Apple released iOS 5 Beta 3 earlier today, and as usual when a new build is available, we are tracking down every cool new feature. I just found out about this new one while playing around the Settings app for my iPad.
If you go to Settings > General > Sounds and select "Text Tone," for example, you will be offered many more tones to choose from. I'm not 100% sure how many of these tones are new. but it seems to me that iOS 5 Beta 3 gives us access to 20 more tones...
Apple's iOS software design strategy is interesting, to say the least. For example, many people wonder why it took the company nearly a year to implement the App Store after launching the iPhone. It took another year after that to add copy/paste and picture messaging features.
Apple excluded unnecessary items in early builds of iOS, demonstrating a quality-over-quantity sort of approach to adding new features. Luckily, iOS 5 seems to be finally bringing many of those omitted functions to the iPhone. Who's been dying to change the email tone?
One of the missing features in the iPhone is the ability to customize sounds on the device. Compared to the competition, this is a field where the iPhone fails, badly.
Enter ToneFXs. ToneFXs 2.0 is a jailbreak app that lets you customize all the sounds on your iPhone. That includes anything from custom push notification alerts, custom email alerts, custom email alerts for specific contacts, custom text message alerts for specific numbers, custom calendar alerts and much more.
In addition to the much-awaited Personal Hotspot feature for AT&T iPhone 4 owners, Apple also updated the Messages app in iOS 4.3.
Although there are no changes to the app itself per say, Apple has updated the alert options. This includes significantly shorter SMS (text) ringtones, clearer text ringtone sounds from the speaker, and the settings for the Messages app now allow you to have alert tones repeat up to ten times at two minute intervals.
Custom ringtones have always been a popular subject when it comes to wireless phones, and the word free never hurts either. Now I know we've shared with you how to make your own iPhone ringtones, and other ways to set them , but they all require 3rd party applications.
For the longest time, I just left my ringtone on my iPhone as the default. I don't have time to go through multi-step processes, just for some cool ringers. What if I just want a fast, easy way to download free ringtones to my iPhone 4, without the extra steps?
Enter Cydia, the jailbroken app store. What was once the only way to install applications on your iPhone, has evolved into a tinkerer's dream. From icons and wallpapers, to hundreds of tweaks, Cydia is the place for iPhone customization. But what about ringtones?
Patently Apple, a website well known for bringing Apple's patents to the masses, has uncovered a good one. The photo above is from a patent filed late last year by Apple engineers Brian McKnight and Michael Neuman.
The documents describe methods for creating video ringtones in iOS. The technology would allow users to automatically use audio and video from iTunes and iMovie to create custom alerts for each incoming call...
Buy More Tones. That's an order. At least that's what Apple's saying in iOS 4.3 GM.
I've always despised the fact that people continue to buy ringtones via iTunes, keeping it relevant. It's so easy to make them yourself, why would anyone pay a dollar to download a snippet of a song they most likely already own?
Personal bias aside, there's no doubt that ringtones are a big money maker these days, though it must not be bringing in enough coin to satisfy Apple -- going by the verbiage contained in iOS 4.3 GM...
Picture the scenario: Somebody with the default iPhone ringtone gets a phone call in a room full of other iPhone users. Everyone instantly reaches into their pocket and awkwardly looks around the room wondering who's iPhone is actually going off.
We've all been there.
If you feel like pulling a good prank, there's a website that replicates the iPhone's default sounds.
In itself, the iPhone's email works fairly well. It's simple, and reliable. In fact it's almost too simple, being devoid of many customization options that you think would be a no-brainer.
Mail Enhancer is a jailbreak tweak that aims to provide your iPhone's email with some much needed depth in the way of customization.
As you'll see inside, it more than lives up to its name...
There are a ton of music-related apps in the App Store. If you sift through the thousands of stupid music apps, you'll find a few gems worth mentioning. The goal of this roundup is to showcase 5 awesome music apps for the iPhone.
These 5 apps all deserve to be called awesome. They each serve a specific purpose, and they all offer something special to the App Store's music app catalog...
How many times have you been embarrassed over the years when you've been in a meeting, and your phone starts screaming at the top of its lungs that someone wants to talk to you?
Hey, I've been there; no doubt you've been there too. It gets even worse when you start fumbling with the phone while struggling to find a way to shut it up, making everyone aware that you're the culprit.
Wouldn't it be nice if you could just shake your phone and it would shut its mouth? That's the premise behind Polite Silencer. Check out the full video walkthrough inside...
Apple has been allowing ringtone creators on the App Store for several months now, but there has yet to be an app that stands out from the rest. We've talked about creating ringtones for the iPhone before, but there has yet to be a really elegant and simple way to create ringtones straight on the iPhone.
Dring, by Wake Apps, is the newest addition to the ringtone creator catalog. Dring is "cream of the crop" caliber when it comes to quality of design. The app is truly gorgeous. Every pixel is fine-tuned and perfectly placed; everything feels smooth and responsive.
Besides good looks, Dring has all of the features that a good ringtone app should have. Creating ringtones is a beautiful breeze with Dring...