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My Thoughts Now I've (Finally) Jailbroken - I'm A Little Underwhelmed...

J

jimf123

macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 9, 2008
44
6
Yesterday I finally decided to join the jailbreaking party, better late than never! For what it's worth I thought I'd post my opinions and thoughts.

I have a 1st gen 8gb iphone. I used Quickpwn. It took 3 attempts for the process to work, even though I did exactly the same thing each time, so maybe not the best of starts. If I'm really honest, & I know everyone is entitled to their opinion & won't share mine(!), but I'm a little disappointed...I spent quite a few hours looking in Cydia at what I could download. There's loads of stuff to change the themes of your phone, but for me that isn't too high on my prioritity list. I've found a few great apps so far, Backgrounder which allows me to run my instant messenger (or any other app) in the background, Cycorder for video recording and Snapture giving a zoom to the camera. Of course, had I a 3G phone then XGPS would be invaluable. Apart from that, so far I havn't come across much that exites me. It has sort of made me feel a little better about the official Appstore...

Despite what I have said, it is a slightly double edged sword...even just finding the apps above has made me wonder why on earth Apple hasn't either implemented them themselves, or allowed them in the Appstore (I know the rules around the SDK, but Apple decide the rules & can change or bend them !). I know many of us are asking the same question, but I just cant for the life of me understand their reasoning behind it. OK, running apps in the background will cause the battery to run down even quicker, but surely if they make that clear we are able to make an informed decision and choice? Lack of an official video app when it is clearly possible, you know, why, what possible reason is there for that ? For 3g owners, turn by turn voice guideance is there, now, working. Why block it from the masses when it would be a huge moneymaker for them ?

Anyway, that's my thoughts! I'd love some pointers at other jailbreakers apps that they like, or if I'm missing something massive please let me know...I assume cydia is the place to find all the available apps ?

Thanks everyone.
 
jimf123 said:
Yesterday I finally decided to join the jailbreaking party, better late than never! For what it's worth I thought I'd post my opinions and thoughts.

I have a 1st gen 8gb iphone. I used Quickpwn. It took 3 attempts for the process to work, even though I did exactly the same thing each time, so maybe not the best of starts. If I'm really honest, & I know everyone is entitled to their opinion & won't share mine(!), but I'm a little disappointed...I spent quite a few hours looking in Cydia at what I could download. There's loads of stuff to change the themes of your phone, but for me that isn't too high on my prioritity list. I've found a few great apps so far, Backgrounder which allows me to run my instant messenger (or any other app) in the background, Cycorder for video recording and Snapture giving a zoom to the camera. Of course, had I a 3G phone then XGPS would be invaluable. Apart from that, so far I havn't come across much that exites me. It has sort of made me feel a little better about the official Appstore...

Despite what I have said, it is a slightly double edged sword...even just finding the apps above has made me wonder why on earth Apple hasn't either implemented them themselves, or allowed them in the Appstore (I know the rules around the SDK, but Apple decide the rules & can change or bend them !). I know many of us are asking the same question, but I just cant for the life of me understand their reasoning behind it. OK, running apps in the background will cause the battery to run down even quicker, but surely if they make that clear we are able to make an informed decision and choice? Lack of an official video app when it is clearly possible, you know, why, what possible reason is there for that ? For 3g owners, turn by turn voice guideance is there, now, working. Why block it from the masses when it would be a huge moneymaker for them ?

Anyway, that's my thoughts! I'd love some pointers at other jailbreakers apps that they like, or if I'm missing something massive please let me know...I assume cydia is the place to find all the available apps ?

Thanks everyone.
Click to expand...
I think quite a few who JB follow the same path as me. JB, then go mad on themes and installing all the stuff they can find that they think they need.

Then a few weeks on realise that themes get old quick and can slow down the iphone quite a bit and all the new apps they installed don't actually get used - I never received a MMS in the previous 15 years of owning a phone why should I suddenly get them now?

Any official apps or games I want I just buy - I'll spend £5 a day on lunch etc so its not a push to fork out 59p every now or again.

All I JB now is to change the text notification - they do stink.

When people want to see/borrow your iphone they are always invariably more impressed by the stock quick response look than anything I've ever seen themed.

