The main new feature is the ability to now initiate a hangout through the “Messages” section of the app. When you start a conversation you will now see a video icon next to the settings icon top right of the screen, this will bring up a similar screen to the one you got when joining a hangout prior to this update.

In addition to the hangout feature there is also a new UI for the Photos section.

Well the Sky+ app takes care of this by allowing you to remotely record any program on the fly. Up to now there had been a major feature missing from the app, the ability to set a series link record allowing you to record every program in a series with just one click.

With today’s update, this feature has now been added.

There are still a few small features I would like to see though, like being able to cancel a recording if for example a conflict occurs. This shouldn’t be too hard to do and will hopefully feature in a future update.

New features in this update include:

- BBC iPlayer is now available on the iPhone and iPod touch.
- Watch on your TV using Apple AirPlay on iOS5
- Watch or listen to your favourite programme over 3G networks

(Info) The BBC says in a blog post that in the Untied Kingdom the app has been installed on 1.5m iPads, while 16.5m programmes were watched on mobile devices and tablets in October 2011.

You can download BBC iPlayer in the AppStore for free, and it is compatible with iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad,  running iOS4.3 and above.

A few weeks ago I reported that Flipboard Inc would be bringing Flipboard over to the iPhone as a universal application.

Today FlipBoard got an update that added some really cool stuff. For those of you that don’t know what Flipboard is, think of it as a magazine, a social magazine that brings all your social needs together. Flipboard has one of the most beautifully designed interfaces around.

This update brings along the most requested feature by far, wait for it, wait for it, Flipboard for your iPhone, so now it is not only available for the iPad but it is available in the AppStore for the iPhone too as a free application. In the update comes Cover Stories for your iPhone, a one stop place to look at interesting articles and photos being shared by your friends. Flipboard says that it will be coming to the iPad soon. Flipboard also included speed improvements.

If your one of the lucky ones that have the iPad and already have an account for FlipBoard, you can sign into your Flipboard from the iPhone or iPad and get instant access to all your content.

Flipboard is one of those apps that need to be checked out. You can get Flipboard for your iPhone/iPad for free in the App Store

This update brings a few new features such as new fonts, Night mode and Fullscreen layout.

The new fonts that on our offer are:

•  Athelas
• Charter
• Iowan
• Seravek

Inline previews have been added giving you a glimpse of the web page for each search result, a great new apps page, of course a +1 button is now readily available when you load a web page, a new history tab and some fantastic gesture based commands with sliding animations.

The sliding animations are a great and welcome addition to an already great app.

You also now get a cool new blue progress bar and the +1 button I mentioned before.

And the history tab.

 

I’m sure the new update will come as great news for everyone who uses it as it really does look and feel great.

BiteSMS is a popular jailbreaking tweak  for your iPhones. BiteSMS allows you to include some of the features like Smileys/Emoji, Quick Reply, Quick Compose, scheduled SMS, delivery reports, signatures and other features which are not available on a non-jailbroken iPhone in the Messages app.

A couple of months ago, the team released a beta version of biteSMS for iOS 5, and since then they have released additional beta versions to fix all the bugs and of course added some cool new features.

Recently, the guys who gave us IntelliScreenX added another feature called “QuickCompose“, which was integrated into the Notification Center. It allowed you to send a quick message/reply to your friends, and now the biteSMS team has integrated it as well. This feature, however, is not new. It has been around on jailbroken iDevices ever since at least iOS 3.0, in such apps as biteSMS, iRealSMS, and other smaller or otherwise not widely known tweaks.

If you want to try out the beta version for yourself, add the following repo to your Cydia sources: http://cydia.bitesms.com , and of course, to do that you would open up Cydia, then tap on the “Manage” button on the bottom menu bar, then tap the “Edit” and click on “Add”. Now, you simply type in the repo address, let it populate, and enjoy your beta. Feel free to let us know how you like or dislike it!

Renowned for their quirky change logs, TapTapTap updated their hugely popular Camera+ app. Last year, the developers over at TapTapTap released a specific update to its Camera+ application that brought us a little easter egg that when performed allowed us to use the volume-up button to take a picture, instead of needing to press the on screen button.

This was an unauthorised method and Apple removed the app until it was taken out. TapTapTap removed the feature and Apple put it back into the AppStore. What makes me laugh is that Apple have now given us the native ability to use the volume-up button to take a picture in the Camera app in iOS5.

Now, with that feature being available to developers as an API, TapTapTap decided to put it back into camera+ and it is called “VolumeSnap”.

You can now download the update Here.

Supercharged version 2.0 of the updated ringtone application is a much more robust and clean version of the app. Help videos, introduction wizard and More apps sections have been moved under one button which is topped up with an HD iOS5 redesign.

We listened closely to all our fans and app users to come up with SoundCloud integration. You will see how neat the upload and ringtone sharing were implemented thanks to huge SoundCloud music share experience.

Ringtonium 2.0 for iPhone works, looks and feels like a professional tool for creating ringtones. We are hoping all of you will feel the same while using Bamboo’s revamped app.

We will bring you more as soon as the update hits the AppStore tomorrow.

Today Lima Sky (the developers) pushed out an update to Doodle Jump to version 2.7.1.

In this small update, it will have a working iOS 5 game and a iCloud backup feature and also fixes a Game Center bug that some people experienced when running the game for the first time.

Here is the full changelog of this release:

Doodle Jump is now iOS5 ready with iCloud backup so that if you change your device your scores and stats can be downloaded to your new device!

2.7.1 fixes a Game Center bug that some people experienced when running the game for the first time.

Today Fomola (The Developers behind the Blogsy app)  pushed out another update to Blogsy to version  2.4.1.

In this package you will find some feature changes to do with Photo Stream and the iPad Photo Album, and many Bug fixes that users reported.

[INFO] when Apple sees an update to an Application it takes around about 5 days for them to  approve an update, Fomola submitted blogsy 2.4.1 on the  October 20th, 2011 (Night) and Apple sent the email telling them that they Approved it on the October 21st, 2011 (Morning) so it just took 1 day for them to send that email out to the developers, that might be that Apple is getting so many issues on iOS 5 apps.

Here is what the team said:

Wow, usually Apple takes around 5 days to approve an update. But this time it was very quick. We submitted it last night and when we got in the office this morning we got an email from Apple letting us know that they had already approved it. I wonder if it will be this way from now on or it is a special case because so many apps are having issues with iOS5.

The Full change log for Blogsy 2.4.1;

Bug Fixes

1) OAuth Update – We upgraded from OAuth 1.0 to OAuth 2.0 in Blogsy 2.4. Therefore, if the user did not delete Google services (Blogger, Picasa, YouTube) set up in a previous version and set them up again Blogsy would crash when using one of them. In this update, when users first launch Blogsy it will detect to see if the user has Google services set up using OAuth 1.0. And if they do it will delete them and inform them they need to set them up again.

2) WordPress – Status bug – Posts will publish as drafts unless users choose ‘Publish’. If you tap on the ‘Post Info.’ button and look at the ‘Status’ option it will show ‘Publish’ by default. But you still need to tap on this and choose ‘Publish’ again or your post will upload as a draft. This is fixed and users will no longer have to confirm the ‘Publish’ status.

3) Flickr – API issue – When new users attempt to set up Flickr they get the following error message – “”Oops, The API key or signature is invalid” If users are updating from a previous version of Blogsy and Flickr has already been set up then there is no issue. This is fixed.

3) Flickr uploading – A couple of users let us know that Blogsy would crash when trying to upload images to Flickr. This is fixed.

4) Picasa uploading – If you attempt to upload multiple images at once it uploads 4 or 5 images then the remaining images never stop processing. In OAuth 2.0 Google has a “user rate limit”. We adjusted the code to compensate for this but if a number of small images are uploaded at once the rate limit can still be exceeded. In this situation users will get a message informing them of this.

