Delving Into iPhone 4 Screen Replacement Options - Complete!

Marched into the Apple store, bonded with the guy at the genious bar over release day shenanigans, administered puppy dog eyes, and was offered the standard $199 screen replacement service. Oh well, looks like it's DIY time! The cost differential is definitely not worth doing this yourself, since the savings only amounts to around $50. I just can't resist pulling this thing apart...

I've scoured the corners of the internets looking for part suppliers, and found several that supply the display assembly in both white and black. There are many more that will do the replacement for you for just a few dollars more than the parts themselves. What's the fun in that though?

• SW-BOX iPhone 4 Parts 
• These folks sell both black and white screen and glass assemblies for about $135, as well as various types of metal and plastic replacement covers for the back of the phone for just over $10. Since they also sell parts from the front assembly without the screen, I have my doubts that these are OEM. Actually, since they have white screens, they're definitely third party. 
• Their about page says they're "a Chinese owned general trading and wholesale company". Never heard of them, strange part availability, sketchy.
• Direct Fix iPhone 4 Parts
• Significantly less sketchy looking parts supplier. Like SW-BOX they sell both black and white front display assemblies. They also sell what they're calling 'Original Glass Back Covers' in both white and black. I can't imagine they're actually getting 'original' white back glass, so this must just be more third party stuff. Black or white front screen assemblies are $139.50 after the 7% discount they're running through September.
• These guys have a teardown video on YouTube with over 300k hits (embedded below) that was featured on Gizmodo. 
• I found several other suppliers and places that would do the entire job including parts for about $150. Use the Google machine, you'll find 'em.

Here's Direct Fix's instructional video on how to replace the screen:

You can see from the video that this is really not all that difficult of a job. From the looks of it, the hardest part is not losing any of those tiny screws. 

I decided to purchase the parts from Direct Fix since they were by far the most linked-to and ordered-from supplier I came across. Total including shipping and a couple tools was $154. It will be arriving early next week. Oh, and FYI, I went white. Keeping the black back, you know, because I'm edgy. Definitely won't be able to bring it in for warranty work after this, that's for sure. I'm looking forward to next weeks teardown & white-ification - stay tuned!

iPhone 4 - Meet Stone Wall

It's a bit ironic that the next (extremely belated) post after the saga of iPhone 4 release day is about the near destruction of that very same device. She treated me very well for 15 short weeks, until one fateful night when she slipped out of my jacket pocket and fell about 4 feet directly onto a stone wall. Epic iPhone fail. Here's what the damage looks like:

[Click to enlarge]

The worst of the damage occurred on the top right front corner, where a little gouge in the plastic rim shows that this is where it struck the rock first. A blow to the corner is guaranteed to ruin the phone's day. You can see in this photo that all of the broken pieces are still hanging tight in their place with the exception of one small triangular section. I've actually been using it for 2 days now without any more glass falling off. The broken pieces will likely remain intact since Apple glues the glass directly to the IPS display (This was the cause of the short lived yellow screen scare a few days after launch that eventually corrected itself). Scrawling across the center of the display, there are three unfortunately long cracks, as seen below.

[Click to enlarge]

You can see a little mark in the center of the screen above, which is a very small chip. But wait... there's more! The bottom right front corner also had a bad day at the office.

 

[Click to enlarge]

Despite all the carnage evident in these photos, the phone is surprisingly usable. Turns out this is thankfully all cosmetic and has not affected the operation of the display, buttons, or anything else. The entire touch sensitive area riddled with cracks is still smooth to the touch; there's no risk of losing a finger trying to zoom in on a photo. The corners are another story though, you don't want to be touching those. 

The reactions I get to the current state of my beloved smartphone have been "You moron, you should have that thing in a case!" or "You moron, you should have bought insurance!" In a twist of fate, the most adamant case hater (me) could very well have averted disaster had this device been in a big bulky case. That's a risk you take by not wrapping the thing up in bubble wrap, and since it's the first disaster to befall any of my 4 iPhones over the past 3+ years, I think I've still got a pretty good record. That said, it's still too nice of a piece of hardware to hide away in an ugly case or an inconvenient bumper. And with regards to insurance; I don't buy insurance or protection plans on any of my electronics. It's very rare that any of my gadgets meet an untimely demise, and I'm sure that the periodic replacement cost of a gadget is far less expensive than the sum total of getting policies on everything.

