Now that the iOS 5.1.1 jailbreak is available for the iPhone 4S, new iPad, and older devices, the subject of jailbreak in general is getting a lot of attention again, and with it, the dark side of jailbreaking. It seems whenever someone wants to attack the very concept of jailbreak, one of the first salvos unleashed is app piracy. The sad, ugly truth is that those attacks are made possible because some people who jailbreak do so mainly or entirely to get "free" apps. And the sadder, uglier truth is that there's no such thing as "free". Everything has a cost. Even and especially theft.

We're going to use the words "theft" and "steal" here instead of piracy because that's what we're talking about. Steve Jobs once raised a pirate flag at Apple as a symbol of their counterculture and ideals, and the jailbreak community has embraced that spirit.

By no means has the jailbreak community embraced theft.

Both iMore and Mobile Nations have a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to even the discussion of piracy. We place an incredibly high value on developers and the apps they make, and don't want to play any part, directly or indirectly, in disseminating information that hurts developers, the iOS platform, and the legitimate jailbreak community.

Likewise, prominent jailbreak developers have gone out of their way, numerous times, to distance themselves from app theft and ask those using their software not to steal apps.

There's a reason for that. App theft is not a victimless crime. It hurts the iOS platform, it hurts iOS developers, and because of that, it ultimately hurts iOS users.

Stealing apps isn't free. It comes with a very real cost.

Getting the excuses out of the way

For years people have been copying CDs, DVDs, Blu-Ray movies, games, and anything else they could get their hands on. Ever since media became copyable, people have been copying it. Some have applied philosophical wrappers around it -- that all bits should be free. Others think that since the original version remains, copies don't equate to theft -- you're not taking it away from anyone else. Others justify their actions based on the hostility often displayed towards users by traditional media companies.

The law does allow for copying in some situations, in some jurisdictions. It sometimes allows for copying to make a backup or change format, for example ripping a CD to iTunes or copying iTunes music to a disk. But none of them make allowances for theft.

Another common excuse is availability and price -- if content could only be bought immediately, and at a fair cost, there'd be no content theft. Game of Thrones is the most common current example. HBO won't release it for sale for months, so users go elsewhere to get it. If HBO would only put it on iTunes, Amazon, etc. in a timely manner, the argument goes, no one would be going elsewhere.

Well guess what -- in almost all cases, the App Store and apps do just that.

And not only that, apps are incredibly inexpensive by any reasonable standard. Paid apps are often $0.99 and most iPhone apps top out at $4.99 with very few exceptions. In most cases they're not only less than a cup of coffee or a movie, but substantially less.

Also, Apple allows users to re-download purchased apps. If you deleted an app by accident, it stopped working right, or you got a new iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch you have the ability to re-download your content without having to re-purchase anything. Your purchases are tied to your iTunes ID, not a specific device. Apple even allows you to authorize content on up to 5 computers and, when it comes to apps, practically as many iOS devices as you'd like.

Easily available, cheaply and fairly priced, and automatically backed up. That removes many of the rationalizations and justifications.

Note: There are some regions that don't support the App Store, or specific parts of the App Store, due to local policies on rating requirements or other licensing issues. In those particular cases, in those particular places, stealing apps may seem like the only way for these users to obtain App Store apps or games. This problem typically arises in countries that don't carry the iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, in areas where iTunes payments are difficult or challenging, or where Apple is simply not allowed to provide a legitimate service. Still there are legitimate workarounds, like using a U.S. App Store account and loading it with gift cards. If you want to support developers, you'll find a way.

The cost to app developers

When you jailbreak to steal apps you're essentially taking money out of someone's hand, whether it's an independent developer or a development company. App development takes a lot of time and a lot of money.

Apps can and do cost tens if not hundreds of thousands of dollars to develop. That means every sale is important and can make all the difference to a developer -- the difference between continuing an app or canceling it, making payroll or not making it, feeding their family or not feeding them.

If recent statistics are accurate, almost 60% of developers don't break even on costs when developing and executing an app. These costs typically involve marketing, development, graphic design fees, software licensing, and anything else that goes into submitting a fully polished app to the App Store.

These costs don't stop once the app is submitted to the App Store. If the app uses push notifications or has a web server back end, that costs money. Sometimes a lot of money. If a developer wants to provide technical support to their users, a service we've all come to expect, that's also a lot of money. There are considerable recurring costs for any development team that plans on supporting their app and updating it regularly.

Making, maintaining, supporting, and updating an app is incredibly expensive. And there's no promise every developer will ever get all that money back.

That's the cost to developers, and to users who may get less apps developed or updated because of it.

The cost to Apple

Apple owns the iOS platform. Anything that hurts developers hurts Apple. To that end, Apple has tried to implement services such as in-app purchases and iAds so developers can keep prices down and still earn a living. Yet there's more Apple can and should do.

There have been several developers who have reported seeing more players active on Game Center than have actually purchased their game via the App Store. Sometimes by a factor of 10 or more. There needs to be a way to shut stolen apps out of Game Center so there's less incentive to use the stolen versions of games. iTunes knows which apps we've bought. If a game isn't on our purchased list, it shouldn't work in Game Center. That removes the ego gratification of leader boards and the fun of multiplayer unless and until a legitimate copy of an app is purchased.

The same could be done with iCloud for non-game apps. If an app isn't on our purchased list, it doesn't sync, it doesn't back up.

I'm not pretending to know how complicated such a system would be to deploy, or how much it would disincentivize app theft, but it doesn't seem beyond the realm of possibility.

The more popular an app or game is, the higher the likelihood it will be stolen, and the less money a developer will make from it. If developers find they can't make enough money, they'll stop developing those popular apps. That not only hurts users who want great software, but it hurts the platform.

That's the cost to Apple.

The cost to jailbreak's reputation

I've been jailbreaking since iOS 1.x and I've never once stolen an app. For myself and many others out there, jailbreak is a tool to add functionality to our iPhones, iPads, Apple TVs, and iPods -- functionality that Apple won't or hasn't give us stock. I actually think I've spent almost as much money on jailbreak apps as I have stock apps. Yet even though many jailbreakers don't steal apps, the conception that jailbreak is a gateway to app theft is impossible to escape.

I've had people come to me for help with their iPhone, people that don't even know how to use iCloud, but who know all the ins and outs of app theft. They can't be bothered to back up their own data but they'll spend hours and hours figuring out how to screw a developer out of $0.99 or $4.99.

And they cost jailbreak its reputation. They enable jailbreak to be called a tool for app theft instead of a breeding ground for innovation. They enable those who would like to see jailbreak made illegal to couch their self-interest in the flag of criminal justice.

That's the cost paid by the jailbreak community, and by those who jailbreak for legitimate reasons.

The cost to users

I'm not here to give anyone a lecture on morals or ethics. If you're stealing apps, one article probably won't change your mind. Maybe you already know that you're costing developers money, that you're tarnishing the reputation of the jailbreak community, and maybe even that you're hurting the iOS platform. Perhaps you've justified it to yourself by saying developers are rich and you're copying not stealing, or you don't care about the jailbreak community, or that Apple has so much money nothing could ever hurt iOS.

But what about us?

We're all connected.

If you're stealing apps it's because you want apps. Keep stealing them, and the quality and quantity of apps will eventually diminish. If you're jailbreaking, you need the jailbreak community to keep releasing tools for jailbreak. Keep using jailbreak to steal apps and either laws using you as an excuse, or jailbreak developers fed up with how you're misusing their tools will stop providing them. And all of this is dependent on Apple not figuring out a way to shut it all down or make it so time consuming that it might as well be shut down.

I'd like to envision a strong future for jailbreak and for stock iOS. Stealing apps is simply the right way to get all the wrong attention, and to hurt everything you enjoy.

On the other hand, buying the apps you like rewards developers for their hard work and helps ensure they can continue to update those apps, and make more of them, now and into the future. It shows the world that jailbreak is about adding functionality and not stealing money. And it shows Apple that their time and attention is better spent being inspired by jailbreak rather than shutting it down.

Losing apps, losing jailbreak tools, and ultimately losing jailbreak is the cost to users.

Conclusion

For years we've been clamoring for great content, readily available and priced fairly. With the App Store, we have it. The best defense against accusations that jailbreak is all about app theft is simply not to steal apps. The best way to get more great apps is simply to buy the great apps we have today.

There's no such thing as free. Even theft has its price. And we can all choose not to pay it.

Absinthe 2.0 has launched and it provides support for a fully unthethered jailbreak under iOS 5.1.1 (and only iOS 5.1.1) for the following devices:

• iPad, iPad 2, new iPad (except the 2012 iPad 2, which will come later)
• iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S
• iPod touch 3, iPod touch 4

Developed by a collaborative "Dream Team" between Chronic-Dev Team and iPhone Dev Team, Absinthe 2.0 and promises to be so easy, your "grandma could do it." Here are the steps:

1. Make a backup of your device in iTunes by right clicking on your device name under the ‘Devices’ menu and click ‘Back Up’.

2. Once your backup is complete return to your device and go to Settings – General – Reset – Erase all Content and Settings. This will make the jailbreak process much faster.

3. Open Absinthe and be sure you are still connected via USB cable to your computer.

4. Click ‘Jailbreak’ and wait…. just be patient and do not disconnect your device.

5. Once jailbroken return to iTunes and restore your backup from earlier. Right click on your device name under the ‘Devices’ menu in the left panel of iTunes and click ‘Restore from Back Up…’ then select the latest backup you created before. (restoring this backup will return all the content previously on your device ie, apps, photos, etc.)

You can grab the download via the source link below, and if you need any help, jump right into our Jailbreak Forum.

Source: greenpois0n.com

IOS JAILBREAK DREAM TEAM RELEASES ABSINTHE 2.0 – IOS 5.1.1 JAILBREAK AT #HITB2012AMS

AMSTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS – 25th May 2012 – Today @pod2g and the @ChronicDevTeam announced the highly anticipated release of Absinthe 2.0 at #HITB2012AMS held at the Okura Hotel in Amsterdam.

Known as the “iOS Jailbreak Dream Team”, @p0sixninja, @pod2g, @planetbeing, @pimskeks released the untethered jailbreak for iOS 5.1.1 on the final day of the week-long conference. Echoing Steve Jobs’ trademark WWDC encore of ‘… and one more thing’, the team announced the release of Absinthe 2.0 during the closing minutes of their 2 hours talk at the conference.

Absinthe 2.0 will affect the majority of Apple devices running iOS 5.1.1 including iPad 1,1 – 2,1 – 2,2 – 2,3 – 3,1 – 3,2 – 3,3, the iPhone 2,1 – 3,1 – 3,3 – 4,1 and iPod 3,1 – 4,1. The jailbreak does not support the third generation Apple TV and support for iPad 2,4 will be added at a later date.

The team announced that the new Absinthe 2.0 will be available immediately for download from the official ChronicDevTeam website: http://greenpois0n.com The release announcement came after recent rife speculation spreading through online social networks on the actual release date and scope of Absinthe 2.0. The jailbreak community’s interest was first piqued when the team announced they were scheduled to appear at HITBSecConf2012 – Amsterdam to deliver not one but two talks covering both the Corona (A4) and Absinthe (A5) jailbreaks for Apple devices. On the 20th of May, a tweet from team member @pod2g stating the release of Absinthe 2.0 was ‘in a matter of days’ led to further speculation that the final release would be made at HITBSecConf which ran from 21 – 25 May.

“We want to take this opportunity to thank Hack in the Box for giving us the chance to all get together for the first time, especially in the beautiful city of Amsterdam, it has been a great delight for us to announce our next release at this event. Thank you to all our supporters and keep jailbreaking!! ”

“This was certainly one of the most highly anticipated talks we’ve EVER had at one of our HITB conferences, and we’ve done quite a few of these. The excitement from the Dream Team followers and overall Twitter and online buzz has been terrific!”, said Dhillon Andrew Kannabhiran, Founder and CEO of Hack In The Box.

“It was truly an honor to host the Dream Team in their first ever ‘real world’ meet up and we would like to thank them for taking the time and effort to make the trip over to not only join us at our third European outing, but to help kick-start our celebration of ’10 years of HITB awesomeness’ with the release of Absinthe 2.0!”, he added.

HITBSecConf2012 – Malaysia (#HITB2012KUL) marks our 10th annual event in Asia and runs from October 8th till 11th at the Intercontinental Kuala Lumpur featuring 42 of HITB’s best speakers of the decade in one massive event. Registration is already open: http://conference.hitb.org/hitbsecconf2012kul/

About iOS Jailbreak Dream Team: The group is made up of members from the Chronic-Dev Team and the iPhone Dev Team and consists of @MuscleNerd @pod2g @planetbeing @p0sixninja @pimskeks.

About iOS jailbreaking: iOS jailbreaking, or simply jailbreaking, is the process of removing the limitations imposed by Apple on devices running the iOS operating system through use of custom security exploits. Jailbreaking allows users to gain elevated access to the operating system. Consequently it also allows users to download additional applications, extensions and themes that are unavailable through the official Apple App Store.

RIM has only just begun previewing BlackBerry 10 and already features like the on-key, gesture-based word prediction are being quickly copied for the iPhone -- at least for jailbreak. Octopus Keyboard is the name of the tweak, and Jeff Benjamin from iDownloadBlog took a look at its current state of development.

As of now the Octopus keyboard can do the following:

• Automatically learns new words as you type them
• Custom completion engine
• Should work for any input language with key input (English, French, Czech, Russian, etc.)

Here are some of the remaining items that he wishes to accomplish before go-live:

• Avoid learning mistakes
• Autocapitalize words in sentences
• Handle , . ! etc at the end of a sentence
• Better handling and display of longer words
• Compatibility with popular tweaks like SwipeSelection

Octopus Keyboard is currently slated for a May 20 release on Cydia. There's no information on pricing yet.

The current iOS keyboard does and forcing you to stop typing and hit a tiny X target to refuse them if they're incorrect. Here's how Kevin Michaluk describes the BlackBerry 10 typing process:

Instead of placing suggested words above the keyboard, which diverts your attention from the keyboard keys while typing, the BlackBerry 10 keyboard layers its suggestions on the frets between the rows, above the key you're about to tap for your next word. From there you can easily swipe a word up or ignore it. Watching the demonstration at BlackBerry World, it really is brilliant. We're excited for it.

The Octopus Keyboard doesn't look like the Blackberry 10 keyboard, but it does implement the words-on-keys concept. It looks a bit odd seeing it on iOS, where the keyboard hasn't changed much in almost 5 years. Kevin also wonders if RIM -- or anyone RIM may be licensing any part of the technology from -- might take action to prevent jailbreak from stealing BlackBerry 10's thunder, given it's still months away from launching.

You can see it all in action in the BlackBerry 10 keyboard hands-on video below, and compare it to the Octopus Keyboard preview immediately thereafter. Check them both out and let us know what you think.

Source: iDownloadBlog

We're just under a month away from Apple's WWDC 2012 and with it, an expected preview of iOS 6. Last year, we had a list of features available through jailbreak that we wanted Apple to make mainstream in iOS 5. Apple listened, and we got everything from Notification Center to Wi-Fi sync. This year is no different -- once again we have wants. Here are my top jailbreak concepts Apple should implement in iOS 6.

Widgets API

Developers don't currently have the ability to develop widgets for Notification Center. If Apple would open up API for widget access and allow developers to integrate them with current app offerings, it could open up a whole new world of possibilities. This ability is already available on Android and other mobile platforms.

Jailbreak apps have been taking advantage of widgets since iOS 5 was released. There are several widgets that allow access to contacts, system toggles, music, battery info, quick Google searches, and more. Having access to all kinds of settings and apps right from Notification Center is much more convenient than digging for an app or system setting.

Notification Center enhancements and quick replies

While iOS 5 was a huge improvement over the way notifications were handled under previous versions of iOS, there is still room for improvement. Jailbreak apps like IntelliscreenX and LockInfo offer much more control over notifications than stock iOS does. You can fine tune notifications down to the tiniest detail. Do all users need this ability? Absolutely not. But a compromise would be nice.

First, find a way to make the Lock screen more intuitive. Right now all Lock screen notifications are dismissed the moment you swipe to unlock. By all means, clear the screen, but why not keep the notifications available in the window shade until they've actually been viewed, like they are in Notification Center proper.

Second, add the ability to clear app badges the same way Notification Center can be cleared. One little X gets rid of an entire list in Notification Center, but there's no way to get rid of badges in an app without hunting down and viewing every alert individually -- if you can find them.

Thirdly, make in-app banner notifications actionable. Right now if you tap them you're ripped out of the current app and sent into the source app. Having to exit one app to respond to something as simple as an SMS or iMessage, or tweet, is irritating. BiteSMS and Messages+ for jailbreak have offered this functionality for a long time. Enhancements of this nature would make the entire experience of using the iPhone or iPad much faster and much better.

Siri API

While Siri is great at dictating notes, punching out emails, scheduling Reminders, and sending messages, it can't do anything beyond that. Yet. And even if Apple expands it to support other integrated services, like Twitter, it still wouldn't enough.

Having options like sending out a tweet via Tweetbot, or adding a task to Clear, or otherwise letting App Store apps integrate with Siri directly would be a welcome addition. Jailbreak apps such as AssistantExtensions add tons of functionality to Siri. It'd be nice to see that become official in iOS 6.

Better multitasking gestures and shortcuts

Right now the iPad has limited multitasking gesture shortcuts but the iPhone and iPod touch have none at all. Jailbreak apps like Zephyr have brought gesture shortcuts to iPhone and iPod touch, but this is really something Apple needs to slap a coat of paint on and release as stock in iOS 6.

Tabbing through apps should be easier. Sure there's the iOS 4 fast app switcher, but swiping is faster. Custom gestures for favorite app access would be great as well.

Mail enhancements

Mail has previously been given a unified inbox, threaded messages, and flags. Otherwise it's not much different from the days of iOS 1. Mail Enhancer allow jailbreakers to better handle and sort mail on their iPhone or iPad. You can color code different mail accounts so you know what account a message is from when in the unified inbox.

And for the love of all things that are good in the world, can we please have multiple signatures for mail accounts? For users with separate accounts that they use for different purposes, editing signatures can be a huge pain. I may not want a client having my home phone number but I want my friends and family seeing that in my signature. Allowing multiple signatures is the only feasible solution and hopefully it's on the slate for iOS 6.

In addition to per-account signatures, per-account mail tones would be a nice bonus. Sometimes work mail needs to stay on when personal mail does not (or vice versa).

Better Folder functionality

iOS 4 brought the addition of Folders but their functionality remains limited.. The iPhone only allows you to place 12 apps within a folder while the iPad allows 20. Sure, the iPad screen can show more apps at one time, but the difference harms users who want a consistent Home screen setup between devices. For example, if I have 15 productivity apps and keep them on both my iPhone and iPad, on my iPhone I have to have 2 folders while I only have one on my iPad.

Jailbreak apps such as Infinifolders and Folder Enhancer have been around before iOS supported folders. They've also been more functional. Both allow you to stick as many apps as you want in a folder and either page through them like you would Home screen apps or scroll vertically, whichever you choose.

Nested folders is also something jailbreak apps allow for. I frequently use this feature for game folders. I have my strategy, puzzle, adventure, action, and other types of games inside of one main games folders. Unfortunately, it's probably far too hierarchical and "file system-like" for Apple to ever consider.

Themes or Home screen refresh

It's about time for Apple to re-design the Home screen or give us a way to customize it if we want to. iOS 4 introduced the ability to set a picture as your Home screen background but besides that, the Home screen we all know hasn't changed much since the inception of iOS. There's always an argument for familiarity and experience which Apple prides themselves on but it's beginning to look a bit dated.

Jailbreakers have been theming their iPhones for years. While I don't necessarily want my iPhone looking like an Android phone, apps like Shrink allow me to change icon size while apps like Winterboard give me the ablity to change up fonts and status bar icons.

It's highly unlikely that Apple will ever integrate even an Apple exclusive Theme Store into iTunes, but at the very least it would be nice to see iOS 6 bring with it a newly designed Home screen or a few options for customization.

Your iOS 6 want list

What jailbreak apps can you not live without that you'd really like Apple to add stock? Are there any quirks or oddities in iOS that you really can't stand and use jailbreak as a solution?

Hit the link below to let us know in our forums!

Additional Resources:

• What jailbreak features do you want most in iOS 6?
• Best jailbreak apps for new iPhone users
• Jailbreak and unlock discussion forums

Every week the editors at iMore carefully select some of our favorite, most useful, most extraordinary apps, accessories, gadgets, and websites. This week's selections include a jailbreak app to manage off-device media, a sheet music app, an app for social networking, a video player that lets you watch old-school movies, and a popular virtual pinboarding app.

To see what we picked, and to tell us your pick, follow on after the break!

XBMC for iPad - Chris Oldroyd

This week’s pick is a jailbreak app that I use all the time and is the only reason I keep my iPad jailbroken. When it comes to managing off device media the iPad with App Store apps is just not good enough. Air Video and other similar apps do a decent enough job of letting you access media on a PC or Mac but everything that is in a non Apple approved format needs to be encoded on the fly and it means the process is slow and a little ugly.

With XBMC I can connect to my NAS (Networked Attached Storage) box and access all of my content straight over my network, it plays all sorts of file types like AVI and MKV as well as MP4 and M4V all without any encoding or delay; the picture quality is excellent too. XBMC is a highly customizable app and if you are prepared to invest a little bit of time with the app itself and how you store and name your media on your NAS it can look absolutely stunning with the correct meta data.

XBMC is available as a free download from Cydia and it works on the iPad, iPhone and iPod touch.

Steinway Etude - Gary Mazo

Last week I was in guitar mode, this week I am back in piano mode – my primary instrument. There are lots of apps for purchasing sheet music and others for instruction. What makes Steinway Etude unique is that it combines both functions in one app.

First off, Steinway Etude is a music store where you can purchase sheet music. There is a pretty good selection of music from pretty much every musical category. Most songs are about $3.00 which is not terrible compared to pricier services such as Musicnotes.

Once your music is purchased (and there are some free songs to download as well) you see it on a bookshelf – reminiscent of iBooks. Tap the song you want to play and you have the main screen. Touch the Play arrow and you will hear a midi version of the song play, following along the notes in the song. There is also a small keyboard at the bottom showing you which notes to play.

For beginners, this is a great feature; you can see how to play the song, hear how to play the song and then try to play it on your own. I usually maximize the window to just see the song – but its nice to know that if I ever did get stuck I could listen to parts of the music to help me along.

Options are a plenty in Steinway Etude. You can adjust the tempo, turn on or off the right and left hands on the keyboard below, differentiate the hands with unique colors, change the background and more.

Pages just slide left to right and page turns are quick (which is key for a music apps.) All in all, this is a very useful app with a good library of music to purchase and the ability to learn while you play.

Free - Download Now

Google+ for iPhone - George Lim

So, I’m one of those few people who still uses Google+. I’m also a sucker for gorgeous iOS apps, so when Google recently updated their Google+ app, I was happy.

The app is mainly a significant UI improvements. Its certainly easier for a human to understand, navigate and use, as well as overall being cleaner. Its clearer how you can switch between ‘Circles’ to get the posts you want. Instead of having multiple circles which you change by swiping side to side, you get one stream which is changeable through a simple drop down menu.

While not a new feature, I use Google+ hangouts on the iPhone all the time, and I think, for a 10-way video call it is implemented very well. I have a Google hangout with friends every weekend, with the app, I can join it where ever I am.

There are still some gaping holes in the app; the ability to post YouTube links and getting an embed preview, editing posts and comments, and the fact that your display picture is just a small landscape section on your menu-screen, so it doesn’t show your display picture properly.

However despite all these flaws, I still really like this app. Its certainly better than the Facebook app (even on iPad).

