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

With the launch of the Mobile Nations Fitness Month odds are you were probably out and about being active and doing things that, unfortunately, led to you missing some great news. Fear not, we know things get in the way, and news can be easy to miss so, let’s check out some of the highlights from the week gone by.

iPhone news

• Is Apple testing Oracle’s ZFS file system to make iOS and iCloud storage better, faster, and more resilient?
• Former Apple manager tells how the original iPhone was developed, why it went with Gorilla Glass
• iPhone 4S demand finally satisfied, all models now in stock for next day delivery
• iPhone 5 to launch at WWDC in June, claims analyst

iPad news

• Could Apple release a separate 4G LTE iPad 3 and Phone 5 in select markets?
• Supposed debug leak shows iPad 3 with quad-core A6 chip and LTE
• More rumors of iPad 3 coming in March, but no “strange” event in February

App news

• Manage your Sprint account on your iPhone with Sprint Mobile Zone
• Angry Birds boss doesn’t see app piracy as a problem
• Pad & Quill brings stylish notes to your iPhone and iPad
• iMovie vs Avid Studio: iPad video editing app shootout

Jailbreak news

• How to tell if your iPhone 3GS has an older or newer bootrom [jailbreak tip]
• Add customization options to ‘slide to unlock’ text with Slider Pro [Jailbreak]
• BiteSMS vs Messages+ for iOS 5: which should you use?
• Add launch preferences to Phone.app with StartDial for iPhone [jailbreak]
• Hands-on with Zephyr for the iPhone and iPod Touch [Jailbreak Apps]

Accessory news

• Hands on with the Crimson cases, sticker skins, and edgings for iPhone
• Case-Mate POP! Case with Stand for iPad 2 review [Giveaway]
• Incipio Hive Honeycomb dermaSHOT Silicone Case for iPad 2 review [Giveaway]
• Griffin Crayola Trace & Draw for iPad 2 review [Giveaway]
• OverBoard waterproof case for iPad review [Giveaway]

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!

We’ve blown through a ton of content this week so if you happened to miss out on anything, make sure you jump back a page or six and get yourself caught up. If you’re looking to talk more, head on into the iMore forums and hang out! You can register now to get started today and while you’re at it, check out some of the threads below:

• iPhone 4S delay when answering calls?
• Anywhere to get good iPhone 4 replacement parts?
• What web browser do you use?
• Why aren’t Game Center games synced between devices?
• Jailbreak terms A-Z
• February fitness month has begun, anyone want to win an iPad 3?

If you’re not already a member of the iMore Forums, register now!

We have only 6 days left to help keep the jailbreaking exemption to the U.S. DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) alive and well, and we need everyone’s help to do it. The jailbreaking exemption was granted by the Library of Congress in 2010 but not codified into the law, meaning it’s set to expire now, unless the copyright office extends it.

If the jailbreak exemption is not extended, then modifying your iPhone or iPad could be considered a violation of the DMCA, and companies could theoretically sue or press charges against jailbreakers. We think the right to modify our phones for personal use, provided we take personal responsibility for the risks involved, is an important one and deserves protection. The EFF (Electronic Frontier Fund) thinks the same, which is why they’re fighting to get the exemption renewed, and are also pushing for tablets and game consoles in general to be included as well. iFixit.org recently spoke to the EFF about where things stand now:

iFixit: Has the Copyright Office made any comments on jailbreaking since the 2010 smartphone exemption? How likely do you think it is that they’ll renew that exemption? Why have exemptions for smartphones but not game consoles and tablets?

EFF: The CO hasn’t made any public comments that we are aware of. We are very hopeful that the smartphone exemption will be renewed, and we think extending it to game consoles and tablets is the logical next step.

bunnie: My understanding is that the CO is fairly conservative about granting such exemptions, so tightly scoping the exemption request increases the chances that the result has real impact. A broad request to exempt large swathes of technology from the DMCA would likely be denied; and such a denial would waste the infrequent window of opportunity to have such requests examined. Therefore, an incremental approach is being taken, allowing the CO to try small changes and become comfortable with them. Note that the request to the CO splits smartphone/tablets and game consoles into separate categories, so that the CO can have the flexibility to reject or accept individual categories.

The interview goes on to discuss the impact the DMCA has had on modifying gaming consoles and the rest of the jailbreak and homebrew communities. Sony, for example, infamously sued well-known iPhone jailbreaker George Hotz, aka Geohot when he jailbroke the Sony Playstation 3.

You can hit the link below to read the whole interview. We also urge you to sign bunnie’s petition and leave your own comments if you’d like to see the exception renewed. He plans to take all the signatures and comments to the Copyright office on February 10th at 5pm.

Remember, there are only 6 days left. Whether you jailbreak or not, if the legal right to jailbreak your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad is important to you, act now.

Source: ifixit.org; Petition: jailbreakingisnotacrime.org

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

Absinthe, the untethered jailbreak utility for iPad 2 and iPhone 4S has been updated to version 0.4 bringing compatibility with Leopard as well as a few other bug fixes.

• Mac: added support for OSX 10.5, PPC and Intel CPU
• added consistency check on startup to make sure required files are in place
• Windows: fixed bug in payload generator that might cause a crash

If you are already jailbroken on iOS 5 or iOS 5.0.1 on your iPhone 4S or iPad 2 there isn’t a need to re-jailbreak with the latest update. This update seems to address issues with the process itself opposed with issues on board the device.

In any case, it’s good to see the jailbreak “dream team” hard at work to bring Absinthe to more users after it saw wide adoption after initial release.

If you’re looking for even more tweaks and utilities to install, check out our guide to the best jailbreak applications for iOS 5 as well as the other jailbreak resources below. You can grab the new version of Absinthe from our downloads section as well.

More jailbreak resources:

• Jailbreaks guides, news, and how to’s
• Jailbreak apps, hacks, and themes
• General jailbreak and unlock help forums
• iMore downloads page

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

We’ve rolled through this week and now we’re heading on into the weekend, we’re gathering up plenty of MacWorld coverage for you all so you’ll want to stay tuned for that.  You can register now to get started today and while you’re at it, check out some of the threads below:

• iPhone 4S Forum: Keep getting failure exclamations!
• iPhone 4 Forum: 16GB vs 32GB – The space argument
• iCloud Forum: Picasa to iCloud Help
• iPad Apps and Games Forum: Tweetbot vs. Tweetcaster
• Jailbreak and Unlock Forum Help with Jailbreak-Absinthe crashes

If you’re not already a member of the iMore Forums, register now!

Need help figuring out what the best apps and tweaks are for your newly jailbroken iPhone? Cydia can be overwhelming if you’re not sure where to start. Whether you’re jailbreaking to theme or add more functionality, we’ll have you on your way to becoming a jailbreak ninja in no time.

Quick toggles and gestures

Utilities like Activator and SBSettings should be at the very top of any jailbreaker’s list. Who likes to tap all the way into Settings to disable Wifi or 3G? I know I don’t when I can just use SBSettings to disable it with two taps from virtually anywhere on my iPhone.

SBSettings has a limitless amount of toggles available in Cydia and can be customized and tweaked until your heart’s content. If you want a quick toggle to turn off SMS alerts, you’ve got it. It also allows you to monitor free memory and clear it out. All with a simple swipe on your status bar.

Activator is also a staple in the jailbreak world when it comes to accessing information and applications quickly. You may already have it and not know it. A lot of jailbreak applications and utilities require it. The main function of Activator is to allow you to set gestures for different functions. For example, I double tap on my status bar and a quick reply window for BiteSMS pops up. I can set virtually any gesture I want for any application that supports Activator gestures (a lot of the popular ones do).

SBSettings and Activator are must have utilities for any jailbreaker. They’re typically the very first items I install on my jailbroken devices.

SBSettings – Free – Cydia Search Link

Activator – Free – Cydia Search Link

Notification enhancement applications

While iOS 5 added a ton of enhancements to the way notifications are handled and presented, Apple still left a lot of room for improvement. This is where apps like LockInfo and IntelliscreenX step in to give you even more control over how notifications are handled.

I’ve never been a fan of how iOS 5 discards notifications from the lockscreen immediately after unlocking. I like them to stay there until I dismiss them myself. LockInfo and IntelliscreenX both allow this behavior. You also have the ability to add widgets and other information to your lockscreen and notification center (called Infoshade in LockInfo). IntelliscreenX takes it one step further and adds a “top shelf” that allows you to add quick toggles you can access with a quick swipe down on notification center. This is a convenient place to stick SBSettings.

LockInfo also allows you to access your favorite contacts directly from the Infoshade or lockscreen. Both apps are great notification enhancers but they differ in some areas and feature sets. Choose the one that’s personally right for you. To help you decide which one may appeal to you more, you can check out our LockInfo vs IntelliscreenX comparison.

LockInfo – $7.99 w/ free trial – Cydia Search Link

IntelliscreenX – $9.99 w/ free trial – Cydia Search Link

Text message enhancements

While multitasking in iOS 4 made switching between applications a lot easier, you still have to completely exit whatever you’re doing to reply to a text message. Apps like BiteSMS and Messages+ aim to close that gap with quick reply functionality. Instead of having to exit out of an app a quick reply keyboard pops up, you type your message, away it goes, and you’re back to whatever you were doing before without interruption.

