Month: April 2013

TypeStatus 1.1 supercharges the ‘now typing’ indicator in your status bar

TypeStatus will always have a special spot in my heart, because it's one of the few tweaks that I can say I envisioned. Brought to fruition by Hashbang productions' @thekirbylover, it's a tweak that allows you to see when a person is replying to an iMessage by means of an ellipses icon in the status bar.

The first iteration of TypeStatus was a very basic implementation of the idea, but it worked well. This latest version, TypeStatus 1.1, adds a ton of new features to the already excellent package. Not only can it show when someone's typing, but it can also show you the iMessage address of the person typing right on the status bar. As if all of that wasn't enough, TypeStatus 1.1 includes another new feature that let's you see when an individual has read one of your iMessages.

The tweak was already awesome before this update, but with this update it's quite possible that TypeStatus will make it on the "top jailbreak tweaks of year" lists. Want to know something even better? You can try it out right now via Hashbang Production's beta repo. Take a look inside for a few more in depth tidbits regarding the update.

Tickets for JailbreakCon 2013 now available for order

After making its debut in London, JailbreakCon hit the west coast of the United States last year, bringing iOS hackers and other members of the jailbreak community together in San Francisco's California Conference Center.

This year, it's hitting the east coast. WWJC 2013 will be held at the Raddison Hotel in New Rochelle, New York, about 30 minutes from Manhattan, on August 23rd and 24th. And if you're interested, tickets just went on sale...

iOS 7 said to feature redesigned, “very flat” user interface

Ever since Apple's SVP of iOS Software Scott Forstall was ousted last fall, and hardware designer Jony Ive was put in charge of the human interface team, pundits and fanatics alike have wondered what future versions of the platform would look like.

We may find out soon enough. According to a new report, which cites "multiple people who have either seen or have been briefed on iOS 7", this year's software update is going to be a fairly significant one, bringing a redesigned interface, and more...

BiteSMS updated with big performance improvements and bug fixes

Good news for folks who like the features of biteSMS, but don't use it due to performance and reliability issues. The team behind the popular Messages app replacement claims many known bugs were fixed in an update today.

BiteSMS version 7.5 was released this morning with a number of performance-related improvements and bug fixes. In fact, the developers say it's now 100% the same speed as the Messages app. Full change log after the fold...

Personal social network Path passes 10 million users

Last month, I downloaded Path for iOS for the third time to try out the app's new 3.0 update, and I thought to myself "this app is so beautiful." It's just too bad that no one I know uses the decidedly more intimate social network.

But just because no one I know uses it, doesn't mean that no one is using it. Dave Morin, the company's founder and CEO, announced earlier today that Path has just crossed a major milestone in its short life: 10 million users...

OS X 10.9 said to feature tabbed Finder with tags, iOS style multitasking and more

OS X 10.9, the next major revision to Apple's operating system for Macs internally codenamed 'Cabernet', is up for introduction later this year, according to a well-informed writer. Specifically, Apple is apparently bringing more of core iOS features to its desktop operating system.

This entails stuff like iOS style multitasking that should prove functional by allowing background tasks to pause like on the iPhone and iPad. Finder, the Mac's long-standing default file manager, is understood to gain power features such as tabbed browsing modes and tags.

An enhanced Safari browser is thought to include a redesigned backend for improved page loading, speed and efficiency, which reminds us a lot of Turbo browsing mode from the Opera mini browser...

LockscreenToggles lets you access your toggles directly from the Lock screen

LockscreenToggles is a brand new way to toggle various functions directly from the iPhone's Lock screen. It works by using swipe gestures. For instance, a simple swipe from right to left on the Lock screen clock reveals the toggles. A simple swipe down on the toggles reveals a list of available toggles.

With LockscreenToggles, you are required to have five toggles configured to display at once on the Lock screen, and these can be selected from a list of ten different toggles. Take a look inside for more insight...

Donald Trump urging Apple to build jumbo-sized iPhones

Donald Trump, in his own words, owns "a lot of Apple stock" and misses Steve Jobs terribly, but that's not stopping him from demanding that Apple releases an iPhone with a bigger screen. The 66-year-old billionaire, magnate, president of The Trump Organization and the founder of Trump Entertainment Resorts is publicly urging Tim Cook & Co. to think beyond the iPhone 5's four-inch screen because "I like the larger screen" and because Apple will "lose a lot of business" unless it gets an iPhablet right...

Review: Belkin Ultimate Keyboard Case for iPad

As someone who's relegated the full sized iPad to the back burner, it's admittedly a bit awkward to pull this thing back out. But the folks at Belkin have a new product for me to try, and it looks cool enough to convince me to dust off my iPad 3.

Belkin is no stranger when it comes to iOS accessories, but this — the Ultimate Keyboard Case for iPad — is perhaps its most thoughtful. The case, which officially launches in May, was created for people who want to get things done on their full sized iPads. It works with any currently available full-sized iPad, including the iPad 2, iPad 3, and iPad 4. It's not the prettiest keyboard case on the block, and perhaps not the most durable, but it screams functionality.

Belkin sent me a product sample about a month ago, and I decided that I was going to put this thing through the paces. Instead of using it for a few days and reviewing it, I wanted to see if the case actually lived up to its moniker.

Report offers inside look at undercover police operation to disrupt stolen iPhone trade

Earlier this year, it was reported that mobile phone thefts had climbed to 300 per day in London, with the iPhone accounting for over half of them. And we've heard similar numbers here Stateside, in major cities like New York and Chicago.

But police forces are beginning to fight back, setting up undercover units to try and disrupt the stolen smartphone trade. And a new report out this weekend offers an inside look at such an operation by the San Francisco Police Department...

Windows Phone ad sees iPhone and Android owners trading insults at wedding

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z19vR1GldRI

Despite the massive marketing blitz, Microsoft's Windows Phone platform has managed to regain but a fraction of market share lost to iOS and Android in years past. Figuring it could take a page from Samsung's marketing handbook, Microsoft on Monday published on its YouTube channel a new Windows Phone commercial which takes a mandatory jab at Apple's iPhone and its Siri digital personal assistant while also poking fun of Gorilla-sized Android devices from Samsung. The funny ad is aimed at boosting Microsoft's and Nokia's stagnant sales of Lumia handsets in the United States...

Angry Birds Friends landing on iOS and Android this Thursday

Finnish mobile games developer Rovio announced earlier in the month plans to bring its social Facebook game, Angry Birds Friends, to iOS and Android devices. Today, developers confirmed on Twitter that Angry Birds Friends will be hitting iOS and Android devices this coming Thursday, May 2, a year following its launch on Facebook in May 2012. The Facebook version now sees 60+ million monthly installs and has over 1.2 million daily users...