5) Posting Crash – If a user tapped ‘publish’ or did the 3 finger swipe up to publish then pressed cancel then tried to publish again Blogsy would crash. This is fixed.

6) WordPress delete – If a user tried to delete a WordPress blog Blogsy would sometimes crash. This is fixed.

Feature Changes

1) Photo Stream – The Photo Stream folder was moved to the top of the iPad Photo Library album listing.

2) iPad Photo Album – reversed Photo Stream photo order so the most recent picture taken shows first.

Do you want a feature but can’t find it? Well, go here and vote for your feature and maybe they will add it in the next release.

Have you got a question on your mind but can’t get to them? Well, ask them on Twitter or Facebook and they will get back to you as soon as possible.

Now after the  feedback on reddit the Dev-Team decided something about the length of time for the Jailbreak to work because now it takes around about 80 seconds (60% faster) to do the whole process (WOW).

“After some feedback on reddit, we’ve decided to make the initial jailbreak as quick as possible by no longer “stashing” the applications by default during the redsn0w run. This reduces the time to actually perform the jailbreak from 210 seconds to 80 seconds (60 percent!). However, you make up for much of that the first time you launch Cydia, which will then want to stash the applications. You can choose whether you want redsn0w or Cydia to stash in the Preferences pane.”

Here are the download links:

• redsn0w 0.9.9b7 for Mac
• redsn0w 0.9.9b7 for Windows

This update now supports the just -released iPhone 4[s] (dual-core A5 chip) and it also fixes a previously reported inbox bug.

See the full review by @d900man Here

AVPlayer is available for both iPhone and iPad for $2.99 (iPad verson is slightly higher) in the iTunes AppStore

See a full review of the app Here.

Every time Fomola releases a new/HUGE update to Blogsy app they name it something to celebrate the fact that they released a new update and to be honest, they have every right to celebrate this release. I would if I were in their shoes, and they say that the whole naming thing is a bit of fun.

The last HUGE Release was named “The Cyclops” and the time before that, they named it “The Imp“, but this time it is called “Sasquatch“. Sasquatch comes with some bug fixes that resolve the issues users where having in the last release and some AMAZING features like the support of iOS5 and the deep integration with iCloud. Make sure you update to iOS5 first, as Sasquatch (Blogsy 2.4) will only work on iOS5.

Here is the Sasquatch (Great Photoshop skills).

Here’s is the full list on what’s new in the update;

iOS 5 optimized – Photo Stream integration and much more.
Image orientation now shows the same as iOS and will upload in the orientation according to the way iOS shows it.
WordPress uploads now show progress bar.
Allow images with a file size up to 13mb to be uploaded to the WordPress media library.
Disable post type change from post to page and page to post in options as Posterous does not allow this.
Now using OAuth 2 for Google services.
Changed rating message.

Bug Fixes -

Posterous – Crashing bug fixed when trying to remove an account.
Posterous – Fixed infrequent posting error when the post included photos
Posterous – Allows an update of a post with automatic date
Posterous – Scheduled post showing correctly on confirmation popup message
Blogger – Fixed automatic date bug
Blogger – (crash report) Fixed infrequent crashing when adding labels
WordPress – Scheduled post showing correctly in online posts list and in the confirmation popup message.
General – (crash report) Toolbar button tapping crash fixed
General – (crash report) Protection code for Imagesettingview and LinkSettingview crash
General – in Device Library dock, when you tab “Uploaded” the 2nd panel is no longer shows

Do you want a feature but can’t find it? Well, go here and vote for your feature and maybe they will add it in the next release.

Have you got a question on your mind but can’t get to them? Well, ask them on Twitter or Facebook and they will get back to you as soon as possible.

This update is a smail update which fixes some minor issues and expands support for videos imported from external cameras.

iMovie 1.2.2 is available under the updates tab in the iTunes AppStore as usual, or if you haven’t downloaded it yet, then all you need to do is search for “iMovie” in the AppStore. Please be advised that there is a price tag associated with this app, so be aware of that before you install it.

Well, today, FourSquare has released a HUGE update for people running iOS 5 on their iDevices. This update will be available under the updates tab in the iTunes AppStore, where you can find any updates to applications you already have installed. This is iDevice 101. If for whatever reason, you do not have it installed, once again, go and search for “FourSquare”, and you’ll be lead to the correct app source.

Here is a list of the following features:

Foursquare Radar is a new feature that lets you know about interesting and cool things nearby, even when your phone is in your pocket. For instance: maybe a group of your friends are hanging out nearby, or you’re around the corner from this amazing Mexican restaurant that’s been on your To-Do List forever. After you turn Foursquare Radar on, your phone will let you know so you won’t miss out.

(WARNING) The Radar feature will drain your battery relatively quickly and FourSquare keeps your location active.

This is just a smail update which adds support for just-released-today iOS5 and some performance improvements to boot.

Remote 2.2 is available under the updates tab  and if you haven’t downloaded it yet then all you need to do is search for “Remote” in the AppStore. A positive thing to note is that it is fully compatible with both iPad and iPhone. Enjoy.

Down below are all of the release notes originally attached to the change log:

Pages:

• Automatically store your documents in iCloud and keep them up to date across all your iOS devices.
• Download your documents to a Mac or PC at icloud.com/iwork as Pages ’09, Word, or PDF files.
• Drag and drop Pages ’09, Word, or plain text documents to icloud.com from your Mac or PC to have them automatically appear on your iOS devices.
• Use your voice to create and edit Pages documents with dictation in iOS 5 on your iPhone 4S.
• Create footnotes and endnotes in your documents.
• View improved word counts with character, paragraph, and page counts.
• Improved compatibility with Microsoft Word and Pages ’09.
• Includes improved support for Chinese, Japanese, and Korean language input.

Keynote:

• Automatically store your presentations in iCloud and keep them up to date across all your iOS devices.
• Download your presentations to a Mac or PC at icloud.com/iwork as Keynote ’09, PowerPoint, or PDF files.
• Drag and drop Keynote ’09 or PowerPoint presentations to icloud.com from your Mac or PC to have them automatically appear on your iOS devices.
• Use AirPlay to present wirelessly via Apple TV. Navigate slides, view presenter notes, and use the laser pointer while presenting from your iOS device.
• New builds and transitions including Anvil, Blinds, Color Panes, Comet, Confetti, Diffuse, and Sparkle.
• Advanced presentation controls including looped slideshows and autoplay.
• Support for slide-to-slide hyperlinks.
• Improved compatibility with Microsoft PowerPoint and Keynote ’09.
• Includes improved support for Chinese, Japanese, and Korean language input.

Numbers:

• Automatically store your spreadsheets in iCloud and keep them up to date across all your iOS devices.
• Download your spreadsheets to a Mac or PC at icloud.com/iwork as Numbers ’09, Excel, or PDF files.
• Drag and drop Numbers ’09, Excel, or CSV files to icloud.com from your Mac or PC to have them automatically appear on your iOS devices.
• Use sliders, steppers, and pop-ups to easily enter data and explore results.
• Use Merge Cells to format your tables.
• Hide and show rows and columns.
• Improved compatibility with Microsoft Excel and Numbers ’09.
• Includes improved support for Chinese, Japanese, and Korean language input.

This update is available via the iTunes AppStore under the updates tab if you already have it,  and if you haven’t tried it out, then download it and give it a look. Note that each of the three applications will run you about $9.99, so be prepared for that.

This update is just a smail one which adds a number of important stability and better overall performance improvements.

iBooks 1.3.2 is available under the updates tab  and if you haven’t downloaded it then it will be under Apples name for both iPad and iPhone, Enjoy.

