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Apple released iOS 5.1.1 a few days after iOS developer pod2g announced that his jailbroken iPhone 4 running iOS 5.1 was untethered. Of course you will want to avoid the update if your device is currently jailbroken. For non-jailbreakers the update brings improved reliability for the HDR option when accessing the camera app, and a few bug fixes. Here is a complete list of changes:

Improves reliability of using HDR option for photos taken using the Lock Screen shortcut.

Addresses bugs that could prevent the new iPad from switching between 2G and 3G networks.

Fixes bugs that affected AirPlay video playback in some circumstances.

Improved reliability for syncing Safari bookmarks and Reading List.

Fixes an issue where ‘Unable to purchase’ alert could be displayed after successful purchase.

T-Mobile may have missed out on the iPhone party so far, but the company has big plans in the works that will allow iPhone owners to access higher speeds on its network. The company is spending $4 billion to launch 4G LTE with the help of Nokia-Siemens and Ericsson.

Not only will T-Mobile be rolling out LTE, but the company also plans to fire up 1900 MHz band 4G HSPA+ service as well. The wireless carrier plans to cover 75 percent of the top 25 markets with LTE speeds. The failed merger between T-Mobile and AT&T has netted the company AWS spectrum licenses as part of the deal.

The Dev Team has released redSn0w version 0.9.10b8b which brings only a minor bug fix. According to the Dev Team blog, the "0.9.10b8b update to redsn0w makes the zip files more compatible with the native Windows explorer (which doesn’t like leading slashes in the filenames)." The previous version released a few weeks ago helped users take advantage of the popular SAM unlock method.

In the meantime, the jailbreak community is closer to releasing an untethered jailbreak for iOS 5.1. Currently only A4 and A5 devices on iOS 5.0.1 and lower are jailbreakable. A4 devices can upgrade to iOS 5.1 but they will have to go tethered. Hopefully there is an untethered solution for all iOS devices right around the corner.

If you're looking to save money with your GSM iPhone, Straight Talk provides a pre-paid option without unlocking or jailbreaking. Straight Talk offers iPhone owners an unlimited data, voice and text plan for just $45 per month. This is less than half the price of standard plans from AT&T.

Straight Talk is a MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator), which means the carrier operates using other networks including AT&T and T-Mobile. Once you get a micro-SIM card from Straight Talk for your AT&T iPhone, the device won't know the difference.

Some iPhone owners are nervous about jailbreaking their devices due to Apple's no jailbreaking policy. To discourage iOS hacking Apple does not offer customer support to users who jailbreak their phones, and jailbreaking also voids Apple’s warranty. Until today jailbreakers had no way to insure their iPhones, even through third-party warranty providers. That has all changed thanks to SquareTrade. The third-party provider has expanded its coverage to jailbroken iPhones. This is great news for jailbreakers who would like to protect themselves from cracked screens and other iPhone mishaps.

SquareTrade does not cover hardware mods (e.g. filed-off serial numbers) but any software modifications are fine. SquareTrade's VP of Strategy Vince Tseng told GigaOM.com, that SquareTrade does not care what Apple users do to their software. "Our general philosophy is that if a device hasn’t been played around with on the inside we don’t have a problem with that. We are here to help the Apple community, and if they want something Apple doesn’t provide we are here for them," said Tseng.