Technology catch-all thread

[Jake]

I am doing all of this

[chw42]

It doesn't do anything to your warranty, because you can always do a full restore via iTunes which removes the jailbreak and restores the phone back to it's factory default settings.

 

It's a simple process, but it's more complicated than a base iOS install, I won't lie to you and say otherwise. This is the first time I've done it in a while now, but I'm a former jailbreaker from the original iPhone - iPhone 3GS days. I didn't stop this practice until I got tired of it during the iPhone 4-4s era...I've since returned. I'd say do it, and if you have any questions you can always ask me on here, or email me at [email protected], I can help you out.

 

Before you begin, do an iCloud and a iTunes backup of your device. After you do that, remove any lock screen password you may have set, plug the phone in and run the jailbreak application. Lockscreen passwords can make the jailbreak process have issues, so disable it, you can reenable it after you are done. After a few reboots it will be done (5 minutes), and your phone will look exactly the same, only now you'll have an additional icon called Cydia which is the App Store for installing jailbreak applications. Other than that your phone will work and act the same, and you will still have access to apples App Store and everything else, just as you always did.

 

I'll even make this easier on you and start you out with some tips...

 

You want the following from the Cydia store, they are all free:

 

Activator (Allows you to program button presses/combinations/swipes to do whatever you want them to do.)

Bolt (Removes the battery symbol at the top right of your phone status bar, leaving the %, when plugged in, you will still see a little charge bolt.)

biteSMS (Complete replacement for Apples SMS applications. Works with facetime, iMessage, texts, MMS, etc. Much more configurable, and adds a quick message popup, so you do not have to close your applications to reply to texts.)

Browser Changer (Allows you to set any browser as your default browser, be it Chrome, Firefox, Opera, etc. Also allows you to change your default Maps app to Google Maps.)

f.lux (Automatically changes the phones contrast at night so it's not hard on your eyes, automatically changes it back when light/morning again.)

IconBounce (Eye candy, makes the icons on the dock bounce and dance around...looks cool.)

IconRenamer (Allows you to rename apps to whatever you want.)

NCSettings (Adds quick controls to your notification center dropdown, adding things such as the ability to quickly change brightness, turn on airplane mode, the camera flash for a flashlight, etc.)

Unfold (Because it adds a cool unfolding effect to your lock screen, pure eye candy but cool nonetheless.)

WinterBoard (Theming/skinning of your device, if you so choose.)

 

These are paid apps, but I highly recommend them:

 

Nitrous - 1$ (Opens access to other web browsers and applications that use the web, such as twitter and flipboard, to use the Nitro Java engine, which will make them as fast as Apples own Safari.

Springtomize 2 - 2 or 3$ (Gives you complete control over many phone options, such as your carriers name at the top of you phone, icon sizes, how many icon rows, how many icons you can put into a single folder, add additional icons to the dock at the bottom, etc.)

 

This seems like would waste so much battery...

 

And I will definitely try out Nitrous.

Edited February 9, 2013 by chw42

[Steve9347]

Man, I'm about to freak my s***. My wife's piece of s*** 6th generation iPod is in an endless recovery boot. Everytime I connect it to any PC, it just says it needs to recover. I've tried the fix of switching its drive number 80 times. I hate this little piece of s***.

[Steve9347]

Man, I'm about to freak my s***. My wife's piece of s*** 6th generation iPod is in an endless recovery boot. Everytime I connect it to any PC, it just says it needs to recover. I've tried the fix of switching its drive number 80 times. I hate this little piece of s***.

Of course, the moment I post this s*** the thing pops on after I plug it into the wall. I'm terrified to plug it back into the PC.

[Y2HH]

This seems like would waste so much battery...

 

And I will definitely try out Nitrous.

 

As much as you'd think so, it doesn't waste battery. Part of iOS suspended all non active processes, so if you aren't on your home screen, it doesn't actually do anything. After a few days of testing, my battery life is comperable to a stock iPhone, as surprising as that sounds.

[iamshack]

I really need to get a new phone soon...my iPhone 4 is on it's last legs (too many drops, glass is shattered on the back), but I am just so underwhelmed by everything out there right now. I have a 4S for work and so I can always fall back on that when the 4 gives me trouble.

 

I'm trying to hold out for the 5S or the 6, but not sure if I can make it that long...I've read that the 5S may have a faster chip and a fingerprint sensor of some type, while the 6 will actually be much bigger than the 4 and 5 to compete with the Samsung Galaxy line.

[chw42]

I really need to get a new phone soon...my iPhone 4 is on it's last legs (too many drops, glass is shattered on the back), but I am just so underwhelmed by everything out there right now. I have a 4S for work and so I can always fall back on that when the 4 gives me trouble.

