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.

Today TiPb brings you round four of the Top 5 Must-Have Jailbreak Apps series, this one focused on what still makes Jailbreak compelling in a post-iPhone 3.0 world.

Now, all of the Jailbreak experts out there will (or should!) know about all these apps already. The purpose of this article is to give our readers who may not be familiar with the jailbreak community just a little taste of what is out there. So, if you’re still debating whether or not to jailbreak your iPhone, after reading this we are guessing that you will make up your mind one way or another…

All of the following applications can be downloaded via Cydia on your Jailbroken iPhone.

Read on after the jump!

GV Mobile

Is it really a shock that the first application in this article happens to be the latest and greatest app to be removed from the App Store by Apple? Right after the app’s removal, developer Sean Kovacs tossed it directly into the hands of the jailbreak community. With GV Mobile and a Google Voice phone number you can do the following:

• Dial numbers via the iPhone address book or typing on the keypad
• Full SMS support (view historic, reply, send new)
• Retrieve and delete recent call history
• Playback and delete voicemails
• Take calls from different phones other than your iPhone
• Enable or disable the phones that Google Voice forwards calls to
• Add or delete phones that Google Voice forwards call to

Backgrounder

Backgrounder allows you to multitask App Store apps on your iPhone in the background. Yes, you heard me correctly, you can now listen to Pandora while you are in your favorite App Store app! This is your perfect opportunity to show Palm Pre owners how it’s done.

Just press and hold the home key while running any application. After a few seconds, the “Backgrounding Enabled” pop-up appears. Release the home button, Backgrounder automatically returns you to SpringBoard. After that feel free to open any of application you see fit. To quit the background application, re-launch it from SpringBoard, then press and hold Home until the Backgrounding Disabled pop-up appears. It’s as simple as that.

qTweeter

Do you find yourself on one of the million iPhone App Store Twitter clients most of the day? If you answered yes to that question you may just find this app worth a good look. qTweeter is status update application that lets you tweet messages and update your Facebook status. You launch qTweeter by sliding your finger down from the status area and can start tweeting right away. Then you simply press the update button to update your Facebook status, send your Tweet, or both.

Some features of qTweeter are as follows:

• Update Facebook and Twitter at once
• Update your status on top of any app
• TwitPic support
• TwitVid support
• Shortened URL
• Music Tweets, YouTube Tweets, Safari Tweets
• Long Tweet and TweetShrink support
• Fast shortcut to your other Twitter app

Winterboard

For those of you who really want to apply a different look to your iPhone user interface, Winterboard. is the app for you. Using Winterboard you can apply complete skins to your device or just specific parts of it. Some of the things you can customize include app icons, wallpaper, statusbar, dock, etc… You can spend hours tweaking your UI ways that will make you wonder why Apple didn’t think of this.

SBSettings 3.0.2

The last app for today, SBSettings, addresses a common complaint that we hear a lot about the iPhone. Do you want a way to turn Wi-Fi on and off without going through all the settings? SBSettings can help you out. How about adjusting your screen brightness? How about the ability to toggle Bluetooth on and off with a single button on your home screen? Edge and 3G? I’m sure you get where I am going with this.

Conclusion

The jailbreak community seems to have a bright future with the way Apple has been keeping the App Store on lockdown lately. Whether you decide to jailbreak your iPhone – please remember TiPb and any and all staff and writers take no responsibility for any mishaps, mistakes, wrong doings, etc, that may occur during the jailbreak process.

For more on Jailbreaking and Jailbreak apps, see the TiPb forums!

Wow, so I’m guessing you are all probably really sick of hearing about the 3.0 software. Ok, I really don’t believe that but you never know. So how about some jailbreak conversation? You say you’re still on the fence on whether or not to jailbreak your iPhone even after ourTop 5 Must Have Jailbreak Apps Part 1 and Part 2? After reading this you should have hopefully made your decision one way or another. So buckle up and I will take you for a ride… on the wild jailbreak side.

***All of the following apps can be downloaded via Cydia on your Jailbroken iPhone.

More after the break!

1. xGPS

For all of you who are looking for that Turn-by-Turn GPS solution, this first jailbreak app, xGPS has your answer. This is the first app available to bring turn-by-turn directions to your iPhone. It has recently been updated to version 1.2 and — until Apple allows them into the App Store — is the best application available for the iPhone for Turn-by-Turn. This version also includes voice instructions support.

