The Best Jailbreak iPad Apps And Tweaks (iOS 5.1.1 Edition)

Thanks to the recently released Absinthe tool, pretty much all jailbreaking fans who are owners of shiny iPads have freshly jailbroken devices. What now? You now have access to all the awesome tweaks hosted by Cydia. While most of the apps are specifically designed for iPhones, they do work on iPads as well. However some apps are designed specifically with the larger screen of the iPad in mind, and the best of these are listed below, especially for the convenience of new and inexperienced users and so you don’t have to sift through thousands of tweaks to find the very best. All the tweaks listed are fully compatible with iOS 5.1.1.

Quasar ($9.99):

One of a kind, this app is worth the price tag. A window manager basically, it allows users to launch apps in separate windows, like on a PC. Similar to the windows that we are all accustomed to, these too can be moved around but with a swipe on an iPad. These standalone windows can then be managed individually, maximized to run in full screen mode and rotated. The app makes you feel like you’re using a computer and not a tablet at all. It is up for grabs via Cydia’s BigBoss repository.

SplitMail: (Free)

A tweak from reputed jailbreak dev, Ryan Petrich, this attaches itself to the native Mail app and then allows jailbroken iPads to display the left column of your emails in portrait mode similar to how they are displayed in landscape mode. The split-screen view offered by the stock Mail app of the iPad is pretty good but only there when the device is in landscape orientation. SplitMail offers a preview of each item you select, in the pane towards the right of the screen. It also lists the contents of whatever current folder you have open, to the left and it does all this even in portrait mode. What’s more is that it is available for free in the BigBoss repo.

FullScreen For iPad: ($2.19)

Like the name implies, it offers full screen for iOS native Safari. Alongside that it also offers the ability to swip/gesture/shake to perform user defined tasks. For example, users could make it so that a swipe on the screen switches between tabs. Once installed, preferences can be configured via the Settings app after which you never have to use any buttons in Safari again because you can simply use gestures, if you so choose. This neat tweak can be downloaded via the BigBoss repo in Cydia.

CamSlideshow: (Free)

For easy access to your new iPad’s impressive 5 MP iSight camera right from the lock screen, you need CamSlideshow. All you need to do once you get this tweak is tap the slideshow button.

LockInfo: ($7.99)

This app has a fully functional 14 day trial that can be availed free of charge in case you don’t want to cough up the cash without testing the app first. LockInfo is for people who don’t like to see a giant, empty iPad lockscreen staring back at them. Instead of just the latest notifications users can add widgets to their iPads lockscreen with this app hence enabling messages, mail, reminders, calendar and pretty much everything else to be viewed right from the lockscreen. Apart from all the options in the Settings menu of this tweak, you can also add third party ones to populate your iPad’s screen.

SwipeSelection: (Free)

This recently released tweak makes text editing on an iPad much easier than it normally is. Once downloaded and installed, swiping along the keyboard with one finger moves the cursor. Swiping with two fingers instead makes it move faster. Swiping along Shift highlights text. This combats imprecise and messy cursor manipulation and makes it smooth as a dream instead. The app makes the already close-to-perfect iPad, at least when it comes to note taking and editing, even more so.

Springtomize 2: ($2.99)

Although Apple’s operating system is generally considered easy on the eyes, everybody still likes to customize whatever they have and this tweak is claimed to be all that you need in order to so. The tweak offers thorough customization options, from changing animations, to adding more apps to your dock and Home screen, customizing your lockscreen, resizing icons, tweaking Notification Center, and more. Another good thing about the app is the ease of use. The tweak is available over in the BigBoss repo in your Cydia source list.

Overachiever: (Free)

Almost all games have scoring systems and ‘achievements’ integrated within them. These achievements are meant to be incentives. However, we all know what it’s like to not be able to achieve these at times and just how irritating that can be. There is a way around this though. Overachiever is an extremely handy tweak for any iPad gamer, letting users unlock all Game Center achievements for absolutely any game at all! You can choose what games to use it with. By default, it is toggled off for all games but you can change this setting from within Extensions section of Settings. Unlocking achievements is irreversible.

