Hurrah – more cuddly iPhone household accessories.  Fridge magnets with all the built-in iPhone apps.  They’re by the Jailbreak Collective and described thusly:

Whatever you want to do…  There’s an app for that.  That’s right.  Whether you want to buy movie tickets, read the news, write a review, pay a tip, catch a taxi, or even train your dog,  there’s an app for that.  But what if you want to hang a photo on the fridge?  Or leave a note on the microwave?  Or save that Chinese take-out menu in a place where you can’t lose it?  When it came to certain old-school tasks, the apps were coming up short.  A little reverse innovation was needed.  Well, good news, everyone… Now there’s an app for that, too. 

Introducing the App Magnets by the Jailbreak Collective!  In order to bring the magic of the iPhone into the third dimension, we asked an artist to reach into the iPhone home screen and literally pluck out the apps.  Then we added a little magnetism.  And best of all, we mass produced them so now you too can own your very own set of 3-D App Magnets!

Hmmm – spouse and daughter are not fans of these. I am though. They’re $12.99 plus shipping HERE.

Discovered these via Gizmodo.

© PatrickJ for Just Another iPhone Blog, 2010. | Permalink | | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: crazy iPhone accessories, iPhone fridge magnets

If you watch a lot of Joss Whedon’s Dollhouse on TV, you’ll know that the Attic is a very bad place to be. However, Attic on the iPhone is a whole different ball game, and if you love the idea of rediscovering old music (and the memories that go along with them), or you’re simply a fan of beautiful new interfaces, then you’re going to love visiting Attic.

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Read the rest of Review: Attic, rediscover the music on your iPhone

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Post tags: attic, tapku

Just Mobile is definitely one of the more stylish iPhone accessory makers out there. They haven’t made any cases yet, but their docks are always a real visual treat, and tend to maintain a high degree of accessibility despite the fact that your iPhone is nestled in place.

The Lounge ($50) features a set of padded “pincers” to hug lock your iPhone in place on your desk or car dashboard. The Xtand Go ($40) is a car-friendlier version of my favourite Xtand.

However, I think the sexiest and coolest product in this batch has to be the strangely titled “Gum Plus” ($70) . This 4400 mAh aluminum-encased battery pack looks a lot like the PPCTechs Lil Sync Mobile USB Power Pack, except without quite so many words, and with more of a Macbook Pro styling. Stuff looks so much better in aluminum.

© Ragart for Just Another iPhone Blog, 2010. | Permalink | | Add to del.icio.us
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Pastefire is a handy little utility that lets you paste things quickly from your desktop to iPhone, but with some added magic.  The magic is that Pastefire takes what you’re pasting and makes intelligent choices about what to do with it, saving you several taps and steps.  For instance, if you paste @justiphoneblog it doesn’t just paste the text across to your iPhone – it also fires up Tweetie or Twitterrific for you, because it recognizes the text as a Twitter ID.

Or if you paste a URL, it opens it straight away in Safari.  An email address opens in the Mail app, and so on. 

This week Pastefire has released a Mac client – so pasting from a Mac desktop is even simpler.

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Read the rest of Pastefire, Desktop to iPhone Pasteboard Utility, Adds a Mac Client

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Post tags: iphone apps, iPhone pasteboard apps, Pastefire

Ouch. One of our writers, Brandon S, learned the hard way that uninstalling the spoof 3.1.3 patch (which merely fools iTunes and apps into thinking you’re on 3.1.3)  is a little more complicated than your usual tweak — and certainly more complicated than I had stated in my previous post (“just uninstall it”). My sincere apologies: I had actually read that part in the Cydia tweak description and simply shared the news here.

As it turns out, according to BigBoss himself, whether you installed the first Firmware 3.1.3 tweak (released March 9th) or the Firmware 3.1.3 app (released March 10th), the last thing you want to do is simply uninstall. First of all, to make sure the 3.1.3 tweak works, you have to reboot after you install it. A full reboot is likely required — not just a re-spring.

Secondly, if, for whatever reason, you would like to return to 3.1.2, you have to install the Firmware 3.1.3 app first. Then simply “…use this new app instead to select which firmware you want. Selecting 3.1.2 and rebooting is equivalent to uninstalling the old tweak [the one released on March 9th]“.

That should be all of the information you need to successfully install or uninstall the patch, but you can find the full notes on BigBoss’s site.

[via @mediacrave]

© Ragart for Just Another iPhone Blog, 2010. | Permalink | | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: firmware 3.1.3

OK, so this one is not a brand new rumor – but it is one that gains some momentum with a report today at Apple Insider.  It’s also the one rumor about the next major new iPhone OS that I’d most like to see come true – that OS 4.0 will give us ‘full on’ multitasking on the iPhone.

