The jailbreak is the result of months of work by an individual called pod2g, who is currently turning his efforts towards A5 devices. Pod2g’s work was passed on to both the Chronic and iPhone Dev Teams who then integrated the payload into their existing tools.

The jailbreak is available both as a Cydia package (search: “Corona”) for those already running a tethered jailbreak, or as a redsn0w and Pwnage Tool package which can be used to jailbreak a device from a Windows or Mac OS X computer. Users should update their devices to iOS 5.0.1 before attempting the jailbreak, and unlockers interested in preserving basebands should avoid stock, Apple-signed updates and use a custom IPSW.

The jailbreak has already been updated once since release to version 0.9.10b2 with bug fixes. Users looking for more information about the current jailbreak, preserving basebands and custom software updates should check out iClarified.

Download: redsn0w 0.9.10b2 (Windows & Mac) @ Chronic Dev Team

Sources: pod2g, Chronic Dev Team, iPhone Dev Team

Some of these apps have been reviewed in MUO, while a few others may not have received the attention they deserve.

NewsRack

After checking email, the iOS and OS X RSS reader NewsRack ($4.99) is the app I start off with every morning. I tried several other RSS readers, but none provided the synchronization features I get with NewsRack. Talk about a time saver. I use NewsRack to synchronize with Google Reader, so that when I check and read feeds on my Mac, iPhone, or iPad, they automatically get updated on all those devices. The app also allows you to share articles on social network sites and services including Instapaper.

Instacast

When I finally go to bed at night, Instacast ($1.99) is the app I use to download and check the handful of podcasts I choose from to listen to as I fall asleep. Instacast makes it easy to discover, subscribe, and listen to audio and video podcasts over Wi-Fi and 3G.

The latest iOS 5 version synchronizes podcasts between devices via iCloud. In terms of podcast downloads, Instacast makes iTunes obsolete for end users.

Handoff

For some odd reason Apple has yet to make it easy to simply send documents from your Mac or iOS device to another Apple device. So I use Handoff ($1.99) nearly every day to wirelessly send articles over my local network, using the Handoff Safari extension, to my iPhone and iPad. Handoff should be a built-in feature in Apple devices using iCloud.

Photosync

Nearly every iOS screenshot you see in my MUO articles gets sent to my Mac desktop using PhotoSync ($1.99). I simply launch the app, select screenshots in my Camera Roll, and push and hold my finger on a button that automatically sends selected shots, via wireless transfer, to my computer. PhotoSync also works with Dropbox, Facebook, Flickr, and other photo sharing sites.

PriceCheck

I feel a little guilty every time I use PriceCheck, because now whenever I go shopping at say BestBuy, the local Apple Store, or Borders, I pull out PriceCheck and see how much I would save by ordering online, particularly from Amazon. As much as I would like to buy locally, 20% to 30% savings is something I can’t ignore. PriceCheck makes the process way easy with its built-in barcode scanner.

Mint.com

I’ve written several articles about Mint.com, the free online personal finance tracking and budget management service. Each iOS version of this Mint app (free) has gotten increasingly better. I can easily launch this app and get balances on my financial accounts and see if I’m staying within budget. If you want to save money, use Mint.

JotNot

JotNot Scanner Pro ($1.99, free version also available) is one of several apps that enabled me to use my iPhone as my wallet. When I need to keep track of receipts or other documents, I simply launch JotNot, snap a photo, tag it, and toss the paper receipt in the trash or a desk drawer. The iPhone camera shots are nearly the same, if not better, as traditional scanners.

iMovie for iPhone

iMovie for the iPhone ($4.99) makes it totally easy to edit family and event videos I shoot with my iPhone. After using iMovie for over a decade on my Mac, I thought it would be cumbersome to do so on an iPhone, but it’s not. iMovie is a fun, practical, creative, and easy-to-use video editor for your iPhone or iPad.

Dragon Mic

This year, I finally learned how to effectively use the speech to text application Dragon Dictate. On days I don’t feel like typing, I can simply dictate text, and the typing gets done three times faster with about 95% accuracy. Dragon Dictate for the Mac is expensive, but its developer Nuance has released free voice to text apps for the iPhone and other iOS devices. It also produced Dragon Remote Mic (Free) for the iPhone, which turns out to be very good for dictation.

