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BatteryDoctorPro: power management, NC settings toggles, app switcher and more

Every once in a while, a good jailbreak app or tweak sneaks past our radar. We feel we do a pretty good job of covering most new notable Cydia packages, but every now and then, one slips through the cracks. And that's exactly what's happened with BatteryDoctorPro.

For those who aren't familiar with it, BatteryDoctorPro is a jailbreak app that monitors your iPhone or iPod touch usage to essentially lengthen your battery life. But it also has Notification Center settings toggles, a multitasking bar and several other handy features...

XBMC updated with iPhone 5 support and other improvements

Popular open-source media player XBMC has been updated today, bringing the app to version 12.1. The update improves the experience across all of Apple's platforms, including the Mac, iOS and Apple TV.

For most users, the iOS update will be the most welcomed change, as it brings about support for the iPhone 5's larger 4-inch display. And Apple TV2 users will be similarly pleased with further support for iOS 6...

Apple patents augmented-reality mapping tech

Apple Tuesday was granted a patent for technology enabling integrating augmented reality, the power of the Internet and smart device communications. A key component to the company's take on augmented reality is a system that recognizes live real-world objects, then builds 3D representations useful for mapping and annotating shared data. The patent, filed in 2010, is entitled "Synchronized, interactive augmented reality displays for multifunction devices."

In one potential use, an iDevice camera photographs a circuit board. A layer placed over the image then identifies the components and permits a team to exchange annotations, including text, web links and even images. But this only scratches the surface of how Apple envisions the future of mobile augmented reality...

Evernote gives its Food app OpenTable reservations, Foursquare ratings, recipe sharing

Evernote's Food app debuted in December 2011 as a must-have for both the epicures and everyday folk alike.

Though the initial download was painfully short on features, today's 2.1 update addresses some of the initial omissions by adding three new capabilities which make Evernote Food a whole lot more useful, starting with a reservation system built on OpenTable.

That's right: like Siri, Evernote Food now lets you book a table at an OpenTable-friendly restaurant right within the app. Coupling that feature are user ratings supplied by Foursquare. And, you can now share clipped recipes on Twitter, Facebook or via email. Go past the fold for more details, screenies and a video demonstration...

Potentially disruptive live-streaming app from ABC in the works

After CBS last week unveiled its free iOS app that gives you access to the network’s popular shows 24 hours or more after they air, we learn now that ABC is working on its own app for tablets and smartphones, one potentially making ABC the first of the American broadcasters to provide a live Internet stream of national and local programming, potentially very disruptive given the incumbent's existing business models. Of course, you won't get to stream premium ABC programming free of charge as a paid cable or satellite subscription will be required to use the app.

Nevertheless, the ability to watch such ABC shows as 'Good Morning America' and 'Nashville' on your iPhone or iPad as they broadcast could finally blur the artificial line between mobile devices and the traditional venues through which content providers distribute their linear programming...

Galaxy S4 benchmarks almost twice as fast as the iPhone 5

As most of you know already, Samsung unveiled its highly anticipated Galaxy S III successor last week, the S4. The handset will sell head-to-head against the iPhone 5 until Apple releases its next-gen smartphone, which is expected sometimes this summer.

While the jury is still out on which handset provides the best user experience — easy-of-use, reliability, etc — the S4 is certainly looking better on paper. It has a sharper screen, a bigger battery, and according to new benchmarks, a much, much fast processor...

Facebook for iOS updated with cover photo, group messaging improvements

Facebook has released another update for its iOS app this afternoon, bringing it to version 5.6. This is the app's third update in as many months, as the social network continues to improve its mobile experience.

Today's update brings about a handful of improvements, including an easier process for updating your cover photo from inside the app and multiple changes to group messaging. Full change log after the fold...

Folks not trading-in their iPhones following Samsung’s next big thing announcement

Gadget resellers such as Gazelle may have been eagerly awaiting Samsung's new Galaxy S 4 in the hope that Apple fans will jump ship and trade-in their iPhones. Thus far, this hasn't been the case. Quite the contrary - the vast majority of post-S4 trade-ins are for other Galaxy smartphones, not iPhones.

Specifically, Gazelle's CEO said Monday his company has seen a cool 168 percent increase in the number of the Galaxy S III trade-ins compared to the number of Galaxy S II trade-ins, both observed during the same post-launch timeframe for each device...

Morgan Stanley: the iPhone 5S will have a ‘killer feature’

Morgan Stanley's resident Apple expert Katy Huberty appeared on CNBC's Fast Money Halftime Report this morning, in a rare TV interview, to field questions on her firm's current positive buy ratings for both HP and Apple.

Asked about Apple, Huberty—who has an overweight rating on the stock with a price target of $630—says the company is poised for a big year with new software features for the upcoming iPhone, including one 'killer feature.'

Polycarbonate budget iPhone renderings to die for

Another publication has commissioned Dutch concept artist Martin Hajek to bundle all the less-pricey iPhone rumors together in some plausible renderings. The 3D designer's fresh batch of conceptual renderings imagine the rumored device in two flavors, one with a screen measuring four inches diagonally and the other sporting a larger 4.5-inch display.

Hajek took into account credible talk of the budget iPhone adopting a polycarbonate shell, having combined that rumor with analysts speculating about some vivid colors, too. If you ever though using plastics would ruin the iPhone brand with unwanted and cheap feel to it, have a look at the images and think again...

BlackBerry CEO: iPhone UI is obsolete

Following Apple marketing boss Phil Schiller's anti-Android comments on the eve of Galaxy S 4 launch and Apple's new 'Why iPhone' web campaign, the CEO of BlackBerry has unsurprisingly launched a critique of Apple's handset and its user interface, referring to the the fact that iOS now 5+ years old.

In his view, Apple is being out-innovated by others, right up to the point where the Cupertino company could get replaced "pretty quickly". Of course, BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins, like every other handset vendor in the ferociously competitive mobile market, is really drumming up his own platform by arguing that the iPhone is an old hat. Be that as it may, I'd choose my words carefully if I were Heins.

The struggling handset maker's market share and capitalization have all but evaporated because of the iPhone and now stand in the single-digit range and below the $8 billion mark, respectively. That's how much investors thought the entire BlackBerry biz was worth Monday morning. Now, contrast Blackberry's market cap to Apple's first-quarter net profit of $13.06 billion...

AT&T launches 30/40/50GB shared data tiers

The U.S. wireless carrier AT&T this morning introduced its data-hungry subscribers to some powerful new tiers.

Going beyond AT&T's existing options topping out at twenty gigs, the new options are now available to add thirty, forty or fifty gigabytes of cellular data to your shared plan of choice. Beware, however - these come at high prices.

The $30GB a month tier will set you back an unsettling $300 a month, with the 40GB and 50GB tiers commanding an alarming $400 a month and a whopping $500 a month, respectively. These prices include unlimited calling and texting. Should you need only data, AT&T will happily sell you data-only tiers for your tablet and laptop, with the top 50GB plan running $335 a month...