Apps

ProSwitcher Multitasking App for the iPhone

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated May 11, 2018

I can't remember the last time I was so excited about a jailbreak app. Maybe it was for Action Menu, or for mQuickDo? I'm not sure, but what I know is that ProSwitcher has radically changed the way I use my iPhone.

ProSwitcher is a multitasking app for the iPhone that kinda replicates the Palm Pre "cards" feature by adding a very nice UI to Backrounder, the jailbreak app that allows you to run apps in the background.

I never was a fan of Backgrounder. Having to close the app to launch another one kinda defeated the purpose. But ProSwitcher makes app switching seamless, and I have to say, with a certain style.

9 to 5 Mac gives a pretty good description of how it works:

You can trigger the cards view by opening the application from home-screen, touching the status bar, or by double clicking the home button. To add an application to the Cards view, you simple have to launch the app, then hold down the home button for about one to two seconds. To remove an app from the “Cards” view click the close button on the top left of the card, to swipe the card up the screen.

I ran ProSwitcher on my 3GS for a few hours with up to 10 apps open at once. It didn't crash, it didn't lag and the battery didn't seem to take a big hit from it. Obviously your mileage may vary...

What I like the best about ProSwitcher is how you can smoothly switch between apps without having to close/reopen them. Actually no! What I like the best about ProSwitcher is that it is free on Cydia via the BigBoss repo. Yes it's free, so grab it until the dev realizes that he should make you pay 10 bucks for it.

ProSwitcher is one of this application that should be implemented in the next iPhone OS and honestly, I really believe (and predict) that Apple is already stripping down the code of this app and trying to make it its own for iPhone OS 4.0.

Have you tried ProSwitcher yet? How do you like it?

The Best RSS Reader For iPhone

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated October 10, 2018

A few weeks ago I wrote an article about the best Twitter apps for iPhone which got quite a bit of success, especially on Twitter. A few of you asked me to write the same time of article, only about the best RSS reader for iPhone.

I was just going to write such an article but my friend Patrick from JAiB had the same idea and got a chance to write about some good iPhone RSS reader before I did. Patrick gave a quick look at 6 RSS apps for iPhone that sync with Google Reader and I suggest you read his article for more details about la creme de la creme of RSS reader apps for iPhone.

He quickly reviews the following apps:

Feeds MobileRSS Doppler Byline NetNewsWire NewsStand

UPDATE 04/24/2010: My favorite reader app is not Byline anymore. Reeder is now the best RSS reader for iPhone. Read my mini review of Reeder here.

My personal preference is Byline. I like how fast it is and also the ability to cache each feed for offline reading. What I like the most about Byline is how I can see all my folders and choose to read all New Items at once, or folder by folder.

This is a great feature because I like to read my RSS feeds by category in the morning. For example, I like to read iPhone news first. Then I usually read the France and world news. Then I usually read tech news, SEO, and marketing-related news.

Byline gives a quick overview of each item and shows you the title as well as the beginning of the item. It allows you to choose to read more about each article or not. Simple and practical. That's exactly how I like my apps.

I tried a few others but Byline is by far my favorite. But as Patrick puts it, there is not really a best iPhone RSS reader app. What works for me might not really work for you. These six applications are very solid and should do an excellent job no matter what.

I'm curious to see what's YOUR favorite RSS reader for iPhone. Please share in the comments.

Top 40 iPhone Apps of 2009

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated February 5, 2016

With over 100,000 apps in the App Store, it's not always easy to figure out what the best applications are. Besides, what's best for me might not be best for you as we all have different needs.

One criteria that makes it easy to figure out if an app is good or not is the amount sold. The more it sells, the better it is, right? Apple recently came up with a list of those top best seller and top rated apps.

