Now that the wait is over and the iPad 2 jailbreak has arrived (you can follow our instructions here), you may be wondering what you want to do to enjoy your tablet’s new freedom. Here are some suggestions to get you started.
All of these tweaks will use the Cydia app store installed during jailbreak. Unless otherwise stated, these apps should only be found by searching on Cydia.
RetinaPad ($2.99)
Skype app on iPad on left, same app using RetinaPad on right
Probably the coolest and most useful jailbreak setting for your iPad is RetinaPad. Have you noticed that when using iPhone-only apps, you scale them to full screen on the iPad and they look like they’re viewed on a Commodore 64? This will (somewhat) fix that.
When iPhone apps are scaled, Apple doesn’t make them use the maximum resolution settings. In other words, they don’t look like an iPhone 4 app has exploded, but rather an iPhone 3GS app.
The RetinaPad isn’t perfect, but it sharpens many things that would normally be pixelated. As you can see in the screenshot above, the numbers and letters in the Skype app are displayed more clearly and in higher resolution.
To use it, simply buy RetinaPad from Cydia and then open your iPad’s settings icon. Scroll down and you will see a menu for RetinaPad. Select the apps you want to activate and then launch the app.
If it doesn’t take effect immediately, you may need to kill the app first by opening the task switcher (double tapping the home button), long-pressing the app’s icon, and hitting the little red line to end it. IT.
FullForce (free)
FullForce serves a very similar purpose to the RetinaPad, although it does it in a very different way. Instead of showing magnified apps more clearly, FullForce tries to convert iPhone apps to iPad apps. It’s hit and miss, and it works surprisingly well on Facebook, Google Voice, and others – but it might not be so good in many other apps as well.
Apps are changed in the iPad’s settings menu in the same way as the RetinaPad.
It’s a good idea to have this with you since it’s free to install from Cydia. You can try and see which works better for each app – this or RetinaPad.
SBSettings (free)
SBSettings is one of those essential jailbreak apps no matter what iDevice you have. SBSettings lets you activate a neat little popup by swiping the status bar to the side, rather than shuffling through a long list of menus to do something simple like turn off your WiFi or adjust the brightness of your screen. Options can be customizable, appearance themed, and there are many more plugins available in Cydia.
Information folders ($0.99)
Do you have folders full of applications? Do you find yourself owning “Games 1”, “Games 2”, “Games 3” due to Apple’s limit on the number of apps in a folder? Infinifolders removes this limit. After purchasing, you can install any folder containing as many apps as you want and scroll down the list to find the one you want.
This tweak is invaluable to the app hoarder in you.
iFile ($4)
One of Apple’s goals is to prevent users from having to fiddle with a computer’s file system. While we love this simplicity, there’s no substitute for accessing the backbone of your device for some tweaking. Enter iFile.
Some of the more advanced settings below will require having iFile. Even if a file system intimidates you, you can always find simple instructions for tweaking through iFile.
To install it, you just need to buy the app from Cydia and open the icon that will be on your home screen.
MobileNotifier (free)
While it doesn’t look as natural on an iPad as it would on a smaller iPhone screen, MobileNotifier is the closest thing to more subtle iOS 5 banner notifications without installing a faulty beta.
When a notification arrives, a small flag will pop up at the top of your screen. You can then tap on it to open or close the appropriate app. It replaces the infamous blue pop-ups that Apple hid from the first iPhone.
To install it you need to add a source in Cydia:
https://phajas.xen.prgmr.com/repo/
Winter skiing (free)
If applying themes is for you, then Winterboard is your answer. This free tweak opens the door for a ridiculous amount of customization.
After installing Winterboard, simply search Cydia for themes. You will be confused about how many customized skins there are. You can then install and activate the Winterboard app. Of course, you’ll probably want to stick with themes designed specifically for the iPad, but playing around with the different skins is a lot of fun. Enjoy.
QTweeter ($3.99)
Who needs a device with a dedicated Facebook button like HTC Status? With QTweeter you can update your Twitter and/or Facebook status from anywhere on your iPad. Set the app to start by swiping the status bar (or various other actions) and a window will pop up allowing you to tell everyone about the crazy thing your cat just did.
PDF Patch Tool 2 (free)
This tweak doesn’t add fun things to do, but it’s an important (and ironic) security tweak recommended after jailbreak.
When you went to the website to jailbreak your iPad 2, your tablet was hacked using a PDF file. Basically, Apple’s code for opening PDF files had some loopholes, and jailbreak developer Comex used it to free your iPad 2.
While Comex is trustworthy, there is a possibility that someone less trusted will eventually use the same exploit to do something naughty to your iPad. This tweak will close that hole and make sure it doesn’t happen.
The irony here is that security is often one of Apple’s arguments for the closed system on mobile devices. But in this case, jailbreak can make your iPad more secure than without jailbreak.
Lock Info ($7.99)
If you want your notifications listed on your lock screen, LockInfo will do just that.
It’s not cheap at $8, but you can try it for two weeks without buying it. The amount of customization here is out of this world. In addition to the most common notifications, plugins are available to add widgets like weather, sports, RSS feeds and much more to your lock screen.
Multitasking Gestures (free tweak)
As you can see in the video above, it’s possible to use gestures to switch between apps and close apps. This tweak will enable this on your iPad.
Here’s how it works: swiping up with four+ fingers brings up the task switcher. Swiping left or right with 4+ fingers switches to the next or last app. Pinch with five fingers closes an app.
To enable it, open iFile (above) and navigate to var/mobile/preferences/ and open com.apple.springboard.plist. It will then give you a few options – choose to open it in the Text Viewer. Select edit now and add the following lines near the bottom:
You can refer to the image below for a good location to add these lines.
After that, reboot your iPad (perhaps using SBSettings?) and enjoy your new gestures.
Did we leave out the cool tweaks? Which ones do you use? Let us know in the comments and we’ll keep adding to the list.
