It may just be something that is unique to me, but I always seem to get a little excited about mobile apps and Cydia-based tweaks that offer some kind of audible feedback to the user. I love Siri and App Store apps like Evi because they talk back to me, and I love tweaks like iCallAnnounce because they react to an event on the device and provide feedback to me through voice.
I love Apple's iOS, I really do, but while I do see the value and benefits in other mobile operating systems like Android and Windows Phone, they just don't provide the full mobile experience for me, at least. With that said, Apple definitely has some work to do to make iOS all that it can be and that includes addressing the blatant issues that the multitasking app switcher has had since its introduction in iOS 4.0.
Being an iOS device owner is somewhat a bitter experience. On one hand, you have Apple’s design and the manufacturer’s cutting-edge premium products which no-one seems to have matched in terms of aesthetics and usability. And on the other hand, the iOS software that powers the device, which has some glaring inadequacies that I just can't seem to fathom why Apple hasn't resolved them.
The official iOS App Store is awash with all singing and dancing Twitter apps which allow members to interact with all aspects of the micro-blogging service. Regardless of whether it is the official Twitter app, or a third-party creation such as TweetBot or Echofon, that is your preference. Sometimes, something a little bit faster and lightweight is required.
It seems that iOS-based text editing tweaks for jailbroken devices can be compared to London buses, they keep you waiting for significant periods of time and all of a sudden two of them would show up at the same time. That is the exact same thing which has recently happened in Cydia with the release of the SwipeShiftCaret tweak as well as the SwipeSelection offering.
In every walk of life, everyone loves to get a bargain and receive something for free, with smartphone users being no different. Although we think about nothing before spending hundreds of dollars on buying the latest gadgetry, we tend to be hesitant when it comes to spending the odd few pennies on apps and software to compliment that device.
What do you get when you combine the interface and responsiveness of Siri with the multi-linguistic prowess of Google Translate? Well, a new app for iOS called iTranslate Voice offers a pretty good amalgamation of the two, and is actually surprisingly accurate in its translations.
It would seem that iOS developer Ron Melkhior is quickly becoming one of the most productive jailbreak tweak developers of late, a thought that is only strengthened with the release of his latest package into the Cydia store. Melkhior has pushed out his latest creation, called GrabberApp, that should give some extra choice to users who make use of iOS 5.1's lock screen camera implementation.
With the Dashboard X tweak hitting Cydia recently, and looking forward to become one of the most popular packages we have seen for quite a while, the question which is surely going to be asked is - what widgets are currently available for Dashboard X? There are very few, in fact only two, I believe, at the time of writing, widgets that were actually created specifically for Dashboard X. But luckily for us all, the majority of Notification Center widgets work flawlessly with Dashboard X.
Regardless of whether you love it or hate it, Apple has pumped a lot of time, money and resources into the development and release of the Siri virtual assistant. And with rumors that the Siri API will be opened up to developers with the release of iOS 6, Siri is definitely here to stay. In my opinion, there is no reason why someone wouldn't want to have Siri installed on their device, after all, for those who choose to use it, the assistant can be extremely helpful in a lot of situations. And for those who don't wish to bother with it, it doesn't intrude in any way whatsoever.