Over the coming days we will see more and more apps updated to take advantage of iOS 5′s many new features. TweetBot takes advantage of a feature called single sign-on which lets their app fetch Twitter credentials directly from the operating system, which has a new Twitter panel inside the Settings. Thanks to single sign-on, if a Twitter account (or multiple ones) are already configured in iOS 5′s Twitter settings, third-party apps like Tweetbot won’t need to re-authenticate users using the often clunky web view we have all come to know and loathe. They can simply get the account-related information from iOS’ Settings app.

So basically after tomorrow you will have added your Twitter accounts to the Settings.app, then when you install a third party Twitter client that has this feature integrated, you will notice that all of your accounts will already be added to the new app. This is great for those who have many accounts or simply can’t keep track of passwords.

Let us know what you think of Single sign-on and whether it will benefit you.

Image and info courtesy of Macstories

Sn0wbreeze v2.8b8 [GM] update includes the following things;

• INSTANT IPSW detection.
• Now jailbreaks iOS 5 Gold Master (9A334).
• UDID Developer check removal is no longer needed.
• Still has the ability to hacktivate.
• Still preserves the baseband.

(PLEASE NOTE) This jailbreak is tethered for all iDevices, except the old bootrom iPhone 3GS, and the iPad 2 connet be jailbreaken with Snowbreeze. You can Download the new Sn0wbreeze from the Following link (HERE)

This update was a small incremental update to 1.3.1 but even though it was an incremental update the change log says its was for a number of important stability and performance improvements.

This version on iBooks is dependent on the user running firmware 3.2 or later.

“Skype for iPhone/iPod touch version 3.5.84″

Bluetooth support for iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, iPod touch 4th Generation, and iPad 2
Incoming emoticons; outgoing emoticons displayed when entered in text form
Enhanced video through image stabilization
Skype for iPad version 3.5.84

Bluetooth support for iPad 2
Advertising will be shown to users that do not have Skype Credit, a calling subscription or premium subscription.
Bugfix for security vulnerability”

With that being said, it looks like this is a good step in the right direction for Skype, especially since security is such a pressing concern. Feel free to sound off in the comments below.

Other improvements include the official list released by Google:

• * Join Hangouts from the mobile app
• * Huddle is now Messenger
• * Send photos in Messenger
• * +1 on comments
• * Reliability improvements in Messenger
• * Granular push notification settings
• * Map view in profile for places you’ve lived
• * Improved +mention support
• * Share a post with individuals
• * Improved public search for people
• * Various bug and performance improvements

One of the better features that seems to go unnoticed is the ability to now post photos in the previously-named-“Huddle”-now-named-“Messenger” function. This is basically now completely free MMS, and supports group text and photo chat as well, and I personally think this feature is the best of them all.

This is a universal app, and is available for free in the AppStore, so go and grab your copy today.

App screenshots taken from RedmondPie.com

Full review Here

Doodle Jump for iPad is available via the iTunes AppStore for £1.99, Download http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/doodle-jump-for-ipad/id457687954?mt=8 . They have an iPhone version which is available via the iTunes AppStore as well.

The first of many, many FREE updates to come to Doodle Jump for iPad brings you an awesome NEW SUBMARINE to ride in the underwater theme!

ALSO: Multiplayer now shows your and your opponent’s names and scores in the game, both vertical iPad rotations are now supported, and various bugs have been squished.

*****
If you like Doodle Jump for iPad, please rate it 5-stars in iTunes every time an update comes out!
As always, your 5-star iTunes ratings and reviews keep the updates coming!
Thanks for playing Doodle Jump for iPad!!!!!
*****

… AND, if you LOVE popping BUBBLE WRAP, be sure to check out our latest app: BUBBLE WRAP http://bit.ly/bubble-wrap-game

Follow us on Twitter for updates on Doodle Jump:
@LimaSky ( http://twitter.com/LimaSky )

Become a Doodle Jump fan on facebook:
http://facebook.com/DoodleJump

Due to the overwhelming number of emails from users wanting to be private beta testers, we have decided to release this iOS 5 compliant version via a public beta repos.

This is a very early beta release, so at this stage please don’t email us bug reports as we most likely know about them. This is not a normal beta, it’s more that users running iOS 5 would no doubt prefer something as opposed to nothing!!!

Saying that, it’s a pretty stable release and we hope you like the new look Quick Compose and Quick Reply plus the deep integration with the Apple Notification Centre. Also iMessage works seamlessly inside biteSMS.

So as you can see, hold off on bogging them down with bug reports, as they don’t need them just yet, mainly because they are aware of most of them at the current time. This is still in it’s beta stages, so don’t expect a fully working application just yet.

For those of you who want to try this out, you can go to Lydia, tap on “Manage”, then tap the “Edit” and further the “Add” buttons, and add in this repository: http://test-cydia.bitesms.com/

They also tell you that being on a jailbroken iOS 5.0 beta, once the package has been installed, you will need to perform a tethered boot, but they you are ready to go.

AppShopper is an app that will gather all of the updates/price drops and new apps that are available in the  In one places and not just that but it’s for both iPad and iPhone (I use it for all my app updates).

AppShopper is a Free app via the iTunes AppStore.

Here what’s new in the update
- Fixed an issue with caches not getting emptied (may run a little slow of initial launch as it removes old cache data)
- Fixed crash that could occur when tapping want or own
- Fixed an issue with the keyboard disappearing when rotating while searching (iPad)
- Other various fixes and improvements

Tweetings HD has been updated again to offer a few bug fixes and some more new features.

Below is some more info…

Tweeting HD is available via the AppStore for £2.99 and can be downloaded Here also they do Mac/Windows versions of the app as well.

Here’s what’s New
+ Find suggested users based on who you follow. Available from the search tab. This is a beta feature
+ View a user’s recent photos from their profile
+ TweetMarker and sync support for list timelines

Changes:
- Moved Suggested Users by category to it’s own section on Search tab to add with the new based on who you follow feature.
- TweetMarker and sync is now updated more frequently that just backgrounding the app

Bug Fixes:
- List timeline toolbar wasn’t black in Subtle Carbon theme
- List type bar wasn’t black in Subtle Carbon theme
- Retweet type bar wasn’t black in Subtle Carbon theme
- Search tweets with a retweet count appeared at the bottom of the search timeline rather than the top
- Couldn’t preview attached pic.twitter images when attaching to a new tweet
- Removing the last attachment from the preview viewer wouldn’t turn off the attachment marker on the ‘Library’ button under keyboard
- Hashtag compose autocomplete did not disappear when pressing backspace button
- Picture links immediately followed by a quotation mark would fail to correctly display a preview

Wait, what?!?

No, no he hasn’t. And I apologize for the misleading paragraph above, but if you have been following social media such as twitter and facebook, then you will have undoubtedly seen the ridiculous rumors spreading all over the internet like wildfire. They read very much like the paragraph I had to struggle to bang out at the beginning of this article. The internet is notorious for spreading celebrity “death” rumors all over the place, many times before the celebrity has actually passed on. So, reader, once you calm down and slow your heart palpitations, take solace in the fact that Mr. Jobs is alive, and well enough. At least according to Gizmodo.com, who has their spies, readers, and agents out all over the place looking to confirm or deny this rumor. While there is no guaranteed answer at the time of writing this, it is a safe bet to assume that Steve is still kickin’, but in the event that the worst-case scenario is confirmed, we will cover this breaking story. Let’s just hope we don’t hear anything else on this topic for a long, long time to come. Keep your eyes peeled, same bat-time, same bat-channel.

Facebook undoubtably is one of the most popular social networking sites, so keeping their apps up to date is very important to them. This week sees the release of Facebook version 3.5, there has been quite a few new features added and as always a few bug fixes here and there.

Firstly they have added support for tagging your friends and places in posts, this feature has been needed for a long time Blackberry users have had support for this for a little while so converting over to the iPhone was due.