2. Snapture

This application is for those who think that Apple didn’t give enough features — or I should say any features — to the iPhones camera. With Snapture you can take multiple shots at once, take black and white photos, and it even allows you to zoom. Snapture has a sleek user interface, and allows you to take photos by touching anywhere on the screen, or even by using the volume button which happens to be a very welcomed add on. Again, a third party jailbreak developer is picking up Apple’s slack.

3. iBluetooth

This next one was covered by TiPb a while back, iBluetooth. Yes, we know that iPhone 3.0 should eliminate the need for this application but until you can get your hands on 3.0, this should hold you over. Also, with iBluetooth you can enjoy a little Apple-unsupported OBEX Bluetooth file transfer, which simply means, for example, you can share images from iPhone to iPhone or iPhone to another mobile phone or computer, etc…

4. QuickReply

Apple should really pay close attention to the following application from iReal. QuickReply is a plugin that allows you to reply to a new SMS right from the onscreen popup screen, so there is no need to have to exit your current application to reply to a SMS message. Pretty nifty indeed. This application also gives you the option to call the contact instead of replying via SMS which is also a nice feature to have at your fingertips. (Maybe Apple should also look at this as part of a notification system overhaul, hint, hint).

5. QuickSMS

This 5th and final app we have for you today is also from iReal. QuickSMS is simply a plugin that allows you to compose a new SMS message to anyone from any application on your iPhone. You can launch QuickSMS anytime by hitting the Volume Up button. This will pop up window and from here you can create a new SMS or call a contact. So gone will be the days when you had to enter your Phone or SMS apps!

Sadly, none of us know what the future of jailbreaking will be with iPhone 3.0 and all of the great new features it brings to the table. This very well may be one of the final Top 5 Must Have Jailbreak Apps articles that get written on TiPb. Until 3.0 is officially released this summer, however, hopefully reading this finally gave you that push off the fence onto jailbreaking the 2.2.1 firmware!

For all of your jailbreaking needs be sure check out our dedicated forum: iPhone Jailbreak Central.

So you’re still debating whether or not to jailbreak your iPhone? Hopefully after reading this you will have made your decision. Back in October we brought to you the first Top 5 Must-Have Jailbreak Apps, well today we bring you round two of the series. Now keep in mind, all the seasoned veterans of Jailbreaking will or should know about all the apps listed here. This article is for the sole purpose of swaying those still on the fence to the darkside…

***All of the following apps can be downloaded via Cydia on your Jailbroken iPhone.

Read on after the jump!

1. PDAnet

Yes, this one was covered fully by Dieter, but this app seems to definitely be super popular in the Jailbreak community. PDAnet will use your iPhone as a Wi-Fi router that you can connect to with your laptop to browse the internet. Do you want to get stuck paying AT&T $30 for tethering services for some causal browsing? Didn’t think so… so head over to check out our full guide on how to set up PDAnet. You’ll be surfing in no time!

Be sure to heed Dieter’s warning when using this app:

There is one major caveat you need to be aware of with PdaNet: the Terms of Service on the standard AT&T iPhone contract (and also on their standard Data Plans) do not allow you to tether. Most people simply ignore this and go ahead and tether anyway — being careful not to overdo it might prevent AT&T from hitting you with extra fees or even a cancellation.

2. Cycorder

So the lack of common features of other phones really aggravates you? Say the lack of video recording on a device that is geared towards multimedia? Yeah, we can see how that one is pretty disappointing. Well thanks to the Jailbreaking community you now to can record video with your iPhone with Cycorder. Recording in .mov format, Cycorder gets anywhere from 7-15 frames per second along with supporting audio! To get Cycorder simply go into Cydia and you will see it on the “Featured Packages” list on the front page.

For more information and details please visit our post on this free video recorder – Cycorder.

3. Status Notifier

In the forums lately a few of you have asked me about a program that notifies you of incoming messages, missed calls, voice mails, calendar alerts, etc… Well there is one simple answer to that, Status Notifier.

