Safari

Google Logo Utilizes the iPhone’s Accelerometer, Today Only

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated March 18, 2019

Today, Jules Gabriel Verne is the inspiration behind Google's often changing homepage logo, with a submarine inspired illustration that's fitting considering he was the man behind the novel Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea.

Verne was born on February 8th, 1828, hence the commemoration.

That's nice and all, but the real reason this is news is because of the logo itself. On a desktop browser you'll see that you can manipulate the submarine's scenery by means of a small toggle located on the right-hand side of the logo.

On the iPhone though, it's a whole different story. That's because Google has tapped into the iPhone's accelerometer to allow you to change scenery simply by moving your iPhone...

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How to Add the iDB Bookmark to Your iPhone’s Home Screen

Jeff Benjamin ∙ February 1, 2011

Not a day passes when I'm not asked, "Where can I download the iDB app?" This is usually in response to a video, or a screenshot that showcases my Home screen.

Indeed, plopped squarely on my Home screen is an icon that does in-fact look like an official app for iPhoneDownloadBlog; however, it's not an app. It's just a bookmark saved to my Home screen.

Will iDB ever release an official app? The verdict is still out on that. In the meantime, though, feel free to follow this brief tutorial that shows you how to get an iDB bookmark on your desktop.

Besides, It's almost as cool as an official app...

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Google Rolling Out Instant Preview to the iPhone, iPad

Jeff Benjamin ∙ January 30, 2011

Google continues its iOS update-fest, with Google Instant Preview being the latest feature from the search giant to make its way to the iPhone.

Personally, I'm not a big user of Google Instant Preview on the desktop, but I could see how it would prove beneficial to those involved in an intensive search for something specific.

Instant Preview allows you to quickly compare results, and pinpoint relevant content on the desktop; now those same features are heading to your iPhone...

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AdBlocker is an Easy to Use Ad Blocking Solution for Your iPhone

Jeff Benjamin ∙ January 5, 2011

I've never really considered ad-blocking a feature I needed to have on my iPhone, and after using AdBlocker, I still feel that way. That's not to say that AdBlocker is a bad jailbreak tweak, in fact it is excellent at some of what it does.

My point stems from the fact that ads just aren't that big of an issue on the iPhone. Honestly, when was the last time an advertisement on the iPhone seriously annoyed you?

In fact, the main place where I find ads that annoy me is in Cydia, but ironically enough, AdBlocker doesn't have an option to block ads in Cydia...

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‘Pull To Refresh Safari’ Makes it Fresh to Reload the Web

Jeff Benjamin ∙ December 23, 2010

Pull To Refresh Safari is the latest jailbreak tweak to appear on the scene that adds Twitter App like refresh functionality to a stock iPhone app; in this case Safari. Not too long ago, Pull To Refresh Mail was released, which added the same unique refreshing capability to the stock Mail app.

Personally, I'm all for tweaks like this; it feels like a native part of the iPhone's interface, while at the same time modernizes apps that haven't changed much since they first debuted...

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Browse Mobile Safari Using the iPhone 4’s Gyroscope

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated November 12, 2018

The iPhone 4's gyroscope is one of the more underused features of Apple's flagship iOS device, so it's nice to see developers like Occipital -- creator of the iPhone app 360 Panorama -- put the technology to good use.

During the development of 360 Panorama, the crew uncovered the ability to control Mobile Safari using nothing more than the iPhone's gyroscope. Want to give it a test spin? Check out the link inside...

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iOSFlashVideo is Another Addition to the Growing List of Flash Workarounds for iPhone

Jeff Benjamin ∙ December 8, 2010

First there was Frash, then there was the much hyped SkyFire browser. It's obvious that there are plenty of folks out there that still want Flash capabilities on the iPhone.

Though much of the need has been quelled with the mass adoption of HTML 5 video tags, there are apparently still a few sites that haven't made the switch. Obviously this presents an issue for us iPhone users.

As a remedy, we've had jailbreak solutions and we've had official App Store app solutions. Now, we can officially say that we have a Safari bookmarklet solution -- iOSFlashVideo.

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Tutorial: How to Install the New Cydia for iOS 4.2

Alex Heath ∙ December 3, 2010

Cydia was recently updated to support Apple's updated API's in iOS 4.2. This particular Cydia update was quite the major overhaul, and there is no option available (yet) within Cydia to update to the newest version automatically.

Besides iOS 4.2 support, there are several long-awaited improvements in this version of Cydia.

The most noticeable improvement in this update is a huge performance boost throughout the whole application. Everything is faster. Once Cydia does the initial restructuring and downloading after you first install the update, you should notice an immediate boost in speed as you navigate the app. That means less of the dreaded loading wheel and more of actually accomplishing what you want to do...

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Per Steve Jobs: AirPlay to Gain Increased Functionality in the Future

Jeff Benjamin ∙ December 1, 2010

Chalk this up as likely one of the most obvious revelations to come out this week: AirPlay will be improved in the future.

On Sunday, Steve Jobs reportedly confirmed by e-mail that AirPlay would be receiving a few essential upgrades in 2011, including direct streaming from Safari and one additional feature that us iPhone users might find handy...

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SBPhotoDial Places Shortcuts to Your Contacts Directly on Your Home Screen

Jeff Benjamin ∙ November 29, 2010

Have you ever wished you could add contacts directly to your Home screen? Well, if you have, you're not alone, I think it's safe to say that everyone's pondered this possibility at least once.

But Apple surely isn't throwing consumers any bones when it comes to this feature, so leave it to the jailbreak community to come up with a solution, even if it doesn't work entirely as you may have hoped...

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New Tweak Allows AirPlay Streaming from Any iOS App

Alex Heath ∙ November 27, 2010

AirPlay just got the jailbreak treatment. AirPlay (one of Apple's new technologies in iOS 4.2) allows streaming video to be pushed from any iOS device to an Apple TV.

AirPlay is only intended to allow streaming from the iPod and YouTube app, but this new jailbreak tweak opens up AirPlay possibilities to any playable media on an iOS device...

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