There have been plenty of hits and a fair few misses in the last couple of revisions of iOS with regards to the new features, but the consensus of the iOS notification banners introduced with iOS 5 seems to be one of positivity. Their unobtrusive nature allows iPhone, iPad and iPod touch users to continue their task in hand without being interrupted, but despite their discreet demeanor, they are rather bland and one dimensional. Looking to invigorate some life into these plain white banners is Bailey Seymour, a jailbreak developer who has come through with a theming tweak for this particular iOS element called BannerImage.
The so-called 'walled garden' of iOS is hardly renowned for its customizability, but thanks to the freedom brought about by a jailbreak, the look and feel of the Apple mobile OS can be morphed and manipulated in all manner of ways. A new Cydia entry by the name of Accentify is one such tweak, sneaking into the iOS API and delivering universal changes to the entire, predominantly off-blue color scheme. If you've grown somewhat bored with the rather dull, uninspiring appearance of your iOS device, Accentify could be just the lick of paint needed to liven things up.
VoIP is quickly making the same kind of waves on mobile as it has done over the past decade at desktop level in providing a cheap way for folks to communicate in real time. Calling long distances worldwide has long since been a monopoly, but thanks to services like Skype, we no longer have to pay a huge premium to hear the sound of another's voice from anywhere in the world. Facebook is currently dabbling in this technology, as is clear from the rollout of the VoIP feature within Facebook Messenger for iOS, but if your area has not yet been supported officially yet you wish to unlock and use the calling feature, there's jailbreak tweak for that! Details, as usual, after the jump.
Message Box, a tweak which allows iOS users to enjoy a full Chat Heads experience system-wide on iOS based on the Facebook app, has just been released, and we've got the details coming up right after the break!
It wouldn't be a Friday, or indeed any other day of the week if someone, somewhere wasn't waxing lyrical about why Apple will, or indeed will not release a 5-inch iPhone. Everyone's at it, and we're no different here at Redmond Pie, which is why I'm about to drag you through a few hundred words of sheer opinion and conjecture on the subject.
We are, some more quickly than others, gradually adapting to the touch-based keyboard. With that said, we've all cursed the auto spell-checking features of our devices, and at a time when we can carry out so many complicated tasks using our smartphone or tablet, doing something as simple as typing a message or note should not be so trying. TouchPal Keyboard for iOS offers a refined, gesture-based typing experience built very much in the image of Swype for Android, and if you happen to be jailbroken, you can make this intuitive keyboard a system-wide implementation.
In this fast-moving smartphone industry, it's fair to say that both Apple and vendors of Android devices move in similar ways. If one device contains a certain feature, it's almost certain that a rivaling model will look to bring something similar with the next generation, but one area in which Android and iOS handsets have always differed is the display. Apple has stuck faithfully with LCD, while the likes of Samsung have placed their faith in OLED, but according to DisplayMate, the new 1080p Super AMOLED panel of the Galaxy S4 more than holds its own against the iPhone 5's Retina LCD display.
Companies like Nike are showing an extreme will to embrace the mobile landscape and bring forward the benefits of fitness to users around the world by using accessories like the FuelBand that wirelessly transmit captured data back to a dedicated app. General day-to-day activities can be recorded and turned into a fitness challenge. Nike themselves have just brought out a great update to the official FuelBand for iPhone app that introduces some new social sharing features, so it makes perfect sense that jailbroken users should also receive some Nike based love with the NikeNotification+ tweak.
Patently Apple does a pretty stellar job of keeping abreast of all the goings concerning the fruit company's intellectual property dealings, and has today spotted a couple of rather interesting patent applications that shed light on a system which would allow your iPhone to act as a "Smart Key." In walking towards your car, a Bluetooth connection from your device would enable you to automatically unlock the vehicle, in turn allowing you to avoid the cumbersome rigmarole of rooting around your pocket or purse for the key.
As expected, Gameloft has dropped the official Iron Man 3 title today for both iOS and Android and we've got all the details, as well as those all-important download links, coming right up after the break!
