UPDATE: There was a minor uproar in the iPhone developer community (yup, again!) when some felt that this patent "ripped off" Intelliscreen. Ars Technica points out, however, that this patent was originally filed before the iPhone was even jailbroken, and hence before Intelliscreen came out.

ORIGINAL:

We have YAAPA! (Yet Another Apple Patent Application!) This one, brought to us by Apple Insider, outlines Global Preferences Dialogs and Improved Notification of Missed Communications, or what is essentially a Today Screen for the iPhone:

"In response to detecting an interaction by a user with the device, the plurality of icons display notification information for the plurality of communication modalities," the filing explains. "In response to detecting an unlock interaction by the user with the device, the device is unlocked, and a communication in the plurality of communications is presented that was received while the device was in the locked state, or information about the communication is presented."

Of course, Windows Mobile has had this for years, and it's pretty much the only thing I really still miss about that platform (don't tell Dieter!). Likewise, iPhone Jailbreakers, have been enjoying this for a while now via Intelliscreen.

For the rest of us, all this same information, has been kept each piece in its own separate little world divided by countless taps and swipes. So the idea of an information rich, at-a-glance summation of my most recent communications and upcoming activities? Now please.

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 weeks before 2.0 is released, I’ll give you guys a glimpse into the jailbroken world of native apps every week. 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.

In this week’s edition, we’ll take a look at a nifty little program called IntelliScreen. The idea behind this native app is smart, it creates a ‘Today’ screen for your iPhone’s unlock screen. Much like certain layout options in Windows Mobile and Blackberry, Intelliscreen offers a quick look at your calendar, mail, SMS, news, and weather. How well does this native app perform? Does it offer a great feature for users?

Read on for the rest of the review!

How to Install:

• Add Source: Intelliborn.com/repo
• Open Category: Intelliborn
• Install: IntelliScreen
• This particular program requires a reboot of your iPhone in order to properly function 

Design

However, the overall design of the native app leaves a lot more to be desired. The bubbles are decent at best, but because the screen doesn’t entirely replace the wallpaper, it looks very cluttered. Also, it would help if the bubbles were different from one another or if they replace the bubbles altogether. In this current version, the layout lacks the stylistic cues that make apps on the iPhone go ‘boom’.

Usability

There are also simple touches that I enjoy, like if you see something interesting in any of the bubbles, all you have to do is slide your finger to bring up a ‘Launch Mail/Safari/Calendar’ button. This feature is great to immediately access your Mail or quickly read up on whatever news you found interesting. Also, the program notifies you of updates within the program, which is quite different from other jailbreaking apps which only notify you through Installer.app.

A great feature to implement into Intelliscreen would be a to-do list. I could imagine IntelliScreen using a jailbroken app for its to-do list and to display in one of the bubbles.

I can’t fully recommend this program because it is still in the beta stages and still quite buggy. Though a simple reset of the iPhone did the trick, many users should be aware of the potential screen freezes. Most of the bugs occurred when I was trying to capture a screenshot of the program but there were still a few issues in daily use. Also, my battery seemed to drain a tick bit faster than it usually does, so proceed with caution.

Final Thoughts

This native app is a feature that is included with almost every other smartphone. This current beta iteration can be forgiven for its flaws in stabilitiy and boring design, but when it officially releases I can fully see this being one of the most popular jailbreak apps. When all the kinks get worked out, this may be the ‘killer app’ that iPhone users have been waiting for.

PROS

• Integrated with iPhone’s Apps
• Customizable to your Preference
• Great Idea
• Simple, Straightforward Settings

• Still Too Buggy (in beta)
• Doesn’t Play Well With Some Jailbroken Apps
• Very Average, Boring Design

Overall Rating: 3.75/5*

*Once the bugs are fixed, IntelliScreen has the potential to become THE app that convinces people to jailbreak