Offline Maps on 2.0

First a bit of background. Offline maps have been available for some time, basically you can add a pre-downloaded area to your iPhones cache, and then view these maps even when you are unable to get reception. To make these maps you will need GMDL.  In 1.1.4, and now 2.0, apps would take your cache and overwrite the iphones cache. This meant making a copy of the whole cache which essentially doubles the size of your pre-downloaded maps and takes a long time. There is a better method in many respects, and this is what I want to talk about. The method uses symlinks, which are similar to shortcuts in windows. Basically you keep the cache in your phone, and then make a symlink which essentially tells the phone to look at the custom cache instead of the original one. This takes just a second and doesnt take up any more space once done. You will need a your map cachethat you got from GMDL, name it something like MapTiles.sqlitedb.nyc or MapTiles.sqlitedb.lon. Download something like DiskAid and copy that map too

/private/var/mobile/Library/Caches/

Then delete anything else in that folder. Now you need to instal Mobile Terminal, you will find this in Cydia, instal it and restart your phone just to be safe. Open MobileTerminal and type these commands, please note it is really easy to get these wrong, so go carefully.

cd /private/var/mobile/Library/Caches/MapTiles/

Press enter, then type

ln -s MapTiles.sqlitedbnyc MapTiles.sqlitedb

Note that the first letter is small cap L. And remember the spaces. Also change the nyc in that last command to the name of your file.

Go to your Maps app and you will notice that new areas load faster. If you are experienceing difficulties you can check out this thread at Hackint0sh, or leave questions here. If your map stops working then just repeat the MobileTerminal commands again.

Thanks to volkspost for this method!

iPhone Voip Client

So I’m going to break my own rules and post a story about a non homebrew/jailbreak app, but I have to. iCall is what a lot of people have been waiting for. Many of us expected Skype to offer an application on the first day of the AppStore, but we are all still waiting! Oh well, the clever kids over at iCall are in beta testing for their app. Its not available to all of us yet, I will try and get my hands on a beta version but dont hold your breath. Here are a couple of things mentioned in their FAQ

 

Q: Is iCall really free?
A: Yes! There is no cost or hidden charge to use iCall to make or receive phone calls.

Q: Which phone calls are free?
A: All phone calls that you make to the USA and Canada are completely free, all calls that you receive are completely free regardless of where the caller is located. As well, all calls between iCall users are free.

 

So there you have it, pop over to the site here

Catagories for iPhone 2.0

After much beta testing the much loved Catagories is coming to iPhone 2.0 firmware. Over at sleepers.net the message came through that Catagories will be appearing on their Cydia repo soon. As with all new software that changes the iPhone’s system, backup backup backup.

Wiki2Touch on 2.0

Tom Haukap’s Wiki2Touch application brought the joy of wikipedia offline to many of us. A 2.0 version has been much anticipated, and he has finally confirmed that one is coming, he just needs to iron out a few bugs. Keep posted at his blog on http://haukap.net/