Brian Vanderhoff's North Fulton Real Estate Blog: 10 of the Best Apps in the Cydia App Store for a Jailbroken iPhone

Last week was a hum-dinger for iPhone users. Not only is it now legal for you to jailbreak your iPhone and take it to any carrier you please. But aside from carrier portability, what else makes jailbreaking a worthwhile endeavor?

The Apps, dear reader. The Apps.

With Apple's legendarily stringent App Store submission guidlines, there are are countless developers out there who have chosen, or in some cases were forced, to offer their wares through other outlets besides the iTunes App Store. One of the best-known and most reliable alternate iPhone App Stores out there is called Cydia. If you've already jailbroken your phone, no doubt you'll have noticed that in most cases a Cydia icon has been added to your home screen. Clicking it is arguably the easiest and safest way to find and download great software for your jailbroken iPhone. With all of Cydia's transactions handled by either PayPal or Amazon, your personal information stays just as safe as it does with Apple or any other major online retailer.  Also, as when you're buying from Apple's App Store, when you purchase an application from Cydia, the software is downloaded and installed on to your handset automatically--no fuss, no muss.

To start you off right, Mac|Life has listed ten of our favorite apps available via Cydia. Some are free and some will cost you. All of them will change the way you use your iPhone and make you love it just that much more.

Smartphones are supposed to be smart... aren't they? If that's the case, then Apple's got some explaining to do. After all, who wants to tap and swipe their way through multiple apps just to keep abreast of their appointments, new messages, weather and the lastest news. Intelliscreen is an app so ingenius, that it's a wonder that Apple hasn't implemented their own version of it. The application launches with a click of your iPhone's power button, giving you at-a-glance access to the information you need to keep your daily life in order. Better still, the infomation Intelliscreen can display is fully customizable. After using the application for a few days, you'll wonder how you ever did with out it.

If you're a hardcore road warrior, you'll want to pay attention to this one. MyWi is a wonder of an application that let's you set up your iPhone 3G, 3GS or iPhone 4 as a portable Wi-Fi hotspot, and without paying your carrier a single penny more than you do for your current data plan. For killer productivity on the go, try this on for size: set up a MyWi hotspot, and use it to connect your iPad's Air Display app to your Macbook for an instant second screen. That trick alone is well worth the price of admission.

In a sea of iconic black and silver, is there no room for individuality? Of course there is! Simply install Winterboard (depending on your jailbreaking method, it may already be on your iPhone), a free mod that allows you to tweak the look of the iPhone's user interface and install a multitude of themes to give your handset that little bit of flair you've been craving. You can reimagine your home screen with small alterations, such as removing that unsightly dock, or opt for a complete overhaul using a theme so far away from what Apple had in mind, you'd swear you weren't using iOS anymore.

Oftentimes, you might find yourself asking around for a sync cable to get some photos off of your device. But through the Cydia App Store, WiFi sync can eliminate your need for ever having to scramble around for a cord. WiFi Sync allows you to sync your iPhone with your iTunes library over a wireless network, cable free! Seriously, why hasn't Apple implemented something like this yet?

If you've got a hankering for some on-the-go mobile old-school gaming but sold your Sega Game Gear years ago, emulation is the only way to go. SNES4iPhone is our contender for reigning champ of the iPhone-borne emulators, allowing you to get your Mario Kart or Mortal Kombat II fix from your where ever you might be. The controls are surprisingly responsive, and most games can be played in both portrait or landscape mode. Be warned: it's only legal to get that Super Mario World party started if you still own the physical game carts of the ROMs you're planning on playing.

One of the most frustrating things about using a vanilla iPhone is the fact that so many of the applications that make the iOS platform great can only work when you're near an Wi-Fi hotspot. Once you get your mitts on 3G Unrestictor, all that is a thing of the past. The application preforms one simple, wonderful function: it removes the Wi-Fi only restictions from a multitude of your favorite apps. FaceTime? iTunes downloads over 20 MB in size? Both are are good to go on 3G once you've puttered about with a few settings. What could be better?

If you feel that using a theme to personalize your iPhone still doesn't have a certain je ne sais quoi surrounding it, why not take your customization one step further and slather your name all over the top of the homescreen?

Make it Mine--developed by TUAW's Erica Sadun--allows you to remove the name of your carrier and replace it with anything else you please. You can let everyone know that the iPhone they're gawking at does indeed belong to you, or in this case, to someone that works for Mac|Life.

There's not a single iPhone user out there that can say that the way iOS allows us to control our handset's settings isn't a pain to deal with. With nested menus and multiple taps and swipes just to turn on Bluetooth or adjust screen brightness, you'd think that they didn't want us messing with the phone...okay, moot point. 

That's where the awesome free UI mod SBsettings comes in to save the day. SBSettings can be accessed through a number of different methods (we set ours up to open after we tap the power button twice, for example). Once opened, you'll find an easy to use set of controls for your iPhone to control just about every back end function available to users through the iOS Settings App--only with a user interface that's about a million times more friendly to work with. It'll also provide you with some valuable at-a-glance statistics about your handset, like how much memory you've got left. Even better, the UI can be altered to suit your specific needs. This download is a must have for every iPhone power user.

Just because you're still rocking an old school 2G or iPhone 3G doesn't mean you have to be left out of the video camera party. Cycorder is a free video capture application that brings you up to level with the recent generations of Cupertino's fashionable handset. While the recorded video isn't quite as clear as you'll find on a 3GS or iPhone 4, it gets the job done, and the price is right (it's free!). Just one thing: if you're already using an iPhone that supports video recording, you might have issues getting the App to start up. However, as you already have a decent video camera built into your handset, there's no real reason you'd want to anyway.

Apple's none too fond of letting their users take a peek behind the velvet curtain. Fortunately, apps like iFile let you peek behind that curtain. The application provides a user friendly interface that makes navigating through an iPhone's file system a pleasure. You can even make edits to your handset's software on the go--like removing that bothersome Stocks app, for example. 

Tip: You wouldn't touch anything you didn't understand in a hand grenade factory--the same rules apply here. Mucking about with your iPhone's files could cripple the handset, so if you don't understand it, you're better off leaving it alone.


Well, that's our ten picks. No doubt you'll end up finding a ton of other useful mods and applications that'll make your jailbreaking experience a worthwhile venture. Just remember: while Jailbreaking is legal, if you're not careful you could end up bricking your iPhone. It also runs the risk of voiding your Apple warranty. By and large, however, there's not much you can do to the handset that a simple restore via iTunes won't fix.