If you’ve purchased IntelliscreenX, you also get a license for Messages+ as well. While there are other quick messaging applications available in Cydia, BiteSMS and Messages+ are the best of the best. BiteSMS allows you to purchase credits as well if you don’t want to pay text messaging fees. It can add up to be a lot cheaper than text messaging plans.

BiteSMS – Free or $9.99 (ad free) – Cydia Search Link

Messages+ – $7.99 (free w/ IntelliscreenX purchase) – Cydia Search Link

Theming your iPhone

If you want to customize the look and feel of your iPhone, there are thousands of free and paid themes in Cydia. You can also choose from a few different utilities to theme. Some themes may require Winterboard while others will require Dreamboard. There are also applications like Theme It available in Cydia that aim to bring the best of the best themes straight to your iPhone all in one place.

If you don’t necessarily want an all in one theme but still want to customize to your liking, you can check out Springtomize 2. Springtomize 2 allows you to customize individual aspects of your iPhone’s overall appearance. There are tons of add-ons and built-in options to choose from. If you tend to be more picky, Springtomize 2 is probably a better bet as it offers far more control.

Winterboard – Free – Cydia Search Link

Dreamboard – Free – Cydia Search Link

Springtomize 2 (iOS 5+) – $2.99 – Cydia Search Link

Extras

If you’re looking for tweaks that just make your iPhone that much cooler when jailbroken, here’s some extra tweaks we’ve found that are just cool in general.

Cyntact

Adds contact pictures to your address book next to each contact.

$0.99 – Cydia Search Link

BlurriedNCBackground

Blurs the background of notification center. Nothing to configure and doesn’t add any additional icons.

Free – Cydia Search Link

Shrink

Change the default size of icons in your dock and on your homescreen. I find this particularly useful if you have a background you’d like to see without huge icons being in your way.

$1.49 – Cydia Search Link

Barrel

Add cool transitions when tabbing through pages on your springboard. Make your icons roll, fall away, and more.

$2.99 – Cydia Search Link

If you’ve got any cool tweaks or utilities you think beginner’s would benefit from be sure to let us know! This is just the beginning of what you can do with a jailbroken iPhone.

Additional resources:

• How-to jailbreak guides
• Jailbreak apps, hacks, and themes forum
• General jailbreak and unlock forum
• Cydia repositories list
• iMore downloads section
• Jailbreak troubleshooting guide

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

Rene, Georgia, and Seth talk Apple’s massive Q1 2012 financial results, go over the iPhone 4S and iPad 2 Absinthe jailbreak, and discuss the latest iPhone 5 and iPad 3 rumors. This is iPhone & iPad Live!

• Subscribe via iTunes: Audio | Video
• Subscribe via RSS: Audio | Video
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• Show notes

Hosts

• Rene Ritchie (@reneritchie)
• Leanna Lofte (@llofte)
• Seth Clifford (@sethclifford)

Credits

You can reach all of us on Twitter @iMore, or you can email us at podcast@imore.com, or leave a comment on the website when the show goes live.

We’re here every Wednesday night at 6pm Pacific, 9pm Eastern, 2am GMT, and our new companion show, Apps and Accessories Live is on Sundays, same Bat Time, same Bat Channel — at www.imore.com/live

For all our podcasts — audio and video — including ZENandTECH and Superfunctional, Iterate and Girls Gone Gadgets and more… see www.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 iPhone and iPad Accessory Store for sponsoring the podcast, and to everyone who showed up for the live chat!

Mid-week and the Apple news is rolling as we head in into Mac World. We’ll be there bringing you the best Mac World has to offer, so make sure you follow along with us both here on the blogs and in the iMore Forums. You can register now to get started today and while you’re at it, check out some of the threads below:

• iPhone 4S Forum: Phone no longer charging?
• iPhone 4 Forum: How to stop incoming email from interrupting music
• iCloud Forum: Contacts not showing in iCloud
• iPad Apps and Games Forum: Which calendar app is the best for iOS?
• Jailbreak and Unlock Forum Random apps appearing?

If you’re not already a member of the iMore Forums, register now!

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

The EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation) is asking for your help to tell the U.S. Copyright Office that jailbreaking does not violate the DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act), and its exemption should be continued and expanded.

In 2010, the Copyright Office said jailbreaking smartphones doesn’t violate the DMCA. This year, we’re asking them to renew that exemption (otherwise it will expire) and expand it to cover tablets. We’re also asking for a new exemption to allow jailbreaking of video game consoles.

The Library of Congress added the exception for jailbreak to the DMCA in July of 2010. Specifically:

Computer programs that enable wireless telephone handsets to execute software applications, where circumvention is accomplished for the sole purpose of enabling interoperability of such applications, when they have been lawfully obtained, with computer programs on the telephone handset.

However, jailbreak was declared as an exclusion from the DMCA, and protection wasn’t actually hard coded into the act. That means the declaration could ultimately expire and leave jailbreakers subject to legal penalties.

If you’d like to help ensure this never happens, the EFF has advised you submit your opinion in comment form to the Copyright Office, and even offer a submission template with comment suggestions for your convenience. Comments are due by February 10th at 5PM, so make sure you submit your comments soon!

Souce: EFF

The iPhone Dev Team has shared some numbers on the Absinthe jailbreak for iPhone 4S and iPad. These are the downloads over the last 3 days.

• 491,325 new iPhone 4 devices
• 308,967 new iPad2 devices
• 152,940 previously jailbroken (at 4.x) iPad 2 devices
• 953,232 total

The numbers were calculated using Cydia, the jailbreak app store, which can track queries being made to the server based on the list of available SHSH blobs. While the numbers may seem quite small in comparison to the number of iOS devices out there, it certainly shows there is still many folks willing to take the plunge and jailbreak their devices.

iMore recently ran some polls asking our iPhone 4S and iPad 2 enthusiasts if they were going to jailbreak their devices using Absinthe. For iPad 2 users, 40.23% noted they would be diving in immediately while 33.64% of iPhone 4S users were jumping on-board.

So even with all of the iOS 5 improvements, a large percentage of our readership still wants more then what Apple is directly offering.

Source: Dev Team Blog

We’ve kicked off another week here at iMore and thus far, it’s been busy as always. If you missed anything from the weekend, be sure to get yourself caught up either here on the blogs or in the iMore forums. You can register now to get started today and while you’re at it, check out some of the threads below:

• iPhone 4S Forum: Have Android but considering an iPhone
• iPhone 4 Forum: WiFi keeps turning off, seemingly for no reason
• iCloud Forum: How to totally remove iCloud?
• iPad Apps and Games Forum: iPad app for streaming video..suggestions?
• Jailbreak and Unlock Forum Let’s see your Jailbroken iPhone 4S screens!

If you’re not already a member of the iMore Forums, register now!

iPhones are on-the-go, getting things done, highly “mobile accomplisher” devices so jailbreaking for extra features and productivity makes a lot of sense. iPads tend to be feet-up, relaxing, focusing, general purpose devices, so maybe members of the iMore nation don’t feel as compelled to Jailbreak?

But we want you to tell us. Now that the iPad 2 jailbreak is here, is it a must do and no need? Vote in the poll up top and give us your reasons — pro, con, or still on the fence — in the comments below.

Jailbreaking your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad and need to know how to troubleshoot all those annoying little errors, bugs, and assorted problems that crop up along the way? Whether you’re having issues getting your device to jailbreak or running into problems after you’ve jailbroken, we’ve got the answers to lots of common problems.

First make sure you’re performing the process correctly. If you need a guide or tutorial, we’ve most likely got you covered.

• Guides to jailbreaking and jailbreak basics

If you know you’re performing the process correctly but you’re running into an error, we’ve got a whole list troubleshooting steps you can try and we add more to it all the time. If you find a new issue, let us know!

• How to troubleshoot common issues during the jailbreak process

If none of the guides or troubleshooting tips seem to solve your problem, you can check out our general jailbreak forums. We’ve got the answers to a variety of questions and a huge community that’s ready and willing to help you out.

• General jailbreak help forums

We finally got an untethered jailbreak for iPhone 4S and iPad 2 yesterday via Greenpois0n Absinthe. Until now the tool was only released for Mac users. It has now been updated with support for Windows users.

If you haven’t already jailbroken your device via redsn0w CLI 0.4.3, I’d recommend using this method. Hit the links below for instructions and a download link.

• Download Greepois0n Absinthe
• How to jailbreak iPhone 4S and iPad 2 on iOS 5.0 & 5.0.1 via Greenpois0n Absinthe
• Jailbreak help and discussion forums

If you’re running Windows, you can now jailbreak your iPhone 4S or iPad 2 on iOS 5.0 or iOS 5.0.1. The Dev Team has issued an update to redsn0w that adds support. This process isn’t as easy as a simple one click tool like Greenpois0n Absinthe but if you absolutely can’t wait any longer to jailbreak, we’ve got you covered.

• How to jailbreak iPhone 4S and iPad 2 on Windows (CLI method)
• Jailbreak help & discussion
• iMore software downloads page

Greenpois0n Absinthe has been updated to version 1.2.2 with bug fixes for some users that were experiencing issues. If you were having issues accessing Cydia or your jailbreak was failing, this should fix your issues. Just run it over your current jailbreak.