So when I want to get my butt off my office chair and still type, I launch Dragon Mic, increase the font size of the document I’m writing, and dictate text as I walk around my office. Dragon Mic and Dragon Dictate prove that voice technology will only get better over time.

Zite

I’m a huge fan and reviewer of magazine style apps for the iPad – the device I use now to do most of all my extended reading, including ebooks, PDFs, and articles. I have and use Flipboard, Pulse, and Google Currents on my iPad, but Zite (Free) is the app I browse the most.

Why is that? Well, because Zite offers less, not more to read. It delivers articles based on my reading interests. The content of Zite is based on chosen topics, not direct RSS feeds. I discovered that this is a good thing because it prevents me from adding lots of RSS feeds, as I have done in my Google Reader account. It also means that I get content from sites other than the ones I regularly visit.

Well, that’s it for my top 10 iOS apps of the year. If I had more space I would iA Writer, Hello, Instagram, and iAnnotate. Which apps that came out in 2011 would you add to the list?

Image Credit: Shutterstock

Here are 5 reasons to drop $5 on a 5/5 piece of software.

A Truly Mobile Workstation

GarageBand for iOS transforms your device, be it an iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch into a completely mobile music workstation. Not only do you have access to a selection of beautiful-sounding instruments (more on those later) but also a sequencer for constructing loops and full tracks.

Once you’ve recorded a section you’re happy with, hitting the sequencer button (always in the top left) will automatically place your newly recorded sample in the timeline. From here you can trim, squeeze, loop and move your recording around with ease thanks to the responsive touch interface.

The sequencer, workflow and control scheme are effortlessly simple to work with. You might find yourself leaving for work at 8am and by the time you’ve got into the office you’ll have half a masterpiece composed (provided you’re not driving, of course).

Simple Or Complex – You Decide

Whether you’re completely new to the world of creating music or you’ve written a few symphonies in your spare time, GarageBand allows you to decide the amount of effort you’d like to put in. This means you can use “Smart” instruments to simplify pattern creation, or you can keep it real and manually record all of your sounds.

This is testament to GarageBand’s broad appeal; not requiring any prior experience to jump right in. Give it to your 9 year old daughter and she’ll keep playing till the battery’s dead. Let your dad have a go and he’ll probably want an iPad – you get the picture.

The sequencer splits your track into sections, and this is by far the easiest way of working. You can specify advanced options such beats per minute (BPM), timing (e.g. 4/4) and whether you want the metronome and countdown on or off (something that iMaschine could do with).

Packed With Sounds

GarageBand puts a lot of instruments at your disposal and they are: a basic keyboard, basic drums, an audio recorder for capturing sounds from your device’s microphone (or an external source if you have the cables and setup), smart drums, smart keyboard, smart guitar, smart bass and a sampler.

The standard keyboard is by far the most dynamic of all instruments, and once selected you can choose from classic sounds like the grand piano to fuzzy bass synthesizers and wailing 50′s sci-fi tones. It’s a lot of fun – especially in “pitch” mode.

The smart instruments are there to give you a leg-up and simplify the process. Smart drums invites you to arrange different elements, such as cymbals and snares, onto a grid which then generates a beat. Move the icons around to change the beat, repeat until happy. Similarly smart bass, smart guitar and smart keyboard make it easier to create grooves and play chords.

The sampler is another interesting bit of kit. It allows you to record a sound, trim and edit before playing it back using the keyboard for a higher or lower pitch. Apple Loops can be added directly from the sequencer and include a few hundred loops, melodies and vocal samples to keep you happy for a while, and you can always add your own via File Sharing in iTunes.

Connect & Export

One “instrument” I didn’t mention in the previous section is the guitar amp. This allows you to plug your guitar into your device and try out a selection of classic amps. Of course, you can record sections and drop them straight into your timeline with ease. To connect a guitar you’ll need the Griffin GuitarConnect cable, which costs around $30 and works with a lot of other apps (it also allows you to connect a keyboard or bass guitar).

Once you’ve created a song it’s easy to share via email or iTunes, plus you can even export in GarageBand format and continue your masterpiece on your Mac computer at home.

Endless Possibilities

And now onto the real reason why GarageBand is worth $5 – the possibilities for creating music are literally endless. Whether you’re after a workstation to create whole songs using external samples and a guitar, a live performer who can make use of one of the many sounds and instruments or a newbie to the music creation scene then GarageBand will fit the bill.

