I dropped my iPhone 4 for the first time since I purchased it last September and the back finally shattered. Fortunately, the camera wasn’t broken and it didn’t look as bad as some shattered iPhones I’ve seen.

I decided to browse the web for some replacement parts and I came upon http://sw-box.com. I was skeptical at first since I’ve never purchased wholesale parts, but since the prices were reasonable (~$16 OEM for the back plate) I bought two, black and white. I also purchased a new battery since my battery life has been very poor. 

iPhone 4 back / white / $16 - item link
iPhone 4 back / black / $15 - item link
iPhone 4 battery / $7 - item link

Full list of iPhone 4 parts 
How to remove back of iPhone 4 (fairly simple)

Photos

Final Thoughts
I spent a total of $48 on everything. The package came from Hong Kong in less than two weeks and was packaged securely. The back plates for the iPhone 4 were brand new and the battery was definitely new (after testing). I would buy again.

I finally upgraded my 15" Macbook Pro with an SSD. I removed the SuperDrive (since I rarely use it/it was broken/I have an external) and replaced it with a 120 GB OCZ Vertex 2 solid-state hard drive. I'm booting off the SSD and running all applications on it. However, I'm storing files such as movies, and large photo sets on my HDD. The drive is noticeably fast. I doubt I could go back to a standard HDD again. 

UPDATE: 
After using the SSD for a few months, I had issues of the drive not booting. It seems like this happened when I was using 80% of the drive's capacity. I reformatted the drive and reinstalled Snow Leopard. Unfortunately, I came across the same issue. I am in the process of getting the drive replaced. 

It's easy to judge the iPad without actually understanding the idea and purpose of the device. My initial thoughts were negative, but when I started to look deeper into why Apple built such a product, it became apparent. The potential of the iPad is huge and most people just don't get it.

Books

E-books are nothing new but the iPad will create huge opportunities for authors to engage with their readers (giving readers insight on why chapters were written with a video at the end of that chapter). Also, I see books becoming social (sharing paragraphs of text you enjoyed with friends, recommending pages to read via Facebook Connect). Yes, Amazon has the online book market, but the Kindle DX ($489) simply does not have the features of the $499 iPad. 

Music

 I can imagine musicians using the iPad for live shows using virtual synths, beat makers, keyboards.

Transportation

Think of using it in your vehicle as a central touchscreen (similar to the Tesla S). You could use it to navigate via GPS, listen to Pandora Radio, etc. Also, to watch streaming videos on long trips with a 3G connection.

Games

The iPad will be huge for gaming. iPhone games are great but almost all would benefit from having a faster processor and larger screen. 

Photos

The device is perfect for sharing/viewing photos with friends and family. The iPhone screen is too small for people like my dad who needs to pull his glasses out usually to view anything smaller than a normal size piece of paper.

Education

It would be ideal to have in any class where you need to draw figures/equations along with typing notes.

Video

Sharing and viewing videos with friends will be great on this device. Although I do wish it had a camera since Skype would be incredible on the screen.

Art

It will give artists a new digital medium.