iPhone 4S and iPad 2 Jailbreak

[Desmo]

http://modmyi.com/content/6678-how-j...-0-1-os-x.html

Go get it

[leowyatt]

This being my first iOS device, what benefit do I have to jailbreaking?

[A Place of Light]

Originally Posted by leowyatt

This being my first iOS device, what benefit do I have to jailbreaking?

It prises the fingers of Apples vice-like grip from the device in question.

[Toby]

TBH I don't really have any problems with Apple's "grip" over their devices - as long as they work and do what I need. I had an Android phone for 18 months and, whilst it was obviously more flexible or customisable than an iPhone, I haven't missed that for one second.

The Android zealots would have us believe that the success of the platform is down to it's flexibility and customisability and that's why it's outselling iPhones. I totally disagree and think the success is down to the fact that most Android handsets are significantly cheaper than iPhones and most people who want an iPhone already have one, so the market is pretty saturated. I firmly believe that a very large number of people with Android handsets have them purely because they wanted a smartphone but couldn't afford an iPhone. But I'm drifting off-topic now

[Kitten]

That's very much against my understanding of the situation. The majority of people i know who use android now (including myself and many of the people in my dept) have gone from Apple to Android simply because the Galaxy S2 knocks spots off the iphone, is more open, more intuitive and just a far nicer experience. Nothing to do with cost - was not a consideration for me although maybe that's the argument being bandied around by the iphone crew to avoid the real reason- most of them already had an iphone 4 and considered the S2 a significant upgrade. I still use my 3gs for work and I've used Matt's 4s a fair bit. I expected to be jealous when he got it but I was shocked at how heavy, and clunky it was compared to my S2. The S2 has changed the game completely.

Sent from my Galaxy S2

[Matblack]

That^


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I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=51.280723,0.520601

[Desmo]

Originally Posted by leowyatt

This being my first iOS device, what benefit do I have to jailbreaking?

For me it used to be themeing but I'm passed that now. My main additions via cydia (and I've paid for some of these) is lock info that does a far better job than notification centre, especially on the lock screen. biteSMS for text messages that has quickly reply/compose as well as loads of other handy features like templates and timed messages. One other handy one is browser changer that sets the default browser to whatever you want. I use iCab Mobile instead of Safari and to have all link open in iCab instead of Safari is really handy.

Some of these a big changes and others are little, but they all make the phone a little more usable. There's plenty more available too.

[Toby]

Originally Posted by Kitten

That's very much against my understanding of the situation. The majority of people i know who use android now (including myself and many of the people in my dept) have gone from Apple to Android simply because the Galaxy S2 knocks spots off the iphone, is more open, more intuitive and just a far nicer experience. Nothing to do with cost - was not a consideration for me although maybe that's the argument being bandied around by the iphone crew to avoid the real reason- most of them already had an iphone 4 and considered the S2 a significant upgrade. I still use my 3gs for work and I've used Matt's 4s a fair bit. I expected to be jealous when he got it but I was shocked at how heavy, and clunky it was compared to my S2. The S2 has changed the game completely.

Sent from my Galaxy S2

Sorry but I totally disagree

I had an HTC Desire and, whilst it was a decent phone, it just felt unfinished. There were far too many little annoyances and bugs with it and I lost count of how many times I had to reboot the thing.

As for Android being more intuitive than iOS, sorry but I can't agree with that on any level. I've found iOS to be far more intuitive and just a better thought out interface than Android and most reviews I've read and opinions I've heard support this. It's all the little things too that just make it nice to use, such as the auto-correct automatically checking your contacts so it includes peoples' names, plus others I can't think of off the top of my head. It just feels like that bit more thought and effort was put into it compared to Android.

Then there's the App Store. Whilst I was expecting the iOS-only apps that weren't available on Android, what I wasn't expecting was how many apps, sometimes from the big players, were just plain better on iOS. Many apps which I'd been using on Android and which I immediately acquired for iOS, like Facebook, BBC News or Autosport, were designed better and function far more smoothly than their Android counterparts. It felt like all the effort went into the iOS version and the Android one was merely an afterthought. This isn't a criticism of Android itself of course, as it's the application developers who've obviously primarily targetted iOS but it is another facet of the platform that sets it apart from Android.

