Month: May 2013

Former US Senator: blame Congress for tax avoidance, not Apple

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated April 18, 2016

Carl Levin, the chairman of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, ahead of a high-profile congressional hearing accused Apple of seeking “the Holy Grail of tax avoidance” by creating “offshore entities holding tens of billions of dollars, while claiming to be tax resident nowhere.”

Needless to say, click-hungry media came all guns blazing in support for the government's stance. But not so fast, cautions former U.S. Senator John E. Sununu (Republican, New Hampshire), who points the finger at the United States government over instituting tax laws that discourage corporations like Apple from repatriating its $40 billion in overseas cash...

iPhone manufacturer Foxconn to build own iDevice accessories

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 27, 2013

Taiwan's Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. aka Foxconn, the world's top assembler of consumer electronics, is mulling making and selling its own branded accessories in a move to diversify beyond assembling Apple products.

Foxconn over the years has grown increasingly reliant on Apple contract and with increasing competition and Apple's slowing growth, the manufacturer is starting to feel the pain, too. The Apple biz comprises an estimated 50 percent of Foxconn's revenue, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday.

And earlier this month, The New York Times similarly reported that Foxconn is looking beyond the iPhone and anticipating to mass-manufacture a rumored standalone Apple television set...

EU advances probe of iPhone sales tactics

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 27, 2013

The New York Times back in March reported that a group of unnamed European wireless carriers complained to the European Commission about Apple's strict volume and marketing commitments in regard to iPhone sales. Today, the Financial Times claims to have seen documents proving that Brussels is moving a probe into iPhone sales tactics to the next stage.

The news couldn't have come at a worst time for Apple, which earlier this month faced U.S. Senators who grilled CEO Tim Cook along with two other high-ranked executives over Apple's tax avoidance tricks and refusal to repatriate revenue from sales made overseas...

ZAGG offers blow-out prices on all accessories today and tomorrow

Lory Gil ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

Every year, ZAGG has a huge memorial day sale. This year's sale goes all day today and tomorrow and everything in the store is discounted. All keyboards are marked down by 20 percent. While everything else will be on sale for 50 percent off.

That includes all invisibleSHIELD screen protectors for the iPad, iPad mini, iPod touch, and iPhone. As well as protectors for a huge selection of Android and Windows 8 phones.

Initiate Activator functions using icon taps with App Activate

Cody Lee ∙ May 26, 2013

On its own, Activator is probably one of the most useful jailbreak tweaks available. It allows you to map practically any button or touch gesture to an iOS action. But what makes it really cool is that devs can create their own tweaks to extend its capabilities.

And that's the case with this next package, by developer rjharris. It's call App Activate, and it enables you to initiate any of Activator's actions by double tapping an app icon . So for instance, you could set it so that double tapping the Music icon starts playing music...

Background Manager brings true backgrounding back to Cydia

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated April 30, 2017

There was once a time when iOS lacked any form of multitasking. Yes, that includes the pseudo-multitasking that is fast app switching, which is what iOS uses today. True backgrounding has never been available in iOS, and that's understandable since it would likely cause battery life to fall below Apple's lofty standards.

iPhone jailbreakers have been able to enjoy the benefits of true backgrounding for some time now, at least with older versions of iOS. Unfortunately, Backgrounder — the jailbreak app that enabled true backgrounding — stopped working after iOS 6. Its developer has since abandoned the project.

That's where Background Manager comes in to pick up the slack. It's a brand new jailbreak tweak, unrelated to the original Backgrounder in everything but perhaps name, and it's been built from the ground up.

Perhaps my memory has failed me, but Background Manager seems to be more stable and more feature rich that its predecessor. You can even make the tweak launch specific apps in the background on device reboot. Yes, Background Manager is definitely worthy of your time and attention if you've ever wanted to have true multitasking on iOS 6. Take a look inside for more information.