Free - Download Now

Video Time Machine - Seth Clifford

My pick this week is pure joy. Video Time Machine is a sweet little app that allows you to watch all kinds of things from years gone by. One of my favorite activities on YouTube (and the internet in general) is find and watch commercials and shows from my youth. The app allows you to do this with a great interface that makes searching for a time period easy. You just roll the dial back to the year you want, select the type of content you want to see (TV, music, ads, trailers, video games, sports, etc.) and the app serves up the goods. Sharing to Facebook and Twitter is baked in, so you can get your friends in on it quickly too. There's no direct search right now, but that's also what makes it kind of cool - it's kind of like a jukebox on random. And it's a universal app that supports AirPlay, so if you want to throw it up on the big screen, you can do so.

I'm really digging it, and I hope that more content gets added as time goes on. It's the perfect way to kill a few minutes and put a smile on your face.

$2.99 - Download Now

Pinterest - Leanna Lofte

When the Pinterest for iPhone app first released, I hated it. It was terribly buggy and miserable to use. It's had several updates since then and it's now a great app. It's beautiful and runs great. I go through phases with Pinterest, but now that they have a solid iPhone app, there's a good chance I'll use it more regularly. What would seal the deal, though, would be if they updated Pinterest to be universal for the iPad as well. Hopefully soon!

Free - Download Now

Tell us your pick!

Those were our picks, iMore Nation, so now it's your turn! Tell us your pick of the week below. Give us the name of your favorite app, site, or accessory, and tell us why it made your life more productive, more informed, more entertaining, or just plain more fun. Jump into the comments and let us know your pick of the week!

There was a time when power users simply had to jailbreak their iPhone as a matter of necessity. If you wanted to get any serious work done with iOS, you had to jailbreak. If you wanted apps, if you wanted copy and paste, if you wanted multitasking, if you wanted proper notifications and Lock screen info, if you wanted Wi-Fi sync, if you wanted any number of features users of other platforms took for granted, you had to jailbreak.

But iOS has evolved. Year after year, Apple has added features, sometimes copied them directly from jailbreak. And each time, the functionality gap closes, the reasons to jailbreak become fewer, and the number of users who jailbreak become fewer along with it.

iOS 5 was the turning point for many. Could iOS 6 be the final straw? Could we be approaching a future where Jailbreak has little or no legitimate place in most iPhone and iPad users lives?

The good of the many vs the good of the few -- or the you

Almost all the big ticket innovations that Apple has brought to iOS, jailbreak brought first. Prior to iOS 5, to pick but one recent example, if you wanted real, unobtrusive, notifications, you had to jailbreak and install apps like IntelliscreenX and LockInfo. MobileNotifier had a strong influence on the way that Notification Center handles notifications today.

With iOS 5 Apple introduced Notification Center. And they did them in a way that catered to the mainstream. There are no difficult settings to weed through or overwhelming menus and options like you find in LockInfo or IntelliscreenX. Is Notification Center perfect? Certainly not. But it's easy. And that's what matters to the majority of consumers.

IntelliscreenX and LockInfo do far more, far better than Notification Center, but to many former jailbreakers, Notification Center does enough, good enough, that they'll stop jailbreaking and just make do.

Not everyone, but a significant number of people.

Innovation at the speed of freedom

Apple only releases one new version of iOS a year (or 16 months last year). While they have interim updates in between, those are adding increasingly fewer new features, and never add major, system-level changes. Jailbreak, by contrast, never stops. New tweaks and new utilities are always being developed and released.

That means jailbreak is typically faster at discovering and delivering new features. While the masses may not know they need a feature or function until Apple gives it to them, power users typically want it before Apple can or is willing to give it to them. To keep to the same example, jailbreak users had LockInfo and IntelliscreenX and Mobile Notifier long before Notification Center shipped.

Whether this year will bring with it a newly designed Home screen or other major new feature, odds are it really won't be that ground breaking to jailbreak users.

In this aspect, jailbreak will continue to be a breeding ground for many developers that want to push the limits of what the iPhone and iPad are capable of. They'll bring the future to us today.

But again, the amount of users who need a cutting edge level of functionality is less now than it used to be. Apple has taken care of the low hanging fruit and for the most part, only niche-needs remain to be filled. That means less people will go through the trouble to jailbreak because it's increasingly not worth it for them. Good enough is good enough and perfect isn't worth the trouble it takes to get it.

The rejection objection

Many developers that find themselves rejected by Apple for one reason or another have used Cydia, the jailbreak app store, as a way to distribute their apps. Whether Apple rejected an app because they manipulated the iOS file system, or because it duplicated -- and sometimes improved! -- the functionality of a built in app, or because it hooked into and changed a part of the system Apple simply doesn't want changed, Cydia (or another jailbreak app store) remains the only way to get certain apps.

However, while there are apps that Apple will never let onto the App Store under current policies, Apple is rejecting less apps than they used to. Often there will be some neutered version of an app that does something similar, and unless a user really needs a specific prohibited feature, they'll increasingly suck it up and make do with the App Store. Again, good enough.

Themes and toggles and tweaks, oh my

Even though Apple adds more and more native functionality with each major revision of iOS, there will always be a niche group of advanced users that want to customize and fine tune their experience beyond what Apple allows. This holds true for rooting and homebrew communities on other, more "open" platforms as well. For some of us, there's just never enough. We'll customize and flash down to the ROM level if we can.

For the iPhone and iPad, whether it's a new look for the Home screen and icons, fast access to Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, or other Settings, or system extensions for Notification Center, folders, Siri, or more, there's almost no chance Apple can will meet these needs, especially not any time soon.

These jailbreakers are still jailbreaking, and likely will for a longtime to come.

Illegitimate interests

While we have a zero tolerance policy when it comes to app theft here on iMore, we simply can't talk jailbreak without facing the reality that some segment of the user base jailbreaks simply to steal apps. Those are the users that will probably continue to jailbreak regardless of how much functionality Apple adds. They could care less. It doesn't matter how nice Starbucks is inside if all someone wants to do is steal coffee.

It's a sad reality but one that exists on almost every platforms, mobile or otherwise.

Those who jailbreak to steal aren't the ones that keep Cydia going. If they're stealing App Store apps, they're most likely not paying for jailbreak apps. The users who support jailbreak open their wallets to support the jailbreak community -- they like paying for apps and themes and tweaks because they know that's how they'll get more of them. Same for app store apps (and coffee!)

Some users will continue to jailbreak to steal apps, but if that's ever the only reason left to jailbreak, the community would likely stop looking for exploits, creating tools, and making great jailbreak software. It's a dead end.

(Considering Cydia is still chugging along, arguably better than ever, it's a good sign that there are still many users out there who jailbreak for legitimate reasons.)

A tale of two systems

As iOS becomes more refined and functional, certain users who used to jailbreak find it no longer worth their effort, and they either settle into, or settle for, stock. However, Apple will never be able to please everyone. In fact, pleasing everyone is the opposite of Apple's philosophy. Apple will continue to make the iPhone that Tim Cook and Jony Ive and Phil Schiller and Scott Forstall want to own and use. That will suit the mainstream just fine, but it will continue to leave many other users wanting more or different.

There may be less casual jailbreakers now than there were before, and there may be less reason for average users to jailbreak now than before. Good enough may be good enough for many.

But not for everyone, and not for those for whom better or perfect is a very personal, sometimes changing target.

iOS may make more and more users happy, but jailbreak will remain, giving advanced levels of control and customization, and allowing users to "beta test" the future. The users that will be interested in doing that are the tinkerers, hackers, and mobile enthusiasts. These are the users that see a new piece of tech and have to have it or want to find a way to get their current device to duplicate another platform's functionality before Apple decides they can have it. While this will always be the case for some, it isn't the case for many.

You can never predict the future. Apple or the carriers could crack down on something that drives more users to jailbreak again. A breakthrough new feature could appear on a competing platform and jailbreak could once again offer it well in advance of Apple. But it will never be the same as the heady days when you had to jailbreak just to run apps, or just to use an iPhone outside the U.S.

Jailbreak under iOS 5 is not what it was under iOS 4 and the same will most likely hold true with every iteration of iOS to come. As more features are added and the needs of many would-be jailbreakers are met, the numbers will continue to dwindle and users that once swore by jailbreak will find themselves weighing out whether or not jailbreak holds value for them anymore. At some point, iOS will cross the threshold of being good enough for some jailbreakers to being good enough for many.

And that's okay. Because the jailbreakers who are left will be just as passionate and just as needy as always. There may be less as a percentage of the total user base, but those who remain, who still want jailbreak, will really want it. They'll need it.

And that -- sense of shared purpose more than any number of people -- is what makes a community.

Once again proving the velocity of jailbreak, no sooner did Daniel Hooper's concept video for an overhauled, gesture-based, keyboard-board iPad text editing update get reported, but it's now been coded up by Kyle Howells as SwipeSelection.

Hooper's concept involved a combination of single and double finger gestures and a Shift key modifier to make text selection faster when doing heavy duty editing. SwipeSelection implements that functionality for both iPad and iPhone. iDownloadBlog's Jeff Benjamin gave it a test drive and liked the way it handled.

It works extremely well, so much so, that I was totally used to it within minutes. SwipeSelection feels incredibly native, and perfectly natural. [..] I’ve tried SwipeSelection on my iPhone, and it works there as well! The only issue is that there isn’t a shift key on the right side of the keyboard like there is on the iPad, so selecting text works better from left to right instead of from right to left. The single finger, and two finger drags work exactly like they do on the iPad, which makes text editing so much more intuitive.

Given Apple's history of adopting ideas that were first implemented by the jailbreak community, and hiring jailbreak developers, there has been some speculation that Hooper and/or his text editing concept could be next.

I'm still not convinced Apple would do anything to divide the text editing experience into distinct keyboard and keyboard-less mode, though a higher level gesture "keyboard shortcut" mode for expert users could be interesting. (Bluetooth keyboard implementation is not a precedent since your hands are physically removed from the multitouch display when using a keyboard and base functionality has to be remapped to match the different input mode.)

The most important thing here is that text editing on iOS has gotten some much-needed attention. Apple took 3 years to introduce text editing into iOS, and while they've been adding options to their popup ever since, they have improved the basic mechanics at all. Coming up with a better, finer grained text selection system across iOS, regardless of keyboard state, would be yet another excellent improvement for iOS 6.

Source: iDownloadBlog

A new jailbreak tweak called Quasar will let you have multiple apps open and running at the same time. If you've always yearned for the opportunity to have your iPad work more like a desktop OS like Windows or OS X, Quasar could be just what you've been looking for.

Quasar is (the very first) window manager for iPad! Now you can run apps in windows, on your iPad! Simply open any application and it will be opened in a window, just like in your computer. Quasar is integrated to iOS's default app switcher (double pressing home button). Killing an application in app switcher (or holding the close button) kills its window and the application itself, but if you only click the close button, the window is closed but the application keeps running in background (in the app switcher).

Quasar is a version 1.0 jailbreak app and to be fair you can tell. It crashed the springboard a few times when I was playing with it and froze a couple of times too. There are weird rotations and portrait bugs as seen in the video are quite annoying too. Having said that, this could potentially be a game changer as and when it's quirks have been ironed out.

Quasar is available through Cydia for $9.99 and is for the iPad only running iOS 5 or higher.

UPDATE: The developer has already released an update and fixed some of the bugs that we experienced in the demo video. The orientation and rotation bugs are now fixed along with a few other things too. Good to see such speedy bug fixes!

Stride is a new jailbreak tweak which is available now,  it allows you to passcode protect your device but without the need for a boring old passcode. Instead of a series of numbers or letters, the Stride jailbreak tweak lets you set up an on screen gesture to do the job for you.

Unlocking your iOS Device just got a whole lot cooler. Never again do you need to worry about entering some lengthy password, or are limited to 9 points on a grid. With Stride, you unlock with gestures! Simply draw your password. That's it.

Source: YouTube

Every week the editors at iMore carefully select some of our favorite, most useful, most extraordinary apps, accessories, gadgets, and websites. This weeks selections includes a musical game, a jailbreak tweak, an accessory and app to accept credit card payments, a music identifier, a news readers, and a photo editor.

To see what we picked, and to tell us your pick, follow on after the break!

Guess Your Songs - @Alli_Flowers

Remember the old game show "Name that tune?" Remember how if they told you enough about the song, you could guess it in a single note? Well what if you only had a single note and no background information? What if that tune came from your own iTunes library?

Guess Your Songs is a great new game that you can play on your iPhone, iPad, Facebook, or directly through www.guessyoursongs.com. It uses your iTunes library, and plays you a snippet of a song. It could be a single note, it could be 10 notes - depends on the song - whatever fits into the two seconds you get to listen. Oh, and it's not the beginning of the song, either. This can be a challenge.

Once you listen to your two seconds of music, you get three choices. Guess Your Songs will display the album art (if you have it), and give you three song titles. All you have to do is tap the correct song. This can sometimes be tricky. For instance, I played one round, where I got two seconds of silence. When I looked at my choices, two were classical pieces, and the third had a lengthy bridge with spots that were so quiet they could have been silence. Very difficult to make that call!

The more eclectic your collection, the easier it is to guess correctly. If you have a large collection of music from the same genre, it could prove very challenging!

So challenge yourself to see how well you know your own music collection, and give this a try!

Free - Download Now

Zeppelin (jailbreak) - @JorjLim

Zeppelin is a very simple jailbreak tweak that allows you to change your carrier icon. Instead of reading "O2" or "AT&T" you can actually customise it to show the actual logo of the company, or even something completely different like the batman symbol, the Apple logo, or even the logo of your favourite sporting team.

When you initially download it it comes with some basic icons; from popular sci-fi series, video games as well as popular brands. However there are endless numbers of bonus packs to download in the Cydia store for free. (It even has their own category in Cydia)

If you want to really have simplicity, you can even set it to "none" to have nothing there at all.

One of the good things about this tweak is that you don't even have to respring when you change an icon, so you can switch between them on the fly without having to worry respringing your phone.

You can download this fun little tweak from Cydia for free.

Square Register for iPad - @iMuggle

I've been using Square as the main method for taking credit card payments for PXLFIX since last summer. I love the ease of use, idiot proof interface, and low fees. As much as I've always enjoyed being able to take a credit card wherever I was, whether in the office or on a consult, I've felt like Square could add a bit more customization.

Square Register is exactly what I'd been wanting to see them do. I can now have a beautiful virtual shelf showing all our services and repairs, I can favorite certain items that get used more than others, and add photos for each item. I also like the fact that I can choose whether or not an item is taxable. In the state where my business is located, we don't yet have to charge tax on labor so we have to break that out on invoices. Square makes it easier than ever. Just toggle tax on or off for any individual item.

I've been playing around with Square Register since it came out and I have to say that it's one of the best options for small businesses that don't want to be anchored to one point of sale or commit to several monthly fees. You can sign up for Square for free and receive a reader for free as well. Square Register is also a free download via the App Store.

Free - Download Now

USA Today - @Gmazo1

I'm a News junkie - I always have been. First thing in the morning - after I read my emails and check tweets from the night, i fire up two or three news apps to see what's going on in the world. I have vacillated between my iPad and iPhone - but usually turn to the iPad for one app - USA Today. AFter checking the front page of the New York Times, this has been my go to app.

Now, USA Today has been updated for the iPhone and it is awesome. They did a complete redesign of the iPhone app; the sections are in big, bold colorful letters on the left hand side. In each "category" you can choose from lots of options. Being a sports nut, I really appreciate the ability to see Top Stories, Scores and each sporting league right there for easy perusal.

I also like that the settings menu is built into the app. I can manage my alerts, choose display options and get support via email or twitter. There is even a handy weather widget on the front page that can be set to multiple locations. All in all, this is a great upgrade and has made this my new "go to" news app when I am just looking for quick stories - not in depth analysis.

Free - Download Now

Shazam - @Bla1ze

I'm getting old. My memory for the names of songs and tunes I like is no longer as good as it once used to be. For example, watching the iPad announcement I sat there wondering what the name of the song they played while showing off the new stores was pretty much for hours, even though I knew I had heard it before. I gave up though, and headed off to the app store to find an app that would know instantly. I found Shazam, played a few seconds of the song, Shazam sent it to the cloud and immediately gave me the answer I was looking for -- We are young by Fun featuring Janelle Monae. Shazam is free and available in the app store, right now.

Free - Download Now

iPhoto for iPhone and iPad - @llofte

One of the announcements during Apple's iPad event was iPhoto for iPhone and Mac. When rumors first started surfacing about this, I'll admit that I wasn't too thrilled because I've never been a fan of iPhoto for Mac. I'm happy to report that I'm actually very impressed with iPhoto for iPhone and iPad.

I don't want to repeat myself, so please take a look at my full review.

$4.99 - Download Now

The new iPad - @reneritchie

What? Stop looking at me like that. It had to be done! The new iPad packs an ridiculous amount of technology into a sleek, sexy package for an unbelievably low price. It's such a design, engineering, and logistical achievement that I'm guessing Apple's competitors likely went into collective apoplexy after watching the event on Wednesday and are probably still on pure oxygen.

2048x1536 Retina display pixels in a 9.7-inch display is crazy. It's more than your 1080p television at a tiny fraction of the size. 4G LTE networking is fantastic for those with coverage, and the Apple A5X chipset looks to be quad-core graphical monster. It's even got a 5mp version of the iPhone 4S' fantastic iSight camera built in.

And it's almost the same size as the iPad 2, and the same price. If you haven't gotten a tablet yet, it's a great time to start. If you have an original iPad, it's a great time to upgrade. If you have an iPad 2, it's a good upgrade provided one or more of the features fixes a real problem you've been having.

I'll be lining up to get the fully loaded version on launch day, but if you haven't made up your mind yet, we've got everything you need to help you decide right here:

• 2012 iPad buyers guide

Tell us your pick!

Those were our picks, iMore Nation, so now it's your turn! Tell us your pick of the week below. Give us the name of your favorite app, site, or accessory, and tell us why it made your life more productive, more informed, more entertaining, or just plain more fun. Jump into the comments and let us know your pick of the week!

Georgia recently wrote an editorial about the frustration she's experienced using Cydia, the jailbreak app store. I'm a long time advocate of jailbreak and the benefits it brings with it. While Cydia may not be perfect, and it definitely isn't the same experience as using Apple's App Store, there are reasons for why it works the way it does, and some huge advantages that come along with it.

When you use an iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad, you expect your experience to be seamless and intuitive. Apple has long been known for creating devices that are extremely accessible to just about anyone, and work incredibly well with other Apple devices. It's like training wheels or rails. As long as you stay on the track, everything goes exactly as it's supposed to. When you decide to jailbreak, however, you're deciding to go off that Apple approved track, and you have to realize your experience is going to change.

You're not sacrificing much. Your iPhone will still make calls, your iPad will still be able to visit websites, and you can still buy anything you want from the official iTunes App Store, the same as always.

But you're gaining a lot. You can tweak your device so it behaves the way you want it to, including providing quick access to settings and in-app SMS replies, and you can theme it so it looks the way you like, including icons and user interface elements.

A stock iPhone or iPad user is typically after the convenience and ease of use Apple provides. A jailbroken iOS user is typically willing to part with some of that convenience and ease of use in exchange for the additional functionality and control.

Cydia is not the App Store

One of the biggest frustrations new jailbreakers have to overcome is Cydia, the jailbreak app store. If you've decide you want more control over your iPhone or iPad, and the ability to install applications and utilities that are not given the Apple stamp of approval, there's a price to be paid. You're classifying yourself as an expert and a power user, and you have to take on the responsibility that comes with it. You've entered a different level and you'll have to check some of your carefully curated expectations at the door.

While Cydia does play host to almost all available jailbreak apps, just as the App Store does for official applications, the similarities pretty much stop there.

The App Store is a simple "search, tap, enter password, and you're done" experience. Cydia is not.

Load some vs. load all

First, Cydia takes a lot longer to load and update. There's a reason for that. Cydia doesn't handle data in the same way the App Store does. The App Store, for example, has chosen to only present you with 25 applications at a time. That saves time up front but if you'd like to view more, you'll need to tell it by tapping to "View more" button and waiting again. And again, each time.

Cydia actually loads all packages at launch and you can page through every single one of them after the data is done loading.

The App Store also only loads data from one source -- iTunes. Cydia typically loads data from several different repositories. With the App Store, you're limited to that iTunes data source. With Cydia, you can add additional repositories if you wish.

Manually entering and managing repositories is a more complicated process than the App Store's iTunes-only approach, but it means you have access to a wider range of software, including betas. Downloading beta software isn't something the iTunes App Store supports at all.

It means you have access to cutting edge, even bleeding edge technology. If you're willing to do the work, you'll find ways to get iPad-like gestures (and more) on your iPhone, custom widgets and settings toggles in Notification Center, and other enhancements that may not come to Apple's official iOS for months, if ever. (Apple does seem to take inspiration from jailbreak now and then.)

Cydia has long been the breeding ground for amazing apps and utilities. If I have to wait a few more minutes for packages to load or deal with an occasional error or instability, that's a choice I've made and I'm okay with that trade-off.

Fragmentation vs. functionality

The iTunes App Store handles compatibility in a fairly straight forward manner. If your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch isn't able to run the version of iOS an app requires, you can't install that app. Developers list their requirements and if your device can't meet them, you can't have the app.

There's still a lot of crap in the App Store, some buggy apps slip through (including major apps from major developers like Google and Facebook!), and older devices can glitch or crash more on the most cutting edge, most demanding games, but for the most part you don't have to worry about whether or not an app will run on your device.

Cydia does things a bit differently. While some Cydia packages won't allow you to purchase them if they're not 100% compatible, others do not have this safeguard. There are many repositories you can add to Cydia that aren't curated for compatibility at all.

Generally, the ability to download what you want to download when you want to download it is considered a huge benefit of jailbreak. But with great power comes great responsibility, right? In other words, you have to do your homework. You have to check and make sure what you download is compatible with your device and your version of iOS.

(Incompatible or conflicting apps are often the reason for jailbreak headaches, especially for new users.)

Read release notes and app descriptions, and ask in our Jailbreak Apps Forum and your Cydia experience will be a much more enjoyable one.

Payments and process

Even before Apple introduced the App Store, iTunes was one of the biggest online payment systems in the world. Now they can handle credit cards and other forms of transactions in more parts of the world than just about anyone. Because they completely control iTunes and the App Store, they can also make using their payment system incredibly streamlined and simple. You tap a button, you type in a password, and you're done. One login to rule them all.

Cydia doesn't have that luxury. Cydia is dependent on third-party payment systems, namely Amazon and Paypal.

Apple also has a massive cloud infrastructure so your iTunes account can be tied to all the apps you've ever purchased and those apps can be easily restored to any device you own, new or old.

Again, Cydia doesn't have that type of account authentication system, so they've tied into Google and Facebook.

Apple's way is simple, but it's also without choice or option. You use iTunes or you use nothing. With Cydia you can choose to use Facebook or Google for account authentication, and you can choose to use Amazon or Paypal for payment.

Because the App Store is entirely controlled by Apple, they can store your credit card information and credentials and provide that really simple one tap, one password purchasing experience.

Because Cydia doesn't control Facebook, Google, Amazon, or Paypal, it can't store your credit card information and credentials, and so you do have to enter them more places, and more often, than you do with iTunes.

Again, it's the price of operating outside the Apple approved process, and again, the complexity has drawbacks but it also comes with some benefits.

Conclusion

No system is perfect. Not Apple's iTunes App Store and not Cydia, the jailbreak app store. I'm willing to overlook a lot of Cydia's flaws because I benefit from the apps and utilities it delivers. Without Cydia, many developers would have no way to distribute their apps, and to earn enough money to keep developing them.

