Messages App Updated in iOS 4.3, Shorter Tones and More Options

In addition to the much-awaited Personal Hotspot feature for AT&T iPhone 4 owners, Apple also updated the Messages app in iOS 4.3.

Although there are no changes to the app itself per say, Apple has updated the alert options. This includes significantly shorter SMS (text) ringtones, clearer text ringtone sounds from the speaker, and the settings for the Messages app now allow you to have alert tones repeat up to ten times at two minute intervals.

If you may recall, the text tones in iOS 4.2.1 were incredibly long, to the point where one would think these would be better ringtones than text tones. Most text tones have now been updated and are now less than a second long with improved sound clarity from the speaker.

The vibration alerts for messages have also been changed by Apple in the new OS. Before, new messages had the same short, vibration as the “new mail” alert. But now, in iOS 4.3 new text messages will instead give two sharp and quite noticeable vibratory pulses.

Have you noticed any other changes in iOS 4.3? If so, drop us a line in the comments!

Springtomize Goes Live in Cydia, Brings Extensive Customization to iOS

The anticipated jailbreak tweak to rule them all, Springtomize, has gone live in Cydia and is now available for purchase.
We showed you a detailed preview of this awesome tweak several days ago, and now you can install Springtomize and play with it yourself.
Most jailbreak tweaks focus on one specific aspect of iOS (whether it be the status bar, dock, icons, etc.). Springtomize aims at being the one-stop shop for your tweaking needs. As far as customization is concerned, Springtomize may very well be the king of jailbreak tweaks.
Official description,

“Springtomize is the only tweak you’ll ever need to customize your device, in all of its aspects: from its capabilities to the look of your SpringBoard. You can disable elements you don’t use or that may slow down your device performances, you can customize the look of your icons, the dock, the folders and the Status Bar, or even your Lockscreen. Springtomize also allows you to save your SpringBoard layout and to restore it later, without wasting time moving icons inside folders or to their original positions!
You can also customize various animations of your SpringBoard or add nice mods to current ones, like choosing the color of the screenshot flash or to dim your device screen like an old TV when locking! Finally, in the Theming section you can choose to apply a custom dock or a transparent one; you can also make your icons transparent and set the brightness of your wallpaper, without having to edit the image with other apps!”

Screenshots:

Springtomize is available for $2.99 in Cydia. As you can tell from the screenshots, Springtomize not only adds, but also replaces functionality from multiple other jailbreak tweaks.
Let us know what you think of Springtomize. Does it exceed your expectations?

Ryan Petrich Teases the Next Version of Cydia, It Will Be “Awesome”

Ryan Petrich, developer of jailbreak apps like SwitcherMod and Action Menu, is helping work on the next major version of Cydia with saurik and team.
Cydia 1.1 is slated to bring significant updates, and will most likely focus heavily on graphics.
While we’re not sure when Cydia 1.1 will be ready, it seems to be coming along nicely on the development side of things…
In a recent tweet, Ryan Petrich spoke to how well version 1.1 is coming along.

We can’t wait to see what “awesome” features and enhancements Cydia 1.1 brings, and we’ll be sure to keep you updated as we hear more about the release.
In the meantime, what do you want to see in the next version of Cydia? Multitasking? Design interface changes? Some sort of in-app package backup solution would be nice.

iOS 4.3 Jailbreak Releasing Before Next Weekend?

Following today’s announcement of the first iPad 2 jailbreak by @Comex, iPhone hacker @i0n1c has updated us with the status of his untethered iOS 4.3 jailbreak, which was revealed late last week.

i0n1c has  updated his original YouTube video showing off the jailbreak, with an ETA for the untethered jailbreak which he states will be released “before next weekend”…

Because so many people are asking for an ETA:
I am pretty sure that the untether will be released before the next weekend. I was using older kernel patches that caused lagging on the jailbroken device. I will change that and then port it to the other devices and release.

i0n1c claims that he is working out a few bugs in the jailbreak and thanks to the help of Comex, he has fixed the lagging issues on the iPhone 4. According to i0n1c, this new exploit will surprise Apple:

I am pretty sure the first reaction of the Apple Techs analysing my untether exploit binary will be: WTF!?!

Also, keep in  mind, i0n1c’s untethered jailbreak for iOS 4.3 will only work on iDevices that are vulnerable to the limera1n exploit, meaning that this will work on all current devices, except the iPad 2. iPad 2 owners will have to patiently wait for Comex’s jailbreak.
It’s nice to see we’ve already got a jailbreak for iOS 4.3 coming sometime before next weekend and another one just around the corner! Wouldn’t you agree?

iPad 2 Jailbroken By Comex

Late last week, we saw our first iOS 4.3 jailbreak shown off on video by iPhone hacker @i0n1c, which claimed it to be in the “Alpha stage”.

And now, famous iPhone hacker, @Comex has found another exploit in iOS 4.3, being the very first to jailbreak the new iPad 2 with the updated bootROM. In addition to announcing it on his own Twitter account, the official @iphone_dev account has also announced Comex’s huge accomplishment.

@chpwn: by @comex: http://t.co/osP6lz

@comex: would’ve had it yesterday if I didn’t have to spend 1.5 days looking for a replacement exploit (which came from a most unexpected place…)

@iphone_dev: Congrats to @comex for jailbreaking yet another brand new device (iPad2) while 2500 miles away from it!