If you need help jailbreaking, run into issues, or want to know what to do with your jailbreak now that you’ve got one – hit the links below.

• Download Greenpois0n Absinthe version 1.2.2 – Mac, Windows and Linux versions coming soon
• How to jailbreak iPhone 4S and iPad 2 on iOS 5.0 & 5.0.1
• iMore jailbreak and unlock forums

For some it will be a no-brainer. The untethered jailbreak of the iPhone 4S has been their holy grail, the thing they’ve been waiting for, the thing that will complete them and make their iPhone 4S finally, fully functional the way an end user intends.

Others feel iOS 5 copied so many basic jailbreak features, including and especially notifications, that there’s no need to bother with jailbreak anymore. Apple has you covered.

Vote in the poll up top and give us your reasons — pro, con, or still on the fence — in the comments below.

You can now untethered jailbreak your iPhone 4S or iPad 2 running iOS 5.0 or iOS 5.0.1 with Greenpois0n Absinthe. It’s been a long wait and we’re all more than ready to have all our jailbreak extras back in action.

Whether you’re new to jailbreak or a veteran, we’ve got you covered in our jailbreak forums. Hit the link below for a walkthrough of how to jailbreak your iPhone 4S and iPad 2.

Forums Link: How to jailbreak iPhone 4S and iPad 2 via Greenpois0n Absinthe

iPhone 4S and iPad 2 users have reason to rejoice today – you can finally untethered jailbreak! They stated earlier today the jailbreak was almost complete and ready for release. It didn’t take very long as the tool is already available.

As a note – this jailbreak will support iOS 5.0 and iOS 5.0.1. Here are the requirements for each device –

• iPhone 4S – iOS 5.0 or iOS 5.0.1
• iPad 2 and all GSM and CDMA wifi only devices – iOS 5.0.1

iPhone 4S users that would like a software unlock should stay on iOS 5.0 for now. You can grab the Mac and Windows versions from our downloads page link below.

Source: Greenpois0n.com

• Download Absinthe – iMore downloads page
• How to jailbreak iOS 5.0 & 5.0.1 via Greenpois0n Absinthe
• Jailbreak help and discussion

With Apple’s education event not far off and an A5 jailbreak lingering, the forums have been a very busy place the past little while.  If you’re looking to discuss those things and more — we’ve got plenty of room in the iMore forums for your voice to be heard, you can register now to get started today and check out some of the threads below:

• iPhone 4S Forum: Sideload eBooks to Kindle app?
• iPhone 4 Forum: Issues with WhatsApp now that I’m on iOS5
• iOS 5 Forum WiFi Sync is garbage!
• Apple iTV Forum Would you buy an Apple iTV television?
• Jailbreak and Unlock Forum Untethered jailbreak for the iPhone 4S

If you’re not already a member of the iMore Forums, register now!

If you plan on jailbreaking your iPhone 4S or iPad 2 as soon as a jailbreak for Apple A5 chipset-powered devices is released, update to iOS 5.0.1 ASAP if you haven’t already.

If/when Apple releases an iOS 5.0.2 patch or iOS 5.1 they’ll most likely stop signing iOS 5.0.1 pretty quickly. iOS 5.1 patches the current exploit used on iOS 5.0.1. That means if you don’t update before then, you’ll be stuck waiting for jailbreak developers to find a new exploit for iOS 5.1 and we have no idea how long that’ll take.

So the moral of this story is if you’d like to jailbreak sooner rather than later, update your devices to iOS 5.0.1 now. If you’ve got an iPhone 4 or other Apple A4 chipset device, you can jailbreak untethered now on iOS 5.0.1.

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

Chronic Dev Team member pod2g has again teased everyone waiting for an iPhone 4S and iPad 2 untethered jailbreak. This time he has released a picture of an iPad 2 running Cydia after being jailbroken by the soon to be released untethered iOS 5.01 jailbreak.

We have already seen a demo video of an iPhone 4S running with an untethered jailbreak a few days ago and we were told then that we only had to wait a few more. Now with this release, all we hear is “No more to say!” We assume that this means that the untethered jailbreak for A5 devices is now complete and may be released as early as this week.

Non-A5 iPhone and iPad owners can untethered jailbreak iOS 5.0.1 right now.

Source: pod2g Blog

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

pod2g has updated his blog with a video by Chronic Dev Team member, DHowett, running an untethered iPhone 4S jailbreak on iOS 5.0.1. The video runs down everything you’d expect from rebooting the device to show an untethered state and launching Cydia and showing that the device ID is indeed an iPhone 4S. Considering the iPhone 4S and iPad 2 both run the Apple A5 chipset and weren’t vulnerable to previous exploits.

pod2g says this means we should only have a few more to wait now. Not sure if “a few more” implies days, months, light years, or some other measure of time. For now, we’ll just have to sit back and be patient for what should be just a little while longer. Non-A5 iPhone and iPad owners can untethered jailbreak iOS 5.0.1 right now.

Source: pod2g

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

And we’re out of the sandbox with @saurik’s invaluable help! (well, at least there’s a PoC) Turning out more complex than X-Gold 618.

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

Notorious iPhone hacker pod2g has updated the community letting everyone know a jailbreak “dream team” has been assembled to help tackle a sandboxing issue in the Apple A5, a vital part of the exploitation process necessary for an iPhone 4S and iPad 2 jailbreak.

@planetbeing, the legendary hacker behind iPhone Linux and lot of jailbreaks has joined the A5 research!

The famous @MuscleNerd, the leader of the iPhone Dev Team, who did a lot of tests for Corona and whom integrated it and made it simple in redsn0w is willing to help also.

And last, but not least @p0sixninja, the leader of the Chronic Dev Team, and my partner for years on iPhone security research has started to code and fuzz the Apple sandbox.

We now have a dream team to find a path for a public release of the A5 jailbreak.

Cross your fingers.

Most of you in the jailbreak community should instantly recognize these names, and the fact that they’re now all together working in unison towards the same goal means an A5 jailbreak shouldn’t be too much further out.

Source: pod2g

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

As we noted earlier, next week is all about CES 2012 and we’ll be there gathering the best content we can find for you all. It’s sure to be a great time so make sure you follow along here on the blogs and especially in the forums. The forums are a great spot to discuss all things Apple in a better way then what the comments section can offer and we’ve got a spot just for you, you can register now to get started today and check out some of the threads below, today:

• iPhone 4S Forum: What job do you have, that you use your iPhone 4S?
• iPhone 4 Forum: Excessive data usage, any help is appreciated
• iCloud Forum Unable to restore app data after reinstalling app
• iPad 2 Forum Can you lock out certain apps?
• Jailbreak and Unlock Forum How do I remove my Jailbreak?

If you’re not already a member of the iMore Forums, register now!

Following the hack that allows fullscreen apps to run on the Apple TV, developer Jack Perry, known as @Jackoplane on Twitter, decided to try porting his own apps to the bigger screen.

A quick preview of Frequencies for AppleTV… Waiting for @stroughtonsmith to test it on a real device.

The tweet was followed up by Steven Troughton-Smith showing the app running at full 720p on an actual Apple TV.

Some Beautiful AppleTV apps coming together right now; this one from @Jackoplane is nice.

The app, Frequencies, is a simple internet radio tuner, but demonstrates how the idea of fullscreen apps might work on the Apple TV. And it’s really quite exciting.

Source: @stroughtonsmith, @Jackoplane, Jackoplane Blog

Pod2g has decided to share a little more information on the hopefully soon to be released iPhone 4S and iPad 2 jailbreak. In a blog post, pod2g has answered a couple of questions that may have been on your mind as you await its release. One of the questions is how he has managed to get an untethered 4S and dev teams still haven’t released tools to achieve this at home?

The exploit I used to inject the untethering files to the 4S relies on having a developer account, and can’t be released publicly.It’s the same reason why @MuscleNerd has an iPad 2 tethered jailbreak but couldn’t distribute it. So, we need to find a distributable exploit to remount the system partition read/write and to set Corona files at the correct places.

Source: Pod2g Blog

While CES is never really a big show for Apple, they do manage to seemingly always find a way to make some Apple news happen during the event. Like always — there is plenty of Apple rumors happening right now but they do seem to get more plentiful as we get closer to CES. Looking to discuss CES, Apple rumors and more? We’ve got a spot just for you in the TiPb forums, you can register now to get started today:

• iPhone 4S Forum: Odd thing at the Apple Store…
• iPhone 4 Forum: Need help fixing an iPhone 4
• iCloud Forum Can’t seem to get PhotoStream working, any advice?
• iPad 2 Forum Just how do you get college books on an iPad 2?
• Jailbreak and Unlock Forum A5 Jailbreak, on it’s way to 5.0.1 users?

If you’re not already a member of the TiPb Forums, register now!

Zephyr by chpwn has been updated to version 1.0.2-1 with a few more enhancements. For starters, you can now disable gestures in any app you choose. This is handy for games and apps that may cause you to unintentionally invoke a gesture. It looks as if he’s gotten help with this feature from Ryan Petrich, creator of Display Recorder, one of my favorite jailbreak apps.

Other features added include the ability to enable per-gesture commands as opposed to them all being global by default. So if you want multitasking gestures on your iPhone, you can find Zephyr in Cydia for $2.99.