The range of included sounds are broad enough to tackle nearly any genre of music and that means you’re only limited by your imagination. If there’s one thing GarageBand ensures it’s that you’re not limited by your ability, and that’s what makes it so fun.

Conclusion

So is this app really a serious contender in the music making world? Well, yes and no. There are plenty of reasons a mobile music workstation would appeal to a budding musician, and GarageBand will satisfy many for this reason. Don’t expect a thousand dollar studio production suite, but prepare for a pleasant surprise.

Add the fact that the app hasn’t crashed once in the 10+ hours I have used it, I’d probably still be smiling had I paid $20. Buy it.

Download: GarageBand for iOS @ App Store

Have you bought GarageBand for iOS? Have you made any music on your iDevice? Share your thoughts and musical masterpieces in the comments below!

In their marketing spiel, Apple were quick to claim “over 200 new features” had made their way into the update, except they never really explained what they all did. Here I’m hoping to shine some light on a few of the more useful, hidden iOS features you might not have noticed yet. iDevices at the ready!

Keyboard Shortcuts

Under Settings, General and then Keyboard it is possible to define words you wish to use as shortcuts for longer words or phrases. As you can see, Apple has added the first for you – when typed, “omw” changes to “On my way!” making it easier and faster to type out commonly used phrases in a message or email.

These shortcuts are naturally system-wide, and new ones can be added via the Add New Shortcut… button. Useful shortcuts could include “mymail” for your full email address, “myblog” for your website URL and classics like “ttyl” and “glhf” for the gamers out there.

Custom Vibration Patterns

By far one of the coolest (if a little pointless, I digress) new features in iOS 5 is the ability to customise or create your very own vibration patterns. To enable custom vibrations navigate to Settings, General then Accessibility where you will find a Custom Vibrations option. Enable it and return to Settings then Sound where there is now an option at the bottom of the screen.

Tap it to choose from any of the five in-built patterns, or touch Create New Vibration to record your own. Hit Save once you’re happy with your creation to set it as default. This won’t be the most frequently used feature on your phone, though it can be handy if you find yourself constantly missing alerts.

AssistiveTouch

iPad owners are lucky enough to be able to use a few multi-touch gestures off the bat (more on this later) but did you know all iOS devices can make use of AssistiveTouch and its custom gestures? Under Settings, General then Accessibility choose AssistiveTouch and notice the small icon in the bottom right hand corner.

Touch it and you’ll get quick access to your home screen, favourites and of course gestures. These can be defined by tapping Create New Gesture and dragging out a pattern with your finger. Give it a name and function and you’ve got yourself some gesture-based shortcuts.

Speak Selection & Voice Over

Two brand new talking innovations that made it into iOS 5 are Speak Selection and VoiceOver which can both be found under Settings, General then Accessibility (and both need to be enabled before you can use them).

Speak Selection adds a “Speak” option to any text that you select (be it a webpage, an email or a message you’re still typing) before reading the whole thing back to you at a swift pace. The speaking rate can be modified in the same settings menu as above.

VoiceOver is another potentially useful speaking option, and one that is especially handy for those with poor eyesight who have difficulty navigating their device. This feature simply reads aloud from the screen you are on, listing options and other notes. Both are particularly great at what they do, making your iOS device quite the conversationalist!

Custom Alerts

At long last it is possible to change the default alerts that were previously locked to default iOS sounds. These options can be found under Settings then Sounds and include Sent/Received Mail tones, Message tones, Calendar/Reminder alerts and a tweet tone.

If you find you’re still missing notifications you can try turning on LED Flash for Alerts under Settings, General then Accessibility. This will flash your camera LED when your phone receives a notification, but be aware your battery life will probably be affected too.

In-Built Dictionary

Another useful feature that made its way into this release is the in-built dictionary which allows you to select a word using the standard text select method and tap Define in order to check its meaning and pronunciation.

There is no way to access the dictionary other than via the context menu once a word has been selected.

iPad Specifics

Those of you lucky enough to own an iPad will enjoy the few iPad-specific enhancements that iOS 5 has to offer. Multi-touch gestures are now here to stay, and you can use four or five fingers to pinch to reveal the home screen, scroll up to reveal the app-switcher (as opposed to double tapping the Home button) and scroll left or right to switch between apps.