It's actually pretty remarkable that this is the first time I've broken a phone. This guy is with me all the time and is in and out of pockets dozens of times per day. It follows me around the house, moving from surface to surface, plugged in here, plugged in there, tossed across the room on to my bed, and jammed into a cup holder to pump out the jams when I'm driving around. If I only bust a phone every 3 years the way I'm constantly using it, I'll be a very happy camper.

So, what now? Turns out that since the front glass is glued to the IPS screen, the entire business needs to be replaced. This is no simple task, since the entire phone is built up off of this front assembly. This is also unfortunate, since the glass itself is fairly inexpensive - It's only about $40 for the back glass. There are several options for what happens next:

1. March into my local Apple store, administer puppy dog eyes, and see if they replace the phone for free. This actually appears to be quite a common occurrence from what I've read on various forums on the intertubes. 
2. Should the above plan fail, write Mr. Jobs a check for $199 and they'll replace the screen, parts and labor included.
3. Have the assembly replaced by one of a few third parties like this one for $162. For $199 they'll even make it white! Not sure if that one even includes the rest of the parts; looks a little sketchy.
4. Order the replacement parts and replace it at home with the assistance of the various teardowns and how-to's all over the 'tubes. Replacement glass/display assemblies run a little over $140.

It would be a little crazy to not try the puppy-dog-eyes option first, so I'll give that a try first. Should that fail, I'll be ordering the replacement parts and doing it myself. It actually sounds like an interesting project, and I'll blog the crap out of it accordingly.

iPhone 4 Release Day - Chaos & Bliss

It's been a pretty crazy morning in Nashua, NH thanks to iPhone 4's release. Lucky for you, I took a ton of pictures and kept timestamped notes for the occasion. Aside from lining up about an hour early for the 3G's release, this is the first time I've lined up super early, even with the device already reserved. The Apple store in question is located in the Pheasant Lane Mall in Nashua, NH. And here we go...

[04:28] Just arrived at the mall. There are about a dozen people milling around outside of the entrance by Target, with a similar number by the food court entrance. No one is line up by the door, presumably security has already yelled at them. I'm at the latter entrance, since it's both closer and on the same floor as the Apple store. Most of these people are fairly awkward looking; I'm totally one of them. It definitely doesn't help that I'm rocking an Apple tee. 

[04:39] Met the dude who got here first. He slipped into the mall as it closed the night before at 9PM and camped outside the Apple store. Mall security gave him the boot at 1:30AM, so he went and slept in his car. Fun fact: Apple pulls huge black curtains over the windows of their store while they redecorate for major launches like this.

#1 in line, since 9PM, sleeping at the door. What a champ. 

[04:46] We lined up anyway, 22 people deep. I already made the obligatory "we're waiting for the new Zune joke." Only I thought it was entertaining.

The super early crew.

[04:57] Mall security pulled up to the curb to break up the party, but someone talked him into letting us stay, provided we "stay under control and don't leave any trash." The line is a little loose still and folks continue to trickle in one at a time.

 Telling the security guard (in an extremely official vehicle) to stand down.

[05:28] There are 44 people here now, but this is more of a mass of people than a line.

There was really never any tangible line, just a crowd. Big mistake.

[05:42] Over 55 people here, still no defined line.

[06:20] My friend Andrea is at the Holyoke Mall in Mass waiting in line. Apple has things under control there and are giving out snacks (!!!). Starbucks was also there, taking orders and serving people in line. Man, could I have used some Starbucks.

Line at the Holyoke Mall (Thanks Andrea!)

[06:31] About 100 now, with reports of even more at the other entrance. Apparently the folks over there are much more orderly, forming a single file line. 

[06:46] Met an apple store employee from MA here to avoid the tax. He says customers with reservations versus those without will be served 10:1. The crowd is getting louder; a security guard appeared and people started freaking out. Since there's no real line here it's going to be a disaster.

[06:55] Someone started banging on the doors; the security guard is not impressed.

Getting antsy...

