Jailbroken App Review: Backgrounder

Like the title says, this review is for a jail broken application. If your phone is jail broken, continue on. If your phone isn’t jail broken, it just might be after this post. It’s a common theme that I like applications that accomplish things that Apple should have done in the first place. Multi-Photo Email comes to mind. So I know you guys remember Apple saying in the 2.0 update there was going to be push notification? What ever happened to that? Exactly. Nothing, nada, zilch. Once again, a jail broken application has stepped in and solved a problem that Apple has decided not to add. Backgrounder does exactly what it says it does. It allows certain applications to do such (run in the background). While not truly giving you push notification, it does allow updates or notifications to come through while the app is closed.

How does it do it? Opening the Backgrounder program enables it. To enable it in an application all is needed is to hold down the home button for a second or two. The above pictured message appears stating that it has been activated. In essence this keeps the application running in the background, freeing up the phone to do something else.

I cannot explain in words how much this app has helped me personally. Don’t you hate playing games and then you get a phone call, only to kick you out of your game? I do. With Backgrounder, just enable the game before you start playing. So when a call does go through, take it, then go back to the game once your done. Backgrounder also works with IM. BeeJive IM is awesome with push notifications. I know BeeJive works with push notifications through MobileMe, but what if you don’t have it. Problem solved. And the same way you enabled Backgrounder, you can deactivate it. Just hold down the home button for a few seconds and a pop up will tell you its done, and quit. Available in Cydia today! So go jailbreak your phone already, I cannot give you anymore reasons to do so…  well maybe I can.

App Review: Multi-Photo Email

I know there are a lot of things that I complain about when talking about the iPhone. And when I find an application that fills a need on my phone I jump for joy, (not really, but you get my drift). One thing I completely don’t understand about the iPhone is the lack of ability to email multiple photos. It seems like such a small thing to be given the option to select multiple images to send. So when I saw Multi-Photo Email by Aqua Eagle LLC in the app store, it was a sure buy. The application allows you as the title says to send multiple photos in one email, ending the unnecessary practice of sending one photo per email. Not only that, but this is a one stop shop application. Unlike other email applications, you add and send from inside the app itself. This works because the application connects directly to your providers SMTP servers and sends the photos as attachments to the email address provided, or you can select one from your address book. You are also given the option to add a subject title and body to accompany the photos. In the application settings, you can adjust the size and photo quality to aid in sending pictures quicker, or just send a better picture quality. For $.99 you CANNOT beat the functionality of this app. That is why it has gotten the Buy Me An iPhone’s Editors Choice Award for being such an awesome application. Please, support the developer and buy the app today!