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

We’re now fully into 2012 and already, we’ve been hearing about some great things to come from Apple. Of course, we’ll have to wait and see what turns out to be true and what turns out to just be rumors but that’s part of the fun. Looking to discuss all things Apple? We’ve got a spot just for you in the TiPb forums, you can register now to get started today:

• iPhone 4S Forum: So.. I did a hard reset and…..
• iPhone 4 Forum: Getting control of auto sync activity
• iCloud Forum Calendars issue With iPhone 4S and iPad2
• iPad 2 Forum Email security in WiFi zones
• Jailbreak and Unlock Forum Positives and Negatives about JailBreaking your iPhone?

If you’re not already a member of the TiPb Forums, register now!

pod2g has updated his blog with more details on how the Corona untether actually works. If the deep inner workings of exploits such as this interest you, it’s definitely something you’ll want to check out.

Using a fuzzer, I found after some hours of work that there’s a format string vulnerability in the racoon configuration parsing code! racoon is the IPsec IKE daemon (http://ipsec-tools.sourceforge.net/). It comes by default with iOS and is started when you setup an IPsec connection.

Now you got it, Corona is an anagram of racoon .

Corona will untether all current A4 devices that were previously tethered under iOS 5.0.1. Still no more news on when a jailbreak will be available for A5 devices, namely the iPhone 4S and iPad 2.

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

iOS and jailbreak developers Steven Troughton-Smith and Nick, who goes by the Twitter handle @TheMudkip have now managed to get iPad applications running on an Apple TV; in full screen mode running on a 720p HDTV. We told you yesterday how they were working on a way to bring iOS apps to the Apple TV. Well they have now moved a step closer to making this a workable solution.

The first Apple TV port enabled iOS applications to run in a windowed mode on the Apple TV; this allowed multiple applications to run side by side. Now however they have discovered a way to run iPad applications in full screen mode with a resolution of 720p.

The port is far from being ready for primetime however it doesn’t stop you dreaming about the possibilities of running iPad apps natively on your Apple TV. Apple has long been rumored to be bringing an App Store to the Apple TV platform. Maybe something like this will force its hand to get it done.

Source: 9to5Mac

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

• AirPlay Mirroring: Now with video mirroring – wirelessly stream what’s on your iPad 2 screen to your HDTV.
• Photo Stream: View photos recently taken on your iOS device and pushed to your Photo Stream in iCloud.
• Trailers: A whole new way to browse and view hundreds of the latest theatrical trailers.
• National Hockey League: Watch live games. View highlights, scores, and more.
• Wall Street Journal Live: Watch up-to-date news, business commentary, and financial analysis from leading experts.
• Audio output: Addresses an issue in which audio may not play through the optical port when the TV is turned off.
• Netflix: Added support for Netflix in Mexico and Latin America.
• Stability and performance: version 4.4.4 includes general performance and stability improvements, including a fix for an issue that displayed an error when playing some video content.

[fireCore]

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

Lock Screen Weather is a clever app that allows you to display local weather information and graphics on the iPhone Lock screen without requiring a jailbreak.

• Current weather conditions on your Lock Screen
• Optional five-day weather forecast displayed below current weather
• Tens of thousands of cities around the world supported
• Current weather and forecasts updated automatically and according to where you are (optional)
• Background sounds captured right in the nature (optional)
• Both Fahrenheit (℉) and Celsius (℃) scales supported
• Originally designed graphic assets reflecting every significant weather change

The way it works is by playing a silent track through the iPod app, then using the album art for the track to display the weather based on locations you set within the app settings. Because of the dynamic abilities of how album art is displayed in the iPod app, and subsequently shown whenever you lock your iPhone or iPod touch, this app essentially tricks the iPhone into displaying updated Lock screen weather without breaking any of Apple’s strict developer guidelines.

The only drawback is, whenever you have the app running to display weather on the Lock screen, you won’t be able to listen to any music from the iPod app (or any other App Store app that uses audio output or album art, such as Pandora). This is, however, a very adept workaround and gets the job done without the need to jailbreak and install apps like IntelliscreenX.

• $0.99 — App Store Link

Having trouble finding what you need in the app store? Send us an email to news@tipb.com and let us know what you’re looking for, and we’ll do our best to find you just the right App for That!

My most-used apps of 2011 consist of some of Rene’s favorites, and for good reason. Like Rene and Leanna, I’d also prefer to list some of the great default apps included in iOS like Mail, Reminders, Safari Browser for iPhone and iPad etc., but that would just be boring. Instead, here’s a list of some of the most-used iPhone and iPad apps I spent the majority of my time with this year.

Reeder

Reeder is how I consume my news day in, day out — it’s really as simple as that. It’s one of, if not the best news and RSS feed readers available for the iPhone and iPad (there is also a Mac version available in the Mac App Store). Reeder incorporates a stylistic ZEN-like design with multi-touch gestures making news consumption something I consider to be fun, when previously I used the default Google Reader webapp layout from the browser — and I think we all know what kind of experience that can be like. With Reeder, I can jump in and jump out and get the job done quickly and efficiently, while also having a fluid experience at the same time. I prefer the iPad app, but when I don’t have my iPad handy, the iPhone app is top-notch and has the same look and feel of its iPad counterpart. If you’re looking for a better way to consume news, look no further than Reeder for the iPhone and iPad.

• $2.99 — iPhone App Store Link
• $4.99 — iPad App Store Link

Netflix

Netflix has definitely been a lifesaver for me on more than one occasion. Whenever I’m out and about or just at home in bed dying of boredom, I whip out my iPad and jump into the Netflix app to watch my favorite TV shows, movies or documentaries. The great thing about Netflix is the content, in that it has the best-of-the-best content (at least in my opinion) and beats out competitors like Hulu with ease. They’ve recently updated the iPad app with a better layout, making it easier to navigate to your favorite content and start streaming away. Diving into what I love to watch and forgetting about my worries wouldn’t be possible in certain scenarios without Netflix on my iPad 2, and even when I forget to pack up my iPad with the rest of my gear, I always have access to the content they provide via my iPhone 4.

• Free — App Store Link

Tweetlogix for Twitter

I know there are a number of really great Twitter apps out there, but my personal favorite is definitely Tweetlogix for the iPhone. Developed by Onloft Software, Tweetlogix is probably one of the fastest Twitter apps I’ve ever used, which is probably of the main reasons I ended up switching back to Tweetlogix from Echofon Pro in the middle of the year. I wouldn’t be able to say it’s a straight-split between the two, because Tweetlogix excels in too many places where other Twitter apps are simply lacking. You have the ability to adjust font size, view inline images in your stream, mute people you follow who you don’t want cluttering up your stream, and a whole lot more. And again, when I say this app is fast, I mean it’s really fast. Sending a tweet — even over 3G or edge — takes what seems like milliseconds. Just tap the ‘Tweet’ button and you won’t have to deal with the dreaded loading wheel ever again!

• $1.99 — App Store Link

Navigon

I’ve been using Navigon as my main GPS app all year, and then some. It’s one of the best GPS navigation apps available for the iPhone and can even run on the iPad 3G. Navigon provides quick access to Google search, subsequently making it a breeze to search for your desired location (restaurant, gym, grocery store, gas station, whatever) and it also offers in-app purchases for things like 3D terrain mapping in a panoramic view, live traffic and even police radar location information. I’m sure some of you have personal prefecences for other GPS apps, or maybe even prefer a standalone device, but for me, Navigon does the job perfectly.

• $38.99 (North America Only) — App Store Link

Evernote

Want to make sure you never forget anything? Enter Evernote, the best note-taking app available for the iPhone and iPad. Just snap a photo of whatever you need to remember, add a label, tag or just leave it blank, and you’re good to go. Evernote will sync that information across all your iOS devices (even your Mac!) making it easy to access no matter where you are or what you’re doing, and they update the app with added value and additional features on a regular basis. Although the layout has changed significantly over the past couple of years since its debut in the App Store, the basic concept remains the same. iChadman put together a great How To on getting things done using Evernote, and after going through some of the pro-tips in that post, it’s easy to see why Evernote is one of the best apps for getting things done (and remembering things, too!).

• Free — iPhone App Store Link

• Free — iPad App Store Link

If you jailbreak you may soon be able to add even more functionality to Siri via SiriPrefs. While A5 devices aren’t jailbreakable yet, jailbroken A4 devices have the ability to run Siri via the Spire port.

If we hear about a release, we’ll let you guys know. In the mean time, check out the demonstration video above.

Source: iPhoneIL

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

While jailbreaking already provides tons of functionality, there’s still room for improvement and expansion in 2012. Last year I did a list of jailbreak concepts Apple should implement and low and behold, they implemented quite a few of them. But that’s part of the game. Part of what spurs more innovation is creativity and pushing boundaries. And at the end of the day it’s really the user base that is the most useful when it comes to helping developers out. They can’t create it if they don’t know we want it. So this is our list of the top 5 things we’d like to see jailbreak accomplish in 2012.

A jailbreak for A5 devices

We already know pod2g is working on this. While we will most likely get one in 2012, I’m not excluding it as one of the biggest wants for many users. We just received an untethered jailbreak for A4 and older devices. Hopefully a jailbreak for the iPad 2 and iPhone 4S aren’t that far behind. While an untethered version would be epic win, I’d take a tethered version for starters.

