CallBar and Apptivator [Jailbreak]

CallBar and Apptivator are just two examples of the Jailbreak community being in full flurry this summer with what has been the most productive and innovative season of Jailbreak tweaks to date. At a time when people question the current value of jailbreaking with iOS 5 on the horizon, the jailbreak community have spoken up and demonstrated that they continue to advance and innovate where Apple stops short.

With a vast amount of new Cydia tweaks, thanks majorly in part to @rpetrich’s TweakWeek challenge, I will be talking about only two recent tweaks that demonstrate to any non-believer that Jailbroken iPhones, iPads, and iPod touches are the way to go!

###CallBar (by E. Limneos & J. Tucker)

E. Limneos has been involved with TweakWeek and when J. Tucker approached him with this dynamite idea they made an immediate knockout hit that some consider an “essential” tweak to any Jailbroken device. What CallBar does is extend the concept of the nonintrusive notification to phone calls and FaceTime alerts, integrating it into what Peter Hajas developed for iOS with MobileNotifier (also a Cydia tweak) and Apple synthesized and adopted in iOS 5′s Notification Center.

Intrusive notifications have always been a weak point for iOS and have long since been taunted by the Android and webOS community. CallBar brings what iOS 5 only begins to unveil at a notification level, and that is a nonintrusive and clean way to receive phone calls – further solidifying the concept that our iDevices are small computers that happen to receive phone calls rather than phones that happen to behave like small computers. Writing an important email and a call ruins your train of thought? Not anymore. Watching the latest Harry Potter movie on your iPad and a FaceTime alert just interrupted an important scene? No longer a problem. CallBar demonstrates that Cydia tweaks are not just gimmicks and tricks, but truly useful, innovative, and downright essential to heavy iDevice users.

With a good amount of options to make any user happy, CallBar is available now in Cydia for only 3.99 USD.

Apptivator takes the functionality of Activator and applies it to your homescreen and icons, using a double-tap action instead of having to rely on multiple gestures.

For instance, you can set a double-tap action onto your phone icon to immediately call up the keypad or the contacts list – whichever you use most. You can also create events that allow you to double-tap an icon app to open up a related app instead – such as double-tapping the Camera app to open the Photos app. Using events currently possible in Activator, n00neimp0rtant demonstrated in his YouTube video of the tweak (see above) of double-tapping the iPod icon to start and top a current track. Better yet, you can trigger SBSetting toggles using Apptivator – such as double-tapping the MyWi icon to toggle MyWi on and off. The amount of customization this tweak brings is limitless. As powerful and innovative as Activator has been, it’s a breath of fresh air seeing Apptivator using the same principles on icons without the need to memorize gestures that are limited and can be unintuitive at times.

At first glance, this tweak reminded me a lot of the new feature in Windows Phone 7 Mango where you can now pin actions onto the homescreen – which some touted as a brilliant feature and very innovative on the part of the WP7 team. With jailbroken phones, we are able to see features from other Mobile OSes and see the concept further bloom and thrive, and Apptivator is a clear example of this.

On Twitter, @n00neimp0rtant informed me that more functionality is coming to Apptivator and I am more than excited to see what’s in store next.

Apptivator is available now in the Cydia Store for 2.00 USD.

Austin Bradley, better known as K. Nitsua, is the Jailbreak theme designer behind iNitsua Z Twilight 3volution. You can hit him up on Twitter @Kanaca_Nitsua

Daily Tip: How to fix iTunes restore errors by manually editing host files on your Mac

Getting the dreaded “This device isn’t eligible for the requested build” error when trying to install an iOS 5 beta, and wondering how to edit your hosts file to get around the problem? Host files can often be used to resolve issues with an iTunes restore, even those that happen due to SHSH saves on jailbroken devices. Follow along for a quick walkthrough, and I’ll show you how.

If you’re getting an iTunes restore error message, first you’ll want to make sure your host file is the problem. As a side note, I am only demonstrating this on a Mac as I don’t have a PC but much of the same commands and edits can be done through command prompt on a PC as well.

