CDMA technology, the standard used by Sprint and Verizon, has a minor presence around the world compared with GSM (Canada, Mexico, New Zealand, China, Taiwan, South Korea, parts of the Caribbean and Latin America all have CDMA networks). To accommodate using the iPhone 4S in non-CDMA countries, Sprint and Verizon have confirmed they can remotely unlock the SIM card (the part of the phone that uses GSM tech) of your iPhone 4S and allow you to use it overseas if you subscribe to one of their international add-on plans.

What Sprint and Verizon’s “unlocked” iPhone 4S really is

The real question, which has caused utter confusion all Wednesday morning, is whether or not you’ll be able to physically switch out the iPhone 4S’s micro-SIM card as you can do with other global phones like the BlackBerry Bold and Motorola Photon 4G. If so, iPhone 4S users would be able to purchase cheaper, prepaid micro-SIM cards bearing local numbers and substantially lower voice, data, and texting fees.

The answer is complicated. A Verizon customer-service rep I spoke to said, “I don’t know; we won’t know until we get the phones” while a Sprint customer-service rep claims you’ll be able to replace the micro-SIM card with a non-Sprint card. However, this sounds unlikely as it would make virtually every Sprint iPhone 4S a prepaid device. Furthermore unless you’re on the original 2007 iPhone, Apple software updates have disabled unlocked SIM functions.

Officially, Sprint PR reps told me their iPhones will come locked and that you cannot physically remove the card, though you will be able to unlock the SIM card to roam on the networks of Sprint’s international partners. On Verizon, you’ll be able to do the same, but you have to be a customer in good standing for at least 60 days first, said Verizon spokeswoman Brenda Raney. Verison also said that iPhone 4S owners will be able to remove the pre-installed micro-SIM card. (Sprint and Verizon both offer international roaming plans if you want to keep your current number while traveling abroad.)

AT&T’s iPhone 4S

On the other hand, AT&T is the only U.S. GSM network provider of iPhones, so technically its iPhone is already equipped to connect to overseas GSM networks (GSM is the standard in most of the world). Like with Verizon and Sprint, AT&T iPhones lock their micro-SIM card slots, forcing customers to use AT&T’s international plans from its global wireless partners.

Apple’s official unlocked iPhone 4S

Last Friday Apple took preorders for an unlocked version of the iPhone 4S, though it charges $649 for the 16GB model, substantially more than the $199 subsidized versions offered by its three carriers. The biggest benefit to buying one of these devices is T-Mobile prepaid. However Apple won’t be shipping these until November.

Not sure which carrier is right for you? Check out PCMag’s voice and data plan comparison chart for AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint. At this point, Sprint is the only carrier offering unlimited data on the iPhone.

Apple officially unveiled the iPhone 4S last week.

The iPhone 4S is aesthetically identical to the iPhone 4, but on the inside, it boasts Apple’s new dual-core A5 processor, a super-charged camera, iOS 5, and Siri-backed voice recognition, among other things. For more, see PCMag’s hands on with the iPhone 4S and the slideshow below.

UPDATE: After this story was initially published, Verizon told us that iPhone 4S owners would be able to remove their micro-SIM cards if they so wished.

Decide if it’s time to leap forward to a brave, new operating system

Apple’s new mobile operating system is finally nigh and imminent. Apple fans have been eagerly awaiting iOS 5 since it was announced in June. Last week, Apple CEO Tim Cook confirmed an October 12 release date for iOS 5, at the same time that he revealed the iPhone 4S. Apple mobile devices like the iPad and iPhone are eligible to upgrade to a brave new world of cloud computing, with exciting new notification features and money-saving messaging.

If you’re like many computer and electronic consumers, though, you might be a little nervous about the idea of immediately upgrading to iOS 5. Older gadgets often feel slower when upgraded to new operating systems, and the fearsome specter of annoying bugs lurks around every corner. You could be tempted to wait until iOS 5.1 hits the street, hoping the later release might clear up any troublesome features and smooth out your experience.

Here’s why you should overcome those worries and upgrade to iOS 5.

iMessage in action

Save on your phone bill
iOS 5 debuts a new iMessage system that communicates across wifi and mobile data plans instead of traditional SMS text messages. You’ll be able to trade chat message with friends and family who also use iOS 5 devices without ever dinging the capacity on your SMS plan. If most of the people you chat with are also on iPhones, you can safely reduce the size of your SMS plan. If you use iMessage while you’re on a wifi network, it won’t even use up your mobile data plan. For no other reason than the possible text message savings, iOS 5 is a boon.

