While the Cydia store for jailbroken iOS devices houses thousands of tweaks, enhancements and extensions, it is hardly surprising that we sometimes see modifications that offer the same functionality which we’ve already seen. The official App Store is full of apps which offer duplicate services, with the difference generally coming down to how the app is presented and how efficiently it offers its functionality. Cydia is no different, and with the repositories fast becoming saturated with tweaks, it stands to reason that some are going to be duplicated.
For those among us who are Mac OS X users, you will no doubt be familiar with the Growl notification service. Growl is described as the ultimate notification service for OS X and is by far one of the easiest methods available for keeping in touch with installed applications, and any messages or alerts that they may give. Different users appreciate the simplicity of Growl for a number of reasons, with one of the main ones being that it works right out of the box and doesn't have any complicated setup procedures. Applications that are Growl compatible will simply just work with the system without any fuss.
My first impression of Imperium is that it doesn’t do anything that hasn’t already been done in one form or another, which on first glance is a little disappointing. However, it is never a good idea to judge a book by its cover and the already been done fact somewhat pales into insignificance after using the modification for a few minutes.
IntelliScreenX has been described by a lot of people as a good enough reason alone to jailbreak the iPhone, with some believing that Apple should adopt the ideas shown by Intelliborn and build them into future revisions of iOS. The commercial modification, which sits at home on the device’s lockscreen and integrates seamlessly into iOS provides a huge array of functionality which justifies the $9.99 price tag attached to it.
For those run of the mill iPhone owners out there, the default Camera application which is part of the iOS installation generally proves to be sufficient. With the ability to toggle the flash on and off, the option of HDR-enabled snaps and an optional on-screen grid, most casual snappers find it more than adequate. However, for those who may require additional power and a more advanced feature set, the general consensus is that that the Camera+ application by the developers over at Tap Tap Tap is one of the best around.
The newly released iOS 5.1 contains minimal changes in the way of actual tangible feature additions, but it does include some Siri support for additional markets as well as fixing over eighty one security flaws, and if internet murmurings are anything to go by then it looks as if it has also brought improved battery life.
One of the many new things to come out of Apple's recent iPad 3 event was the release of an iOS version of iPhoto. Rumored to be on the horizon for what feels like forever, iPhoto on an iPad, especially one with a Retina Display, just makes so much sense that it hurts.
Every time when it looks as though the jailbreak development community is about to hit a saturation point, someone seems to come up with a new and inventive tweak which hasn't been done before, bringing some pretty unique functionality to jailbroken devices. Once upon a time the stock repositories which provide the content on Cydia were updated at least a couple of times a week with excellent and innovative tweaks and extensions which dramatically improved the user experience of an iOS device. However, with Apple including new features in every update of iOS, and the community pretty much exhausting the tweak options, we have become used to seeing mediocre offerings appearing in Cydia with a gem appearing every so often.
For those among us that are hardcore fans of not only Apple products, but also the software and mobile applications that they make, I am pretty sure you paid close attention to the announcements made during the recent media event in San Francisco. The public and media focus centered predominately around the fact that Apple were launching a new and improved Apple TV as well as the all new iPad, both of which are set for public release a week from today.
When Apple launched the iPhone 4S in October of 2011, one of the most talked about and probably its headline feature was the inclusion of the Siri intelligent assistant software which attempted to make life easier by being able to accomplish tasks given to it through a simple voice command. When invoked by the user, Siri is ready and able to take spoken orders which can range from setting meetings up in the calendar, checking the location of friends and family or even pulling up a weather forecast for most locations in the world.
