Casey's Tumblelog

This past weekend, I used redsn0w to jailbreak my iPhone.

For those that aren’t privy, jailbreaking allows you to run software that isn’t Apple-approved on the iPhone. It also allows you to mess with some of the lower-level settings, which in turn allows you to do things… you’re not supposed to do.

So, for someone that isn’t looking to run software that hasn’t been paid for, is there really any point?

I think my favorite feature is SBSettings:

This is activated by swiping your finger across the status bar, any time the status bar is visible. You’ll note that, among other things, this allows for super-fast toggling of WiFi. This is much faster than having to tap Settings > Wi-Fi > On/Off. Sounds silly, but it makes a big difference.

You can also disable rotation, which is extremely useful while in bed.

Finally, using SBSettings, you can also hide icons from your home screens. So, don’t use Compass? Hide it—you’ll never have to see it.

My other favorite thing is StatusNotifier, which puts small icons in your status bar indicating if you have e-mails/text messages/etc waiting.

This is really neat because it allows me to tell, on my lock screen, whether or not any of those things are waiting for me.

Another neat trick is WeatherIcon, which shows your actual weather data on the Weather application’s icon.

Finally, this particular jailbreak does allow me to tether my iPhone. On AT&T. I don’t expect to use this feature, well, possibly ever. But it’s nice to know that I can, if need be.

So, is it worth it? Yes.

Could I live without? Yes.

Would I recommended it? Not sure.

I think it’s neat, and I’ll probably stick with the jailbreak until it’s no longer convenient to do so. Perhaps that means when iPhone OS 4.0 comes out. Perhaps that means tomorrow. But for now, I do enjoy the added conveniences.