Month: October 2011

MuscleNerd Gives Update on iPhone 4S Jailbreak Status

Ever since Apple unveiled its latest version of the iPhone earlier this month, we've all been wondering one thing: when will it be jailbroken? And now that some of us have had the device for two weeks, we're definitely ready to start hacking.

Tweaks are being updated with iOS 5 compatibility, and new utilities are being introduced that are specific to the new software. So how long must us iPhone 4S users wait until we can access this stuff? Luckily, MuscleNerd has some info for us...

On Android’s Software Fragmentation

We've expressed our opinions on Android software multiple times here on iDB. You can imagine that, as an iPhone blog, we are a little biased towards the iOS platform, but our issues with Android don't come unwarranted.

One of our beefs with Android is that its apps seem to lack the polish that iOS apps have — even in software that is available on both platforms. Why is that? Well, not only do developers have to worry about multiple screen sizes, they also have to worry about multiple versions of Android...

Apple Giving Away Free Copies of JetPack Joyride

Apart from the weekly app sales we see from developers, there are other ways to get good deals on games. One way, for instance, is to go to Starbucks. If you don't mind their coffee, the retailer gives away free apps to their customers.

But what if you don't like coffee? Well then you could check Apple's App Store Facebook site. According to TouchArcade, the company has started giving away free app promo codes to Facebook users that "Like" the App Store's page...

ZoomIsBack! Brings Tap-to-Zoom Back to the Camera App

Missing iOS 4's double tap to zoom feature? If so, ZoomIsBack! is the jailbreak tweak you've been needing.

As its name not-so-subtly implies, ZoomIsBack! regurgitates the zoom present in iOS 4 — a feature that was ditched in favor of pinch-to-zoom in iOS 5.

The good news is that once you install ZoomIsBack, both zooming methods work. Check inside for a video walkthrough of the tweak in action...

How to Mark Multiple Emails as Read in iOS 5

For the past few weeks, we've been showing you how to access some handy features in iOS 5. We've shown you how to create text shortcuts, and how to look up word definitions using iOS' system-wide dictionary.

Now we're going to show you how to mark multiple emails as read in iOS 5. This wasn't something you could do before in iOS 4 without a jailbreak tweak, but it's easy to do in the latest version of Apple's mobile OS...

How to Get Your iPod App Back on iOS 5

I never understood why Apple decided to make the iPhone like the iPod touch — separating the iPod app into Music and Videos — but I guess they are wanting to move away from the "iPod" moniker.

If you hate having separate Music and Video apps as much as I do, then you'll certainly be interested in Unified iPod for iOS 5 — a jailbreak tweak that brings the iPod app back in style on iOS 5...

Sprint Had to Cough Up $15.5 Billion to Get The iPhone

Sprint has revealed that its deal to carry Apple's iPhone will run for four years, costing a whopping $15.5 billion.

The carrier has been criticised for the money it had to pay Apple to get the iPhone on its network, although, with AT&T and Verizon already sporting the iPhone on their networks, it's debatable whether Sprint really had any choice but to cough up the cash.

Fear not, Sprint shareholders, for your man in charge is confident that they can bleed customers dry, and ultimately, turn a profit...

Will Siri Be the Magical Key to Unlocking the Apple TV?

It's a rumor that's been around for easily two years now, and it just won't go away. Is Apple really working on making a dedicated TV set?

Not the little black box we know as an Apple TV, but rather a big, Apple-branded television. Such a TV is definitely coming, according to Nick Bilton's anonymous sources, writing for The New York Times.

What does Apple hope for by entering a market that is already very much in a race to the bottom, with prices on TV sets plummeting? How could Apple bring its typical flair to an industry which is, after all, simply selling the panels that we sit and stare at? The real magic happens in the boxes we attach to our TV, right?

According to Bilton, Apple has a secret weapon up its sleeve, and it's Siri...

MobileMount Stand Makes Suction Cups Cool

We've covered a few KickStarter projects in the past, mainly because we think some of the best iPhone and iPad accessories come from the little guy, rather than the big companies knocking out forty different iPhone stands in ten different colors. We also like to help those same little guys get off the ground, as long as their project is good enough.

The latest to come across our radar is MobileMount, which can serve as both a kickstand and a suction cup mount for iPhones, iPads, or pretty much anything else that has a flat surface...

SmartFolders Lets you Create Folders and Rules for Mail App

Even with all the improvements Apple has made to the iPhone's Mail app in iOS 5, there are still some glaring omissions, especially if you're the kind of person who likes to create folders and have them populated based on a selection of rules.

Smart folders are something that Apple has embraced on the desktop, with Mail on OS X featuring them heavily, which makes it all the more surprising that they haven't brought them to its mobile platforms.

As always, the jailbreak community has some to the rescue, and SmartFolders is just what the doctor ordered...

Judge Denies Samsung’s Request to Ban iPhone 4S in Italy

Here we go again. In the pissing contest legal battle that has now been going on for months between Samsung and Apple, an Italian judge has once again decided to side with Apple.

According to Italian news website AGI, a judge denied Samsung's request to ban the iPhone 4S in Italy. While the judge turned down Samsung's request, she did ask both companies to provide further evidence, which will be reviewed later in December...