The iphone does have a lot of 'expected' features missing (I'm looking at you bluetooth) but its internet experience still makes up for all the shortcomings at the moment.
 
Reasons why I'll never go back to unjailbroken:
SBSettings (make sure to look for all the additional toggles/widgets)
Five Row Keyboard
hClipboard (not sure of spell)
Supreme Preferences
AppBackup
AptBackup
Categories
Status Notifier
Live Clock
Weather Icon
LockDown
ReName
MxTube
 
OP I was the same. At first it was kind of fun, but my phone seemed to get slower by the week (by that time I'd stripped all the themes etc off)

I only really jailbroke for Swirly (I like mms, wheesht the lot of you) and given that the interface on that was rubbish I went back to stock after about 3 weeks.
 
I liked JB'n as well, but hated the lag and flakiness.

All in all IMO jailbreaking is totally overhyped and over sold.

I think a lot of people get over it real fast.
 
OrangeDog said:
I liked JB'n as well, but hated the lag and flakiness.
Click to expand...

Yeah, but he said he's not into WinterBoard, so it shouldn't be that big of an issue for him.

As for the features, yes it's nice to have some of the things that Apple left out. I jailbroke because I wanted a whole bunch of command line tools that Apple is never going to provide -- but even GUI-oriented folks tend to like video recording and turn-by-turn GPS. Still, it's not for everyone. It really depends on what you use your phone for.
 
..

Yeah I'm not clever enough for anything but gui related features!!!

Don't get me wrong, I know there's loads of people who love their jailbroken phones. I guess they use their phone for loads more things than I do. And I love the apps I've downloaded for video recording/background app running etc. I guess it just made me more disappointed that these are not official as it seems for my needs, it doesn't feel too much to ask.
 
There are a couple features that keep leading me back to JBing, mostly Cycorder, I just really like having good quality video recording capabilities on my phone. Other then that I use SB settings and categories and the phone runs as smooth as a non jailbroken phone.
 
Gotta love how those that aren't that into jailbreaking say "it bogs the phone down"... that is total bunk. I have many JB apps on my phone and mine is as fast as both of my parents that are not JB. As far as the debate of "Cycorder gives you good quality video recording capabilities?????" Yeah I think it does esp when you compare it to a non JB iPhone :D

For those of you that wouldn't dare mess with apple's pathetic version of the iPhone, good for you. I however like my:
Cycorder
5 icon dock
Winterboard
Cydia
xGPS
Clear Cam
PdaNet
MIM
Font Colors
Alt Weather Background
AOL You've got mail
SB Settings
Frature sms
Glass sms
Homer doh sms tone
light saber sounds
color header battery
iBlacklist
Ice keys
Illuminus
rss wifi orange
touch key board sounds
Apt Backup
Clear sky notes
dTunes
open ssh
169 different ring tone choices
Carbon fiber Keyboard
Video backgrounds
AppFlow
AppBackup
FindMyI
........You get the idea

Plus this: Looks so much better than this: :rolleyes:
 
OrangeDog said:
You honestly believe, that Cycorder gives you "good quality video recording capabilities"?????
Click to expand...

Haha, I saw that video Ashton Kutcher posted online a while ago taken on his iPhone. It was the worst quality video I think I've ever seen from a phone! I remember my Orange SPV E200 taking better video about 10 years ago!

I suspect that's the reason apple never included it as a feature, people would laugh at how bad it is.
 
OrangeDog said:
You honestly believe, that Cycorder gives you "good quality video recording capabilities"?????
Click to expand...

yes, obviously I'm not going to shoot a major motion picture with it but to capture a quality moment from the kids it is pretty darn good.
 
army91c said:
Gotta love how those that aren't that into jailbreaking say "it bogs the phone down"... that is total bunk. I have many JB apps on my phone and mine is as fast as both of my parents that are not JB. As far as the debate of "Cycorder gives you good quality video recording capabilities?????" Yeah I think it does esp when you compare it to a non JB iPhone :D

For those of you that wouldn't dare mess with apple's pathetic version of the iPhone, good for you. I however like my:
Cycorder
5 icon dock
Winterboard
Cydia
xGPS
Clear Cam
PdaNet
MIM
Font Colors
Alt Weather Background
AOL You've got mail
SB Settings
Frature sms
Glass sms
Homer doh sms tone
light saber sounds
color header battery
iBlacklist
Ice keys
Illuminus
rss wifi orange
touch key board sounds
Apt Backup
Clear sky notes
dTunes
open ssh
169 different ring tone choices
Carbon fiber Keyboard
Video backgrounds
AppFlow
AppBackup
FindMyI
........You get the idea

Plus this: Looks so much better than this: :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

Yes, the one on the left looks better. Also, how can you say with all of that stuff (especially WinterBoard) that your iPhone runs just as fast as stock. That's TOTAL BUNK. Anyone can prove it.
 
