jailbreak void my iPhone warranty?
Since Apple does not authorize jailbreak, jailbreak will void your iPhone warranty. Therefore, you should consider restoring your iPhone before taking it into an Apple Store for service.
Is jailbreak illegal?
Jailbreak is NOT illegal. A federal court in the US recently ruled that it is entirely legal to jailbreak your iPhone. It is your property, afterall.
How to jailbreak iPhone 4? How to jailbreak iPhone 3GS? How to jailbreak iPhone 3G?
See the guides above for instructions on how to jailbreak iPhone. There are instructions on how to jailbreak iPhone 4, 3GS and 3G. The guide is updated frequently.
What is the best jailbreak software tool or the best jailbreak programs?
The best jailbreak software or program depends on the model and version you are jailbreaking. See resources above.
What is Cydia? What is Installer?
Cydia and Installer are the “App Stores” of the jailbreak community. Through Cydia and Installer, you can download apps and modifications that are not available on the regular App Store.
Is iPhone jailbreak free?
iPhone jailbreak is almost always released free by developers, with occasional exceptions. Beware of scams that make you pay for jailbreak software that you can obtain for free.
Does jailbreak make apps free?
No. Jailbreak does not make apps free. Apps in the App Store still cost money, and even some Cydia and Installer apps are paid apps that require you to pay before downloading.
How to update a jailbroken iPhone?
You cannot usually update a jailbroken iPhone. Normally, a jailbroken iPhone can be restored to factory settings, updated, and then jailbroken again.
Conclusion: Why I Jailbreak
The iPhone hardware offers endless possibilities for expressing the human imagination, but Apple’s software restrictions hold your iPhone back. iPhone Jailbreak frees your iPhone by letting you do almost anything that is physically possible to do with your iPhone. Jailbreak is the will of the people manifesting itself in an active and thriving subculture.
Yes, the App Store reflects the imaginations and creativity of thousands of developers and iPhone users. Apple has done a great job of making a line of “blank slates” — iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 3G, iPad, etc. — that are able to continually mold to our collective consciousness as iPhone users. Yet, iPhone can do and be so much more when it is without limits. That is why I Jailbreak.
What Do You Think About iPhone Jailbreak?
Did you Jailbreak your iPhone? What is the best jailbreak software, in your opinion? Please share your thoughts and questions in the comments.
Please note: Comments are welcome, however I cannot personally address everyone’s iPhone Jailbreak issues, so if you are Jailbreak-savvy, please assist commenters who are having trouble. (Thank you!)