[06:58] In line in front of the Apple store now! Definitely one of the first 20 in line, which is now so massive I can't see the end of it. We just had to run to the store through the mall; it was complete chaos. The security guard opened a single door for over 100 crazed lunatics to pour through. If someone went down they would have been seriously injured. It was so cramped getting through the door it's amazing that no one got hurt. Once pushed, literally by the crowd, through the door everyone broke into a full sprint towards the apple store. I attempted to take a video of all of this, but apparently didn't have the strength to push the record button all the way.  Apple is handling the line very well, but the mall was completely clueless. There are two lines: One for people with reservations and one without. Several Apple employees are handing out snacks, and a police officer is getting people to form the lines. He told the folks without reservations that it was going to be at least 2 hours until they can expect the line to move. That's what you get for not pre-ordering.

 

This is the line behind me within 5 minutes of the mall doors opening. It just kept going on and on...

Checking folks with reservations in. 

[07:07] Apple employee says that there are 500-600 reservations at this particular store. 

Front of the reservations line baby.

Inside the store was very chill.

[07:30] iPhone 4 purchased, activated, and on my way home!

The entire transaction is performed with an iPhone in a credit card reading case. We also took a really geeky picture of me with my phone and iPad, while she got all cozy with my new phone. Not sure where the Apple photographer is going to post that...

Immediately after unboxing! (gasp)

In-store activation took about 5 seconds. The longest part was opening the box. 

From left to right: 4:30AM, 9:00PM (!!!), 6:30AM arrivals. All got their devices at the same time. Hah!

The way Apple handles things once you're at their store is fantastic. They pair each customer up one-on-one with a sales person that will do demos, show you the accessories, and force feed you the obligatory MobileMe and Apple Care pitches. It was very calm inside the store, and once inside everything went smoothly. It took about 15 minutes for them to get all my info into their credit-card-reading iPhone and complete the transaction ($299 for the phone, $9 for dock adapters), then they passed me off to another person at a laptop to activate the phone. I wasn't interested in having them transfer any of my info, so they just activated it.

First shot with iPhone 4. This is what the line looked like on my way out. Came out blurry, bah!

This device is truly beautiful; the screen is amazing, it's super fast, and feels really great to hold. I really can't get over how crisp text looks now. Someone just called, and the speaker is wicked loud; much louder than the 3GS, and it appears to be clearer. I'm writing this as it syncs the 2396 songs/videos, but it appears to have restored from my 3GS firmware image without a hitch. More on how I like this thing later, time to get to work.

I'm not sure if I'm going to be all about getting to the store super early ever again, especially since so many people got their phones in a day or two early. It's definitely exciting, everyone's really pumped up and in good spirits. If I ever do it again, I'm going all in and camping out the night before. If you're going to do it, do it right.

Mission accomplished. Well, until next year.

Updated 6/24/10: Fixed some grammar and formatting following my mad dash to write the post this morning.

Some Posts in the Works for May & June 2010

Here are a few posts I'll be putting up in the near future. I suppose it's not particularly productive writing about writing about posts, but hey now, I can't sleep.

iPhone 4 Release Commentary from the Trenches

iPhone 4 release day is 6/24, and I'll be one of the crazies banging down the doors of the local mall looking to get in. It is going to be an extremely early morning, and I'm getting more fired up for it every day. I'm going to blog the crap out of the experience, as I've never waited fanboy-ishly outside an Apple store in the wee hours of the morning until now. Expect pictures of me and the other hipsters rockin' Crocs, sipping Starbucks double tall half-calf lattes, and quietly reading tech news sites on a multitude of iDevices. I'll be off-line blogging what goes down and posting later in the day.

2007 Toyota Prius - 3 Years Later

Next, this summer marks the 3 year anniversary of the purchase of my 2007 Toyota Prius. Don't you worry, I've 

hung on to every piece of data since the day I silently rolled into my driveway with it. There are three years of mileage data (both computed by the Prius and actual figures) that I've analyzed to death. I can't wait to share this stuff; it's really interesting. This post is coming in the next few weeks. 

iOS 4 Impressions

This is a pretty big week for hot and heavy iPhone action with both iOS 4 and the iPhone 4 being released. iOS 4 was released today and I updated my 3GS with it. Everything works as advertised so far; got Pandora streaming in the background, switched between apps relatively easily, installed iBooks and synced the books I have on my iPad to the phone, etc. So far so good, I'll write up my experience with it once it has been put through its paces. 

