The best phone for women? iPhone 4/4S with a $50 mirror back

What if we told you that you can convert a regular iPhone 4 or 4S into something the ladies will like? All it takes is some screwdriver skills, a $10 tool kit and a $50 replacement back.

iFixit is offering mirrored rear panels for both the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S. They are compatible with all available versions and are fairly easy to install if you have the required tools.

Source: GSM Arena

Verizon iPhone 4 now available to order / reserve for in-store pickup

Apple and Verizon's long-awaited partnership is nearly upon us, folks, and the final piece to the puzzle is general availability of the hallowed iPhone 4. You're now able to order or reserve your own at the online stores of both carrier and phone maker, though shipping dates for early orders are listed at a distant February 18th. We'd just reserve one and go down to our nearest physical outlet to pick it up tomorrow

Source:(engadget)

No Skype Video and Mobile Hotspot at HTC Thunderbolt Launch?

Remember the alleged leaked training material related to the HTC Thunderbolt? Yes, the one mentioning that the device will be able to do simultaneous voice and data -- as opposed to the Verizon iPhone 4 -- and also feature Mobile Hotspot functionality for up to eight devices as well as Skype Mobile with video.

While the slide clearly stated back in the day of its leak that Skype Mobile with video will be available post launch, Droid-life has published an alleged Verizon material which brings a confirmation. According to the leak, Skype Mobile with video will be shipped at launch with only a placeholder icon and a Coming Soon tag. Once the application will be available an Android Market notification will let users know when the software will be ready for use.

On the other hand, the Mobile Hotspot feature will not be available at launch either; the image above leaves no room for speculation but we can't help but think about the extra $20 Verizon will likely charge for the iPhone's similar functionality. Whether it's a coincidence or a Big Red marketing trick is still unknown so let us know of your thoughts in the comments below.


Source:(pocketnow)

Apple's New Universal Bumper Works On Verizon And AT&T iPhones

Yeah, I'd consider the word "Simple" is what best describes Apple. If one size doesn't fit all, they'll work on the "size", but they'll make it "fit all" some how. Such is the case with Verizon's new iPhone 4, which looks a lot like the current AT&T iPhone 4, except for some antenna differences. These differences make the mute switch on the Verizon iPhone be just a millimeter bellow the place where it is on the other variant, so yeah, current bumper cases won't fit nicely on the future device.

But before you worry about this, just do yourself a favor and have a closer look at the bumper case before you buy. It seems Apple already thought of that and has taken care of this by making the mute switch hole on the Bumper case bigger in order for it to fit on both variants. Given it'll be hard for you to see this while buying a case online, our best advice to you is to just stop by an Apple Store and making sure it works on your new iPhone before you buy.

Now if Apple would only figure out a way to not have their precious "protective" Bumper case scratch the hell out of the Stainless Steel band, I'd join you in buying one.

Source:(pocketnow)

White iPhone 4 in Vodafone Germany Computers; Release Nears?

There's still another two months until spring arrives, but could the long-overdue white iPhone 4 beat it to the punch? The elusive smartphone has made its most conspicuous move towards its release thus far, as it now appears in the inventory tracking system of Vodafone Germany.

Alongside the familiar black models of the iPhone 4, a leaked internal Vodafone screenshot shows both 16GB and 32GB editions of the "weiss", or white iPhone 4. Admittedly, just because a carrier is expecting the handset at some point doesn't necessarily mean it will be arriving in the immediate future, but the fact that we're seeing companies prepare for it already may suggest that it could arrive before the anticipated spring release.

Officially, Apple has given "spring 2011" as when to expect the white iPhone 4, which has been backed up by the timeframe's inclusion in printed materials. While Vodafone may well be getting its ducks in a row two months early, you could get away with being a little optimistic that the phone could arrive a little early. After all the proposed causes for the delay, from getting shades of white to match perfectly, to avoiding any performance or aesthetic issues that may arise from a less opaque housing, perhaps Apple finally has had its breakthrough moment. Frankly, at this point, just getting the phone before the iPhone 5 is out would be enough.