4. SBsettings

This next app also addresses a common complaint that we hear a lot regarding the iPhone. I don’t know how many times I personally have seen “Is there any way to turn Wi-Fi off/on without going through all those steps?” on the forums. The answer – SBsettings. Now take that one step further, how about screen brightness? Toggle bluetooth on and off with a single button on the home screen anyone? Edge and 3G? You get the idea… Try it out!

5. Qik

Another area that iPhone customers get the short end of the stick on is streaming live media. Until now that is. Let me introduce you to a little app called Qik. Qik offers iPhone users access to internet video streaming over their cellular network. Be sure to check the Qik link above to get yourself up and streaming over the internet!

Conclusion

Hopefully after reading this you are finally off the fence and will either Jailbreak or simply decide it isn’t for you. If you do jailbreak, this list of must-have jailbroken apps should keep you busy for some time. For more information about jailbreaking please visit our Jailbreak Apps forum along with Jailbreak Central!

[Special thanks to all the members of the forum who contributed to app ideas in the following thread: Must Have Jailbreak Apps?]

[You're tempted. We know you are. We are too. Even with the App Store, Jailbreaking is the ultimate in iPhone forbidden fruit. So what will it take to push us over the edge? How about the top 5 killer Apps. Stuff Apple will never allow in the official store? Jeremy rounds them up for us below, and if you do decide to take the plunge, he has you covered with full tutorials on how to Jailbreak the iPhone 3G with Quickpwn for Windows PCs, Mac OS X, how to Jailbreak and Unlock the original iPhone 2G.]

Our forums have been buzzing lately with members asking “why should I jailbrake?” Well today TiPb brings you some of the very best reasons: the top 5 must have Jailbreak Apps!

What are they and what do they do? Read on after the jump!

1. Winterboard

For those of you who really want to trick out your iPhone’s user interface, look no further than Winterboard. Using the Winterboard you can apply whole skins to your device or just specific parts of it. The things you can customize include App icons, wallpaper, and even the statusbar, dock, etc. You can spend an entire day tweaking your UI to your liking. For the best guide I’ve seen for Winterboard, check out this link here.

2. BossPrefs

While you can remove Apps, WebClips, etc, from your device by just tapping and holding, then simply tapping the “X” icon, the built-in Apple icons are not removeable on your iPhone. This is where BossPrefs comes into play. Install it to get extra options for configuring your device, including “Poof!” a section where you can disable icons, even if they are fixed ones like iTunes or Weather.

3. Intelliscreen

This next little gem of an App was reviewed back in May by Casey. Have you ever needed to check your Mail but didn’t have time to thumb through your iPhone to check it out? Intelliscreen by Intelliborn allows for easy access to information on your iPhone lock screen, such as Mail and SMS messages, iCal dates, news stories, sports scores, and more. If you are a fan of widgets on your PC or Mac, or the Today Screen on Windows Mobile devices, you’ll love Intelliscreen.

4. Backgrounder

This App is one that I told you about this past week. It’s called Backgrounder, and it simply allows you to run official App Store apps in the background. Imagine that, the ability to multitask right on your iPhone! Try this app out, you will not regret it! Here’s how you use it:

You just press and hold the home key while running any application. After a few seconds, the Backgrounding Enabled pop-up appears. Release the home button and go about your business. Backgrounder automatically returns you to SpringBoard. To quit the background application, re-launch it from SpringBoard, then press and hold Home until the Backgrounding Disabled pop-up appears.

5. Categories

Categories allows you to create folders on your desktop. This gives you the ability to organize your home screens in ways far beyond anything Apple currently provides. When you add an App to a category, it is taken from the Springboard list so that it no longer shows up on the home screen. When you remove the app from the category it is returned back to the Springboard. In other words, instead of scrolling from screen to screen, you can have one screen containing all of your App folders for instant access to what you want. Pretty sweet deal if you ask me. Below is a picture of what a games folder would look like when opened from the springboard.

*Since Categories edits system files, be sure to check out the Help section before using this App to avoid any complications. It gives you step by step directions.

Conclusion

So there you have it, you wanted to know the top 5 Apps out there and TiPb comes through and gives you the answer! This list of must-have jailbroken apps should keep you busy for quite some time along with giving your iPhone a fresh new look! For more information about jailbreaking please visit our jailbreaking apps forum, our members are always willing to help you out!