Games The Sims 3 The Oregon Trail Need For Speed Undercover Madden NFL 10 Tiger Woods PGA Tour Assassin's Creed Flight Control - my favorite game Cooking Mama Civilization Revolution Wheel of Fortune Spider: The Secret of Bryce Manor Real Racing Zenonia Ravensword: The Falle King Earth Vs Moon Episode 2 Sally's Spa Ragdoll Blaster Canabait Blades of Fury DOOM Classic Apps MobileNavigator North America MLB.com At Bat Textfree Unlimited TomTom US & Canada - I have this but I mostly use Google Maps Golfshot: Golf GPS SlingPlayer Mobile ColorSplash Pocket God Quickoffice Mobile Office Suite The Moron Test ReelDirector Magellan RoadMate 2010 North America Jamie Oliver's 20 Minute Meals I Am T-Pain - I think this app is useless CBS Sports SketchBook Mobile Star Walk - one of my favorite apps Convertbot Leaf Trombone Pano

Which of these apps do you own?

The Best Twitter App for iPhone

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated March 18, 2019

There are hundreds of Twitter apps for iPhone in the App Store but after weeding out those with useless features, bad UI and the such, it basically comes down to a handful of applications that deserve our attention.

I've been asking people on Twitter what's their favorite iPhone Twitter app and I've been keeping track of the results. I've also had a close look at these 2 polls to come up with what I think is the ultimate list of the best iPhone apps for Twitter.

Of course we all have our favorites (mine is Tweetie 2), but we have to agree that the following apps are "la creme de la creme" of Twitter clients on the iPhone. For each application, I will also highlight what YOU like about them, according to my survey on Twitter.

How to Turn Your iPhone Into A Remote Control

Sébastien Page ∙ December 4, 2009

Ever wanted to use your iPhone as a remote control for your TV, DVD player, and more? Well, I have! A few months ago I was really excited to write about UiRemote, an app + hardware solution to control your home electronics. At the time, the devs even offered to send me a beta version so I can try it out for myself. I'm still waiting for the product to be mailed, and quite honestly, I think their project died along the way.

RedEye on the other hand is not a beta and it is currently available to anyone willing to put the price into it. RedEye [iTunes Link] is a universal remote control solution that turns your iPhone or iPod Touch into a remote for any IR-equipped device in your home. In other words, it's an iPhone remote control for your TV, DVR, cable, home stereo, etc...

Engadget explains how it works:

The app itself is completely free to download, though it's the $188 base station that really makes the magic happen; your handheld talks to said dock via wifi, and if you've got an AV device, home automation system or pretty much anything that responds to IR signals, your iPhone can now control it.

Check out this video for a quick demo (2 more vids here and here).

This is a great idea even though it's not really new as Palm has been doing this for years without any extra hardware.

Everything about this sounds great, except maybe the price, which might be a deal breaker for most of us, especially since you can get a universal remote control from Best Buy for a fraction of this price. I also wonder why they had to make the dock so clunky. Adding an IR dongle to the iPhone seems it would have been a better solution.

All in all, I think it is a great piece of technology and even though I will definitely not buy a RedEye, I'm really glad that there are companies out there putting the effort into such developments. Now I wouldn't be surprised if Apple added an IR port to the iPhone in the future and sold the app at an hefty price...

What do you think about the RedEye iPhone remote control? Are you willing to pay nearly $200 for it or are you just gonna stick to your current set up?

A Developer Insight on Apple and the App Store in 2009 [Sponsored]

Guest Author ∙ Updated January 29, 2016

This is a sponsored post by the developers of Star Walk, an amazing iPhone app that I completely endorse and recommend. Star Walk devs are looking for some feedback and I encourage you to help them out because they really deserve it.

We are all immersed, surrounded, bombarded by everything that involves Apple, iTunes, the App Store, the iPhone and the iPod Touch. 2009 has seen the App Store phenomenon growing exponentially and people are confident enough to say that it will never stop, or at least not for a long time. But what kind of year has it been for the developers of the 100,000+ iPhone apps that are available in the App Store?

Today on the iPhone Download Blog we are writing an open letter as developers to tell you about our experience dealing with the App Store: the highs and lows, the great achievements but also some disappointments and problems encountered, things that are still unknown and that we are trying to get our head around.

A little more than a year ago we decided to start the iPhone adventure. We worked hard on an idea and submitted it to Apple with some hopes, fears, and a lot of expectations. How is it going to be received? Will people like it? Those are the main questions for every developer. It is still a new world, which is fast and sometimes harsh. If people don't like what you have worked on for months, you will soon find out that you have worked for nothing, and nothing will hurt more than not appearing at least in the top 100 apps of the category you are in.