They have redesigned the profile pages adding things like where you work and what school you went to at the top of the page, allowing users to make sure the people that there adding are the right person.

I really like the post menu now it really gives you everything you need all at the bottom of the text box. The tagging section is very simple and easy to use. The location selection allows you to check in at any location nearby or add your own, just in case your in your own crib (yes somebody near me has a crib ). The upload photo feature is also placed at the bottom of the screen, allowing ease of access, pressing the button brings up another menu to select whether to select a photo from an album or take one straight from the camera.

Recently Facebook have been updating their privacy policy and now have added privacy controls so each post can be either posted publicly or just to your friends. Its also updated so it syncs perfectly to match your settings set on the main Facebook website. The Ability to share external links from a web view has also been added, allowing you to open websites up and instantly re share them.

Notifications for Facebook in my opinion have always been rather slow or not even arrive at all which is never good when you’re awaiting a reply, so Facebook have reportedly updated the notification speed now all I need is someone to comment on my wall!!! I never really use Facebook chat but for the brief period I have used it I found it sometimes slow and buggy and sending messages to a desktop sometimes took a minute or so, taking the “instant” out of instant messaging don’t you think? Facebook has been tinkering with the chat feature and in my opinion it seems to be running a lot smoother and the messages go through a lot quicker since the update.

What I like most about this update is that they have not tried to over do any of the updates, they have subtly managed to get these updates installed, at first I did not even realize some of them as being different as they integrate so well into the current user interface.

Unfortunately with this update Facebook STILL have not released the much awaited iPad version that was found in the last update. Chpwn has even reported that Facebook have removed the iPad code saying:

Facebook removed iPad support in their latest app update. It’s not possible for FaceForward to enable something that’s no longer in the app.

Those users currently using FaceForward it is probably best to stay where you are if you wish to continue using your iPad version. Overall this update is a great improvement for the feel of the app a lot of the bugs and issues seem to have been worked through, with all the new features added also it’s really does feel like Facebook are moving in the right direction. The Facebook app is available free form the app store here.

Also worthy of note, because all of the focus will be to worldwide distribution, it is also expected that the Asian markets will not be receiving their own iPhone 5/iPhone 4[s] until “at least” a few more weeks after the initial launch, so it looks as if that launch date will be pushed back a little bit as well. As always, keep tuning in and we will notify you as new information becomes available.

And as you can see, he also mentioned that there were some “goodies” thrown in there for older bottom iPhone #G[s] users. Those goodies are as follows:

Update #7b:  About 12 hours after we released redsn0w 0.9.8b7 with some improvements for iOS5b6, Apple went and released iOS5b7 (what are the odds of that?!?).  Even though that redsn0w could still jailbreak iOS5b7, you needed to point it at the iOS5b6 IPSW to do so.  Today’s redsn0w 0.9.8b7b lets you point redsn0w directly at the iOS5b7 IPSW instead.

 

We’ve also added some overall improvements for old-bootrom 3GS owners (where the 24kpwn exploit applies):  on those devices, you can tell redsn0w to untether 4.3.5 and lower, or iOS5b7.  Old-bootrom 3GS owners can once again choose custom logos, and/or verbose booting (for the really nerdy iPhone3GS fans out there!).  And it allows 4.3.4 or 4.3.5 users to use ultrasn0w again (if they have a compatible baseband).

 

Last but not least, we fixed some lingering Verizon iPhone4 4.2.10 JB issues.

 

Have a great Labor Day weekend!

So, for those of you bold enough to continually upgrade your iOS betas every couple of weeks, feel free to take the plunge and delve deep. This will most likely be the last beta before the iOS 5.0 Golden Master is announced by Apple. Let us know how it goes, and as always, keep your eyes peeled here, we will keep you informed of any new updates as we hear about them.

This update is for both iPad £1.49 and iPhone £0.69 and is available via the AppStore

Here’s What’s new

New features include:
- Vibrant new Moon festival theme!
- 30 brand new levels to test your puzzle skills!
- 8 hidden pieces of mooncake to collect, with a special level once you’ve found them all!

And reported all over the internet, @MuscleNerd of the iPhone_devteam have already jailbroken most iDevices as of today to run on the newest version of iOS 5.0, beta 7. While there have been many times I have gone record in the past, criticizing the actions of the IDT, this season they seem to have been pretty much on top of their game, with each iOS 5.0 revision beta being jailbroken in seemingly record time, catering to the masses, and increasing the speed with each jailbreak. So, kudos to the IDT, you boys and girls deserve it.

In a tweet released by @MuscleNerd himself, it reads as follows:

Today’s IOS5b7 can be JB with last night’s redsn0w b7 http://t.co/qYExhrP but point it at b6 IPSW…annoying off-by-1 now

Using this world-famous tool, it should be noted that there is no solution for ow yet if you are looking to jailbreak UNtethered, as there is only currently a tethered jailbreak method available at this time. The only main difference between tethered vs UNtethered is that on a tethered jailbreak, any time your iDevice restarts for whatever reason (installing a tweak, running out of battery, etc.) you must be near a computer in order to run redsn0w again to re-jailbreak it. While this may be inconvenient, it is the only current method available, so for now, this is just a casualty of war.

Keep your eyes posted, for as always, we will keep you updated to any further news associated to iDevices.

With iOS 5.0 GM predicted to be released next month at some point in September/2011,  this is the beta that most people have been waiting for. It is likely to contain multiple security updates, fixes, and the like. Many are also expecting even more stability, and an improved (a/k/a “bug free”) user experience. While many people, including me, are too apprehensive to update via the “OTA” (over-the-air) method, most people are not, and here is a screenshot below, courtesy of RedmondPie.com, of what that OTA Update will look like. You can view this area of iOS by going into Settings>General>Software Update:

There are also other ways to instal this update, for example, by doing it the old-fashioned way and heading over to the Apple Developer Portal and downloading the appropriate firmware file for your device, and installing through iTunes, but ultimately, the choice is yours. Other additional notes that should be paid attention to are that after you update your iOS 5b7 firmware, in order to sync your device to iTunes, you are going to actually have to update iTunes as well, so that everything is simpatico.

While it pays no one any good to speculate, this could have very high insinuations, such as Apple being interested in possibly creating their own version of turn-by-turn directions and/or a navigation system/service of some kind, specifically catering to iOS (iPod, iPhone, and iPad devices) only. And, at the time of this writing, Apple currently offers their GPS services for free, so while there is no reason to suspect any changes on that front in the future, I wouldn’t rule anything out.

Courtesy of AppleInsider.com

Also according to AppleInsider, this comes hot on the heels of Apple posting a number of listings looking for people to work on it’s “Maps” application. This is as recently as March, 2011, and in some of those listings, the exact wording was used as follows: “radically improve” both “Map” for the iPhone and location-based services. Also something noteworthy, in 2009, Apple acquired Google Maps competitor, “Placebase”, and even further in 2010, they also acquired the company “Poly9”. Since iOS 3.2, they have also begun to use their own database for location-based services for the “Maps” application, and they have made it clear that they are moving away from databases related to Google and/or Skyhook Wireless.

This does not look like it will be released in a near-release of iOS, but if there is one thing that Apple is known for, it is their ability to see the future and plan accordingly, many times a surprising amount of time before those ideas come into fruition. Time will tell.

Tweetings is a simple and easy why to reply/tweet to your follows. It’s very customisable with a lot of features. The down side is that for me the UI is not that great.

If I was choosing to get the iPad version or the iPhone version I would go for the iPad.

Tweetings is a available for the iPhone and can be download here. Tweetings is available for the Mac/Windows and the iPad.

