Not All iPhone Cases Are Created Equal

The best way to cover up your precious iPhone, useful, protective, beautiful.

1.Pico Genie A100

All the tech heads I know are far more excited about projector technology over TV technology. Please step forward, the Pico Genie. This is an iPhone case, yes, but it also has a built in pico projector, extended battery and external speakers for your iPhone. Project your favorite movies, photos, anything on your iPhone onto an available wall and have yourself your own little cinema experience. Amazing. Seemingly only available for sale in the UK for the moment, you can order it online for around $392

2.Opena Case

The worlds first iPhone case with a slide out bottle opener. Get in. As their slogan says, ‘How about a beer with your iPhone?’ Uh, yes please? Free standard shipping, available in black or white. $39.95

3. Griffin Survivor Extreme Duty

This is if you are not only the ultimate clutz, but everyone around you is too. This case passed military endurance testing ( tested to meet or exceed US Department of Defense MIL-STD-810 and UK Department of Defense Def-Stan 00-35 through an independent testing procedure). This is some secure stuff. Drop your iPhone, throw it against a wall, leave it in the rain, sandstorm, duststorm, stamp on it in frustration- this case will protect it. $49.9

4.Knucklecase

Rihanna has one. Enough? No? This is an iPhone case that has a knuckleduster attached. To keep it attached to your fingers, mind. And look badass. Silver and shiny and pretty in a totally awesome way. $99.00

5. Proporta Amphibian iPhone Case

Lucky enough to be scuba diving? Snorkeling, in a pool? This is for you. Go on, make us all jealous. You can make and receive calls and take photos underwater, and it’s not some weird baggy thing, it’s a case. The Proporta Amphibian makes your iPhone 100% guaranteed waterproof to 3 metres (9 feet) underwater. $33.00

Honourable Mentions: There are two honourable mentions, for both being amazing technology, but also for not being available quite yet. The Nissan Scratch Shield and Magnifi. One is very useful and very cool, the other is very, very cool, but perhaps only useful to so many iPhone users.

The Nissan Scratch shield is a protective, self-healing iphone case. Nissan says that a small graze can heal within an hour while deeper cuts could take up to a week to fix. What?? The case is not on the market yet- but will be on sale in North America very soon.

Magnifi is another kickstarter project and is the world’s first universal photoadapter case for the iPhone. It connects the camera on your iPhone to your favorite optical instrument, allowing you to take pictures and video through the eyepiece. This includes binoculars, microscopes, telescopes and almost anything else with an eyepiece. Available soon.

Why the next iPhone won’t be an iPhone 5

The new iPhone that is having an anticipated release of either this summer or early fall won’t be called the iPhone 5.  Here’s why:

The iPhone has had some rather peculiar names in its past when you really think about it.  The very first iPhone was simply called an iPhone.  This makes sense as it was the first of its kind.  But here is where the confusion comes in.  The next year, Apple released the new iPhone, which included the 3G network.  Rightfully so, they labeled this iPhone, the iPhone 3G.

From that point on, the iPhone naming scheme got a bit more complicated.  For some reason, the first iPhone can be referred to as both a 1G and 2G iPhone.  One referring to the network before 3G (and calling it 2G) and the other referring to the 1st Generation of iPhone (1G).

Then to make matters more confusing, for Apple’s next release (their third iPhone), they simply added an S to the name, to make it an iPhone 3GS.  At this point, the naming scheme started to make sense again.  Their 3rd iPhone actually had a 3 in the name (albeit so did the previous 2nd generation iPhone, the 3G).

Then Apple came out with the iPhone 4 in June of 2010.  Their 4th iPhone, released with the quite simple name iPhone 4.  It seemed like the naming/numbering scheme with iPhones would all fall back into place with this generation, and it would be simple to refer to iPhone’s by their generational number.  The 4th iPhone could be referred to as the 4G, and so on.

Everyone assumed that the 5th generation of iPhone would be called the iPhone 5.  But…  It wasn’t.  It was called the iPhone 4S.  So the 5th generation iPhone is called 4S.  Seems a bit confusing, but thats the way it is.

This next iPhone, however, won’t be called the iPhone 5.  It would be a mistake on Apple’s marketing to do such a failure of a name.  Why would you name the 6th iPhone, iPhone 5?!  Especially when they had the lead-up setup from the 2nd iPhone to skip a generation (since the iPhone 3G was actually the 2nd generation).

I predict that the new iPhone will be called something new.  There is potential that it will be called the iPhone 6, but given that there was no distinct “iPhone 5” released, I anticipate they will choose a new name, something likely without reliance on the numbering system.  A new name for the iPhone could come with something like iPhone X, although it is unlikely that Apple would choose that name given that Droid has already used it for their hardware.  iPhone Z?  Maybe they will go back to the basics, and call it something simple “The iPhone” or “The New iPhone”.  iPhone Air?   iPhone Mini?  iPhoneHD?  iPhone Chrome?

I guess well just have to wait and find out!

