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Basically JB'ing enables you to install third party apps on your dandy new iPhone. That plus all the custom mods/icons/widgets it also enables you to install. If done correctly, and not rushed, JB'ing shouldn't slow down your phone at all. Once JB'd, if you install a bunch of useless crap then, yes, it'll potentially bog down your phone, chew up battery life, etc. Usually it's the n00bs or much-to-eager semi-n00bs that run into all the problems and, thusly, is when you see oodles of threads popping up in the hacks section about their iPhones being "bricked".
 
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