Here’s what’s new

+ Twitter now shortens all URLs greater than 20 characters in the background to use their t.co wrapper. We expand this in the background so you don’t see it but when composing it means when you add a url it will now always count as either 20 or 21 (for https) characters regardless of their actual length. The character counter on compose will reflect this

+ Support for t.co decoding of user profile url links
+ Edit your own user profile
+ Find who replied to a tweet and who retweeted a tweet directly from the swipe menu
+ Refresh your autocomplete cache button added to compose autocomplete for mentions
+ Nearby view now shows your GPS location
+ If you have a protected account, you can now see how many follower requests you have from your profile
+ Email URL of current page from browser view
+ Blocking or Reporting for Spam from a user’s profile now deletes associated tweets from your main and mentions timelines
+ Option to receive push notification mentions from only people you follow

Changes:
- Read it later on timeline and tweet view show a success message when posted
- User interface changes to accounts screen
- Moved filters in settings and tweaked UI for timeline filter lists

Bug Fixes:
- Websites on user profile screens wouldn’t show correctly if no location is set
- Go to user button on timeline swipe menu goes to the retweeted user now not the retweeter
- Scrolling smoother on Subtle and Shadows Evolved themes
- Image viewer ‘Save to Library’ did not work correctly

When I was looking at Twitter clients for the iPad, I couldn’t find a good one. I came across Tweeting HD and I thought to myself, is this worth the £2.99 price tag. I asked people on twitter if it was better than Osfoora Hd which was that same price.

A few people said this App was good so I took the jump and haven’t looked back since.

Tweeting HD is available via the AppStore for £2.99 and can be downloaded Here also they do Mac/Windows versions of the app as well.

Here’s what’s new in version 4.1.0

+ Tweet Marker support for timeline sync, you can use Tweetings Sync or Tweet Marker sync from Settings->Display->Advanced
+ Support for upload pic.twitter.com native photos. Note you can only upload one image per tweet and you cannot upload images to Direct Messages. This is not a limitation if you use other providers
+ Retweets can be seen in lists

Changes:
- Timeline syncing has been re-written to work when resuming or going to background rather than on every refresh
- Improved account switching
- Removed timeline photo icon if photo previews are enabled

Bug Fixes:
- Shortcut menu from mini conversation view shouldn’t have been there and would have caused a crash if used
- Issues decoding t.co versions of pic.twitter.com photos
- Timeline gaps in lists could sometimes cause a 404 error

In a statement released by Apple’s Board of Directors, previous Chief Operating Officer (COO) Tim Cook has been named as Apple’s new Chief Executive Officer (CEO), effective at the time of this writing.

Here are excerpts from the press release:

“Steve’s extraordinary vision and leadership saved Apple and guided it to its position as the world’s most innovative and valuable technology company,” said Art Levinson, Chairman of Genentech, on behalf of Apple’s Board. “Steve has made countless contributions to Apple’s success, and he has attracted and inspired Apple’s immensely creative employees and world class executive team. In his new role as Chairman of the Board, Steve will continue to serve Apple with his unique insights, creativity and inspiration.”

“The Board has complete confidence that Tim is the right person to be our next CEO,” added Levinson. “Tim’s 13 years of service to Apple have been marked by outstanding performance, and he has demonstrated remarkable talent and sound judgment in everything he does.”

Previously, when rumors of Steve Jobs’ health had raised the questions of whether or not he would be able to continue his duties at Apple, Inc., the Board of Directors had set up a “succession plan”, naming Tim Cook as Jobs’ successor, and today, that is exactly what happened. Today, while Jobs submitted his resignation to the Board of Directors, he “strongly urged” them to follow their succession plan and go with Cook. Also at the time of his resignation, Steve Jobs requested that he stay on the Board of Director’s, and has in fact been elected as the Chairman of that very same Board, so in some form, Jobs will still be a large part of Apple, Inc.

Tim Cook may be in fact the best qualified person to take the reigns. As Apple Inc.’s COO, Cook oversaw just about every aspect of the company, from all of their sales activity all the way down to worldwide oversight in regards to Apple’s day-to-day activities. He was also responsible for maintaining a relationship with suppliers in order to ensure the success of the Macintosh platform.

While the reasons for Steve Jobs’ decision to resign has not been made public, one can only assume that the health issues he has been facing in the near-past may be playing a major factor in this. This is not confirmed, but in order for Jobs to step down from Apple, a company he saw literally grow out of his basement, his personal circumstances must be very influential to his decisions. We wish Jobs all the best in his future endeavors.

Also worth noting, it should be interesting to see how Apple, Inc.’s stock (AAPL) will be affected by such an event. We’ll keep you posted as more information becomes available. Until then, you can view the entire PR statement here: www.apple.com/pr

UPDATE 1: Steve Jobs’ open letter has just been released. This is what Mr. Jobs had to say about the matter, in his own words:

I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple’s CEO, I would be the first to let you know. Unfortunately, that day has come.

I hereby resign as CEO of Apple. I would like to serve, if the Board sees fit, as Chairman of the Board, director and Apple employee.

As far as my successor goes, I strongly recommend that we execute our succession plan and name Tim Cook as CEO of Apple.

I believe Apple’s brightest and most innovative days are ahead of it. And I look forward to watching and contributing to its success in a new role.

I have made some of the best friends of my life at Apple, and I thank you all for the many years of being able to work alongside you.

Steve

And even further, here is the entire press release:

Steve Jobs Resigns as CEO of Apple

Tim Cook Named CEO and Jobs Elected Chairman of the Board

CUPERTINO, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Apple’s Board of Directors today announced that Steve Jobs has resigned as Chief Executive Officer, and the Board has named Tim Cook, previously Apple’s Chief Operating Officer, as the company’s new CEO. Jobs has been elected Chairman of the Board and Cook will join the Board, effective immediately.

“Steve has made countless contributions to Apple’s success, and he has attracted and inspired Apple’s immensely creative employees and world class executive team. In his new role as Chairman of the Board, Steve will continue to serve Apple with his unique insights, creativity and inspiration.”
“Steve’s extraordinary vision and leadership saved Apple and guided it to its position as the world’s most innovative and valuable technology company,” said Art Levinson, Chairman of Genentech, on behalf of Apple’s Board. “Steve has made countless contributions to Apple’s success, and he has attracted and inspired Apple’s immensely creative employees and world class executive team. In his new role as Chairman of the Board, Steve will continue to serve Apple with his unique insights, creativity and inspiration.”

“The Board has complete confidence that Tim is the right person to be our next CEO,” added Levinson. “Tim’s 13 years of service to Apple have been marked by outstanding performance, and he has demonstrated remarkable talent and sound judgment in everything he does.”

Jobs submitted his resignation to the Board today and strongly recommended that the Board implement its succession plan and name Tim Cook as CEO.

As COO, Cook was previously responsible for all of the company’s worldwide sales and operations, including end-to-end management of Apple’s supply chain, sales activities, and service and support in all markets and countries. He also headed Apple’s Macintosh division and played a key role in the continued development of strategic reseller and supplier relationships, ensuring flexibility in response to an increasingly demanding marketplace.

Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and has recently introduced iPad 2 which is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices.

This news comes from MF Global FXA Securities in a sales note that was released on Wednesday, August 17, 2011. The $1 billion U.S. Currency translated to approximately 100 billion yen, and rumors of this investment have been circulating around Japan since the fourth quarter of 2010.

Analyst David Rubenstein had this to say:

We think it is highly possible that Apple will make an investment in Sharp’s Kameyama plant to the tune of around $1 billion in order to secure stable supply of screens for iPhones and iPads.

After news of this note spread, shares in Sharp rose almost 2%. Go figure. I guess the world economy knows that to bet on Apple would be an intelligent thing to do, especially since it is specifically aiming to engage in this investment to further produce our mobile devices, which obviously is a huge part of the business world. Let’s hope that this happens, as it could only mean good things for the Apple consumer.

Credit goes to www.Reuters.com and www.9to5mac.com for breaking this story. 