Source: (pocketnow)

Android users supposedly getting less sex than iPhone, BlackBerry owners

... And I call BS, but more on that later. So, the folks over at OkCupid just put up an interesting article about ways to avoid "being ugly." From their data as seen above, they are recommending that users steer away from Android devices because Android users seem to get less action than their iPhone (and BlackBerry) counterparts. Who knows, maybe it is because we have porn. Join me past the break and we can discuss this a bit more, shall we?

Via: (Android Central)

FaceTime 3G data consumption tested: about 3MB per minute

The folks over at 9to5Mac have kept up their investigation of FaceTime over 3G with a quick and dirty data usage analysis. Lest you've forgotten, jailbreaking Apple's Quattro permits walled garden escapees to FaceTime each other using dusty old 3G, and now we've got some numbers to show how much of an impact doing so will have on your bandwidth allowance. A 5-minute call resulted in 14.7MB of data transfers -- including both uploading and downloading -- for the 3G-riding iPhone, which breaks down to a rate slightly lower than 3MB per minute. That's not too horrible when you consider some streaming services use that much just to feed you video of England embarrassing itself in global football tournaments. Then again, we'd be remiss not to note that Fring does it at a claimed 1MB a minute and sans the jailbreak -- but who are we to begrudge having more options?

Via: (Engadget)

iPhone 4 unlock available now

It's the moment that many of you have been waiting for: the Dev-Team's ultrasn0w carrier unlock for iPhone 4 is out. You'll find version 1.0-1 of ultrasn0w in Cydia on jailbroken devices. If not, just add the repo666.ultrasn0w.com repository. It works for iPhone 4 baseband 01.59 and 3G/3GS basebands 04.26.08, 05.11.07, 05.12.01 and 05.13.04. If none of this makes sense then you've got no reason unlocking your device in the first place, buddy.



Via: (Engadget)

Security Vulnerability Found on Latest iPhone 4/iOS 4 Jailbreak

While the new iPhone 4 jailbreak is relatively easy to perform and can get users up and running in no time to add new features and functions to their iPhone, the process does expose a security vulnerability that would make it easy for thieves and malicious hackers to steal your messages, phone book, and other items. Even if you're not on an iPhone, you're not safe as your friends who have a jailbroken iPhone with your information on it can leave your information vulnerable.

According to BGR, the exploit works by taking advantage of the PDF viewing capabilities:

This is done through the jailbreakme PDF exploit. Under this method, it would be possible to steal your address book, text message database, or much worse. There is going to be a security solution soon though, as BGR has been informed that a plugin named PDF Loading Warner” has been created to combat this potential security risk. It works by hooking into the device system and will display a warning before a PDF can be displayed. If you install this plugin and navigate to a website that should not be showing a PDF and get this warning, you are able to click “Cancel”, blocking the PDF from loading and subsequently stealing your data.

The forthcoming patch does not patch up the vulnerability in iOS 4, but rather give users more control, much like how desktop operating systems now ask if you want to run an executable program.

Via: (PocketNow)

24 Hours Later: A Jailbroken iPhone 4 (Video)

It's been about 24 hours since I've jailbroken my iPhone 4. This is my first jailbreak experience, and while the actual jailbreaking was super easy, the aftermath was a bit confusing. After you jailbreak, you get an icon on your homescreen that launches Cydia, an repository of "packages" that include a vast array of apps that can tweak your phone. It's really up to you to figure out which packages to install, but with a little searching and asking on Twitter, you'll soon be pointed in the right direction.




On the iPhone 3GS and previous iPhone devices, jailbreaking often meant having to deal with a slower device with reduced battery life. The iPhone 4, thanks to the boost in battery capacity and CPU speed, can handle more tweaking than its predecessors. In the last day, I've noticed that my device is slightly slower and more power hungry, but not enough to impact usability.

So what have I done thus far? I've used IntelliScreen to allow me to see email previews right from my lock screen, MyWi to turn the iPhone into a WiFi router, WinterBoard to load themes, SBSettings to enable an easy way to toggle on various system radios, MIM to change the carrier name in the upper left corner, and Five Icon Dock to increase the number of allowed icons in the dock to five. Most of what I've done so far has been to make iOS feel as usable as Android and Windows Mobile, which can do many of the things I mentioned above out of the box (or without rooting/unlocking/HardSPL'ing). I'm looking forward to exploring more of the wonders of jailbreaking over the coming weeks.