1. Open Terminal


2. Type in ping gs.apple.com and hit Enter


3. If you see something other than 17.112.176.11: bytes=32 as the reply, you’ll need to edit your host file, so continue to the next section.


4. If you do see the above, you may want to try forcing your device into DFU mode and then restoring. Or try restoring from a different computer as that seems to work sometimes. Your host file is not causing your restore to fail. Something else is causing it.

If you “do” need to edit your host file, follow the steps below to do so.

1. Right click on Finder in your dock and select Go to folder…


2. In the prompt, type /private/etc and hit Ok


3. You may be prompted to enter your password while editing or accessing some of these folders. Simply type in your admin password if asked.


4. Drag the Hosts file from the /etc folder to your desktop and then open it with TextEdit or a simliar program


5. You will need to add the following text to your host file: 74.208.10.249 gs.apple.com (refer to the screen above)


6. Save the file and drag it back into the /etc folder where you originally pulled it from (choose to overwrite or replace if asked)


7. Now we just need to flush the cache in order for the changes to take effect. Open Terminal again and type in dscacheutil -flushcache and hit enter. (The command prompt entry for Windows users is ipconfig /flushdns


8. You should now be able to restore your device in iTunes without any issues.

Tips of the day will range from beginner-level 101 to advanced-level ninjary. If you already know this tip, keep the link handy as a quick way to help a friend. If you have a tip of your own you’d like to suggest, add them to the comments or send them in to news@tipb.com. (If it’s especially awesome and previously unknown to us, we’ll even give ya a reward…)

Iterate 3: Prototypes

• Our podcast feed


• Download Directly


• Subscribe via iTunes

Marc, Seth, and Rene iterate through Apple’s OS X Lion, Micorsoft’s Windows 8 preview, HP’s webOS 3.0 TouchPad UI, discuss text in graphics and color management, and talk with Prototypes’ Duncan Wilcox and Keith Lang. This is Iterate!

Apply selective coloring to your photos with Color Range for iPhone and iPad

SSA Mobile has released their new photo editing app, Color Range.

Simple and easy to use, this truly wonderful app enables you to convert any image into grayscale while keeping the selected color (or colors) bright and vivid. Color Range will make you feel like an artist photographer, except that instead of messing with a brush you’ll just need to tap the chosen color, select the color range and the smart app will automatically do the rest!

Personally, I’m not the biggest fan of selective coloring, but if I was, this app looks like a great choice. Just tapping on the color is much easier than painting it in by hand.

Color Range is a universal app for iPhone and iPad and has an introductory price of $0.99.

[iTunes link]

Have an app you’d love to see featured on TiPb? Email us at iosapps@tipb.com, tell us about your app (include an iTunes link), and we’ll take a look.

Apple Implementing Facial Detection Software in iOS 5

It’s yet to be revealed when iOS 5, the anticipated, new iOS, will be making its introduction to the public. What we do know are the prominent features that will be included with the revolutionary new OS, and one noticeable addition is the implementation of facial detection software and APIs.

Apple acquired Swedish company, Polar Rose less than a year ago, and thanks to their facial recognition algorithms, Apple are including facial recognition into the new iOS software supposedly being released to the public this fall. onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview('/outgoing/9to5mac.com/2011/07/25/face-detection-software-and-api-lands-in-ios-5-following-apples-2010-purchase-of-polar-rose/');" target="_blank" href="http://9to5mac.com/2011/07/25/face-detection-software-and-api-lands-in-ios-5-following-apples-2010-purchase-of-polar-rose/">9to5Mac has confirmed that the APIs are very sophisticated, as they’ve been playing around with them in their beta build of iOS 5.

I’m not sure when Apple will quite release the APIs to developers, so that they can prepare for the launch of iOS 5 with application utilizing the new software. Yes, they will be making the APIs available for developers to use in their applications for iOS, which is probably the prominent plus of this new addition. Expect to see a good number of applications taking advantage of the face detection software.

It would be great if Apple could somehow incorporate the software into the security aspect of iOS: they could maybe implement your device to only wake up when your face is recognized – that may just be a far ways off.