While I think what Cydia brings to the table greatly outweighs its problem areas, I do think there's room for improvement. My biggest peeve is actually the organizational method Cydia uses. While discoverability on the App Store is a long standing problem, it's not always easy to find something on Cydia either unless you know what you're looking for or have a lot of time to browse through cluttered sections.

Making it easier to find really great apps and utilities is something that would make the initial Cydia experience better and a lot less overwhelming for new users.

If you're a Cydia user, new or long time, what are your thoughts on its usability? What would you most like to see changed or improved?

Additional resources:

• How to use Cydia, the jailbreak app store
• Jailbreak starters guide
• iMore jailbreak forums

iTweak looks to be a lightweight, web-based jailbreak app store set to compete with Cydia and, from what we understand, will allow you to install applications from the web app directly onto your jailbroken device.

Developed by @roktheworld27 and @mtamermahoney, the description reads as follows:

Welcome to iTweak! iTweak is one of the best places to get all of your Tweaks, Themes, Utilities and more on your jailbroken iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad! We serve as an alternative to Cydia, and the Apple App Store. For more information on multiple different topics, such as security information, our Mac and PC clients, or how to use iTweak, please tap 'More Information' below.

It looks as if users will have logins just as they do through Cydia. We don't know what type of payments will be supported or how that will be handled as of yet.

There were jailbreak app store before Cydia, and competitors that have sprung up in the past. They either seem to fade away or get acquired. We've also seen rumors of other web based jailbreak app stores in the recent past that haven't come to fruition just yet.

We've got our own issues with Cydia and some good competition may be a great thing for the jailbreak community. The developers of iTweak plan on a launch within a month or so's time, and we'll update you as soon as we hear more.

In the meantime check out the screenshots below, and let us know -- are you interested in a Cydia alternative? And if so, is a web based app store like iTweak a plus or a minus in your book?

More: iTweak Store, @itweakstore, @roktheworld27 and @mtamermahoney, via @applecpugeek

Cydia is the jailbreak app store -- the place to get all the great, useful, functional programs that for various reasons Apple doesn't allow in the official iTunes App Store, like in-app SMS, themes that change the look of your entire phone, quick toggles for Wi-Fi or Bluetooth settings, and much, much more. But whether you're new to the iPhone or to jailbreak, or have been hacking your gear since day one, you know Cydia can be as much pain as pleasure. You can find the most amazing utilities, themes, tweaks, and apps there - but buying them can sometimes cause way more frustration than fun.

Now, I fully realize that by jailbreaking my iPhone 4S I've classified myself as a power user who's chosen to jump through hoops go the extra mile to get some of my apps outside of Apple's official app store. But while waiting for the iPhone 4S jailbreak, and living with a stock iPhone for a week, I was reminded of the sheer difference in user experience between the App Store and Cydia. I went over this already on the first episode of our Apps & Accessories Live podcast, but here's the gist.

Buying an app on the App Store

Buying from the App Store is as simple as tapping the price, typing your password, and tapping OK.

1. See an app you want
2. Tap the price tag
3. Enter your iTunes password
4. Get the app

That's it. Sure, tapping the price tag isn't always intuitive for new users (a big BUY or DOWNLOAD button would be easier). Sure, you had to set up the iTunes account and decide to trust Apple with your credit card information. But once that's done, aside from having to verify you credit code if you use a new device, you're good to go. If you have multiple devices, like an iPad and iPod touch, or you upgrade to a new device, you just re-download the app. It couldn't be easier. It makes buying a snap, especially impulse buying.

Buying an app on Cydia

With Cydia you have to login to your account via Google or Facebok (even if you don't like either service)

And login separately to pay via Amazon or Paypal, which sometimes has errors and sends you back to the beginning

1. See an app you want
2. Tap to buy
3. Choose to login with a Google or Facebook account
4. Login with your email and password
5. Choose to pay with Amazon or Paypal
6. Login with your Amazon or Paypal account
7. Hope the app recognizes the payment, if not, try to restore the license
8. Sometimes re-spring the Springboard (iOS Home screen system)

On the surface it may seem only twice or three times as complex, but what the simple list could easily be expanded with:

1. Trying to figure out what to do if, like me, you've consciously decided not to have a Google or Facebook account due to privacy concerns. (I ultimately made a Google account just for Cydia and for Google's strong-arm Google+ authorship drive.)
2. Sometimes being thrown back to the very beginning of the buying process, over and over again, when something goes wrong with the payment process (why can't it just send me back to the payment screen?)
3. Sometimes having a huge struggle getting the app to realize you've paid for a license
4. The problems often associated with changing devices, like when you get a new iPhone, and trying to use a previous license.

Now you can choose to pre-authorize a certain amount via Amazon, if that's your preferred checkout option, but that really only delays the inevitable.

And still that doesn't cover the apps that choose not to be part of the Cydia system.

I recently tried to buy IntelliScreenX to check out it's iOS 5 integration. The process was so labored, so error-prone, I ultimately gave up and waited and calmed down for several days before going back to try again. (And sent Rene a string of incredibly angry text messages in between fully laying out my frustration at the process.)

Not only does it absolutely discourage me from impulse buys (good for me, bad for developers), it discourages me from any buys (bad for everyone).

Again, I understand that by jailbreaking and buying jailbreak apps, I'm stepping outside the Apple eco-system and the ease of use it provides. I also understand the Herculean task Saurik, the creator of Cydia, tackles every day in making and improving the Cydia app store.

Maintaining a user account system isn't easy. Having a checkout system isn't easy. Getting developers the money they deserve and protecting apps from unlicensed use isn't easy.

But the current process is still too hard and often too frustrating.

Time for Cydia to strike back

Figuring out a way to store the user-account on-device would be a good step. If Google or Facebook force a timeout, investigating a Cydia account system proper would be a great alternative. Storing the associated payment system username would further reduce the friction (not the password, of course). And if a problem occurs, returning the user to the previous screen, not the very beginning of the process, would be a huge improvement.

I love my jailbreak. I lasted 6 days with a stock iPhone 4S before I jailbroke. I love the ability to customize my phone -- to make my device work the way I want it to work. I love Cydia and all the great apps it gives jailbreak users access to.

I'm offering these criticisms and sharing these experiences because I love it so much, and really hope it gets even better. We've been hearing whispers about improvements coming to Cydia for a while now, so hopefully those will be released and address a lot of what's mentioned above.

iOS 5 stole a lot of ideas from jailbreak. It's jailbreak's turn to strike back!

Get custom signatures, notifications, and highlights for iPhone Mail with Mail Enhancer for jailbreak

Mail Enhancer adds a great deal of extra functionality to your jailbroken iPhone, including the ability to set custom signatures for different accounts, tailored notifications, advanced mail sorting options, and account highlighting. If the stock version of iOS simply doesn't meet your needs, and you're looking for more and better functionality, give Mail Enhancer a try.

iOS lacks the ability to have more than one e-mail signature. (That's why we all see "Sent from my iPhone" so often.) If you have a different account for home and office, for example, you're forced to include the contact information for both and delete the inappropriate one each time, or neither, and enter it in manually on a case by case basis. If you remember. Mail Enhancer allows you to add as many mail signatures as you'd like. Not only can you set them per account, but you can take it one step further and also have separate signatures for composing, replying, and forwarding.

Set quiet hours and account priority

Mail Enhancer also has advanced notification controls built-in. You can set mail accounts as high priority and low priority and adjust notifications accordingly. For example, you can set up high priority email to use popup notifications but have them turned off for low priority email.

Set different colors for mail accounts with message highlighting

If you're the type of person that likes to view all of your e-mails in one thread, Mail Enhancer makes it easy to set highlight colors for each account. That way, even when you're viewing the unified inbox, you can still easily identify which account each email was sent to, without having to tap into each one individually. You can also add a bar to the top of your Mail app that allows you to easily toggle between all your messages and just unread messages.

Mail Enhancer is already available in Cydia, the jailbreak app store.

$4.99 - Cydia Search Link

Additional jailbreak resources:

• Jailbreak news, guides, and how to's
• Jailbreak apps, hacks, and tweaks forum
• General jailbreak discussion forums

The fine folks from Firecore have been hard at work on their aTV Flash (black) package for jailbroken AppleTVs and have just released a new update that allows all-new firmware backup options, new localizations for our international readers, and playback enhancements.

The Apple TV is an incredibly inexpensive way to easily get all your iTunes music and videos onto your big screen HDTV, along with special channels like Netfix, but you only get support for Apple's own file formats, and for channel partners they select. Jailbreaking and using aTV Flash (black) opens up entirely new worlds beyond Apple.

If you're looking for the full change log, you'll find it past the break. If you really don't need the full details and just want to get yourself updated, version 1.3 is available now from the Firecore website

Need help jailbreaking your Apple TV 2? If so, be sure to check out our full how-to guide today!

Source - Firecore

Full Changelog

• Added automated firmware signature backups
• Added Danish, Dutch, French, Greek, Italian, Brazilian Portuguese, and Spanish translations
• Added support for advanced (learned) remote commands
• Added support for multiple external subtitles (movie.en.srt, movie.de.srt, etc...)
• Added support for folder based organization/playback
• Added support for embedded DVD chapters
• Added chapters section heading to Playback Menu
• Added global zoom setting
• Improved playback performance for movies with invalid timestamps
• Improved appearance of VobSub subtitles
• Improved metadata fetching for localized file names
• Improved audio track filtering
• Improved playback bar to match native player
• Improved metadata and bulk folder fetching stability
• Improved Media > Settings menu layout
• Resolved issues with folder name changing on metadata fetching
• Resolved issues with buffering
• Resolved rare DVD related crash
• Resolved floating AFP issue that was causing connection issues
• Resolved floating buffer overflow in software decoder
• Minor changes to Grid View appearance
• Minor UI improvements
• Other miscellaneous bug fixes

Activator allows you to launch apps or utilities on your jailbroken iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch with a quick swipe, tap, or button press. Swipe up from the bottom of your screen to quick compose a text, double tap the status bar to bring up SBSettings, or shake your device to take a screenshot. Setting up an Activator gesture takes just a few seconds and the possibilities are endless.

Install Activator

Activator can be found in your Settings app. If you're jailbroken, chances are you already have Activator installed whether you know it or not. Many utilities and applications in Cydia, the jailbreak app store, support it, and will install it as a pre-requisite to using the app. SBSettings, which lets you quickly toggle Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and Airplane mode, among other things, is an example.

If you don't see an Activator your Settings app, you can install it for free via Cydia.

1. Launch Cydia and tap on the **Search** tab.
2. Type in **Activator**
3. Tap on **Activator**
4. Tap the **Install** button in the upper right hand corner.

Your device will require you to re-spring (restart the Springboard, or Home screen app) after installation. Then you're good to go.

How to configure a gesture in Activator

1. Launch the **Settings** app.
2. Tap **Activator**.
3. Choose how you want to trigger an actions.
4. Choose what you want the action to do.
5. One the supported apps show up, choose the one you want.

We typically recommend you allow Activator gestures to work from anywhere. However, you may not want this if you're setting a gesture that slides in from the bottom or top of the screen as it can conflict with the controls of some games. There's nothing like trying to slice in Fruit Ninja only to suddenly find yourself in a different app!

There are plenty of action options to choose from. For example, you can set up double tap on the status bar to bring up quick reply for Messages+.

Once you're done, you'll be able to perform any gesture you've specified, or call up any supported app or command on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch.

Under iOS 5 you can even set up Twitter gestures and other system gestures like activating Siri.

If you have any favorite or especially cool Activator gestures set ups you'd like to share, let us know in the iMore apps, hacks, and themes forum.

Additional jailbreak resources:

• Jailbreak news, guides, and how to's
• General jailbreak help and discussion forums

Georgia, Seth, and Rene talk about copy-cat apps, iMovie vs. Avid, Launch Center, Jailbreak apps for iOS 5, as well as cases with stands, iPhone guns, and glowing Apple logo mods. This is Apps & Accessories Live!

• Subscription information coming soon! Right now you can enjoy Apps & Accessories Live in the iPhone & iPad Live fees!

Meta

• February is fitness month at iMore and Mobile Nations! [iPad 3 giveaway!]
• Don't forget we give away a ton of stuff!

App News

• Apple removes copy-cat apps from the App Store, doesn’t address larger issues
• iMovie vs Avid Studio: iPad video editing app shootout
• Readdle Remarks brings note-taking and PDF annotating in one to iPad
• Book Palette for Mac offers 10 beautiful templates for iBooks Author
• iMore app picks of the week for February 4, 2012 [Giveaway]

Jailbreak Apps

• BiteSMS vs Messages+ for iOS 5: which should you use?
• LockInfo vs IntelliscreenX for iOS 5 jailbreak: which should you use?
• Hands-on with Zephyr for the iPhone and iPod Touch [Jailbreak Apps]

Launch Center

• Launch Center puts Messages, Facebook, Twitter, a flashlight, more in your iPhone Notification Center

Accessory News

• Xappr Gun turns your iPhone into an FPS dream machine!

• Ten One Design announces Pogo Sketch Plus capacitive stylus for iPhone and iPad
• Hands on with the Jot Touch, a pressure sensitive stylus by Adonit

• Incipio SILICRYLIC case with kickstand for iPhone 4S and iPhone 4 vs. Case-Mate Pop! Case with Stand for iPhone 4S, iPhone 4

iPhone Mods

• iFixit Thirsty Bag for iPhone, iPad review
• iFixit iPhone transparent rear panel mod kit review
• Hands on with the glowing Apple logo mod for iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S

Hosts

• Georgia (@GeorgiaTiPb)
• Seth Clifford (@sethclifford)
• Rene Ritchie (@reneritchie)

Credits

You can reach all of us on Twitter [@iMore](http://twitter.com/imore), or you can email us at , or leave a comment on the website when the show goes live.

We're here every Sunday night at 6pm Pacific, 9pm Eastern, 2am GMT, and our companion show -- iPhone and iPad Live! -- is at the same time, on the same channel, on Wednesday nights -- www.iMore.com/live

For all our podcasts -- audio and video -- including iPhone and iPad Live, ZENandTECH and Superfunctional, Iterate and Girls Gone Gadget and more... see MobileNations.com/shows

If you haven't already please subscribe to all our shows in iTunes and leave a rating. It helps people find the show and means a lot to us!

Thanks to the iMore Accessory Store for sponsoring the podcast, and to everyone who showed up for the live chat!

AssistantExtensions is a jailbreak app for iPhone 4S that greatly enhances what you can do with Apple's Siri virtual assistant, including voice activation, app launching, translation, and more. Developers can even add their own, custom commands via a new plug-in architecture. That means, unlike the limited built-in functionality Apple provides, many more powerful, and interesting, commands become available.

AssistantExtensions bundles a number of commands together, including the ability to send tweets from Siri, and an interesting "chat mode" where Siri loads additional content so she/he can better have a conversation with you (though the server load must be heavy as it frequently experiences time outs).

For even more functionality, AssistantExtensions lets developers create custom commands and tasks using Siri. You can already use AssistantExtensions to access SBSettings to quickly toggle Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Airplane mode, etc. Hopefully more and more jailbreak developers start integrating support.

Out of the box, you can use Siri to activate SBSettings toggles or launch apps without even touching your iPhone -- a great way to increase efficiency when using Siri. The only issues we've noticed with AssistantExtensions are random conflicts with SiriToggles, although other users have seen mixed reports.

• Free - Cydia Link

If you're looking for even more jailbreak utilities, here are the best jailbreak applications for iOS 5.

If you're looking to get started with jailbreak, here are your go-to resources.

• How to jailbreak guides
• Jailbreak apps, hacks, and themes
• General jailbreak and unlock help forums

Every week a few of us from team iMore will bring you our current favorite, most fun and useful App Store apps, WebApps, jailbreak apps, even the occasional accessory, web site, or desktop app if the mood strikes us. As long as they’re iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch related, they’re fair game.

To see what we picked, and to tell us your pick, follow on after the break!

The White House -- @andrewwray

Looking for a great way to keep tabs on the Obama administration? The White House for iPhone is your best pick, giving you access to news, photos and video of what's happening at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW.

Not only will you have direct access to their blog, which is more of a news source than anything else, but you'll also be able to browse through archived photos, video and more. I was able to watch the State of the Union address in its entirety earlier this week without strapping myself down to a desk or television. Instead, I just whipped out my iPhone and within a few minutes I was watching the livestream -- no questions asked.

Next to the plethora of content, media and information about The White House at your fingertips, you can also setup push notifications to be notified of any major news stories going on in the political realm. Overall, it's a great resource and the livestream feature is a lifesaver.

• Free -- App Store Link

Zite Personalized Magazine - @sethclifford

Flipboard is the app that everyone likes talking about, but there's actually a few new apps that are doing stylish news aggregation pretty well. One that I've really been enjoying lately is Zite, which takes a similar approach to Flipboard, but allows you to customize your reading experience over time by voting stories up or down and then learning what it is you prefer to read and giving you more tailored content.

The setup for the app is pretty simple, and I really like the clean UI. There's really not much to get in the way and the content really takes center stage. I feel like it's easier to browse than Flipboard, and while the Flipboard UI conventions are cool, don't get me wrong - after a while, I feel like I'm really working to see new content, and I don't feel like I can scan as quickly on my phone (which is a prime criteria for consuming news on the go). Zite feels like it allows me to do that more easily.

The customization aspects are cool too - you basically give stories a thumbs-up or thumbs-down, and Zite will remember what it is you liked and in the future return more content like it. There's a lot of detail here as to how this is all accomplished, and since I've only been using it a short time, I can't speak to its accuracy yet. Also, the type of feeds I'm looking at (tech stuff) usually have a bit of overlap, so it's hard for me to tell right now. I'm less concerned with teaching the app though, and more concerned with the quickness of information and scanning, and it definitely succeeds there. But the app's main draw is the personalization of content, so don't let my particular use-case dissuade you from trying it out. It's free and a really nice way to get your news.

Zite Personalized Magazine - Free - iTunes link

Messages+ - @iMuggle

I can not explain how happy I am to have a jailbreak on my iPhone 4S. Along with a new jailbreak comes tons of updated utilities and applications for iOS 5. I've been using IntelliscreenX and with it comes Messages+. I've been a long time fan of BiteSMS but I'm really loving the tight integration Messages+ has with iOS. There's no separate application or icon, it just works. There's really nothing to configure. Just set up a quick reply action via Activator and you're good to go.

You can view images and files right from the quick reply window and then dismiss them. The UI blends perfectly with the default UI of iOS so it looks like something Apple themselves would have made. If you're jailbroken and haven't checked out Messages+ yet, I'd give it a try! If you already have IntelliscreenX, you already have a license for it and it comes built-in. If you don't, you can buy Messages+ separately.

$7.99 - Cydia Search Link

Going back to a #TeamPure iPhone – @chrisoldroyd

This week I decided to give the new Absinthe Jailbreak a go on my iPhone 4S. I have always tinkered around with jailbroken devovces and do love apps like BiteSMS and SBSettings. This time the experience has been awful for me.

Installing the jailbreak was simple enough, I had to wait a bit longer as I am a Windows user. Anyway, to cut a long story short, my phone is all jailbroken in minutes and I installed BiteSMS and SBSettings and nothing more. A few days later and I try and listen to my music in the car and things start to go terribly wrong. Album artwork shows the wrong song playing and most songs start to play then stop or don't play at all.

I turned iTunes Match on and off, and even synced again with iTunes, transferring all my music back on manually, still the same issue. Only option I had was to go back to a stock install and lose my jailbreak. That is where I am at now and guess what? Yep my music is now perfect again!

Squrl - @Bla1ze

I don't watch a lot of TV and the shows I do want to watch are usually found on iTunes or Netflix but there isn't a lot of good stuff out there these days any how in my opinion. For filling that void, I often scour the web looking for good online content to watch when I have some spare time but keeping track of that stuff has proven to be a difficult task over time. For Christmas I got an AppleTV and found Squrl. Squrl basically aggregates a lot of popular online video sites and various other content providers and provides a beautiful UI that allows for tracking videos, saving them for later viewing. Couple that with an AppleTV and you can amass plenty of content to watch in place of television shows. Social network integration as well as netflix, it has become a key resource of entertainment for me and it's available for free in the iTunes App Store.

• Free - App Store link

Rdio - @jdipane

Music is a huge part of my life, and the ability to have almost any song at my fingertips without eating up all the space on my iPhone is a huge plus for me. Rdio is a subscription based service similar to Spotify, but I find that more songs that I enjoy to listen to are available through Rdio. Whether I want to select a certain song, album or just listen to a particular artists stations I can do so with a few simple clicks from within the application. I have various playlist's set up, one for work out, one to relax, and I can add and remove songs with ease. Rdio also ties in with my home Sonos system which is great as I can listen to the music through my headphones, the speaker of the device or through the Sonos to keep me motivated. The application is free, but the service is paid, hit the link below to start your free 7 day trial!

• Free - App Store link

Puzzle Juice - @JorjLim

Tetris? Boggle? If you can't decide which game to play, then Puzzle Juice is a sure winner.

The game starts as a standard game of Tetris; coloured blocks fall from the top of the screen, and you have to form a line at the bottom to score points.

However, unlike traditional Tetris, once you've completed a line, it won't disappear. Instead, every block will turn into a letter and you’ll have to form words to score even more points. Here’s the fun part; while you’re looking for words, the next Tetris block has started falling. If you need more letters to form a word, tap on 3 same-colour blocks that are adjacent to one another to reveal more letters. There is also an optional Zen Mode, which challenges you to score as many points as you can in 90 seconds.

The game itself is well designed and even the menu screens have a pinch of character. You won’t see a “Ok”, or “Start” button throughout the game, instead you’ll see phrases like “Sounds Peachy” and “Totally Got It”, just to add that extra flare to the game.

The game is a mind-game, a fun-game and a challenging game all wrapped into one neat parcel, and will keep you busy for hours!

• $0.99 - App Store link

Doodlecast Pro

My day job is teaching two Intermediate Algebra courses at my local community college and this semester I'm experimenting with making videos for my students on new or difficult topics. Doodlecast Pro for iPad has turned out to be the best app to help me accomplish this. It records both my voice and handwriting and allows me to export and upload my videos directly to YouTube. If I made some mistakes along the way that I want to edit out, I can export to my Camera Roll instead and edit in another application like Avid Studio or iMovie. My only complaint is that the handwriting strokes are not really that great. I would love to see Doodlecast match the quality of handwriting to apps like Penultimate and Noteshelf.

• $3.99 - App Store link

LabTimer - Joe (Reader's Choice winner - Comment #22)

My favorite right now is Lab Timer. It’s a free universal app that gives you 16 timers. They’ll count up or down and will sound an alarm. It’s handy for work so I can have a break timer, a lunch timer and can time how long a process is taking all from the same app. It’s especially handy for the iPad since there is no built-in clock app.

• Free - App Store link

Tell us your pick, enter to win a $10 iTunes gift certificate!

Those were our picks, iMore Nation, so now it's your turn! Tell us your pick of the week below. Give us the name of your favorite app, site, or accessory, and tell us why it made your life more productive, more informed, more entertaining, or just plain more fun. We'll pick one of you and send you a shiny $10 iTunes gift certificate so you can start stocking up for future picks! Contest starts now and ends next Friday, January 13 at 12pm PT.

So what are you waiting for? Jump into the comments and let us know your pick of the week!

If you're a jailbreaker looking to add a little more speed and functionality to multitasking on your iPhone or iPod touch, you'll want to check out Zephyr. We have talked about Zephyr before but we'll give you a close up look at what it does and the additional functionality it provides. There isn't much to configure after you install Zephyr which makes it easy to use and it's fully compatible with iOS 5.