 

I'm trying to hold out for the 5S or the 6, but not sure if I can make it that long...I've read that the 5S may have a faster chip and a fingerprint sensor of some type, while the 6 will actually be much bigger than the 4 and 5 to compete with the Samsung Galaxy line.

 

I think a case could have helped you out there.

 

If you have a 4S for work, why can't you just wait a few months?

[iamshack]

I think a case could have helped you out there.

 

If you have a 4S for work, why can't you just wait a few months?

Well, it's 2.5 years old...I got it the day the 4 came out, so I knew I would be ready for something newer by now.

 

I could just use the 4S, but it makes me nervous using that as my personal phone too...my friends can be a sick bunch of idiots, so I'd prefer to keep that stuff relegated to the personal phone.

[Jake]

I also got the iPhone 4 the day it came out. I got two free replacements from Apple (don't ask me how I got that, connections brah) when I broke it -- both times in a case :|

 

The funny thing is, I still don't feel like I've missed out on anything cool from the past two iPhone updates. I'm going to keep this baby until it gives out on me or one of the new Android releases coming soon really blows my mind like I'm hearing about.

[chw42]

My roommate's girlfriend got a Galaxy Note 2 today and I got to hold it in the hand and compare it to my Nexus phones.

 

Yes, it is bigger than my Nexus 4 (by an entire top bezel in fact), but It didn't feel too big for me to use at all.

 

Also, the heaviness of the phone made it feel a lot more solid than other plastic phones like the S3.

[kjshoe04]

My roommate's girlfriend got a Galaxy Note 2 today and I got to hold it in the hand and compare it to my Nexus phones.

 

Yes, it is bigger than my Nexus 4 (by an entire top bezel in fact), but It didn't feel too big for me to use at all.

 

Also, the heaviness of the phone made it feel a lot more solid than other plastic phones like the S3.

Yeah, I got mine yesterday. Loving it so far.

[Y2HH]

My roommate's girlfriend got a Galaxy Note 2 today and I got to hold it in the hand and compare it to my Nexus phones.

 

Yes, it is bigger than my Nexus 4 (by an entire top bezel in fact), but It didn't feel too big for me to use at all.

 

Also, the heaviness of the phone made it feel a lot more solid than other plastic phones like the S3.

 

Too big. Too heavy. Used one in best buy, absurd for a phone, fine for a tablet. Obviously there is a market for these sizes, I'm simply not in it.

[BigSqwert]

More reason for me to be infatuated with the Xperia Z:

 

According to Sony, the smartphone has the ability to take unlimited number of 9MP images at 10 frames per second, but a real-life test has shown it to do even better.

 

The camera shoot 999 images in just 68 seconds using the burst mode. You’ll probably never need that many photos in real life, but it’s good to know the Xperia Z over-delivering.

[BigSqwert]

Too big. Too heavy. Used one in best buy, absurd for a phone, fine for a tablet. Obviously there is a market for these sizes, I'm simply not in it.

 

I think there's a paradigm shift going on where these things are no longer phones. They're personal assistants which are capable of making phone calls. Let's face it. A great deal of people, perhaps a majority, are using these devices less for actual phone calls and more for other reasons. So yes, in the old way of thinking of things...this is a large phone but it's a nice size for a device that makes your life easier...oh and if you really want to, you can use it to make a phone call.

[Y2HH]

I think there's a paradigm shift going on where these things are no longer phones. They're personal assistants which are capable of making phone calls. Let's face it. A great deal of people, perhaps a majority, are using these devices less for actual phone calls and more for other reasons. So yes, in the old way of thinking of things...this is a large phone but it's a nice size for a device that makes your life easier...oh and if you really want to, you can use it to make a phone call.

 

I think having choice is always the best idea, so I don't mind some phones being that large, I simply won't buy them so long as alternatives exist in a smaller form factor. Advances have already made the larger screened devices seem smaller, but I've used a note 2, and its just too big to comfortably carry for me, so is the note 1 for that matter. The S3, while still large, is a nicer size, also getting to about as big as I'd want it. I don't wear loose clothing, and these absurdly large devices don't mesh with that.

 

I think this shift is temporary, just as the super tiny dumb-phones were a temporary shift. There is a happy medium, and I'm not sure anyone's found it quite yet.

 

I find modern apple phones a bit too small, but modern androids like the note series too large.

 

And most people use them as nothing more then texting devices of we're being perfectly honest about it. If they do anything other than that, it's maps...and I know people who aren't even using it for that. And of anything annoys me, it's their refusal to use things at the fingertips.