Now I’m really psyched and looking forward to downloading the new software update this Fall. I’m just really waiting for some developer to come along with an application that’ll rate your face on a scale 1-10. That’ll be a huge hit if developed – hey, but if anyone uses that idea, I get some of the profits!

Check out Polar Rose’s video using their software:/> width="640" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/0QBLKBYrgvk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen>

[Via onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview('/outgoing/9to5mac.com/2011/07/25/face-detection-software-and-api-lands-in-ios-5-following-apples-2010-purchase-of-polar-rose/');" target="_blank" href="http://9to5mac.com/2011/07/25/face-detection-software-and-api-lands-in-ios-5-following-apples-2010-purchase-of-polar-rose/">9to5Mac]

Rumoured iPhone 5 cases show no home button, flipped controls

Either every single outlandish rumour surrounding Apple’s upcoming iPhone 5 is real, or someone has been reading the blogs and sending around “case leaks” again. We’ll bet on the latter until there’s real physical proof of the former.

If you’re into this sort of thing, though, MobileFun is claiming two sources on these cases, which show off a bigger screen, sound controls on the opposite side of the iPhone, and no home button, just a large gesture area.

Steve Jobs originally intended for the iPhone to be buttonless, but found he couldn’t quite get away with it. It looks like he’s some way closer to that goal with the iPhone 5; the physical home screen button has been replaced with a touch-sensitive ovaloid area which takes up the middle half of the bottom border. This area might be used for unique multi-touch gestures, given its increased size.

Again, take with the largest grain of salt you can ingest without crystallizing.

[MobileFun]

iPhone 5 To Have Larger Screen, No Home Button, Curved Back?

href="http://cdn.everythingicafe.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/iPhone-5-case2.gif">class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-22740" title="iPhone-5-case2" src="http://cdn.everythingicafe.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/iPhone-5-case2.gif" alt="" width="523" height="532" />

We’re finally starting to see some leaked iPhone 5 case designs out of China, and they paint a picture of a phone significantly different from the iPhone 4. Both of these cases come fromhref="http://www.mobilefun.co.uk/blog/2011/07/iphone-5-revealed-larger-screen-curved-back-less-buttons/?referer=aff_aw_78888"> MobileFun.co.uk, who have some contacts in China, and they seem convinced it’s legit.

The design document above and example below show an iPhone 5 with a larger screen, a curved metal back, and the home screen has been replaced with a touch sensitive strip (boo!). The design also suggests that the volume controls have been substantially repositioned. MobileFun seems to think the volume and lock buttons may be replaced by touch controls.

The larger screen would provide a size increase from 3.5- to 4-inches, but we assume the pixel count will remain the same.

What do you think of the proposed new design? I’m not a big fan of losing physical switches for touch ones, especially for the home button, but I do trust Apple’s design sensibilities.

href="http://cdn.everythingicafe.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/IP5211.gif">class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-22741" title="IP5211" src="http://cdn.everythingicafe.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/IP5211.gif" alt="" width="500" height="500" />[via href="http://www.cultofmac.com/first-iphone-5-case-designs-reveal-bigger-touchscreen-curved-back-and-totally-buttonless-design/106138">Cult of Mac]

A Race to the Top: Tiny Tower

Just because I’m high up on a cloud surrounded by a sky of paid games doesn’t mean that I’m also not paying attention to the freemium applications dominating the free charts. One game that has managed to hook me and keep my attention for the past few weeks since its release, is Nimblebit’s onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview('/outgoing/itunes.apple.com/us/app/tiny-tower/id422667065?mt=8');" target="_blank" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/tiny-tower/id422667065?mt=8">Tiny Tower [Free], and that’s rightly so.

Tiny Tower isn’t news by now, so if you haven’t heard of it, you’ve probably been disconnected from the web for the past month. In the beginning, the game was being downloaded like hotcakes and that’s greatly deserved. The premise is to build up your tower as high as you can, with no real goal involved; basically, it made its name with its casual gameplay, terrific pixel artwork and wonderful execution.