Aurial said:
Haha, I saw that video Ashton Kutcher posted online a while ago taken on his iPhone. It was the worst quality video I think I've ever seen from a phone! I remember my Orange SPV E200 taking better video about 10 years ago!

I suspect that's the reason apple never included it as a feature, people would laugh at how bad it is.
Click to expand...

Are you talking about the one on Qik? That's because Qik is/was streaming from his phone.
 
Aside from backgrounder and cycorder, the main reason for me to jailbreak is tweaks. Not just themes, but actual improvements to the interface. Things like springboard settings, 5 apps in the dock, or notification icons (e.g., that you have new mail) without having to unlock the phone. If you've owned other smartphones besides an iPhone, odds are you take this tweakability for granted. If you haven't, jailbreaking may not seem so essential.

It's also so easy once you get the hang of it. I was jailbroken with all of my apps restored in about five minutes after updating to 2.2.1.
 
I ran JB for quite awhile and then eventually ended up going back to stock. I went nuts initially and loaded loads of ringtones, goofy themes, every app that sounded remotely interesting.

I restored a couple weeks ago and the only thing I miss are SBSettings and..... well I think that's about it.

Mileage will vary.
 
TheSpaz said:
Yes, the one on the left looks better. Also, how can you say with all of that stuff (especially WinterBoard) that your iPhone runs just as fast as stock. That's TOTAL BUNK. Anyone can prove it.
Click to expand...

So, basically you're calling me a liar.....

I put my phone with all that next to my mothers non JB iPhone, any app I hit opens at about the same speed, sometimes mine is faster, sometimes hers is.

I put my phone with all that next to my fathers non JB iPhone, any app I hit opens at about the same speed, sometimes mine is faster, sometimes his is.

So einstein, if that is the case, how is my JB iPhone "slower" than theirs? Keep it coming hero, any other iPhone wisdom you want to lay on me?

If you have backgrounder and an app running, sure it may "bog" down the phone, but DB's like yourself that make retarded blanket statements that JB and apps slow the phone down are talking out of your 4th point of contact.... if you don't know what that is try google or join the Army and you'll hear it all the time and maybe (judgeing from a lot of your postings, maybe not) you'll figure it out.
 
well why not do it scientifically

have the same amount of webpages open in safari, have the same programs installed, and have the same firmware

then test which is faster on what programs

everything I've read online shows that Jailbreaking will unfortunately cause stability/slow down problems
 
army91c said:
So, basically you're calling me a liar.....

I put my phone with all that next to my mothers non JB iPhone, any app I hit opens at about the same speed, sometimes mine is faster, sometimes hers is.

I put my phone with all that next to my fathers non JB iPhone, any app I hit opens at about the same speed, sometimes mine is faster, sometimes his is.

So einstein, if that is the case, how is my JB iPhone "slower" than theirs? Keep it coming hero, any other iPhone wisdom you want to lay on me?

If you have backgrounder and an app running, sure it may "bog" down the phone, but DB's like yourself that make retarded blanket statements that JB and apps slow the phone down are talking out of your 4th point of contact.... if you don't know what that is try google or join the Army and you'll hear it all the time and maybe (judgeing from a lot of your postings, maybe not) you'll figure it out.
Click to expand...

