Jeff Benjamin

Jeff has been with iDownloadBlog since 2010, acting as resident video specialist, and tutorial expert. He earned his degree in Computer Network Systems back in 2001, but decided Cisco routers and the like just weren’t for him. Since then, he’s been heavily involved with online writing. He’s written for numerous tech and video game sites since the late 1990′s, and has a knack for explaining things in a simple, clear, and concise manner. Jeff works primarily from the east coast on his Retina Macbook Pro, and shoots video with a Canon DSLR. During downtime he likes to travel the world, visiting the various Apple Stores across the globe. You can email him at jeff [at] idownloadblog.com and follow him on Twitter @JeffBenjam or on Google+.

iPhone Jailbreak for 4.3.1 is Getting Closer

Jeff Benjamin ∙ April 1, 2011

Can you feel it in the air? I surely can. I get the same feeling before virtually every big jailbreak solution.

There's an eerie quiet among the folks taking the lead in the jailbreaking community, demos have been demonstrated, and tweets have been tweeted.

Now all we can do is wait, and wait patiently. Although we're expecting it literally any hour or day now, it's always a nice surprise when it finally arrives...

To tide us over, MuscleNerd dropped a few hints about the imminence of the Dev Team's new version of RedSn0w and PwnageTool; each will support 4.3.1...

BlackBerry Messenger For the iPhone Still Coming, Just Not on April 26th

Jeff Benjamin ∙ March 30, 2011

Well, we told you to grab some salt, didn't we?

Boy Genius Report reached out to RIM earlier today for an official statement on the BlackBerry Messenger release date rumors swirling around the web, and what they found doesn't surprise us.

The BlackBerry Messenger app is still a go, just not a go for April 26th like the rumors suggested.

In fact, the whole rumor than RIM CEO Jim Balsillie attended conference this week in Canada is in itself false...

BlackBerry Messenger Coming in Less Than a Month?

Jeff Benjamin ∙ March 30, 2011

Earlier this month it was revealed that the ridiculously popular (among BlackBerry users of course) BlackBerry Messenger would be making its way to iOS.

After the initial announcement, we haven't heard much of a peep from the folks at RIM about the app's progress, its release date, or any fears that their app might be outright rejected by the Apple.

Yesterday, a poster on the MacRumors forums claimed that the release date for BBM will be April 26th, less than a month away.

But wait, as iPhoneinCanada has pointed out, there might be more to this story than meets the eye...

Great Progress Being Made on iOS 4.3.x Untethered Jailbreak

Jeff Benjamin ∙ March 30, 2011

Dev Team member MuscleNerd has made it known that things are looking good as far as the 4.3.x untethered jailbreak is concerned.

On Monday, we reported on the fact that an untether had indeed been accomplished. Shortly thereafter, via Twitter, MuscleNerd confirmed that the Dev Team is implementing that untether into their upcoming jailbreak.

While there is of course no solid ETA for a release of the jailbreak, judging from the screenshot posted on his Twitter account, it's probably not that far off...

New Video Shows Purported iOS 4.3.1 Untethered Jailbreak

Jeff Benjamin ∙ March 28, 2011

It looks like an untethered jailbreak for iOS 4.3.1 might not take as long as people might have thought.

This new video shows off an iPod touch that's running iOS 4.3.1 with an untethered jailbreak.

If you're still unsure what the benefits of an untethered jailbreak are, check out this article.

Does this mean that the author will release a jailbreak tool themselves? Well, not exactly, but this is still great news for jailbreakers...

iOS 5 to Make Its Debut on June 6th, iPhone 5 as Well?

Jeff Benjamin ∙ March 28, 2011

A couple of day ago, Alex told you about the rumors surrounding iOS 5, the iPhone 5, and more. Now it looks like some of those rumors are beginning to materialize.

Apple announced today that their annual Worldwide Developers Conference will kick off just a couple weeks shy of summer: June 6th.

The five day conference is a gathering of some of the biggest and brightest minds in the Apple development world, and in the past it has been ground zero for some of Apple's biggest hardware unveilings as well.

This year, the big focus will of course be on Mac OS X Lion and another little release that goes by the name of iOS 5.

Check inside for the full press release...

‘BusyBar’ Brings the In-Call Status Bar to Your iPhone Apps

Jeff Benjamin ∙ March 28, 2011

"I'll come right back to that."

How many times have you thought that when leaving an app, only to forget to ever come back?

Fortunately, now you have a helper to remind you entitled BusyBar -- a free jailbreak tweak for the iPhone downloadable on Cydia.

The purpose of BusyBar is very simple -- to enable you to put your apps "on hold" and to come back to them at a more convenient time...

Angry Birds Movie Trailer Released [Funny]

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated November 13, 2019

Every day there seems like there's another parody being released involving Angry Birds.

Is it just me, or is the already insanely popular game garnering even more attention as time goes on?

Check out this video of a live action Angry Birds trailer. If you're critical of today's mass-market action movies, you'll find this to be pretty humorous no doubt.

The entire trailer features a live action setting; in fact, besides the Angry Birds themselves, everything is real, including those filthy pigs...

‘Color Mail Labels’ Makes Your Unified Email Inbox Easier to Read

Jeff Benjamin ∙ March 26, 2011

iOS 4.0's release seems like an eternity ago, but it's still one of my favorite iOS updates ever due to the unified email box.

The unified email box is a method to view all of your email in one spot; a culmination of all of your email accounts if you will.

But there is one standing issue that comes from having all of your email bunched together in one box -- it's difficult to tell where the email originated.

Wouldn't it be great if it were easier to discern which emails came from which account? That's where Color Mail Labels comes in…

‘Celeste’ Brings Apple Quality Bluetooth Sharing to Your iPhone

Jeff Benjamin ∙ March 24, 2011

They say good things are worth waiting for, so maybe that's why it seems like the wait for Celeste has been forever.

Is it just me, or is Celeste one of the most hyped and anticipated jailbreak tweaks to come around in quite some time?

The Cocoanuts -- the development team behind Celeste and a handful of other popular iPhone tweaks -- did a pretty good job hyping and marketing its release.

So much so, that even in the wee hours of the morning, their activation servers couldn't handle the load shortly after it debuted on the Cydia store.

But the question remains; is all the hype surrounding Celeste deserved? Was Celeste worth salivating over the past few weeks? Check inside for the full lowdown...

‘CallNow’ Mates Activator Actions With Phone Calls

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated January 24, 2016

Is there one number that you call all the time? Maybe you call to check on your husband, wife, mom, or dad each day?

CallNow is a jailbreak tweak that can make the hassle of searching for a specific contact a thing of the past.

Sure, the iPhone has favorites, but CallNow takes the concept of favorites to the next level.

Why is that? Well that's because with CallNow, there is no plural interpretation of favorites. It's favorite, as in one phone number, and that's it...

‘Banana TV’ Aspires to Turn Your Mac Into an Overweight Apple TV

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated August 24, 2016

As you may have figured out from its play on words, Banana TV is an app for the Mac that mimics some of Apple's $99 Apple TV functionality.

Banana TV is a client that runs on your Mac that transforms it into an AirPlay recipient. This means that when you tap the little AirPlay icon on your iPhone, you'll see the name of your Mac along with any other AirPlay enabled devices.

But is there really a need for such software? Check inside for our thoughts on the matter...