Saurik’s new jailbreak tweak lets you queue up music in the stock Music app

It's fairly rare when the mastermind behind Cydia decides to create his own jailbreak tweak, but when he does, the masses take note. That's exactly what happened when Cyueue was dropped in Cydia recently. Cyueue is a new jailbreak tweak from Saurik, which adds a new queueing option in the stock Music app.

If you're throwing a house party, then Cyueue is the perfect answer for you. It allows you to keep the current song playing, while still queueing up the records you'd like to hear next. Take a look inside to see how it works.

Budget iPhone: colors, 4-inch screen, super-thin plastic casing mixed with glass fiber

Apple's budget iPhone, a rumored all-new design targeted at emerging markets where carriers rarely subsidize cell phones, will be offered in a range of colors and have a "super-thin plastic casing mixed with glass fiber", one reliable analyst wrote in a Friday note to clients. The specs for the device were apparently decided on back in 2011 and call for a four-inch screen resembling the iPhone 5.

Dismissing talk of a 4.5-inch entry-level iPhone, the report argues Apple is "unlikely to abruptly change" its stance on screen size just because Android makers are increasingly building phablets. Jump past the fold for more tidbits...

Dropbox acquires email startup Mailbox

That didn't take long. It's only been a few months since we first heard about Mailbox, the fresh new iPhone email client. And it's only been about about a month since it actually launched. But it looks like they're going to be bought out.

Dropbox has announced this morning that it will be acquiring the Mailbox team. There's no word on price yet, but it looks like all 13 team members will be joining Dropbox, and Mailbox will continue to operate as a standalone app...

Inside 2013 Apple TV: redesigned power-savvy A5 chip, cost optimizations

Apple shipped five million Apple TVs last year for a nearly $500 million in additional revenue. That’s a very successful hobby and while talk of Tim Cook & Co. building a standalone HD TV set remains just that - rumor mongering - Apple has quietly retooled the $99 set-top box, with most of the under-the-hood tweaks aimed at optimizing production costs.

AnandTech took a peek inside the gadget and found some minor changes. The publication found a significant reduction in the new model’s power consumption, directly related to the optimized A5 chip, leading AnandTech to speculate that perhaps Apple could use this chip for another device, “perhaps one powered by a battery” (hint: iWatch)...

Duke Nukem II coming to iOS in April

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ZJc2W8SBE5U

Duke Nukem II side-scroller, which celebrates its 20th anniversary, is coming to Apple's iPhone and iPad in April, Interceptor Entertainment and 3D Realms announced. The universal binary will be priced at $1.99 and include all of the 32 level from the original levels, enhanced with multitouch controls, a new soundtrack, refreshed graphics, online leaderboards and more. Above is the launch trailer above for a look at Duke Nukem 2 iOS in action and I've included a few more details right after the break...

‘PodSwitcher’ available on Cydia

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

PodSwitcher is a jailbreak tweak available on Cydia's BigBoss repo for $1.49. The purpose of the tweak is to allow you to interface with the stock Music app via the iPhone's app switcher. PodSwitcher adds advanced controls that you won't find with the stock Music controls found in the app switcher. Along with the advanced controls, you can peruse your entire music library using various built-in animations like Cover Flow, Linear, Rotary, and more. If you've given PodSwitcher a try, share your experience with the tweak in our comments.

George Lucas-founded THX takes Apple to court

THX, a high-fidelity audio-visual reproduction standard, has filed a lawsuit against Apple before a federal court in Northern California, alleging patent infringement, Bloomberg reported yesterday.

THX was founded by the famous Star Wars producer George Lucas, who used to control the company through his Lucasfilm enterprise between 1983-2001.

THX is now independent and no further details, including a copy of the complaint, were available at press time. Neither Apple nor THX would comment on the news...

Apple’s Tim Cook loses top CEO ranking to Facebook in Glassdoor survey

It's uncertain what caused it, but the first cracks are appearing in the honeymoon between Apple CEO Tim Cook and company employees.

After being named the top CEO of 2012, Cook slipped to 18th place, behind Google and Amazon. According to employment site Glassdoor, Apple employees gave Cook a 93 percent approval rating, down from 97 percent last year.

By comparison, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg jumped 14 points to land in the top spot for 2013 with a 99 percent approval rating from employees of the social networking giant...

$149 iPhone 5 now available from Strata Networks

As promised last week, Strata Networks, a regional U.S. wireless carrier, finally landed the iPhone 5 today. And, in emulating fellow rural telcos, Strata is offering Apple's device with a $50 discount compared to the asking prices at Verizon, AT&T and Sprint. Specifically, the iPhone 5 is available for $149 for the 16GB model, $249 for the 32GB model and $349 for the high-end model with 64 gigabytes of storage. The iPhone 5 is available in all Strata stores in Utah, Colorado and Wyoming.

They don't mention web sales, though Strata did update its web site this morning to reflect the devices' availability. The carrier is also selling the iPhone 4S for $49 and the iPhone 4 for free, with a qualifying contract. Would-be subscribers should be pleased to know that the iPhone 5 is compatible with Strata's 4G LTE network that the company started deploying ahead of Christmas 2012...

The state of Maine to share MacBook, iPad contract with other schools

The U.S. state of Maine plans to make available to other schools its contract for buying students MacBooks and iPads. Although the offer could provide some guidance for educational institutions, perhaps most eye-opening  are the low prices state officials were able to get from an eager Steve Jobs. The contract - originally from 2000 - lets the state pay $217 for an iPad and $273 for a MacBook Air.

Although other states are unlikely to strike a similar bargain with Apple today, the Cupertino, California company has expressed interest in putting its iDevices on the desks of US students...

Zite announces new alternative for Google Reader

Since Google announced earlier this week that it would be shutting down its Reader service this summer, we've seen no shortage of other companies step in to try and fill the void. Seriously, we made a list of them.

Today, Zite—the popular news magazine app—has announced that it's joining the fray. It says that it's built a viable replacement for Reader that does not utilize Google's infrastructure, and it's ready to use today...

John Browett tells why he sucked as Apple’s short-lived retail boss

John Browett became Apple's head of retail in January 2012, two months after the Apple Store father Ron Johnson had left the company for a CEO position at JC Penney. His stint at Apple was a brief one: Browett would last on the job a little over six months.

Partly responsible for the silly Apple Store campaign, Browett single-handily alienated retail staff after proposing layoffs in a bid to prove his worth to the bosses. "We messed up," he admitted, but it was already too late for apologies.

Having tarnished the Apple brand, the former Dixons boss quickly fell out of favor with CEO Tim Cook, who fired Browett alongside iOS boss Scott Forstall in a major August management shakeup.

Finding a new role as CEO of Monsoon Accessorize, UK's low-cost women fashion and accessory retailer, Browett now reflects on his experience as Apple's short-lived retail boss. He told attendees of the Retail Week Live conference that he is a “kinder person” now and admitted he just couldn't fit within the iPhone maker's demanding corporate culture and work ethos...