Bacon 8 Bits - Stories

Google gets its maps app on iOS. (and there was much rejoicing)

Thu, 13 Dec 2012 04:59:26 GMT

Nobody likes a hater. But we had some serious haters when Apple took a few swings, missing, at launching their own maps/navigation application. But Google just released a dedicated maps app that includes voice guided turn by turn directions! I've only had it for a few minutes, but go download it here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/google-maps/id585027354?mt=8 and leave your thoughts below.

Random/New /Free App Friday Review - Beaver Group Appy Crimbo

Fri, 07 Dec 2012 18:50:55 GMT

This entry is the first in a weekly series called "Random/New/Free App Friday Review", where Bacon 8 Bits will subjectively scan for a new app released on Friday, which is free, and review it. Ideally, this app will show no reviews and no rating at the time of writing the article.

There are now 10 bazoogillian apps on the iOS App Store, and so I thought I would provide an honest opportunity for unknown apps to get reviewed at random. The odds are against these guys, and so I figured that even a review from an equally unknown website might be welcomed.

Today's first attempt was fun, and I actually had to download 3 different apps to get to a reviewable app: Beaver Group Appy Crimbo!

The first app I tried to test was one called MOOD POPS, developed by POPALOPP. Unfortunately, it crashed upon trying to launch it. Otherwise, I would have been reviewing their unique icon/expression app. (Note: I am on 5.1.1 Jailbroken, so maybe it's just me).

The second app I tried out was called 21cake, developed by Eastedge. I knew in advance that I wouldn't be able to use this app because I don't know Chinese, but it looked beautiful and tasty. I mean, look at those screen shots! If you know what they're saying (I presume we're looking at recipes), you should download this app.

But on to Beaver Group Appy Crimbo. Beaver Group is a digital media and design company, and it appears that they made this app for fun. And to be honest, it is pretty fun! With the app, you select from their various employees adorning Holiday atire and then "photobomb" your own pictures with them. You can choose to superimpose characters like, "Tatted-Up Elf-Man Blowing Pixie Dust", or "Santa Handing Your Child a Bear", or even "Beaver Group Employees Laughing at That Guy".

And that's it! Add some holiday cheer to your iPhone and download the Beaver Group Appy Crimbo app here, visit their website here, or follow them on Twitter here.

Cheers
-Layton

How to Get Flipboard Content on Windows Phone

Fri, 07 Dec 2012 00:42:20 GMT

Are you super sad about Windows Phone not supporting the news reader app Flipboard? You should be. Now, Flipboard has said that an app for Windows is a future possibility in a thread here (and in the quote below), but until that time arrives, how can you possibly get all of your flippin' goodness? Well, both of the options here are certainly work arounds, and neither will take the place of Flipboard. That said, when you need options, you need options.

We do plan to continue adding more platforms over time. A version for Windows 8, Windows Phone, and Surface is a possibility. Stay tuned for future announcements. - Jon Virtes (Official Rep for Flipboard)

Option 1:
Weave. This is a news reader that offers categories of news to follow, much in the same way that Flipboard does. The link here is for the ad-free version, which runs for $10 (I know, $10!). You can add RSS feeds, but can't integrate other social networks like Twitter or Facebook (though you can share to those services).

Option 2:
Flipboard Twitter Accounts. For many of Flipboard's categories of news, they have created Twitter Accounts. This means you can simply use your preferred Twitter application on Windows Phone, or even the stock People Hub, and catch all of the well gathered stories courtesy of Flipboard. Here are the ones I could find:

Alternatively, I thought you could probably get away with using a remote desktop app from your phone, and then running BlueStacks, but I don't think that experience would be very good at all. I'm sure there are some other ideas out there, not to mention the one that's on a few minds already...get a different phone. But if you're not a synic ultra hater of Windows, and have some other ideas for Windows based Flipboarders, please comment below! Don't forget to mention other official Flipboard Twitter accounts I may have missed.

