• apple,  cydia,  ios,  ipad,  iphone,  ipod touch,  jailbreak

    Another iOS MultiTask Redesign Concept

    [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRt5qagkGBU]

    Not that long ago I was talking about Auxo, a jailbreak tweak for iOS devices that replaces, some say enhances, Apple’s implementation of multitasking on iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.

    A new concept video has been posted that builds on what Apple has done and blends it with the card based multitasking analogy that was developed by Palm for webOS.  We all know that I have a soft spot for Palm and webOS, so I encourage you to check out this concept video.  Let’s hope that Apple takes it, and what the Auxo folks have done, and builds in some to those ideas into iOS 7.

    Here’s a look at what multitasking cards looked like on Palm’s Pre running webOS.

    [Via iDownloadBlog.com…]

  • apple,  apps,  google,  ios,  iphone,  jailbreak

    Third-Party App Invasion

    I’m a stock iOS guy.  I don’t jailbreak my iPhone.  (Go #TeamPure!) I don’t tweak it.  I do install apps, games, and utilities.  But my every day go to apps have always been the stock Apple apps: Mail, Safari, Calendar, and Siri.  Until today.

    Starting today, I’m going to try out some third-party applications as my every day go to apps.  Why? you might ask?  Well, I’ve been reading a lot about how Apple is being ‘out Appled’ by Google.  In other words, Google is getting much better at hardware design faster than Apple is getting better at software and services.  That doesn’t really mean much to us common folk, but it has inspired me to try out and use new software and that is a good thing.

    On my iPhone and iPad 3, Mail has been replaced by Gmail, Calendar by Fantastical, Safari by Chrome, and Siri by Google Search.  I also installed Google Maps in addition to Apple Maps, but honestly, I don’t use either maps app on my iPhone very often for it to make a difference.

    I though about using Pandora, Spotify, Amazon Cloud Player or Rdio to replace iTunes but I didn’t want to switch to a streaming service because I don’t want to run my iPhone’s battery down any faster than it already does.

    I’ll run my experiment for 2-4 weeks and then post my thoughts about things here.

    If you have a favorite app that replaces a stock Apple app, let us know and post it in the comments section below.

  • cydia,  ios,  iphone,  ipod touch,  jailbreak

    Auxo Posted to Cydia

    The other day, we wrote a post about Auxo, a jailbreak tweak that enhances multitasking on iOS 6 devices.

    According to a new post on iDownloadBlog.com, Auxo is now available as a $1.99 purchase from Cydia.  Jeff Benjamin writes:

    “If you have a jailbroken iPhone running iOS 6, I’m happy to report that you can now download Auxo from Cydia’s BigBoss repo for just $1.99.”

    Seems pretty reasonable to me.

    [Via iDownloadBlog.com…]

  • apple,  ios,  ipad,  iphone,  ipod touch,  jailbreak

    Auxo Tweak Revolutionizes iOS App Switching

    Tech blogs are abuzz this weekend because of Auxo, a new iOS 6 tweak for jailbroken iPhones, iPads, and iPod touch handsets.

    Auxo, developed by @Sentry_NC, is a replacement application switcher for iOS.  There are two main features of Auxo which really grabbed my attention.  The first is a new card-like interface to show you which applications are running on your iOS device.  The second, a feature that I really like on smartphones running Google Android, are a sort of widget-like toggles for features that you normally have to go hunting for in the Settings control panel.

    iDownloadBlog.com recently posted a video demo of Auxo running on an iPhone 4S.  Below are some screen captures from the video which we link to below.

    These first two photos show the new app switcher interface.  The standard iOS app icons have been replaced by smaller versions of the app icons with a thumbnail of the application state.  This is really kind of cool in a webOS kinda of in that it shows you what the application is ‘doing’.

    These next photos show more detail in to the other key feature of Auxo, iOS control widgets.

    The first image in this set shows the replacement iPod music controls and the second image shows the regular Rotation Lock control, and three new controls that allow you to quickly toggle Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and cellular radios on/off.  Auxo also allows you to have two rows of four controls.  In the last screen shot, the red arrow points to the two ‘page’ indicators that you see elsewhere in iOS, like in the Home screen.

    [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4Q_97exnJk]

    Auxo is an unofficial tweak for iOS 6 devices.  Because Auxo is a tweak, and not an ‘official’ app that comes from Apple’s App Store, you must be running a ‘jailbroken’ device and install the software from the Cydia app store.  Auxo will be a paid tweak, however reports say that the cost will be ‘reasonable.’  The developers are suppose to be working on an iOS 5 port now.

    Auxo, Jailbreaks, and Staying Competitive

    I have to say that I’ve always been a member of #TeamPure and up until now, I have not seen a tweak that would make me consider jailbreaking my iPhone 4S or iPad 3.  There has been a growing call from bloggers and ‘geeks’ (ie: not your average consumer) that iOS needs a major features shake up with iOS 7 that is expected to be released late in 2013, and I’m starting to come around an agree with that sentiment.  Google’s Android and to a lesser extent, Microsoft’s Windows Phone, are putting up a strong challenge to Apple’s mobile platform.  With iOS 7, Apple needs to start ‘borrowing’ ideas from their rivals and making some ‘strategic’ code acquisitions from the iOS jailbreak community if they want to stay competitive.  I hope that Tim Cook, Jonny Ive, and the rest of the Apple team setting the direction for iOS in the wake of Scott Forstalls stepping down as the head of iOS development really take a look at what’s going on with other mobile operating systems and look to them for inspiration on new features and improvements in iOS.

    [Via iDownloadblog.com…]

  • apple,  att,  google,  iphone,  jailbreak,  verizon

    End of the Road for Jailbreakers Stealing Cellular Tethering Service

    If you have a jailbroken/rooted Apple iPhone of one of the many Google Android and have been using apps to essentially “steal” wireless tethering services between your phone and your notebook or tablet computer, your days of “free” service are almost over.

    AT&T and now Verizon are putting technology in place on their networks that allows them to sniff out people who are tethering devices like laptops, typically over Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, to their smartphone’s data plan as a sort of wireless modem to get on the Internet.

    Both AT&T and Verizon required you to subscribe to an additional service before you can tether another device to your phone.

    I may not be a fan of the prices that are charged to tether or setup your smartphone as a mobile Wi-Fi hot spot, but I like the idea of people stealing bandwidth and driving up the cost of my smartphone data plans even less.

    [Via EngadgetMobile.com, Electronista.com…]

  • android,  apple,  google,  ios,  iphone,  jailbreak

    Who Needs iOS 4.2? Run Android 2.2 On Your iPhone 2G, 3G Now

    I saw this over on Engadget and couldn’t resist commenting on it.

    It seems that iPhone hacks have way too much time on their hands, because with an application called Bootlace 2.1 for jailbroken iPhone 2G (the original iPhone) and iPhone 3G, the job of getting Android 2.2 installed is even easier.

    So who cares if Apple is stopped releasing iOS updates for the original iPhone?  Now we can run Google Android 2.2 and we don’t even need to sync to a computer to load it up.

    You can find the installation directions over on FSM.com.

    [Via Engadget.com…]