Do you mind explaining to us what you did to speed up your iPhone so that it runs like a stock iPhone? I'd really like to know. I've done side by side tests of 2 iPhones... one running stock and one with winterboard and the winterboard one ALWAYS takes longer than the fresh iPhone. These were both running a plain restored firmware with NO backup restored. Just as plain as you can get. The one with winterboard installed didn't even have any themes on. Simply just INSTALLING WINTERBOARD made it lauch apps slower than the other iPhone. So yes, I'm calling you a liar.
 
army91c said:
Gotta love how those that aren't that into jailbreaking say "it bogs the phone down"... that is total bunk. I have many JB apps on my phone and mine is as fast as both of my parents that are not JB. As far as the debate of "Cycorder gives you good quality video recording capabilities?????" Yeah I think it does esp when you compare it to a non JB iPhone :D

For those of you that wouldn't dare mess with apple's pathetic version of the iPhone, good for you. I however like my:
Cycorder
5 icon dock
Winterboard
Cydia
xGPS
Clear Cam
PdaNet
MIM
Font Colors
Alt Weather Background
AOL You've got mail
SB Settings
Frature sms
Glass sms
Homer doh sms tone
light saber sounds
color header battery
iBlacklist
Ice keys
Illuminus
rss wifi orange
touch key board sounds
Apt Backup
Clear sky notes
dTunes
open ssh
169 different ring tone choices
Carbon fiber Keyboard
Video backgrounds
AppFlow
AppBackup
FindMyI
........You get the idea

Plus this: Looks so much better than this: :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

Sorry but IMO your "themed" iPhone looks dreadful compared to stock. Most themes make the iPhone look like a kids toy.
I also find it impossible to believe that you don't suffer any lag whatsoever running what you do on your JB'n iPhone. You must have a very special iPhone with a lot more grunt than anyone else owns. Maybe your Steve Jobs's kid;)
 
yea... i feel the same way. i went crazy doing stuff to the iphone once i JB just to realize that they made my iphone crippling slow. i removed a ton of junk and the only JB apps i use now are...

SBsettings - and i dont think i could live without it
Video recorder
MxTube
themes - winterboard.
categories - another one i dont think i could live without

thats it.... dont have 3G so no xgps
 
TheSpaz said:
Do you mind explaining to us what you did to speed up your iPhone so that it runs like a stock iPhone? I'd really like to know. I've done side by side tests of 2 iPhones... one running stock and one with winterboard and the winterboard one ALWAYS takes longer than the fresh iPhone. These were both running a plain restored firmware with NO backup restored. Just as plain as you can get. The one with winterboard installed didn't even have any themes on. Simply just INSTALLING WINTERBOARD made it lauch apps slower than the other iPhone. So yes, I'm calling you a liar.
Click to expand...

You sir, are a liar.
 
NT1440 said:
You sir, are a liar.
Click to expand...

What makes me a liar? I have 2 iPhones and an iPod touch. I can test anything I want. What do you want me to do? Geeze. I've seen it with my own eyes.

By the way... I was just arguing with a person that can't tell the difference between 64kbps AAC vs. 256kbps when he flips them back and forth without looking. He didn't believe me that 256kbps is better, but it clearly is. Why are people like that?
 
TheSpaz said:
What makes me a liar? I have 2 iPhones and an iPod touch. I can test anything I want. What do you want me to do? Geeze. I've seen it with my own eyes.
Click to expand...
You cannot possibly have a jailbroken phone on vanilla firmware, which is what you claimed. The very act of jailbreaking means it isnt "freshly restored" firmware.

Also, the lag-ees have been outnumbered by those without lag countless times here, even a mod has said he has no lag. You CAN have some lag, but in that case just redo it until you dont. Jailbreaking isnt an exact science, things can go (very slightly) wrong.
 
NT1440 said:
You cannot possibly have a jailbroken phone on vanilla firmware, which is what you claimed. The very act of jailbreaking means it isnt "freshly restored" firmware.

Also, the lag-ees have been outnumbered by those without lag countless times here, even a mod has said he has no lag. You CAN have some lag, but in that case just redo it until you dont. Jailbreaking isnt an exact science, things can go (very slightly) wrong.
Click to expand...

You mis-read my post.

I restored one iPhone's FIRMWARE to stock 2.2.1 from Apple and when it was done restoring, I didn't revert to a backup. Meaning, it was setup like it came out of the box.

The other iPhone, I used PwnageTool, made a new custom Firware, restored the iPhone and then again, I didn't restore to any previous backups I had made. Thus making it a freshly jailbroken iPhone with nothing else on it.

Is that clear enough now?
 
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