Zephyr: ($4.99)

This cool tweak by the famous chpwn brings multitasking gestures to the iPad and allows you to, at its most basic, swipe to switch between apps on your iPhone. This is similar to gesture based multitasking found in Meego and BlackBerry Playbook. Without Zephyr, you have to double tap the home button on your iPad to bring up the App Switcher tray. With Zephyr, this need is bypassed – touch the left of your device’s gorgeous display, swipe once and go to whatever app you used previously. Swiping upwards reveals your iPads springboard. An upward flick allows users to navigate to the App Switcher. This tweak is available via the BigBoss repository.

XCon: (Free)

Want to use an app that stubbornly refuses to work on all jailbroken devices? XCon is the tweak for you. It lets you run apps that otherwise won’t run on a jailbroken device, bypassing jailbreak checks. Although very useful this app is not universal and as yet only a few apps can be made to work. These include Bloomberg Anywhere, Cablevision, Cisco M-Learning, DircTV for iPad, Grimm’s Fairy Tales, Time Warner Cable and Verizon On Demand.

DisableLaunch: (Free)

This app really adds to your device’s security and gives you full control over privacy. It also incorporates gestures. You always have your passcode but most users also desire an added layer of security. DisableLaunch allows you to lock all the app icons on your Springboard. Once installed from Cydia’s BigBoss repo, this app gets a new menu in Extensions under Settings. The app is used with Activator (scroll down to read about that), and you can set gestures for it.

Honourable Mentions:

The following are some apps also worth checking out.

RetinaPad: ($2.99)

RetinaPad is another neat little Cydia tweak from Ryan Petrich. What it basically does is, it clears up the picture on fullscreen iPhone apps enough to make it look like an iPad built app. It can not be called perfect but it does sharpen many things that would otherwise seem pixelated. It is particularly useful for when you’re using an iPhone app, scale it up to full screen, but the result is not sharp as you would like it to be as Apple doesn’t have them use maximum resolution settings. It is available via the BigBoss repo. To select which iPhone apps that you are using on your iPad you would want to be more clear, navigate to Settings, select the menu you see for this app, select apps and click start.

iFile: ($4)

You need to/should purchase this app because it provides you with the basic ability to view your device’s root file structure, navigate through your iPhone’s otherwise inaccessible file system and view files of different types and formats (including PDF and ZIP and other basic formats). More advanced users can also use it’s built-in web server to upload and download files. This tweak also allows users to wirelessly transfer files to and from their iPads. A handy app which is updated regularly, author Carsten Heinelt’s iFile is one app which you absolutely need on your device. A free trial is offered, but it needs to be purchased to unlock all its great features. It can be purchased from Cydia.

Activator: (Free)

This tweak is available via the BigBoss repository. Another much used tweak to Ryan Petrich’s name, Activator is a system-wide tweak that lets users set up custom activation gestures and commands for pretty much anything. Certain gesture or button presses activate whatever action a user may require. For instance, a pinch gesture may be used to fire up the music controls. A must-have app, all the more so because it’s absolutely free.

SBSettings: (Free)

Essential for any jailbroken iDevice, SBSettings lets you activate a pop-up by swiping on the screen with easy access to something simple, letting you bypass the need to dig through long menus. The options can be customized, the look can be themed, and there are many more add-ons to be had in Cydia.

Winterboard: (Free)

This tweak hardly needs an introduction. Developed by Saurik of Cydia himself, it can be used to activate themes, apply sound modifications and anything else regarding arty enhancements. It lets you alter the iOS User Interface any way you want and offers a ridiculous amount of customization. Also allows users to create themes. Look for some cool themes on MacThemes.

VLC Media Player:

Removed from the App Store, this useful and popular media player is now only available via Cydia. Everyone is aware of how it works. It allows almost all media formats to be played.

Infinifolders:

If you like your homescreen uncluttered this is the tweak you need. It allows users to add any number of apps to a single folder which is also useful if you like sorting apps such that similar apps are contained in one folder and have a lot of them installed.

InfiniDock:

Similar to Infinifolders in a way, InfiniDock lets you add any number of icons to dock. This makes it especially useful for the iPad owing to its larger screen.