Web Apps

How to replace Spotlight search with a web interface

Jeff Benjamin ∙ March 26, 2012

I'm absolutely sure that I'm in the minority on my thoughts about iOS' Spotlight feature. I actually find it useful and helpful for launching apps, finding emails, contacts, etc.

Many of you, however, loathe Apple's inclusion of Spotlight; deeming it absolutely worthless, useless, and a waste of time and energy.

For those who fall into the latter category, then maybe this jailbreak tweak will make you happy. It's called WebSpot, and it allows you to completely replace Spotlight with a customizable web interface...

Add Calling and Messaging Shortcuts to Your Home Screen with QuickContact

Oliver Haslam ∙ January 17, 2012

The current trend of finding ways to get icons on an iOS device's Home screen with the intent of creating shortcuts for actions is nothing new. It was originally one of the big jailbreak advantages, and now it's back. This time, you don't need to jailbreak anything.

QuickContact is the latest in a long line of apps that offer the user a way to create shortcuts on the Home screen, and now sending SMS messages and making phone calls are the order of the day.

The best part about this is the fact it's not actually an app at all, but rather a web app.

Grooveshark Back on the iPhone With HTML5 Web App

Alex Heath ∙ Updated February 27, 2017

Popular music service Grooveshark has made its way back to the iPhone, thanks to the company's new HTML web app. Grooveshark fans will be happy to hear that you can now access the free service on iOS devices without the jailbreak app.

Apple originally pulled Grooveshark from the App Store because of its questionably-illegal nature, and then app then showed up in Cydia for jailbreakers. Grooveshark has now abandoned Flash for a mobile-friendly HTML5 web app that all iOS users can enjoy.

Amazon Skirts the App Store by Launching Kindle Store Web App For the iPad

Oliver Haslam ∙ Updated January 24, 2016

Amazon has launched a new web interface for its Kindle store, completely bypassing Apple's in-app purchasing system for items that are bought through App Store apps.

The original Kindle app for iOS included links to its own Kindle web store. Apple took offence to this move by Amazon, leading to Amazon removing the links for fear of having the entire app pulled from the App Store for violating Apple's guidelines. From that point on, anyone wanting to buy Kindle books on an iOS device had to reach the store manually, with no mention of it inside the Kindle app.

Easily Share Your Wi-Fi Credentials in iOS with QuickWiFi Web App

Oliver Haslam ∙ Updated September 4, 2016

We've all been in the position where you need to let someone onto your own Wi-Fi network, but you need to give them your password so they can enter it into their smartphone, tablet, or computer. It's a pain, and if you're password is a complex one, the whole process is just something you would rather avoid.

A new web app called QuickWiFi allows you to set up a profile and a customizable URL that will allow other users to install a profile on their iOS device that will grant them access to your Wi-Fi network. You don't need to manually enter anything, and it means that the user will never actually see your password.

It's quick and easy, not to mention secure — assuming you're happy to hand your login details over to the web app.

iPhone 4S and Nokia Lumia 800 Browser Performance Benchmarked [Video]

Oliver Haslam ∙ January 2, 2012

Geeks really like benchmarks — they're one of the best ways to compare hardware speeds, and things are no different in the world of smartphones.

With the aim of comparing the iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, and Nokia's Windows Phone 7-powered Lumia 800, YouTube user 359gsm set about running a selection of web-based benchmarks to see just which of the three phones is the quickest when it comes to rendering web pages.

The iPhone 4S did particularly well in the tests, with the older iPhone 4 more than holding its own, too...

A Brief History of the iOS App Store and the Rise of the Mobile App

Oliver Haslam ∙ Updated April 3, 2018

One of the biggest things to come out of the smartphone revolution is the rise of the mobile app. Before Apple, Google and the rest all set about creating their own on-device app stores. Users were left to live a life of boring apps that needed installing via a memory stick or, in the case of some smartphone operating systems, the downloading of executables that needed to be installed manually after fighting through a selection of security issues. Windows Mobile, I'm looking at you.

Apple, along with Research in Motion, began to change all that with a little help from Google. Nokia also got in on the act, before Microsoft finally began to get things right with Windows Phone 7. Apps, as we have all learned over the last few years, sell smartphones. Now, they also sell tablets.

This is all a far cry from Apple's early stance on an 'app store' when it released the iPhone along with its little brother, the original iPod touch...

How to See Facebook Timelines on Your iPhone

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 24, 2016

Back in September of this year Facebook held its F8 developer conference. Like Apple's WWDC event, Facebook uses F8 to announce new features and services. The big hit of this year's conference was the company's new Timeline feature.

Facebook Timelines allows you to see all of a user's content on the social networking site in one convenient stream. We've already shown you how to access the feature on the iPad, and now we're going to tell you how to see it on the iPhone.

Create Your Own Fake Siri Conversations with iFakeSiri

Oliver Haslam ∙ November 26, 2011

Since Siri is turning into the biggest thing to hit the internet since cats playing pianos, it was probably inevitable that someone would get around to making an easy way to fake Siri screenshots, and it has finally happened.

By offering a simple interface, the iFakeSiri web app allows self-professed comedians to enter their imaginary Siri conversations and have a fake screenshot created. This is perfect for, say, anyone that needs to write blog posts about Apple's fancy assistant technology!

YouTube Testing New Mobile Layout, Try it Out Now

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 24, 2016

It seems like giving your website a makeover is the thing to do these days. Hot on the heels of the Facebook changes we saw rollout last week, reports are coming in today that YouTube has some major plans to overhaul its site's appearance as well.

While you've likely already seen the new design on YouTube's webpage, the changes are now making their way into the mobile app. The new interface is a lot different than the previous design, and although it's still being tested, you can try it out today...

Financial Times Web App More Popular Than Native Version

Sébastien Page ∙ September 23, 2011

The Financial Times deliberately pulled its own app from the App Store a few months ago to focus on its own HTML 5 web app, through which the company could sell subscription to their digital content without having to play by Apple's rules.

And this seems to have paid off! Today, the newspaper reports that over 700,000 persons use their web app, drawing more traffic than the native version that was sold through the App Store...