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.

Installer 4.0 is now available in Cydia and is compatible with iOS 4.3.x firmware and below. Installer was the first jailbreak app store, back before Apple even announced the official App Store, but disappeared when RipDev stopped developing it. Cydia quickly came along to fill the gap, but now the Infini-Dev team has brought it back.

Yesterday we had success “porting” Installer to 4.3.3 and below. Installer works with a different system than Cydia, thats why you won’t be able to add a Cydia repo into installer. As we speak we are working on a new community source for installer only, which means you will be able to install things via installer.

We could use help, you may help us by submitting apps that where hosted by installer, or apps that have the installer structure. Or by making apps with a installer structure.

To get Installer on your iPhone just add http://fr0stdev.co.cc/repo to your repo list in Cydia. The apps available are few and far between right now, so using Installer isn’t going to be a great experience until more contributions are made and a new community source is up and running.

When we tested Installer we ran into a MobileSubstrate issue so we had to run it in Safe Mode, and the landing page also presented us with a 403 error. So it looks like they’ve got a few bugs to hammer out. Still, it’s nice to have options. Let us know if it’s working any better for you in the comments!

[Infini-Dev via Redmond Pie]

Cydia may be getting some competition from a new browser-based alternative called Lima. The development team behind the jailbreak installer, named Infini Dev Team, says the new package installer will be fully functional from Mobile Safari and let users install unapproved 3rd party apps and extensions just like Cydia.

Lima is going to be a browser-based dpkg Installer. Meaning all you have to do is visit a website in safari and you have a fully fucntional package installer!

The Infini Dev Team recently put out a working version of Icy, a Cydia alternative from Rip Dev that hasn’t been in development for some time now. Icy was a fast, lightweight package installer that many users preferred over Cydia, and Infini Dev is apparently taking a very stripped-down approach with Lima as well. We’re not exactly sure how the technology behind Lima works or when it will be available, but things appear to be functioning as described. Check out the video after the break to see Lima in action!

Would you be open to the idea of a browser-based package installer, or would you rather stick with Cydia as a long-trusted option? Let us know in the comments!

[Infini Dev Team]

I’m starting to think I really do have clout around this interweb thing (I can dream)

First, Installer.app received a search feature after I complained about the lack of it in my review. Now, my other complaint, the slight hesitation after installing new programs that sends you back to your unlock screen, has been fixed. It now quickly relaunches your Home Screen to seamlessly load the newly downloaded programs, which essentially makes Installer.app and its functions even more integrated into the iPhone.

Other noteworthy items in the update include the ability to refresh one source at a time and a search feature in the Uninstall category. Now in v3.11, Installer.app is becoming a powerhouse of a program and perhaps the most integrated native app that jailbreaking has to offer.

Installer.app is automatically installed when you jailbreak your iPhone with iLiberty+ or ZiPhone.

Can’t wait any longer for Native Apps? Me neither. (Late) June seems too far away? I’m with you. So why wait, when you can jailbreak! Over the next couple months before 2.0 is released, I’ll give you guys a glimpse into the jailbroken world of native apps every week. If we don’t find anything life-changing, hopefully we’ll learn a few things along the way. Plus: let’s face it, Jailbreaking isn’t going anywhere. The SDK is awesome, but some people won’t settle for anything less than full-on access to all the hidden bits of the iPhone.

Today, we start with another look at the ever-evolving program that is Installer.app. Developed by the guys at Nullriver, Installer.app is the first app you see after jailbreaking. Its main goal is to serve as an outlet for all the rest of the iPhone’s native apps and it has come a long way since we first showed you how to use it. Does it succeed? Is it effective? Can Apple learn something from Installer.app?

Read on for the rest of the review! (and remember you’ll need a Jailbroken iPhone to take advantage of this native app)

One of the biggest arguments against the iPhone is the lack of native apps available for it. Because of the closed nature of the iPhone, many people argued that it can’t truly be considered a smartphone. To many, a smartphone isn’t a smartphone until you have apps that can make that phone, well, smarter. Which makes sense, why have a tool as powerful as the iPhone if you can’t really utilize it? That’s where jailbreaking steps in. After jailbreaking, the Installer.app is displayed on your Home Screen and with just one touch, your iPhone gets even smarter.

Purpose

In short, Installer.app is a program manager, software updater, and downloader in one piece of software. You download programs, install programs, update programs, and uninstall programs in a one-stop shop. It’s like combining the best parts of Finder, iTunes, and VersionTracker into one. The embedded tabbed nature of the program allows one to fluidly jump from one task to another without any hiccups.