The main purpose of Zephyr is to add additional multitasking gestures to your device. It adds the ability to swipe left and right on your springboard in order to page through apps. Swiping up will allow you to close out of an app as well. This is perfect for users who may have a broken home button on their iPhone 4, are out of warranty, and don't want to attempt a DIY home button repair themselves.

You can always choose which swipe motions you want to have enabled. Ones you don't want enabled you can simply toggle off in Settings. In addition to enabling or disabling gestures you can also add application restrictions. This is ideal for situations where the keyboard is active and you may not want a swipe gesture to switch apps or close out the application. This is also a good option for games that require you to swipe so Zephyr doesn't attempt to switch between applications or close it out. If you'd like to get things done quicker and have better application switching functionality than what iOS offers stock, Zephyr is definitely worth checking out.

$2.99 - Cydia Search Link

Additional jailbreak resources:

• Jailbreak apps, hacks, and themes forum
• Best apps and utilities for new jailbreakers
• General jailbreak discussion and help forums
• List of popular Cydia repositories

Have a jailbroken iPhone and wish you could better control how your actual phone application behaves? StartDial, available in Cydia now, will allow you to alter what tabs your phone application will open and when.

StartDial is a simple tweak that allows you to chose the view to start with when the Phone application is launched.

Most people either want the phone application to launch their contacts, favorites, or the dial pad initially. StartDial will force your iPhone to load whatever tab you choose every single time.

In addition to setting which tab the phone app opens to initially you can also remove the Visual Voicemail tab altogether. This is one of the main reasons I love this modification. I never have to worry about anyone going through my voicemails if I let someone borrow my iPhone or I lose it. It's a useful feature for users who may keep sensitive information in their voicemail.

You can also set the phone app to automatically launch to the Recents tab if you have any missed calls. So if you see that you have 4 missed calls on your lockscreen but left the phone app on the keypad tab, it will automatically take you to the recents tab when you attempt to check your missed calls.

It's pretty simple for a jailbreak mod but packs a lot of power depending on how you choose to use it.

StarDial is already available in Cydia and will run on any iPhone running iOS 4 or higher. If you're looking for even more tweaks and utilities to install, check out our guide to the best jailbreak applications for iOS 5.

• Free - Cydia Link

Even more jailbreak resources:

• How to jailbreak guides
• Jailbreak apps, hacks, and themes
• General jailbreak and unlock help forums

The amazingly functional and customizable BiteSMS takes on the deeply integrated and easy to use Messages+ in a battle of the jailbreak messaging apps

Are you jailbroken on iOS 5 and wondering whether you should purchase BiteSMS or Messages+? Both applications add quick reply functionality and make messaging more functional. But which is a better choice for you?

BiteSMS for iOS 5

BiteSMS has been a long time favorite when it comes to messaging enhancement applications. Many competitors have come and gone while BiteSMS seemingly manages to stay at the top of its game.

One thing that sets BiteSMS apart is its ability to customize almost every aspect of your experience. You can choose what buttons you'd like to show up on your quick reply windows such as send, open, close, mark for later, Skype, FaceTime, templates, and more. The quick compose feature provides the option of auto-populating contacts. You can choose for it to auto show favorites, the last person you messaged, and more.

If you send a lot of international text messages, Bite allows you to buy credits to use on their own network. I don't necessarily recommend it as a way not to have traditional text messaging as the rates aren't cheaper than most carriers domestic rates. They are, however, cheaper than most carrier international texting rates. AT&T, for example, charges $10/month for 100 international messages. After that, it's $0.20 per message. You can set up per contact rules for sending messages as well. So if you have certain contacts in a different country, only then will Bite utilize your credits. Bite's prices are as follows -

• $6 for 50 SMS credits
• $12 for 105 SMS credits (includes 5 free credits)
• $24 for 215 SMS credits (includes 15 free credits)
• $60 for 550 SMS credits (includes 50 free credits)
• $120 for 1200 SMS credits (includes 200 free credits)

While BiteSMS has a sleek user interface in its own right, you can definitely tell it isn't something made by Apple. People who choose to theme and don't like the stock look of iOS may actually prefer this. Those of you who like to stick with the stock look may have an issue with it. It's also worth noting that BiteSMS is compatible with both LockInfo and IntelliscreenX.

Messages+ for iOS 5

Messages+ is an update of the messaging enhancement app TLert. The update not only brought a more streamline experience but deep integration into iOS 5. It literally looks like something Apple would release.

While BiteSMS aims to bring you an array of different customizations and user controls, Messages+ aims to be an easy to use add-on that just works. There's next to nothing to configure. You just enable Messages+ and set up a quick compose gesture and you're on your way. Messages+ also comes built-in to IntelliscreenX.

If your main reason for wanting a messaging enhancement app is to not have to stop what you're doing to compose a message, Messages+ will provide this functionality without any added icons. It simply adds a quick reply and quick compose function to the default iOS messaging app.

While Messages+ ties in nicely with IntelliscreenX, it is not currently supported by LockInfo. If you're a LockInfo user, BiteSMS is going to be your best option. We don't know if LockInfo will add support for Messages+ in the future.

BiteSMS vs Messages+ - which is better?

There's no arguing that BiteSMS still has plenty more features and controls than Messages+. It will really come down to what you personally need from a messaging enhancement application.

I personally prefer Messages+ over BiteSMS as I don't send that many international texts and just desire quick reply and quick compose functionality. I also like the stock feel of iOS and Messages+ gives me that. There are no added icons or tons of settings to configure before you start using it. Enable it, set a quick gesture for composing, and you're done.

There are no doubt users out there who care more about control and functionality than interface and ease of use. For those of you that think heavily of these things, BiteSMS is probably going to serve you much better over the long run. Let us know what you decide on and why. Make sure to check out our other resources below for tons of jailbreak apps, themes, tips, and more!

• Messages+ vs BiteSMS forum thread - See what our readers are choosing
• Jailbreak guides, how to's, and news
• Jailbreak apps, hacks, and themes forum
• General jailbreak discussion forum
• iMore downloads section
• List of Cydia repositories

Slider Pro is a lightweight but useful jailbreak mod in Cydia that lets you customize the slide to unlock text on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch. It comes with a handful of great presets including adding the date and time to your lock slider. Time and date are available in a number of different formats. If you'd just like to add custom text to the slider, you can do that as well. Once installed you can just pop into your general Settings app and customize it from there.

If you're looking to add functionality to your lockscreen but don't want to overload your jailbroken iPhone with too many tweaks and mods which may conflict with each other or just bog down your device, then this may be the way to go. It's especially convenient if you have an app like IntelliscreenX or LockInfo and want to hide the lock clock to create more room for additional widgets. It'll allow you to use space that's already there in a more efficient way.

Slider Pro is already available in Cydia and will run on any iOS device running iOS 4 or higher. If you're looking for even more tweaks and utilities to install, check out our guide to the best jailbreak applications for iOS 5.

• Free - Cydia Link

More jailbreak resources:

• How to jailbreak guides
• Jailbreak apps, hacks, and themes
• General jailbreak and unlock help forums

How do you record the screen of your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad? That's the question several of our readers have asked this week. Sure, you can use a fancy HDMI-out dongle and a video capture card to mirror and record your display if you have the hardware and can get it working right. But if you're jailbroken there's an easier way to go about recording your iPhone or iPad display.

Yes, there's a jailbreak app for that!

Cydia, the Jailbreak app store, has a little something that should suit your screen recording needs pretty well. It's called Display Recorder and it allows you to take screen recordings directly on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch. Once you're done, you can choose to upload the screen recording to YouTube or connect over Wi-Fi and move it over to your computer.

I've used Display Recorder in the past for tutorials and walk-throughs. You can adjust the output quality and file type as well. The only down side I've found to Display Recorder is that it doesn't record audio. I've always solved this problem by recording the audio with voice memos or another external microphone and editing them together in iMovie or a similar program.

Display Recorder is available in Cydia now and is already compatible with iOS 5.

$4.99 - Cydia Search Link

Anyone else have any App for That suggestions for screen recordings?

Having trouble finding what you need in the app store? Head on over to our App for That Forum and let us know what you're looking for. The iMore community will do our best to find you just the right App for That!

TwitkaFly allows you to tweet from virtually anywhere with a quick swipe or tap on your jailbroken iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch. It will add a Twitter shortcut to your notification center pull down and allow you to program a quick gesture for composing straight through Activator. The interface is clean and very iOS 5 like. It isn't bogged down with too many buttons or cheesy graphics either.

The utility supports the following features -

• Tweet right from anywhere using Activator
• QuickReply to Twitter, Tweetbot, and Tweetings push notifications
• Retweet tweets
• Tweet Photo
• Open links from tweets
• Custom animations/transitions
• Amazing notification UI
• Tweet #NowPlayingTrack
• Landscape mode in iPad
• 100% retina display support
• Blacklist users and more

Twitkafly ties into your existing Twitter app so you can handle notifications through it once you choose your client through Settings. Currently TwitkaFly supports the official Twitter app, Tweetbot, and Tweetings. I'm assuming more clients will eventually be added. It's compatible with any iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch running iOS 4 or higher. The only issue I've had so far is when I link it with Tweetbot. Whenever I click a notification it re-springs my device. If I link it with Twitter or Tweetings, it works fine. Hopefully that's just a bug that'll be hammered out pretty quickly.

If you're using LockInfo or IntelliscreenX you shouldn't have any compatibility issues and it should just tie straight into your existing notification program. You'll just notice the addition of a QuickTweet button in the bottom left or right hand corner of notification center.

TwitkaFly is already available for purchase in Cydia. They've got a lite version available for free and a paid version for $1.99. Hit the link below to check it out and then let us know what you think! You can also check out more jailbreak apps and utilities in our apps, hacks, and themes forum.

Twitkafly - $1.99 - Cydia Search Link

Super social and incredibly integrated IntelliscreenX takes on quick content and plug-in powerhouse LockInfo in a battle of the jailbreak notification apps

Jailbroken on iOS 5 and wondering whether you should get LockInfo or IntelliscreenX? While both are utilities that aim to give you more control over your iPhone notifications and lockscreen, they do have key differences. Which is better for you?

LockInfo for iOS 5

LockInfo by David Ashman has been a long time favorite of mine when it comes to enhancing lockscreen functionality and gaining more control over native notifications. It still lives up to its reputation under iOS 5. LockInfo is really aimed at folks who'd like to have more control of how notifications behave and how they're presented. If you don't want certain information in notification center, you can disable it but still view it on your lockscreen, and vice versa. You can completely customize what appears where and how.

LockInfo also has built-in support for several different messaging applications including BiteSMS, Quickreply for SMS, iRealSMS, and more. Regardless what messaging replacement app you choose, LockInfo probably has you covered.

When it comes to content, LockInfo adds a few nice features that aren't given to you stock. One of my favorites is access to your favorite contacts directly from notification center and your lockscreen. Tapping a contact allows you to call, FaceTime, or message them. It's a nice little feature that you wouldn't think you needed but quickly realize you don't want to go without.

LockInfo also works in conjunction with many plug-ins. Some are distributed by David Ashman himself while others were created by other 3rd party developers. Given the amount of time LockInfo has been around, there are tons of plug-ins and add-ons for it. Some of the most popular ones include ToDo by Appigo, Twitter, Weather, and RSS.

You'll find a few built-in themes that you can switch between such as a classic iOS version, the classic LockInfo version, and a few more. Since LockInfo has been around for quite a while many developers have made themes for it as well. Some complete themes will even have a LockInfo theme attached. Yes, it's that widely accepted in the jailbreak community.

IntelliscreenX for iOS 5

Intelliborn has been around for a long time and has created many apps within the jailbreak community, including the original version of Intelliscreen. While I always preferred LockInfo over the original version, IntelliscreenX has come a long way in terms of functionality. Anyone who is heavy into social media and has to have quick access to Facebook, Twitter, and RSS feeds will want to look no further than IntelliscreenX.

You can add all these widgets as separate pages and reply or post status updates directly from your notification center or lockscreen. The only down side I've seen to this is the accelerated battery drain.

Messages+ also comes built-in to IntelliscreenX as well. While I've been a huge fan of BiteSMS for a long time, Messages+ will definitely give Bite a run for its money. I love the tight integration with the default messaging app. There's nothing to install and very little to configure. It just works how it's supposed to and adds quick reply support.

Considering Messages+ is typically $7.99 on its own, you get a pretty good deal considering IntelliscreenX is $2 more. So if you're not keen on paying for LockInfo and Bite or Messages+, IntelliscreenX may be a better value for many people.

LockInfo vs IntelliscreenX -- which is better?

Both LockInfo and IntelliscreenX are highly competitive jailbreak apps and which is better can change every time one of them is updated. For now I think IntelliscreenX has an an edge over LockInfo. LockInfo is an amazing utility, but users who are heavily into social networking and Facebook will benefit more from IntelliscreenX and its tight integration with iOS 5.

If you are more concerned with having control over plug-ins and where content is presented, go with LockInfo. But for now, I'm giving my vote to IntelliscreenX.

While I may personally prefer IntelliscreenX, I know there are tons of you out there who probably disagree. Let us know what you use and why! Make sure you also check out all our jailbreak resources below for more reviews, guides, and tips!

• Jailbreak apps, hacks, and themes forum
• Jailbreak and unlock help forums
• Jailbreak guides, how-to's and news

Motion is a new jailbreak utility available in Cydia that makes your iPhone homescreen just a bit more interesting. While Motion may not add a ton of functionality to your device, it's a fun tweak to play around with and show off to your friends. It basically adds transitions and effects to the movement to all of the icons on your springboard.

Motion is a tweak that makes your icons move. There are a whole bunch of settings you can use to liven up your home screen and make your icons dance around.

• Rotate: Make your icons rotate
• Scaling: Make your icons grow
• Skew: Make your icons tilt sideways
• Jump: Make your icons jump
• Transparency: Make your icons fade in and out
• Waves: Make your icons move in waves (vertical and horizontal)

You can use these settings alone, or in combinations.

Motion is already available in the Cydia store and will run on any iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch running iOS 4.x or higher. If you're looking for even more tweaks and utilities to install, check out our guide to the best jailbreak applications for iOS 5.

• $1.00 -- Cydia Store Link

More jailbreak resources:

• How to jailbreak guides
• Jailbreak apps, hacks, and themes
• General jailbreak and unlock help forums

A hack called Whited00r allows iOS 5 features to be installed on the original iPhone and iPhone 3G devices, as well as the early iPod touch models.

Whited00r will automatically jailbreak your device, and the latest version of Cydia, 1.1.3, will be installed on it. The biggest advantage of the tool, is that you will get true multitasking, and apps will keep in running state in the background.

It's as simple as running a manual IPSW install via iTunes before Whited00r takes over and installs a custom iOS firmware package. Apparently you'll be running a heavily modified iOS 3.1.3 IPSW, which is required on older iOS devices. As such, this version of iOS comes with a custom iCloud setup, and also doesn't include the new Notification Center included in iOS 5.

Source: Whited00r via AddictiveTips

Firecore has released an updated version of its aTV Flash (black) software that runs on any jailbroken second generation Apple TV. The new update, version 1.2,  adds in some nice new features like video zoom options, grid view, watched icons, quick access to recently visited browser pages and a huge raft of bug fixes.

• Three all new zoom options (Normal, Crop, and Stretch) allow you choose how videos are displayed. You can keep videos in their native format (widescreen or pillar box) or crop/stretch them to fill the entire screen.
• Watched indicator icons have been added to the grid view. These icons allow you to quickly see which content is new and ready to be enjoyed. (Note: These can be disabled through the Media --> Settings menu if desired)
• Couch Surfer now displays thumbnail images in the 'top shelf' area of the main menu, which allows you to quickly get back to recently viewed pages.

• Added video zoom options (available through Playback Menu)
• Added watched indicators to grid view
• Added 'Recently Visited' section to Browser top shelf
• Added support for MicroDVD .SUB files
• Added screensaver during pause
• Added file delete option
• Added activity indicator for metadata clearing
• Added 'tune' icon placeholder for audio files without metadata
• Added episode number to the fetched name the list view
• Added Reload Metadata' option in contextual menu for folders
• Added 'no items' message to the 'Unwatched' filter of the list view
• Added gray ticket image caching
• Added loading screen when opening Manage Extras menu
• Improved scrubber bar logic
• Improved audio feedback for watched and pre-playback screens
• Improved poster loading for large folders
• Improved support for DVDs without menus
• Improved subtitle support for right-to-left languages (e.g. Hebrew)
• Improved installer device detection
• Resolved minor memory management issues
• Resolved issues with subtitles settings while playing a playlist
• Resolved issues with yellow subtitles displayed for movies converted with Handbrake
• Resolved conflicts with default audio player
• Resolved issues with passwords that contain @ symbols
• Resolved issues with metadata loading for files that contain '/' in folder or file name
• Resolved buffer overflow in libafpclient observed when navigating folders with long names
• Resolved issues with installer Bonjour detection
• Resolved rare crashes during web browsing
• Changed metadata format to S.# / Ep.# for TV Shows
• Disabled metadata processing during movie playback
• Corrected audio feedback when pressing Menu while in grid view
• Minor UI improvements
• Other miscellaneous bug fixes

If you’re not already jailbroken, you can jailbreak your AppleTV via Seas0nPass. You’ll just need the most recent version of Seas0nPass and a micro-usb cable. For help, you can check out our guide on how to jailbreak the AppleTV second generation. All the steps will remain the same as long as you grab the correct version of Seas0nPass for your AppleTV firmware.

Source: Firecore

Popular iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad jailbreak tool, redsn0w has been updated to version 0.9.10b4 and now includes a fix for the iBooks issue that has long been plaguing jailbreak.

The b4 version of redsn0w incorporates the 5.0.1 fix for iBooks, and also for sporadic problems with launchctl. Thanks to @xvolks for merging the iBooks (sandbox) fix from @comex’s github into the overall corona untether from @pod2g! As usual, you can choose to install the fix either by re-running redsn0w over your existing jailbreak (de-select Cydia if you do that), or by installing the corona package from Cydia (it’s the same set of files no matter which way you choose).

If you need help, check out our redsn0w 0.9.10 how-to and our jailbreak forums.

Source: iPhone Dev-Team via @musclenerd

SuperSwitcher is a new jailbreak mod in Cydia that offers extended functionality and settings access to the Fast App Switcher on your iPhone.

Don't you just hate searching for your favorite app icon in between so many Springboard pages? Wish you could just "bookmark" your favorite apps in the multitasking bar? Now you can with SuperSwitcher!

With SuperSwitcher you can bookmark your 9 favorite apps in the menu above the multitasking bar, and the apps can be set through Settings. But that's not all! You can also change the system settings right from the menu above the multitasking bar!

• Toggle Bluetooth
• Toggle WiFi
• Change volume and brightness settings
• Respring
• Reboot
• Safe Mode
• Tweet, SMS, Mail or Call anyone on the fly

SuperSwitcher takes your multitasking bar to the next level!

This is a really great mod that adds a lot of value to the Fast App Switcher. You can customize your favorite apps for instant access, control brightness and other settings on-the-fly and then some.

If you run into any trouble you can always jump into our Jailbreak and Unlock forums or post it in the comments!

• $.99 -- Cydia Store Link

Snappy5 for iOS 5 is a new jailbreak mod in Cydia that brings instant access to the iPhone camera no matter what you're doing.

Never miss a photo opportunity again!

It is a camera application that launches quickly, without having to exit your currently running application. This is a free upgrade, but it is not compatible with 3.x and 4.x iOS versions.

Although Apple does include camera access from the iPhone lock screen in iOS 5, the app still technically needs to be launched before you'll be able to snap a photo. As such, it still takes a measurable amount of time to launch the camera.

Snappy5 rids this issue by implementing a mobile substrate extension tie-in, which gives near-instant access to the camera no matter where you are. Another great feature is snap on launch, which takes a photo the moment Snappy5 is called up. If you're in an app, at your home screen, or have your iPhone locked - you won't have to worry about missing that special moment with Snappy5.

If you run into any trouble you can always jump into our Jailbreak and Unlock forums or post it in the comments!

• $.99 -- Cydia Store Link

Mail More Photos is a new jailbreak mod in Cydia that aims to get rid of the five photo per email limitation on iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad.

Mail More Photos allows you to attach as many photos as you want to email. The default limit of 5 photos is removed from the Albums and Places views. The title bar is also updated to show the total size of all selected files.

The added value of showing how many photos you've selected, along with the total size of the photos you'll be emailing is really great. Mail More Photos requires iOS 4 or higher, and is the perfect extension to an already useful feature.

• $.99 -- Cydia Link

A couple of quick updates for those still waiting on Apple A5 device jailbreaks -- namely iPhone 4S and iPad 2 -- as well as an iOS 5.1 jailbreak.

For iPhone 4S and iPad 2 devices, @pod2g just tweeted the following:

made a step today for the A5. With some luck we could expect a release in a week.

As to iOS 5.1, @i0n1c seems to have something in the pipeline, so 2012 could get off to a strong start for team Jailbreak.

For more discussion and help, head on over to our Jailbreak Forums.

Source: @pod2g

Zephyr by chpwn has been updated to version 1.0.1 to add a few enhancements and fix a few existing bugs. Among the changes are fixes to disable multitasking gestures within apps such as Cut the Rope or Words with Friends where you may not want gestures to be active.

For those not familiar, Zephyr adds multitasking gestures to the iPhone similar to those found on the iPad. It registers bezel to screen swipes to allow a much easier way to multitask and switch between apps than the options you are given stock. If you're jailbroken, you can pick up Zephyr from Cydia for $2.99. You can check out all the changes and enhancements to Zephyr via the Pastie link below.

Source: @chpwn via Pastie

The iMore staff picks their favorite devices, features, stories, and new or majorly updated apps and accessories of 2011!

The iMore editors, writers, contributors, forum admins and moderators, and podcasters have come together to nominate and select the winners of the 2011 iMore Editors Choice Awards. They were all tough choices, and a lot of things we love simply didn't qualify for consideration -- weren't new or weren't majorly updated for 2011. But a lot of really, truly great stuff was. These, then, are our picks of the year.

• Want an alternate take? Try our 2011 iMore Readers Choice Awards!

iOS device of the year: iPad 2

Last year we had a really tough time picking the iOS device of the year -- Apple introduced a new product category with the original iPad, redesigned their signature handset with iPhone 4, refreshed the iPod touch, and unveiled an all new Apple TV 2.

This year they didn't introduce a new iPod touch or Apple TV, kept the same design for the iPhone, and even the iPad 2 wasn't the most radical of refreshes.

Of the updated devices, however, iPad 2 got a new casing design, both thinner and lighter, two new cameras (lame as they may be), and was first to get the new, dual-core, Apple A5 system-on-a-chip.

iPhone 4S admittedly got the A5 as well, a new, better antenna and a much better rear camera, but it just wasn't as much or enough to take the title.

While visions of Retina display tablets, 4-inch phones, and 1080p TVs dance in our heads for next year, this year we give the nod to the best that we got.

The iPad 2.

iOS feature of the year: Siri

Sure, it debuted as iPhone 4S-only, but so did multitasking, so did video recording, so do many of Apple's new iOS features. It's the flagship device for a reason. Not just a simple voice control system -- we're told Nokia invented those in 1812 or somesuch -- it's an honest-to-Asimov digital personal assistant with a personality right out of Pixar. It's to previous voice control systems what multitouch was to previous resistive touch screens. It's Apple's next great mainstream computing interface. It not only remembers context but can understand relationships. It can remind you to call your mom or wear your jacket, it can find you a restaurant or find your friend. And it puts up with all your lame query jokes.

iMessage bypasses the exorbitant carrier text charges and brings iOS users, all over the world, one step closer to BBM-like instant messaging. Notification Center finally makes alerts almost as good as Android, if not as elegant as webOS. PC-free cuts the cord to iTunes and takes us to the iCloud, where all our data gets stored and backed up. All of those, and more, are great additions to an already great OS.