-Layton

I'm Fan - New i'm Smart Watch Looks Pretty Slick

Thu, 06 Dec 2012 20:09:13 GMT

I love me some watches, and man, this looks pretty sweet. In fact (***shameless plug alert***), if i'm Watch wanted to send me one so I could write a review, I'd be happy to.

It looks like i'm Watch has put together a beautiful rendition of the Android OS to play nice on a little watch-sized screen. Clearly this puts them into the budding smart watch marketplace alongside Pebble and smart accessories like Sony's SmartWatch. And if you're like me, you've been hesitant to jump on board because it feels like every day we may hear about a new, better option. That said, these guys look like they may have nailed it. So please go check out their site, also beautiful, or read some of the specs below:

i'm Color
Size and Weight

Height: 2.08 in. (52.90 mm)
Width: 1.59 in. (40.60 mm)
Depth: 0.39 in. (10 mm)
Weight: 3.35 oz. (95 g)

Memory

Flash Drive: 4GB
RAM: 128 MB

Processor

CPU: IMX233

Display

1.54” (diagonal) colour TFT display
240×240 pixel resolution
220 ppi (pixel per inch)

Operating System

i’m Droid (customized Android version)

Power and battery

Built-in rechargeable Li-Po 450 mA battery
Charging via USB to computer system or via power adapter
Standby time without Bluetooth™ connection: up to 48 hours
Standby time with Bluetooth™ connection: up to 24 hours
Talk time with speakerphone: up to 3 hours
Time for other uses: up to 5 hours

Compatible smartphones and o.s.
Many i’m Watch features require an internet connection via Bluetooth™ tethering and the main operating systems and/or phones that offer this technology are:

Android (HTC, Samsung, Motorola, LG, etc)
BlackBerry® (RIM®)
iOS® (Apple iPhone®)

Important

Not all versions of the same operating system allow tethering via Bluetooth™.
Not all phone versions allow tethering via Bluetooth™.
Not all mobile carriers allow tethering via Bluetooth™

Note: for some smartphones which do not support Bluetooth™ tethering it will be possible to download the i’m Sync application, which allows the i’m Watch to connect to the internet by using the phone’s connection.
Note: SMS notifications can be used through i’m Sync on the devices that support it.
Note: i’m Watch does not consist in a stand alone phone and thus requires the connection to another phone device.

BlackBerry®, RIM®, Research In Motion® and related trademarks, names and logos are the property of Research In Motion Limited and are registered and/or used in the U.S. and countries around the world. Used under license from Research In Motion Limited.

Audio/video playback

Formats supported: mp3

Materials

Aluminium.
Colour: White, Pink, Light Blue, Red, Yellow, Green, Black

Sensors

Magnetometer
Accelerometer

Connectors and input/output

3.5 mm headphone, connection and power minijack
Microphone
Built-in speaker

Languages

English (U.S.), English (UK), Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, Arabic*, Czech, Danish*, Dutch, Finnish*, Greek*, Hebrew*, Hungarian*, Indonesian*, Malay*, Norwegian*, Polish, Portuguese*, Portuguese (Brazil)*, Romanian*, Russian, Slovak*, Swedish*, Thai*, Turkish*, Ukrainian*, Vietnamese*.

*available September 2012 through software update.

----

They also have titanium and jewel flavors for those who don't like the color options.

-Layton

JAILBREAK THEME FLAVOR OF THE WEEK

Mon, 03 Dec 2012 21:52:04 GMT

If you are a Jailbreaker, of iPhones that is, you probably have the same tendencies as many of us. Namely, changing the way your SpringBoard looks often. You can look back at some of my previous posts and see that this theme doesn't stray too far from my "minimalistic" approach. It does however, foray into the wonderful world of iWidgets, a tweak created by author eldwin (@_eldwin) that allows you to place HTML widgets on your SpringBoard.

