iOS 5

WeeCloseApps: Kill and close apps directly from Notification Center

Jeff Benjamin ∙ March 6, 2012

WeeCloseApps is a jailbreak widget that resides in Notification Center. Its purpose is built solely around closing and killing both running apps and backgrounded apps.

This tweak is basically the free version of another tweak called 'ActionSlider', which we will be covering for your shortly.

Once installed, a slider bar resides in Notification Center, and a slide to the left or to the right yields different actions depending on how you configure the tweak in the Settings app.

Have a look at our video demonstration of WeeCloseApps straight ahead...

‘Notificator’ officially released on Cydia

Jeff Benjamin ∙ March 5, 2012

[tube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPmebvmDk8Y[/tube]

Notificator has finally hit the Cydia store for the price of $0.99. This is a jailbreak tweak that allows you to create custom banner notifications for various system events.

If you've been anticipating Notificator ever since reading our preview of the tweak, then head over to Cydia's BigBoss repo where you can download it today.

Be sure to let us know what you think about it after giving it a try.

Siri gets a HAL 9000 theme

Jeff Benjamin ∙ March 3, 2012

"Good evening, Dave."

Yes, the inevitable has finally happened, we're just curious why it took so long.

Indeed, Siri has finally been laced with a classic HAL 9000 theme from 2001: A Space Odyssey.

It's all possible thanks to a WinterBoard theme, and a handful of UISounds that replace the stock Siri sounds. Check out our how-to video inside...

Readability for iOS now available

Jake Smith ∙ Updated March 12, 2018

Popular service Readability has finally launched its app on the App Store. Readability is a great looking web app that allows you to save web items for reading more comfortably at a later time. The new Readability app is available for both iPhone and iPad.

The app makes any webpage look more uniform and clean looking. There's the ability to make the text bigger, share items with your friends, and more...

‘Currency Converter’ is one of the best looking Notification Center widgets

Jeff Benjamin ∙ March 1, 2012

When traveling abroad, there's just some things that you should do that are just no brainers. One of them is knowing the exchange rate between your native currency, and the currency of the country you're travelling to.

In the old days this used to take a little legwork, i.e. reading the newspaper, going to the post office, etc. With the smartphone boom, though, currency conversion is often right at your fingertips.

As is the case with this new jailbreak widget, entitled Currency Convertor. It's a widget that conveniently sits in iOS 5's Notification Center for easy access...

‘Calendar Pro’ adds a configurable calendar to Notification Center

Jeff Benjamin ∙ February 28, 2012

Back in October we brought you a walkthrough of Calendar for Notification Center. Needless to say it was so barebones that I don't even believe we made a post about it.

Now the same developer behind Calendar for Notification Center is back, this time with Calendar Pro.

How does Calendar Pro compare to its predecessor? Better yet, will it meet the needs of those who desire a calendar in iOS 5's Notification Center?

‘SpeakEvents’ makes boring push notifications come alive with voice

Jeff Benjamin ∙ February 27, 2012

SpeakEvents is a jailbreak tweak that audibly speaks the contents of new messages, tweets, emails, etc.

I like to look at it as the opposite of Siri; actually it's the perfect complement to Siri, because instead of you talking to the iPhone, it's talking to you.

I know this sounds like a potential recipe for disaster, but SpeakEvents has the ability to go into quiet mode during designated times, and you can make it work on a per-app basis.

Check out further video coverage of SpeakEvents straight ahead...

‘Notificator’ allows you to customize iOS system events with banners and sounds

Jeff Benjamin ∙ February 27, 2012

Wouldn't it be neat to receive a banner notification once that huge app finishes downloading? What about a less intrusive banner notification when your device is running low on battery life?

Notificator is an upcoming jailbreak tweak that can do that and more. In total there are eight system events that can be customized with both banners and sound to keep you abreast of what's happening on your device.

Take a look at our full video preview inside...

How to enable fast Notification Center background blurring

Jeff Benjamin ∙ February 27, 2012

Looking for an instantaneous method for blurring the background after invoking Notification Center?

If so, then perhaps Ryan Petrich's longwinded FastBlurredNotificationCenter will suit your needs.

This is a free jailbreak tweak available on Petrich's beta repo, which causes an instant blur effect for Notification Center.

Inside we have a brief video of it in action, along with the link you need to score a free copy for yourself...

Upcoming jailbreak tweak ‘Deck’ adds a hotbar to your SpringBoard

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated March 9, 2016

Deck is an upcoming jailbreak tweak from SBCoders that is currently in beta testing. It promises to lend added functionality to your SpringBoard by adding an App switcher-esque side bar that's accessible by swiping.

Inside the "hotbar" you'll gain access to a multitude of customizable functions, and shortcuts. It looks like a great compliment to the currently existing App switcher.

SBCoders has released a teaser video that shows Deck in action, check inside to have a look...

‘MusicGestures’ adds customized gestures to the stock Music app

Jeff Benjamin ∙ February 26, 2012

MusicGestures is a jailbreak tweak that lends the ability to control the stock Music app with gestures instead of button presses. There are a total of 6 actions (7 if you count disabled as an action) that you can assign to any number of gestures.

The gestures can be used to skip, play, pause, and gather info on both the album cover view, and the individual track view.

It's not the deepest tweak in the shed, but the simplicity of MusicGestures makes it worth a look...

‘LowPowerBanner’ removes obtrusive low battery alerts in favor of banner notifications

Jeff Benjamin ∙ February 24, 2012

I can't be the only one that thinks it's weird that Apple's still using those focus stealing low battery alerts, can I? I mean, doesn't it seem like Apple would have preferred to use iOS 5's new banner notifications instead?

Well, apparently I'm not the only one who feels that way, because a new tweak has been released in Cydia named LowPowerBanner, and it does just that...