But Siri is transformative.

Story of the year: Steve Jobs

Heart breaking. Inspiring. Tragic. Triumphant. The biggest story of the year wasn't the untimely passing of Apple's co-founder, it was the full realization of his life, his vision, and his legacy.

In March he took the stage, in a way only he could ever take it, to introduce the iPad 2. He reportedly considered the tablet the most important innovation of his career -- a career that included the mainstreaming of the command-line interface with the Apple II, the graphical user interface with the Mac, the multitouch interface with the iPhone, and the revolutionizing of digital music with iTunes and the iPod, retail with the Apple Stores, the consumer electronics business with Apple itself, and even animated feature films with Pixar.

Relentlessly democratizing technology his entire life, his final Keynote appearance in June was to introduce iCloud, the server side of the mobile equation. His vision of the future was deeply personal, deeply connected, and deeply integrated. And his will made it manifest, not only for Apple and of Apple, but as influence for the culture well beyond.

He resigned as CEO and then passed away right after the introduction of the iPhone 4S, and just before the publication of the biography he himself set in motion. While Apple will go on, perhaps even reaching greater heights than ever before, we will never see his like again.

Thank you Steve.



Epic fail of the year: Patent lawsuits

It seems as though there was an embarrassment of embarrassments to choose from this year. Yet even amid such a massive mountain of fail, one managed to rise above all the rest.

Intellectual property rights exist for a reason -- they encourage investment in innovation by ostensibly preventing others from simply copying the ideas of the innovators. Yet they've become a weapon used not to create competition but to stifle it by those who've often simply bought and paid for pieces of paper.

Apple didn't release new iPod touch and Apple TV hardware this year. Granted neither has much competition but Apple's mantra has always been to compete with themselves. Likewise the iPhone 4S didn't get a design update even as competing devices have seriously upped the handset game.

Privacy also took a swift, hard roshambo in the rights this year as everything from Apple's poorly coded location recording system to Google, Facebook, and Twitter being forced into decade, or double decade privacy oversight, to lack of disclosure surrounding Carrier IQ making headlines. On the flip side, the media earned more than their usual share of fail points for once again never missing a chance to linkbait and headline grab at Apple's expense.

But ultimately, from Apple and Android makers suing each other to Lodsys suing independent developers, one things brought fail to an all time abysmal low this year.

Patents, the patent wars, and the patent trolls

Productivity app of the year: Noteshelf 4.0

When the iPad first launched it seemed to take a while for everyone, including Apple, to figure out exactly what it was and where best it fit. Now, a year later, it's fitting in every where from the couch to the board room, the school to the planning session.

Screens 1.5 showed us our iPhones and iPads could be powerful, elegant windows into our PCs and servers. Agenda made the calendar ridiculously clean and elegant, and interfaced with Due to get more done, better and faster than ever. Instapaper got a full on facelift, and Apple brought iWork to the iPhone.

What caught our attention, though, from the corporate heads behind Mobile Nations to our our own editors and writers, was an app that not only made the iPad useful, but better than anything else. From taking notes in class to jotting down ideas while brain-storming big business, it took a lot of our iPads from nice-to-have to must-have.

Noteshelf

Arts & Entertainment app of the year: GarageBand

Just like last year, a previously desktop-only app was re-imagined for iPad and forced us to once again re-evaluate just how good tablet software could be. But Apple wasn't the only one wowing us this year.

Instagram mixed fun filters with simple social sharing to spectacular effect. Snapseed and Photogene2 made photo editing first class citizens on iOS. Apple brought iMovie to the big iPad screen.

It was what Apple did with music, however, that really blew us away this year. Introduced alongside the iPad 2, it's interface immediately is recognizable to anyone who has ever used iLife for Mac yet immediately accessible to anyone who has ever put finger to multitouch display. With built in smart instruments for novices and the ability to interface with real instruments for pros, and multitrack recording an editing, it's a studio on your lap or in your pocket. Very few people are making content creation software this robust for mobile, and very few, if any, other platforms can boast anything like this in their libraries.

GarageBand was music to our ears.

Social app of the year: Tweetbot

Twitter and the iPhone feel like they came into their own together, a blend of mobile device and social network as good as the richest peanut butter and darkest chocolate.

Path 2.0 made the smaller-scale social network drop-dead gorgeous, but does a world covered with the wreckage of Friendster and Wave and Buzz and Jaiku really need another social network? And if it does, isn't Google already cramming Google+ down as many throats as it possibly can? Facebook finally decided that the iPad was mobile enough to deserve it's own app and rolled out Facebook Messenger in case the normal app just wasn't fast enough to get your IM on. LinkedIn got a re-design, finally growing up into its own app, while Twitter for iPhone go a re-design to make it... um... better for Twitter to push #hashtags to new users intent on keeping up with celebrities?

But you don't always need to start a new network, or radically change a user experience that works. Sometimes you just need to make a damn good client, with solid features and finely honed panache, that respects long-established usage patterns but does so with character and charm.

Sometimes you just need to make something like TweetBot.

Hardcore game of the year: Real Racing 2

There's a difference between a great game and a game that not only stays great but gets even better. There were a lot of great hardcore games on iPhone and iPad in 2011. Modern Combat 3 was the best first-person shooter we've ever seen on iOS, and Dead Space took spooky, atmospheric, interstellar survival shooters to a whole new level. And Infinity Blade II... the new Unreal Engine 3 game looks so good you won't believe it's on mobile.

But the folks at Firemint just never stayed still long enough for anyone else to catch up. Every bit as fast as the cars on their virtual tracks, the moment Apple added a new feature to iOS, Firemint added it to their game. Whether it was better graphics for more powerful chips, multiplayer for more robust networking, and full on AirPlay Party Play for an almost hybrid console experience, Firemint was on it in a flash.

That's why Real Racing II won this year's grand prix.

Casual game of the year: Tiny Wings

If a game is incredibly simple and more than a little repetitive, it has to be really well executed to turn our well. It has to be phenomenally well executed to become our favorite of the year.

Tiny Tower was brilliantly realized and Cut the Rope: Experiments breathed new life into an already great game. DragonVale brought the creatures of myth to farm-style games of the present, Minecraft brought the classic constructor to iOS, and SPY Mouse brought the Firemint magic to puzzlers.

But it was a bird that not only wasn't angry but couldn't even quite fly, that was perpetually chased the setting sun, that was as exquisitely well rendered as it was well suited for the iPhone.

Because it proved once again that sometimes less really is more -- Tiny Wings

Jailbreak app of the year: IntelliscreenX

YouTube Link

While I've always been a huge fan of LockInfo by David Ashman I have to admit that the guys over at Intelliborn really stepped up to the plate with their new version of IntelliScreen for iOS 5.

When Apple "Sherlocks" your app -- basically incorporates it into the OS and built-in feature set -- you can either pack up and go home, or you can figure out that Apple's only providing the median functionality and double-down on doing it better for the power users.

LockInfo did just that, making a great app even better. SBSettings and BiteSMS kept doing what they've always done -- filled gaps Apple hasn't -- while integrating and improving at the same time. Dreamboard created an alternative to Winterboard, and iUsers provided for multiple logins on iPad. ATV Flash brought the same power to the iOS Apple TV that it did to the original, Mac OS version.

Not to be outdone by Apple's foray into Notification Center, however, Intelliborn rolled out an update that not only fully integrated with iOS 5, but provided so many features it became a veritable one stop functionality center.

IntelliscreenX

iPhone case of the year: Lifeproof

Apple didn't introduce a new iPhone design this year, which meant a lot of case-makers didn't have to worry about coming up with all new cases either. But what about all better cases?

Both DracoDesign and Element took their existing aluminum bumpers and added incredible new colors and finishes. Case-Mate did similar with their Barely There. BodyGuardz and DODOcase introduced great new sticker skins, one carbon fiber, the other rich leather. Pad and Quill brought iPad-style to a Little Black Book and mophie and Apple both made sure their already excellent battery case and bumper case fit not only the CDMA iPhone 4, but the iPhone 4S as well. And Otterbox introduced the Reflex case to their already industry-leading line.

There was something new this year as well, something that could protect against the weather -- rain, snow, ice -- but not be as big nor as bulky as past solutions.

Lifeproof

iPad case of the year: Smart Cover

iPad 2 was a design change this year -- thinner and lighter and with cameras on both sides. Again, we got a lot of great variants of already great cases, but we got some truly new cases as well.

ZAGGfolio bound a keyboard into their case, for those who still couldn't truly give up tactile typing for multitouch, and Case-Mate added a kickstand to their Pop Case. DODOcase rejuvenated their hand-made case and added new variants and new artist lines, while Pad and Quill created the Contega, adding new age features to old world craftsmanship.

Apple, however, had an unfair advantage. They built magnets into the iPad 2, and they were ready to take advantage of them on launch day. It's not that it kept the thinner, lighter iPad 2 as thin and as light as possible. It's not that it could be folded to keep the iPad 2 up and easy to type with or watch on. It's not even that it can turn on or off the iPad 2 display. It's all of that, together, in several elegant shades (that no longer include orange).

Smart Covers

Accessory of the year: Kickstarter

Beyond cases, there were a lot of great accessories this for iPhone and iPad both. There were amazing interfaces to let you plug instruments into GarageBand. There were fantastic bands to make iPod nano not only a working watch, but a gorgeous one. And there were all manner of chargers, docks, and camera peripherals and so much more.

And this year a lot of them came not from the traditional places, the large, established accessory makers, but from the same place -- a platform that let independent innovators find the finances they need to produce their innovations. It worked so well this year that many of the aforementioned docks and watch-bands and cases and camera peripherals came straight from its pages.

Kickstarter

iOS and jailbreak developers Steven Troughton-Smith and Nick, who goes by the Twitter handle @TheMudkip, have hacked together a working window manager for Apple TV, paving the way for the possibility of iPhone and iPad app compatibility on the non-touchscreen device.

I rewrote SpringBoard from scratch using only QuartzCore. MobileX isn't linked against UIKit.

[The control scheme involves] remote events from an iPad. Or a cursor controlled by an apple remote.

It might be a while before we actually see this publicly available but the idea is as exciting now as the original jailbreak apps were back in the early days of iOS, before the introduction of the iOS App Store.

Source: Steve Troughton-Smith, @theMudkip

SwitcherLyrics is a new jailbreak mod in Cydia that offers the ability to view lyrics for any most tracks stored in your iPod music library.

With SwitchLyrics you can have your song's lyrics and information right in your Multitasking bar. You just have to double tap the Home button to make it work. SwitcherLyrics takes the song's lyrics from the iPod.app library. If iPod.app doesn't have any lyrics, SwitcherLyrics will search it on the web automatically.

This is a great mod in theory and brings with it a lot of added value --when it actually works. I noticed a lot of bugs right out of the gate when playing around with it. For example, when I tried messing with the settings to reveal more information in the Fast-App Switcher tray, my phone locked up completely and required a reboot.

This is one of the reasons the video demonstration was short in duration. I didn't get into any of the additional settings for fear of locking up my iPhone again, but in any event, when I played a track without lyric support in the video it still ended up locking up on me.

It's a great idea, but I'm going to wait it gets some bug fix updates and runs more smoothly before trying it again.

• $.99 - Cydia Link

The iMore Nation picks their favorite devices, features, stories, and new or majorly updated apps and accessories of 2011!

Your votes have been counted. The results have been tallied. This is it, iMore Nation! These are your 2011 Readers Choice Award winners!

• Want an alternate take? try our 2011 Editors Choice Awards

iOS device of the year: iPhone 4S

By the narrowest of margins, the iPhone 4S edged out the iPad 2 as your favorite new iOS device of 2011.

I voted for the 4S since I still have not yet gotten an iPad or iPad 2 and still don’t really have a compelling reason to. iPhone 4S has a better camera for both photos and videos, and also has a retina display. I think if the next iPad has the same camera as the 4S and has a retina display, it will win for next - Brad Morris

iOS feature of the year: Siri

In another tight race, Siri won a hotly contested race against Notification Center. While some felt Siri's iPhone 4S exclusivity should have excluded it from entry, multitasking, video recording, and other now widespread features all debuted as iPhone exclusives at some point.

I would have to say Siri and the iPhone 4S are the top inovation. They changed the way we interact with our devices – look at what Apple has gotten us to do, we are speaking of an application, Siri, like she is a person I am excited to see what this leads to! - Sarah

Epic fail of the year: Netflix meltdown

In our third hotly contested category, Netflix raising their rates, splitting their services, renaming one division Qwikster, changing their minds about renaming one division Qwikster, and overall plain batcrap craziness this year beat out the lack of iPhone redesign as the most epic fail of the year. Wow.

Netflix was definitely the fail of the year. I love my 4S and nothing about it has been a failure! Siri is great, and I actually like that they didn’t redesign (because with every redesign comes the need to buy and make new accessories). I’m loving the bigger capacity (64g for me!) and the faster processor. Yep, my vote goes to Netflix. What they did just reeks of bad customer service. We canceled instantly and still have not re-subscribed. Not sure if we will. I’m looking into other options. - A. R.

Arts & Entertainment app of the year: Instagram

Out of all the photography, video, and music apps this year, and after briefly falling behind Snapseed in the voting, you picked the smash hit, filter flying, social sharing photo app, Instagram, as your favorite. No wonder it has so many users.

[Instagram] is one of the reason I’m sticking to my iPhone rather than move back to BB. The social features is great, it integrate with the built in photo library and the best thing it’s free. - Dee

[Instagram] in and of itself is enough to make me want to switch from Android to iPhone. - Mary Beth

• App Store link

Productivity app of the year: iWork for iPhone

Even Instapaper 4's makeover wasn't even to hold Apple's triple iPhone threat of Keynote, Numbers, and Pages, all newly ported to iPhone and amped up to support iCloud document sync.

I’ve been waiting [iWork for iPhone] this since before the iPad came out! iWork is my office program of choice on my Mac and I haven’t been a big fan of the conversions that happen in docs to go or quick office. Now I have numbers across all three of my devices…….finally! - JPwillis269

• Pages App Store link
• Numbers App Store link
• Keynote App Store link

Social networking app of the year: Tweetbot

Tweetbot just barely managed to take the win from the controversial Twitter for iPhone redesign that we bloggers detested but you readers really seemed to like.

Nothing even comes close to Tweetbot! I even use it on my iPad, and I hate using iPhone apps on my iPad - Galley

• App Store link

Casual game of the year: Tiny Wings

There was nothing casual about Tiny Wings' win over Cut the Rope: Experiments -- it barely outran daylight to claim this prize.

Tiny Wings is definitely an awesome game. I love the music and the simple controls. The graphics are beautiful, even when playing on the iPad in 2x mode. I especially like the achievements that are called objectives in the game. I’ve been playing it all weekend. - David Levine

• App Store link

Hardcore game of the year: Real Racing 2

Always one of the first apps to adapt to the latest Apple hardware, like iPad 2, and software, like AirPlay mirroring, Real Racing 2 crossed the finish-line ahead of even Infinity Blade II-level competition.

[Real Racing 2's] graphics are beautiful. The cars are authentic and behave the way one would if you were lucky enough to drive it on the real streets. The on line multiplayer feature allows you to “meet” those that you race with all over the world. And, if you get bored with on line racing, there are personal time trials to improve on, quick races with AI cars at three difficulty levels, and why not go back through the career mode again? I have personally spent around 1000 hours playing this game since purchasing! That is just play time alone! FireMint’s associated forum adds an entire broader dimension to this little addictive game and friendships have been forged! Lastly, FireMint is extremely “on top” of this game and receptive to feedback like none other I have ever experienced! If it is not clear yet, I Vote for RR2!!!!! - Denisethenurse1

• iPhone App Store link
• iPad App Store link

Jailbreak app of the year: SBSettings for iOS 5

Barely a tap ahead of the equally convenient BiteSMS app for jailbreak, your favorite this year was the newly iOS 5 updated versions of... SBSettings!

Navigating through menus is insanely unnecessary and causes loss of data for apps that don’t support multitasking so you have the fun of starting all over. There is simply no reason for Apple to make using those features as tedious as they do. High on my list of long-standing disappointments and a main reason to JB for SBSettings. - Talkin73

• Cydia link

iPhone case of the year: Otterbox Reflex

By only a few precious votes, the Otterbox Reflex case for iPhone claimed the prize over Lifeproof.

Well… I thought I lost my IPhone 4 3 months ago… Found it last night in the bed of of truck beside a small bag of soil that I’ve been carting around…. It has been through numerous rain storms and car washes. It was totally protected with the Otterbox and works perfectly!! Great Product!! - Kerri

• iMore Store link

iPad case of the year: DODOcase

Even the magnetism of Apple's own SmartCover couldn't stop the newly redesigned DODOcase from winning your favorite iPad protection prize this year.

DODOcase is more than just a case. It connects me to layers of artisanal tradition, brings the past into the present and honors generations of fine craftspeople. AND the company is small, local and green. AND the cases are gorgeous! - Corey

• Web site link

iPhone and iPad accessory of the year: Jawbone ERA

While the Wacom Bamboo Stylus took an early lead in our general accessory category, the power of the Jawbone ERA Bluetooth Headset ultimately could not be denied.

• iMore store link

The iMore Nation picks their favorite devices, features, stories, and new or majorly updated apps and accessories of 2011!

Your votes have been counted. The results have been tallied. This is it, iMore Nation! These are your 2011 Readers Choice Award winners!

• Want an alternate take? try our 2011 Editors Choice Awards

iOS device of the year: iPhone 4S

By the narrowest of margins, the iPhone 4S edged out the iPad 2 as your favorite new iOS device of 2011.

I voted for the 4S since I still have not yet gotten an iPad or iPad 2 and still don’t really have a compelling reason to. iPhone 4S has a better camera for both photos and videos, and also has a retina display. I think if the next iPad has the same camera as the 4S and has a retina display, it will win for next - Brad Morris

iOS feature of the year: Siri

In another tight race, Siri won a hotly contested race against Notification Center. While some felt Siri's iPhone 4S exclusivity should have excluded it from entry, multitasking, video recording, and other now widespread features all debuted as iPhone exclusives at some point.

I would have to say Siri and the iPhone 4S are the top inovation. They changed the way we interact with our devices – look at what Apple has gotten us to do, we are speaking of an application, Siri, like she is a person I am excited to see what this leads to! - Sarah

Epic fail of the year: Netflix meltdown

In our third hotly contested category, Netflix raising their rates, splitting their services, renaming one division Qwikster, changing their minds about renaming one division Qwikster, and overall plain batcrap craziness this year beat out the lack of iPhone redesign as the most epic fail of the year. Wow.

Netflix was definitely the fail of the year. I love my 4S and nothing about it has been a failure! Siri is great, and I actually like that they didn’t redesign (because with every redesign comes the need to buy and make new accessories). I’m loving the bigger capacity (64g for me!) and the faster processor. Yep, my vote goes to Netflix. What they did just reeks of bad customer service. We canceled instantly and still have not re-subscribed. Not sure if we will. I’m looking into other options. - A. R.

Arts & Entertainment app of the year: Instagram

Out of all the photography, video, and music apps this year, and after briefly falling behind Snapseed in the voting, you picked the smash hit, filter flying, social sharing photo app, Instagram, as your favorite. No wonder it has so many users.

[Instagram] is one of the reason I’m sticking to my iPhone rather than move back to BB. The social features is great, it integrate with the built in photo library and the best thing it’s free. - Dee

[Instagram] in and of itself is enough to make me want to switch from Android to iPhone. - Mary Beth

• App Store link

Productivity app of the year: iWork for iPhone

Even Instapaper 4's makeover wasn't even to hold Apple's triple iPhone threat of Keynote, Numbers, and Pages, all newly ported to iPhone and amped up to support iCloud document sync.

I’ve been waiting [iWork for iPhone] this since before the iPad came out! iWork is my office program of choice on my Mac and I haven’t been a big fan of the conversions that happen in docs to go or quick office. Now I have numbers across all three of my devices…….finally! - JPwillis269

• Pages App Store link
• Numbers App Store link
• Keynote App Store link

Social networking app of the year: Tweetbot

Tweetbot just barely managed to take the win from the controversial Twitter for iPhone redesign that we bloggers detested but you readers really seemed to like.

Nothing even comes close to Tweetbot! I even use it on my iPad, and I hate using iPhone apps on my iPad - Galley

• App Store link

Casual game of the year: Tiny Wings

There was nothing casual about Tiny Wings' win over Cut the Rope: Experiments -- it barely outran daylight to claim this prize.

Tiny Wings is definitely an awesome game. I love the music and the simple controls. The graphics are beautiful, even when playing on the iPad in 2x mode. I especially like the achievements that are called objectives in the game. I’ve been playing it all weekend. - David Levine

• App Store link

Hardcore game of the year: Real Racing 2

Always one of the first apps to adapt to the latest Apple hardware, like iPad 2, and software, like AirPlay mirroring, Real Racing 2 crossed the finish-line ahead of even Infinity Blade II-level competition.

[Real Racing 2's] graphics are beautiful. The cars are authentic and behave the way one would if you were lucky enough to drive it on the real streets. The on line multiplayer feature allows you to “meet” those that you race with all over the world. And, if you get bored with on line racing, there are personal time trials to improve on, quick races with AI cars at three difficulty levels, and why not go back through the career mode again? I have personally spent around 1000 hours playing this game since purchasing! That is just play time alone! FireMint’s associated forum adds an entire broader dimension to this little addictive game and friendships have been forged! Lastly, FireMint is extremely “on top” of this game and receptive to feedback like none other I have ever experienced! If it is not clear yet, I Vote for RR2!!!!! - Denisethenurse1

• iPhone App Store link
• iPad App Store link

Jailbreak app of the year: SBSettings for iOS 5

Barely a tap ahead of the equally convenient BiteSMS app for jailbreak, your favorite this year was the newly iOS 5 updated versions of... SBSettings!

Navigating through menus is insanely unnecessary and causes loss of data for apps that don’t support multitasking so you have the fun of starting all over. There is simply no reason for Apple to make using those features as tedious as they do. High on my list of long-standing disappointments and a main reason to JB for SBSettings. - Talkin73

• Cydia link

iPhone case of the year: Otterbox Reflex

By only a few precious votes, the Otterbox Reflex case for iPhone claimed the prize over Lifeproof.

Well… I thought I lost my IPhone 4 3 months ago… Found it last night in the bed of of truck beside a small bag of soil that I’ve been carting around…. It has been through numerous rain storms and car washes. It was totally protected with the Otterbox and works perfectly!! Great Product!! - Kerri

• iMore Store link

iPad case of the year: DODOcase

Even the magnetism of Apple's own SmartCover couldn't stop the newly redesigned DODOcase from winning your favorite iPad protection prize this year.

DODOcase is more than just a case. It connects me to layers of artisanal tradition, brings the past into the present and honors generations of fine craftspeople. AND the company is small, local and green. AND the cases are gorgeous! - Corey

• Web site link

iPhone and iPad accessory of the year: Jawbone ERA

While the Wacom Bamboo Stylus took an early lead in our general accessory category, the power of the Jawbone ERA Bluetooth Headset ultimately could not be denied.

• iMore store link

Some of my most-used apps have managed to stay the same year after year, but app updates and new contenders are always finding their way onto my device. While there are tons of great apps in the App Store, these are the apps that currently earn a place on the homescreen of my iPhone or iPad, or even both.

