Apps

Would You Pay for a Cydia Pro Version?

Guest Author ∙ Updated April 3, 2018

Now that I'm running a jailbroken iDevice again, I find myself browsing the Cydia store once again. With the A4 and more memory, Cydia seems a little bit snappier than my previous generation device, but it's still a slow experience. It seems that no matter how much faster Cydia can get, viewing app descriptions will only be as fast as it takes for the sponsored ads to load.

I'm a little curious how much money the repo sites make from the ads in Cydia. It can't be that much, because I've never clicked one; I've also seen devs commenting on how few people click the ads for their free tweaks. But they're still there, so they must make something, right?

GreenPois0n First Impressions: the 4.1 Bugs

Guest Author ∙ October 21, 2010

As soon as the Mac version of GreenPois0n came out, I went ahead and jailbroke my device. It wasn't the same eye-candy that JailbreakMe was, or even Comex's first jailbreak, but it worked and I didn't have to wait long. Here's a few quick things that I immediately noticed.

LockScreen PIN Delay

After a fresh reboot or a respring, I can no longer dive right in to tap the PIN to access my device. The problem is either a delay or the first tap or two is not recognized. But it definitely slows me down a little bit...

Angry Birds Halloween Edition Arrives, Pumpkins Run For Their Lives

Guest Author ∙ Updated May 26, 2017

Who doesn't enjoy smashing pumpkins? I'm not talking about that alt-rock band from the 90s, no, this is more Angry Birds fun! That's right, Angry Birds Halloween edition is here, boasting 45 new levels of pig-squashing, pumpkin-smashing fun. It's .99 cents in the app store, and exclusive to iOS devices. So you know we're special.

I can't help but wonder now... will the holiday season bring us the chance to smash Santas into smithereens?

[Boy Genius Report]

Apple TV Gets Its First App

Sébastien Page ∙ October 20, 2010

Now that we can jailbreak the Apple TV, we just need apps on it. The app is called nitoTV and it's basically a front end for the mplayer media player. It also includes additional capabilities to view RSS feeds, weather forecasts, and more.

I'm not sure how they got this app in there. All I can tell from nitoTV's Twitter account is that the app got copied over using SSH. There's probably going to be more to come in the near future.

[9 to 5 Mac]

Captionfish App Makes It Easier to Find Deaf-Friendly Movie Theaters

Guest Author ∙ Updated April 2, 2018

For the deaf and hard-of-hearing community, it can be difficult to enjoy the movie going experience. Few theaters provide on-screen captions for fear of it distracting the general population, and while new methods of accessibility are emerging (see Rear Window® captioning), finding a theater and showtimes to take advantage of this can be cumbersome.

Not anymore with Captionfish. The free app by DeafCode LLC is slick and simple, using your GPS location to find the closest theaters and showtimes with deaf-accessible movie showings. It also provides trailers of upcoming movies with closed captions (although they acknowledge some users are having trouble accessing this feature and they are working toward a solution)...

Have a Peek Into Someone Else’s Life with SpyCams

Guest Author ∙ Updated January 24, 2016

Life's boring? Have a peek into someone else's with SpyCams for iPhone or iPod touch. Search, rate and comment on newly posted or popular security cameras from the comfort of - anywhere, for free.

While the app is simple and easy to use, I found myself looking at the same boring screens. One would have to scroll endlessly to find a gem of an exhibition. A lot of the cams show places like streets, offices, empty lots, hotel cams, city and waterscapes...

Game Center for iPhone: Where’s the Party?

Guest Author ∙ Updated March 18, 2019

I'm a little late to the Game Center party, because I was waiting to jailbreak 4.1. But now that I've arrived, it doesn't feel like much of a party. Apple's much touted Game Center app is supposed to be an "out of the box" focal point for all your iPhone (3GS/4), iPad, and iPod touch (2G-4G) games.

Compare your scores with friends, see how you rank worldwide, and try to achieve game goals to earn bragging rights (or to let people know how much free time you have to waste). You can also challenge friends to matches or play strangers in a multiplayer matchup.

Game Center does everything advertised above, so why am I not having any fun? Because this is what I was greeted with upon logging in:

Apple Trademarks the Phrase “There’s an App For That”

Alex Heath ∙ October 12, 2010

Apple's trademark filing for their famous catchphrase, "There's an App For That" has been approved by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The patent is filed under the Advertising, Business and Retail Services, Computer and Software service and Scientific services categories.

The trademark applies to, "Retail store services featuring computer software provided via the Internet and other computer and electronic communication networks; retail store services featuring computer software for use on handheld mobile digital electronic devices and other consumer electronics."

This doesn't mean that there can't be anymore cheesy blog headlines with the catchphrase (which I have been guilty of a couple of times). It does mean that Apple can pursue a commercial infringement of the trademark with much greater ease in court...

Hulu+ App Store Reviews: Fending off the Naysayers

Guest Author ∙ Updated January 24, 2016

Hulu+ just updated their app last week, so I thought this would be a good time to address the absurd amount of negative reviews they have in the App Store.

I love Hulu+. I got my invite August 1st and have been using the app on my iPhone 4 several times a week to watch shows — catching up with Glee while at work (shhh!), and watching the first season of Modern Family at the gym (FYI—laughing on the treadmill will immediately provoke stares and glares.) I think the Hulu service is smart and having it readily accessible on my iPhone 4 is convenient.

So why are there so many negative reviews of it in the App Store (It’s currently at 1.5 stars)? Most comments seem to be some variation of these complaints:

Instagram: A Beautiful Photography App And Social Network

Alex Heath ∙ Updated July 24, 2016

Instagram is a new camera app for the iPhone with a focus on social networking. The app offers some wonderful, lomo-like filters to make your photos not look so crappy. There are dozens of photography apps that do this well, so what makes Instagram special?

Sharing your photos through social networking is a huge part of Instagram. The app’s developer, Kevin Systrom, descibes Instagram as not merely a camera app, but “a community focused on helping you collect, organize, and share the images of your life from your mobile phone.” Instagram packages this community very elegantly. The look and feel is clean and fast, and there aren’t any gimmicks...

Google Goggles Arrive on the iPhone

Alex Heath ∙ October 5, 2010

The Google Mobile app for iPhone was just updated to support Google Goggles, a feature that has been available on Android for awhile. So what is Google Goggles? And why is it a big deal?

Google Goggles is the next step toward merging the physical world with the online world. While it’s definitely a baby step, Googles is still groundbreaking in the search and mobile space. Goggles allows you to take a picture of essentially anything in real life: buildings, books, wine bottles, or just plain text, and get results from Google about that object...

Potential Game Changing App Update Coming “Out in a Few Weeks…”

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated January 24, 2016

Pleco Software, the masterminds behind the aptly named -- Pleco Chinese Dictionary -- announced today that after minor delay, the latest update to their Chinese language software should be out in a few weeks. Why is this news for iPhone owners, and why should you care?

Well besides the fact that it’s one of the best tools available for learning Mandarin, Pleco’s latest update features a potentially game-changing Optical Character Recognition (OCR) feature that undoubtedly has other developers taking note...