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IntelliScreen Adds Widgets to iPhone's "Slide to Unlock" Screen
Posted by Kevin Purdy at 7:35 AM on May 15, 2008
Add email, calendar updates, RSS feeds, and more to your "Slide to unlock" home screen with IntelliScreen, a free application for jailbroken iPhones and iPod touches. Similar to the widgets of Windows Mobile's "Today" screen, the app lets you order and customise what info, and how much of it, you see on your wake-up screen, including new SMS messages and local weather conditions. Better still, you can bring up that email message or check out that feed item in Safari by swiping over the widget and pressing the button that pops up. The app's makers warn that IntelliScreen has run into restoration-required conflicts with a few other third-party apps, so back up anything you can't afford to wipe clean. Intrigued enough to try unlocking your iPhone/touch? Check out our guide to unlocking with ZiPhone.
Tags: downloads | featured download | iphone | ipod touch | widgets
Comments (AU Comments · US Comments)
Andrew Breese
Posted May 15, 2008 9:32 AM
I like the look of this, however the app does not appear in the list. Perhaps the flood of downloads has killed the source? Hopefully will appear and continue to update. Its a sound idea.
Scott D. Feldstein
Posted 12:48 AM 15/5/08
I don't think it makes much sense to have touchable controls on the unlock screen--that's the whole point of the lock in the first place, so you don't accidentally do something.
Having information displayed on that screen, however, is another matter entirely. Just like the time and date, there's no reason why a user can't choose to have other information displayed, even information that's siphoned off the web.
Nevertheless, this idea isn't compelling enough to jailbreak my phone. I have not yet seen an app or service that tempted me.
Scott D. Feldstein
jfournier
Posted 12:42 AM 15/5/08
It'd be nice to add a camera button to the home screen, so you can get right to the camera app without having to unlock, then go to the home screen, and then start the camera...
jfournier
elrefai
Posted 1:30 AM 15/5/08
@Scott D. Feldstein: you should check fring, twinkle, iFlickr, CameraPro .. also, the many many customizations possible..
elrefai
jch0075
Posted 1:45 AM 15/5/08
@Scott:
Check out SwirlyMMS, Simplify Media, Snapture, Finder, and Vnotes.
There are several apps that try to fill the enormous gap..err CHASM of apps and basic functionality that Apple did not include.
jch0075
Kevin Purdy
Posted 3:00 AM 15/5/08
@Scott D. Feldstein: I should note that you really have to make a definite "swipe" over the exact area of the widget you want to launch from -- I can't imagine doing it from a pocket or inside a bag.
Kevin Purdy
heathenmonkey
Posted 2:33 AM 15/5/08
so many times i've unlocked my iphone screen to check an email that was pointless to read right then. this should have been on the iphone since v1
heathenmonkey
eagleapex
Posted 3:06 AM 15/5/08
I wonder, how many of these Jailbroken apps will be legit SDK apps when it's time for mt to buy an iphone in June?
eagleapex
jchasse
Posted 5:40 AM 15/5/08
I don't understand why there is not a setting to bypass the unlock screen all together. You can set the display to never switch off but there is no setting to disable the unlock screen? Seems like a no brainer simple setup.
jchasse
Sensai
Posted 5:19 AM 15/5/08
I installed it, tried it, and almost immediately uninstalled it.
It's just not customizable enough. There's so little you can do with it.
Sensai
Vonn64
Posted 7:59 AM 15/5/08
@Scott D. Feldstein:
The iphone only recognizes fingers/skin/very little metal.
I'm probably missing something, but i dont think you have excess skin/fingers/rolls of metal in your pockets.
@elrefai:
Fring doesnt work for >1/2 of the poplulation
Vonn64
Tyson0016
Posted 7:47 AM 15/5/08
I love the idea but in it's current beta stage, I'm not willing to risk the problems. I have no desire to restore my iphone over a single app.
Tyson0016
kuroshi
Posted 7:43 AM 15/5/08
I can't even download the thing!
kuroshi
Luke
Posted 3:56 PM 15/5/08
It works great! Fantastic app with huge potential.
Luke
Bob1967
Posted 11:17 PM 15/5/08
I didn't break my iphone for a long while because I was worried about it becoming an expensive brick. I did it and I was happy, now I'm worried that when the apps hit itunes I will be unable to go legit again and I will have a problem and or an expensive paperweight. Am I worrying about nothing?
Bob1967