Our idea was based on our passions, astronomy and stargazing. We are lucky enough to live close to the forest and have a lot of clear skies that allow us to admire the sky in all its beauty, and so Star Walk was born following our own inclination. But how many people have the same passion as us? Well, it was soon the be found out...

It turns out that apart from the passion for the Apple world, iPhone and iPod Touch users need beauty, smoothness, intuitive features, and only if your app has those features, people will get closer to it. So we discovered that the customers out there, you guys, are passionate as much as we are about astronomy.

It seems like Star Walk has pretty much all of those characteristics and as our first app, it has been so far (for the whole year) very successful, never leaving the top 10 in the Education Category.

Now comes the difficult part... What's next? What would people like from us? Are they waiting for something more from us? Do we already have a fan base? Are we still an anonymous company in the crowded App Store? Is following our passion the key to success? It seems like it is not so easy to find out answers to those questions. We tried! In fact, we have now 4 more apps in the App Store but only Star Walk has reached the top.

Obviously we are not doing everything right but it isn't really easy to understand what's right and what's wrong. Therefore we started some small marketing research to become more knowledgeable about the App Store world and to make more successful apps.

We are convinced that in the near future this market will become more and more sophisticated, demanding and targeted. We know where we want to be, we are good at Education (we hope) and we want to stay there and for this, every feedback helps.

To do this properly we need your help.

It would be great if you could answer a few questions for us to help us understand you more! Click here, take our little survey (it is only 5 questions) tell us you have taken the survey on our twitter page and a random selected group from those who have answered will win Star Walk promo codes, iTunes gift cards, and an iPod Touch! Winners will be announced on Twitter @StarWalk on January 5th. Thanks a lot for your time and for making us one of the best educational application in the App Store.

Top 5 Gay iPhone Apps

Guest Author ∙ Updated January 20, 2022

This is a guest post by Tyrone Ford. If you want to guest post on this blog, please check out the guidelines here.

The Apple App Store just hit 100,000 apps which is an amazing statistic within itself. If you take a look at the App Store Metrics on 148Apps.Biz you will find that Games make up 16.9%, Entertainment makes up 13.86% and Books come in at 13.69%. These three are responsible for the top selling categories in the App Store. Buried within apps where you can accomplish nearly anything from running your own virtual Spa in Sally's Spa or for those in the medical field there is STAT ICD-9 LITE which provides all 13,677 ICD-9-CD diagnosis codes to the user’s iPhone.

With so many different options it's no surprise whatsoever that various Gay related apps would not only be created but thrive within the community. There are some good and some bad ones but a few stand out from the crowd so here are the top 5 Gay related iPhone apps you may want to take a look at.

Number 1: Edge Gay News Reader

I would have to say the top GLBT iPhone app would have to be The EDGE Gay News Reader. The iPhone version of the hugely successful EDGE.com which is "largest network of local Gay, Lesbian Bisexual and Transgender (GLBT) news and entertainment portals in the world, serving 500,000 dedicated readers from a variety of metropolitan areas around the United States and beyond."

Per EDGE.com and iTunes here is what comes along with this free app:

The world's largest network of gay and lesbian news and entertainment portals is now available on your iPhone and iPod Touch!

Headlines EDGE publishes news, entertainment, business, technology, style, health, fitness, travel and nightlife information to readers around the world. For the LGBT community, staying connected on the go has never been so easy.

Columnists Read fabulous commentary from individuals from within and without the LGBT community about life, relationships, and the issues facing gays and lesbians the world over.

Photos Flip through photos taken by EDGE's team in cities around the nation. Did we catch you or your friends at a nightlife or community event? Find out - even when you're not at your computer.

Business Directory Find out where to eat, drink, stay and party with EDGE's list of community-maintained, LGBT-friendly businesses in each of our target markets - including Boston, New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, Providence, Orlando, Provincetown and Fire Island.

