Jailbreaking is awesome, but it can be a little daunting to find out what to do, or which apps do what. The following is a list of our top 15 favourite apps organized by category, showing you which apps unlock neat powers like native email alerts, enable wi-fi tethering, and which apps sound like corn dogs. We’ve also added the version numbers and price (when applicable) so that future readers can tell how relevant the post may or may not be for them.
A “user beware” disclaimer does apply, since the app recommendations came from different members of the JAiB team and won’t necessarily work in tandem. However, if that doesn’t daunt you, and you’re looking for some apps to check out as a new or returning jailbreak user, onwards click!
Utilities
SBSettings 3.0.5
Category: Utilities
Patrick Says: The absolute first – always – jailbreak app that gets put back on my iPhones after a new jailbreak / restore etc. It’s becoming a bit of a Swiss Army Knife in terms of its functions, but the killer one is still the ability to have instant one-swipe access to a set of On/Off toggles for many critical (and battery draining) services – WiFi, 3G, Bluetooth, SSH etc. Just a brilliant, essential app.
ScreenSplittr 1.1.0-18
Category: Utilities
Patrick Says: Lets you share our iPhone screen – and display everything that happens on it – to your Mac. When combined with other free desktop apps, lets you create nice app demos.
Backgrounder svn.r295
Category: Utilities
Josh says: allows any app to run in background, works perfectly with Kirikae.
Thomas says: I tried this out with a couple of those gmail browser apps (iGmail, Push Gmail) but in the end it just killed all of my battery and I gave the whole thing up altogether. If you’re using it in a car or some place where your iPhone is constantly charging, however, you’ll likely have a much better experience.
Notifier 3.1-1
Category: Utilities
Thomas says: I still haven’t unlocked the full potential of Notifier because it does require some things that I’m not sure how to do yet (transferring files into folders on the iPhone). However, Notifier does work very nicely right off the bat to provide you icons in the status bar for things like missed calls and unread messages. It can also throw alerts onto your lock screen, as well as set repeating reminders for things that can sometimes be hard to notice on an iPhone (read: calendar alerts!). Best of all is the fact that Notifier takes up next to no battery, in my experience, so it’s just something you might as well install 
Messaging
iRealQuickSMS 1.0.3.1 ($6.99)
Category: Messaging
Thomas Says: I’m still undecided as to whether I’ll keep Tlert or iRealQuickSMS, but right now the latter is kicking some serious ass — especially when it comes to taking names 
. Unlike Tlert, which only lets you reply to incoming, iRealQuickSMS lets you map the volume or Home button to launch a quick compose window. From there you can select a contact from your Phone Favourites or type in a name and then call or text the person. All without ever leaving the app you were in — well, unless you make a call.
Tlert 1.05.1 ($4.99)
Category: Messaging
Josh says: view and respond to text messages from within any app via iChat-like chat bubbles
Thomas says: If Tlert could just figure out a way for me to quick compose text messages, I’d be a lot more excited about it. However, I do like how I can see SMS conversations as opposed to just one message at a time.
Elert 0.96.1 ($0.99)
Category: Messaging
Josh says: Email pop-ups (like the ones from Outlook) that show from and subject fields. One tap on the envelope icon triggers a bigger preview.
Networking
MyWi 3.2.4 ($9.99)
Category: Networking
Thomas Says: Works as of iPhone firmware 3.1.2. Apple added Bluetooth and USB tethering, but what about Wi-Fi? MyWi adds all three capabilities to your iPhone and even shows a live data counter to show you how much of your precious bandwidth you’ve used in a session. The app is absolutely incredible because the wi-fi network can support up to four other users, bringing new life to your 6GB Rogers plan or “unlimited” data plan — you provide the internets, your friends pay for the caffeine, and this app will pay for itself in no time.
OpenSSH 5.2p1-8
Category: Networking, Essentials
Patrick Says: The leading SSH (secure shell) app, and the one that works with apps like SBSettings for easy toggling on and off without a need to mess with a command line. SSH is of course one of the easiest and most popular methods for accessing the file system on the iPhone (from your PC) and transferring files back and forth.
Springboard Enhancements
mQuickDo
mQuickDo 1.4 ($7.99)
Category: Springboard enhancements
Patrick says: Again, an app that has many functions (e.g. serves as virtual home and power button) but, for me, a single one that makes it an essential – fast and easy app-switching. Lets you choose a simple swipe action (short or long slides across its action bar, or up and down) which will pull up icons for your five favorite designated apps, and let you switch to any of them via one tap from that bar. If I had to pick a single reason for being jailbroken it would be the ability to do fast app-switching, as provided (primarily) by mQuickDo.
Weather Icon 2.2.6
Category: Springboard Enhancements
Thomas says: i reviewed this app just a few days ago, and it’s still as awesome now as it was then. It shows you the current weather right on Springboard, adapts to almost any weather application, and even lets you set the refresh interval.
Kirikae
Kirikae svn.r86
Category: Springboard enhancements
Patrick Says: Another clever app-switching app. I prefer mQuickDo’s method of invoking itself (via swipe actions) over Kirikae’s use of a double-tap of the home button; but Kirikae allows you to add more apps as Favorites for one-tap access once you call it up. I’m happy using both of them for the time being.
