[Eug]

Now that I'm moving onto an iPhone 4, I'm not exactly sure what to do with my 3G. It still works fine, but there is a bit of dust under the screen, and the plastic shell is cracked in several places near the dock connector port.

Thus I'm not entirely sure I'd get much on eBhey for it. Before I put it up for sale, any ideas what interesting stuff I could do with it? I could jailbreak it and then put Teh Forbidden apps on it, but it's not as if I'd actually use it much, except as a backup.

[amazing]

got any kids in the extended family you could give it to?

OTH, never hurts to have a backup...

[Snow-i]

Backup.

[Eug]

No kids, and surprisingly none of my relatives who don't already have an iPhone actually want one. I wanted to get my GF an iPhone at one point, but she hates the form factor.

BTW, besides phone/data, are there any limitations to using it without a SIM? ie. Can it be used as a glorified iPod touch? Will jailbreaking it get rid of the No SIM message?

[driven]

Originally Posted by Eug 

No kids, and surprisingly none of my relatives who don't already have an iPhone actually want one. I wanted to get my GF an iPhone at one point, but she hates the form factor.

BTW, besides phone/data, are there any limitations to using it without a SIM? ie. Can it be used as a glorified iPod touch? Will jailbreaking it get rid of the No SIM message?

It works fine without the SIM. I've had my original iPhone working like that for years. It basically becomes an iPod touch.

[Charles Martin]

By coincidence here's something you can do with an old iPhone:

Blue Mic's "Mikey" for iPhone now shipping | MacNN

[Phileas]

Use it as an iPod Touch. We've got an old 3G at work, I've wiped it and loaded it with a bunch of music streaming apps. The CBC app works really well, and has a sleep/alarm clock function.

[SunSeeker]

Even with the damage I'm sure you would still get some coin for it on eBay

Also, it is possible with damaged iPhones to get them replaced with a new or refurbished unit for a couple of hundred dollars direct from Apple. I am sure they would be happy to help in light of the dust and cracking - perhaps you can come to some sort of arrangement with someone

[Eight_Quarter_Bit]

If you aren't averse to jailbreaking, here's what I plan to do with my old Gen 1 iPod Touch:

1. Jailbreak using Limera1n (limera1n)
2. Purchase Wifi Sync through Cydia. I believe it was $10. (Wi-Fi Sync for iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad)
3. Install Backgrounder from Cydia
4. Set Wifi Sync to stay running in the background on the iDevice via Backgrounder

5. (optional) Install "Veency" from Cydia so you can remote into the iDevice if required.


Now I can leave my old iPod Touch in my car, within range of my wifi access point, and keep my car synced with my iTunes library via Wifi Sync. No need to remove my new iPod touch from its case when I want to dock it in my car, no need to bring the old iPod touch inside to sync it with my library. Essentially my car stereo is now synced with my iTunes library.

If you think this is a cool idea I (or another forum member who is familiar with the apps/jailbreaking process) can provide a little more info. Didn't want to go into a long diatribe if it wasn't something you were interested in.

[imitchellg5]

I do the exact same thing with my 1G iPod touch. Works perfectly (and my WiFi network reaches down even to the street parking).

Also, I'm not sure about the 3G, but I know the iPhone 4's rear shell is only $30 for Apple to replace in store, you could give that a go.

[JMan09]

Thanks Eight_Quarter_Bit, that gives me an idea for my 1st Gen iPod Touch.

[SunSeeker]

Incidentally (I thought I had posted this already) I have had iPhones replaced twice under warranty for cracking around the headphone port and between the dock connector and speaker/mic ports

In both cases I paid a few $$$ extra (about AU$38) for an 'advanced repair' so that the new* phone arrived before I was required to send the old one back

If you happen to have applecare this would be worth investigating so that you would have a new phone for sale

*In this case new may very well mean refurbished, but I couldn't tell the difference

[savvy.gaile]

Using it as your main mp3 player to save the iPhone 4's battery isn't a bad idea.
Also it is always good to have a back up phone in hand. But you could always resell it
on ebay, you'd still get a pretty nice sum for it.