The following 5 Cydia Apps can be used on either an iPhone or an iPod Touch (I am currently running the 3.1.2 OS on my iPhone). Luckily, I happen to have an iPhone 3G and Eric just happens to have an iPod Touch 2G. After careful consideration and a few debates, we narrowed down the Cydia apps on both devices to the 5 we just couldn’t live without.

Please note that you must first jailbreak your iPhone or iPod Touch to gain access to Cydia apps.

1. iBlacklist (iPhone only) – is actually the main reason I ended up jailbreaking my iPhone. Some spammer had gotten a hold of my phone number and was sending me chain mail text messages and picture messages. After searching and searching for a simple solution I ended up deciding that iBlacklist was the best option (apparently AT&T will block numbers for $5 a month). iBlacklist allows you to block numbers from calling, texting, or picture messaging you. The app you download from Cydia allows you to block 5 different numbers before asking for a small contribution (so 5 numbers for free as opposed to AT&T’s $5 a month). This app has done exactly what I needed it to do and not one piece of spam has gotten through.

2. Lock Calendar – displays your calendar events for a set time period on your lock screen. I still don’t understand why Apple doesn’t do this by default. Having to open up the calendar app just to view the days events is just annoying. Having them displayed on the lock screen utilizes the free space that’s already there and I don’t even have to unlock my phone to know that I’m already late for class. To access the options for this app, simply go to your Settings app and scroll down to the Lock Calendar section. You can completely customize the number of events shown, number of weeks ahead it will look at, as well as the font style and color for the events.

The picture on the left shows you how Lock Calendar looks on the lock screen.

The picture in the middle shows you where the settings are located for Lock Calendar (simply click the ’settings’ app and you should see Lock Calendar down there.

The picture on the right shows Lock Calendars settings. I would definitely recommend making the ‘Max Interval’ two weeks.

3. Categories – allows you to categorize all your apps using folders. Want to keep all your games in one place? and all your Cydia apps in one place? Categories  allows you to create a folder  on one of your 9 available home screens and then allows you to put apps within that folder.  When you add an app to a category, it will no longer show up on the home screen, but instead in the category of your choosing.  Eric was able to reduce his number of home screens from 6 to 3.  The ‘Search’ feature (left most home screen) will find apps placed in categories, not just those on your home screens.  Of course the category name and icon is completely customizable.  In fact there are hundreds of icons you can use to ensure it fits with your theme.

The picture on the left shows the settings page for the Categories app.

The picture in the middle shows a few of the possible folder icons you can set for each of your Categories.

The picture on the right shows the apps placed in a ‘Social’ category. Basically there is a folder on one of the home screens named ‘Social’ and when clicked this is what opens.

4. WinterBoard -  allows you to personalize your iPhone in more ways than Steve Jobs wants you to. Do you like that black background screen? What about those app icons? WinterBoard lets you change the home screen background and designate a theme (of your choosing). Luckily Cydia keeps quite a number of themes you can try out.

The picture on the left is one of my home screens. I have used the WinterBoard app to change my background to show wood shelves.

The picture on the right is one of Eric’s home screens. He has installed a theme and changed his background.

5. AptBackup – allows you to easily backup all the Cydia apps in your collection. You no longer have to worry about losing all your Cydia apps when updating your iPhone or iPod Touch. This app is quite simple: just open the app and press ‘Backup’. The app creates a list of your Cydia apps and stores it with other settings and files that iTunes backs up when you do a backup within iTunes. If you were to need to restore for some reason, just restore from your iTunes backup file and then install AptBackup again through Cydia and click ‘Restore’. Note – you should only click ‘Restore’ after performing a restore in iTunes.  Clicking ‘Restore’ when not needed can cause unexpected results (as Eric learned when showing me this app).

This picture shows you the extent of AptBackup. However simple this app is, the time you save by not having to download each individual app again is the reason I have it on my iPhone.

So, what Cydia apps can’t you live without?