“Smudging” has always been a problem with me, mainly because I have large hands and fingers. I wear a size 12/13 ring for Pete’s sake! Now, whenever I type on my iPhone, it is literally like watching sausage links slap up against a watchface, and I hope for the best that my messages are accurate. This however, leaves a major problem when it comes to smudging. Every single time I use my iDevice, I have to take the time afterwards once I hit the lock button to wipe it off, and clean the smudges. It just bothers me, extensively, and now, it seems that Apple might have a plan for that.

They have filed a patent which will allow them to experiment and build upon the idea of what they are calling “Physical Vapor Disposition”, which would more or less make the iDevices more resistant to the oils in your skin. While current iDevices contain the oleophobic coating designed for the same purposes, it is no secret that they wear off rather quickly and leave you with a basic glass screen. Apple claims that this newer implementation would be a more effective method to ensuring that your fingerprints stay off for longer. Here is a quick screenshot of the mockup that was filed with the patent office:

With that being said, I think this would be a great addition to future iDevices, however, if I were you, I wouldn’t get your hopes up for this to be released with the upcoming iPhone 5/iPhone 4[s], because quite frankly, from the time a patent is filed, it usually takes a year or two until it finally hits the market. Keep your eyes posted, we’ll keep you updated to any further information as it becomes available.

Credit goes to both CNET and Gizmodo.com for breaking this story and providing the image used in this post. . 

And, further, according to MacRumors.com, they have laid out the dates in which Apple has held it’s event for the past three years in a row, and the similarity between those and this upcoming one is that it was always held in the first part of September. Most recently, that date was September 1, 2010, then further back it was September 9 in both 2009 and 2008. They also go on to mention that last year also unveiled the new iPod Nano and iPod Shuffle models simultaneously, so it would not be unheard of for Apple to use this event to announce other unreleased products, such as the iPhone 5.

As mentioned above, many, many insiders expect that Apple will be utilizing this event as stated above. While the reason for no new iPhone launch this summer is unknown, many people believe that it had a lot to do with Verizon in the US picking up the iPhone 4 so late after it’s release, and that by holding out just a little bit further, Apple is capitalizing by trying to accomplish the maximum amount of sales for the iPhone 4, before it releases it’s next device before the holiday season.

As always, this is mostly speculation and rumor, so nothing is set in stone, but it would make a tremendous amount of sense for this to be the case. Especially since lately, case makers and suppliers of Apple’s components have stated that they’ve been aiming for a September ship-date. I guess you be the judge, and keep your eyes peeled. As usual, we’ll keep you updated as new information becomes available.

The image I am speaking about is this one:

As you can see, the woman in the photo is holding up an iPhone 4 to her ear. Now, as reported by Gizmodo, take a look at the original image that was obtained from iStockPhoto. Many years ago, I used to do contract work in the field of graphic design, and I still do occasionally offer my services to friends, and while yes, stock photos are the way to go for royalty free images, they are usually supposed to be a BASE. This graphic designer literally took the photo, didn’t do a thing with it, slapped on the Nokia logo, and sent it off to the printer. That is a major no-no. If Apple chose to, they could potentially pursue legal action against Nokia, and that right there is why this graphic designer should be unemployed. I originally found this news on Gizmodo.com, and I took some images from iDownloadBlog.com as well. Here is the original stock photo that was used:

The original advertisement was first witnessed smack in the middle of an Australian mall, where hundreds of thousands of people would have most likely seen it, most of them not giving a second look long enough to notice that the device was actually an iPhone.

And just to be clear, for those of you who are unsure, no, Nokia is not permitted to produce or sell iPhones. It would be a cold day in Hell before Apple allowed that. Just sayin’.

While this is relatively new news, and the proper amount of time has no passed in order to see how this is going to play out, people in the iCommunity were obviously very shaken up about it. Even Jay “Saurik” Freeman got on Google+ and released a very long and massive post about the issue, and he raised some extremely decent points on the matter of online identities. Here is that post, verbatim:

In the last couple days, Google has taken to quite actively enforcing its “real name” rule, banning or suspending accounts (with many reports of users getting locked out of all of Google, as opposed to just +) with names that “look funny” (such as including symbols, “including period”), as well as actively suspending accounts of users who use non-real names.

For more information, I highly recommend readers read through some of the comments on a recent post by +Robert Scoble, where +Gowtham S, an “infrastructure engineer” at Google (and someone I simply am unable to mention correctly at this point in this post due to what seems like a stupid bug in Google+ involving people with non-unique names) responds with some details on what is being banned.

https://plus.google.com/111091089527727420853/posts/aUHFm3Q69uw

Personally, I think this is ludicrous… Google’s attempts to enforce what a name is don’t even stand up to the test of multiple cultures, much less the test of an online pseudonymous world. +Gowtham S, even, was forced into the position of specifying a last name, something he does not actually have, and therefore falling back to an initial of his father’s first name.

Meanwhile, one of my real-life friends, due to a very complex situation involving her parents’ names and legal status in various countries, has a compound last name involving a hyphen, a slash, and a set of parentheses: a name that certainly contains more than enough symbols to drive Google+’s new rules past that brink of “fails when confronted with real world data”.

However, when you live on the Internet, a lot of things get even hazier: almost everyone I deal with has both a “real name” and at least one handle of some form. I don’t just mean hackers here: I mean people I met in college who are writers, and interact with entire communities online via a pen name.

These people do not consider it appropriate to put their real name up for anyone on the Internet to view, and certainly find it scary (in the “am I going to attract stalkers to find where I live and make my life horrible” sense) to attach their name to an actual picture of themselves, as websites like Google+ encourage.

Coming from the perspective of Google+, and their whole mantra of sharing only what you want to share with the people you want to share it with, this is even sadder… at least the other profile fields I’ve complained about the granularity of in the past can be entirely marked “private”: the Name field on Google+ must be visible to “Anyone on the web”, with the concept of fully private profiles that can only be seen by people you trust (a feature that Facebook has had for as long as I can remember) entirely absent.

One could instead imagine a true unification of “circles” with identity, allowing my college friends to go by their real name (maybe “True-dy McRealName”) to people in their “family” and “close friend” circles, by a pen-name (“Tryla Marina”) to other circles, and being able to fully hide their account to people they don’t know at all.

However, even this solution assumes that these users are willing to divulge the link between their identities to at least some people (given that the accounts will be the same, it would be difficult to not notice): depending on what you are writing about (or how you feel about your writing ;P) you might choose to keep your pseudonym private, even if it is your closest friends who are actually dealing with “both of you”.

One specific person I know in this situation is not a writer, but is instead a hacker (of course in the good sense of “making things possible”): MuscleNerd, a very famous member of the iPhone Dev Team (with almost 230,000 followers on Twitter). MuscleNerd is an example of someone who is almost entirely known by his handle, a situation quite unlike the oft cited Lady Gaga: despite most people not recognizing her real name, we at least know that it is “Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta”.

In this case, however, despite the fact that millions of people worldwide know who he is and hundreds of thousands of people care enough about what he says to follow him on Twitter, MuscleNerd’s real name is something that most people, by a vast majority, not only would not recognize, but have never heard… despite having worked with him for years on various projects, I haven’t even heard it.

Today, +MuscleNerd’s Google+ account was suspended, as it was listed as “MuscleNerd .” (with a period as the last name: a common convention that probably led to the aforementioned outright banning of periods in names). Given how much attention +MuscleNerd was already getting on Google+, I think it will be very interesting to see how the reaction to his account having just disappeared today plays out.

As for myself? I actually have a normal first name, a normal last name, and neither are something that I have ever kept secret from anyone online; and yet, even I am quite unhappy with not being able to list my name the way I always do whenever asked for “full name”: “Jay Freeman (saurik)”, so as to include the moniker by which people actually know me.