Cut the cord
Wednesday could be the last day you’re forced to sync your iPhone to your PC or Mac using a wire. Once you’re loaded up with the new operating system, your device can sync with iTunes wirelessly to load music, movies, and documents to your device. You can even download and upgrade additions to the iOS without plugging in a cable. This anticipated freedom from extra cables is a huge benefit to iOS 5. Even if you can wait for the newest apps, you won’t want to wait for this feature.

iCloud convenience
Apple’s cloud storage features, known as iCloud, means that you can snap pictures on your iPhone and have them available on your computer without even having to sync. iCloud stores your documents online and pushes them automatically to all of your iCloud-eligible devices. You’ll get 5GB of storage for free, which is even more storage than you get with Dropbox. Much like wireless syncing, iCloud makes your iOS 5 devices work more conveniently, independently, and without cumbersome data cables. Why wait to experience that kind of freedom?

Twitter integration
Twitter is already a big part of many iPhone users’ lives. Social networking 140 characters at a time is fun, fast, and convenient. Apple recognizes the immense popularity of Twitter and is baking new Twitter functionality right into iOS 5. You’ll be able to tweet directly from Safari, the camera, YouTube, and many other popular iPhone apps. You can even send a tweet from the iPhone Maps application. If you’re a Twitter user, iOS 5 is a huge convenience upgrade for you.

Notifications get a makeover

Notification Center
Your iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch all produce dozens of notifications. New emails, new text messages, reminders, friend requests, and so on can all clutter up your iOS device. iOS 5 bundles all those notifications and puts them in a single Notification Center. This centralized location gives you a single place to get all of your notifications, keeping them from popping up inconveniently in the middle of your screen. You won’t have to suffer interruptions while you’re working on other tasks, and your lock screen becomes more useful. Notifications can be a pain in the neck for iPhone users, so the new Notification Center in iOS 5 is a welcome convenience.

Other upgrades
Of course, there are more than a few other upgrades that come along with iOS 5. You’ll finally be able to perform AirPlay mirroring from your iOS device, streaming anything that’s on your iPad 2 or iPhone 4S straight to your TV through Apple TV. You can use italics and bold text in your email, flag important messages, and even search the body text of emails. Mobile Safari is getting some upgrades with a Reading List read-later option, tabbed browsing on iPads, and an overall faster, smoother performance.

The list of reasons to upgrade to iOS 5 is pretty long. iOS 5 will work on iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, the third-generation iPod touch or later, and all iPads. Considering the operating system upgrade is free, you have relatively little to lose by going up a step. At the end of the day, the reason you should upgrade to iOS 5 is the new operating system is a huge, impressive upgrade; get in on the game as early as possible.

This article was written by Michael Gray and originally appeared on Tecca

As widely anticipated, consistent reports are corroborating what is quickly becoming the world kept secret in iDevice-land. The next-generation iPhone (the iPhone 4S or iPhone 5) will be a hybrid of sorts. That is, it will be a “global model” capable of working with either GSM or CDMA networks.

The latest clues of this strong possibility come to us this weekend via Japanese site MacOtakara, which reported that the CDMA iPhone 4 for Verizon Wireless will be the base for the next generation handset. It will sport the so-called “hybrid” GSM-CDMA functionality and a SIM card slot “for countries except United States.”

Sources in touch with MacOtakara and other far east news organizations largely agree with industry analysts who believe that the 5th generation iPhone’s processor will get a boost and graduate to the faster A5 processor found in the iPad 2. Also on the fast track from rumor to reality is the foregone conclusion that the new iPhone will deliver a nifty 8MP camera from OmniVision (with a small number coming from Sony).

As MMi’s Phillip Swanson reported Monday, all signs presently point to Apple introducing both its latest iOS (iOS 5) and the next-generation handset in early fall – likely in September.

Source: International Business Times

Did you just drop your cellphone in water? Or maybe you’d like to know what to do if that happens! This week by Becky Worley shows us first aid techniques for rescuing a drowned smartphone.