Cydia updates

While Cydia is probably one of the most used apps on my iOS devices, it can become rather frustrating at times. Saurik made some updates to Cydia in 2011 but nothing to get too excited about. Cydia could use a facelift and some speed enhancements.

While it may not be at the top of saurik’s list right now, I know Cydia is frustrating for many users on a day to day basis. Not to mention the organization of packages is rather daunting for many new jailbreakers. They have no idea where to start or what apps they should be downloading. Sure, they can always come to TiPb but for those not familiar, how about adding a jailbreak starter pack in Cydia? I know several new users revert back to stock quickly out of confusion and frustration.

I’d like to see Cydia step up its game to show users what jailbreak is all about. It isn’t about pirating apps and installing illegal software at all. It’s about enhancing and customizing your experience.

More iPad compatible apps and tweaks

While there is support for jailbroken iPads, it’s very minimal. I’d really like to see that change. As of right now, I really can’t find a good reason to jailbreak my iPad. A lot of this could have to do with the lack of support for current iPad 2 users. Jailbreak developers may not want to put the time and effort into supporting the low number of jailbroken iPads.

Hopefully a jailbreak for A5 devices will create more interest in jailbreaking the iPad. Even though there are a few good reasons to jailbreak the iPad, I’d like to find a reason I can not live without. I’d like to have a reason or find a jailbreak application compelling enough to make me not want to live without my iPad being jailbroken.

If I’m missing out on some to die for jailbreak utilities for iPad, please let me know. I’ve yet to find them.

More support updates from developers

After iOS 4 was released, Cydia was plagued with tons of apps and utilities that were never updated to support it. Even though jailbreak tool after jailbreak tool was released supporting almost every device on the market, tools were left to collect dust. Some of them were actually very useful utilities that I really missed using after updating. Things like changing keyboard styles were little tweaks that were left untouched for months.

Some developers are extremely good about updating their tools. Others are not. Where that happens, I’d really like to see new jailbreak developers step up and come out with new solutions. Heck, just improve upon someone else’s idea. It seemed as if the jailbreak community was left with a ton of tools that were left in limbo. A package may work, it may not, it may just crash your springboard. I’d like to see less of this.

Maybe this is something that needs to come bundled with updates to Cydia. This is another reason jailbreak may be off-putting to some new users. They download tweaks that aren’t compatible with their devices and when it isn’t stable, they restore and never give jailbreak another chance. We need to avoid experiences like this as developers.

A more unified jailbreak process

This one may be asking a bit too much but heck, I’ll throw it out there. While redsn0w and tools like it are pretty user friendly to begin with, there are tons of tools out there and that’s confusing to new users. What tool do they use? Is one not compatible with their device? Programs like ipswDownloader aim to make it easier for beginners, but a lot of beginners won’t know what an IPSW is let alone what the tool does, where to find it, or know why they need it.

If jailbreak developers could come together to make a great tool that accommodates all users, I think the jailbreak community would see a great benefit and many more users. I see tons of people in my office every day that bricked their device or jailbroke it with an incorrect tool. I also see people that searched and researched jailbreak online, became overwhelmed, and would rather come and pay me to do it correctly than mess something up themselves. I know there are tons of other users out there that are put off by the overwhelming amount of information and tools out there. Working together to find a way to make the process more streamlined would be time spent that would pay off in the long run.

Bottom line

I think my overall outlook on jailbreak is this – people buy Apple devices because of the experience and the ease of use. If jailbreak complicates things too much, they’ll stray away. Of course there will always be power users and ninjas that will put in the time to make it work. But the bottom line is that most iOS users just want their device to work and work well. If jailbreak developers can find ways to make the process and overall experience better, I think they’d see a lot more users willing to give it a try or a second runaround.

What do you guys want to see jailbreak developers aiming for in the coming year? Let us know!

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

Rene, Georgia, and Seth talk Santa Siri commercial, sexism charges, AT&T and T-Mobile deal, Nuance buying Vlingo, how to replace your iPhone 4 vibrator assembly, jailbreak, Facebook Timelines, Kindle updates, FPS games, and more. This is iPhone and iPad Live!

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pod2g has handed over his A4 untethered jailbreak to the Chronic Dev Team in order to concentrate on Apple A5 chipset devices, namely the iPad 2 and iPhone 4S. The Chronic Dev Team will test and finish his A4 untether for release as soon as possible.

I need to focus on A5 and hope I can find a path quick, and I have the feeling that chronic-dev could help me. I gave all the details to the chronic dev team so that they can finish, test, integrate and release the A4 jb ASAP. I’ll put all my energy from now on on the A5

This comes after accomplishing an untethered jailbreak for all A4 devices as well as overcoming a cache issue for A5 devices.

There are tons of users on both Apple A4 chipset and A5 chipset devices. While many people are waiting for an A5 jailbreak, A4 users have been waiting even longer. It also makes sense that no jailbreak developer wants to burn an exploit that Apple may patch in iOS 5.1. I see this as being a good scenario and the best option for both A4 and A5 users if it results in jailbreak tools for both even faster.

redsn0w has been updated to version 0.9.9b9d in order to fix a few bugs. This update comes right after an update to ultrasn0w and after adding support to redsn0w for iOS 5.0.1.

iPhone3GS owners in our comments section below noticed a problem with the untethered jailbreak available for the old-bootrom 3GS. We’ve corrected that problem in 0.9.9b9d. If you have an old-bootrom 3GS and have already used last night’s redsn0w on it, you can re-run it again without losing anything. Just use this new version, go to Extras->IPSW and manually select the 5.0.1 IPSW, then go back and Jailbreak it again (but you can uncheck Cydia because it’s already installed).

Keep in mind this jailbreak is still tethered unless you have an iPhone 3GS with the old bootrom. You can grab the updated version via the links below then check out our guide on how to jailbreak iOS 5.0.1 via redsn0w. If you have questions or run into issues, check out our jailbreak and unlock forums as well!

Download links: Mac, Windows Source: Dev-Team blog

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

pod2g has shown off an iOS 5.0.1 untethered jailbreak running on an iPhone 4.

Here is a new video demo of the current status of the 5.0.1 jailbreak running on an iPhone 4. This is meant to reassure people that were thinking it only works on older iPods. The jailbreak is near ready for prime time (excluding 4S and iPad 2).

Hopefully iPhone 4S and iPad 2 owners won’t have too long to wait, however, as he previously said he’d overcome the cache issues on A5 devices –

Either way, looks like they’re finally nearing the end zone in the land of untethered. Don’t forget to support jailbreak devs and donate when you can if you find their tools useful.

Source: pod2g

The latest version of ultrasn0w has just hit Cydia with support for unlocking additional devices under iOS 5.0.1. You’ll need to have a compatible baseband in order for the unlock to work. Below is a list of compatible devices and basebands.

This version supports the following devices and basebands on iOS 5.0.1 –

• iPhone 3GS – 04.26.08 – 05.11.07 – 05.12.01 – 05.13.04 – 06.15.00
• iPhone 4 – 01.59.00

If you’re planning on upgrading from an older firmware, make sure you preserve your baseband with a program like sn0wbreeze if you need an unlock. Then follow our guide on how to unlock your device via ultrasn0w on iOS 5.0.1. If you need more help, make sure you check out our jailbreak and unlock forums too.

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

An untethered jailbreak for A5 devices (iPhone 4S and iPad 2) has finally been achieved according to pod2g’s most recent blog entry. He updated his blog yesterday stating he had hit a stumbling block but would update us today again. He’s kept true to his word and let us know today that he’s overcome the cache issue and achieved an untether.

OK, figured it out, the A5 cache is not a problem anymore. I sorted it out by doing the untether in a single thread and by flushing all the dcache then all the icache in a row at a strategical point of the process.

Saurik helped with launchd boot process so they’re one step closer to a stable jailbreak. Props to pod2g and saurik for all their hard work. I can’t wait to jailbreak my iPhone 4S as soon as a tool is updated and released. Anyone else jumping for joy at this news? I know I am! Check the source link for all the details.

Source: pod2g

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

pod2g has updated his blog with the current status of his iPhone 4S jailbreak he’s been working on. The good news is he seems to be working extremely hard on this one. The bad news is he seems to have hit a bit of a snag when it comes to the untethered part.

The untether fails right now because I’m having processor cache issues.

I’m close, but I can’t figure out what happens. It certainly has something to do with the Cortex-A9 cache management.

I could sort it out quick, it’s a matter of chance.

I’ll report you my progress tomorrow.

Considering his quick progress when it came to an untether for all A4 devices, I’m hoping tomorrow will bring with it more good news. Seeing all these fancy new jailbreak apps is just torture for us iPhone 4S users who are left in the dust as of now.

Source: pod2g

If you need to tethered jailbreak iOS 5.0.1 via redsn0w you can now do so without having to manually point to iOS 5.0. The Dev-Team has updated their redsn0w tool to offer native support for iOS 5.0.1. Other notable changes include full support for the newer 8GB iPhone 4, iBooks issue fixed, custom IPSWs for 3GS owners without blobs, and more.