Once you've installed the iWidgets tweak, you can search Cydia for iWidget and find a growing list of available widgets. Once installed, you tap and hold on the SpringBoard, and are brought to the menu of iWidgets where you select which of your installed packages you'd like to place on the SpringBoard. After that, you can maneuver the widget just like you would any other icon on your SpringBoard.

The widget here is the edgy SB Widget (Widget code by @FIF7Y and MOD by @Zooropalg). It is available as a piece of the edgy HD theme (I purchased through the ThemeIt store). Now if you decide to add this widget, you'll notice that some of the layout is different from what you see here. I removed the clock time, placed the date under the day, and placed the temperature under the weather icon. So if you prefer the way I have it look, I attached the UserStyles.css file below for you to replace the stock one with.

Beyond that, I'm rocking Five Icon Dock from Jay Freeman (@saurik), the Genesis icon theme from JackieTran, Folder Enhancer from Lance Fetters (@ashikase), and BytaFont with TypoSlabserif Font from iPhoneRuler.net (@iPhoneRuler).

Hooray for theming!
-Layton

userstyles.css
File Size:	3 kb
File Type:	css

Download File

Evernote For Windows Phone Updated 1 Day After I Bashed It

Sun, 02 Dec 2012 19:41:30 GMT

A welcome app update popped up on my Windows Phone this morning, conveniently less than 24 hours after I lamented its buggy-ness.

Now I can open it, open a note, tap on edit, and not have it freeze! Well done Evernote. The UI looks a bit more fresh as well.

This is what they say is new in this release:
New in this release:
- New tile layout design for note list
- Redesigned login and registration screens
- New popup tips help users discover the app
- More spacious note editing mode
- Numerous performance improvements including faster startup
- Evernote turns your phone into an extension of your brain.

Go here for more details: Evernote for Windows Phone.

-Layton

I Really, Really Want to Like WindowS Phone

Sat, 01 Dec 2012 19:56:18 GMT

HTC 8X

Let me first make this clear, I love smartphones, categorically, as a whole. My personal device is currently a jailbroken iPhone 4S, but that doesn't mean I am a hater of the other operating systems. The fact that I can do what I can do on a PHONE still blows me away. Android is great. iOS is great. Blackberry, hmmmmm, still gets me on the internet, which is cool. Windows has come a long way, and man, was I excited to play with Windows Phone 8.

So over the last few weeks, I've been granted the chance to get a ton of hands on experience with the new OS on one of the best new Windows Devices, the HTC 8X, and I can say that I remain at the very least hopeful of where this OS will go.

What is great.

The live tiles are neat, if you can find apps to pin to the start screen that you care about updating. If you don't know what a live tile is yet, picture the square icons on a Windows Phone, and then picture them flipping back and forth. The front side shows you the app/tile name, and the back side shows you news or an update.
The people hub is nice. Your contacts stored here, and are arguably better integrated with social networking accounts with Windows Phone than in any of the other OS's out there. You can scroll through their Twitter and Facebook updates without ever having to launch those apps separately.
It's fast. You don't feel like the phone gets bogged down by your commands.
It's beautiful. This is, more than my other comments, the most subjective, but I think the initial draw that Windows Phone has is the lure of the customizable grid icons with big pictures flipping back and forth. There's a ton of contrast, which is appealing to your eyes.
Other things worth mentioning: Microsoft Office keeps your documents' formatting consistent; Xbox Live integration is cool for you gamers out there; Kids Corner is awesome for parents who hand their phones to their children often.
Understandably, these are the features that Microsoft is pushing, so click here to read what they have to say about them.

What is a bummer.
Again, I really, really want to like Windows Phone...to a fault almost. I've ran Launcher 7 on multiple Android phones to get the effect, and maintained some of the different Windows 7/8 Dreamboard themes on my iPhone as well for a time. But here's some of my main, "Awww, comeon!" issues with the device which will almost certainly keep me from making this OS my next personal choice.