The other feature worth noting is the split keyboard option which is accessed by holding the bottom left icon on the keyboard in typing mode and choosing Split. This makes typing with your thumbs far more accessible, and the keyboard can even be undocked (hold the button again) in case it’s in your way.

Conclusion

These are just a few of the fabled 200+ enhancements Apple managed to squeeze into the most exciting version of iOS yet. If you know of any others then please don’t hesitate in sharing them in the comments below.

Did you know about these hidden iOS features? Did you find them useful? Leave a comment below, and have your say.

Box.net is a cloud content management platform, similar to Dropbox, which lets you store, access and share content online and across devices. The company does offer a free option, which usually includes only 5GB of storage, with a 25MB limit on file size upload.

Here is what you have to do to get a free 50GB with Box.net:

• Download the Box app for iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch and install it.
• Log into your Box account from the app, or register for a new one from within the app.

And that’s it. After logging in you should see a message informing you about your free 50GB. On top of the free storage, you will also get an increased file size limit for uploads: 100MB instead of 25MB.

Will you create a Box.net account just because of this promotion? Or do you prefer other solutions and will not be tempted by this?

Source: Box Blog

Find My Friends enables you to geolocate your friends from your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch (running the latest operating software, iOS 5). The app requires that both you and your friends are running the program on an iOS device. You and your friends must also have an Apple ID and an iCloud account for the app to work. You can use your contacts in your Address Book to send invitations, but the process doesn’t tell you if your friends has an iPhone or other iOS device.

After your friends accept your request for location information, you will be able to keep track of where they are. Find My Friends might be useful for keeping track of your teenager or traveling companions when you’re on a vacation. You can’t contact selected found friends from within the app, but you can connect through FaceTime, phone, or email.  But the app could also have other consequences.  Allegedly, it has already been held responsible for exposing an affair and breaking up a marriage.

You can also use the Temporary feature to allow selected friends to receive your geolocation for a specified period of time without them requesting it.

Find My Friends is a free download from the iTunes App Store.

What do you think of the app?  Extremely useful or rather creepy?

Source: Macworld

There are a plethora of goodies on the App Store that you shouldn’t miss out. On this page, you’ll effectively see 108 of the best (most are free!), hand-picked by our very staff, and broken down in 14 categories.

A lot of times when you’re purchasing loads of apps, you may run into issues with your Apple ID. You may discover that a cool and exciting app, for example, turns out to be offered only in another country. But worry not. Jeffry posted a detailed article on how to create a US iTunes account without a credit card to access US-only items (and judging from the comments in that post, the method seems to work for many people around the world).

If you want to actually change your Apple ID by either changing your current ID or switching to another existing ID, read on.

On Your Device (Will Probably Apply To iPad, Too)

First, let’s verify the account that you are currently using for iTunes and App Store purchases. Open either the iTunes or the App Store in your iPod, navigate to the bottom of the page you’re on. If you’re on an App Store product page for an app, simply go back to the main screen or tap on Categories or Top 25 (where you can see Top Paid, Top Free and Top Grossing apps) and just navigate down. If you have ever purchased an app, even a free one, you have had to either create a new Apple ID or sign in using an existing ID.

If you’ve created one in the past, you’ll see your current Apple ID at the very bottom of the iTunes or App Store.

Now that you’re sure what account you’re dealing with, press the Home button and launch Settings. Navigate down to Store and tap on it.

You’ll see two options: View Apple ID and Sign Out.

If you tap on View Apple ID, you will see the payment information associated with your account (things like credit card information, billing address and phone number). You can also see which country’s iTunes Store you’re buying from. If you choose to change your Country or Region, you’ll need to follow the on-screen instructions, agree to the terms and probably even change your billing information.

If you’re looking to change your Apple ID email, you can tap on your current Apple ID, and you’ll be presented with your email, password, security questions, etc.

If what you’re seeking is to sign in with another existing Apple ID, simply go back and tap on the Sign Out button and you’re well on your way.

When you’ve signed out, the next time your are purchasing apps or iTunes Store items, it will promptly ask you to sign in.

On iTunes Desktop

If you’re on your actual computer and thus, enjoy the glory of a full-sized keyboard, you can change your Apple ID email address, password, billing information and all that other good stuff by launching iTunes on your desktop. Head to Store > View My Account (some email here).

You will need to enter your password for verification, after which you’ll be presented with all the information Apple has for your account, which you can readily edit.