Apple this summer will go a long way towards silencing critics and catering to one of the most prevalent demands of its iPhone user base, when it introduces a multitasking solution through the handset’s 4.0 software update that will finally allow several third party apps to run concurrently and in the background.

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Read the rest of Lovely iPhone Rumors: Multitasking Coming with iPhone OS 4.0

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Post tags: iPhone app switching app, iPhone OS 4.0, mulittasking on iPhone

Spirit — not to be confused with the Leona Lewis album of the same name — is a $0.99 arcade game that I really should like, but simply don’t enjoy. The game features beautiful graphics, the power to open vortexes, and some questionable touchscreen controls.

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Read the rest of Quick Look: Spirit, a zippy little arcade title for your iPhone

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The folks who are lucky enough to be over at the Game Developers Conference got to see Street Fighter IV first-hand last night, just moments before it was released to the App Store public. I’ve been hearing various things about the title: TUAW thinks it’s a bit too unwieldy, but Shacknews seems to think the controls are decent. However, the consensus seems to be that $9.99 title is an extremely high quality port of the ridiculously popular Capcom arcade fighter, with eight playable characters, seven arenas, a dojo practice mode, and bluetooth multiplayer support.

Have any of you folks snapped this one up overnight? Or are you hesitant about trying to pull off complicated combos on a 3.5″ touchscreen?

[iTunes link here]

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Post tags: capcom, fighting, iphone game, street fighter

[Update: Reader Quycky asked about settings and syncing issues, and although I can still sync and am still functioning at full speed on the 3GS, I am unable to sync 3.1.3 apps to iTunes. I can install them through the iPhone App Store, but they simply won't sync to iTunes on my Mac. I see an error stating that the Mac isn't authorized even though it is, and it also seems to detect that the iPhone isn't actually on 3.1.3.]

Shhh. I upgraded to firmware 3.1.3, but not really. Keep in mind, though: this tweak only applies to iPhones on 3.1.2.

BigBoss released a tweak on Cydia (and consequently Rock) yesterday that fools both your iPhone and iTunes into thinking your 3.1.2 device is actually on the latest, feature-less, firmware. You won’t gain any new features, but you won’t be hassled to upgrade, and you’ll also be able to purchase 3.1.3 apps like Attic, which simply don’t work on older firmware versions.

However, if you should have any trouble with this tweak, make sure to check this post before doing anything.

© Ragart for Just Another iPhone Blog, 2010. | Permalink | | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: 3.1.3, Jailbreak

If you can’t get enough of Twitter, need more ways to use it more often, and you run your iPhone jailbroken, then TwitScreen may be just the little lock screen pal you’re looking for.

It serves up Twitter – or at least a good, little set of basic Twitter capabilities – right on your iPhone lock screen. I coughed up the odd amount of $1.74 the other day and gave the app a little spin. Hit the jump for some very quick impressions and a few screencaps …

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Read the rest of TwitScreen – It’s Twitter, on Your iPhone Lock Screen (jailbreak only)

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Post tags: iPhone cydgets, iPhone lock screen widgets, TwitScreen, Twitter lock screen widget

The Dacha Works Module SmartCase is a lot like a corset for the iPhone: it focuses on changing the appearance and form factor of your favourite little device. Sure, it adds some scratch protection to the sides and back of the device, but don’t count on this back plate to protect your smartphone in the event of a fall.

What you can count on is the the patent-pending LeveRidge (hah, leverage) grooves that extend along the length of the Module, making the iPhone 3GS becomes much easier and more comfortable to  hold in your hand (On second thought, maybe the whole corset comparison isn’t where I want to take this review).

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Read the rest of Review: Module SmartCase for iPhone

© Ragart for Just Another iPhone Blog, 2010. | Permalink | | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: back plate, case review, ergonomic

DVR Remote Lite is a great app which gives you the power to control TiVo over WiFi with the use of your iPhone. According to the developer’s website, the remote work with both the TiVo HD and Series 3.  I have used the app for a while now and it works great.  It does take a few minutes to get through the set up process, so let me walk you through it.  The first thing you want to do is get to your TiVo and select “Messages/Settings” from the main screen.  (...)
Read the rest of Review: DVR Remote Lite for the iPhone

© Frank Catalano for Just Another iPhone Blog, 2010. | Permalink | | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: DVR Remote, tivo

Paper Toss – one of my favorite iPhone games – has just had another update, to Version 1.40.

The list of changes is short and maybe not terribly sweet-smelling.  It has added one new level – Restroom.  From just a quick peek last night the new level looks quite hard.

Although this app is now ad supported it is still free and I think it’s impressive that the developers continue to occasionally pump out new levels for it.