App selection. Yep, you've certainly read it elsewhere, but it is certainly still true. I'm not even referring to Instagram. Windows Phone 8 is missing the following apps I used daily on my iPhone: Spotify (available for Windows phones with Mango), Pandora, Flipboard, Pair, Mint, and Schwab. Windows knows this is a weakness, and is surely working on it (but probably will be a case of too little much too late).
App quality. What they do have to offer is often glitchy. I use Evernote a ton, and I consistently have it freeze on me when I go to edit a note. The same can be said for portfolio viewer Wikinvest.
Multitasking experience is poor. You can't force close a background application (assuming it can be ran in the background at all), and it seems awkwardly easy to back all the way out of an application without meaning to and thereby lose your spot. Also, background processes like Music don't clear out, ever. So if you played a tune 3 days ago and stopped, when you toggle the volume up the music controls still appear. This one is so strange that one of the highest rated apps in their limited selection is one called Stop the Music...you just tap the app and it closes that pesky background process!
No notification "center". We've gotten used to having a place that we can see all of our notifications at a glance. This is not the case with Windows Phone. You get one banner that pops down, and if you ignore it, you will only see the number of new notifications for a given app either (A) on the lock screen if you've selected it to show up there, or (B) on a medium to large sized tile on the main screen (if you make it a small tile, or don't have the app placed on the main screen, you'll potentially never know you missed something until you launch that app again by your own initiative).
No orientation lock. This bugs me, because I like to flip through news and whatnot in the morning while still lying in my bed sideways.
Glitchy mobile hotspot. Perhaps my poor experience is due to connecting it with a MacBook Air, but nonetheless...blah.

In summary, my burning flame of excitement for what Windows Phone would become on the latest rendition has waned to become a hopeful flicker that all of the best app developers will suddenly decide to invest in this operating system.

-Layton

Love the 266hd Theme

Sun, 12 Aug 2012 23:00:42 GMT

The 266hd theme for jailbroken iOS devices isn't new, but I'd recommend you let it be "new to you" if you haven't seen it before.

Below are the lock screens (I use the TypoSlabserif font for BytaFont):

I was looking to keep my ultra clean layout, and 266hd was the minimalistic icon package I needed. I use FolderEnhancer to create an App "Drawer" of all of my icons and folders. In addition, I use Folder Icons to use one of the simpler app icons from the package, the Activator icon in this case, to create an icon for the app drawer.

You will also need Custom Grid (5x4), Gridlock, NoDock, and a few other minor tweaks (ask me in the comments if interested) to achieve this layout.

Below is a screenshot of my main screen:

The next screen capture shows the appearance of the App Drawer. I used GrayScaleIcons to bring additional consistency to the theme where custom icons did not exist.

Here's a few more shots of the dialer and notification center.

Again, this theme's been around. But it's worth a hard look if you have managed to miss it along the way.

New Chrome Icon!

Thu, 05 Jul 2012 20:00:43 GMT

Head on down to Cydia and download bacon 8 bits' first theme! Given, it's a single app icon theme, we still think it's pretty special.

The name of it is Chrome Zoom Icon, and you can stick with the default icon (screenshot below) or you can opt to switch to the blue version by changing the icon names around in the directory.

Enjoy! We know we're pretty excited to contribute something to the jailbreak community, even if it's only one little drop in the bucket.

MapQuest for iOS gets a new coat (right before Apple drops their map announcement)

Thu, 07 Jun 2012 23:43:35 GMT

MapQuest, one of the most popular free voice navigation apps or iPhone just got updated to 3.0. Is it just coincidence that Apple's about to get a serious map update in iOS 6.0? I say nay. But that's tomorrow, which means we're still free to enjoy the new shiny of today.

I like MapQuest, as it has never steered me wrong (though some will certainly not share my experience). So go check out the newness, here.