Month: January 2011

Preview: A New Jailbreak Tweak Called VoiceActivator

Alex Heath ∙ January 29, 2011

The iPhone has had "Voice Control" for quite awhile. And although many verbal commands are supported, the iPhone's Voice Control still lacks the potential it could have.

You can already use Voice Control to make a call and play a song, but it's a shame you can't have more varied types of commands. Wouldn't it be nice if you could use the iPhone's native verbal recognition to look up a webpage or launch an app?

A new jailbreak tweak, by popular developer chpwn, will soon be released in Cydia. Its aim is to provide more customizability and functionality to the iPhone's Voice Control...

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Brand New Untethered Jailbreak Exploit Discovered By pod2g

Jeff Benjamin ∙ January 30, 2011

Chronic Dev Team member @pod2g has been a busy man lately. Just a little over a week ago he unveiled a YouTube video showcasing the latest version of GreenPois0n, which is an untethered jailbreak tool for iOS 4.2.1.

Not one to rest on his laurels, the iPhone hacker tweeted yesterday that he's uncovered yet another exploit.

This latest exploit will also allow for a future untethered jailbreak, as the cat and mouse game between Apple and the jailbreak community carries on...

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Top 10 iPhone News You Might Have Missed This Week

Jeff Benjamin ∙ January 29, 2011

This is a summary of the most popular articles published on iDB this past week. Please make sure to spread our iPhone wisdom by sharing our posts on Twitter and Facebook.

The ’80s Called And It Wants Its Case Back RedSn0w 0.9.7b Untethered Jailbreak Coming Soon For Windows 'DeepEnd' Adds a 3D Effect to Your iPhone's Wallpaper Apple Hit With Yet Another Class Action Lawsuit '3DBoard' is an Awesome 3D Home Screen For the iPhone AT&T Offering Customers Unlimited Data to Get Back at Verizon? The Verizon iPhone 4′s Full Pricing Details Revealed Elderly Woman Gets Caught Smuggling Over 40 iPhones Print From Anywhere With Your iPhone Using Google Cloud Print Toshiba’s Tablet Website Disses the iPhone And the iPade Woman Hangs Up on $10,000 iTunes Gift Card Phone Call Want an Off-Contract Verizon iPhone? Prepare to Pay Verbs - An IM App That Apple Would Be Proud Of
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The ’80s Called And It Wants Its Case Back

Alex Heath ∙ Updated January 24, 2016

You gotta love the 1980s. In 1989, a gallon of gas was only 97 cents. Those were the days.

"Mobile" phones were huge in the '80s. In fact, they were the largest they've ever been. Plastic shells, giant battery packs and long antennas probably come to mind. In the '90s, phones started getting drastically thinner and more compact. In 2004, the Motorola RAZR shellshocked the mobile market and phones started getting super thin and light.

For those of us who like to feel nostalgic...

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‘TV Hat’ Turns Your iPhone Into a Personal Cinema, You Into a Crazy Looking Futuristic Beekeeper

Jeff Benjamin ∙ January 29, 2011

I can empathize with anyone who wants to push an accessory for the iPhone while at Macworld, hey, there's a lot of money to be made in this business. What I won't do is condone ridiculousness. The following is an example of said ridiculousness.

The TV Hat Personal Theatre for the iPhone is an article of clothing that you wear on your head; it has an iPhone pouch strategically sewn into its bill. Not only that, but it features a small drape that covers your entire face, ensuring that no light leakage ruins your personal cinema experience.

This brings new meaning to the term Retina Display, because having an iPhone this close to your eyes for extended periods is bound to sauté your retina, cornea, and ever other important feature of that visionary apparatus you call eyes.

Full video of the sheer ridiculousness ahead!

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Attention to Detail: How the iPhone’s Mail App Decides to Show New Email

Alex Heath ∙ January 29, 2011

This one can be filed under "incredibly specific." The question is simple: What happens when a new email arrives in the iPhone's Mail app?

That question may sound ridiculous at first. You may immediately say, "Of course I know what happens! I get a new email! Isn't it that simple?" But do know what really happens? How does Mail.app decide to deliver email?

The design of Apple's Mail app is proof that it's all about the details...

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‘CleanStatus’ Sanitizes Your iPhone’s Status Bar

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated July 4, 2011

Let's face it; the more apps and tweaks you install on your iPhone, the more likely it is for your status bar to become cluttered. I've got it particularly bad, it's such a problem that some of the status bar icons on my iPhone's screen were beginning to overlap.

It's almost as if the developer of CleanStatus read my mind, because as soon as I started looking for apps and tweaks to disable or get rid of, here comes CleanStatus...

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N.O.V.A 2 Brings Exciting Online Gameplay to the iPhone

Guest Author ∙ Updated February 6, 2016

N.O.V.A 2 [iTunes Link] is the sequel to Gameloft’s hit game N.O.V.A. This game packs a large punch and offers ramped up graphics, vehicles, more enemies and weapons, and of course, more intelligent A.I.

N.O.V.A 2 offers 12 exciting action packed levels. If for some reason you don’t shoot your gun within 10 seconds of any part of the game then you're probably camping. In addition, each level features gold orbs scattered or hidden and can be used to upgrade your weapons, abilities or health at the end of the level.

Your arsenal consists of a slew of familiar weapons such as assault rifles, shotguns, plasma guns, laser guns and what not. Your space suit lends you some nifty abilities as well, such as slow time, and a weapon that's capable of putting the freeze on your enemies....

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‘Polite Silencer’ Politely Requests Your iPhone’s Ringer to Shut Its Mouth

Jeff Benjamin ∙ January 28, 2011

How many times have you been embarrassed over the years when you've been in a meeting, and your phone starts screaming at the top of its lungs that someone wants to talk to you?

Hey, I've been there; no doubt you've been there too. It gets even worse when you start fumbling with the phone while struggling to find a way to shut it up, making everyone aware that you're the culprit.

Wouldn't it be nice if you could just shake your phone and it would shut its mouth? That's the premise behind Polite Silencer. Check out the full video walkthrough inside...

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DeepEnd is a Jailbreak Tweak That Shifts Your iPhone’s Wallpaper Based on Orientation

Jeff Benjamin ∙ January 28, 2011

Earlier this week we talked about 3DBoard, which is an upcoming jailbreak tweak that adds a 3D effect to your iPhone's Home screen. DeepEnd works in a similar way, altering your wallpaper's orientation based on movement.

DeepEnd is from a staple in the jailbreak app community, and one of our favorite developers, Ryan Petrich -- the same guy behind ActionMenu.

Want to see how DeepEnd works in action? Check out our video inside as we explore this nifty looking jailbreak tweak...

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More Proof that Near Field Communication (NFC) is Headed to Future iPhones?

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated January 24, 2016

Who wants to buy some apples with their iPhone? We do! We do! And it looks like the possibility of that happening has grown stronger in the last few months.

First, back in August 2010, Apple hired, Benjamin Vigier, who is an expert in Near Field Communications.

Then, three days ago we told you how Apple is indeed planning on including NFC in its future mobile endeavors; endeavors, which would allow users to make purchases directly with their handsets.

Now, Apple has posted additional jobs: one for a global payments expert, and one for someone with RFID experience. Is this just a big coincidence, or are credit cards destined to go the way of the dodo?

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