Number 2: Grindr

"Whether he’s Mr. Right or Mr. Tonight, your man is hanging out on Grindr, a killer location-based social networking tool for the iPhone or iPod Touch." I would have to agree with the people over at Grindr's site, this handy little app is definitely a well put together social networking tool for gay men.

Grindr, unlike many other social network sites was made for the mobile world we live in. Grindr uses your iPhone or iPod Touch’s built-in technology to map out which guys are closest to you—but how much info you share with them is entirely up to you. This will help find who's around or if you're traveling to maybe help find a local to show you around.

Grindr has no complicated registration process, nor do you need to enter an email address, or validate your account. Grindr is quick, convenient, and discreet. Trade your stats, show off a photo, instant message any guy you like. Share your location on a map and make plans to meet up right away. Or just browse the local scene.

Grindr is a free app.

Number 3: Gay Internet Radio Live (G.I.R.L)

Playing today's hottest dance, club and remixes 24 hours a day, GayInternetRadioLive.com is a blend of party, dance, club, and circuit sounds that will keep you dancing. Unlike terrestrial radio, you'll hear remixes of popular mainstream hits that have been remixed by internationally known Dance Mix DJ's and producers.

This free app is pretty straight forward with no directories to search, providing immediate access. Artist and song title information is displayed for each track. Instant feedback link to email station DJ's, "one click" button to the request lines and two stream choices 128k and 64k. For best sound quality listen to Gay Internet Radio Live using a WiFi connection. Visit GayInternetRadioLive.com for more information or get G.I.R.L from the App Store for free.

Number 4: Gay Cities

Gay Cities is a free app that comes in very useful when either traveling or if you're new to your city. Instantly access gay-friendly restaurants, gay bars, hotels and beaches over 95 cities worldwide. Gay Cities provides up-to-date info. One click for phone number, web site & directions. Instant access to reviews by like minded travelers. Quickly find nearby bars, restaurants & hotels. Search for features that suit your taste. Find the setting that's right for you. Easily access favorites and recent searches. Get Gay Cities on your iPhone for free.

Number 5: My Gay Agenda

I couldn't help but include this functional yet very tongue-in-cheek humorous app. My Gay Agenda is tagged as a "fabulous calendar application" and that's exactly what it is. With a few extras that will definitely make your day. The good people over at Cerebral Itch greet you by saying:

We've always suspected what your plans were: destroy marriage, recruit children and do lots of cardio. Well, here’s the proof: My Gay Agenda is a first-class personal calendar application and hilarious take on what the well-organized "Velvet Mafia" operative would carry.

My Gay Agenda is a powerful personal calendar app complete with ubiquitous event features for all-day events and events that span multiple days. MGA also has a stylish and robust Notes feature and "Today In Gay" - a daily historical synopsis of key "historical events".

You also may occasionally come across handwritten notes unveiling nefarious plans to take over the world (or make it a bit more fabulous).

My Gay Agenda comes in both a free version, which only allows you to schedule events within the month you are in. There is also a $2.99 paid version, which opens up the full scheduling capabilities.

Tyrone Ford is a blogger based out of Washington D.C. who focuses on LGBT issues, pop culture, technology and social media. Find Ty's personal blog at http://BetterCallTyrone.com/.

iGizmoz Lets You Add Widgets to Your iPhone (No Jailbreak Necessary)

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated October 16, 2017

iGizmoz is a new application available in the App Store that will bring widgets to your iPhone without having to jailbreak it.

There are currently a few applications such as Cydget and SmartScreen that let you set up widgets on your iPhone but the downside, if we can call this a downside, is that you have to be jailbroken.

iGizmoz is legit and 100% Apple approved. It comes with 11 customizable widgets:

Calendar Countdown Flashlight Search tool Slideshow Speed dial Sticky notes Stopwatch Swinging creature Tic tac toe game World clock

The folks over at AIS seemed to really like iGizmoz:

I had absolutely no issues customizing or using any of the widgets. The entire application is extrememly smooth and exquisitely designed. iGizmoz is most definitely worth the $0.99 price tag if not only just to experience widgets at their best!

One problem I have with iGizmoz is that you have to launch the app first before being able to access the widgets. It kinda defeats the purpose of the whole widget thing but it's better than nothing. Purists might still prefer using jailbreak apps and access the widgets directly from the lockscreen.

