Month: August 2010

Remove Background Toggle for SBSettings

Sébastien Page ∙ August 16, 2010

Remove Background is a new mod available in Cydia that adds a toggle to SBSettings allowing you to remove all apps from the task switcher, and kill apps processes at the same time. It's pretty handy because your app switcher can get messy really quickly if you recently opened several applications

I've been looking for a similar app for a while and although Remove Background works as advertised, I find it to be too "extreme" for me. I rarely (if ever) want to kill all apps at once. Instead, I'd like to be able to select in the settings what apps I never want to run in the background or appear in the task switcher. If you're a developer, feel free to use my idea...

What about you? Have you used Remove Background? What do you think about it?

Does Hiring NFC Expert Secure iPhone as an iWallet?

Guest Author ∙ Updated November 12, 2019

Apple announced its hiring of Benjamin Vigier, who for lack of a better word, is an expert of Near Field Communications, or NFC as it's referred as. Computer World's Jonny Evans has posted a lengthy blog that outlines what he says is an inevitable transformation of the iPhone as we know it.

How so? Evans believes that the next-gen iPhone will be designed to, and be capable of handling specific tasks such as scanning your device to pay for things like airline tickets, to fingerprint recognition passkey protection. Sound scary? Yes and no.

iPhone Patch Improves iPhone 4 Antenna Signal

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated February 23, 2017

A couple weeks ago I received and email from Jeff at iPhonePatch.com, a website that sells little stickers to supposedly prevent iPhone 4 antenna issues. Jeff was very friendly and easy going so when he proposed to send me some patches to try out, I agreed. I received the patches last week and I've been trying them ever since and I'd like to tell you a bit more about my experience.

The patches come in 15 different designs to choose from. They're tiny little vinyl patches that take a few seconds to put on. Personally, I put the skulls and recycle logo patches on my iPhone because I thought they were the one that fit me best. It looked a little funny to have these on my phone at first but I quickly got used to them.

I have terrible signal in my house and when I grab my iPhone, I usually get just one bar. After putting the patches on my i4 though, I was able to get 2 or 3 bars constantly when holding the phone. For the purpose of this review, I tried to replicate the antenna death grip and I wasn't able to. The least I would have was 2 bars.

If like me you don't like having a case on your iPhone, using these vinyl patches might be a good alternative to using a Bumper to increase signal strength.

Starting at $5.99 for a six pack of vinyl patches, I think they are a good deal. The only thing I have against the patches is the poor variety of designs. There is indeed not much to choose from but Jeff tells me he's going to be adding more styles in the near future.

You can buy vinyl iPhone patch from iPhonePatch.com.

This is How Much Data Your iPhone Uses When Using FaceTime on 3G

Sébastien Page ∙ August 16, 2010

There are a few jailbreak apps on Cydia that let you use FaceTime on 3G: 3G Unrestrictor, My3G, and FaceBreak. If like me you're on an unlimited data plan, data usage is not a problem. If however you are on a capped data plan, using FaceTime over 3G could take you overboard.

A few days ago, I made a FaceTime call over 3G for 10 minutes to figure out how much data FaceTime uses on 3G. As you can see on the image above, I sent about 15 MB of data and I received about 12 MB. I think I sent more than I received because I was moving around a lot.

Total data usage for a 10-minute FaceTime call on 3G: 26.5 MB. That's about 2.65 MB per minute.

Obviously your mileage may vary but these numbers shouldn't be too far from what a FaceTime call over 3G will cost you.

FaceBreak Allows FaceTime Over 3G

Sébastien Page ∙ August 15, 2010

FaceBreak is a new jailbreak application that allows you to do FaceTime on 3G. It is very similar to 3G Unrestrictor and My3G, except it only works with FaceTime.

It is available for $1.49 from the Cydia Store. It is cheaper than 3G Unrestrictor and My3G, but again, it doesn't do as much. If you only need FaceTime to work on 3G, then FaceBreak is your best bet. If however you need a mod to allow other apps to run on 3G, then you'd be better off going with My3G.

Have you tried FaceBreak? How do you like it?

iPad KegMate Makes Perfect Bartender

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated January 24, 2016

Some engineers at Yelp have made the iPad and a keg of beer work together. The iPad is connected to the keg via several connectors and it is able to tell who's pouring the beer, how much he is pouring, as well as various information about the beer.

Watch the video for more details. It's pretty cool!

Do you want the same at home? Grab the source code here.

[JAiB - Gizmodo]

NoCyFresh Prevents Cydia From Refreshing at Launch

Sébastien Page ∙ August 15, 2010

NoCyFresh is a new jailbreak app available in the http://repo.modyouri.com/ repo that provides a way to enable and disable Cydia's refresh of packages at launch. You can still manually refresh by going to the Changes section and hitting "refresh".

I haven't personally tried it but I'd love to hear your thoughts if you have. It seems that NoCyFresh can be a real time saver. Comments?

UPDATE: iDB reader Burge tells us this is a dangerous package. After a bit of research, turns out he is correct. Don't install NoCyFresh (or do it at your own risks)

What Phone Did You Use Before Your iPhone?