Design & Layout

I’m a sucker for well-designed icons on my iPhone. It annoys me to no end when a site’s web clip is poorly constructed or even worse, non-existent. I know, we can design our own, but I would still much rather have those developers create a good-looking icon for me. Good icons = more clicking. Luckily, the Installer.app icon is a thing of beauty. With a Safari-esque blue, the icon looks very much a part of the Apple family.

The layout of the program is simplistically and stylishly designed and creates a streamline look with the rest of the iPhone’s pre-installed programs (iPod, iTunes Store, etc). The folks at Nullriver did a great job in creating Installer to look as if Apple had created it themselves. From the spacing to the tab structure, Installer.app is as clean and easy to use as any program on the iPhone.

In the latest iteration, the Installer.app opens with a list of Featured programs, similar to how the iTunes Wi-Fi store opens with Featured Songs. There is a black row of tabs, again taking obvious design cues from the iTunes Wi-Fi Store, that displays buttons for: Featured, Install, Update, Uninstall, and Sources.

Usage

The whole user experience of Installer is very straightforward and extremely easy-to-use. Even for the unsavviest of iPhone owners, finding apps should be a cinch because of the great categorization of the apps. Clicking on the Install tab would provide categories that apps will be in such as:

• Recent Packages
• Games
• Multimedia
• Network
• Productivity
• System
• Themes
• Utilities
• Wallpaper

..and many more. From my personal experience, carrier app stores like those in other phones are extremely cumbersome and slow, the Installer.app is quick to use, easy to learn, and very, very fluid. I have had no issues of crashing, freezing, or anything of that sort. From the looks of it, Installer.app is as stable as they come.

Once you find a program that piques your interest, all it takes is one click and it’ll automatically download and install to your iPhone. Installer.app warns you if some programs are not from ‘trusted sources’, but from my experience, those prompts are not as serious as it sounds. Installer.app also provides short descriptions on native apps that give you a better idea on what the app offers.

If you can’t find the program you want, you might have to add sources. I’ll provide you with a rough analogy to explain what that means, so bear with me here, if Installer.app was a Mall, Sources would be the stores that fill up that Mall, and Apps would be the items that make up that Store. All across the web there are great Sources that could be added to Installer.app which leads to many more native apps that can be downloaded to your iPhone.

The great thing about sources is that you can personalize the Installer.app to consist of what you want it to consist of. Using the same analogy, Installer.app is your personal Mall for iPhone. Once you click on the Sources button, you can Add and Delete Sources for the Installer.app to check for their programs. Thus, if you find a few developers that make great programs, you can add them and if you find some developers you never download from, you can delete them. This personalization is very useful in keeping the junk away from your Installer.app and bringing the best programs to the forefront.

Uninstalling is just as easy as Installing. You tap the Uninstall tab, and find the native app you don’t want anymore, and tap Uninstall on the screen.

Installer.app’s speed on Wi-Fi is expectedly, incredibly fast. Programs download in mere seconds and sources are updated just as fast. EDGE does well considering most native app sizes are measured in the KB’s, but you might want to stay away from larger sized files until you have a Wi-Fi connection.

Criticism

An annoyance I found in Installer.app is that once you have downloaded new programs and exit Installer, it’ll hesitate a little on your Home Screen and then bring you back to your unlock screen. This is probably because it has to re-set your Home Screen in order to load the new apps but it is an annoyance nonetheless. If Installer.app could ever figure out a way to integrate programs as seamlessly as web clips, who would even need an App Store!

Also, I found that like all the other iPhone programs pre-installed, the Installer.app has a definite need for integrated search. In the days of Google and Spotlight, search has re-defined the way we find things and open programs. With a search engine, it’d be much easier to more efficiently find programs than having to peruse the categories for that one single app.

Final Thoughts

When the App Store in 2.0 is released, it will already need to catch up to Installer.app because Installer.app is just that good. As if it was made from the folks from Cupertino themselves, the Installer.app’s design and user interface is streamline with the rest of the iPhone’s first-party applications.

I loved the ease of use and overall design, anyone who opens up Installer.app can more or less figure out how to work with it. I can’t imagine what the future App Store will look like because it’s difficult to imagine it any different from what Installer.app already is.

Though the Installer.app has come a long way, adding features like search and finding a better solution in loading programs to your Home Screen are all issues that should be fixed in the next couple of iterations. Having just taken the first steps into the jailbreaking world, I am convinced that the Installer.app is a good enough reason to jump over. There are few apps as polished and even fewer that provide the type of user-interface the iPhone was created for.

Pros

• Great User Interface
• Streamline Design
• Ability to Personalize Installer
• Easy to Learn
• Native Apps Galore!

Cons

• Awkward Refresh of Home Screen After Installing Programs
• Could Use a Search Feature

Overall: 4.9/5