Chinese iPhone Fans & Scalpers Join the Craze of Buying White iPhone 4 in Beijing

Published on April 28, 2011 by Richard Ker

China joins the rest of the world with the official launch of white iPhone 4, that has been delayed for 10 months.

Currently there are two Apple Stores in Beijing and numerous authorized resellers. One is located at Chaoyang District’s Sanlitun while the other is at Dongcheng District’s Xidan. Both are located at popular shopping areas. The Apple Stores here are always packed with curious Chinese consumers and many chose to purchase the iPhones as they are deemed as ‘status symbol’ in China.

iPhone Scalpers target these areas and they work in groups. They purchase these iPhones in bulk and quickly depleting the stocks at the  Stores. The photo above shows a Chinese consumer (probably a scalper) resting after he managed to get countless numbers of white iPhone 4′s. (not sure why is he sitting on these phones!)

People would do anything to get their hands on the iPhones. The crowds are usually controlled outside of the Stores to avoid any untoward incidents. When the iPhone 4 was launched in Beijing late last year, the Apple Store in Sanlitun had to close its doors after a fight broke out between genuine buyers and scalpers.

It was reported that by 3pm this afternoon, both Stores in Beijing have already ran out of stock.

Apple is investing a lot of money in China and they plan to open more outlets in the next few years. According to news reports a few days ago, iPhone’s fastest growing market is China and Apple will definitely keep that momentum going.

Photos by Xinhua News

Re-write SIM Card Method to Unlock iPhone 4 without Using Turbo SIM Software Sneak Peek

Published on April 27, 2011 by Richard Ker

Less than 2 weeks ago we posted a method of unlocking iPhone 4 using SIM re-write method. To summarize this process in one sentence, using a SIM card reader/writer, you “clone” your current SIM card and embed it with the program used for Gevey Turbo SIM.

UPDATE: If you have an AT&T iPhone or from other carriers, you can unlock it permanently. See here.

We’re just finalizing the English version of the software as it was developed in Chinese. Here’s a sneak peek of the software.

Here’s another potentially good news – we might be able to use the same method to unlock iPhone 3G and 3GS baseband 5.14.02, 5.15.04 and 5.16.02. But this requires more testing so don’t put up your hopes too high yet. :)

CutYourSIM’s iPhone IMEI Factory Unlock Service Suspended

Published on April 23, 2011 by Richard Ker

Just last week, we wrote an article on everything you need to know about unlocking your iPhone using IMEI. Barely 2 weeks after it was introduced, the service provided by CutYourSIM has been suspended indefinitely as reported on CultofMac’s website. There were some speculations that Apple may behind it.

Those who managed to get the unlock are very lucky but the others who have paid and still waiting for the unlock, are now stuck and may be having trouble getting back their refunds; especially those who paid using Google Checkout as CutYourSim’s merchant account was closed due to “multiple recent refunds.”

A representative from CutYourSIM told CultofMac:

“Unfortunately, we were not able to complete the rest of the unlocks waiting in our queue due to our suppliers being unable to offer the service anymore. Our suppliers have told us that there is a possibility that the service may return, but they do not know when, so we have decided to start processing refunds for any orders that we were not able to complete.”

We believe Apple takes this matter very seriously and probably some insiders at Cupertino are now in hot soup over this. Well, that’s just our guess. :)

CutYourSIM had posted FAQs on their website on refund procedures etc.

How about Rebel Micro SIM? Yeah right, I think we posted a news on that a few days ago. Apparently there’s now a 7 days preparation time “due to high demand.” The price was GBP49.99 when we last checked 2 days ago, but today, you can only view the price once you logged in to their system.

Well, the Turbo SIM is still by far the most reliable and risk-free iPhone 4 unlock available at the moment.

Untethered Jailbreak iOS 4.3.2 with Redsn0w 0.9.6rc14 or Sn0wbreeze 2.6

Published on April 20, 2011 by Richard Ker

By now, you should already know how to use these tools to jailbreak your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch.

We’ll just put the download links here.

If you insist on reading the step-by-step guide:

Too busy to create custom firmware? The following custom firmwares were created with sn0wbreeze using Simple Mode, jailbroken, activated and will preserve your baseband. Use iREB to DFU your iPhone before restoring (Shift+Restore for Windows or Opt+Restore for Mac) with iTunes:

Enjoy! :)

Untethered Jailbreak Possible: Apple Still Signing iOS 4.3.1, Save Your SHSH Now!

Published on April 20, 2011 by Richard Ker

Apple had released iOS 4.3.2 a few days ago but it’s still not too late to enjoy untethered jailbreak on your iPhone, as Apple is still signing iOS 4.3.1. You will need to do it now because they may stop it anytime soon!

If you intend to upgrade to iOS 4.3.1, you can still do it now. For unlockers, please always use custom firmware to preserve your baseband.

Steps:

1. Download iOS 4.3.1 IPSW file for iPhone 4 or iPhone 3GS.
2. If you need to preserve your baseband, use sn0wbreeze or pwnage-tool to create custom firmware. It is always recommended to preserve your baseband as you may need to unlock it in the future. Having an unlockable baseband will increase your iPhone’s resale value.
3. Backup your iPhone.
4. Launch iTunes, connect your iPhone and use Shift+Restore (Windows) or Opt+Restore (Mac). Wait until iTunes completes the restore.
5. If you don’t have an official SIM card, use redsn0w 0.9.6rc12 for Windows or Mac to jailbreak and hacktivate it.
6. Now save your SHSH with the latest version of TinyUmbrella for Windows or Mac. You can also save it using Cydia.

Having your SHSH saved allows you to downgrade to iOS 4.3.1 at any time in the future.

Need an unlock for iPhone 4? Purchase your Turbo SIM here.