How to customize your app icons without jailbreaking

Cody Lee ∙ Updated June 21, 2024

When your iOS device is jailbroken, customizing how it looks can be as easy as installing a WinterBoard theme. There's literally thousands of them in Cydia to choose from. The options get much more limited, however, if your device is hack-free.

But that doesn't mean it's impossible. We've covered a number of ways to modify a stock iOS device in the past, and we've got another one to show you today. Here's how to customize your iPhone or iPad app icons, no jailbreak required...

The iDownloadBlog top news stories of the week – May 26, 2013 edition

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated February 24, 2018

Like every Sunday, we bring you the stories that were the most popular on iDB during this past week. Whether it is a news piece, an editorial, a tutorial, a new jailbreak tweak, or an accessory review, we sum it all up in one convenient place.

If you like what you're reading, please make sure to spread the love by sharing our posts on your favorite social network.

We're usually hanging out a lot on Twitter and Facebook, more rarely on Google+.

Jony Ive’s iOS 7 remake: black, white, flat all over How to use iLEX RAT to restore your jailbroken device back to “stock” This is how SemiRestore allows you to restore without losing your jailbreak Badger lets users view unread notifications by tapping the app icon badge Add handy information tiles to your device’s Lock screen with LS Squares Create shortcuts for up to 7 of your favorite apps with SubIc0ns Circul8: an outstanding theme for iPhone and iPad Hacked AT&T carrier update could improve your device’s network performance Siri vs. Google Now video faceoff New report claims budget iPhone production begins soon, 5S has dual LED flash Microsoft uses Siri to highlight iPad flaws in new Windows 8 ad Inteliscope mounts an iPhone to your favorite tactical firearm Water-resistant iPhone 6 concept envisions wireless charging, notification LEDs and more Xbox One unveiled: Apple should be worried 8 apps to give you something to do this Memorial Day weekend

Of course, don't forget to listen to the latest episode of our podcast, Let's Talk Jailbreak:

We’re social! Find iDB on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, App.net, YouTube, and in your RSS reader. Also make sure to subscribe to our new podcast!

Pics show iPad mini prototype with 2 microphones

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

Last fall, the rumors leading up to the iPad mini event suggested that the 8-inch tablet would have a microphone located in the top-middle of its rear shell. Just like on the iPhone 5, it was to be used for noise-canceling and to improve audio pickup.

Obviously, the rumors never materialized, as the production version of the first-gen mini does not have a hole in the top of its rear casing. But looking at some new pictures of a purported prototype for the slate, that may not have been Apple's plan...

Give your iPhone’s UI a reboot with Motif

Cody Lee ∙ May 26, 2013

I'm not usually a theme kind of guy. I know there are a lot of people out there that love customizing the look of their devices, and that's awesome, but I'm more about functionality and minimalism.

That doesn't mean, though, that I won't give new and interesting themes a shot. I used ayecon for a long time, and then I had iMIUI for a bit. And over the past few days, I've been testing out Motif...

Ensure your iPhone’s screen stays dim during phone calls with DimInCall

Cody Lee ∙ May 25, 2013

Have you ever been in the middle of a phone call on your iPhone and noticed your cheek was pressing buttons? Sure, there's a proximity sensor there that's supposed to keep this from happening. But any kind of jostling can thwart its efforts.

Luckily there's a jailbreak tweak that can help with this problem. DimInCall, by developer snakeninny, will automatically dim your screen when it detects your iPhone has established a call connection. And it'll keep it dim until the call is over...

EarSkinz for EarPods offer both comfort and style

Cody Lee ∙ May 24, 2013

Apple was really proud to unveil its new and improved earbuds, dubbed EarPods, last fall. The company says it spent more than three years designing the headset, and tested a total of 124 different prototypes on over six hundred people, to get the right fit.

But even with all of that research, it's inevitable that the EarPods are still not going to fit quite right for some people. And if you happen to be one of those people, you might want to check out these new EarSkinz covers, which promise to fix that for you...