You’ll collect coins in the game through a various amount of things: selling things on each of your floors, transporting bitizens (pixel-people) using your elevator and more. These coins are then further used to restock your shops and such on each floor and build new floors. As you progress, the game gets more difficult and difficult ultimately taking days and hundred-thousands of coins to build new floors.

I’m currently at 46 floors, and it takes over 300 grand and multiple days to finish each new additional floor. And in the long run, I’m only like halfway to finishing the game (100 floors is the maximum amount). That said, I’m curious to know how many floors each of you have, and I really wish there was some sort of leaderboard in-game that showcased who currently has 100 floors (because I’m sure someone out there is getting close if not already there). Comment below with the number. Also, if you don’t have onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview('/outgoing/itunes.apple.com/us/app/tiny-tower/id422667065?mt=8');" target="_blank" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/tiny-tower/id422667065?mt=8">Tiny Tower [Free] thus far, go download it.

Steinheil EX Ultra Fine Shield for iPhone 4 Review

When I purchase a new gadget, the first thing I normally do is seek out some sort of shield to protect it from scratches. I’ve used a number of products in the past, most of which required wet applications. They require a some sort of Windex-like substance and prior to application, I felt like a doctor scrubbing in for surgery. On the advice of my podcast compadre href="http://www.marianneschultz.com">Marianne Schultz, I decided to give to trial the Steinheil EX Ultra Fine on my iPhone 4.

href="http://cdn.everythingicafe.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/steinheil-screen-protector-review.jpg">class="alignnone size-full wp-image-22710" title="steinheil-screen-protector-review" src="http://cdn.everythingicafe.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/steinheil-screen-protector-review.jpg" alt="Steinheil Screen Protector Review" width="373" height="402" />

id="more-22708">

As you can see below, my older screen protector had started to peel and it looked as if the corner of my iPhone had become furry from the robust collection of pocket lint that had accrued over the past few months. I removed the existing screen protector, which happened to be a href="http://store.everythingicafe.com/bodyguardz-protective-skin/15A43A7126.htm">BodyGuardz screen protective skin for iPhone 4. I used a little Windex to clean up my iPhone and get it ready for the install. Steinheil includes a alcohol swap and soft cloth that helped to finish the job. When I was finished, the iPhone 4 was pristine, outside a small scuff that was on the bezel of the display. As with any install of this type, you’ll want a clean environment. One stray cat hair could result that being part of your screen protection, so the cats were not allowed to partake in the installation process.

width="560" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/C15ehELXksE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen>

href="http://cdn.everythingicafe.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/steinheil-ex.jpg">class="alignnone size-full wp-image-22711" title="steinheil-ex" src="http://cdn.everythingicafe.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/steinheil-ex.jpg" alt="Steinheil EX Ultra Fine for iPhone " width="324" height="500" />

Where the Steinheil differs from most screen protection, is that it’s a completely dry install. I tend to err on the side of caution and apply some Windex to my fingers should they find their way to the inner portion of the protector. The Steinheil EX Ultra Fine comes with 2 sets. Each set includes a front, back and various side pieces. The front and back pieces have tabs at the top. I slowly pulled back the tab and matched the cutouts to that of the iPhone 4. When I was confident of position, I would press down and slowly affix the screen protector to the iPhone 4. On my first go around, I wasn’t completely happy with the positioning. Luckily, included with the package, were a set of stickers that when applied to the corner will lift the screen protector from the display. This worked great and I avoided having to use a fingernail or something that could have affected the final result.

href="http://cdn.everythingicafe.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/iphone-4-steinheil.jpg">class="alignnone size-full wp-image-22712" title="iphone-4-steinheil" src="http://cdn.everythingicafe.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/iphone-4-steinheil.jpg" alt="Steinheil EX Ultra Fine" width="382" height="392" />

Once happy with the positioning, I used the included rubber squeegee. I thought that it might be more difficult to remove air bubbles due to the lack of moisture. This was not the case at all. In fact, I happened to conduct this install at the same time I installed a Wrapsol for iPad 2. One dry, one wet. The Steinheil was infinitely easier to remove air bubbles. The process took all of 10 minutes.

href="http://cdn.everythingicafe.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/matte-screen-protector.jpg">class="alignnone size-full wp-image-22715" title="matte-screen-protector" src="http://cdn.everythingicafe.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/matte-screen-protector.jpg" alt="iPhone matte screen protector" width="356" height="260" />

Easy installation is just one aspect of the product. The screen protector provided excellent screen coverage. When combined with an Apple Bumper case, I was able to get full coverage. Cutouts offered just enough space to offer me some flexibility during the install.