Want $10? Tell Your Friends about iPhone Antidote

Need a little bit of extra cash?  Start telling your friends about iPhone Antidote.  Here at iPhoneAntidote.com if you send a friend to our website and they place an order, we will give YOU $10!

We buy any type of iPhone, in any condition, so as long as you have a friend that once owned an iPhone, you have a friend that could use our services.  We pay much more than the competition (sometimes two times as much!) and we are VeriSign and Better Business Bureau Accredited.  What’s even better is that our quotes are guaranteed!  So you don’t need to worry about sending your iPhone in, and then having us say that it’s really not worth as much as we previously quoted you.  We will pay you what we quoted, every time!

When your friend sends in their iPhone, just make sure they include your name and address, or even just your PayPal email address.  That’s it!  If your friend only includes your name, that is okay too!  We will just issue a check to your name, sent to his address (provided they did not include your address).  And when we receive the iPhone, we will pay you $10 for the referral and your friend his quote for his iPhone!  With payouts up to $500, iPhone Antidote is the obvious choice!

Now, how might you find some of your friends with old iPhone’s?  It’s simple!

1) Share our website on FaceBook (Don’t forget to tell them to include your name!)

2)Share our website on Twitter

3)Let your friends know in person when you see them

4)Ask your friends if they know anyone with an old or broken iPhone

5)Break people’s iPhone’s, and then ask them if they’d like to sell it

6)Wait at party’s to see if anyone has a broken iPhone (people at partys tend to.. uh.. drink a little bit… and tend to.. uh.. break their phones).

7)Create your own website that sends referrals to ours

8 )Walk down the street yelling “Sell Your iPhone with iPhone Antidote! I’ll give you $5 extra!” (and split the profits of $10)

9)Look for sad people, and ask them if they have a broken iPhone (and then make their day by telling them our ridiculously high payouts!)

10) Hang out at Best Buy or the AT&T store and wait for people that look like they are going to upgrade their iPhone’s

And we’re sure there are a ton of other ways to earn that $10 too!  The great thing is, we will keep on paying you no matter how many people you refer!  The possibilities are endless.  Get 10 people and we’ll pay you $100!  Why stop there?!  Get 100 people and we’ll pay you $1000!!

The iPhone 5 – Release and Specifications Rumors

Listed above in this graphic we made are some of the most prevalent iPhone 5 rumors that we could find out there.  Some ideas may have seemed pretty obvious like a possible larger screen or a new revised form factor for the iPhone 5.  Additionally, it is quite likely we will see either a June or October release date.  Apple has followed this in the past, and it seems likely that they would do the same for the iPhone 5.

In line with previous iPhone releases, it would make sense to see the iPhone 5 have a new upgraded 128GB model.  This would increase the size from the current maximum of the 64GB model.  With the passed two iPhone releases both having 720P video, it seems like it would be time to upgrade to the highly anticipated 1080P, Full HD, video recording to stay competitive against other smart phones in the industry.

While the iPhone 4S saw an upgrade to the processor, it is still quite possible that we will see an even faster processor in the upcoming iPhone 5 release, although it is more likely we will see some of the other features mentioned first.  Same deal with the camera, while the iPhone 4S saw an improvement in camera quality, the iPhone 5 could add a few megapixels for an even stronger release, likely upgrading to 10MP.

Recently, new rumors regarding an in-cell touchscreen for the iPhone have been anounced, leading to speculation that the new iPhone could be slightly thinner than previous generations, making this the thinnest iPhone yet!  Finally, there have been leaked images of iPhone 5 replacement home buttons, which show that the iPhone 5 will have a different body than previous generations (although the home button will actually appear the same).

That’s it for now, but stay tuned for all the newest updates with regard to the new iPhone 5!

How to Restore Your iPhone From a Backup

There are  a few cases in which being able to restore your iPhone can be a valuable thing to know. Take for example, if your iPhone was stolen, or you accidentally deleted a funny video off of your iPhone, or maybe you even accidentally erased the whole iPhone!  Either way,  it is pretty easy to restore your iPhone to its previous state provided that you made a backup (to learn how to create a backup see here).

The First thing you’ll need to do is to plug your iPhone into the computer with your backup on it and turn on iTunes.

Secondly, in iTunes, under devices, find your iPhone.

Right click on this iPhone and click “Restore from Backup”.

Select the proper backup from the selection of previous backups and click ok.

iTunes will go through and restore your iPhone so that it is the exact state of your old iPhone.

Enjoy!

How to Get Out of Your Sprint Contract without Paying an Early Termination Fee

Have you been itching to leave Sprint, but you are still on contract?  As it turns out, their terms and conditions have changed recently, and this may mean that you can get out of your Sprint cell phone contract without paying the dreaded early termination fee (or ETF).

This is applicable for people on family plans and have a discount applied on their account.  Basically what Sprint has done is that they have decided that only the first line of your family plan will be able to have a discount (not the additional plans), whereas previously, they did give this discount.  Since this discount will raise most people’s plans prices each month, there are opportunities to get out of your contract without paying the ETF.

