iPod

Tip: How to Stop Text From Appearing Over Your iPod Album Artwork

Alex Heath ∙ January 27, 2011

Annoyed by text appearing over your album artwork in your iPod app? What about all that description junk that usually appears over podcasts? Whenever you tap on your song/podcast's album cover, the time "scrubber" drops down with other settings like shuffle and repeat.

Depending on your song/podcast's metadata, tapping the album artwork could also result in text being displayed over the artwork. You can download songs with lyric or credit info in the description. Lots of podcasts use this window to display episode descriptions and show notes.

Some people really like this feature of the iPod app. It does have its positives. However, if you find it annoying, we'll show you how to easily hide text from appearing over your album artwork...

Installing VLC Player From Cydia: A Video Walkthrough

Jeff Benjamin ∙ January 9, 2011

Yesterday, Alex posted an in-depth article explaining the reasons why VLC Media Player was removed from the App Store. As you know, VLC Media Player is the popular video application that allows you to play a variety of video formats on your iPhone.

VLC Media Player is extremely popular on PCs and Macs, so it's wasn't surprising that it was an app that many looked forward to on the iPhone.

Sadly, as you know, the app has been removed, but don't weep too many tears; VLC can still be installed on your iPhone, and this video walkthrough will show you how, step-by-step...

VLC for iPhone Pulled From App Store, Now Available On Cydia

Alex Heath ∙ January 8, 2011

Awhile back, we reported that the popular, open source media player "VLC for iPhone" was released in the App Store. It was a pretty big deal, because the VLC client duplicated a lot of functionality that was already in the native iPod app. (Apple doesn't usually like apps that duplicate the iPhone's native features.)

The biggest pro to VLC for iPhone was its ability to playback file formats that iTunes doesn't support. iTunes has a somewhat limited amount of video formats it can playback. VLC was a simple, free app that allowed more types of videos to be playable on the iPhone.

While it was nice for an app like VLC to be in the App Store, the media player was very buggy. Lots of users reported problems with playback and file format support. However, the bugs were not the reason that the app was pulled. In fact, Apple had nothing to do with the takedown...

Dring – Beautiful Ringtone Creation On The iPhone [Review and Giveaway]

Alex Heath ∙ Updated February 16, 2018

Apple has been allowing ringtone creators on the App Store for several months now, but there has yet to be an app that stands out from the rest. We've talked about creating ringtones for the iPhone before, but there has yet to be a really elegant and simple way to create ringtones straight on the iPhone.

Dring, by Wake Apps, is the newest addition to the ringtone creator catalog. Dring is "cream of the crop" caliber when it comes to quality of design. The app is truly gorgeous. Every pixel is fine-tuned and perfectly placed; everything feels smooth and responsive.

Besides good looks, Dring has all of the features that a good ringtone app should have. Creating ringtones is a beautiful breeze with Dring...

ScrollingBoard, The Ultimate Jailbreak Tweak for Your iPhone’s Dock

Alex Heath ∙ Updated February 28, 2018

ScrollingBoard is a new Cydia tweak that let's you have scrolling, unlimited icons in your dock and folders, and addons in your dock (like iPod controls). What makes ScrollingBoard so interesting is that not only does it bring a few new features to your jailbroken device, but it also replicates the functions of other popular jailbreak tweaks in the process.

ScrollingBoard's main goal is to make your iOS device's dock as useful as can be. The native arrangement of icons on your home screen's pages is also available on your dock with ScrollingBoard. The addons and SBSettings integration that ScollingBoard brings to the dock also make this tweak especially worth the $1.50 price tag...

Repurpose an Unused iDevice as a Media Server

Guest Author ∙ Updated April 3, 2018

Don't feel like shelling out the money for an iTV? Well if you have an old iDevice laying around, you don't have to! Introducing iPod Remote Controller and iPod Remote Server.

