iPhone Tweaks

Now that Google Maps for iOS has arrived, developers have started working on tweaks to make the app even better for those with jailbroken iPhones. We recently looked at MapsOpener, which makes Google Maps the default mapping application, circumventing Apple's stock maps app entirely. Now you can improve Google Maps by enabling a secret topography mode.

The Google Maps sidebar has several options, including Traffic, Public transit and Satellite modes. For some reason, Google decided to disable Topography mode when it launched Google Maps for iOS. Luckily, the only thing you need to activate the topographic maps on your jailbroken iPhone is a tweak by developer Ryan Petrich.

Many Apple Maps users breathed a sigh of relief when Google finally launched their own stand-alone Google Maps app for iOS. The problem is that even with Google Maps installed, iOS 6 will always default to the stock maps application when a link is clicked or other navigational features are needed. It's no surprise that developer HASHBANG Productions has released a solution for jailbroken devices.

The Cydia tweak is called MapsOpener, and once installed the tweak will open all maps links accessed within a browser in Google Maps instead of the Apple version. iOS currently has no built-in settings that allow the user to choose which apps they prefer to use as a default. This leaves iPhone owners using stock apps for several functions where other alternatives are available.

Manually adjusting the brightness of your iPhone screen can be inconvenient. Even on a jailbroken device with SBSettings, it takes a few steps to kick the brightness up or down with an on-screen slider. Now thanks to the Cydia tweak BrightVol, the side volume buttons can easily be used to adjust display brightness on the iPhone.

What makes this tweak so useful is that it won't interfere with normal operation of the volume buttons when needed. BrightVol is configured by default to use an Activator gesture to switch the volume buttons over to brightness. Just press both the up and down volume buttons at the same time, then you can adjust the brightness up or down.

Notification banners on the iPhone are pretty useful. Wouldn't it be great if you could make them even better? Now thanks to a jailbreak tweak called FlagPaint, there are additional options that can be configured for notification center banners. Just like the name, the main feature of this tweak is the ability to change the color of banners to match the app icon.

For example, if an app with a red icon such as iMap Weather Radio displays a banner alert, it will be tinted red if FlagPaint is enabled. There are several configurations under Settings -> FlagPaint once the tweak is installed from Cydia. The top setting is Tint Background, which automatically changes the color of incoming banner alerts depending on which app is sending the message.

CallBar version 2 has brought a slew of improvements and bug fixes to the popular jailbreak tweak for iPhone. The beauty of CallBar is the ability to initiate or answer a call without interrupting your current activity. Assigning the tweak to an Activator gesture will provide easy access to its functions from anywhere, while answer-in-place makes it possible to pick up a call without exiting the current app.

Essentially CallBar reworks the look and functionality of the incoming call screen. Not only this, but iOS 5 users will notice that CallBar brings several iOS 6 features to their devices, such as call reminders and reply with text functionality. Settings are comprehensive and you can make CallBar active for voice calling, FaceTime, or both.