As for the Galaxy S2, sorry but it's far from the game-changer and iPhone-beater that many would have us believe. My girlfriend has one and, whilst it's a nice enough phone, it's still basically just a bigger and faster version of the what I had with the Desire. Everyone goes on about how fast it is yet, despite superior paper specs to the iPhone 4S, the latter is quicker, which tells you a lot about how much more efficient and optimised the OS is. Even using the S2, I notice far too many slight jerks and shudders when navigating or scrolling, something that just never ever happens on the 4S. The screen is nice but frankly the phone is too damned big for me and I wouldn't want to be carrying something that large around in my pocket all the time. If you watch a lot of video or do a lot of browsing then maybe it's worth it but, personally, I much prefer the size of the iPhone. The screen is perfectly big enough and actually has higher resolution and DPI than the S2 so reading it is a pleasure. I've also noticed how much is made of how light the S2 is, as if this is a plus point. Personally I think it makes it feel like a toy and the iPhone 4/4S feels like a precision-made watch in comparison. Yes the construction makes the iPhone heavier but I can't say I've ever heard anyone complain that the iPhone was too heavy!

I'm no Apple fan-boy, indeed the 4S was the first iPhone I've had and I gave Android a decent shot for 18 months with the Desire. I think the comparison between Android and iOS is a very similar one to the PC vs MacOS argument. The former is more flexible and customisable and runs on a much wider variety of hardware whilst the latter is more locked down, only runs on Apple hardware but the pay-off of the tighter integration is a slicker, smoother experience that just feels far more polished.

I personally know far more people who've migrated from Android to iPhone, usually starting with Android because it was a cheaper way to get their first smartphone but, once they're hooked on the concept, they wanted an iPhone. I knew a few people who've gone the other way but not many!

Sorry for droning on but that's my take on things At the end of the day both platforms are great and a lot of it is down to personal preference and what you want from a phone. The future certainly belongs to these two platforms in my opinion, with the likes of Windows Phone being far too little too late.

What's slightly weird is that iOS is often perceived as the best route for non-techies whilst Android is more suited to those familiar with technology, yet my experience is different. I'm certainly a techie, being a programmer by profession and my house currently contains one server, five PCs, one laptop, two netbooks and more cables than I care to count, yet I still vastly prefer iOS to Android. A lot of my friends are also technically oriented, being keen PC gamers and also working in IT, yet more of them have iPhones than Android, by quite a margin.

I'll shut up now

[Blighter]

Thanks Toby - you just said most of what was on my mind so I don't need to type it out

Just to add on to the screen size bit, the iPhone screen was designed so you can hold it comfortably in one hand and still easily get to every bit of the screen. Try doing that on the S2

It is all the little bits that makes iOS superior in my opinion, as well as the 'life-like' motions and animations of the GUI (such as the 'bounce' when you get to the bottom of a page. Yes, android does this, but only on the odd app or two, and it doesn't feel as smooth as the iPhone).

This is a big pro-iPhone point too: Software updates for older devices. Check this out:

[Toby]

The update situation is a total farce and Google really need to sort this out.

Every time an Android update appears, you first have to wait for Google to release it to the hardware manufacturers, then wait for them to produce an update for your particular phone, if indeed they bother to at all, and then potentially also wait for your network provider to then produce their branded version.

The situation isn't helped by the way Google make such a song and dance about each new version, giving them names and proclaiming how much better they are. When you've not long purchased a new phone, then a new version of Android is released and you either don't get it at all or have to wait weeks or months before an update for your phone arrives, how does that make customers feel?

Contrast this with iOS. Yes, they have to cut off older hardware at some point, like they did with the iPhone 3G and iOS5, but aside from that, everyone can download and install the updates the moment they are released.

You could install iOS5 on an iPhone 3GS from mid-2009 the moment it was released. If you took an Android phone from that period, you'd not be able to install Froyo on it, let alone Gingerbread or Ice-cream Sandwich.

Google need to sort this out - the diversity of phones and manufacturer/network customisations can be a negative aspect too.

EDIT: Just read the full article accompanying that image at the website mentioned on it - makes for very interesting reading. I'd not even considered the issue of developers targetting ancient versions of the OS to maximise reach - this could be very dangerous for Google.