In all of these cases, no malice is involved: no one is trying to do something bad to Google+, or to their followers, and using “weird” or “hidden” identities to do so. Instead, we have people from different cultures, with messy histories, who were taught to value their privacy, or even might be concerned about how they will be seen by others; all who are not just being told to leave Google+, but sometimes (if we trust the numerous reports of this occurring) being cast from Google entirely, losing access to their e-mail, documents, and maybe even phone numbers, because they decided to try out Google+.

Of course, not all accounts with such “sketchy” information have disappeared… my personal favorite name to date, +Sugarballs Mintfart, is still “going strong”. (In case mentions get damaged, which I believe they do, when a user is suspended: that account is currently named “Sugarballs Mintfart”.)

Wow, just: wow.

Normally, I would accompany a screenshot of said post, however, this one is so long that it doesn’t actually fit in one, so I posted a couple of them.

Now, as my role here as controversy writer implies, this in itself is a controversy. I am not going to talk politics, I am simply going to state that Google’s stance on this matter is just downright wrong. In my case, it is not just a simple case of “nerdism” where I want to use my moniker, I honestly can’t use my real name. My day job is working as a U.S. Bail Enforcement / Fugitive Recovery Agent. My job is to literally hunt convicted criminals down after they have run before they are sentenced, and put them back in jail. I do this job baed in NYC, but I travel a lot for this job. I have dealt with some pretty high-level criminals as well as low-level ones, but the point is, revealing my identity online could lead these people to track me down, and that could bring potentially lethal danger to myself – or my family. And yes, this is for real. “Bounty Hunters” have been tacked down in the past and they have been killed. This isn’t just me being paranoid. So in retrospect, there should be certain leeway in order to let people use the names that they choose, as long as those names aren’t offensive. I have people who are willing to sign affidavits, notarized by a notary public, that I AM “LVCIFER”, and that is is in fact my persona. That in REAL LIFE, this is what I am known as. And I am sure that MuscleNerd can say the same.

As you saw above, Jay “Saurik” Freeman doesn’t even hear MuscleNerd called by his real name, and they’ve worked together for years. This is definitely a problem that Google needs to address head on, and they need to get behind this responsibly. I myself am currently awaiting the minute that my account is cancelled due to “improper identity”……

As usual, we will keep you appraised as new information becomes available, so stay tuned.

And feel free to follow me on twitter! @FEARtheSERVER. For Google+, you can find me simply by searching for “L.V. CIFER” without the quotes.

Recently, I had the opportunity to have a chat with one of the iCommunity’s most prominent and well-known themers out there. He has recently released in the past few months two of the best and most complete themes that iDevice’s have seen in a long, long time. The first of these themes being “revi-krs”, which was amazingly sleek, and elegant, and clean, making it one of the most used themes I have heard about in my 3-4 years as a part of this community. His other theme, “reviDX” will be reviewed very, very shortly after this article is released, but I can promise you that it is everything that the previous theme was and more. The themer I am about to interview is known simply as “Chris”, and he can be found via twitter as @KrsChris. Without further introduction, here is what he had to say in response to the questions I threw his way:

<begin interview>

Q: Hello Chris, welcome to this little digital interview here. Not sure if you follow the site but occasionally, we will interview tweak developers, themers, and people generally related with the jailbreak community. With that being said, let me start off by shooting the first question your way. What got you involved with the iCommunity as it’s called, and when do you remember first jailbreaking, roughly?

A:  Hi, glad to be here! Well, I always had Nokia phones and when I first bought an iDevice I was very surprised with the many limitations, like not being able to set a wallpaper for example and not being able to apply themes. So, looking around around the web I found out about the Jailbreak. That was back in December 08′ if I remember well.

Q: Once you were jailbroken, after seeing the work that everyone was putting out there on Cydia, what made you decide that out of everything you wanted to specifically dedicate your talent to theming iDevices?

A: I studied Photoshop in highschool, I fell in love with it. And after seeing  all the themes out, I decided to make mine. Just for me but I ended by sharing it with the world.

Q: If this isn’t too personal of a question, what do you do for a day job, and does it have any direct (or indirect!) correlation to the work you do as a themer?

A: No, my job has nothing to do with the themes nor photoshop. I work as cook assistant haha

Q: When you first got into it, who was your biggest inspiration, and what themes did you aspire to best once you started releasing your own?

A: It was a Windows vista theme. That theme was super complete and well done… I said to my self, I want to create themes like this. I don’t remember the name of that theme anymore.

Q: Are there any people now who’s work you still admire and appreciate? For example, if you didn’t have your own themes on your iDevices, who’s work would you put on your tech? Is there a “favorite theme”, per se?

A: The truth is, I don’t use other’s themes. But, yes I admire many, many themers!

Q: Recently, there has been a good amount of talk circulating the iCommunity about piracy, namely in specific an “Anti-Piracy Jailbreak” by @i0n1c. What are your thoughts on this?

A:  I love that idea.

Q: And more specifically, it is no big secret that themes are some of the most pirated packages downloaded off of Cydia. From the point of view of a wildly famous theme creator, how have you been affected by theme piracy, and if you could address someone who was thinking about pirating your theme, what would you say to them?

A: I’m ok only if the people downloading pirated themes can’t pay because, I don’t know, they don’t have CreditCards or they are really broke. The others…

Q: Despite the fact that you have just released your newest theme, “reviDX” in Cydia and on ThemeIt, are there any plans on releasing updates, extras, or even entirely new themes in the near-ish future?

A: Updates and extras for both themes yes, new theme not sure. Not for now.

Q: What are your thoughts on people who “dissect” pieces of themes, and basically steal them and pass your work off as their own?

A: That is not good. You can do it for own but you should not sell it nor say that you made it all from scratch.

Q: And this has been a question that has been burning a hold in me for a while. Without any exaggerations, from start to finish, about how long does it take you to create a complete and full theme?

A: It depends. If I’m really motivated and I have a fixed idea I can finish a theme from start to finish in one month. revi-krs took me almost 5 months!

Q: Something I have noticed about your work, and something that I happen to love, all of your themes seem to have a slightly “darker” feel to them. Meaning, if you take a look at Apple’s stock design, they are bubbly, and colorful, and vibrant, and whatnot. But your designs takes on a more “serious” and “elegant” and “adult” feel to them. What made you decide to go the route of experimenting with a darker theme experience instead of going the route of the happy shiny method so many other themers have duplicated?

A: Ha ha, I’ve been told this many times. Yes, I know my themes have not many color in them. I like simple and elegant things, beautiful things. I guess is my style.

Q: Have there ever been any designs that you have tried but that ultimately were too complex, or the technology was just simply uncooperative to the point where you abandoned the idea? If so, give us a taste.

A: Oh yes! Many many times! Actually I have a folder full of ‘unfinished’ themes.

Q: I’ve noticed that in both of your most recent themes, “revi-krs” and “reviDX”, you have been utilizing custom widgets to relay information at the top of the Springboard and LockScreen. What was it like making the decision to learn about widgets, and then further tweaking them to be more “user friendly” as time and modifications went on?

A: Widgets are an important part of any theme at the moment. I learn a little about coding and I like it.

Q: What would you say is the absolute, most unquestionably difficult part about creating a theme?

A:  The springboard look. The interface.

Q: Have you ever been creating a theme, and thought to yourself “Wow, if only this tweak existed, I could do such-and-such!” because you had an idea for an uninvented tweak? If so, what did you have in mind?

A: Yes! Before but many exist now, like gridlock or iconoclasm..etc.

Q: We’re almost done here, but on the way out, if you had to give any advice at all to people who are considering honing their talent and using it to create themes, and are still learning the processes, what would that advice be?

A: Keep working, keep learning and improve your last creations.