Guest Author ∙ August 15, 2010

It seems like it's been forever ago that my son's momma walked in the door with matching iPhone 3G's. Little did I know that day would literally change my life. Never in my life did I think that losing a trackball would open up the doors to substantial opportunity.

My interest in technology, specifically Apple, compounded itself to an infinite proportion. That being said, I started asking myself today, what device did our iDB readers sport before their current iPhone?

My list isn't anything to write home about, in fact I suspect the gradual trend displayed in my cellular advancement could be an outline for many smartphone users. Here is a brief timeline of the last 5 years of cellphone ownership:

iPhone 4 iPhone 3GS iPhone 3G Blackberry 8300 T-Mobile Sidekick Free flip phone

Needless to say I have been quite happy with the way this sequence unfolded. Next to my son, getting gifted an iPhone was the best present I have ever received. How does your list compare to mine? Let us know in the freedom of speech section, known as the comment box.

TetherMe Brings Native Tethering to the iPhone

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated October 4, 2021

TetherMe is a jailbreak tweak that brings native tethering to the iPhone, even when your carrier normally bars you for. Such activities. According to the app description, it should work for any carrier without the need for customized bundles or preferences.

TetherMe has been tested to work on all iOS versions from 8-14 and works by telling the iPhone to allow tethering on any APN that is used for iPhone data. As a result, you should not be charged extra from your phone company as all tethering data appears to come from the phone itself.

TetherMe also bypasses signature checking and allows you to edit your carrier bundle manually if you so desire. This is required to enable MMS functionality on T-Mobile. TetherMe does NOT enable the loading of APN configurations from .mobileconfig profiles at this time.

This app is different from my favorite jailbreak app MyWi, which allows to turn your iPhone into a wifi hotspot. Instead, TetherMe allows for native tethering as Apple intended it to be, using Bluetooth or USB.

There is no icon for this item. After installation and reboot, you'll be able to turn tethering ON in Settings > General > Network, or install the Tethering Toggle for SBSettings.

Available for $4.99 in Cydia, TetherMe is a great alternative to the more expensive MyWi if you don't want to share your Internet connection with other devices. If however you want to use your iPhone as a hotspot, then MyWy will still be your best bet.

Please let us know what you think of this application by leaving a comment below.

Top 10 iPhone News You Missed This Week

Sébastien Page ∙ August 15, 2010

This is a quick summary of the most popular posts on the blog this week:

How to easily install Frash on your iPhone How much time a day do you spend on your iPhone? Steve Jobs knew about the iPhone 4 antenna for over a year 4,000,000 iPhones are downloading apps illegally iOS 4.0.2 is out. Jailbreakers beware! Jailbreak and Unlock iOS 4.0.2 on iPhone 3G Walking in to buy an iPhone 4? Good luck Face Time Mod improves quality of FaceTime video calls Add contacts to your springboard with CallMe Mixed stats for the iPhone 4

From z iPad Blog:

What do 166 iPads stacked on top of each other look like? iOS 3.2.2 for iPad is out. Jailbreakers beware The ultimate iPad accessory

Get your Groove (Shark) on With Your iPhone

Guest Author ∙ Updated January 24, 2016

If you feel like it has been months and months since the Beta iPhone app for popular on-demand music streaming giant Grooveshark was released, you are correct. However your patience has been well worth the wait. The application has officially hit the market and is available for free in the App Store, sort of.

Upon downloading the handy jukebox, you will be instantly granted a 30-day trial of the service. Once your month is up, the cost is only $3 a month, or $30 a year if you want to pony up 12 months off the bat. Honestly, that's a great deal, especially if you compare it to similar services like MOG, or Rhapsody. The best part is you don't even have to offer up a credit card to start jamming.

Just like web-based version, Grooveshark's content is posted by the users themselves, thus the ability to find obscurities among the classics is usually painless. The ability to add search results to existing playlists, combined with a "genius" type predictor, works well when constructing the perfect variety.

Inevitably someone is going to compare the pennies a day price to the likes of free music streaming via Pandora, and ask why they should switch. I have a hard time believing anyone who has used both Grooveshark and Pandora would ask. Nevertheless, the ability to outright search for specific song titles and have them played on demand, is in itself worth the small stipend. Don't believe me? Go use your free trial and get back to me.

How to Unlock iPhone 3G iOS 4.0.2 with UltraSn0w

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated September 1, 2010

This step by step guide and tutorial will show you how to unlock your iPhone 3G iOS 4.0.2 using UltraSn0w 1.1-1. At the time I am writing this, it will only work with the iPhone 3G since there is no jailbreak for other devices.

Step 1: Jailbreak your iPhone 3G using RedSn0w.

Step 2: Go to Cydia and search for UltraSn0w. If it’s not there, you might have to add the following repo: repo666.ultrasn0w.com

Step 3: Install UltraSn0w.

Step 4: Reboot your iPhone.

You're done. You should now be able to use your iPhone 3G with any carrier.