The full list of changes for redsn0w 0.9.9b9b are as follows –

native support for 5.0.1 (no need to point redsn0w at 5.0 IPSW or use command-line args). Support automatically extends to all of redsn0w’s various functions: “Jailbreak”, “Just boot”, “Fetch blobs”, “Stitch blobs”, “Recovery Fix”

iBooks fixed in 5.0 and 5.0.1. This is a targeted fix that doesn’t remove entire sandbox mechanism. 5.x users already using redsn0w “Just Boot” can just use the new version without redoing entire jailbreak again

3GS old-bootrom owners can now create custom IPSWs without blobs

ultrasn0w compatability update (i.e. same baseband requirements) for 5.0.1 will be available on Cydia Monday

support for newer 8GB iPhone4 (which until now had problems with “Fetch blobs”). Thanks to @JKjeepnJeff for loaning us one of these newer i4 units for testing!

allows Windows users (not just OS X users) to use the “Custom” button to create IPSWs without baseband updates. (Update: please wait for 0.9.9b9b for this!)

accommodates APTickets in 5.x (until next Apple countermove). APTickets are crypto-verified before submitting to Cydia, just like the main blobs. Cydia server support for sending back the APTickets is upcoming. For now, use stitched IPSWs for 5.x. Due to APTickets, stitched 5.x IPSWs now require user to start in “Pwned DFU” mode

Support added for stitching 4.x blobs to iPad2-GSM IPSWs. Similar to @notcom’s TinyCFW but doesn’t require lots of RAM or a TSS-assisted restore. Won’t work for iPad2 5.x blobs (or iPhone4S at all) until a bootrom-level exploit is out

top line now shows whether (and where) a redsn0w update is available, or if the version being run is the latest. Uses DNS TXT record to alleviate any concerns about snooping

no 5.1 beta support at this time (major apps like Cydia are not yet compatible)

@pod2g has been doing a great job porting his 5.x untether…check his blog for updates!

Owners of newer 3GS iPhones must not flash the iPad baseband. The iPad baseband will not work on 3GS iPhones built later than 2011 week 35. You have a week 35 or later device if your serial # starts with xx135.

While this is good news and makes the process a lot smoother, I know many of you are still holding out for untethered. Hopefully that’ll be next.

If redsn0w isn’t doing it for you, and you’re a Mac user, you may be wondering how to Jailbreak iOS 5.0 and iOS 5.0.1 using Ac1dSn0w. Ac1dSn0w is a newly released jailbreak tool that’ll allow you to tethered Jailbreak most iOS devices (unfortunately, still not iPhone 4S or iPad 2). It’s also a fairly straight forward process.

Currently supported devices

• iPhone 3G/3GS
• iPhone 4
• iPod Touch 4th generation
• iPad 1

What you need

• One of the supported devices listed above
• A Mac running either OS X Lion or OS X Snow Leopard
• Ac1dSn0w – Download here

Jailbreak your device

1. Once you’ve downloaded Ac1dSn0w, open it.
2. Next connect your device to your Mac and power it off.

3. If you’ve already gotten your device in DFU (device firmware update) mode, just click Jailbreak. If you don’t, tick the checkmark box that says Show Assistant and a prompt will come up that will help walk you through putting your device in DFU mode.
4. Once your device is in DFU mode, hit the Jailbreak button on the main screen of Ac1dSn0w.
5. Let Ac1dSn0w do its thing.

Perform a tethered boot

1. After you jailbreak the phone will reboot which will require you to perform a tethered boot. Use the assistant in Ac1dSn0w to put your phone back in DFU mode.
2. This time instead of clicking Jailbreak, you’ll click on Tethered Boot.

You’ll need to perform a tethered boot anytime your phone is completely turned off. You can still install applications that require the springboard to restart as that won’t require a tethered boot. The only time you’ll need to tethered boot is if your phone dies completely or you turn it off.

While this program will do the same thing as programs like RedSn0w, feel free to use whatever program you find the easiest. If you do happen to try out Ac1dSn0w, let us know how it went. And if you run into issues or have questions, check out our TiPb jailbreak and unlock forums.

Famous Chronic Dev-Team member, pod2g, has confirmed that his untethered jailbreak is working on pretty much all devices with an Apple A4 system-on-a-chip running iOS 5.0.1. On top of A4 devices, he’s also got an untethered Jailbreak for iOS 4.3.3 on the AppleTV 2 working.

Just to be clear, these are the devices:

• iPad (original)
• iPhone 3GS
• iPod Touch 4G, 3G
• iPhone 4

Just like many of you, I’m hoping the iPhone 4S and iPad 2 are added to this list sooner rather than later. There’s been no mention yet of any exploit supporting A5 devices nor a release date for a jailbreak tool for A4 devices. We will update as soon as we hear something.

Source: pod2g

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

With another week now kicked off, we’re excited for what this week will bring and hope you’ll join us for it all. Thus far, Apple has given us a new iOS Beta to play with and if you’re looking to discuss it some more — we have just the spot. The TiPb forums. You can register now to get started today and make sure you check out some of threads below:

• iOS 5 Forum: iOS 5.1 Beta 2 is out. Discuss
• iPad Forum: How to remove ALL contacts from iPad?
• Jailbreak and Unlock Forum: iOS 5 Untethered Jailbreak
• iCloud Forum Sync 2 Photostreams to one PC?
• iPhone Apps and Games Forum Om Nom Plushie Giveaway!

If you’re not already a member of the TiPb Forums, register now!

pod2g has posted a video showing off an untethered jailbreak for iOS 5. When and if it will be made public has yet to be said.

hello. No it does not rely on [Charlie Miller's code signing vulnerability]. Next step do the same on iOS 5.0.1. Should be quick.

According to later a tweet sent out by pod2g, it looks as if it will work on iOS 5.0.1 which is great news for all the folks that already updated.

Tons of questions from my nice followers. Too early to answer. Will work on iOS 5.0.1, will try iPad 2 and 4S after others are ready.

I’m secretly (ok, not so secretly) crossing my fingers that an untethered solution will follow (heck, I’ll take tethered at this point) for the iPhone 4S.

An untethered jailbreak is one that doesn’t require an iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad be plugged via USB dock cable to properly reboot, and typically seems harder and takes longer to achieve than tethered jailbreaks. While tethered gets the job done, an untethered solution is always preferred.

• Jailbreak Starters Guide
• Jailbreak Forums

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

New to iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad and heard about Jailbreak, but not sure if it’s for you, and how to get started if it is? No problem, TiPb’s here to help! Jailbreak lets you change the look of your entire iPhone, put extra icons in the dock, reply to SMS or iMessage without leaving a game, preview events from the lock screen, toggle settings with a swipe, and much, much more. Compiled here is a master list of basic Jailbreak terms, tools, apps, tweaks, themes, and utilities, and a break down the pros and cons, so you’ll know if you’re comfortable taking the plunge.

Already a Jailbreak wizard? Save this link as a handy reference to shoot friends and family who are just getting started.

Note: If you need extra help or want to get into more advanced areas of Jailbreak, check out:

• Jailbreak Forums
• Jailbreak Apps, Hacks, and Themes Forum
• Jailbreak Dev Forum

Common ways to Jailbreak

There are usually several ways to jailbreak depending exactly when a new version of iOS is released, when a new exploit is found, and when new jailbreaks are released. Some are one-button easy, others command-line complicated. Here are the latest and the simplest. We’ll continue to update this page and our main jailbreak page whenever new jailbreak tools are released or updated.

If you’re not sure which tool you’d need, here’s how to find out which iOS software and iPhone modem firmware you’re running.

iOS 5 & 5.0.1 (GSM/CDMA) Jailbreak (tethered)

• How to Jailbreak iOS 5 & 5.0.1 via RedSn0w (does not work on iPad 2 or iPhone 4S)

iOS 4.3.3 (AT&T/GSM) Jailbreak (untethered)

• How to Jailbreak iOS 4.3.3 via JailbreakMe (including iPad 2)
• How to Jailbreak iOS 4.3.3 with redsn0w

iOS 4.2.6 (Verizon) Jailbreak (untethered)

• How to jailbreak iOS 4.2.6 on your Verizon iPhone 4 with Greenpois0n

Common Jailbreak Terms

Jailbreak

The most obvious of all terms, but yet the most confused. Jailbreak comes from “breaking open” the root “jail” that Apple uses to secure iOS against running unsigned — aka unapproved by Apple — code. (You might have heard this called “rooting” on other platforms.) While Apple does this for security reasons, so bad guys can’t put viruses and malware on iOS, it also prevents good guys from making some incredibly useful but currently frowned upon features — like ssh access, shortcuts, themes, side-loading, and much more.

Jailbreaking applies to iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad, and at its core is about control and customization, letting you do what you want with the device you purchased.

Tethered vs. Untethered

Two common terms you’ll see associated with Jailbreak are Tethered and Untethered. These refer to whether or not you need to connect your Jailbroken iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad to your PC over USB in order to reboot it.

An Untethered Jailbreak can be rebooted any time, anywhere, without having to connect to your PC. It works just like a non-Jailbroken device.

A Tethered Jailbreak needs to be plugged into your PC over USB, and you typically need to re-run your Jailbreak utility — like redsn0w — and choose the “reboot” option to restart your device.

Rebooting a Tethered Jailbreak without plugging into your PC could result in your device not restarting, or restarting but with no access to Cydia, or other side effects.