Q: Finally, I will end it with a question that has been plaguing me for some time: What exactly does ”revi” mean to you? It has been the name of your two most dominant themes of recent releases, what is the significance of “revi”?

A: This probably doesn’t sound very good but revi comes from revival so, revi-krs is kind of ” Chris revival” ha ha.

<end interview>

I also have to say, Chris has been nothing but helpful and friendly to me whenever I have had any questions for him, and he has on many occasions dropped little “hints” on twitter about unreleased information relating to his upcoming themes, so I highly recommend a follow. Once again, @KrsChris on twitter seems to be the best way to reach him.

I thank you again Chris, for that solid interview, and for giving us some insight into what motivates you to continually create such kick-a** themes for us iDevice owners to brag about to our friends. Keep up the great work, I’m sure we will be seeing great things from you in the future.

Earlier today, on Saturday, July 02, 2011, the much-anticipated jailbreak for the iPad 2 was leaked out into the wild by someone who was not @comex. With my role for MyGreatiPhone.com being their “controversy writer”, I figured that this article was right up my alley, and I will explain why in a few moments. First, let’s get to the heart of the story. This has been sourced by multiple, reputable places on the internet such as www.9to5mac.com and www.RazorianFly.com. So, here we go:

For the past few months, @comex has been working to bring the iPad 2 jailbreak to users. In this process, he had selected a few people to “beta test” this jailbreak.  From what has been gathered, this particular jailbreak will yet again use another PDF exploit, which is the same type of exploit that www.JailbreakMe.com 2.0 used to jailbreak most iDevices running iOS 4.0.1 and 4.1. It has been reported that this jailbreak will only work on certain iPad models, and that it is still not without bugs – for example, multiple sources have confirmed that attempting to use Safari is useless, as it continually crashes. Here is a quick video demonstrating the jailbreak, taken from the 9o5mac.com article:

Click here to view the embedded video.

And for a quick update, here is a screenshot of Cydia running on the WiFi iPad 2, running iOS 4.3, and bragging Cydia 1.1.2.

Now, on to the “controversy” part: I think that this is long over due. Ever since March 11, 2011, the iPad 2 has been available to the public. Ever since March 13, 2011, @comex has had his iPad 2 jailbroken. Now, let’s do the math – March to April, April to May, May to June, and now June to July…. thats a whopping FOUR [4] MONTHS that @comex has been sitting on this jailbreak. He is taking his sweet time to release this exploit, and that is simply UNACCEPTABLE.

I have similar issues with @MuscleNerd not bothering to release any new ultrasn0w unlocks ever since iOS baseband 01.59.00, which I believe was iOS 4.0.1, but don’t quote me on that. What does that mean? It means that anyone who DID NOT PURCHASE THE iPHONE 4 ON LAUNCH DAY IS SCREWED OUT OF AN UNLOCK SINCE JULY OF LAST YEAR. If they purchased the iPhone 4 after that, it will have come with a different iOS version pre-installed by Apple, thus installing an updated baseband, and thus negating the possibility to software unlock. Once again, this is simply UNACCEPTABLE, and I have always thought that the iCommunity should have spoken up about this.

I know that I have been using a lot of bolding and italicizing in this article, but I cannot stress enough how ridiculous this is. The entire iPhone dev_team is basically playing with people’s cellular experience While there is also the argument that “they do this for free!” and “they don’t owe us anything!” can be made by whiney, loyal little fanboys, these were the same fanboys who waited by patiently while the Chronic Dev_Team prepared greenp0is0n, only to have GeoHot sweep in, and in less than 2 days release a superior jailbreak. They lauded GeoHot, they praised him, and they donated. Oh, did they donate. But donations isn’t what this is about. The dev_team has made it clear they do not want money, and that they do this because it simply needs to be done. They do this out of the goodness of their hearts. Except, they have taken a vacation this year. Ever since GeoHot released his limera1n exploit, all the dev_team has done is update their jailbreak tools to use HIS EXPLOIT, and make sure that existing software it current and up to date.

Case-in-point: A new device is released. The iPad 2. GeoHot has not jailbroken it. So what do the dev_teams (Chronic this time) do? They stage some lame “competition” and invite GeoHot to join. A/K/A, do all the work for them so they can update their software too.

While this is not the opinion of MGiP.com, I personally think that @comex deserved this. It was only a matter of time until someone behind-the-scenes got sick and tired of watching him twiddle his thumbs and waste more time while inventing more excuses to not release the jailbreak.

Would I use this new iPad 2 jailbreak? No! I don’t even have an iPad 2, but I do know that beta software is buggy as hell. Especially since people have already reported multiple bugs in this specific jailbreak already. Would I wait for @comex? Yes, I would, but ONLY because I don’t like using an imperfect iDevice, it would ruin the user experience. Would I do it out of loyalty?

He has left us hanging for FOUR MONTHS, while he has enjoyed the jailbreak himself and given it to his friends. That’s not loyalty, thats exclusivity. Why would I show loyalty to someone who has more or less abandoned us, with promises of something that has no substance? Maybe his train of thought was that if he waited long enough, GeoHot would come swooping in, and give them what they need to update their software – an exploit that works.

I will not be showing you how or where to get this done. If anything, if you choose to still pursue this after reading this article, you can do so by watching the above-mentioned video. But the truth is, the risk is on you, and whatever you do to your iPad 2 is your sole responsibility. You’ve been warned. And patience is a virtue for a reason.

This also comes hot on the heels of @comex ging on his twitter account and aggressively warning users to save their iOS 4.3.3 SHSH blobs “now”, so take this with a grain of salt. While nothing has been revealed with solid fact yet, it seems that this jailbreak is going to be released sooner rather than later based on the developer’s actions and demeanor. As usual, we will keep you updated as new information becomes available.

Well, as of today, Eric Schmidt has confirmed that Google and Apple have reached an agreement to keep Google maps on iDevices for the foreseeable future. While no details are 100% public, deals like this are usually not signed, especially for this type of money involved to both companies, for only one year, so Google maps may be available on iDevice’s all the way up until the iPhone 6, iPod Touch 6, and iPad 4, respectively. Here is what CEO Schmidt had to say on June 1, 2011, at the “AllThingsD9” event:

We just renewed our Map and Search agreements with Apple, and we hope those continue for a long time.

For those of you who are curious as to what Placebase was about, this was a statement by then CEO and founder, Jaron Waldman, released in GigaOM in 2008:

Waldman thought differently. He decided to compete with Google and other free mapping services by doing two things: One, by offering customizations and tons of features that integrated private and public data sets in many diverse ways. (He knew it would be a while before Google would get around to offering customization). His other twist was to offer a way to layer commercial and other data sets (such as demographics and crime data) onto the maps using an easy-to-use application programming interface (API). The product is called PushPin.

While there is nothing stating that it will be the same old Google Maps app, Apple has demonstrated almost zero interest in updating some of it’s “stock” apps since the inception of the original iPhone. I don’t know if this will be the case, but as far as I am concerned, I wouldn’t get my hopes up.

Well today iWork is available for the iPod touch & iPhone  also.

iWork brings new document layouts and  smart zoom for viewing and editing data and the ability to change font style and size directly from the ruler when editing text.

Each App from iWork costs £5.99 ($9.99) to make up the complete iWork package. People who already own the iPad version of these Apps will be able to update for free to make it compatible with the iPhone and iPod touch.

The following devices will be able to use the new iWork Apps: iPad and iPad 2, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, and iPod touch (3rd & 4th generation).

Here is what Phil Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing had to say about the Apps:

The incredible Retina display, revolutionary Multi-Touch interface and our powerful software make it easy to create, edit, organize and share all of your documents from iPhone 4 or iPod touch

Get Keynote, Numbers and Pages from the App Store now!

Let us know in the comments below if you will be using the iWork Apps on your iPhone or iPod touch.