Filed under: iPhone
Caterpillar introduces customization on the iPhone
Many of you have no doubt noticed that there hasn't been much happening over at unsanity since the release of Leopard broke their haxie "Application Enhancers." Well, apparently some of the developers behind unsanity are now banking on the iPhone instead with a new "Mobile Enhancer" technology called Caterpillar.Basically, Caterpillar adds customization options to a jailbroken iPhone. At present the tools include a Smart Dialer, customized wallpaper with calendar, customized SpringBoard backgrounds (the home page) and more. Interestingly, they're planning to offer the package on a subscription model and it will be "constantly growing as [they] add new tools and functionality."
The Caterpillar package is available now by adding their repository to Installer.app on a jailbroken iPhone. The service will run $20 for six months, $35 for 12 months, or $45 a non-expiring license. Of course, you jailbreak your iPhone at your own risk; I have not tested this myself.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Stace said 2:53PM on 2-23-2008
Hmm... no way to try before you buy.
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Fernando said 3:00PM on 2-23-2008
And here I came thinking I'd see a Caterpillar http://www.cat.com/ made iPhone case...
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Sergey Pimenov said 3:02PM on 2-23-2008
its work great on my 1.1.3
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Shawin said 3:05PM on 2-23-2008
"introduces"?
What's that supposed to mean?
Summerboard, Customize and others have been there for really long... Some of Caterpillar's features might be new but that does mean that it's 'introducing customization'.
And I can't see anyone paying a subscription for such minor enhancements.
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Bezman said 3:29PM on 2-23-2008
i installed it on my 1.1.3 and my phone dialer and other apps are not responding, i think there are some permission issues.. trying to fix with ssh before i do a restore...
hater said 3:34PM on 2-23-2008
yeah, spend money on your subscription and once 1.1.4 comes along, you will be without the app you paid for an no response from the "developers". I will never pain another penny to these people. They do not give a damn about their customers, so why should we give them our money?
On top of that a SUBSCRIPTION model for a phone enhancement? thats retarded.
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DenimNYC said 4:30PM on 2-23-2008
"On top of that a SUBSCRIPTION model for a phone enhancement? thats retarded." - agreed! 45$ for 6 minor questionable features? Thats retarded. Full scale apps cost that much, and this is just a hack for iPhone which you have to jailbreak (read: no warranty from Apple) to use. And where are the guarantees that so called "unlimited" subscription will last for long? As far as I know the developers are Russians and I wouldn't trust them much. It looks like they are just trying to get some cash (rip you off) before the SDK is released and all sorts of cheap enhancements and apps are out. Sounds like a scam to me, I'll pass and wouldn't recommend you to buy that crap.
Galley said 3:39PM on 2-23-2008
Awesome icon!
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Slevin said 3:39PM on 2-23-2008
While some of the features are cool like the privacy and reminder features I don't want to jail break my iPhone and risk not being able to upgrade to the next firmware version
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Bezman said 3:44PM on 2-23-2008
anyone else having problems with this on 1.1.3, after install i get no apps, i can SSH in, but as I launch any app, i get NO response form the screen/app.. the dirs apps, mobile and root all have full permissions....
hmmmm
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ramond said 4:29PM on 2-23-2008
I'll wait for the free version. As the earlier poster said, theres no mention of guarantee that they will work on it for future firmwares, or if no one signs up it'll just be abandoned and you've lost your money.
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Christian said 4:35PM on 2-23-2008
Seriously, does anybody actually use Unsanity's crapware? They're the chop shop of the Mac world, where perfectly good computers and the best operating system on the market go to have people put crappy aluminum spoilers, ugly mag wheels, and random kanji stickers put on. Now they're offering to rice up your iPhone too?
By the way, there's a reason APE is broken under Leopard: Is was crappy, gosh-awful code that barely worked to begin with. Under a polished, refined, and more secure Leopard, it collapsed under its own hackiness.
If you give that company a dollar of your money, you're crazy.
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blinkcowz182 said 5:15PM on 2-23-2008
Great analogies! It's like putting a fart pipe on your Mac!
Todd Sieling said 4:58PM on 2-23-2008
Does anyone else feel it's a gray zone to be offering a product for sale that requires you to break the license agreement of another product? I'm not saying if it's right or wrong, just that I wonder how it falls out in the law.
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ina said 5:05PM on 2-23-2008
It's a very nice programm. Christian...you are short of cash...that's all.
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Big John said 5:51PM on 2-23-2008
Yikes. I don't even jailbreak my iPod touch and I know this is a gigantic ripoff. Guess they had to come up with something after toying around in the kernel got them a pretty bad reputation.
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robhim said 7:34PM on 2-23-2008
man i wish someone would make the privacy part a free app...
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BabyGotMac said 10:58PM on 2-23-2008
Where is the connection to Unsanity? Aren't they a US company based out of Arizona? I don't see a common link between them and this other company...at least nothing a cursory glance would reveal.
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Kai Cherry said 12:05PM on 2-24-2008
Unsanity connection? RipDev is a Slava Karpenko company :)
Virtuous said 12:50AM on 2-24-2008
Sounds like Caterpillar's business model is "take the money and run"! If they're honest they ought to join the BBB Online.
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