The picture above demonstrates the jailbreak on the new iPad 2. Although, Comex has not provided any details yet as to whether this jailbreak is an untethered jailbreak (hassle-free), or whether it works on all iDevices including the iPhone 4 running iOS 4.3, we would assume it is an untethered jailbreak for all iDevices.

We’ll keep you updated when we hear more on the jailbreak!

Anyone excited?

How to jailbreak iOS 4.3 on iPhone 4, 3GS, iPad, iPod touch on Windows Using Sn0wbreeze 2.3 [Guide]

Sn0wbreeze 2.3b1 is now available for Windows users to jailbreak iOS 4.3 running on iPhone 4, 3GS, iPad and iPod touch.
Just like PwnageTool for Mac, Sn0wbreeze jailbreak is also tethered for all devices, which means you will have to boot into a jailbroken state every time you reboot your device.

Note: There is NO unlock for iOS 4.3 yet. If your iPhone relies on a unlock, DO NOT update to stock iOS 4.3 yet.
Creating Custom iOS 4.3 Firmware On Windows
Step 1: First up, download all the required tools and files to your Windows desktop:

• Download and install iTunes 10.2.1 for Windows.
• Download Sn0wbreeze 2.3 for Windows.
• Download iOS 4.3 (Final) for iPhone, iPad or iPod touch.

Step 2: Start Sn0wbreeze, click the next “blue” colored arrow to proceed.

 Step 3: Select the required firmware .ipsw file for your iOS device by clicking on the “Browse” button.

Step 4: Sn0wbreeze will now identify the selected IPSW file. Once done, click the next “blue” colored arrow to proceed.

Step 5: Now select the “Expert Mode”, followed by “Build IPSW” option to start creating your custom firmware.

 

Note: If your iPhone relies on a unlock, proceed only by selecting “Baseband Preservation Mode” option instead of “Expert Mode”.
Since building custom firmware may take some time, you can optionally play Pac-Man game to kill some time.

 

 
 Step 6: Sn0wbreeze will greet you with the following “Done!” message when the custom firmware has been successfully created.

Step 7: Now follow the onscreen steps to enter DFU mode using Sn0wbreeze:

 

• Hold Power and Home buttons for 10 seconds
• Now release the Power button but continue holding the Home button for 10 more seconds
• You device should now be in DFU mode

If you have followed the steps correctly, you will get the following message from Snw0breeze

 

Restore iOS 4.3 Custom Firmware Using iTunes
Step 8: Start iTunes, click on your iOS device icon from the sidebar in iTunes. Now press and hold Left “Shift” button on the keyboard and then click on “Restore” (Not “Update” or “Check for Update”) button in iTunes and then release this button.

This will make iTunes prompt you to select the location for your custom firmware 4.3 file. Select the required custom .ipsw file that you created above, and click on “Open”.
Step 9: Now sit back and enjoy as iTunes does the rest for you. This will involve a series of automated steps. Be patient at this stage and don’t do anything silly. Just wait while iTunes installs the new firmware 4.3 on your iOS device. Your iOS device screen at this point will be showing a progress bar indicating installation progress. After the installation is done, your iOS device will be jailbroken on iOS 4.3.
Booting in Tethered Mode
Last but not the least, since there is no untethered jailbreak for iOS 4.3 yet, we will have to boot it into a tethered jailbroken state. To do this, we will make use of a utility on Windows named “iBooty” as shown in the steps below.
Step 10: Run iBooty for Windows and select your iOS device from the dropdown menu.
Note: iBooty is extracted to the desktop (iBooty-for-4.3) after running Sn0wbreeze 2.3.

Step 11: Now hit the “Start” button and follow the instructions on screen to enter your device in DFU mode:

• Hold Power and Home buttons for 10 seconds
• Now release the Power button but continue holding the Home button for 10 more seconds
• You device should now be in DFU mode

Step 12: Once you are into DFU mode, iBooty will do its thing and after a short while, your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch will be booted in a jailbroken tethered mode !

Jailbreak iOS 4.3 - Untethered Jailbreak [Update]

All Saw untethered jailbreak demo video for iOS 4.3 few hours ago, the hacker behind the exploit seemingly will hold his jailbreak until Apple releases iOS 4.3.1.

With Apple already baking 4.3.1 the first one releasing an iOS 4.3 jailbreak will pretty much burn the exploit :P

Well Apple should release 4.3.1 very soon, because tomorrow everybody knows that @0xcharlie popped an iPhone 4 at #pwn2own through Safari.

How he justify this ? the hacker expected that Apple should release iOS 4.3.1 specially after the hackers (at Pwn2Own contest) has successfully hacked iPhone 4 via vulnerability which found in Mobile Safari running iOS 4.2.1. Although the vulnerability is also exist on iOS 4.3, but all iOS devices running iOS 4.3 are safe until hackers find a way to bypass the ASLR (Address Space Layout Randomization) which has been implemented by Apple starting form iOS 4.3.

The winners of Pwn2Own have mentioned that it's difficult to bypass ASLR security in iOS 4.3, so I don't expect that Apple will release a new firmware for patching exploit didn't discovered yet, I think this is the logic.

According to the above, I don't think this is a good decision to hold iOS 4.3 untethered jailbreak. What do you think?