iPod Touch

iSpy Tank: an iPhone-controlled tank with built-in spy cam

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated August 4, 2016

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=moQgUQruTsk

iHelicopters, the makers of such iPhone-controlled toys as the iUFO, RC cars and helicopters, has a new toy on the market, an iDevice-assisted miniature tank (looks like a sci-fi car to me). In addition to a free app which lets you control the vehicle by tilting your device, the iSpy Tank features a built-in camera.

You can control the camera angle via the app and even beam video feed from the toy straight to your device's screen, in real-time: perfect for spying on your neighbors or checking on your cat while you're at work. Turn the volume down before playing the promo clip above...

Another freebie: Rovio’s Amazing Alex is now available for $0 with some ads

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 28, 2018

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xk7vezL36IU

Finnish developer Rovio made headlines earlier today announcing that the popular Angry Birds Rio and Angry Birds Rio HD have been made Apple's Free App of the Week, meaning both titles are now free downloads for a limited time. As the iPhone version normally costs 99 cents and the high-definition iPad version is an additional $3, that's a $4 saving for you right off the bat. But if you've grown tired of Angry Birds and think the series has long run its course, Rovio has another deal for you.

Today, the company released a free, ad-supported version of Amazing Alex for the iPhone and iPod touch and Amazing Alex HD for iPads. The game, one of the finest physics-based puzzlers available for iOS devices, is based on Casey’s Contraptions which Rovio licensed and challenges you with building contraptions by combining various objects to solve a bunch of levels...

Dolphin gets browser sync, easier sharing, Evernote integration

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 22, 2018

Dolphin, the popular third-party browser for iOS and Android, received a major update today. In addition to the obligatory stability and performance improvements, developers added a few new features you'll be excited about. For starters, Dolphin now has browser sync that keeps your environment and settings flawlessly consistent across desktop and your mobile devices powered by iOS or Android.

You can also send tabs, images, phone numbers and directions from a mobile device to your computer, share to social networks and email articles. And if you live in Evernote, Dolphin now lets you grab any web content and save it directly to your Evernote (or Box) account, useful for saving a particular article or document for later, especially if you are not a huge fan of Instapaper or a similar read-later service...

Amazon optimizes MP3 Store for iPhone

Cody Lee ∙ Updated October 12, 2018

Amazon's been really stepping up its game in the digital music business over the last 6 months. Last fall it overhauled its Cloud Player service to make it more competitive with iTunes Match, and earlier this month it introduced AutoRip.

It's work continues today, with a new announcement that it has just optimized its MP3 Store for the iPhone and iPod touch. That's right, you can now purchase music from Amazon from your Apple device, with tracks starting at just $0.69...

Temple Run 2 now available in the App Store

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 16, 2013

The second installment to the popular run'n'jump game should be hitting Apple's iTunes servers in New Zealand and Australia just about any minute now. Like it's predecessor, Temple Run 2 is a free download for the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad devices and Android smartphones and tablets. Those with a US account on the App Store should check the store at around 11pm Eastern, 8pm Pacific Time, when Temple Run 2 is due to hit US shores. The original Temple Run hit over a hundred million downloads across iOS and Android, with more than 75 million downloads in 2012 alone. Admittedly, the sequel should prove just as popular...

UPDATE: Temple Run 2 now available in the US

Easily post reminders to the lock screen with Reminders+

Mike Schnier ∙ Updated February 25, 2013

Reminders+ is a new jailbreak tweak recently added to Cydia that allows users to pin bulletins from Reminders+ to the lock screen. With the tweak installed, your reminders will stay on the lock screen; these notes won't be dismissed if you unlock your iPhone or go into the Reminders app.

To pin notes on the lock screen, all you need to do is go into the Reminders app, find a reminder you want to pin down, and then press down on the text. An Action Menu prompt for adding a bulletin will appear on top of the selected reminder. Once you tap the prompt, the reminder will appear on your lock screen...

Auxo designer creates concept video for silent Do Not Disturb alerts

Mike Schnier ∙ Updated February 25, 2013

On Monday, we reported on Sentry's Do Not Disturb concept. The original concept makes use of a "pull to refresh" gesture in Notification Center to toggle iOS 6's Do Not Disturb mode, instead of relying on a timer. The DND concept looked elegant and intuitive, and in many ways, Sentry outdid Apple's implementation of Do Not Disturb. In fact, Sentry even has one more thing up his sleeve to show us.

Early this morning Sentry posted another video to YouTube which expands on the original concept, this time focusing on Alerts in Do Not Disturb mode. Normally, in iOS 6, Do Not Disturb mode applies only when the iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch is locked, but Sentry has found a way to deliver silent, unobtrusive alerts while the device is still in use...

iOS concept video shows off Quick Settings, App Flow multitasking and more

Mike Schnier ∙ Updated December 20, 2017

André Luis Moreira, an animator who shares a name with a football player from Brazil, posted a video of a concept for an iOS overhaul back in September, which contains a few surprising features. Keep in mind this isn't a tweak, just a video concept produced with Adobe Photoshop, After Effects, and Premiere.

The animation focuses on three main concepts for improving iOS. Quick Settings, a pane that collects the most used options from the settings page; App Flow Multitask, which adds a full screen preview to the app switcher panel; and Dynamic Settings, which provides shortcuts that allows users to quickly jump to a specific app's settings...

How to change button skins in Robert Broglia’s Emulators on iOS

Mike Schnier ∙ January 16, 2013

In the comments section of our article on Snes9x EX+'s release, one of our readers asked if there was a way to swap out the overlays for the on-screen buttons. I thought the question was interesting enough to answer in a full tutorial.

While there isn't a built-in option for skinning Snes9x EX+, nor are there any themes for the app currently available on Cydia, with a jailbroken iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, it's not too difficult to manually edit raster graphics used in any app. All you need to do is navigate to Snex9x EX+'s app directory and edit the overlay bitmap...

The best iPhone to PC file browsers

Mike Schnier ∙ Updated April 14, 2013

As someone who writes about iOS software and jailbreak tweaks for a living, I am constantly using software to connect to my devices. The right software can make it a snap to access the file system, transfer photos, manually install software, and make backups, but the wrong software can make your work flow slow to a crawl.

This is an overview of some of the most popular tools for browsing the iOS filesystem from a computer. Depending on your preferences, you might choose one tool over another...

Flex developer answers questions and explains how Flex patches work

Mike Schnier ∙ Updated February 25, 2013

Yesterday iDownloadBlog reported on Flex, an upcoming jailbreak app that allows users to create their own tweaks on the fly. We had reason to be excited, as Flex can create custom patches for the Springboard or almost any app, all without requiring programming knowledge from users.

While we were optimistic about Flex, some of our readers were curious about how Flex works, and others raised concerns about the unreleased app. Because we felt these concerns deserved addressing, we got in touch with Flex's developer, John Coates, who was kind enough to answer our questions and provide more screenshots for our readers...

Want buttons for gaming in iOS? Here are your options so far

Mike Schnier ∙ Updated October 12, 2018

While there are certain video games that work well with touchscreen controls, if you're playing retro action games on an iPhone or an iPad, you're likely to find yourself craving the precise click of real buttons.

There are a few options for physical controls on non-jailbroken iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, but if you want to use classic controls for more than a handful of games, you will need to turn to tweaks. Luckily, we have you covered...