Edited February 10, 2013 by Y2HH

[kjshoe04]

My Note 2 is my work phone and it is perfect for that. I'm not sure if I would be as big a fan if it was my personal phone. As I have it right now I just keep it in my bag and on my desk. I have a smaller phone for my pocket.

[Y2HH]

My Note 2 is my work phone and it is perfect for that. I'm not sure if I would be as big a fan if it was my personal phone. As I have it right now I just keep it in my bag and on my desk. I have a smaller phone for my pocket.

 

This is definitely something that wouldn't bother me. I'd rather have a Note 2 than the crap blackberry my company gives me now.

[chw42]

http://unleashthephones.com/2013/02/10/sony-xperia-z-review/

 

There's a nice Xperia Z review for your Sqwert.

[BigSqwert]

http://unleashthephones.com/2013/02/10/sony-xperia-z-review/

 

There's a nice Xperia Z review for your Sqwert.

 

Thanks. I didn't read anything that eliminated it from the running as my next phone. Let' see what the other big hitters unveil in the coming weeks.

 

EDIT: One question. I've always had an on-contract phone. If this one never gets released, could I buy an unlocked one and have it activated it the US? I have no idea how that works since I've always been on Sprint and never had to deal with SIM cards.

Edited February 11, 2013 by BigSqwert

[Y2HH]

Thanks. I didn't read anything that eliminated it from the running as my next phone. Let' see what the other big hitters unveil in the coming weeks.

 

EDIT: One question. I've always had an on-contract phone. If this one never gets released, could I buy an unlocked one and have it activated it the US? I have no idea how that works since I've always been on Sprint and never had to deal with SIM cards.

 

That all depends on Sony. It's possible, yes, but not guaranteed since a lot of foreign chips do not work with American CDMA/GSM/LTE standards.

[Y2HH]

http://unleashthephones.com/2013/02/10/sony-xperia-z-review/

 

There's a nice Xperia Z review for your Sqwert.

 

That phone looks really good...but...it's...Sony. I'm still not sure I can let that go...

[chw42]

That phone looks really good...but...it's...Sony. I'm still not sure I can let that go...

 

TBH, Sony's actually pretty good about pushing out updates in the past year or so. They're fairly transparent and they do interact with the dev community quite a bit.

 

However, they're still an OEM and OEMs have to go through a long process to get software skinned and approved (approval takes almost longer than development). The key to this phone is how large the dev following will be for this phone. Otherwise, be prepared to be stuck on an old version of Android for a few months.

 

This is a very comparable phone IMO:

 

Oppo is a Chinese company that actually makes really really high quality electronics (their Blu-Ray players are really good) and this phone is no exception. It's a pretty good deal for $500 unlocked too.

Edited February 11, 2013 by chw42

[chw42]

Thanks. I didn't read anything that eliminated it from the running as my next phone. Let' see what the other big hitters unveil in the coming weeks.

 

EDIT: One question. I've always had an on-contract phone. If this one never gets released, could I buy an unlocked one and have it activated it the US? I have no idea how that works since I've always been on Sprint and never had to deal with SIM cards.

 

If you're willing to switch carriers for the phone, then you can go with just about anyone and you should be able to find an unlocked version on eBay or Amazon. It will cost you though (expect a $600-$700 tag).

 

If you're willing to live with T-Mobile's spotty coverage inside buildings and in rural areas (I know you've suffered this with Spring too...), then you can get unlimited everything for $70 a month prepaid. No contract, no horrible cellular tax, and their HSPA+42 gets you 25 Mbps in good coverage areas. They should also get LTE soon, which I imagine will be on the international Xperia Z.

Edited February 11, 2013 by chw42

[RockRaines]

I think there's a paradigm shift going on where these things are no longer phones. They're personal assistants which are capable of making phone calls. Let's face it. A great deal of people, perhaps a majority, are using these devices less for actual phone calls and more for other reasons. So yes, in the old way of thinking of things...this is a large phone but it's a nice size for a device that makes your life easier...oh and if you really want to, you can use it to make a phone call.

There has to be options because I use my phone for calls alot more than anything else. I never play games at all.

[BigSqwert]

There has to be options because I use my phone for calls alot more than anything else. I never play games at all.

But there's more to it than just games.

 

There's:

 

- texting

- ebook

- web browsing

- email

- calendar/appointments

- music player

- camera/video

- weather

- social media

- notes

- "office" type applications (i.e., word doc, spreadsheet, etc.)

- GPS/Navigation

- banking/finance

 

 

And that's just a tip of the iceberg. These things are so much more than phones and that's why their size is being mutated to be better suited for a larger suite of uses.