You can download iGizmoz from the App Store for $0.99.

I'd be interested to see what you think about iGizmoz.

MultiFl0w Multitasking Application for iPhone

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated March 18, 2019

MultiFl0w is a new application that brings multitasking to the iPhone. MultiFl0w is not really an app per say, it's more of a mod that gives a nice UI to Backgrounder, the application that lets your run apps in the background.

I'm still in Australia with limited internet connection and I'd love to try MultiFl0w for myself but, the lack of wifi and the poor 3G signal won't allow me to, so I am just here reading reviews of it.

My friend Patrick wrote a rave review of MultiFl0w that I suggest you to read for more info about this app. This is in short what Patrick has to say about MultiFl0w:

Multifl0w is easily the best multitasking experience I’ve seen for the iPhone.

In the meantime, here is a video demo of MultiFl0w in action.

MultiFl0w is available to jailbroken iPhones only. If you haven't yet, that should give you yet another reason to jailbreak your iPhone. You can download MultiFlow from Cydia and Rock for $4.99 after a 10-day trial.

If unlike me you are able to download MultiFlow, please try it out and let me know what you think by leaving a comment.

Is iPhone Apps Piracy As Bad As They Say?

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated January 29, 2016

Lately there has been quite a bit of discussion about iPhone applications piracy. An article on MobileCrunch mentions Beejive, for which apparently 80% of downloads are illegal (aka cracked versions).

I want to share my views with you about this topic but first, I want to make things clear. I do not endorse app piracy (or any type of piracy for that matter). I believe developers deserve to get paid for their hard work. If I was a developer being ripped off, I would most likely complain too.

This being said, if you're a loyal reader of this blog, you know by now that I don't care about what the mainstream people do or think. I don't have to put a face on and pretend to be someone I am not. I am straightforward and say what I think. That's why you love me or hate me. What I'm going to say here will probably piss some developers off but I'm not here to please everyone...

CyDialer Brings Contacts Coverflow to Your iPhone Lockscreen

Sébastien Page ∙ November 11, 2009

CyDialer is a new application by Saurik, the developer of Cydia, that aims to bring coverflow-like contact management to your iPhone lockscreen. Instead of launching your phone.app and going to the contacts, you can directly flick through your contacts on your lockscreen.

FSM gives a pretty good description of how CyDialer works:

Installing from Cydia, the preferences are accessed from the settings app and you select from them just like Winterboard (another Saurik creation). When exiting, it resprings and you are presented with your favorites (from the phone app) on the lockscreen. You can choose to have your wallpaper showing and a click of the home button, the favorite are there, scrollable just like cover flow from iTunes. Or you can choose to have the contacts show and dismiss with a tap of the home button. Chances of pocket dialing have been minimized by having a 2 step process to actually make the call. Tap the favorite, then slide to dial. Nice and easy.

According to Saurik, what sets CyDialer aside from other similar extensions is the attention to detail and quality of the app. The interface is designed to blend and integrate smoothly into the lockscreen, and to be easily maintained as Apple releases firmware updates.

I haven't tested CyDialer myself, but it sure looks like a great app (and a good compliment to Cyntact. CyDialer is available from Cydia for $1.74.

What do you think of this app? Have you tried it yet?

Image: iHackinT0sh

Twidget: Get Twitter on Your iPhone LockScreen

Sébastien Page ∙ November 10, 2009

Twidget is a new application available in Cydia that will display your Twitter stream on your iPhone lockscreen.

To install Twidget, simply go to Cydia and search for "Twidget". There are several versions available. I installed the simple version hosted on iSpazio.

After installing Twidget, launch the app and enter your Twitter credentials then go to WinterBoard to activate the widget.

WinterBoard will automatically respring your springboard and you should now see you Twitter stream.

From the lockscreen, you'll be able to see your friends' tweets, your own, your @replies and your favorites.

I installed this app just to test it and I uninstalled it right away because I suspect it to be a battery killer. I might be wrong though, so feel free to correct me if that's the case.

Still, I think it's a great application for all Twitter addicts out there.

What do you think of this widget?