One step closer to a proper notification system for iPhone OS

With the advent of push notification apps, it become pretty obvious that the iPhone OS notification system SUCKS. Comparing it with the way Android and WebOS elegantly handle notifications, make the iPhone look poor. I mean, obtrusive popups in the middle of the screen? Sounds? Badges?

That´s why GriP (Growl for iPhone) is easily one of my three must have jailbreak apps (the others being SBSettings and Backgrounder/Kirikae). Even on it´s current beta state, its so much better than the normal system.

It gives users much more control over the way information from SMS, email and push notifications is displayed, in a non-obtrusive way. When receiving push notifications, you are able to see all of the messages sent to you, and not just the last one.

The more recent Double Height Statusbar theme, seen above (made by the author of the SMS GriP extension, GauraVK92) , added another type of notification alert, that is similar to what can be seen on the latest versions of the iPhone Facebook app.

However, GriP also introduced a resource that if implemented correctly would bring it closer to the awesome Android notification pane, the Message Log. Problem is, this log is normally buried in Settings.app, something that made its usage a nightmare.

Well, despite the 2 month hiatus seen on project development (c´mon KennyTM, speak to the fans!), the community came to the rescue, namely tom.blum85, that figured a way to creat a SBSettings toggle to quickly access GriP´s message log!
I can tell you, after some days of usage, this is AWESOME. At any given moment, i can now have a clear image of all the SMS, Emails and various Push Notifications apps outputs received in a period. All without missing a single message, without having to flick through pages of apps to find badges, and without having to open every single app to find out what´s new.

Like i said, it´s unfortunate that a project with such huge potential has been apparently suspended by it´s developer. Surely people would give the necessary support, finantial or otherwise, if he asked for it. Also, the delay in releasing GriP officially on Cydia is a shame, because so many people are unaware of such a great jailbreak application. So i ask you, please RT and share this information. Spread the word :)

Ping! - SMS killer for iPhone

From time to time, there´s an iPhone app that ties simplicity with innovation. HeyWay was a great example, and now i found another.

Ping! is a very simple, yet very attractive messaging aplication, that uses Apple´s Push Notification infrastructure to deliver a SMS replacing solution. Effectively, Ping! is great for people wanting to text friends in other networks, or in other countries. It also alows easy sending of texts to multiple recipients. Ping! has all it takes to become hugely popular among iphone users.

If you want to pick it up, get it now while it´s free.

My biggest gripe with it, right now: like the majority of iphone apps, it does not work on wifi networks that are behing proxy servers - i hope this situation is adressed soon.