The iPhone 4 was launched today to eager, eager crowds. But how does Apple’s new smartphone compare against other phones that want a piece of the action? BillShrink has taken a look at the total cost and features from each of the current top phones of AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint, and Verizon.

And, as it turns out, the iPhone has the cheapest costs over a two year period.

Although Apple’s iPhone might be the cheapest under contract, it’s important to note that AT&T is the only provider in the chart above the restricts data. All the other providers have an option for unlimited data. AT&T provides 250MB for $19 and 2GB for $25. Want tethering? That’s an additional $20 per month.

[Source: BilShrink]

The iPhone Dev-Team has released a jailbreak of iPhone OS 4 beta 4 (redsn0w 0.9.5b4) intended solely for developers of jail broken applications. Since this release is only meant for developers, this version of redsn0w only works with Mac OS X and iPhone 3G devices that are registered with Apple’s developer program.

If you meet those requirements, and you’re willing to risk bricking your iPhone, follow  how to jailbreak iPhone OS 4 beta 4 after the break.

Steps 1 and 2 are only if you are not using a beta build of iPhone OS 4. Skip them if you have iPhone OS 4 installed on your device already.

Step 1: Activate your UDID with a Apple developer account to install iPhone OS betas. You will be stuck at the Connect to iTunes screen forever if you ignored this step.

Step 2: Install iPhone OS beta 4 (Beta 1 will still work, but isn’t advisable) by Option + left clicking on ‘Restore’ and selecting the beta firmware once prompted.

Step 3: After you’ve finished installing and syncing your iPhone again, open redsn0w (download can be found at the source link below) and click browse on the first screen. Navigate and select your beta firmware that you used to restore your phone. From this point on, it should be very similar to how you jailbreak on iPhone OS 3 using DFU. Follow this guide for more instructions.

Step 4: You should be done! Cydia should be there, but with a white icon and no repositories added. Add the following repository to use the standard sources and get the normal icon back: http://apt.saurik.com/cydia-3.7

Source: iPhone Dev-Team

Firefox Home is a way for you to view your bookmarks, history, open tabs, and the Awesome Bar of your computer’s Firefox browser on your iPhone and iPod touch, albeit that Firefox Home isn’t actually a browser. The app has not been submitted to the App Store, but seems likely to pass (after all, Opera Mini did).

Source: Mozilla Blog

After months of companies, like Motorola and HTC, pushing their Android phones in sales and marketing, Android has finally passed Apple’s iPhone in US market share, according to the NPD group. The results were determined by a survey of smartphone owners, which put Android’s 28% share behind RIM’s BlackBerry with a high, but falling, 36% market share. Ross Rubin, executive director of industry analysis for NPD, said, “As in the past, carrier distribution and promotion have played a crucial role in determining smartphone market share. In order to compete with the iPhone, Verizon Wireless has expanded its buy-one-get-one offer beyond RIM devices to now include all of their smartphones.”

Android’s leap forward wasn’t the only thing mentioned in the report. The results showed that AT&T barely beat Verizon, 32% to 30%, for the largest American cellular network and T-Mobile edging out Sprint for the number three spot at 17% and 15% respectively.

Source: NPD

After much rumor and speculation that Google would bring its popular (and free) turn-by-turn GPS to the iPhone, Google shot down the rumor today by saying that they have no current plans to bring the application to the iPhone – at least for now. Google, however, did say that they would bring the app to other platforms. Click the jump for the full statement by a Google spokeperson to PCWorld.

We did not say we would bring it to iPhone, we said to date we’ve had it on Android and that in the future it may come to other platforms but did not confirm this will be coming to iPhone at all.

Free GPS navigation is getting very popular among mobile users. Nokia’s own GPS navigation app was downloaded over 10 million times, while Maps Navigation is included on almost all Android phones.

Source: PCWorld

Original iPhone adopters may have felt left out when Apple confirmed that there will be no more support for their model, including no iPhone OS 4,  but those very same users can rejoice knowing that Android in all its goodness has come to the original iPhone. Using OpeniBoot, it allows users choose to load between the standard iPhone OS or Android. It’s not perfect, but kinks will soon get flattened out and there’s also hope that it will soon be implemented in the iPhone 3G and 3GS.