The iPod Remote Controller app is a two-trick app for jailbroken devices. It will access and control any iDevice that is running the iPod Remote Server. You can select songs, shuffle, and play the songs in an interface that closely resembles the iPod app for the iPhone. It will also allow you to connect via WiFi or Bluetooth for those who don't have a WiFi connection...

DirectControl Gives You Quick and Dirty Access to Your iPod Controls

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated February 6, 2016

If you know me well at all, you know how much I love the jailbreak app SwitcherPlus. My infatuation with that app is well documented. The reason I like it so much is because it adds real value and benefit to the iPhone experience by making the task switcher more usable and intuitive.

Well, DirectControl is a lot like SwitcherPlus, that is, if SwitcherPlus went on a crash diet and lost like 100 pounds. In other words, it takes one feature that SwitcherPlus does well, and offers it to you in a single tweak. Does that make DirectControl any more or less compelling?

VLC for iPhone Released

Alex Heath ∙ Updated January 24, 2016

VLC media player was just updated as a universal app for iPhone and iPad in the App Store. The popular, open source, cross platform media player has been a favorite on Windows, OS X and Linux for years.

Awhile back, VLC released an iPad app in the App Store, and surprisingly the app was approved. VLC for iPhone allows you to play nearly every kind of video format known to man. The app clearly duplicates (and in my opinion, makes better) the video playback functionality of the the native iPod app. So, it's interesting that Apple has finally approved it.

The developers of the VideoLAN player just got the VLC 1.1.0 update approved, which lets VLC run on the iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, and recent iPod touch models. I downloaded the app, and I was impressed.

App Review: Take Five

Alex Heath ∙ Updated January 24, 2016

I love it when a simple app idea is executed beautifully. Take Five, by the Iconfactory, is no exception. The idea is simple. Take Five is intended to solve a problem that occurs often for certain types of people. When I say "certain types of people," I mean forgetful ones (aren't we all to some degree). The app does one thing and one thing well; it controls a timer for your music.

The scenario that Iconfactory uses on the Take Five site is a scenario that most of us have probably been through. You're listening to your music while you're doing work, you are either interrupted or distracted, then you eventually return to your work and forget to turn your music back on. Hours later you realize you've been listening to silence. That sounds like a pretty trivial problem, right? Well, it seems to me that the most frustrating problems in life are the repetitive and trivial ones. Take Five plans on fixing at least one of those problems...

Use Your iPod Music as an Alarm Clock Sound on Your iPhone

Sébastien Page ∙ September 27, 2010

PlayAwake is a new jailbreak app available in Cydia that will let you use your iPod music as an alarm clock sound on your iPhone. By default, you are only limited to a few alarm clock sounds on your iPhone. PlayAwake wiill lift this limitation and let you choose any song from your iPod library to wake up to.

Just pick a track from your iPhone's music library from inside the default alarm clock app and you will wake up listening to your favorite song...

iPhone Helping Autistic Kids

Guest Author ∙ Updated October 10, 2018

This story makes so much sense that I feel inferior for only realizing the potential just now. The idea of using a touchscreen to help children suffering from autism is brilliantly simple. The fact is that the iPhone might have the best and most simple system in iOS and the two were destined to help each other.

News Channel 10 out of Amarillo Texas has a report that centers on the benefits of using the iPhone to help the children dealing with the ailments that autism has. An app that focuses itself on speech therapy works by having the kids just touch the correct picture of whatever sound is being played. Magical, isn't it?

Nike Makes Its iPhone App More Accessible

Guest Author ∙ Updated January 24, 2016

Running is a lot of work. That's why the previous version of the Nike+ iPod was a bit of a hassle since you had to have special equipment just to participate in the experience. Apparently Nike agreed.

Now in the App Store is an app called Nike+ GPS which is a stand alone version of the aforementioned application. The $2 selection which you can download here utilizes the iPhone's accelerometer and GPS capabilities (must be running iOS 3.1 or higher), which ditches the need for any additional adapters that it once required...