Media on the Mountain: HTPC & Streaming Music

...I often refer to my house as 'the mountain', since most of the property is on a reasonable sized hill, so don't be confused. I'm always bombarded with questions about how I put together the streaming music throughout my home, and would love to share how that goes down. This will be combined with a breakdown of my current HTPC (Home Theatre PC), and plans for expansion. 

iPhone 4 - Thoughts & Pre-Order Day Shenanigans

Today, AT&T's servers took 6-10 months off of my life. I spent from 9AM to 3PM feverishly trying to pre-order Apples latest lust-worth gadget, finally succeeding via the Apple store app on none other than my current iPhone 3GS. It was pretty stressful. In short, it looks like AT&T simply wasn't ready to handle the volume of pre-orders, since each transaction required asking their servers about upgrade eligibility. Gizmodo covered it the best, and I suggest you check it out to experience all the error, processing, and timeout screens that early adopter saps like me stared at for the better part of a day. The title effectively summarizes my experience today, "Apple iPhone 4 Pre-Ordering is a Total Disaster."

Many folks experienced horrific AT&T/Apple oopsies throughout the day, including multiple charges for a single order, mysteriously landing in other customer's accounts, and being forced to pre-order with off-contract pricing ($599/$699, yikes!). The latter issue was experienced via the Apple store iPhone app, where I was able to reserve my device. Thankfully, I was confirmed the 32GB black handset will be patiently waiting at my local Apple store both via email and through the pending reservation displayed within the app. The stress is over now, I can go back to hating everything about the iPhone 3GS in comparison to iPhone 4. 

Enough about the trials and tribulations of requiring the next greatest gadget the instant it's available, let's talk about this new slick and sexy piece of hardware. In my last post, I talked about what we already knew about the device and what I was hoping for. Well for starters, everything we thought we knew, we did know. The screen resolution, camera, new design, etc was all spot on. I mean come on, engineering samples were popping up all over the place and people were putting them under microscopes. No shocker here. For a summary of what's new, check out this link. But there were a few more details about the hardware that were surprises, at least to some degree.

1) 16GB and 32GB only - no 64GB!

I was expecting the usual 2x storage bump, but no such luck. This probably could have been predicted once we saw the size of the main board of the phone. Toshiba began sampling 64GB NAND flash chips near the end of 2009 and was expecting to go into production in Q1 of 2010. It's possible that there just wasn't enough time to work the new chips into the design, they were too big, the package was funny, or they were simply to new to be trusted. I haven't dug too deep into this, but since they couldn't simply double the density of the memory, they'd need to add another chip which there was simply no room for. 

2) Gyroscope!

Actually, I couldn't care less about this feature. I haven't really gamed on the iPhone and don't plan to unless something really compelling comes along. It will be interesting to see what sort of non-gaming apps are improved or created that will utilized the improved motion sensing, but for now, meh.

3) The metal bands around the phone are part of the antenna system!

In my last post, I was whining about how the orientation of the phone when running precluded the GPS antenna from getting a great signal, but by integrating the antenna around the exterior of the phone, this is no longer a problem! Check these baby's out. Voice and data use the right side antenna, while Bluetooth, WiFi (802.11n is included now, however just the 2.4GHz flavor), and GPS make nice with the left side antenna. Contrary to the title of the Engadget article I just linked to, I'm not convinced that this will have much effect on the dropped call issue, which has been explained in other, non-signal-strength-related ways. Assuming these antennas do a better job than the previous generation, it will definitely help all around. I'm particularly excited to see if there are significant GPS improvements. 

So what am I looking forward too most? Two words: retina display. Actually, I hate that name, and I think that they never should have claimed that the human eye can't discern the individual pixels, because some definitely can, and they're freaking out about it. A really high resolution display like this is going to set the new standard for the visual quality we come to expect from the various digital panels we stare at all day long. I'm glad Apple stepped up and is pushing everyone in that direction.

As I'm finishing up this post, I just read that Apple just sold out of iPhone 4 pre-orders. This happened several hours after AT&T sold out of their own allotment. Craziness. Looks like I'll be lining up extra-extra early on the 24th to drop-kick Apple fan-boys on the way to the front of the line.