The material itself provides a matte-like finish to the iPhone 4. There is no real texture of any sort to the Steinheil and it made for an extremely smooth surface. It reminds of the matte display on my MacBook Pro. The display on the iPhone didn’t feel gummy or sticky in any way. What’s more, this particular product is also fingerprint-resistant. Despite heavy usage, fingerprints were barely noticeable and easily removed.

Pros:

Cons:

Priced at around $24 for two sets of protectors, the Steinheil offers premium protection and a painless installation process that clocks in under 10 minutes. If you are in the market for a screen protector for your iPhone 4 or any device, then I’d highly recommend you consider the Steinheil EX Ultra Fine. The feel and look of the Steinheil is phenomenal, reminding me of the matte finish MacBook Pro display. Across the board, this is by far the best screen protector on the market and I’d have no problem recommending Steinheil to anyone looking for a premium device shield.

href="http://www.amazon.com/SGP-Verizon-iPhone-Protector-Steinheil/dp/B004K55ATW/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&qid=1311642473&sr=8-12">Steinheil EX Ultra Fine for iPhone 4 retails for $23.99.

href="http://cdn.everythingicafe.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/rating-10.png">src="http://cdn.everythingicafe.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/rating-10.png" alt="10 of 10" title="rating-10" width="75" height="150" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-22735" />

New and updated iPhone and iPad apps for Tuesday, July 26

Every day, TiPb gets flooded with announcements for new and updated iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad apps and games. So every day we pick just a few of the most interesting, the most notable, and simply the most awesome to share with you!

Tweetbot: Now with push notifications for everyone! [$2.99 for iPhone - iTunes link]

ExpenseMagic: Capture receipts on the move and claim every expense easily. [Free for iPhone - iTunes link]

Nervous Fly: Living in a glass slowly filling with colorful ice cubes thrown in from above, you can fly to the left and right — but you can’t control up and down movement. Your goal? Crush as much ice as possible by pushing together two cubes of a color. [Free for iPhone and iPad - iTunes link]

Vignature: Sign a PDF document online, anywhere, anytime. It’s fast, easy, and secure. Just open a PDF document in Vignature and “Tap to Sign.” Your image is captured in real time as you sign the document so there is no doubting the validity of your signature. [Free for iPhone and iPad - iTunes link]

FitRabbit: Get in shape by turning your fitness goals into an exciting and competitive social game! [Free for iPhone - iTunes link]

Any other big apps or game releases or updates today? If you pick any of these up, let us know what you think!

iSheetMusic for iPhone and iPad now available

iSheetMusic, an app that allows you to download sheet music to your iPhone or iPad, is now available.

iSheetMusic is an educational music app providing fully dynamic sheet music to amateur/hobbyist musicians across every genre imaginable.

iSheetMusic is available on the iPhone and iPad for free. Screenshots after the break.

[iTunes link]

Have an app you’d love to see featured on TiPb? Email us at iosapps@tipb.com, tell us about your app (include an iTunes link), and we’ll take a look.

iPhoneAlley Logo Design Contest

iPhoneAlley needs a new logo and we want our readers to design it!

As of today we will begin taking submissions for what YOU think our logo should be. Be creative! Be bold! Be great! Be unique!

On Aug. 9, we will choose three finalists. Then we will post the designs from our three finalists and our readers will vote on the winner! As they say, nothing is ever free. So, the winner will receive an iPod Touch and the two runner-ups will receive an iPod Shuffle.

The chosen logo will be featured on our homepage and used at the basis for our upcoming total redesign of the site. We will also use the logo on our Facebook and Twitter pages.