Call the Sprint Consumerist Hotline (703-433-4401) and tell them that you would like to cancel your service because of the increase on your bill regarding your discount on your family plan lines.  Make sure to mention that since this is an increase of your bill on your contract, that you do not need to pay the early termination fee.  They should know about this, and if they do not, ask to speak to a manager.  This will be valid as long as they are made aware within 45 days of the change.  Make sure you have a new carrier to port your number to after you cancel your Sprint service.

Enjoy your savings and don’t worry about paying any of the dreaded ETF!

The iPhone Antidote – Now We Buy All Types of iPhones

Up until recently, here at the iPhone Antidote we only purchased the iPhone 4.  Now we are excited to announce that we purchase all types of iPhones in ANY condition!  That means that no matter what kind of iPhone you have, we are willing to buy it!  It does not matter if it is used, broken, or even water damaged.  Heck, your iPhone 4 could be sitting in water right now and we would still be willing to pay $150 for it!

We have discussed earlier why it makes sense to upgrade your phone as soon as possible here (sometimes you can actually make money)!  So why not do it today?

Come give our site a look, and check out our newly updated quote section under the “Let’s Start” heading at the top of the page.

1)      Simply select the model of your iPhone and an instant quote will show up!

2)      Click “Let’s Do It!” located just under the quote, and fill in your shipping information.

3)      Click submit and a prepaid USPS Priority Mail PDF Label will download.

4)      Send your iPhone in using this label.  The label will work for any type of packaging, and works from anywhere in the United States.  Don’t worry about sending in the box or accessories, you can keep those if you would like.

5)      In just a couple of days you will be paid via check or paypal (your preference)!

With payouts up to $400, sell your old iPhone today!

How to Check for Cell Phone Upgrade Eligibility

Have you ever wondered if you could upgrade to a new phone?  Maybe you have had your phone for quite some time, but when you signed up to buy your last phone you had to sign a two year contract.  Many times AT&T and the other major cell phone carriers will allow you to upgrade your phone before your two year contract is up.  This is something that many people do not know, and can be very beneficial (See why upgrading your phone as often as possible is important).

Usually, it turns out that carriers will allow you to get a discount on your new phone every 12-18 months (rather than the 24 months which is agreed upon).  In fact, new iPhones have been released just about every 12 months (with the exception of the 4S which was released 16 months later) and AT&T has almost always allowed for people to upgrade to the new iPhone early, thus giving their customers a $400 discount every 12 months!

So if you are interested in upgrading to the newest and latest phone follow the instructions below.  And if you aren’t interested in upgrading phones, maybe you should read here and see how you could be wasting almost $20 a month.  You might as well upgrade, sell your phone and make a profit!

Luckily, checking to see if you are eligible for an upgrade is pretty simple!  Simply follow the instructions below.

For AT&T:

Grab your AT&T phone and dial:  *639# and press send.

After doing this you will receive a text message shortly after letting you know when you are eligible for an upgrade.

For Verizon:

Verizon is a little bit more complex, but still rather easy.

Simply go to their website here:

http://www.verizonwireless.com/eligible-upgrade.shtml

And type in your cell phone number and email address to find out if you are eligible for an upgrade with Verizon.

For Sprint:

Grab your Spring phone and dial : *2 and press send.

Press 1.

Enter your phone number.

Press 1 to check your upgrade eligibility.

For T-Mobile:

And currently for T-Mobile, it appears as though the only way to find out if you are eligible for an upgrade is to contact them directly, or use this third party website:

http://www.wirefly.com/upgrades/

Why it Makes Sense (Dollars) to Upgrade to the iPhone 4S

After the original two years are up on the contract, or whenever they allow for a new upgrade, it makes sense to upgrade your phone.

To illustrate this point, let’s use some numbers. An iPhone 4S 16gb without a contract would cost $600 to buy, but most people would buy it with a two year contract instead and thus pay $200. This equals a $400 savings for using the two year contract, or $16.66 a month savings ($400/24) to stay on a contract with your carrier. So really, by staying on contract you are eligible for a $400 savings every two years.

When you think about it, you should always take advantage of this phone subsidy, as you will likely be staying with the same carrier anyway. Otherwise you are effectively losing $16.66 a month just to have the option to switch phone carriers. Sounds a little expensive!

Even if you did not have any interest in the new iPhone 4S, and you were happy using your old iPhone 4, it would still make sense to upgrade to the 4S and then sell it for the current market price of $600 and make $400, effectively converting your $16.66 a month savings to cash for staying on a contract with your carrier.

Additionally, if you wanted to upgrade to the 4S but you don’t really have the money to pay for the $200 to buy the new one, you could sell your old iPhone 4 to help pay for it. Used iPhones are usually worth a decent amount of money, and often even more than a new one on a contract would cost. For example, if you purchased the 16gb iPhone 4 in June 2010 you paid $200 for it and at the time of this writing, (November 2011, some 16 months later) a used iPhone 4 is still worth about $200. This means that you could sell your old iPhone 4 and have enough money to buy a new iPhone 4S! If you upgraded to the iPhone 4 in June 2010 you would already be eligible for an upgrade now, and that means that you could get the new iPhone 4S FOR FREE!