Month: July 2011

Can Nokia and Microsoft Overthrow Apple Together?

"How many of you use an iPhone or an Android device?"

When Stephen Elop asked this question, just a few raised their hands. "That upsets me -he continued- not because some of you are using iPhones, but because only a small number of people are using iPhones. I'd rather people have the intellectual curiosity to understand what we're up against."

Stephen Elop is a canadian executive who is now in charge of Nokia, the world's largest manufacturer of mobile phones. They sell millions of phones per day, but the models they sell are low cost devices, sold for the most part in developing countries. In the past few years, Nokia's share of the smartphone market plummeted form 49% to 25% due to the overwhelming growth of both Android and the iPhone.

Now, at Nokia, they are facing the worst crisis they've ever dealt with. They lost 75% of their market value and will be forced to let a lot of their best engineers go...

JailbreakMe Will “Be Back Soon” [Updated]

The tension is getting harder and harder for the release of JailbreakMe. After being leaked to everyone over the weekend, we found out that JailbreakMe was officially going to be released to the public today or tomorrow.

The JailbreakMe website just got updated again, this time to show a sign stating "We'll be back soon," similar to the message Apple shows when the Online Apple Store is being updated...

Google+ iPhone App Submitted to the App Store, Awaiting Approval

Everyone's been Buzzing [pardon my pun] about Google's latest social product, Google+. Many people have been a fan of it - at least the ones who got invited, that is - but us iPhone users had to wait just a bit to get our hands on an official Google+ app. Google initially made the app Android only (naturally), with iPhone users having to use a mobile web client that worked rather well.

Today, however, Google employee Erica Joy posted on her Google+ page: "For my iPhone using friends: the Google+ iPhone app has been submitted to the App store (no not today, sometime prior to today) and is awaiting approval."

iOS 4.3.4 to Block Gevey SIM?

iOS 4.3.4 is expected to be released soon because of the JailbreakMe 3.0 leak, and a lot of people are wondering if this will block the Gevey SIM from working. As we have posted previously, Apple has blocked the use of the Gevey SIM unlock in iOS 5 Beta 2.

This block also comes after Apple released an unlocked iPhone 4 in the U.S. for use on any carrier (mostly T-Mobile)...

‘Random Icon Flip’ Brings the Gymnast Out of Your iPhone’s App Icons

Ever wanted to see your app icons randomly flip as if you Home screen was filled with a dozen miniature revolving doors?

To be honest, me neither; but it does look nice once the effect is there and you can see it in action.

Random Icon Flip is one of those tweaks that sounds horrible while hearing it described, but it actually starts to grow on you after using it...

‘SpringBlock Breaker’ Brings Breakout to a SpringBoard Near You

Few arcade games are as easily recognizable and ubiquitous as Breakout. That's why it's only appropriate that along with a Space Invaders remake, a Breakout remake graces the iPhone's SpringBoard in the form of a jailbreak tweak.

That tweak is called SpringBlock Breaker, and it allows you to play a remixed version of Breakout using some strategically placed app icons, and the iPhone's accelerometer.

Is this entry as interesting as SpringBoard Invaders? Check inside for the answer...

Another Stunning iPhone 5 Concept Design

We've already shown you a beautiful iPhone 5 concept by Michal Bonikowski, and now another concept design of the iPhone 5 has caught our attention.

Antoine Brieux from NAK Studio has created a gallery of renderings that he believes reflect Apple's design evolution. We'll leave you to draw your own conclusions on the design's accuracy, but these designs are still mesmerizing to look at...

Microsoft Kinect and iPad 2 Hacked Together in Holy Matrimony

Microsoft's Xbox 360 Kinect is currently the tech world's darling when it comes to hacking. The device's twin cameras and infra-red sensing abilities mean the Kinect is fully fitted for all kinds of hackery.

Apple's iPad is equally well-liked in the hacking community. A large screen, dual-core CPU, and huge install base make it a great tool for pushing boundaries.

With that in mind, you could be forgiven for thinking that if some clever people found a way to marry the two pieces of hardware together, we could be in for happenings of a cataclysmic nature - human sacrifice! Dogs and cats living together! Mass hysteria! (Ghostbusters, for those wondering where that came from.)

Thankfully though, you'd be wrong...

‘AnimateBattery’ Adds a Little Spice to Your iPhone’s Lock Screen While Charging

AnimateBattery is a neat little jailbreak tweak that -- as its name states -- animates the battery on your lock screen while your iPhone is charging.

This is the forth TweakWeek entry in the series by developer Elias Limneos, who has in my opinion, some of the better tweaks that TweakWeek has seen thus far.

Check inside for the full video details regarding the ins and outs of this free download from Cydia...

JailbreakMe 3.0 to Drop Today or Tomorrow?

It's been a seemingly endless saga as Comex prepares his upcoming jailbreak tool for the iPad 2. JailbreakMe 3.0 has been expected to drop any day now for the past few weeks, but several speed bumps and unexpected turns have kept the userland jailbreak from getting released.

This past weekend, JailbreakMe 3.0's exploit was leaked online in an attempt to hurry up Comex's official release. Some people were able to get to the download links in time (before they were pulled) and successfully jailbreak the iPad 2 on iOS 4.3.

Thanks to a string of alleged emails between Comex and MultiMediaWill (the guy that leaked JailbreakMe 3.0), the latest rumor pegs JailbreakMe's relaunch for tomorrow...

SuperSlider: Launch Any Application with One Tap from Your Lock Screen

Over the last month or so we've seen several jailbreak utilities end up in the lock screen slider. First came FlashLock, and then CameraLock (both developed by Filippo Bigarella). These tweaks give you quick access to iPhone functions without having to unlock the device.

In the spirt of those 2 titles comes another tweak embedded into your lock screen slider. Like the aforementioned utilities, SuperSlider adds an icon to your slider to give you quick access to any application...

Manually Arrange the Icons in Your Status Bar With ‘ArrangeStatusBar’

TweakWeek seems to have hit a certain stride under Elias Limneos. The prolific developer of this week's TweakWeek entries is back at it again with something original, something that I think you're definitely going to like.

This latest tweak is called ArrangeStatusBar, and it allows you to use a finger and manually arrange the icons residing in your iPhone's status bar.

Needless to say, I'm thoroughly impressed with its accuracy and abundance of cool factor oozing from this tweak...