BiteSMS

I can not even express how great of an app BiteSMS is. While iOS 5 made several much needed improvements to the messaging app, I still need my quick reply. I desperately miss this functionality on my iPhone 4S and can't wait for a jailbreak for A5 devices to be released so I can have it back. Until then I'll have to enjoy using it on my iPod touch.

• $9.99 - Cydia Search Link

SBSettings

SBSettings is by far one of the most useful jailbreak tweaks ever created. It's made my list year after year ever since its conception. I realize how much I miss it every single time I have to launch the Settings app on my iPhone 4S just to change the brightness level on my phone or toggle off wi-fi. If you jailbreak and haven't picked up SBSettings, what are you waiting for? It's free.

• Free - Cydia Search Link

Reeder

Reeder has been one of my all time favorite apps on both my iPhone and iPad. While apps like Flipboard are great for casual reading, Reeder allows me to read when I want without missing anything. I can set up options for how many days worth of content I want to see when I load it and know I'm still up to date. More importantly, Reeder is a surprisingly beautiful client for one that provides so much functionality. Often times you see a great UI go bad when too many options are added. Reeder is a shining example of an exception to this rule.

• $4.99 - iPad App Store Link

• $2.99 - iPhone App Store Link

Google Currents

While Reeder is the app I'd turn to when I actually want to sit down and catch up on my news for the day, Currents is the app I turn to when I just want to view headlines or pick and choose what I want to read. It has one of the most beautiful interfaces I've ever seen in a news app and it really is a joy to browse through, especially from the iPad. I think Currents will give Flipboard a run for its money. I actually already prefer it due to blogs being able to customize how their content is presented.

• Free - App Store Link

1Password

1Password has a well-deserved spot on every single device or computer I own. Lets face its, most people are terrible at remembering passwords. We all know it isn't safe to have the same password for everything but who can remember all those passwords? Enter 1Password. Not only does it remember all your passwords or generate impossible to guess random ones for you, it does it across all platforms seamlessly. I have 1Password installed on my iPhone, iPad 2, iPod touch, iMac, and MacBook Pro. Never again will I forget a password or have to worry about not having the one I need nearby. While you can purchase them separately for iPhone and iPad, I suggest picking up the Pro version to cover all your iOS devices. It's currently on sale for the holidays for only $8.99, down from its normal price point of $14.99.

• $8.99 - App Store Link

Zephyr, by jailbreak phenom chpwn, brings iPad-style multitasking gestures to the iPhone.

From swiping up to show the multitasking switcher or quickly swiping to a different app, Zephyr is all you need to quickly and easily control multitasking.

Zephyr registers bezel-to-screen swipes, which makes sense given the smaller surface area of the 3.5-inch iPhone vs. 9.7 inch iPad display. While only the 2 gestures listed above are currently supported, anyone already familiar with their iPad counterparts will realize the efficiency boost they can provide.

If you're jailbroken, you can grab it now from Cydia for $2.99.

No Uninstall is a A jailbreak mod in Cydia that prevents 3rd party apps from being deleted from the Home screen on your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch.

This tweak removes the "X" when uninstalling an iPhone app. Good for pranking your friends and preventing accidental app removal.

No Uninstall requires iOS 4 or higher (got that wrong in the video -- sorry!).

You can do this on a stock iPhone via the Restriction Settings, but if you're running an older version of the OS that doesn't support the app deletion restriction -- or you just want to have some fun at a friend's expense -- give No Uninstall a try.

• Free -- Cydia Link

So to get it out of the way, while I'm running iOS 5 on my iPad I'm still running iOS 4 on my iPhone. I need my jailbreak, the iOS 5 untethered jailbreak just went live yesterday, and I haven't had time to update yet. That's why many of my apps, and a couple of my most-used apps of 2011, other than Mail, Safari, etc. are mainly jailbreak apps. Oh, and games!

LockInfo

The original Notification Center, it's still way more useful and not only lets me keep track of everything but lets me quickly preview messages so I can stay on top of things during my typically hectic days.

• $7.99 - Web link

Infinidock

Apple's stock 4 apps in the dock simply aren't enough for me. I want more and Infinidock provides for just that. Thanks to Infinidock, I can only keep Mail, Safari and Phone at the ready, but App Store and iTunes Store, and many, more more as well. (Yes, I download a lot of apps and music, but I can use the excuse that it's my job!). Just add all you want and scroll away!

• Cydia Link

Twitter for iPhone

I don't use Twitter that much, so even though Twitter for iPhone went through a major change recently, it's still my go to Twitter app. It lets me see my replies and write my tweets and that's pretty much all I need. (Though I do find Tweetbot adorable!)

• Free - App Store link

Chuzzle

I love strategy games and while I still played Plants vs. Zombies and Field Runners last year, Chuzzle has been my main addiction of late. It's cute, it's easy to get into and out of if you only have a short amount of time, and it's by Popcap so how can you go wrong?

• $2.99 - App Store link

Netflix

I have a digital antenna and Windows Media Center PVR for most of my day-to-day television viewing, but for pretty much everything else I use Netflix on the Apple TV. It has great old shows like Damages and the original X-Men cartoon. If you have young kids, Netflix is hours of entertainment, especially if you put it on their iPod touches!

• Free with subscription - App Store link

Heard about the untethered jailbreak for the original iPad, iPhone 4, iPod touch 4, and older models running iOS 5.0.1 and curious how to use it on your own device?. This jailbreak won't yet work with newer, Apple A5 chipset-powered devices, namely the iPhone 4S or iPad 2, but if you own anything earlier, you're in luck.

Supported devices

• iPhone 4 (GSM & CDMA)
• iPod touch 4th generation
• iPad (orignal model)
• iPhone 3GS

What you need

• A supported device - please note this will not work for iPhone 4S or iPad 2
• A Mac or PC
• redsn0w 0.9.10b1 - Mac, Windows

Untether via the Corona Cydia package

If you're already tethered jailbroken on iOS 5.0.1, you can untether your jailbreak using the Corona package in Cydia.

Untether via redsn0w

If for some reason you'd prefer using redsn0w to untether, you may do so. Just run the version of redsn0w linked above over your existing jailbreak. When prompted what you want to do, just uncheck Install Cydia since you already have it installed. Let redsn0w do its thing and you should be untethered when it completes.

Jailbreak your device

If you're not jailbroken at all, perform the following steps -

1. First Launch redsn0w

2. This version and other newer versions of redsn0w should automatically detect what version of iOS you are running. No need to manually browse to a firmware file this time. Just click Jailbreak and follow the prompts.

3. Next redsn0w will prompt you to only continue when your device is powered off. If it isn’t already, power your device off while it’s connected to the computer.

4. Next you will be guided through putting your device into DFU mode. Follow the steps and redsn0w will take care of the rest.
5. After redsn0w finishes doing it’s thing, you’re done!

Common issues and how to solve them

Stuck on Apple logo or in recovery mode

Some users seem to be experiencing this issue. Performing a clean restore in iTunes and then attempting to jailbreak after a clean install should alleviate this issue.

redsn0w fails

First attempt to select a custom IPSW under Extras in redsn0w and navigate to the iOS 5.0.1 IPSW to see if this fixes the issue. If it still fails, try a clean restore in iTunes and then attempt to jailbreak again.

If you're running into other issues, make sure to check out our jailbreak and unlock forums for further help troubleshooting common and not so common jailbreak issues.

Daily Tips range from beginner-level 101 to advanced-level ninjary. If you already know this tip, keep the link handy as a quick way to help a friend. If you have a tip of your own you’d like to suggest, add them to the comments or send them in to dailytips@tipb.com.

Thanks to pod2g and all his hard work, an untethered jailbreak is now available for the original iPad, iPhone 4, iPod touch 4, and older models. Both redsn0w and Corona have been updated to support the new, untethered jailbreak.

A few days ago, @pod2g gave the untether to both the iPhone devteam and the chronic devteam. We’ve put it into redsn0w 0.9.10 and PwnageTool, and the chronic devteam put it into a Cydia package (the same set of exploits is in all three).

Unfortunately, Apple A5 chipset-powered devices, namely iPhone 4S and iPad 2, are still in jailbreak limbo.

Because those devices cannot use geohot’s limera1n exploit to inject the untether, they require exploits above and beyond those used for this release. Keep following pod2g on twitter or his blog for any progress reports!

Hit the source links below to start jailbreaking iOS 5.0.1 untethered, and if you need any help jump on into our jailbreak forums.

Source: Dev-Team Blog/redsn0w, Chronic Dev-Team/Corona, donate to @pod2g

iPhone jailbreak developer chpwn, along with the help of planetbeing and Ryan Petrich, have released Spire -- a legal way to port Siri to currently unsupported iOS devices like iPhone 4 and iPad 2.

Spire uses a new method to obtain the files necessary for Siri, so it doesn’t have the copyright issues encountered by previous attempts. Similarly, rather than directing all traffic through a specific proxy server (and the associated privacy issues), Spire allows you to specify your own proxy server.

Available in Cydia now, and if you need extra help, jump into our jailbreak app forum.

Source: chbwn blog; proxy FAQ

SwitcherCleaner is new jailbreak mod in Cydia that changes the behavior of the multitasking Fast App Switcher to only show apps that are actually running in the background, and keeps the quit button visible at all times.

• *Requires iOS 5 or higher
• SwitcherCleaner contains two features of SwitcherMod for iOS5.
  • RemoveRecents: show only running apps
  • AlwaysAvailableQuit: show quit button anytime
• No icons added to the homescreen
• No options to configure

In addition, SwitcherCleaner helps save time for power-users with the AlwaysAvailableQuit function, removing the requirement to tap-and-hold an icon before you're able to kill the app.

It's a great tool for anyone who wants to keep their Fast App Switcher clean.

• Free -- Cydia Link

AlbumArt on AppSwitcher does exactly what the title says - adds album art to your app switcher. I personally like having this functionality because I have a tendency to forget what songs come from what albums. This way I don't have to jump into my iPod app, I can simply bring up my app switcher and look without having to stop what I'm doing.

Once installed from Cydia there's nothing to configure or set up, it should just work. It's available for free and requires iOS 5.0 or higher.

Free - Cydia Search Link

BiteSMS, one of the best jailbreak apps available for the iPhone and iPod touch, has recently been pushed out of beta to version 6.0 with full support for iOS 5. The update brings along a number of new features as well -- here's the full change log:

Version 6.0

16 December 2011

• iOS 5 compatibility, works on iPhone and iPod devices. Fully integrated with all iOS 5 features including iMessaging and Notification Center.
• NEW Look Quick Compose and Quick Reply.
• NEW Passcode lock feature inside Quick Reply.
• NEW Ability to use the native Messages icon instead of the biteSMS one.

Note: For iOS 4 users, in effect you are installing Release 5.5 of biteSMS and don't get any new features.

The update is now in the BigBoss repo, which means there's no longer a need to add a custom Cydia repository in order to get in on the action. Give it a try and let us know how it's working for you on iOS 5!

As always, If you need more help or run into any problems getting things setup, check out our TiPb jailbreak forums!

• $9.99 - Cydia Link

Source: BiteSMS

Apple's revised iOS 5.0.1 update seems to have come with decrypted ramdisks, something which could make the port of Siri to other iOS devices legally possible. Before today’s firmware update, important files to get Siri working on other devices were encrypted in Apple’s file system. Decrypting them would be illegal and infringe on copyright and that is the main reason for it not being made available.

According to MuscleNerd, a prominent figure in the jailbreaking community, the release of the revised iOS 5.0.1 update means that it is now possible to extract the relevant Siri files without infringing on Apple’s copyright. It will now be interesting to see if those involved in porting Siri to other iOS devices see this as the green light and release it. We will let you know as soon as we hear anymore information.

Source: MuscleNerd

Although Apple is planning to include control over individual photos within Photo Stream in iOS 5.1, jailbreak developer Evan Coleman was able to whip up a useful tweak that keeps iOS screenshots from being added to your iCloud Photo Stream.

Keeps screenshots out of your Photo Stream. This tweak prevents screenshots from being uploaded to your iCloud Photo Stream.

This is personally great for me, as I frequently capture screens from my iPhone for Tips and How-To posts for TiPb but often find my Photo Stream clogged up with a bunch of screenshots I don't need after I'm done. Even though the mod doesn't allow full control over individual photos in Photo Stream, this is a good stopgap until iOS 5.1 is released to the public.

Check it out!

[Free - Cydia Link]

Source: Evan Coleman

FireCore has released a version 1.1 update for aTV Flash. If you're a jailbroken Apple TV user, aTV Flash is definitely something you'll want to check out. It adds a great deal of functionality to your AppleTV, and new features include custom view options, web page auto-load, playback improvements, and much more.

aTV Flash for the 2nd generation Apple TV is super easy to install after you've jailbroken and doesn't mess with any of the current features your Apple TV already offers. If you're not already jailbroken, you can jailbreak your AppleTV via Seas0nPass. You'll just need the most recent version of Seas0nPass and a micro-usb cable. For help, you can check out our guide on how to jailbreak the AppleTV second generation. All the steps will remain the same as long as you grab the correct version of Seas0nPass for your AppleTV firmware.

If you've checked out the new version of aTV Flash, let us know what you think of it!

A new jailbreak mod by the name of H1Siri claims to allow a fully working port of Siri on the iPhone 4, but this one comes with a number of questionable aspects.

First of all, the package is available via a custom Cydia repo from a relatively unknown group of hackers that also houses pirated materials, so there's a major warning sign right off the bat. The biggest drawback, however, is that the port uses a custom server to process requests on the back end instead of Apple's own servers. In other words, you'll be sending your personal information to who knows where without any assurance that you're information will be kept safe.

Additionally, since this mod uses said custom servers that have apparently been hit pretty hard, there's no telling when it will actually work for you. iDB tried to get it working without success shortly after it became available, and other users have reported issues with the Settings app not functioning properly along with sporadic reboots.

Previous attempts by prominent developers have proven successful, but those required access to a jailbroken iPhone 4S for Siri-specific files. According to developer chpwn, H1Siri also uses these copyrighted binaries from the iPhone 4S, so we're guessing the legal implications surrounding this aren't good.

Given the number of issues laden with this release, we'd caution you stay away until something more solid and sourced is available.

Source: iDB

If you're jailbroken on iOS 5 you'll definitely want to check out the newly released Springtomize 2. It's by far one of the easiest ways to customize your device running on iOS 5. To start customizing just purchase Springtomize 2 in Cydia then pop into your Settings app and start tweaking every little aspect of your springboard easily and directly from your device.

Springtomize 2 allows you to tweak icons, folders, animations, app switcher, dock, and much more. If you've purchased it already, what are your thoughts? Anything else you'd like to see the ability to customize in a future update?

$2.99 - Cydia Search Link

If you're jailbroken on iOS 5 you'll want to check out BlurriedNCBackground, a neat little tweak that makes Notification Center that much cooler. BlurriedNCBackground simply makes the background of notification center blurry instead of the default Apple background. Once you install it there's nothing to configure. Just drop down Notification Center to see the new look.

If you want to change the blur level and customize it further you can do so via Settings. BlurriedNCBackground is available now and is a free download from Cydia.

Cydia Search Link

Infiniboard has been updated and it now fully supports iOS 5. Infiniboard is a jailbreak tweak which allows you to add as many icons as you like to a home page. You can then vertically scroll up and down with a simple flick.

The new version also includes a lot more customization settings, bug fixes and performance improvements. Infiniboard is available through the jailbreak installer Cydia and costs $0.99.

Source: @chpwn, iClarified

iPhone hacker @conradev has found a way to enable the "secret" panorama mode within the iOS 5 camera app. At the moment, you can only enable it on a jailbroken iPhone by tweaking a plist file, com.apple.mobileslideshow.plist, and setting 'EnableFirebreak' to YES, but an easy-to-use hack should appear on Cydia at some point tomorrow.

Don't worry, if you're not on #ATeamJailbreak -- hopefully Apple will officially enable Panorama Mode in an iOS 5.1 or iOS 5.2 update at some point in the not-so-distant future.

Source: Twitter

Chronic Dev Team member @pod2g let the jailbreak community know that he's discovered a new bug in iOS 5 that may allow for an untethered jailbreak in the future.

Hey jailbreaking friends, I've found a bug that can untether iOS 5. Don't expect a release soon, but I'm gonna work hard in it.

Currently, the only way to jailbreak iOS 5 is by tethering your iPhone to your PC or Mac and re-jailbreaking with RedSn0w each time a reboot is needed, which can cause a lot headaches for users on-the-go.

Details are slim, and we still aren't sure if this will cover the full gamut of iOS devices including the new iPhone 4S. In any case, we're looking forward to an untethered jailbreak for iOS 5 but it appears we'll have to wait a bit longer. In the meantime you can check out the TiPb Jailbreak guide or head over to our Jailbreak and Unlock forums!

Source: pod2g

There will no doubt be a flood of them soon but for right now, right this minute, here are a list of our favorites, the ones we think are the best — TiPb’s Top 5 Jailbreak apps and tweaks that will help you get the most out of iOS 5!

SBSettings

SBSettings has not only been around forever, it has remained one of the most useful jailbreak utilities available. It allows you to add quick toggles for commonly used features such as brightness, 3G, airplane mode, bluetooth, and more. While SBSettings comes with a lot of the more commonly used toggles built in you can download even more from Cydia. You can also download themes to change the look of SBSettings as well.

Now with iOS 5 compatibility it has never been easier to access quick gestures and manage your device. Simply enable SBSettings in Notification Center and it's right there whenever you need it.

Free - Cydia Link

Activator

This is yet another utility that's been around almost as long as iOS has. But for most jailbreakers this is a tweak you'll definitely want to have. You'll probably end up using it anyways whether you realize it or not. Some apps even require that you install Activator in order to use them.

The whole point of Activator is to make it easier to get to things you use most frequently. If you send a lot of texts you may want a gesture that allows you to bring up a BiteSMS quick compose screen. Activator allows you to do this by simply assigning certain gestures to specific applications. Tons of jailbreak applications and utilities have built-in support for Activator.

If there is ever a period of time I have to suffer with a stock iPhone I still find myself trying to open things with gestures only to frown when it doesn't work. I still find myself wondering why shortcut gestures have not been more heavily implemented into iOS considering the wide adoption rate of Activator among the jailbreak community.

Free - Cydia Link

Dreamboard

While I think iOS has the cleanest and slickest interface out of any smartphone on the current market I still get bored from time to time and feel the need to switch it up. While a lot of long time jailbreakers have used tools like Summerboard and more recently Winterboard, the jailbreak scene just gets better and better. While Dreamboard is a newer app in its early stages it shows a lot of promise.

The ability to customize and create themes comes built into the app. You can replace and swap out icons and customize until your heart's content. For jailbreakers who are rather picky about themes and want the ability to have more control over "the little things", Dreamboard may be just what you're looking for. I'm sure we'll start to see Dreamboard extensions and downloadable themes cropping up in Cydia pretty quickly. At the time of writing this I already see over 15 themes available for Dreamboard. This is definitely a jailbreak utility to keep your eye on.

Free - Cydia Link

IntelliScreenX

YouTube Link

While I've always been a huge fan of LockInfo by David Ashman I have to admit that the guys over at Intelliborn really stepped up to the plate with their new version of IntelliScreen for iOS 5.

The tight integration with the already built-in Notification Center is really what makes this version stand out. You can just tell that a lot of thought and energy went into the project. While Notification Center is good, IntelliScreenX makes it great. It adds the functionality that Apple left out. Everything from accessing all your information from the lock screen to having a top shelf feature for toggles has been re-worked from the ground up. Intelliborn is definitely giving apps like LockInfo a lot to live up to with their next release.

The down side is as of writing this it has not yet been released. Until then you can check out the video above to see it in action. This is one I keep checking on and can't wait to try out for myself. A few other sites have been able to get a early hands-on with it and have walked away quite impressed. It should be available this Thursday or Friday to the public. We'll add a link and update when it's readily available for download. Let us know if you see it up!

Free trial, $9.99 - Will add link when publicly available

BiteSMS

I've tried several messaging replacement apps but I always find myself coming back to Bite. When it comes down to it, it just works. It gives me the control I want and then some. And the update for iOS 5 is no different.

This time it's coming back around with a new face lift and even tighter integration to iOS. Not only will BiteSMS play nice with iOS 5 but it will also handles Apple's new iMessage protocol. The app just feels a whole lot cleaner this time around. I also like that users are now given the option to natively re-skin the Bite icon to the default Messages icon and hide the stock icon.

The iOS 5 compatible version is still in beta but it's public. In order to use it you'll need to add the following repository in Cydia -

http://test-cydia.bitesms.com/

Just a reminder that since it is still in beta you should expect a few bugs here and there. I've been using it for a bit now and haven't experienced too many issues outside of a crash here and there.

Free trial, $9.99 - Cydia Link

Your top Jailbreak app or tweak?

While this is our list of must have jailbreak apps we know you guys all have your own lists. Feel free to let us know of any cool jailbreak apps or utilities you've found as well. And if you're thinking about jailbreaking but have some questions first make sure you check out our TiPb jailbreak forums for all the help you need and answers to many commonly asked questions.

FireCore has updated its aTV Flash (Black) software to RC1, which adds a number of new features including a new grid view browsing mode, subtitle related improvements and most importantly, a huge list of performance and playback related improvements.

If you’re already running a version of aTV Flash (black) on your Jailbroken Apple TV, the new RC1 version can be installed through the Maintenance –> Manage Extras menu on your Apple TV. If you want to run it, you will need to jailbreak your Apple TV first. Luckily FireCore also released an upated version of its Seas0nPass Apple TV (Black) jailbreak which now supports fimware versions 4.4, 4.41and 4.4.2. So you are all set.

If you get stuck and need any help, don’t forget you can always visit our Apple TV forum!

Source: FireCore

The iPhone Dev-Team has gone ahead and updated UltraSn0w as planned with full support for unlocking your iPhone 3G, 3GS and iPhone 4 under iOS 5.

UltraSn0w 1.2.4 is available in Cydia now and supports iPhone 3G and 3GS basebands 04.26.08, 05.11.07, 05.12.01, 05.13.04, and 06.15.00. Remember, If you're trying to unlock your iPhone 4, the only baseband currently supported by UltraSn0w is 01.59.00.

You'll need to jailbreak your iPhone running iOS 5 before getting started. It's possible to preserve your baseband on the iPhone 4 while still updating to iOS 5 by using the latest version of Redsn0w for Mac (a Windows version is in the works).

Got any questions? Just jump into our jailbreak and unlock forums to help you along the way!

Source: iPhone Dev-Team

iOS Dev-Team member MuscleNerd says that UltraSn0w will be updated as soon as tomorrow with support for iOS 5, allowing iPhone users to unlock their device to use on unsupported carriers.

will coordinate ultrasn0w iOS5 compatibility update to come out after a planned MobileSubstrate update tomorrow

Keep in mind that the UltraSn0w unlock will only work for 01.59.00, 05.11.07, 04.26.08, 05.12.01, 05.13.04 and 06.15.00 basebands, so if your baseband differs from these you won't be able to unlock your iPhone using UltraSn0w until the Dev-Team finds a new exploit.

It's currently possible to upgrade your iPhone to iOS 5 while preserving your baseband using the current version of RedSn0w, which you'll also need to jailbreak your iPhone before starting.

Will you be unlocking your iPhone with UltraSn0w?

Source: MuscleNerd

iPhone Dev-Team member MuscleNerd has gone on the record stating a port of Siri to other iOS devices outside of the new iPhone 4S will require piracy, and likely won't ever see the light of day as a consequence.