Have you jailbroken an iOS device before? If yes, what are some must-have tweaks that have made a big difference in that usability of the device?

Via: (PocketNow)

Get FaceTime Working Over 3G On iPhone 4 Through Jailbreak

We'll call this a mid-level difficulty hack we know many are interested on. One of those really cool iPhone 4 features that we wish wasn't restricted is FaceTime calls being limited through Wi-Fi. It sort of becomes pointless to have such a feature and not be able to use it in every scenario thinkable. Well, for those of you who've already taken the Jailbreak plunge, you'll be happy to know there's a way to get it working with a little help from Cydia.

As it turns out, the Jailbreak doesn't really liberate FaceTime to work through 3G form the start, but Cydia offers an app called My3G which tricks the phone into thinking it's got Wi-Fi when it's really connected through 3G. The result is having FaceTime work implicitly through 3G because the phone thinks it's using Wi-Fi once My3G is running. Here are the steps to get it working:

1) Jailbreak your iPhone 4 via www.jailbreakme.com.
2) Download and upgrade to the latest Cydia package.
3) Open Cydia, Go to Manage then Sources.
4) Click Sources, Edit then add: http://apt.modmyi.com
5) Search for "My3G" -- download, and install it.
6) Go through the Rock setup process with a username and password. Open My3G and leave all settings on the default.
7) FaceTime should now work over 3G! -- Make sure to "Forget" the WiFi network you are on (via iOS settings) if you want to test it.

See Apple.. That wasn't so hard! Here's a short video of it working:



Via: (PocketNow)

Light leak causing White iPhone delays

Ever since the announcement of iPhone 4, the white iPhone has been experiencing delays. Today, the reason for the delays may have been uncovered. TheStreet is reporting the back light from the iPhone display screen is leaking out around the edges of the glass, and seeping through the back of the white phone.

The latest delay was announced by Apple on Friday, stating that the white iPhone 4 won’t be available until at least late this year. Apple stated that it is “more challenging to manufacture than we originally expected.” Skeptics originally thought the delay was instead related to Apple stalling for time to correct the infamous antenna issues affecting the iPhone 4.

Whether or not that is true, the fact still remains that the light seepage does present a problem that is specific to the white iPhone 4. The case on the white iPhone 4 is far more transparent than the black iPhone 4, so the light can leak through easier.

Combined with the well publicized signal loss issue, which occurs when the outer band of the device is touched, this new "light leak" only increases the criticism of Apple's R&D process. The light bleed likely stems from the fact that the back is made from glass, were another material used, a simple coating would be an effective solution, but that cannot be applied here. With all of these issues, it is clear that Apple have a lot of work ahead of them.

Via: (Neowin)

The iPhone Comes to Sprint. Well, Not Quite...

With rumors swirling that the iPhone may soon make its way to rivals T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless from AT&T in the USA, Sprint also wants in on the iOS action and America's third largest carrier isn't shy. To that end, the carrier has seemingly teamed up with equipment maker ZTE to bring a sled for the iPod Touch, giving the non-cellular MP3 PMP player access to its mobile 3G CDMA/EV-DO data network so iPod Touch owners can have ubiquitous web access on the go, like the iPhone which is currently tied to AT&T's mobile 3G network. For voice, iPod Touch owners can probably work in a VoIP solution over 3G.

The sled, which recently made its way over to the FCC for regulatory approval, bears Sprint's logo, ZTE branding, as well as a sticker for a Qualcomm radio. Called the Peel 3G router, the device looks more like a thin sled or skin, much like how the Mophie Juice Pack Air provides a bit of protection as well as added juice in a compact form factor for the iPhone. Instead, the Peel 3G router, as its name implies, will serve as both a hard case and a "router" to provide mobile 3G access. From the pictures, though, it looks like the standard Apple dock connector was not shown, so we'll be curious as to how the iPod Touch will connect, whether it be through the router's build in WiFi, as in a MiFi sled, or if it'd be through a wired means.

In the past, Sprint has not been shy that it wants to join the iOS race. It had marketed its MiFi-like Overdrive for iPhone and iPad owners to have access to its 3G network as well as 4G network and avoid AT&T's congested, slow networks if need be.

