Why did I Jailbreak my iPhone 4

jailbreak iPhone 4

jailbreak iPhone 4

When I invested in my iPhone 4 it was my first foray into into Apple’s cell phones. I had used both an Apple iPad and iPod Touch before so I pretty much knew what I was letting myself in for. I also knew what a big investment it was going to be but after years of frustration with my various Windows Mobile cell phones I was ready to give up on the flexibility and customization that I had on my WinMo cell phone and move onto one that had the functionality I was looking for.

I’d heard about jailbreaking before but never understood the need for it or what was involved to get it done but after playing with my iPhone 4 for just a few days I began reading more and more about what it was and how it was done.

It’s not difficult to find out everything you need to know about jail breaking, and a lot that you don’t, via the Internet and after a few hours and multiple hours I was sold on the idea of jailbreaking my iPhone 4.

There were multiple reasons that sold me on jail breaking, all things that were impossible to do without jailbreaking thanks to Apple’s locked down system that restricts the iPhone to all but the smallest of changes.

Here are the apps, yes jailbroken iPhones have their very own App Store too, that convinced me to jailbreak my iPhone and the risks involved in the process.

AndroidLock XT – A lock screen that allows you to trace a set pattern on your iPhones touch screen to unlock it.

biteSMS – An alternative to the stock iPhone txt messaging application that adds such features as quick reply, (without exiting out of your active application), scheduled sending and templates to name but a few of the features.

Display Recorder – Record the iPhones screen including the springboard, games and apps, save them locally and even upload them to YouTube.

Infinifolders – This one is my favourite, remove the 12 app limit on folders so that you can store an unlimited number of app in folders.

User Agent Faker – A tool which enables you to control how your iPhone presents itself to websites so that you can prevent the automatic redirection to the mobile version of a website.

SBSettings – A quick access tool which enables you to toggle things settings on and off such as data, Bluetooth, wifi and the aforementioned user agent faker.

These are just a few if the major apps that I have applied to my iPhone since jailbreaking it and they are as easy to install as an app from Apple’s very own App Store.

Some of these apps are free while some of them have to be paid for which you can do via such payment methods as Amazon and Paypal. It’s all very easy, almost as easy as the App Store itself and it’s this simplicity in both purchasing apps and the initial jailbreak itself that keeps me jailbroken.

Prior to the latest jailbreak users could only jailbreak their iPhones by downloading a piece of software to their computers, hook up their iPhone to the computer and then run the software. While this wasn’t difficult it did add another level to the process.

However, the latest jailbreak can be done directly on and iPhone simply by navigating to a specific website and follow the instructions. When this process was announced I didn’t jailbreak right away but instead monitored others who were using this method to jailbreak their iPhones via a range of online forums.

When adding any non-proprietary software to any device there are risks involved and I was always warned that the jailbreak would void my warranty with Apple and more worryingly “brick” my phone.

As I watched the progress of the jailbreakers on the forums it was clear that the vast majority of users weren’t encountering any issues and so I went ahead and applied the jailbreak to my iPhone and have not looked back since.

It appears that the ongoing battle between Apple and the developers that enable users to jailbreak their devices is here to stay and the next salvo in the battle takes place next week when Apple release iOS 4.1.

For those people who jailbreak the decision again will be based on the fact that if the latest version of Apple’s firmware have enough new features that they are willing to give up their jailbreak for and how long will it be before the developers behind the jailbreak succeed in jail breaking that OS too?

Only time will tell…

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9 Comments on “Why did I Jailbreak my iPhone 4”

  1. Humanfactorstraining

    I jailbroke my iphone 4 for one major reason; To watch Flash videos. Therebis no way i will give up to watch or dl whatever the machine is capable just because a guy with fascist- dictarorial tendencies decides what i can or can not on MY machine. I find Jobs policies of control so repulsive this will be my first and last i phone. As soon as Android comes up with a screen as good as the iphone’s i will switch. No, nothing else matches the iphone4 screen, nothing comes close in the quality inmost value; effectivecresolution, the ability to show text cris and clear in any font size. Forget what Samsung says about the superamoled screen ij the Galaxy phone. I have compared both screens up close and there is no context in terms of crispness and legibility. Color quality both are
    Excellent. I insist, for text superamoled is far behind. By the way, the screen of tte ipad is even worse. I read books easier on the iphone than the i pad, MUCH EASIER

  2. Xiao A

    you can use you iphone 4 freely , and you can use more free apps , yes , i have jailbroken my iphone and , it runs well now …i have jailbroken my iphone 4 for a long time,it runs well ,and i can use my iphone more freely~~i don’t purchase the costly apps from apple~ and now
    like the latest app called frash which can make my iphone runs flash, than combining some ANEESOFT iphone Auxiliary tools, i can enjoy movies on my movie world~~ha

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