Don’t be shy! Enter the contest today. Send your logo and information to contest@iphonealley.com. All entries must be received by midnight the night of Aug. 9th CST.

 

Rules:

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO WIN / PLAY ELIGIBILITY:

The “iPhoneAlley Logo Design” Contest (Promotion) is open to all persons 18 years of age and older and citizens of the United States.  All persons affiliated with iPhoneAlley are ineligible to win the drawing. The Contest is void wherever prohibited by law.

PRIZES:  One (1) iPod Touch to the winner and two (2) iPod Shuffles to the runner-ups.

Finalist’s selection: There will be three (3) finalists chosen by iPhone Alley. After the (3) finalists have been chosen, iPhoneAlley readers will vote on the winner. There is a one prize per household maximum.

DRAWING METHOD: The finalists will be chosen by our staff 12:00AM CST August 9th, 2011.

PROMOTION PERIOD ENDS:  12:00 AM CST on August 9th, 2011.

WINNER NOTIFICATIONS AND SHIPPING: Winning participant will be contacted via email or contact information stated on their entry.  The prize will be shipped according to iPhoneAlley standard practices. The winning participant is responsible for providing us with the shipping methods of their choice to receive the prize. If for any reason, the winning participant becomes ineligible or unable to receive the prize, a randomly chosen runner-up will be awarded the giveaway device.

RELEASE: By entering the “iPhoneAlley Logo Design” Contest (Promotion), participants agree, to the fullest extent permitted under applicable law, to release, discharge and hold harmless iPhoneAlley, their affiliates, their respective owners, and representatives from any and all damages, liabilities, costs and expenses which may arise out of participation in Promotion or out of the acceptance, use, or misuse of prizes. The designs submitted become the property of iPhoneAlley once submitted and will be used as such. No substitution or transfer of prizes or cash redemptions permitted by the winner. Sponsor reserves the right to substitute for any reason whatsoever a prize (or portion thereof) of comparable or greater value, at their sole discretion. Prize is awarded “as is” with no warranty or guarantee, either expressed or implied by the Sponsor. The Winners are responsible for the reporting and payment of all taxes (if any) as well as any other costs and expenses associated with acceptance and use of prize not specified herein as being awarded.

 

Gamevil Going Partly Freemium, for the Moment At-Least

It seems iPhone developer and publisher, Gamevil is halfhearted on whether they should be going completely freemium with their games or not. Recently, they have dropped a few of their games from their original price point down to absolutely FREE. Check them out below.

These applications are definitely not Gamevil’s not-so-popular applications, but rather applications ranging from best to not-the-best:

onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview('/outgoing/itunes.apple.com/us/app/zenonia-3./id434175353?mt=8');" target="_blank" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/zenonia-3./id434175353?mt=8">Zenonia 3/> This proves that Gamevil is not just offering their not-so-successful titles as, in my honest opinion, Zenonia 3 undoubtedly takes the cake for the best overall RPG experience for iOS. Why? The intuitive controls, wonderful visuals and continuation of a great storyline from their previous two titles makes playing Zenonia 3 such a great experience. It’s currently free, so check it out as soon as possible!

onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview('/outgoing/itunes.apple.com/us/app/soccer-superstars-2011./id449798701?mt=8');" target="_blank" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/soccer-superstars-2011./id449798701?mt=8">Soccer Superstars 2011/> Yes folks, download this wonderful take on iOS soccer from Gamevil. With multiple game modes, an arcade theme flawlessly applied and some pretty nice visuals (definitely not comparable to something like Infinity Blade, though) this sped up version of soccer is pretty fun — especially for free. It hasn’t got real player names or club teams, nor is it an alternative game to FIFA on your Xbox, but soccer fans are doubtlessly sure to enjoy it.

onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview('/outgoing/itunes.apple.com/us/app/vanquish-the-oath-of-brothers/id352892220?mt=8');" target="_blank" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/vanquish-the-oath-of-brothers/id352892220?mt=8">VANQUISH: The Oath of Brothers/> The visuals aren’t too impressive in this one of Gamevil’s earlier titles, although they’re unique, but the gameplay is near fantastic. You’ll ride your horse and attack oncoming enemies using an adventurous control scheme, while also playing through Gamevil’s signature RPG-ness seen in almost every one of their iOS games. I’d question the purchase for full price, but since it’s absolutely free, I totally recommend VANQUISH.