PogoPlank
PogoPlank 1.1-3 ($1.99)
Category: Springboard replacement
Patrick says: My new BFF on the iPhone. Currently lets me run my 160 apps with just one home screen. Replaces the need for multiple home screens with its ‘wheel of folders’ concept. It takes a while (if you have a lot of apps) to get folders created and organized as you like, but once that’s done I find this a much more intelligent and effective way to manage and access all of my apps.
Thomas says: I bought the app an was upset that no corn dogs came with the purchase. After I got over that I was then disappointed by the response and feel of the wheel. I’ll be waiting for the next update to try this interface out again.
Universal Search 1.08-1 ($4.99)
Category: Springboard Enhancement
Thomas Says: Patrick originally covered this one a few months ago and got me really excited about it. I’ve always thought that Spotlight on the iPhone was a cool idea, but it always felt just too limited to be of any use to me. However, with Uni Search installed I can now initiate Google searches, address lookups, and quickly check local movie listings all from Springboard. If they’d just add a quick dial feature for when I type out a contact name, it’d be perfect!
Theming
themed by Winterboard
Winterboard 0.9.2993-1
Category: Theming
Patrick Says: I’ve never quite grown to like it as much as I did its predecessor, Summerboard – but even so, for most of us, theming is one of the first things we do when we jailbreak. And it’s an area we pay almost constant attention to, varying our wallpapers and themes, hunting for icons, and so on.
To start off, I’d suggest “Mac Wallpapers”, a great collection of 24 Apple & Mac inspired wallpapers. Many of them are abstract and striking, and very good for use with PogoPlank.
Thomas says: I might re-install Winterboard again later on, but for now I’m fine with Bosspapers. I’m still trying to work out what kind of battery life hit I take from theming alongside the other programs I run, and skinning is really the most unnecessary part of the jailbreak experience.
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I really think Ispell should be 100% on this list. It’s the first thing I get when I restore and jailbreak.
hey Gabe,
took a quick peek at Inspell and intend to try it soon, but didn't have time to test it and most of the other apps had multiple suggestions when we tossed names around. It does look interesting, though — esp. since I often write post drafts in evernote and that app has a habit of kicking my typing's ass.
Inspell should be on the list. Don't know how many times I've responded to my boss on my iPhone and made a Jack ass out of my self do to spelling mistakes. The is a MUST have app
I'm liking Orbit so far, but I think Categories with the new CategoriesSB springboard extension should be on this list as well.. Grouping folders with instant access to them is a better solution, and makes Orbit obsolete. Check it out
agreed, I never liked categories, but now with CategoriesSB, it works pretty darn well. Its kinda like stacks now, but with unlimited icons.
If you want to stop using it, does it still require you to take all the apps out of categories to make them show back up on home screens?
Yeah, i think it does. Doesn't bother me tough
Oh – no go for me then.
LockCalendar could also be in the list.
I've used LockCalendar off and on during my stints with JB from 3.0, 3.1, and now 3.1.2, and have loved it – with one exception. Every time I install it, the number of MobileSubstrate crashes increase significantly. If I remove LockCalendar, crashes cease. For this reason, I've given up on this otherwise excellent app.
I'm wondering what I'm doing wrong: I successfully have jailbroken with blackra1n (new territory for me). And my wxperience with Cydia is beginning with SBSettings… but I don't know how to access it. I've read the directions (tap with two fingers on the carrier icon & battery) but have had no luck. I've even reinstalled twice. I hate being the dense person who's missing the obvious… but what the heck am I missing?
Have you tried the default launching action for it, the quick swipe down from the very top right corner of the screen?
Hard reboot did the trick: whew! Now I'm looking to see what other fun things I can try! THANKS!
Cool, glad to hear it
Intelliscreen should be #1 on this list
Intelliscreen is a notorious battery drain and can be replaced easily by LockInfo and others which are much more stable and less memory intensive.
Anyone know what theme is in the winterboard pic? Looks like a goodie.
that would be G.O.C Pro which I'll be covering soon enough on hte site. It's a paid $1.99 theme. It's pretty cool, but I find some parts of it overkill.
Love PogoPlank and Backgrounder. I'll have to give Notifier a shot. Tried Elert, but it caused me to have pretty major instability. Maybe I'll give it a shot again after the next update.
Have you tried out mQuickDo or Kirikae for app-switching those backgrounded apps?
Great list guys. Just wanted to add one on there. Lockinfo! I love it. Gives you access to all of your calender events, missed sms, calls, new emails, rss and weather in collapsing tabs on your lockscreen. Worth checking out if you haven't.
You guys pretty much nailed this list though!
Found some good info in this article, it put me on to Universal Search and MyWi.
Some of the other ones that I find invaluable:
Action Menu – extra callout options including pasteboard for quickly entering text like email addresses.
FivelRows – five row springboard which works great with the small icons in the illumine theme.
Multi Icon Mover – makes organising your springboard pages 10x faster.
iMobileCinema – safari plugin to watch embedded videos
Just installed Multi Icon Mover! Thanks for pointing that out, Wow that is handy.
imobilecinema…totally checking that out next. Thanks for the tip!
Thanks for sharing these. I'm keen to take a look at Multi Icon Mover and possibly others.
Neat help here…
Great list guys …. trying some new stuff … thanks to this list …
Thanks John – hope the new stuff works well for you.
I'll make a note to fix that.
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