An Untethered Jailbreak is typically harder to develop and takes longer to release than a Tethered Jailbreak, so Untethered Jailbreaks are often only available for older versions of iOS while Tethered Jailbreaks get updated more quickly.

For example, iOS 5 can currently only be Jailbroken with a Tether.

Unlocking

If you bought your iPhone from a carrier like AT&T, or at a subsidized (on-contract) price, it will almost certainly be SIM-locked to that carrier. That means, for example, you can’t take out your AT&T SIM and put in a T-Mobile SIM if you want to change plans, or put in a Rogers or Vodafone SIM if you’re traveling.

While you can buy SIM-unlocked iPhones directly from Apple in many countries, and some carriers will unlock an iPhone for you after a certain period of time or for a certain amount of money, many won’t, including AT&T. So, unlocking is a Jailbreak method of removing the carrier SIM-lock so you can use your iPhone on the network or networks of your choosing.

The unlock process can change from firmware to firmware but typically, you’ll need to jailbreak your phone and then install a program via Cydia like ultrasn0w or yellowsn0w, which will then unlock your iPhone.

Note: There are also other ways to unlock such as the Gevey SIM but they’re typically frowned upon considering you’ve got to dial an emergency number for the process to work.

Cydia

Apple has the App Store, jailbreakers have Cydia in addition to Apple’s App Store. (If you want to be technical, Jailbreak had Installer even before Apple had the App Store.) Because Cydia isn’t run by Apple, Cydia apps don’t have to be approved by Apple and you can find all sorts of highly useful themes, utilities, tweaks and other software in Cydia you simply can’t find anywhere else.

Cydia works with repos, or repositories. These are simply the sources for the software files that Cydia lets you install. ModMyi and BigBoss are two of the largest. They are already added when you install Cydia. You are always welcome to add custom repos if you choose, however, you really want to stick to well known, trusted sources. Just because good guy developers are making great software for Jailbreak, doesn’t mean a bad guy won’t try to sneak in something you don’t want.

Recovery Mode and DFU Mode

There are two “modes” you might have to enter in order to Jailbreak your iPhone, iPod touch or iPad — Recovery Mode and Device Firmware Update (DFU) mode. While they may seem similar, there are some differences.

If your screen shows a “Connect to iTunes” logo with a “Slide for Emergency” control, that’s Recovery Mode. If you only see a “Connect to iTunes” (no “Slide for Emergency” control), or more commonly, a black screen, you are in DFU mode.

The main difference between these two modes is what they will and won’t bypass for installs. Recovery mode will implement iBoot (basically a portion of the bootloader than runs an integrity check) which will not allow you to downgrade your device’s current version of iOS.

DFU mode will still talk to iTunes but it bypasses iBoot which will then allow you to downgrade firmware. Most jailbreaks will require DFU mode for these reasons.

• How to put your iPhone or iPad into DFU mode

SHSH Blobs

Signature HaSH or SHSH* blobs are the signature system Apple has created to verify iOS firmware for authentication. Apple uses them to prevent iTunes from restoring older versions of iOS to iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch. For example, a short time after iOS x.1 is released, Apple will stop signing iOS x.0 and you’ll no longer be able to restore that version to your device.

This is important because iOS x.0 might have a Jailbreak and iOS x.1. might not yet have been Jailbroken (or may be a tethered vs. untethered Jailbreak. So, if you upgrade you could lose your Jailbreak, your untether, etc.

SHSH blobs save you from this headache. It will basically give iTunes a fake authentication, which in turn, makes iTunes think your restore has been verified.

Cydia will save SHSH blobs for you but occasionally their servers get flooded and they disable it for a period of time. If that happens, you can use TinyUmbrella as well. I highly recommend saving your blobs early on in case you ever find yourself in this predicament.

• How to save SHSH blobs via TinyUmbrella.

Baseband

The baseband is essentially the part of your iPhone that controls the antenna. This has everything to do with your service and signal. This is why most unlockers have to be extremely careful when upgrading. If the baseband changes, it can permanently keep them from achieving an unlock again. This is the main reason most unlockers tend to favor PwnageTool. It creates a custom firmware bundle for you to upgrade to that doesn’t upgrade the baseband, only the main OS. If you are running on the same carrier you bought your iPhone from and don’t care about unlocking, the baseband it typically less of a concern. Wifi and Bluetooth don’t run on the baseband either, so iPod touch or wi-fi only iPad owners typically don’t have concerns when it comes to new baseband versions.

Springboard and Re-Spring

On a computer you have a desktop, on an iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad you have a Springboard. That’s the technical name of the iOS Home Screen system, and it’s basically the interface you constantly interact with. Another term you’ll come in contact with is respringing.

Which leads us to Re-Spring, or the process of restarting the Springboard. Some jailbreak apps you install will require you to do this. All changes in the appearance of your phone via Winterboard (explained below) will require a respring as well. It’s nothing more than refreshing your desktop on a computer.

Popular Jailbreak Utilities

Winterboard or Dreamboard

A lot of people jailbreak for the ability to change the look — aka theme — of their device. Enter Winterboard and the newly released Dreamboard. Both are free downloads in Cydia. When you install a Winterboard theme, all the components will show up in Winterboard. Depending upon how a theme developer decided to bundle their theme, you may have only one package in Winterboard, or you may have several. I personally prefer when developers separate theme elements.

Since Winterboard works as a hierarchy, I can select a theme and if I don’t like the sounds, I can download a sound pack I “do” like and apply that in Winterboard. The key is to move it above the main theme so it overrides the sounds I don’t want. I highly suggest jailbreakers become very familiar and comfortable with Winterboard. If you do, there is no limit to what you can do to your phone and you’ll be able to tweak and customize even the littlest details of your springboard.

Dreamboard is a relatively new tweak to the jailbreak scene but one I’ve already decided to include it on my must have iOS 5 jailbreak list . It gives you even more theming ability straight from the device. Swap out icons, customize your theme, and simply apply it. Even though it’s in its early stages, it shows a lot of promise so far.

SBSettings

SBSettings is a free utility that allows you to add quick toggles that will drop down onto your springboard. There are also several plug-ins and themes you can download for SBSettings as well. It’ll also allow you to hide icons you don’t want or use. This is especially useful for hiding stock apps you can’t uninstall. I hide the default weather and stock apps among others that are simply wasting space on my springboard. You’ll also be able to more closely keep tabs on your memory and running processes. This was extremely useful before multitasking. It’s still useful today for freeing up memory and seeing what may be eating through battery or slowing your phone down.

Notification Replacement Apps

Even though iOS 5 introduced Notification Center, some users may still feel there’s a lot to be desired when it comes to customizing their notification preferences. Jailbreak developers have stepped up once again to provide other options such as IntelliscreenX. Developers such as Intelliborn and David Ashman (creator of LockInfo]) have frequently stepped in to fill the gaps. I think jailbreak tweaks and customizations for Notification Center will just get better and better.

SMS Apps and Add-Ons

There are many apps that improve SMS capabilities as well. Again, iOS has come a long way in terms of how messages are handled but I’m still waiting for that magic quick reply button to appear as a stock option. Until then, apps like BiteSMS have kept me content. There are other options like TLert available via Cydia as well. Before iOS offered a default option for custom text tones, BiteSMS was reason alone for me to jailbreak.

MyWi

Many users are left bitter when certain carriers want to charge them an additional fee just for the privilege of tethering. MyWi is a wonderful little app and in my opinion, a major reason to jailbreak on its own. MyWi alllows you to create a wifi hotspot with your iPhone.

If you aren’t to keen on paying tethering fees every month to your carrier for the same bits and bytes of data, MyWi may be a better solution. Just keep in mind a lot of carriers are cracking down on unauthorized tethering. This isn’t a viable solution for heavy data users but if you only need the ability here and there, this is a good option if you jailbreak.

Jailbreak next steps

Once you’re comfortable with the basics, you can start jumping into the Jailbreak deep end. Here are the best places to start.

• Everything Jailbreak
• Jailbreak Forums
• Jailbreak Apps, Hacks, and Themes Forum
• Jailbreak Dev Forum

As always, if you guys think of anything awesome you think should be on this list, shoot me an e-mail to ally.kazmucha@tipb.com or post it in the comments below!

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’ve updated your iPhone 3GS to iOS 5 or 5.0.1 and lost your unlock we can help you get it back. The actual jailbreak will be tethered but you’ll still be able to unlock and continue using your device in the mean time until an untethered jailbreak solution is released. iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S users should steer clear of this as it will not work.

Devices supported

• iPhone 3GS

What you’ll need

• RedSn0w 0.9.9b5 or later, we recommend the most current version which is RedSn0w 0.9.9b8 – Mac Link, Windows Link
• A working SIM card (doesn’t matter what carrier as long as it’s activated and working)

Jailbreak with RedSn0w and Install the iPad baseband

You’ll follow the same steps are you would to jailbreak via Redsn0w except for one difference. Instead of just checking Install Cydia you’ll need to check off Install iPad baseband. RedSn0w will warn you that this can not be undone. Agree and continue the jailbreak process.

Boot Tethered

After jailbreaking you’ll need to perform one tethered boot before unlocking. Simply launch RedSn0w again and click Extras. Check the box for Just boot tethered right now. You’ll be walked through DFU mode and your phone should reboot.