I own all three of these games, and they’re among the best in Gamevil’s extensive collection. They’re well-worth the time that it’ll take to download them.

FaceForward Gets The Facebook For iPad App Working Again

width="640" height="390" classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0">name="allowFullScreen" value="true" />name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" />name="src" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/7L3xkesJr8I&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&version=3" />name="allowfullscreen" value="true" />name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" />width="640" height="390" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/7L3xkesJr8I&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&version=3" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" />

When news broke yesterday that Facebook’s most recent iPhone update had a secret, href="http://www.everythingicafe.com/facebook-for-ipad-secretly-released/2011/07/25/">hidden Facebook for iPad app in it, Facebook responded by slamming shut the loophole, href="http://techcrunch.com/2011/07/25/facebook-ipad-app-login-not-working/">killing all logins through the iPad version. Thankfully, it hasn’t taken long for the jailbreak geniuses to figure out a way around this.

All you have to do (with your jailbroken iPad) is install Facebook, then find FaceForward on Cydia, install and reboot.

Done.

No tweaking, no diving into the app to activate things, nothing. It does it all for you. Nifty, huh?

[href="http://appadvice.com/appnn/2011/07/still-up-for-facebook-on-the-ipad-here-is-how-to-make-it-work-again">AppAdvice, via href="http://www.cultofmac.com/faceforward-jailbreak-tweak-revives-official-facebook-app-for-ipad/106099">Cult of Mac]

How Much Are You Spending On Freemium Games?

href="http://cdn.everythingicafe.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Flurry_F2P_Transactions_v_Revenue_byPriceTier_v2-resized-600.png">class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-22725" title="Flurry_F2P_Transactions_v_Revenue_byPriceTier_v2-resized-600" src="http://cdn.everythingicafe.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Flurry_F2P_Transactions_v_Revenue_byPriceTier_v2-resized-600.png" alt="" width="600" height="420" />

We all know the freemium model: the game itself is extremely cheap or free, but certain items require real-world money to purchase. They might give you more turns in a day, an item to help progress through the game, something that would take hours of grinding to get otherwise, or just make your character look awesome.

What we didn’t know is just how much we’re dropping on these titles. href="http://blog.flurry.com/bid/67748/Consumers-Spend-Average-of-14-per-Transaction-in-iOS-and-Android-Freemium-Games">According to analytical group Flurry, smartphone users are dropping an average of $14 per transaction of freemium games. Even with the huge number of $0.99 purchase choices, once people decide to buy in-app, they buy a lot. This number is also pushed up by some very expensive in-app content, as much as 5% of which is over $50.

[via href="http://www.tuaw.com/2011/07/25/study-average-customer-spends-14-in-freemium-games-on-ios-and/">TUAW]

“How do I insert a CD to the iPad 2?”

style="text-align: center;">href="http://cdn.everythingicafe.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Screen-Shot-2011-07-25-at-1.50.25-PM.png">class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-22728" title="Screen-Shot-2011-07-25-at-1.50.25-PM" src="http://cdn.everythingicafe.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Screen-Shot-2011-07-25-at-1.50.25-PM.png" alt="" width="575" height="445" />

Ladies and gentlemen, presented without comment. href="https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3002880?start=0&tstart=0">From the Apple Support forums. Troll or actually doesn’t know? You be the judge.

He follows up by saying:

I don’t want to risk damaging my iPad. Can I get an external CD/DVD drive and plug it into my iPad. I just ripped all my CDs apart and they’re not showing up in my iTunes library. Apple should really release a fix for this!