To test them out, Becky took a BlackBerry, a Droid, and an iPhone, and dropped all three into room temperature water for 60 seconds. Then she went through the following steps:

Step 1: Do NOT turn on the phone

Why do water and smartphones not mix? Because the water shorts out your smartphone’s electrical circuits. So whatever you do, don’t turn it on to check to see if it still works.

Step 2: Pull out the battery and SIM card

You want to remove anything removeable: Pull out the battery, the SIM card and the memory card, if your phone has one. As long as that battery’s in there it’s providing power to your phone, and that’s what you need to stop immediately.

Some phones, like the iPhone, don’t have a removable battery. Unfortunately, you’ll just have to skip this step and hope for the best if you dunk one of them.

Step 3: Freshwater rinse

Did you drop your phone in salt water? The salt can corrode your device. So after you pull out the battery and SIM card, immerse your phone in fresh water to rinse out the salt.

Step 4: Dry your phone using compressed air

If you have a compressed air can handy — the kind that’s used to clean computers or keyboards — run it full-blast all over your phone, with the back cover taken off if you can. A vacuum cleaner also works, even though it’s pulling the air in the other direction. As long as it’s blowing cool air over those circuits to dry them out, it’s all good.

Don’t stick your phone in the oven, even on low. The heat can warp your phone’s circuits, and melt its internal components. You shouldn’t use a blow dryer either, unless it has a heatless setting. A fan might help, but a microwave is out of the question.

Step 5: Cover your phone with uncooked rice

The premise of our experiment was to test if putting a wet phone into a sealed container of rice would actually dry it out, and bring it back form the dead. See, the idea behind the rice is that the dry grains will absorb moisture. So get a sealable plastic container, and fill it with enough rice to cover your smartphone. (A plastic zipper bag will work too, in a pinch.) Then bury your phone in the rice, along with its battery and other parts. You’ll want to wait at least 24 hours for the rice to do its job — Becky waited for 48 hours, in her test.

What would work better than rice? Silica gel, the stuff in those packets that keep new clothes or shoes dry. But most of us don’t have a shoebox full of the stuff laying around, so rice will probably have to do. It may get pieces of rice into the crevices and cavities in your smartphone, but this is an emergency, and time is of the essence.

Should you use white or brown rice? It doesn’t matter, so long as it’s hard and dry and uncooked. You can even use rice from boxed meals like Rice-a-Roni. Just don’t add in the seasoning packet, unless you want your phone to smell like mixed vegetables.

Step 6: Turn your phone back on

After you’ve waited at least 24 hours, it’s time for the moment of truth. Reassemble your phone, charge it and try to power it on.

The results of our experiment weren’t encouraging: the BlackBerry that Becky tested did restart, with no seeming long-term damage. But the iPhone and the Droid were dead. After two days in the rice and a full battery charge, neither phone came back to life.

One in three may be slim odds. But since water damage isn’t covered by most warranties, it can’t hurt to try.

The Verizon iPhone 4 screen repair is completely different than your 3G/3GS and this is very difficult.  We recommend using the skilled technicians for your Verizon iPhone 4 screen repair.

Our experienced technicians have repaired thousands of Apple products, so you can rest assured that your Verizon iPhone 4G is in good hands .  We have a secure facility and use only original Apple parts when making repairs.  This helps ensure that all your iPhone parts will work together cohesively, giving you the best repair possible.  With our screen repair, you’re Verizon iPhone 4 will look and function better than ever.

We know how much you depend on your iPhone, we will make your repairs quickly and expertly.  Your Verizon iPhone 4 will be repaired within 20 minutes.  We will run a full diagnostic test to locate the problem, our experts perform the iPhone repair with original Apple parts, test it to make sure everything is working properly .

Are you interested in options for your Verizon iPhone 4 repair?  We have what you need for an Verizon iPhone 4 screen repair.

DIY Difficulty level: Difficult

There have been a lot of buzz surrounding the iPhoneiPhone 5, we’ve heard a lot of rumors but none haven’t been confirmed as of this writing.

Will you still get the iPhone4 or will you be waiting for the iPhone 5? Rumors are also saying that Steve Jobs will soon do the announcement after his medical leave on this year’s WWDC 2011. Maybe by then, we’ll know the status of the white iPhone 4s and if the iPhone 5 will be getting a white version.

Want your iPhone 4 rebuild in WHITE ? BEST PRICE in New York 212.361.9979 !!!

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