I wanted to keep a record in EverNote about my basic jailbreak install so that the next time I screwed up the phone and had to restore**, I could pull up my list and reinstall the apps I wanted again. Cydia allows for search and this is often the fastest way to get favorite components back on the phone. However, as I thought more about the list, I realized it would be more useful to share here in the hopes that others could use it as a guide and add their own discoveries. Frankly, there still aren’t many people willing to hack their phones. Perhaps seeing the usefulness of stretching the capabilities via this list will get some folks over the ‘fear factor’.

Remember, if you have a solid backup of the phone, you can’t hurt anything by trying. You can always go back to iTunes and restore the phone to the way it was prior to JailBreak.

**Things I’ve learned: Beware of Stacks 2.1, Don’t take the Phone app out of the home dock if you are running Categories, Don’t run Categories (too much hassle, creates instability)**

Apps and UI tweaks available after jailbreak of 3GS.

Essential Upgrades

• WinterBoard, SBSettings – Both of these applications should be the first apps installed after jailbreak (after Cydia recommended upgrades). Without getting into geektails, Winterboard allows you to ‘theme’ the phone. SBSettings allows you to control many of the basic functions of the phone without having to go digging thru the Settings app. Turning bluetooth, wifi, 3G on & off is much easier and quite addictive w/SBS.

Applications

• Qik – Video stream application, somewhat muted by the new OS 3.0 release that includes video for some iPhones (3Gs). Qik enables video for earlier iPhones.
• MxTube – Download YouTube videos straight to the device.
• QTweeter – Post to Twitter & Facebook from any application with one touch. Really cool little application.
• MIVTones for 3.0 – This allows you to set up Video RingTones for pre-assigned contacts. Good way to Rick-Roll people without them knowing….
• iBlackList – Creates a whitelist/blacklist so you can filter calls, SMS from groups or specific contacts
• ScreenSplitter – Allows you to post iPhone video right to computer screen. Screencasts?
• Offline Maps – For those times when you find yourself in the middle of nowhere in New Mexico….Offline Maps
• Moon Phase – Figure out whats up with the moon. Wax on?

Functionality Enhancements

• SpotBright: Add two functions to Spotlight ala famous QuickGold app that ran on 2.2 & earlier jailbreaks. Adds mobile spotlight access to hidden apps & memorizes last 5 apps launched for quick access. Very handy tweak.
• VolumeBoost: Upgrades volume of iPhone to max levels available.
• Emoji: Unlocks Emoji icons from Japanese Keyboard
• AppFlow: A really nice coverflow browser. I’m using this on my homepage as another launcher. Erica Sadun made this about a year ago. I think there is another project now that incorporates this technology. Haven’t investigated yet.
• Klear Weather: Presents a skin over the weather icon that pushes current weather information. Adds ability to publish temp to status bar.
• SnapTunes, SnapCameraRoll: Allows for secondary camera rolls & syncing w/two iTunes libraries.

Visual enhancements

• Sphere Battery, Blue Calc, Blue Tap, Glossy Dialer, BlueBox Cydia
• Paradox, Stormy Black, Modern Simple: These are SBSettings themes that allow you to change the look and feel of SBS.
• Reflective Dock, Fifth Column, Five Icon Dock: Jazz up your home screen & fit up to 25 icons per page.

Untested Downloads

• ABGrouper: Allows for group creation, deletion, management in the Contacts application.
• iConference: Conference calling functionality. Requires sign-up w/3rd party.