PS: Yeah, he totally admits href="https://discussions.apple.com/message/15015289#15015289">he did it to make a point, but don’t ruin the fun…

[via href="http://thenextweb.com/shareables/2011/07/25/how-do-i-insert-a-cd-to-the-ipad-2/">TNW]

iOS 5 Gets Facial Recognition

style="height: 390px; width: 640px;" width="640" height="390" classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0">name="allowFullScreen" value="true" />name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" />name="src" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/0QBLKBYrgvk?version=3" />name="allowfullscreen" value="true" />name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" />style="height: 390px; width: 640px;" width="640" height="390" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/0QBLKBYrgvk?version=3" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" />/> In September 2010,href="http://www.everythingicafe.com/apple-purchases-swedish-facial-recognition-company/2010/09/20/"> Apple purchased a Swedish facial recognition software company called Polar Rose, and like so many of their other software purchases, this is coming to fruition with iOS 5. href="http://9to5mac.com/2011/07/25/face-detection-software-and-api-lands-in-ios-5-following-apples-2010-purchase-of-polar-rose/">As spotted by 9to5 Mac, iOS 5 will include APIs for facial recognition into the software — which means more than just doing funny things with photo booth. Camera apps will be able to focus on your head, avatars can mimic your facial expression, games will map you onto characters.

This could be a major feature for app developers looking to add some very neat new tools to their titles.

Apple added face detection API to iOS 5?

According to Mark Gurman at 9to5Mac, Apple has added face detection API in iOS 5. Apple had previously used face detection on the Mac for everything from iPhoto’s Faces feature to OS X Lion’s advanced PhotoBooth effects, and along the way bought the company behind it, Polar Rose.

We have taken a look at these iOS 5-exclusive APIs and they are highly sophisticated. The first, called CIFaceFeature, can determine through an image where a person’s mouth and eyes are located. The second API, CIDetector, is a resource within the operating system that processes images for face detection.

So while we might see the built in iOS PhotoBooth get the same feature boost as Lion, we could also see other novelty apps, and games, and perhaps one day facial recognition for security. (“Oh, hi Steve. Unlocking your passwords now.”)

Grand Central Apple Store design looks beautiful, it could even be open for the holidays

The Wall Street Journal has posted renderings of the proposed Apple Store for Grand Central Station. The pictures certainly appear to do this beautiful building justice and compliment its style and iconic image.

The MTA (Metropolitan Transportation Authority) released some information on the proposed Apple Store which could open near the terminal’s east staircase, if approval is granted at tomorrow’s meeting. Apple will start building works immediately, with a four month program of works; making an opening time of around late November or early December.

Apple is said to have paid Charlie Palmer’s Metrazur restaurant a sum of around $5 million to vacate its space eight years before the lease expires. The MTA will also get a much higher rental figure from Apple; thought to be as high as $1.1 million a year.

[WSJ]

 

Microsoft updates OneNote, now available in the UK, Ireland, Canada, Australia and New Zealand

Microsoft has updated its popular OneNote application for the iPhone and iPod touch but more importantly, it is now available outside the US App Store. From today, OneNote will be available in the UK, Ireland, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

Microsoft OneNote Mobile is an easy-to-use note-taking application for capturing all of your ideas and to-dos on the go, brought to you by Microsoft Office. With OneNote Mobile, create searchable notes with text, pictures, bullets, and checkboxes. Then keep your notes in sync using free Windows Live SkyDrive cloud storage to access, edit and manage them from virtually anywhere, from your PC or almost any web browser.

New features for current users:

• Search – find text in notebooks, sections and pages


• Pin recent notes – keep your favorite notes at the top of the Recently Viewed list


• Sync shared notebooks – if others have shared their notebooks with you on Windows Live SkyDrive, you can now sync them with your device and work on them together; just turn them on in the OneNote for iPhone Notebook Settings


• Choose the notebooks that sync to your phone and appear on the Home screen – you’ll find this useful when you have SkyDrive notebooks that you don’t want to sync or view from your phone


• Set image size for photos you insert – choose smaller image sizes for faster syncing or larger sizes for higher fidelity images


• A new color scheme that gives the app a lighter look and feel

The app is available free for a limited time and is designed for the iPhone and iPod touch. No iPad love unless you want to look at it in 2x mode! It only took six months for Microsoft to get this released outside the US, a few more months and we may even see Bing too!

[Free – iTunes link]