Tips

Google released version 2.0 of its Maps application for iOS earlier this month. One feature that was not mentioned in the official change log is the ability to cache maps. In fact, this capability is hidden and requires a special trick to activate. Performing this one simple step will automatically pre-load the current map into your local cache, making it viewable offline.

This means if you suddenly lose your data connection the map is still available. To save a map to your iOS device, just zoom into the area you want to download then type "Ok maps" without the quotes into the Search box, then hit Search. If successful, Google maps will provide a pop-up box noting that the on-screen map area has been cached.

Looking to save videos from the Vine app to the iOS Camera Roll? Now thanks to the jailbreak tweak VineDownloader the process is simple. Once installed, VineDownloader will add an option to Settings making it possible to switch on and off the tweak. Enable the tweak to get started and make sure the official Vine app is installed.

Normally, when viewing a Vine video the ellipsis (...) in the lower right corner brings up options to Share or Report a post. With VineDownloader on your device, an additional option "Save video" is added to the menu. Simply tap the Save video button to download the video to your Camera Roll. When saving a video for the first time, Vine will ask for access to the Camera Roll.

Passcode unlock modifications for iOS are nothing new. Examples such as PatternUnlock and Stride provide entirely new ways to unlock the iPhone. Now with Control Unlocker a virtual NES-looking video game controller brings the passcode unlock back in time.

Even though there are no Select or Start buttons, combinations using the A and B buttons along with the D-pad can be used to lock and unlock. In its current iteration, Control Unlocker is mostly for fun. If a stock passcode is enabled, unlocking will involve entering the game pad combo followed immediately by the actual passcode.

There are many options when it comes to customizing the iPhone lock screen. Many of these jailbreak tweaks add app launchers and toggles directly to the iOS lock screen, speeding up access. Now BuddyLock joins the fray, with highly customizable theme settings, side view widgets and a built-in launcher for apps. In fact, the tweak even makes it possible to put a folder for additional app icons in the launcher.

Besides a switch to enable or disable BuddyLock, the Settings area includes sections for Theming, Lockscreen Apps, Folder and Extras. Five apps can be added to the lock screen launcher, or four apps and a folder. If the folder option is set up, four additional apps can be accessed using the folder, making a total of eight apps accessible directly from the launcher.

The stock iOS Clock app has several useful features, including alarms, a timer, world clock and stopwatch. The stopwatch function is great for clocking lap times, but there aren't any options to save these numbers once collected. Now thanks to the jailbreak tweak Stopwatch Pro, the iOS clock can be even more useful.

There are no settings to configure once Stopwatch Pro is downloaded and installed via Cydia. The tweak simply adds a Save button to the stopwatch, making it possible to save a time or a series of laps before resetting and losing the information. All of the saved times can be labeled in different sections to keep track of events and group related measurements.