For most people, the new features Apple’s jammed into iOS 5 are a whole lot of awesome. For anyone that chooses to jailbreak their iOS devices, however, the bulk of what Apple’s offering is just more of the same. Lock screen information? Wireless syncing? Unbeknownst to many, we’ve been rocking features like this for years now. If you've got an older iOS device that won't support iOS 5, or can't bear the thought of having to wait for the next iteration of Apple’s mobile device OS to drop, you can snag a number of the bells and whistles associated with iOS 5 right now, thanks to some clever applications available via the Cydia Store.
In order to enjoy the features and benefits described below, you’ll need to have a jailbroken iOS device, a Google or Facebook account to interact with the Cydia Store and for some of the apps we mention, a means of making online purchases. Let’s get started!
While Apple has finally seen fit to refine iOS’ annoying, intrusive notification system into something far less frustrating, We think it was cruel and unusual punishment to tell iPhone users about it at WWDC 2011 and then make them wait until the fall before they can finally put the new feature to use.
Fortunately, Peter Hajas and Kyle Adams’ MobileNotifier is available for download and use this very moment, and let us tell you, it is fabulous—so fabulous, that Apple hired Hajas to work on iOS 5’s system notification UI. Offering a notification experience similar to that enjoyed by Android users, MobileNotifier conveys system and push notifications on your iPhone by displaying them in a pull-down at the top of the handset’s screen. Offering both lock screen and active use views, MobileNotifier can convey notifications from all of your iPhone’s native apps, as well as from third-party services, such as Facebook and Twitter. By tapping on the notification bar, you can even respond to a message without having to open its parent app. Sweet!
In order to install MobileNotifier, you’ll have to add it’s repository to Cydia. To do so, using your jailbroken iPhone, click on the Cydia Store app icon, and then from the bottom of the screen, select Manage. Now, tap Sources, located in the middle of your device’s screen. You will be presented with a list of the sources that Cydia draws on to provide their customers with applications. Click the Edit button and then the Add button. Now, enter http://phajas.xen.prgmr.com/repo into the field provided and click Add Source. BOOM: The repository hosting MobileNotifier has now been added to you Cydia search database. With this task completed, you can now use Cydia to search for and download MobileNotifer.
Once installed to your smartphone, Mobile Notifier can be turned on and off via your handset’s Settings interface. Did we mention that MobileNotifer is free? Well, it is.
Can’t wait to start using your iPhone or iPad’s lock screen for more than displaying pretty images and telling the time? Neither could we, and that’s one of the many reasons we choose to use LockInfo, available from the Cydia Store (free to try, $7.99 to buy). Once installed, LockInfo offers at-a-glance information on calendar, mail, voicemail messages, missed voice calls and just about anything else you can fathom.
The application’s default modules can easily be augmented by free to download plugins, which add additional functionality to LockInfo, such as lock screen views of your Twitter or RSS feeds, up to the minute weather information, and integration with popular task management apps like 2Do and Things. You can even choose the viewing order of the apps and plugins on your log screen and skin it all to match your iOS device’s theme.
Given the deep customization options and scalability of LockInfo, we’re betting that the application will still see contented use by jailbreakers, even after iOS 5 and it’s new found lock screen functionality become available this fall.
The issue of whether or not Apple aped Greg Hughes’ WiFi Sync (after rejecting it from the iTunes App Store) has become a subject of much debate since last week’s WWDC unveiling of iOS 5. What no one can argue is how utterly awesome WiFi Sync truly is. For the reasonable price of $9.99, WiFI Sync provides users with the means to wirelessly sync most iOS devices to iTunes. In order to use WiFi Sync, you’ll need to pair your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch to the application’s free companion desktop client, which we’re happy to report, is a pain-free process.
Once your gear has been paired, just tap the WiFi icon, sit back and relax as your Mac or Windows computer dumps content from iTunes on to your iOS device without the need for a sync cable.
Oh, and should you ever have difficulties with WiFi sync, Hughes’ level of support for his app in the jailbreaking community is near legendary.
Steve Jobs made a big deal about the fact that thanks to iOS 5, your iPhone’s volume button will soon be able to be used to snap photos using iOS 5’s native camera application. Would you be surprised if we told you that SnapTap, available via the Cydia Store, could enable your iPhone to do that without the need for an iOS 5 update? Yeah, we thought you might be interested.
By allowing iPhone users to take pictures using the volume button on their handset or headphone cable, SnapTap helps to ensure a more stable photographic experience. Don’t believe us? Just think about how many times you’ve fudged a shot because you had to tap your screen to take a picture. Trust us, you want this.
Much like bacon, Activator simply makes everything better. Another freebie, it ships with and is installed as part of downloading the Cydia app for your iOS device. All those new gestures and accessibility options that are coming as part of iOS 5? Activator makes many of them possible now, thanks to the wide variety of customization options it is designed to provide to your iOS user interface experience.
Thanks to Activator, you’ll be able to set custom results for the various ways you interact with your Apple mobile hardware. Want to open your iPhone’s Settings with a single swipe gesture? How about shaking your handset in order to check your email? Activator’s got you covered. If that's not enough for you, more Activator actions can be downloaded from the Cydia store.
A word of warning, however: With great powers of interface customization come great responsibility. Speaking from experience, it’s easy to get carried away with Activator, and what started off as a great way to trick out your iPhone or iPad can rapidly erode the quality of your overall user experience.