Anyone hoping for a "port" of Siri from iPhone4S: pending a very low-level A5 exploit, it likely can't be done without piracy

(only way to extract Siri files from iPhone4S filesystem without pirating is to have the main FS keys, requiring low-level exploit)

Essentially, the only way to get Siri working on other iOS devices would be to take the required files from an iPhone 4S and transfer them onto the other device manually. It's also possible that Apple may flag such devices since Siri talks to Apple's servers to complete certain tasks.

On the other hand, piracy in the jailbreak community has been running rampant lately, so it's also possible we could see this come from other, less ethical jailbreak developers.

Source: MuscleNerd

If you use Safari rather frequently on your jailbroken iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch you may want to check out BackForwardList for Safari. The main purpose is to enhance the functionality of the back and forward buttons.

Instead of tapping to go back a page, you can hold down on the back or forward button to gain quick access to your history. I've found this useful when I want to go back to a site I was browsing a few pages back. It's much easier than just tapping on the back button multiple times.

The tweak doesn't add any shortcuts or icons to your springboard and there are no setting to configure. Just download it from Cydia and you're good to go. You can also swipe sideways within your history to delete individual items. BackForwardList for Safari is a free download from the Cydia store.

[Free - Cydia Store Link]

Popular tethering app MyWi recently received an update that adds compatibility for iOS 5. f you don't currently own MyWi you can install a trial via Cydia. You'll have 3 days to test it out in demo mode. After that you can purchase MyWi for a one time purchase of $19.99 when the trial expires.

It's worth noting that carriers typically frown upon the use of unauthorized tethering apps. Some have even taken matters into their own hands. So if you're an extremely heavy data user, you'd probably be better off just adding a tethering plan through your carrier.

We just saw BiteSMS receive a beta update adding iOS 5 compatibility as well. As we see the official iOS 5 launch get closer we will start to see even more jailbreak apps receive updates.

Intelliborn

BiteSMS, one of my favorite jailbreak apps, just got updated for iOS 5. It is a beta version and the developer is asking that you don't submit bug reports just yet as they already know about a lot of them.

Due to the overwhelming number of emails from users wanting to be private beta testers, we have decided to release this iOS 5 compliant version via a public beta repos.

This is a very early beta release, so at this stage please don’t email us bug reports as we most likely know about them. This is not a normal beta, it’s more that users running iOS 5 would no doubt prefer something as opposed to nothing!!!

Saying that, it’s a pretty stable release and we hope you like the new look Quick Compose and Quick Reply plus the deep integration with the Apple Notification Centre. Also iMessage works seamlessly inside biteSMS.

If you'd like to try out the beta version of BiteSMS for iOS 5, simply add the following Cydia repository:

http://test-cydia.bitesms.com/

Once you install the beta version simply perform a tethered boot and you should be good to go. If you try it out let us know what you think. If you need more help, check out our TiPb jailbreak forums!

BiteSMS forums

QuickMath is a new tweak that allows you to do simple math functions within iOS search. If you're a Mac user you're probably already use to this kind of functionality within Spotlight. I've definitely caught myself a time or two swiping to search on my iPhone to do a simple math problem and quickly realizing that I can't.

Once you install QuickMath there is nothing to configure. Just swipe on over to search and type in your math problem. Hit search and the solution will show up in the search bar. It's a bit quicker than searching or paging through for the Calculator app in my experience. Maybe this math tweak will be enough to make Leanna jump over to #TeamJailbreak?

QuickMath is available in Cydia for free.

[Free - Cydia Search Link]

SMS+ was just made available in Cydia for jailbroken devices and adds a whole lot of functionality to the stock Messages app. A lot of people may argue that apps like BiteSMS already do all that SMS+ does. If you're someone who prefers the stock messages app, this may be a better choice for you. The price tag is also a bit more manageable as it's priced at only $1.99.

Once installed, you can pop into settings and customize what options you'd like to add. There's no new icon like there is with Bite. This app integrates tightly with the default Messages app.

SMS+ includes the following features and then some -

• Quick reply (Activator gestures can also be configured)
• Text to speech
• Read later
• Status bar notifications
• Timestamps for every message
• Mark all as read
• Delete all
• Pull to sort (sort by date or by sender)

It's currently available in Cydia for $1.99.

[$1.99 - Cydia Search Link]

IconCommands lets jailbroken iOS users customize what happens when they tap on icons. Want to set up gestures for additional taps? Don't like holding down to delete apps and want a quicker solution? Once downloaded, with IconCommands you can head over to your settings and set up all that and more.

For example, you can set two taps to display application info and three taps to delete the app. There are also several other options including restart springboard, search Google, switch to Safe Mode, hide, and many more. I found this to be a super fast way to search the web, respring, delete, and hide icons. Much easier than jumping into SBSettings to hide icons. It's also much easier than jumping into Safari to search the web. I simply tap any icon four times and it brings up a prompt to search the web.

You can find IconCommands in Cydia for $1.99.

[$1.99 - Cydia Store Link]

Wondering how to easily and quickly adjust the transparency of your icons or turn off labels? If you Jailbreak, you may want to check out Alphacon. Other apps like Winterboard allow you to do this but if you want something much more simple, Alphacon is it.

Once installed it will appear in your settings. You can choose to turn transparency on and off and further customize what icons you want the settings to apply to (home screen, dock, folders, etc). So if you'd like for your dock icons to not be transparent you can just tick off the transparency option for the dock. Same deal with icon labels. You can choose to turn them all off or just some. I personally still like to see my folder labels so I leave those on but turn off icon labels for everything else.

Alphacon is currently available in Cydia for free.

[Alphacon - Cydia Store Link]

Despise notification icons on your apps but not sure how to quickly get rid of them? Disabling them completely is one thing, but being able to selectively clear them when you've reached the point of overload is another. Luckily, there's a Jailbreak app for that and we're going to tell you about it, after the break!

BadgeClear is pretty much made for people who despise icon badges. Until iOS 5 drops (and a jailbreak for it), we don't have the option to disable badges for every single app -- Apple doesn't allow you to clear badges for a lot of default apps like Mail -- but if you're jailbroken, BadgeClear makes it easy to clear any and all app icon badges with just a few taps.

Just hold down any icon until they start jiggling (just like you would to delete an app) and tap on the badge you'd like to clear. BadgeClear will ask you if you want to clear it and just tap yes.

This is nice for annoying apps that have badges for no reason really. I have a couple of those. My banking app always sends me push notifications about 10 days too late and leaves an annoying little badge. This is much easier than digging through the app and viewing the notifications. Any apps you have this may be useful for?

$0.99 - Cydia Search Link

Tips of the day will range from beginner-level 101 to advanced-level ninjary. If you already know this tip, keep the link handy as a quick way to help a friend. If you have a tip of your own you'd like to suggest, add them to the comments or send them in to dailytips@tipb.com. (If it's especially awesome and previously unknown to us, we'll even give ya a reward...)

Maybe you're used to the signal bars being on the right of the screen like they are in Blackberry OS, and are curious how to rearrange the status bar icons on your iPhone? Good news -- there's a Jailbreak for that! And we'll show you how after the break!

ArrangeStatusBar is a simple little tweak that allows you to rearrange your status bar icons to whatever your liking may be. This may be great for users that currently migrated from another OS and are used to a different configuration.

Once installed, just hold down on a status bar icon and move it in whatever position you'd like. And if you ever want to restore to the default arrangement again just go into Settings followed by ArrangeStatusBar and tap Reset StatusBar and your status bar icons will fly back to the normal positioning.

One update I'd like to see made is an option to completely remove icons from the status bar. I really have no need to see the iPod or carrier banner. I'd rather replace it with something more useful.

Any other updates you'd like to see?

Tips of the day will range from beginner-level 101 to advanced-level ninjary. If you already know this tip, keep the link handy as a quick way to help a friend. If you have a tip of your own you'd like to suggest, add them to the comments or send them in to dailytips@tipb.com. (If it's especially awesome and previously unknown to us, we'll even give ya a reward...)

Double At is a new jailbreak tweak that is dead simple but extremely useful. If you're tired of entering your e-mail address for everything and you're jailbroken, you may want to give Double At a try.

You can define your e-mail address within Double At and when you need to enter it into a form, double tap the "@" symbol on your keyboard and it automagically inserts your e-mail address into the field.

It's simple but definitely helps if you're the type of person that either constantly has to fill in forms with your e-mail or send your e-mail address to people via Twitter, e-mail, or whatever means you find necessary. Hit the link below to check it out!

Double At

CallBar and Apptivator are just two examples of the Jailbreak community being in full flurry this summer with what has been the most productive and innovative season of Jailbreak tweaks to date. At a time when people question the current value of jailbreaking with iOS 5 on the horizon, the jailbreak community have spoken up and demonstrated that they continue to advance and innovate where Apple stops short.

With a vast amount of new Cydia tweaks, thanks majorly in part to @rpetrich’s TweakWeek challenge, I will be talking about only two recent tweaks that demonstrate to any non-believer that Jailbroken iPhones, iPads, and iPod touches are the way to go!

CallBar (by E. Limneos & J. Tucker)

E. Limneos has been involved with TweakWeek and when J. Tucker approached him with this dynamite idea they made an immediate knockout hit that some consider an “essential” tweak to any Jailbroken device. What CallBar does is extend the concept of the nonintrusive notification to phone calls and FaceTime alerts, integrating it into what Peter Hajas developed for iOS with MobileNotifier (also a Cydia tweak) and Apple synthesized and adopted in iOS 5's Notification Center.

Intrusive notifications have always been a weak point for iOS and have long since been taunted by the Android and webOS community. CallBar brings what iOS 5 only begins to unveil at a notification level, and that is a nonintrusive and clean way to receive phone calls – further solidifying the concept that our iDevices are small computers that happen to receive phone calls rather than phones that happen to behave like small computers. Writing an important email and a call ruins your train of thought? Not anymore. Watching the latest Harry Potter movie on your iPad and a FaceTime alert just interrupted an important scene? No longer a problem. CallBar demonstrates that Cydia tweaks are not just gimmicks and tricks, but truly useful, innovative, and downright essential to heavy iDevice users.

With a good amount of options to make any user happy, CallBar is available now in Cydia for only 3.99 USD.

Apptivator (by n00neimp0rtant)

Apptivator takes the functionality of Activator and applies it to your homescreen and icons, using a double-tap action instead of having to rely on multiple gestures.

For instance, you can set a double-tap action onto your phone icon to immediately call up the keypad or the contacts list – whichever you use most. You can also create events that allow you to double-tap an icon app to open up a related app instead – such as double-tapping the Camera app to open the Photos app. Using events currently possible in Activator, n00neimp0rtant demonstrated in his YouTube video of the tweak (see above) of double-tapping the iPod icon to start and top a current track. Better yet, you can trigger SBSetting toggles using Apptivator – such as double-tapping the MyWi icon to toggle MyWi on and off. The amount of customization this tweak brings is limitless. As powerful and innovative as Activator has been, it’s a breath of fresh air seeing Apptivator using the same principles on icons without the need to memorize gestures that are limited and can be unintuitive at times.

At first glance, this tweak reminded me a lot of the new feature in Windows Phone 7 Mango where you can now pin actions onto the homescreen – which some touted as a brilliant feature and very innovative on the part of the WP7 team. With jailbroken phones, we are able to see features from other Mobile OSes and see the concept further bloom and thrive, and Apptivator is a clear example of this.

On Twitter, @n00neimp0rtant informed me that more functionality is coming to Apptivator and I am more than excited to see what’s in store next.

Apptivator is available now in the Cydia Store for 2.00 USD.

Austin Bradley, better known as K. Nitsua, is the Jailbreak theme designer behind iNitsua Z Twilight 3volution. You can hit him up on Twitter @Kanaca_Nitsua

iNitsua is back and this time it's with iNitsua Z Twilight 3volution, the sequel to K. Nitsua and Zausser's original Twilight HD, this time with the fit, finish and UI crafting of Barsoverbeats, and over 20 gorgeous Retina Display wallpapers by K. Nitsua.

For those keeping track, it's the 7th iNitsua theme since 2009, and the features just keep getting better:

• Highly animated HTML5 lockscreen
• Lockscreen seemlessly integrates camera roll photo, or CPBitmapConv tweak, or custom SSH image with no need for HTML editing
• Unprecedented 7 iconsets immediately available to choose from
• Highly detailed "Prestige" iconset, each icon took 30 min - 1 hr to make
• 7 icon color mods available at launch

Theming -- the ability to customize the look and feel of your iPhone, your way -- remains something unique to Jailbreak and with themes like iNitsua Z Twilight 3volution, it remains one of the most compelling reasons to Jailbreak.

iNitsua Twilight 3volution by K. Nitsua and Barsoverbeats is available now for iPhone 4 and iPod touch 4, with an iPad version to come. More screenshots after the break.

[$2.99 - Cydia Theme Store]

While the hoopla surrounding the recently released iOS 4.3.4 (and iOS 4.2.9) focused on it killing the PDF exploit that allowed JailbreakMe.com to function -- and could potentially allow bad guys to attack the iPhone and iPad as well -- it looks like Apple also patched an exploit that had been used to achieve untethered Jailbreakers since iOS 4.1. According to @i0n1c:

For those that did not get it: iOS 4.3.4 does not only fix jbme3 as announced, but also silently kills the ndrv_setspec() integer overflow.

In addition to that iOS 4.3.4 also adds code to dyld to detect attacks with binaries using "incomplete code signing".

"Incomplete codesigning attacks" were used for all untether exploits from at least iOS 4.1.0

Wonder if {Apple] only tried to stop my xploit from modifying LCs at runtime with the new check, or if they knew it would stop [incomplete codesigning] attacks.

That last tweet revives the debate about wether or not Apple is simply concerned about iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch security, or if they're specifically targeting Jailbreak exploits to close down. Some, like JailbreakMe.com, are such a risk Apple closes them as soon as possible. Others, like ndrv_setspec() survived for months and several IOS updates.

Either way, we once again thank the Jailbreak developers for their time and tenacity in always looking for new exploits and new ways to Jailbreak.

[@i0n1c, thanks @sethclifford]

Your iPads’s secure passwords could be at risk from a new breed of thieves that peer over your shoulder as you enter passwords into your device. They could then steal your bank log in details, PayPal password or anything else that you have secured by a password.

The technique known as “Shoulder Surfing” could become a whole lot easier to carry out as demonstrated by a South African security research company. It has built an app that can decipher the key presses you make on your iPad. It works on a jailbroken iPhone, iPad or even on Mac OS. All you need to do is stealthily capture a video of a users key presses with your chosen device. The software can then get to work and reveal the password. In fact it gets even worse than that, the software can even be used with surveillance cameras or long distance lenses; making it even easier to capture the information without being spotted!

When a user types on an iPad’s touchscreen, each key glows blue for a fraction of a second after it’s struck, a helpful bit of feedback for any virtual keyboard. ShoulderPad’s image recognition algorithms, based on Open CV’s open source image recognition software, look for that flash of blue. “At any distance, if the blue is distinguishable, shoulderPad can detect that keystroke.

[thinkst via Forbes]

iUsers is a new jailbreak tweak that enables an iPad to have multiple user accounts. If you share your iPad with other people in your home, this jailbreak tweak could be just what you have been waiting for.

Each user that has access to your iPad can now have a separate account with their own log in passcode, separate home screens, different apps and log in credentials. Pedro Franceschi is the man to thank for this awesome looking tweak. He has even put together a short video showing how it all works; it looks really well put together and a highly useful add on. The iPad does have to go through a short reboot cycle when switching accounts. It doesn't seem to take very long to do it, so it's not really a deal breaker.

If you want to give this one a go, you will need to add http://cydia.iblogeek.com/ as an additional repository in your Cydia settings. Once you have done that, simply search for iUsers.

Take a look at iUsers in action after the break!

[YouTube via Cult of Mac]

No sooner did iOS 5 beta 3 come out then the iPhone Dev Team followed with redsn0w 0.9.8b2. The previous version of redsn0w worked on the new release, but not perfectly according to MuscleNerd:

redsn0w 0.9.8b2 http://is.gd/6eek4Y should fix 50b3 App Store issue (if you're already JB, just use this to boot tethered)

Jailbreakme.com also received an update from Comex that's being pushed out via Cydia. Saurik explains:

So, @comex made some fixes to the kernel patches for JailbreakMe, and we are pushing them as an "Essential Upgrade"... I hope this works!

To be clear: do /not/ go back to jailbreakme.com and "redo" the jailbreak; instead, just open Cydia, and accept the new "Essential Upgrade".

As always, jump into our Jailbreak Forum for more info and help.

[@MuscleNerd, @Saurik]

iMAME4all is a Jailbreak app for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch that emulates arcade games supported by the original MAME (Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator) version 0.37b5. In simple terms, it allows you to play over 2000 retro arcade games on your iOS device, as long as you can find the ROM’s of the games.

As of today, you can download version 1.7 of iMAME4all that will enable iMAME4all to work with the iCade cabinet. That’s right, you can now use that expensive iCade cabinet you bought for some real old school retro arcade fun! The best way to use the two is in full screen portrait mode.

This is an awesome way to enjoy MAME and if you are a real old school arcade lover, it’s simply a superb combination. The latest version has not filtered through to the Cydia store as of yet. If you can't wait, there is a DEB file which you can manually install. I just wish I could get my hands on an iCade in the UK for a reasonable price!

[iMAME4all via Engadget]

Now that iPad 2 can finally be Jailbroken, many of you are considering it and are asking us whether or not it's worth it. Jailbreaking has always been popular among iPhone users, but some believe iPads already do what they want a tablet to do and aren't as sure about the need for the extra functionality Jailbreak provides. With iOS 5 on its way this fall, the gap between stock iPads and Jailbreak will be closed even further.

So should you Jailbreak your iPad 2? Keep reading to see some of our top reasons why iPad and iPad 2 users may want to jailbreak.

LockInfo

While LockInfo may remain more popular for iPhone, it's also great on the iPad.

We all know that the upcoming Notification Center will add better notifications to iPhone and iPad but it still doesn't give you a ton of control. For power users who like to have complete control over their notifications and how they are presented, LockInfo will still remain at the top of their list.

David Ashman will continue to improve LockInfo even after the announcement of Notification Center. I doubt he will disappoint either. I'm excited to see what he and other developers will do with notification center widgets and how they'll integrate certain frameworks of iOS 5 into already great apps.

SBSettings

Apple may have a native settings app, but there aren't any quick toggles anywhere to be found. I like being able to turn wifi on and off quickly, disable or enable 3G on a whim, or be able to see how much available memory my device has. This is where SBSettings comes in handy.

Just a quick swipe of your top status bar and you can see your available memory, free it up, toggle features on and off, and much more. I'm currently stock due to beta testing iOS 5 and I still find myself constantly swiping my status bar every time I want to turn wifi on and off. It has become natural to me and it's a tweak I dearly miss when I'm not jailbroken.

Activator

Apple may be adding more gestures to the iPad but I've always found Activator to serve me far better. You can set almost every gesture you could think of for pretty much any task. Maybe I want sliding up from the bottom of my iPad screen to take a quick screenshot. I can do this easily. I can customize my iPad to how I want it to behave, not how Apple "thinks" I want it to behave.

The new notification center in iOS 5 even takes after not only Android, but the way certain jailbreak features have used multi-touch gestures for years. LockInfo's Infoshade feature has been a pull down option for quite some time now.

MyWi

MyWi is not only a reason to jailbreak your iPad, but one of my overall top 5 jailbreak apps. I know this is a touchy subject for some people and that AT&T has been cracking down against unofficial tethering but I still refuse to pay for the one or two times I may or may not have to tether a month. I also don't want to lose my unlimited data plan. MyWi simply allows me to turn my iPad or iPhone into a mobile hotspot and I can then connect to it just like I would any wifi network.

For those of you with 3G iPads, MyWi is a great app to have on hand in case you need to tether other devices. MyWi tends to run the battery on an iPhone down pretty quickly. My iPad was able to handle being a mobile hotspot for a lot longer. It's an extremely useful app to have on board for when your iPad just won't cut it and you desperately need the internet on another device such as a laptop.

Folder Enhancements

One of my biggest peeves about iOS folders is that you are limited to 12 applications per folder on iPhone and 20 on iPad. I still haven't quite figured out why Apple did this but it's annoying nonetheless. I don't know about any of you, but I certainly have more than 20 games on my iPad. I don't want to create 10 folders, I simply want one games folder that I can create nested folders inside of.

Jailbreak apps like Folder Enhancer allow you to do this. It removes the apps per folder cap and also allows you to create nested folders. Now my iPad has sub-folders for even more organizational control.

Bonus: Display Mirroring (original iPad)

While the iPad 2 can do this natively, original iPad users are left in the dark as Apple decided not to extend the functionality to original iPad owners. If you're jailbroken, you can display mirror on the original iPad as well. I personally never felt the need to upgrade to the iPad 2. If and when I need to display mirror, I would simply use the jailbreak solution over buying an iPad 2.

So if you have an original iPad still and you're willing to jailbreak, you can use the display mirroring feature just as easy as iPad 2 users can.

Your reason?

Those are our top 5 reasons to Jailbreak your iPad or iPad 2. If you Jailbreak your iPad or iPad 2, what are your reasons?

Swype, the popular Android keyboard replacement, has been ported to iOS devices and is now available in beta through Cydia. Swype is an alternative way to enter text on a keyboard that enables you to slide your finger over the screen through the letters that form the word.

Swype provides a faster and easier way to input text on any screen. With one continuous finger or stylus motion across the screen keyboard, the patented technology enables users to input words faster and easier than other data input methods—at over 40 words per minute. The application is designed to work across a variety of devices such as phones, tablets, game consoles, kiosks, televisions, virtual screens and more.

Swype is already a very popular keyboard alternative on the Android platform and with this jailbreak release, iOS users can now try it out for themselves. Restrictions by Apple have prevented Swype from being made officially available in the App Store; so developer Andrew Liu decided to port a version over to iOS.

As it is still in an early beta stage, some things don’t work fully, as of yet. Swype will only work in stock iOS apps and not third party apps. Also there is no blue line indicating where you are swiping on the keyboard. These and other features will be added very soon; according to Andrew.

To try out Swype, you need to add a new repository within Cydia (http://wynd.x10.mx) then install from there. Once installed you can then use the current keyboard normally or use the Swype method too.

I have been using it for the last hour and it seems to work very well, at least with everyday words. Names and other characters are hit and miss at best but as it is integrated with the stock keyboard, you can use both methods to get what you need quickly. All in all it is a nice keyboard to have at your disposal and one that will surely improve as features are added!

[@Andrew Liu via Modmyi]

The TW Cable app has just been updated by Time Warner and has added in some nice new features to an already impressive app -- but it now also blocks Jailbroken devices. So the good news is, you now have over 100 channels available to watch from within the app and also a remote DVR Manager for compatible cable boxes. The downside, if you decide to update and have a jailbroken iPad, the the app will block you from viewing any content.

TWCable TV is not supported on “jailbroken” devices. Please restore your iPad to factory defaults, then reinstall TWCable TV.

We can only imagine that Time Warner is trying to prevent jailbroken users from accessing its content in ways that are against its terms and conditions (i.e. the old "they'll steal our content!!" bit). However, it feels more like a of overly reactionary discrimination going on here against the majority of honest jailbreak and TW Cable users!

Apparently, there is a way to bypass the jailbreak check and get the app working on a jailbroken iPad. It involves manually installing a .deb file on your device. FSM has a post up explaining how to do it, so hit the link below if you want to give it a try.

[iTunes link, FSM, Thanks Matthew for the tip!]

If you have jailbroken your iPad with the recently released Jailbreakme exploit and use the official Apple Camera Connection Kit, you may have noticed that it no longer works. Apparently Comex knows all about the problem and will be issuing a fix for it today. The fix will enable you to use the Camera Connection Kit as normal and will also address some packages from Cydia that have had problems too.

