Year: 2012

Forget watch bands, this guy uses magnet implants to carry his iPod

While we've seen several watch bands and other accessories made to ensure your iPod nano is with you at all times, we've never seen anything like this. Dave Hurban, of Newfield New Jersey carries his iPod with him via magnets in his arm.

That's right, this Dynasty Tattoo tattoo artist had four powerful magnets implanted into his left arm to hold his late-generation iPod nano in place...

Silence Notification Center alerts with DoNotDisturb

Silencing annoying audible notifications and squashing banner alerts? There's a jailbreak tweak for that.

DoNotDisturb does exactly as its name implies — prevents Notification Center alerts from causing any disturbance.

For a look at how it works in action, watch our full video walkthough...

Instapaper updated with features and gorgeous iBooks-style animations

I'm a big fan of Instapaper. I've come to rely on both the bookmarklet and the iOS app for my daily blogging and research, as well as general reading needs.

I've been also using Instapaper to catch up on my previously saved stories while on the go, using my iPhone or iPad.

Today, Marco Arment pushed another update that brought a couple new features in addition to a cosmetic change I've been clamoring for: iBooks-style animations.

I know that some other apps replicate the wonderful page curl seen in Apple's iBooks app, namely Google's Play Books. But whereas other programs fall short because of the sluggishness and jaginess exhibited when flipping through the pages, Instapaper 4.2 delivers.

I've been comparing page curls in iBooks and Instapaper for like an hour now and walked away convinced that Instapaper pretty much beats iBooks with its gorgeous, smooth and pixel-perfect page turns...

We’re giving away 10 copies of iRealSMS 3.0

That's right folks, it's time for another iDB giveaway! Last week we handed out 10 free Cydia download licenses for PhotoAlbums+, and this week we're back with another popular tweak from the SpiritofLogic crew: iRealSMS 3.0.

We've mentioned iRealSMS a few times here on iDB over the past three years, as it's gone through several updates. And now we've got 10 copies of the latest version of the Messages app-replacement to give away. Read on for details...

Etcher turns your iPad into a functional Etch-A-Sketch

TechCrunch points to an interesting new Kickstarter project called Etcher, an iPad case that makes your tablet look like an Etch-A-Sketch. But this accessory does more than just drum up nostalgia — it actually works.

That's right, unlike other Etch-A-Sketch cases, this one has real knobs that let you draw real lines on your iPad's screen. So on top of keeping your tablet protected, you have a way to create impromptu sketches...

Another anti-IBM footage unearthed, featuring Jobs cameo in ‘Ghostbusters’ spoof

Remember Apple's '1994' corporate video with Jobs impersonating Franklin Delano Roosevelt we told you about last week? Apparently, not everyone liked it so here's a different one from the depths of the web archives, also sporting brief Jobs cameo appearance.

Just like the '1994' clip, it's aimed squarely at Apple's arch-enemy in the early days, the almighty IBM. Dubbed 'Blue Busters' and dating back to 1984, this four-minute footage was shown at the same worldwide sales staff meeting in Hawaii in October 1984 like the '1994' clip...

Pod2g now running iOS 5.1 untethered jailbreak on new iPad

Pod2g has just made another big announcement regarding his progress on the iOS 5.1 jailbreak. A few moments ago, the hacker tweeted that he had jailbroken [untethered] a third-generation iPad running iOS 5.1.

The news comes just one week after we received word that pod2g's iPhone 4 had received the untethered jailbreak treatment on iOS 5.1, as the iOS expert seems to really be hitting his stride...

Rumor: Apple to unveil $200 7-inch iPad this fall

iMore is out with a new report today, claiming that it has learned from a reliable source that Apple will be going forward with plans to release a 7-inch iPad this fall. The tablet will launch in October, alongside the new iPhone, and cost less than $250.

While it's easy to chalk this up to just another "iPad mini" rumor — we know, there's been a lot of them — it's worth noting that iMore has been fairly accurate in the past with Apple info, most recently nailing the new iPad event date last March...

Dashtweet now available on Cydia

[tube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OskpEbycyek[/tube]

Although it was the first widget exclusively developed for Dashboard X that I was able to test, Dashtweet is actually the second Dashboard X widget to appear on Cydia after Clock Widget.

Dashboard X is a new widget platform that allows you to add widgets directly to your iOS device's Home screen. This allows you to customize your iPhone similar to the way that Android devices allow to toy with various widgets.

Dashtweet, as its name suggests, is a Twitter widget that allows you to tweet directly from your Home screen. You can now get it for free from Cydia's BigBoss repo. Be sure to check out our full walkthrough of Dashtweet as well.

Rumor: Google working on a Game Center rip-off for Android

The search giant Google is reportedly looking to replicate Apple's Game Center with a native Android app of its own.

Despite the ongoing patent war waged between Apple and a bunch of Android backers over the look and feel of iOS software, Google is reportedly looking to simply copy Game Center.

The search firm needs own social gaming service so Android gamers have a central place to connect with each other, check out leaderboards, scores and challenge friends.

And if their other products are anything to go by, Google's thing is likely to feature deep integration with Google+, their another social thing...

Apple reportedly sells 7.25M iPhones in Japan during fiscal year 2011

Macotakara, the pretty reliable Japanese blog, relayed a MM Research Institute study today which pegged Apple's iPhone sales in Japan for the fiscal year 2011 at 7.25 million units. According to Apple's Q1 2012 earnings, the company shipped 35.1 million iPhones worldwide.

Unfortunately, Apple doesn't divulge iPhone unit sales on a per-country basis and only breaks down sales by region such as Asia-Pacific, North America, Europe and so forth...