You can also head to the Apple website (appleid.apple.com) to manage and change your account information if for some reason you’re not on your primary computer.

Have you ever had to change Apple IDs on your iPod or iPhone? Let us know about your experience in the comments!

I’ve been spending my days converting videos into M4Vs that my iPad will agree to play, and even then I sometimes found myself confronted with the cryptic “the video cannot be played on this iPad” error. Apple, in general, tend not to approve alternative players that allow you to play multiple formats, and after some sort of disagreement, the VLC app was removed from the market.

True, I can jailbreak my iPad and just get VLC, but are there any alternatives that don’t require jailbreaking?

The Free Option: FlexPlayer

FlexPlayer is a free media player for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch (OS 4.2 and later) which allows you to play many different video formats. According to its iTunes page, FlexPlayer supports “AVI, DivX, Xvid, VOB, MP4, MOV (plus many more)”. Let’s see if it really works.

When you first launch FlexPlayer, you will get detailed instructions on how to add videos. This is useful because adding videos to FlexPlayer is not done by just adding videos to your iTunes library. If you do that, you won’t be able to upload anything that’s not in the acceptable format, and the videos will not be added to FlexPlayer.

In order to add videos to FlexPlayer, plug in your device and launch iTunes. Select your device on the left menu bar, and then choose the “Apps” tab.

On this page, scroll down until you find the “File Sharing” menu. Look for FlexPlayer on the list and start adding videos. You can either click on the “Add” button or drag files straight into the documents interface.

As you can see, I tried adding an AVI file, an XVID file and a MOV file. All of them formats the iPad would not dream of playing normally.

When you add videos to the list, they will immediately appear in your FlexPlayer. You don’t have to sync it manually. The options are limited – you can watch videos and you can delete videos. That’s pretty much it.

And here you go, here is what watching an AVI looks like. Both video and sound worked without a hitch and I was able to play all three file formats with no problem.

There are no further options that I could see, but the existing options worked great.

The Paid Option: CineXPlayer

CineXPlayer comes in two versions, an iPad version ($2.99) and an iPhone/iPod touch version which is also iPad compatible ($1.99). I tried the iPad version, and my guess is that the iPhone version works on the iPad, but only as iPhones apps usually do – covering about 1/3 of your screen with a X2 option. In my opinion, this is not a good solution for a video app, but if someone has actually tried it and thinks differently, do tell us about it.

Now to business. CineXPlayer offers many more options. When you first launch it, you will get a tutorial, complete with screenshots, which explains exactly how to add video files.

The method is identical to the one I described for FlexPlayer. Go to the “Apps” tab, scroll down, find CineXPlayer and add your files. Again, I tried adding an AVI, an XVID and a MOV.

After you’ve added movies, they will appears as thumbnails or as a list. As a default, CineXPlayer plays an amusing, computer-game-like background music when you browse your movies, which is somewhere on the border between annoying and fun. CineXPlayer offers folder options and you can catalogue your files for easy browsing.

The playing itself wasn’t perfect. My AVI file only played sound – no image. My XVID file played well, but when I tried it a second time there was suddenly no picture. Closing the app and re-launching it fixed it, but the AVI file remained picture-less. The MOV file played well.

As you can see, CineXPlayer offers many more options – 3D (requires a further download), TV viewing, subtitles and social sharing to name a few.

The whole social sharing thing was a bit clunky, but I finally managed to get this window:

Pretty cool if you’re into social sharing and want your friends to know what you’re watching. It seems to be limited to Facebook, though.

As opposed to FlexPlayer which lets you play videos and that’s it, there are some settings here you can adjust to your liking. You can also buy some add-ons to enhance your experience with CineXPlayer.

Bottom Line

As much as I like tweaking things, I did not feel that CineXPlayer provided an overall better experience. This is probably due to the fact that not all the videos actually worked. If I can’t play all formats, all the extra settings become less relevant.

Having said that, the file type I couldn’t play has given me trouble on other devices, and your files might work like a charm. If the bear-bones interface of FlexPlayer is just not enough for you, give CineXPlayer a spin, it’s not that expensive and it seems to be well thought out. For me, I will stick with FlexPlayer for now. Sometimes you just can’t beat simplicity, and I sure do love the price tag that comes along with it.

Want to share your own experiences? Know of some more alternative players we should try? Share in the comments.

Image credit: Shutterstock