If Sprint is successful, the unlimited data plan, if affordable, provided the the Peel 3G router, coupled with aggressive marketing to those who would rather not be tied to a contract--specifically for voice--may appeal to a lot of iPod Touch owners who have thus far resisted the urge to jump on the iPhone.

Via: (PocketNow)

iPhone 3G vs. iPhone 4: detailed comparison of battery life!

Continues even today our mini book dedicated to the comparison between iPhone 3G and iPhone 4. In the days before we showed the differences of the camera and the wireless reception, but today we focus on a fairly critical point: The actual battery life. Exit 3GS were very users who complained about poor battery life that reaches the minimum percuentuale few hours of use.

Today we compare the iPhone battery 4 and iPhone 3G.

The test was conducted during a day, simulating normal use of the device. During the test devices were set exactly the same type of way:

* Push Email Notifications Active
* Wi-fi always on
* Brightness set to 60%
* Off screen automatically set to one minute
* Bluetooth always off
* Active localization
* Both devices have 4.1 installed IOS

We started our test at 00:50 (4 el'iPhone the iPhone 3G has set the time for two minutes then busted we consider the minutes in the middle) with the terminal first left off with the percentage of the battery at 0% and then recharged up to 100%.



At this time we launched the iPod application on both devices, synchronized with music and set the exact same sequence of random tracks. We then set the alarm for 8:30 am. Before leaving the devices on all night with your iPod, iPhone 4 we note that the percentage falls to 99%.



In the morning, exactly at 8.30 stopped the iPod. We then simulated by about 7 hours listening to iPods. The percentages that you will have marked the rest of the day already and now we find out who the winner of the test. The iPhone 3G after playing music for about 7 hours (with screen standbay) has reached 66% of autonomy against well 83% of the iPhone 4. The test would have already been concluded. A gap of almost 20% is a lot. However, we have finished simulating the duration of both batteries.



From 8:32 to 9:13 we made:

* calls on both devices than a minute
* SMS
* 4 and reading mail




From 9:13 to 9:37 we left the phone in the meantime arrived and stanbay different email (unread). From 9:37 to 10:25 we have:

* Sleeps 5 email
* sailed through the application Youtube videos watched 3 complete

Hours 9:37



10.25 am



From 10:25 to 10:56 the phone has received only unread mails.



As noted, the difference was always about those 20 percentage points due to first test with the iPod. It is also true that for now we are doing operations that require intensive use of resources and then the battery.

From 10:55 to 13:00 we have:

* Made 2 calls for 2 minutes each
* 4 sms
* reading email 10
* played exactly 5 minutes to Let's Golf 2 Gameloft

The rest of the time iPhones have been in standbay a black screen.



13:06 hours: Game Updates Pro Evolution Soccer 2010.



13:10 am to 13:48 pm We have:

* Tried updating Pes 2010 for 10 minutes
* Played for another 15 minutes to play Real Tennis 2009




From 13:48 to 14:21 we have:

* Posted 1 message
* Made a call 30 seconds



From 14:23 to 14:39 we have:

* Launched the Navigator Sygic Aura Italy and set a course near to our staff. We then reset the route to the editors. We start taking the navigator on for about twenty minutes.



From 14:39 to 16:58 the iphone have always remained in Standbay apartments:

* Reading mail ten minutes
* A 1 minute call
* 3-4 minutes of web browsing
* and another call for 1:30 minutes




From 16:48 to 17:58 we have:

* played 10 minutes let's Golf
* Bedroom 2 email
* and sailed on safari for 10 minutes




From 18 to 19:09 we have:

* Watched a video on Youtube
* sent a text message
* Hamlet 2 email
* 5 minutes to play Angry Bird




The text was finalized when the iPhone 4 still had 30% battery! All transactions listed have been done with a lot of indiscretion on both devices, without damaging neither the one nor the other. It is indeed a test and not un'elogio by Apple for developing a better device.

Via: (HDblog)

iPhone 4 Headed To 17 More Countries On Friday, Hopefully

Everything points out to the fact that 17 more countries will get the iPhone 4 as of Friday July 30th, but something gives me a feeling we should tag this as a rumor. Why? Well let's not forget how much they pushed the iPad to expand to other regions, and history repeated itself last week as Steve Jobs confirmed that we'd get the White iPhone 4 by the end of this month on the press conference, only to have Apple later take that statement back with "sometime during the year". It seems manufacturing problems have been the order of the day for Apple this year, but we're still not sure if these are real problems or ways to increase demand and buzz.