It’s also probably pretty smart business for them I imagine, as the app is currently promoting one of their other stellar titles, Ragdoll Blaster 2.

You can find this latest version of Paper Toss in the App Store now, and it’s free of course.

© PatrickJ for Just Another iPhone Blog, 2010. | Permalink | | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Paper Toss, Paper Toss iPhone app

Doodle Jump for the iPhone is something like a developer’s fairy tale: two brothers set out to make a game using only the talents they’ve got at hand, and end up striking gold. They keep pushing out minor updates, and the game just keeps selling.

Tomorrow morning, Lima Sky will be announcing that Doodle Jump has just surpassed 3 million sales — a feat, they claim, is a first for any Indie development house.

That’s a slice of MobileCrunch’s report yesterday on the astounding success of Doodle Jump on the iPhone.  That’s 3 million sales too, not just downloads.  

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Read the rest of App Store Success Stories: Doodle Jump Hits 3 Million Sales

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Post tags: App Store success stories, Doodle Jump

It’s not quite as fancy as the Palm Pre and the battery is certainly a little more expensive, but inductive charging is inductive charging (that is to say, it’s always awesome). If you’ve always thought that plugging your iPhone in just to juice it up was an annoying and overly complicated proposition, then you’re a prime candidate for wireless charging cases like this one. All you need to do is slap the case on, set it down on the pad, and watch it charge. Granted, you’ll have to take it off if you want to add more music to your iPhone, but it seems easy enough.

[lgreenberg's excellent video review - here]

© Ragart for Just Another iPhone Blog, 2010. | Permalink | | Add to del.icio.us
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I took an initial look at Front Contacts a couple of weeks back.  It’s an interesting app that lets you do several things involving the Phone app right on your lock screen – such as:

• Make a call
• See your Recent Calls
• Search for a contact
• Pull up the Phone keypad to dial a number

When I first gave it a go it ended causing me some springboard crashes and instability, and I uninstalled it.  The app’s developer was kind enough to let me know when it was updated and fixed, about four days ago – so I’ve been trying out the new version …

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Read the rest of Second Look: Front Contacts – Make Calls & See Recent Calls from the iPhone Lock Screen (jailbreak only)

© PatrickJ for Just Another iPhone Blog, 2010. | Permalink | | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Front Contacts, iphone apps, iPhone lock screen apps

What’s a Caligo and why am I chasing it? Actually, you know what? That’s neither here nor there. The fact of the matter is that Caligo Chaser is an upcoming action arcade game from the popular developer Com2uS (Heavy Gunner, Sniper vs Sniper), and so it’s probably worth at least a quick look if you’ve enjoyed any of their previous high octane games.

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Read the rest of Preview: Com2uS’ upcoming arcade action title, Caligo Chaser for iPhone

© Ragart for Just Another iPhone Blog, 2010. | Permalink | | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: arcade action, preview

BNO News – which used to always be the fastest provider of news via push alerts on the iPhone – had recently slowed to a very infrequent trickle of alerts for me.  And I know at least some others were experiencing this as well.

As of today, BNO News seems back to its old self as far as push alerts.  I’ve seen a good handful of breaking news items today.

Anyone else seeing BNO News springing back to life a bit today?

© PatrickJ for Just Another iPhone Blog, 2010. | Permalink | | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: BNO News, push alerts, push notifications

Fighting Fantasy: Deathtrap Dungeon is a game in the same vein as all of those choose your own adventure books that demanded you “turn to page 36 to fight the ogre” or “flip to page 78 to eat your sandwich instead”. Sure there are extra dice rolls and statistics, but the iPhone takes care of all of those RPG elements for you and lets you focus on one thing: enjoying the adventure.

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Read the rest of Review: Fighting Fantasy: Deathtrap Dungeon, Choose Your Own Adventure on your iPhone

© Ragart for Just Another iPhone Blog, 2010. | Permalink | | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: choose your own adventure, rpg, steve jackson

It’s a great time of the sports year in the US just now – spring training under way, NBA playoff jockeying heating up, The Masters just a few weeks away, and best of all … March Madness is just round the corner.

If you’re an iPhone owner and a big fan of the NCAA tournament, then you’re in luck – as there are already a number of apps out that will help you follow the games and get your brackets going.

The one that really caught my eye this morning is CBS Sports: NCAA March Madness on Demand.  Long name, but with a nice long list of great features to go with it – including the most important one:

LIVE STREAMING VIDEO OF EVERY GAME on Wi-fi and 3G/EDGE – from the first round of the tourney through the finals

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Read the rest of It’s Time for March Madness on the iPhone

© PatrickJ for Just Another iPhone Blog, 2010. | Permalink | | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: iphone apps, iPhone sports apps, March Madness, March Madness on iPhone, NCAA tournament