I’ve found another jailbreak gem! As I’ve mentioned in a previous post, I’m relatively new to the iPhone jailbreaking world, and am constantly hearing about or finding new jailbreak apps that are just amazing.
This time, it’s a little app called Tlert. Tlert ties in with the existing Messages app to provide a less intrusive texting experience, even while in the middle of using another app.
With the built-in Messages app, when you receive a text message, a pop-up appears with a preview of the text. You either have to close the alert to continue with what you were doing, or if you decide to reply to the message, your current app is closed out and the Messages app launched, taking another 5-10 seconds.
Tlert functions the way SMS on the iPhone should. When you receive a new text message, regardless of what app you’re in, rather than a large alert message covering the screen, a small iChat-like message bubble (with customizable colors and font-size) will slide out from the left side of the screen for a few seconds.
If you decide you want to respond, just tap the chat bubble, and another one will slide out from the right side of the screen ready for you to type into, and a keyboard will slide up from the bottom. Type whatever response you desire, and then tap Send. Both chat bubbles slide away, and your text message is sent in the background while you resume interacting with your app.
All this occurs without closing out your app. In fact, you can even continue to interact with your app behind the chat bubbles. I was able to scroll and tap on buttons in Twitterrific while pondering what to say in a reply text.
If you decide not to reply, either just wait a moment, or tap a small red close orb (like closing a window on a Mac) and the chat bubble slides out of the way, and Tlert places a notification icon (a chat bubble with an exclamation point) in the status bar next to the battery meter.
Because Tlert is simply an interface, and not a replacement, for the built-in Messages app, all your sent and received texts are still stored in the Messages app and can be accessed any time. If you do ignore a Tlert alert by tapping the red close orb, you can still access the text message by just opening the iPhone Messages app like normal.
Tlert is smart enough to realize when you are viewing a conversation in the Messages app, and receive a reply; it won’t display the Tlert chat bubbles if the current conversation is open.
You can also rotate the screen and Tlert will rotate to a landscape keyboard for easier typing (though for some reason, I’m actually more proficient on the regular keyboard than the wider version…go figure). And if you hold down on the Tlert message bubble for one second, it will call the person back.
It always seems like I receive a text message while I’m right in the middle of doing something else on my iPhone. But since text messages are usually responded to immediately, I end up closing out of whatever I was doing to take care of the message. Then I have to re-launch the app I was in, and try to remember where I was or what I was doing. Or I would simply close out the alert, and then later forget about the text and not respond.
Tlert makes the process of responding to text messages in real-time as streamlined as possible. Tlert is a very small, lightweight app, and so doesn’t slow down the iPhone or the normal Messages app at all. I’ve found the app to be very stable, and have not experienced a crash or other issue with it as of yet (knock on wood).
Tlert can be downloaded from the Rock installer, or via Cydia in the Rock Your Phone repository. It usually retails for $7.99, but is on sale for only $4.99 for an undetermined time. There is also a one-week preview period, so you can try it out and see if it works for you.
Continue reading:
- Everything New Apple Just Announced (Septembe
- Apple Watch Pre-Order
- Apple Research Kit launches with 5 Apps
- Apple TV now only $69
TAGS: Productivity, sms, text message, Texting