Anyways,.. Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, New Zealand, Singapore, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland are those 17 nations that will be added to the current list of five (France, Germany, Japan, the UK and the US) that already carry it. No pricing information available just yet, but we know it won't come in cheap. Let's hope Apple can be trusted with their dates this time.

Via: (PocketNow)

Speed test between iPhone 2G, iPhone 3G, iPhone and iPhone 3Gs 4 (video)

Here's an interesting comparison to note that in four years Apple has been working on components and optimization to create an iPhone every year with better performance. The comparison will exam the '2G iPhone, the 'iPhone 3G'siPhone 3Gs the last one iPhone 4. The test will be open starting the game "Plants vs. Zombies" and then applying that change when you start Google Earth, Seadragon and Safari. Nice is the difference between iPhone 2G and iPhone 4.

Video to follow.



Via: (HDblog)

Jailbreaking, Rooting, and Unlocking Gets Legalized in DMCA

The US government has legalized jailbreaking, rooting, and the unlocking of cellular telephones by adding the respective provisions to the Digital Millenium Copyright Act among the many new exemptions added to relax the stringent copyright laws. Additionally, AppleInsider reports that other exemptions announced Monday allow people to break protections on video games to investigate or correct security flaws; allow college professors, film students and documentary filmmakers to break copy protection measures on DVDs to embed clips for educational purposes, criticism, commentary and noncommercial videos; and allow computer owners to bypass the need for external security devices (dongles) if the hardware no longer works and cannot be replaced.

In regards to jailbreaking, the DMCA now says "Computer programs that enable wireless telephone handsets to execute software applications, where circumvention is accomplished for the sole purpose of enabling interoperability of such applications, when they have been lawfully obtained, with computer programs on the telephone handset."

Jailbreaking is the process used on the iPhone and iOS devices to allow apps that may not have gain Apple's App Store approval to operate on the device and unlock other features of the iPhone that are not officially made available, such as call blocking applications and adding a "Today screen" to the lock screen of the iPhone as well as customized widgets. The process of similarly unlocking powerful features is known as rooting on Android OS devices. Additionally, unlocking a handset will allow users to bring their GSM-compatible handsets to another carrier. In the US, AT&T iPhones could then be unlocked to use on T-Mobile though since the iPhone only supports AT&T's 3G networks, unlocked iPhones would only work on T-Mobile's EDGE network for data

Via: (PocketNow)

Archetype Shooter Game is Optimized for iPhone 4 (Video)

In this video we take a look at Archetype, which is optimized for the iPhone 4 (it scales to the full 960x640 resolution). It's a multiplayer first person shooter that allows you to play deathmatch-style games with ten players over WiFi or 3G. The controls take some getting used to with a dual joystick interface: the left joystick controls movement, and the right control aim. If you've played Halo on Xbox, it's a similar setup.

The game is available for $2.99 in the app store, which is a good deal for such a graphically impressive (and fun) game.

What's your favorite 3D game for iPhone?



Via: (PocketNow)

Apple keeps antennagate alive with Droid X's 'kill switch' (video)

We had a feeling Apple wasn't done showing off the apparent reception woes of its competitors -- after all, the company already updated once this week with the Nokia N97 mini. Now it's going after Motorola's celebrity of the moment (and known iPhone 4 bully), the Droid X. You can see Cupertino's results in the video after the break, but unlike Apple's other videos, we can't seem to recreate this one as easily with our Droid Xs. But hey, it's not like anyone's gonna buy a big phone anyway, right?



Via: (Engadget)

Antennagate Gets iPhone 4 Spoof Video Parody

With multiple companies poking fun at Apple pre- and post-press conference addressing its iPhone 4 reception issues, otherwise known as Antennagate, a bunch of guys put together a rather funny spoof of the iPhone 4 in a mocking parody of Apple's statement to the public.

You'll have to see for yourself in the video below:



In the meantime though, if you're not an iPhone 4 owner, laugh on. If you are an iPhone 4 owner, you may want to check out the details on getting your free Apple bumper or case offer.

Via: (PocketNow)