With the release of Apple’s iOS 5 beta last week the jailbreak community set about writing 3rd-party widgets to replace the bundled Stock and Weather examples. We’ve already seen a variety of new widgets find their way into Cydia for those with jailbroken iOS 5 devices and the latest to enter the fray is one we’d all been quietly waiting for – an RSS reader.
RSSWidget provides a handy solution for those that want to be able to stay up to date on the world’s goings-on from the comfort of their own lock screen.
Available now, RSSWidget provides a solution to the problem of constantly having to check RSS feeds by opening a separate application in order for it to refresh. RSSWidget apparently receives its updates in real time according to iPhoneItalia, though we haven’t yet been able to verify that ourselves.
In order to use RSSWidget you’ll need to download it from the Cydia Store using the developer’s repository which lives at http://qwertyoruiop.com/beta. You will of course have to be jailbroken on iOS 5 (using either Redsn0w or Sn0wbreeze). After installing the widget you’ll no doubt want to start adding RSS feeds, which is where it all starts to get a little tricky.
- Using your favorite FTP client, SSH into your iPhone and find the following location: / System / Library / WeeAppPlugins / RSSWidget.bundle /
- Open com.idevhaice.rsswidget.plist
- Add your RSS feeds to the field shown in the image below
As you’ve probably already figured out, RSSWidget is still rather raw, with bugs sure to pop up here and there. The developer is aware of some issues already and is working on an update to remedy the situation, which is great news. We do like a developer that looks to improve an app after its release.
RSSWidget is just another example of how powerful the widget system is inside iOS 5’s Notification Center, and we can’t wait to see what happens when more developers begin working with it.
iOS 5 will be available to the public some time in the Fall, with the first beta having only been in the hands of developers for a week.
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