Source: Linux on the iPhone

So you’re every bit as excited as us for iPhone OS 4, and now with beta 2 out, things are looking are bright. Except there’s one problem: you’re not an iPhone developer paying $100 a year. No problem. From now until iPhone OS 4′s final build, we’ll search the internet and bring you the download links for all the upcoming betas all on the day it’s posted – with one caveat. The caveat is that you have to provide yourself with the UDID activation and willingness to do it.

We are not responsible for your (possible) bricked device, nor are we for other harm that may be caused by installing beta software. But if you’re feeling devilish, keep on reading after the break for the download links for iPhone OS 4 beta 2!

Download the file by clicking its hyperlink. All files are torrents from isohunt.com, alternative download locations will be posted shortly if these fail you.

iPhone 3GS: iPhone2,1_4.0_8a248c_Restore.ipsw
iPhone 3G: iPhone1,2_4.0_8a248c_Restore.ipsw

iPod touch 3G: iPod3,1_4.0_8a248c_Restore.ipsw
iPod touch 2G: iPod2,1_4.0_8a248c_Restore.ipsw

Apple (and AT&T) fanboys, fear not – in an official press statement, Apple has finally revealed that the date that you can buy the 3G iPad models is April 30. Starting at 5PM local time, you can snatch yours in person at your closest Apple retail store, or those who pre-ordered one can look forward to seeing it arrive the very same day. International users will still have to wait for theirs an extra month, although a few might be shipped across the seas before it is officially on sale in other continents. PR after the break.

iPad Wi-Fi + 3G Models Available in US on April 30

CUPERTINO, California—April 20, 2010—Apple® today announced that the Wi-Fi + 3G models of its magical iPad™ will be delivered to US customers who’ve pre-ordered on Friday, April 30, and will be available in Apple retail stores the same day starting at 5:00 p.m.

iPad allows users to connect with their apps and content in a more intimate, intuitive and fun way than ever before. Users can browse the web, read and send email, enjoy and share photos, watch HD videos, listen to music, play games, read ebooks and much more, all using iPad’s revolutionary Multi-Touch™ user interface. iPad Wi-Fi + 3G models are just 0.5 inches thick and weigh just 1.6 pounds—thinner and lighter than any laptop or netbook—and deliver up to 10 hours of battery life for surfing the web on Wi-Fi, watching videos or listening to music, and up to nine hours of surfing the web using a 3G data network.*

Apple retail stores will offer a free Personal Setup service to every customer who buys an iPad at the store, helping them customize their new iPad by setting up their email, loading their favorite apps from the App Store, and more. US Apple retail stores are also hosting special iPad workshops to help customers learn more about this magical new product.

Just two weeks after iPhone OS 4 was announced and a developer preview released comes the second iPhone OS 4 beta, presumably crushing some bugs that beta 1 had and killing the iPhone 3G’s beta 1 jailbreak, meaning jailbreakers will need to hold out for now. You will still need a UDID registered device to install and activate beta 2.

Download link here for developers.

Source: Apple

After nearly three weeks of waiting, everyone gets the result we they were looking for with Opera – Apple approves Opera Mini to go on sale (for free) on the App Store. While the app is not on sale at the time of this writing, you should be able to see it within 24 hours, depending on the market that you have an iTunes account on. Original iPhone owners can also feel a little happier today, since the browser, when tested under EDGE connections, outpaced Safari by more than 6x.

Opera Mini isn’t a Safari based browser, like all the others on the App Store, which explains why people believed that it would get denied from the App Store. The app was first demoed at Mobile World Congress 2010, and then officially submitted the app to Apple in the wee hours of March 23. Most skeptics (me included) wondered if it will ever be approved, and so far it has. It doesn’t mean, however, that the app will remain approved for the weeks and months to come.

Update: Based on reports flying in from various places, those in Australia and the UK should be able to already download and use Opera Mini. Still not out for the United States. Video and more pictures after the break.

Update 2: It’s in the United States App Store, and from initial review, kicks Mobile Safari out of the playing field. Whether you have your iPhone handy or not, download it now.