According to Comex, if you are already jailbroken, the fix will be in the form of a download from Cydia. We assume then that it should be part of any new jailbreak in the future; but don’t quote us on that!

[@comex]

As expected, Apple is preparing a software update -- likely iOS 4.3.4 for most devices, iOS 4.2.9 for the Verizon iPhone -- to close the PDF exploit behind JailbreakMe.com. While JailbreakMe.com uses the exploit to Jailbreak current iOS firmware and install the Cydia app store, the same exploit could be used by a hacker to easily gain access to a user's device for malicious purposes.

Apple spokeswoman Trudy Muller said Thursday, “Apple takes security very seriously. We’re aware of this reported issue and developing a fix that will be available to customers in an upcoming software update.”

Currently, the only way to fix the vulnerability is to Jailbreak and install PDF Patcher 2.

[Washington Post]

JailbreakMe.com (third edition), which finally offers a Jailbreak for iPad 2 (and all other iOS devices on current firmware) has hit the 7 figure milestone:

Just passed 1,000,000 jailbreaks from http://t.co/hm5eSyO — be sure to share a link with your friends while it's still available!

Chris has a Jailbreakme.com tutorial posted if you need extra help, and our Jailbreak forums are always at your disposal.

(Though it's really easy to use. Took me only a few minutes, and half of that was filling out the donation form while I waited.)

[JailbreakMe.com, @chpwn]

Apple left  iOS 4.3.3 vulnerable to a PDF exploit, which allows JailbreakMe.com to jailbreak your iPhone. This takes place over the air via the Safari mobile browser. The good news is that you can close this hole very easily, once you have jailbroken your device. Just Jailbreak and then search Cydia for PDF Patcher 2 v1.0, this little tweak will make you secure from any potentially malicious hacks using the same hole as JailbreakMe.

Remember, In the wrong hands, this vulnerability could allow access to your device for other, more nefarious reasons. No doubt Apple will soon release an iOS update (4.3.4?) which will close this vulnerability for non-jailbroken devices but in the mean time this Jailbreak tweak will allow you to be more secure than the current, stock firmware.

[Cydia link]

That’s right folks, the waiting is now over -- JailbreakMe has now gone officially live, and the iPad 2 jailbreak we've been waiting for since March is finally here. Even better, JailbreakMe also supports the iPhone, original iPad, and the iPod touch runinng iOS 4.3.3. (And yes, it will also work on the Verizon iPhone running iOS 4.2.6 to 4.2.8.)

JailbreakMe is the easiest way to free your device. Experience iOS as it could be, fully customizable, themeable, and with every tweak you could possibly imagine. Safe and completely reversible (just restore in iTunes), jailbreaking gives you control over the device you own. It only takes a minute or two, and as always, it's completely free. Please make an iTunes backup before jailbreaking.

There are a few caveats, however, as the Dev-Team Blog points out:

Will I permanently lose the jailbreak if I need to restore my device? For all except the iPad2, saving your SHSH blobs should let you always restore your device to iOS versions where this jailbreak works. The iPad2 is a little more complicated. If you have a wifi-only iPad2 and saved SHSH blobs, you’re in good shape. But if you have the GSM or CDMA iPad2, you won’t be able to restore to 4.3.3 or lower once Apple stops signing its baseband. There are a few ideas that might work to get around this limitation, but for now it’s best to assume there’s no going back to 4.3.3 once 4.3.4 is out for iPad2 GSM or CDMA owners.

I heard this new unionfs stuff is dangerous? Define dangerous Seriously though, although unionfs is a huge improvement to the install time of the jailbreak, it is brand new code and there is the possibility something will go wrong. Just keep regular backups of your media and content and you should be fine. If there are any problems, they should appear within the first few days, so hold off and let “everyone else” test the waters if you’d like.

We've got your full JailbreakMe.com how-to tutorial ready and waiting. If you're new to Jailbreak, check out our Jailbreak starter guide and if you need extra help, head on over to our Jailbreak forums.

Now excuse me while I run off and Jailbreak my iPad 2...

[JailbreakMe, Dev-Team blog]

Still have a working original iPhone 2G or iPhone 3G (or an iPod touch 1 or 2) and wondering how to get iOS4 features like Multitasking, Folders or Tethering? If you're willing to Jailbreak with WhiteD00r, you can enable most of these new features with a simple install. We'll show you how after the break!

Steps

1. Head over to whited00r.com and select your device from the “firmware download” page.

2. Extract the .zip file (make sure that your unarchiver/unzip utility doesn’t extract the contents of the .ipsw as well!)

3. Plug your iPhone 2G, iPhone 3G, or iPod touch 1 or 2 into iTunes

4. Once detected, hold down the ALT (Mac OS X) or SHIFT (Windows) key, and then browse to unzipped .ipsw on your computer.

5. Be patient! It can take between 10 and 15 minutes for your iPhone or iPod to to activate.

6. That's it! You'll now be able to enjoy such features as Multitasking, Folders, custom wallpapers and more.

Additionally, your phone is now jailbroken, so you can install the vast library of Jailbreak apps.

Unfortunately, there are some things missing in WhiteD00r, like access to Game Center, the auto naming of Folders, your video camera comes in a separate app, and doesn’t save to the camera roll without some minor post-installation tweaks. However, for a unofficial hack, it works very well.

It certainly gave my old iPhone a new lease of life, and if you have any additional suggestions for getting more out of your old devices, let us know!

Tips of the day will range from beginner-level 101 to advanced-level ninjary. If you already know this tip, keep the link handy as a quick way to help a friend. If you have a tip of your own you'd like to suggest, add them to the comments or send them in to dailytips@tipb.com. (If it's especially awesome and previously unknown to us, we'll even give ya a reward...)

What's your name? David Ashman

What's your company's name? dba Technologies

Where are you located? Washington, DC

What's your website address? http://www.dba-technologies.com/

What's your Twitter name? @Stimpy5050 for general rambling, @LockInfo for LockInfo specific support and @dbaTechnologies for other dbaTech projects.

What apps do you make? LockInfo (+Plugins), Popup Blocker, WeatherIcon

What apps, other than your own, are currently among your favorites? TweetDeck, biteSMS, Reeder, WeekCal

How long have you been a developer? I started tinkering with programming on the Apple II with basic. I studied computer science in college and have been a working developer for the past 15 years.

How long have you been an iOS developer? I've only been developing in Objective-C and specifically on iOS for the past three years.

Do you develop for any other platform in addition to iOS? If so, which one(s)? I've been a Java developer for the last 15 years, mostly server-side, but some applets in the past. I also tinker in PHP (enough to be dangerous).

What primary computer setup do you use for your iOS development? My primary setup is a MacBook Pro i7 with 8GB of RAM. I generally plug that into a 30" Apple Cinema Display but I like the portability of the laptop when I want to sit in front of the TV instead.

What iOS device(s) do you personally use most often? I use an iPhone4 as my primary personal device (also for development). I use an iPad (1st gen) nearly daily for watching videos, note taking and general web surfing. I have another 4 iPhones that I use for development. I also have an AppleTV at home (does that count? ).

What mobile devices, other than iOS, do you currently use? I don't. Everything I have is iOS at this point.

What's your favorite thing about developing for iOS? The challenge of a tough problem to solve and the adrenaline rush from solving it. That holds true for any language or platform, but iOS has been particularly rewarding because it's new and different from the server-side work I've done in the past.

What's your least favorite thing about developing for iOS? Non-deterministic memory bugs. These are the bugs that are nearly impossible to reproduce, but when they happen, all hell breaks loose.

What feature would you most like Apple to add to the iOS SDK? I'd love to see Apple open up the Mail database APIs. The iOS mail app is fine, but I think that other developers could really come up with some great apps if they could get into there. I'd also like to see a widget API that would allow for more than static app icons on SpringBoard and a more usable lock screen natively in AppStore apps.

What feature would you most like Apple to add to the App Store? I'd like to see alternate profit-sharing models. The flat 30% Apple cut doesn't work for some projects.

If we were to eavesdrop on you while you were coding, what curse word would we hear you use the most? I prefer the f-word, personally.

What do you do when you're not coding iOS apps? When I'm not working on projects, I like to spend time with my family. I'm a bit of a TV addict and also like to go to concerts.

What should we look for from you next? I'm going back to my roots and spending some time on weather tweaks again. There's also quite a bit still to do with LockInfo. I'm also thinking about some official AppStore app ideas, but nothing concrete enough to really talk about at this point.

Thanks David!

FireCore has released an update to its aTV Flash (black) software that runs on jailbroken second generation Apple TV’s. The update includes a host of additional features like a brand new lightweight media player that has been specifically written for iOS devices.

The new media player will enable your second generation Apple TV to play a much wider array of media types without losing the simple Apple TV interface. Performance of HD content has also been greatly improved.

If you're already running a version of aTV Flash (black) the new Beta 6 version can be installed through the Maintenance --> Manage Extras menu on your Apple TV.

The full list of fixes and new features are detailed after the break.

[FireCore]

What's new in Beta6?

General

• Added show/hide options for standard AppleTV menus
• Added option to manually install if no AppleTVs are detected
• Improved auto-update disabling
• Improved installation error handling
• Minor UI adjustments

• Added new lightweight player
• Added recently played items to 'Top Shelf' in main menu
• Added Favorites to main menu
• Added option to manually mark files as watched/unwatched
• Added 'Test Connection' option for AFP/SMB shares
• Added support for DVD subtitles
• Added support for multiple DVD audio tracks
• Added basic support for M2TS files
• Improved overall video playback (especially HD video files)
• Improved thumbnail generation when cover art is not available
• Improved FF/RW controls
• Improved DVD menu and video playback
• Improved DVD playback progress reporting
• Improved memory management
• Improved AFP/SMB streaming
• Improved error handling for invalid files
• Resolved most video stuttering issues
• Resolved energy saver mode issue
• Resolved issue that resulted in some DVDs being displayed in (squished) 4x3 mode
• Resolved numerous DVD playback issues
• Resolved flickering when navigating through certain menus
• Resolved additional conflicts with XBMC
• Reduced number of network connections used
• Minor UI and other miscellaneous fixes

A new jailbreak tweak may soon allow you to run multiple iPhone apps on screen at the same time -- on your iPad. iOS hacker Aaron Ash has written a tweak that will allow you to do just that.

Yes, and it actually works! I’ve wasted plenty of time already playing 2 games of Angry Birds at the same time. (I actually was playing 3 for a while, but it crashed when I tried to add a 4th). There are a few bugs, such as audio not working, and accelerometer events not getting sent to applications; it may take a while to sort these out.

[AARON DOT MS, New York Jailbreak meet-up]

Jailbroken iOS 5 and curious how to get custom Notification Center widgets up and running? Right now, Apple has only included weather and stocks widgets and hasn't shown any signs of extending an API to 3rd party developers for building their own. However, as soon as iOS 5 was jailbroken a few developers started tinkering around and found it was rather easy to build their own custom widgets, and we're already starting to see some interesting things come out of developers. We'll show you how to add them to your custom Notification Center... after the jump!

To get started, first check out our iOS 5 jailbreak how to and then fire up Cydia. Note: these widgets are fairly new athere are still some bugs that need to be worked out, but for the most part they're interesting and useful.

The widgets we'll go over are developed by @qwertyoruiop, so you'll have to add his beta repo to get access. Just follow these quick steps to add the correct Cydia repository before getting started.

1. Open Cydia and tap the 'Manage' tab.
2. Tap 'Sources'
3. Tap 'Edit' in the top-right corner.
4. Tap 'Add' and input http://qwertyoruiop.com/beta/

The first widget is one I'd definitely suggest getting...

UISettings

UISettings is a great widget that offers most of your settings toggles right from within Notification Center. Much akin to SBSettings, UISettings lets you toggle WiFi or Bluetooth, respring, reboot, adjust brightness/volume and more. You swipe to reveal more toggles, and turning your WiFi or Bluetooth radios on/off is very fast.

The developer is actively working on improving UISettings and we're betting he'll keep up with Apple's iOS 5 betas as they roll out. The only issue (if you can even call it an "issue") is the icons used aren't the best looking, but they're currently a big step up from the initial release last week. We're also looking into the possibility of manually changing the icons via SSH and we'll have a guide up if we determine it's possible.

MusicCenter

MusicCenter offers now playing information in the Notification Center with playback options available by swiping to the left. It's great if you need more track identifier data over what's shown in the native app switcher when swiping left, and also comes with a Twitter option to tweet what's playing from the official Twitter for iPhone app.

I found the playback controls to be quite buggy, but I think it was more due to the button design than anything else. The playback control buttons are too small, making it difficult for those with larger thumbs to get the button press exact. Additional bugs were noticed after my iPhone crashed into safe mode when I tried to disable the widget, and in one case I had to completely reboot my iPhone after disabling it.

This one needs a little more work, but the concept is great for quickly getting to track information on what's currently playing without going into the Music app.

BatteryCenter

BetteryCenter is a very simple widget to display your current battery percentage. BatteryCenter shows a battery icon on the left and the percentage on the right. It will also tell you whether the device is charging or unplugged.

For most, this widget might seem useless since the information it displays is also included in the status bar. But for some, it serves a purpose if you don't want the percentage displayed on the status bar, as some status bar icons tend to get "pushed" out of the way when too many icons are being displayed (including the percentage indicator). I personally use BatteryCenter for this very reason, and have since disabled the battery percentage in the status bar since it's no longer needed. I also ran into zero bugs with this widget.

RSSWidget

RSSWidget is a simple RSS reader for Notification Center that displays a single RSS feed, letting you swipe between recent articles with the post's title and first few lines displayed. Tapping an article takes you straight into Mobile Safari to read the full post.

I noticed a few small bugs with this one as well, in that some RSS feeds with links in the first few lines get displayed as HTML code, making it difficult to read without going into Safari to view the full post. This is very noticeable on blog posts that start with a photo (see above image). I also had occasional crashes to safe mode when enabling or disabling the widget, similar to buggy behavior in MusicCenter.

This is a great widget for getting news at-a-glance or keeping up with your favorite RSS feed, but it also needs a little work. Follow these quick steps in order to change the RSS feed displayed.

1. Download iFile from Cydia (link)
2. Open iFile and navigate to /System/Library/WeeAppPlugins/RSSWidget.bundle/
3. Tap on com.idevhaice.rsswidget.plist and open with the Text Viewer
4. Get into editing mode by tapping 'Edit' in the top-right corner
5. Scroll down until you find http://www.9to5mac.com/feed and replace the pre-existing address with your favorite feed. For quick reference, our feed is http://feeds.feedburner.com/theiphoneblog

It would be nice if there was a shortcut setting to change the RSS feed a little quicker, but for now you'll have to do it through iFile or via SSH.

That's it! These new Notification Center widgets are looking good, and there's more to come from other great jailbreak developers. If we left anything out, or if you know of other cool Notification Center widgets for iOS 5 then let us know in the comments!

Tips of the day will range from beginner-level 101 to advanced-level ninjary. If you already know this tip, keep the link handy as a quick way to help a friend. If you have a tip of your own you’d like to suggest, add them to the comments or send them in to news@tipb.com. (If it’s especially awesome and previously unknown to us, we’ll even give ya a reward…)

At WWDC 2011 Apple once again "borrowed" a lot of great ideas from the Jailbreak community and gave them to iOS 5, including lock screen info, notifications, WiFi sync, volume buttons to take pictures, and a lot more. That's not a bad thing -- I even asked them to do exactly that this year. Whether you jailbreak or not, whether you realize it or not, the jailbreak community benefits all iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad users -- pure and jailbreak alike.

Follow along to find out why.

For years, the common argument against Jailbreak (aside from the DMCA, from which Jailbreak was granted an exception last year) was stability -- it could make your iPhone buggier, slower, or crash more. The jailbreak argument is typically functionality -- it could let your iPhone do far more than Apple does out of the box. The great news, and the real secret here is, everyone benefits from Jailbreak.

Jailbreak to iOS

Over the years, several jailbreak applications and tweaks have slowly trickled down the pipe and found themselves becoming a core function of iOS at some point or another. For old school jailbreakers, they'll remember Installer fondly. Installer just recently made its way back to iOS as well. It truly was the first official App Store. I remember downloading games and programs to my iPhone first gen through installer on iOS 1.x via Installer and AppTap. Then Apple came along with iOS 2.x and the official App Store. Installer even had page dots when you accumulated more than one page of apps. This was an idea that went straight to iOS 2.0. It wasn't a similar concept, it simply appeared in iOS 2.x with the exact same functionality.

While Apple practices a pretty rigorous app approval process, the jailbreak app stores continues to allow developers to submit applications that Apple would not allow in the official App Store. A lot of would be rejects seem to find their way into iOS as core features later on.

Prime examples of this are jailbreak apps such as MobileNotifier, which looks strikingly like the notification system Apple showed off at WWDC 2011. Coincidentally, Apple recently hired Peter Hajas as an iOS and frameworks employee.

Other developers such as Greg Hughes, the creator of Wifi Sync, have also seen their applications later crop up in iOS. His iteration of Wifi Sync is very simliar to Apple's newly announced iCloud wireless sync and backup feature that's slated to appear this Fall in iOS 5. His version of the app was rejected by Apple previously.

Creativity and innovation

Since the release of the first generation iPhone, the mobile industry has come a long way. A huge part of that was due to the fact that the first generation iPhone was not like anything currently on the market. It lit a fire underneath other manufacturers such as Palm and RIM (ok, maybe not RIM so much). We also got Android out of Google which has become one of the hottest smartphone platforms on the market.

The jailbreak community is full of young and talented developers that more often than not, land jobs at these companies or create programs and tweaks that eventually become the heart and soul of each respective platform. Whether Apple gives it to us or not, the jailbreak community always seems to find a way to make it possible. I have yet to see a company produce a device that meets every consumer's wants and needs. Some may argue that's why we have choice. While that's very true, we still crave a mobile OS that will fill our every need. While that may not yet be possible, independent developers strive to innovate and provide unique solutions through other channels. These innovations eventually crop up in official releases which are then built upon even further.

Jailbreak developers have the ability to create individual solutions. Apple has the ability to refine those even further and produce a product that benefits mainstream users in a way that even the most novice user can understand. So while jailbreak may not be for everyone, a lot of the innovation and creativity is already done by the time Apple decides to refine it and slap an "i" in front of it.

And the cycle continues...

Even if iOS 5 has everything you could possibly want in a mobile OS, next year Steve Jobs will walk on stage again and unveil that "next great thing", and you'll want it. Odds are, the jailbreakers out there already have it in their hands. We are, in some ways, beta testers. David Ashman, creator of LockInfo, has already stated he'll be back next year with an even greater version of LockInfo. Independent developers won't take it lying down. They'll simply bow and accept the challenge laid in front of them with more excitement and motivation than the last time around.

So whether or not you plan to jailbreak the next iteration of iOS, you can rest assured Steve Jobs and all the folks up at Cupertino already have.

Jailbreaker iH8tsn0w has announced the availability of sn0wbreeze 2.8b1 which will jailbreak iOS 5 beta 1 for the following devices:

• iPhone 4 (AT&T/GSM)
• iPhone 4 (Verizon)
• iPhone 3GS
• iPod Touch 4
• iPod Touch 3
• iPad 1

iPad 2, of course, is not yet supported. Also important to note, this is a tethered Jailbreak and is for developers only, it will not hacktivate or otherwise circumvent UDID checks. So if you haven't given Apple your $99, you need not apply.

If you are a developer interested in Jailbreaking to, for example, experiment with making your own widget, and you decide to give sn0wbreeze a try, let us know how it works for you.

[@iH8sn0w, hat tip to iJailbreak]

iOS developer @WillFour20 recently discovered that creating widgets for the new Notification Center in iOS 5 is possible, hinting at custom widgets from the jailbreak community down the road.

The way it works is rather simple: you can compile a custom widget by creating a class that implements the BBWeeAppController protocol which allows you to have the widget launch local apps when tapped, manipulate its height, set rotation detection, etc. This can work with stock iOS apps as well as App Store apps, with custom widget bundles being stored in the /System/Library/WeeAppPlugins/ directory.

As a basic example, you could create a custom widget to list recently created notes in a snippet view, and when a note is tapped it will take you directly to the Notes app. In theory, there's also the possibility of nesting WiFi, 3G, bluetooth and other toggles in the Notification Center (similar to SBSettings).

Apple currently has weather and stock widgets available in the iOS 5 beta but hasn't mentioned anything about extending a widget API to 3rd party developers, so this is a good sign the jailbreak community may come to the rescue by allowing additional functionality within the Notification Center.

Are you looking forward to custom Notification Center widgets in iOS 5? Let us know what you think in the comments!

[@WillFour20, github]

Here is a tip for Jailbreakers on how to hide apps -- like Apple's built in and impossible to delete weather and stocks -- easily with the Poof tweak that comes built into your SBSettings. SBSettings is a free tweak from the Cydia app store that will do just that. Hit the jump to find out how to get it on your device.

Setup

1. Launch Cydia from your jailbroken device.
2. In Cydia, search "SBSettings"
3. Download the tweak from Cydia.

How to use

1. Launch the tweak from your device by sliding your finger across the top status bar.

2. Select the More button.
3. Select the Hide Icons button.

4. Select which icons you would like to hide.

5. Respring your device.

**Bonus Tip: If you're not Jailbroken, you can't delete built in app but you can hide them in folders and consign them to distant home screen.

Any other icon tips to share? Leave them in the comments!

Tips of the day will range from beginner-level 101 to advanced-level ninjary. If you already know this tip, keep the link handy as a quick way to help a friend. If you have a tip of your own you’d like to suggest, add them to the comments or send them in to news@tipb.com. (If it’s especially awesome and previously unknown to us, we’ll even give ya a reward…)

Prominent iPhone hacker i0n1c revealed in a tweet yesterday that the untethered jailbreak he created has been fixed in iOS 5.

R.I.P. – I just heard Apple killed the ndrv_setspec() integeroverflow and his friends in iOS 5.0b1 – if this is true the untether is dead

It was discovered yesterday that the tethered jailbreak in limera1n worked perfectly in iOS 5 with Cydia running smoothly, but for those hoping the untether from i0n1c would work, it looks like those dreams have been put to rest.

This doesn't mean another untethered jailbreak won't be discovered, although the jailbreak community most likely wouldn't release it until the iPhone 5 is available to prevent Apple from finding the exploit and patching it at the hardware level.

Would you be open to using a tethered jailbreak with iOS 5 or would you stick with iOS 4 until an untethered jailbreak is available?

Last night Musclenerd posted a tweet saying that iOS 5 has indeed been jailbroken using the limera1n exploit. In his tweet he posted a picture of an iPod touch 4 Springboard with the Cydia icon placed nicely on it.

The full jailbreak story after the break!

The Apple keynote ended less than 24 hours ago, and the iOS 5 beta dropped to developers in even less time and the devs have already managed to jailbreak the firmware. According to @musclenerd, Cydia runs smoothly. This, however, is a tethered jailbreak and there is no word on when the tool will be released. So, if you are already jailbroken on a previous firmware, stay there, do not upgrade to iOS 5 beta 1 if you like your current jailbreak.

What do you all think of this? The jailbreak came quick, but do you think Apple will fill the hole in a new beta of iOS 5? Let us know in the comments.

David Ashman is the developer behind LockInfo, the popular notification and lock screen information app for Jailbreak -- and he's just seen Apple add their own version of both those features to iOS 5. So how does he feel about that, and what does it mean for the future of LockInfo?

Check out the video above, shot at WWDC 2011 the day after the keynote to see what he says. (Spoiler: While Apple may fill the needs of casual users, LockInfo is going to make the pros very, very happy for a long time to come.)

[LockInfo]