Install UltraSn0w

After your phone reboots you’ll need to perform the following steps to unlock it:

Known Issues

A few users have seen issues where their phone will not obtain service after using ultrasn0w on iOS 5 or iOS 5.0.1. If you have this issue, launch RedSn0w once more and choose jailbreak again. Instead of going through the whole process this time, you only want to check Deactivate. Do one more tethered boot and you should be good to go!

If you need more help, visit our TiPb jailbreak & unlock forums for answers to many common questions and to ask your own!

Update: Some users are pointing out that using RedSn0w 0.9.9b8 is breaking GPS functionality again but using RedSn0w 0.9.9b7 doesn’t. So if you’re having that issue, try using the beta 7 version instead. Thanks to all that tipped this!

If you’re currently running iOS 5.0.1, you can jailbreak via RedSn0w 0.9.9b8. This one is also tethered like the previous beta versions of RedSn0w for iOS 5. It’s also worth noting that unlockers should stay away from this one unless they’re okay with being tethered. iPhone 4 users should stay away from any newer stock iOS firmware versions altogether in order to preserve their baseband.

Be advised that not all jailbreak apps and tweaks have been updated to support iOS 5 yet. If you’re alright with running tethered and don’t mind a few bugs here and there, follow along for a quick walkthrough.

If you’ve used RedSn0w before, you’ll be right at home. It’s not too much different than jailbreaking any other firmware version you may have used it for previously.

Devices Supported

• iPod touch 3G
• iPod touch 4G
• iPad 1
• iPhone3GS
• iPhone 4 (GSM)
• iPhone 4 (CDMA)

And I can’t say this enough times, if your device is not listed above, please do not attempt to jailbreak any device but the ones listed above. iPad 2 and iPhone 4S users will have to sit this one out.

What you need

• iOS 5.0.1 installed on your device
• RedSn0w 0.9.9b8 – Mac Link, Windows Link

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. If you’re on 5.0.1, you will need to manually navigate to an iOS 5.0 firmware file (not 5.0.1). RedSn0w will fail to identify the build on iOS 5.0.1. So do this when RedSn0w fails just like you had to with all other previous versions that didn’t automatically detect an IPSW. Just navigate to an iOS 5.0 file for your device instead of 5.0.1.
   Update: You can use redsn0w 0.9.9b9b for native iOS 5.0.1 support now and not have to point to a 5.0 IPSW. Download links for the newer version of redsn0w are here: Mac, Windows
6. After RedSn0w finishes doing it’s thing, you’re done!

7. Next you may need to perform a tethered boot. If you do, simply open RedSn0w again and click Extras and then Just Boot
8. Your phone will perform a tethered boot and you should be good to go!

RedSn0w has also thrown in a little bonus for Windows users. You can copy the redsnow.exe file to your desktop or anywhere you like and rename it something like justboot.exe. As long as you have the word “boot” in the file name you can just double click that file to perform a quick tethered boot with RedSn0w.

That’s it boys and girls. If you need any help, be sure to check out our TiPb jailbreak forums. Until next time, happy jailbreaking!

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System wide voice-to-text dictation, once exclusive to iPhone 4S, has now been replicated on other iOS devices thanks to a Jailbreak hack called Siri0us. In order to use the dictation hack, you will need to have a jailbroken iOS 5 device. A point to note, the hack does not use Apple’s servers, it solely uses the Nuance speech recognition system on device, and it does not provide any of the Siri voice control features.

Currently it has been confirmed to work on an iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS and iPod touch 4 generation. As we mentioned, the hack uses Nuance Speech Recognition however it is not officially licensed. The developer is hoping that Nuance will offer him the ability to purchase licenses to make the hack legal.

If you want to give it a try, add http://apt.if0rce.com to your list of Cydia sources, you should then be able to search for and install Siri0us. There appears to be a huge demand for the hack as the repository holding the app is getting hit with a lot of traffic and keeps going down.

Source: iForce via iDB

It’s been a big day for the jailbreak community with a possible iPhone 4S unlock and the new crash reporting tool released by the Chronic Dev Team. Now the PwnDev Team has released a new jailbreak utility for iOS 5 and 5.0.1.

I’m pleased to announce that we’ve just released Beta 1 of Ac1dSn0w for Mac OS X Lion (should also work on Snow Leopard). Ac1dSn0w allows you to jailbreak your iDevice tethered. It also provides features like Tethered Boot, Pwned DFU, and Exit Recovery to get your device out of Recovery Loop.

Ac1dSn0w will perform very much like Redsn0w already does. It will tethered jailbreak the iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, and iPod Touch 4G.

Ac1dSn0w also includes features such as “Exit Recovery” and “Pwned DFU”.

It’s great to see new tools being released and more developers stepping up and becoming more actively involved in the jailbreak community. I’ll be interested to see how these new tools fair against some of the veteran ones.

UPDATE: Turns out Ac1dSn0w uses copyrighted Apple code, which is a dealbreaker. Better to avoid any hassles or potential hassles and stick with redsn0w.

Source: Redmond Pie

Waiting for an untethered jailbreak on iOS 5? The Chronic Dev Team has just released a crash reporter tool that will allow your to submit your crash reports to them instead of Apple. Crash reports are most likely the way Apple finds exploits in iOS and patches them.

The Chronic Dev Team is hoping to find exploits in the same way for a different reason – a jailbreak for all. You simply install the program to your computer, attach your device to the computer, and click a single button to send your exploits to the Chronic Dev Team. The program is currently available only for Mac users but a Windows version should follow over the next 24 hours.

We’ll update you as soon as we see one go up!

Source: Chronic Dev Team

If you’re a prospective iPhone 4S user who’s patiently waiting for an unlock, you may get one soon. According to Musclenerd, long time member of the iPhone Dev-Team, they’ve got an unlock for the iPhone 4S in the works that looks promising. This is exciting news considering the iPhone 4S is currently the only device that can’t be unlocked with Ultrasn0w.

Crazy Thanksgiving weekend! Very promising 4S unlock is in the works (Not i4, just 4S..that’s crazy part)

Musclenerd posted the above image with his tweet about an iPhone 4S unlock. We’d still need a jailbreak for the iPhone 4S in order to unlock it. A jailbreak is also rumored to be in the works as well. You can help the jailbreak community find one faster by sending your crash reports to the Chronic Dev-Team via their new Crash Reporter tool as well.

Any of you out there holding off upgrading or purchasing a 4S due to the need for an unlock?

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

Firecore has announced that its aTV Flash (black) software for jailbroken second gen Apple TV’s has finally come out of beta and is now at version 1.0. aTV Flash adds a whole host of additional features to your Apple TV such as a media player that can handle loads of different video formats, a WebKit web browser, Last.fm radio, Weather and RSS feeds.

• The new Media Player included in aTV Flash (black) empowers you to go beyond iTunes and play most popular media formats. This includes formats such as: AVI, FLAC, ISO, M2TS, MKV, MP3, MP4, MPEG, MPG, VOB, WMV and many others.
• Cover art and metadata are downloaded automatically and added to your files with an end result of amazing! If you’ve already taken the time to add your own metadata you can you can use that too.
• Surf the web with a native web browser that provides a rich web experience on the AppleTV. Included is support for things like HTML5 music and video streaming as well as easy to use bookmarks and history. Navigating the web is easily done with the included AppleTV remote or the free Remote app for the iPhone and iPad.
• Go beyond just listening to music and start truly experiencing it by utilizing the full power of Last.fm. While streaming Last.fm radio (or playing your own music) you’ll have access to artist bios, and a seemingly endless amount of artist photos.
• Get quick access to weather and RSS news feeds. Your current weather location will be detected automatically, and other locations can be easily added as well.

Source: Firecore

aTV Flash (black) Demo from FireCore, LLC on Vimeo.

Let’s be blunt — if you’re not already in the TiPb Forums you’re missing out on the best darn discussion in iPhone and iPad today, so head on over and register now!

• You don’t need Flash do you?

• Do you need a jailbreak solution for your iPhone 4S?

• Show off your the home screen of your iPhone 4S here!

• If you have any questions regarding the recently released iTunes match, this is the place to find your answers.

See you in the forums!

The guys from Applidium claim to have cracked Siri’s security protocol and it could open the floodgates to third party developers and of course other hardware too. There is a downside, in order to use Siri on one of these other devices; you still need to have a UDID of an iPhone 4S device. A UDID is a Unique Device Identifier and is a 40 character unique number assigned to every iPhone.

The iPhone 4S sends identifiers everywhere. So if you want to use Siri on another device, you still need the identfier of at least one iPhone 4S. Of course we’re not publishing ours, but it’s very easy to retrieve one using the tools we’ve written. Of course Apple could blacklist an identifier, but as long as you’re keeping it for personal use, that should be allright!

Source: Applidium

The Vooma Peel is in the form of a case that wraps around your iPhone and offers a backup battery as well as a second phone. The second phone is built into the case and is activated via the Vooma app; which can only be installed on a jailbroken iPhone 4 or 4S. You can then call up a second phone dialler within the Vooma app and use that to dial numbers on the second line. There is no mention if the second line will support any data services or if it is purely for calls.

The release is currently shown as coming soon and as yet there is no pricing information. We will keep you informed as soon as we hear anymore.

Source: Vooma via Techcrunch

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.