Tips

Facebook has begun rolling out its free voice call service to U.S. iPhone users. The free voice calling feature was originally tested in Canada, but now iPhone users in the U.S. with the Facebook Messenger app can also use the service.

To make a free voice call from the Facebook Messenger app, just tap the "i" icon in the top right hand corner while viewing a chat with the person you want to call. You will be taken to the "Contact Info" screen that now features the "Free Call" option. The calls can only be made over a Wi-Fi connection, so don't expect to use it while on the road.

One of the fun benefits of jailbreaking has been the ability to change the boring carrier logo in your status bar. Now non-jailbreakers can join the party by downloading a new Mac application called CarrierEditor. The app, created by developers Kevin Lo and Daniel Levi, allows iPhone owners to easily customize their devices by swapping out the carrier logo for other fun logos or pictures of their choice.

To change your carrier logo, download the Mac application CarrierLogo and select the "Lets Get Started" option once it's installed. It will then ask you for your Carrier Version Number. To find your version go to Settings >> General >> About, and scroll down until you see your Carrier Version Number. After you enter your Carrier Number, hit "Next" and select your device and carrier (not all carriers are supported) from the drop boxes on the next page. You can then go to the next screen and customize your logo by dragging a photo into the available boxes. Next open iTunes and hold down the alt/option key and select "Restore iPhone". Open the new carrier file CarrierEditor placed on your desktop and wait for iTunes to update. Finally, reboot your iPhone and your new icon should appear.

Now that Google Maps for iOS has arrived, developers have started working on tweaks to make the app even better for those with jailbroken iPhones. We recently looked at MapsOpener, which makes Google Maps the default mapping application, circumventing Apple's stock maps app entirely. Now you can improve Google Maps by enabling a secret topography mode.

The Google Maps sidebar has several options, including Traffic, Public transit and Satellite modes. For some reason, Google decided to disable Topography mode when it launched Google Maps for iOS. Luckily, the only thing you need to activate the topographic maps on your jailbroken iPhone is a tweak by developer Ryan Petrich.

Many Apple Maps users breathed a sigh of relief when Google finally launched their own stand-alone Google Maps app for iOS. The problem is that even with Google Maps installed, iOS 6 will always default to the stock maps application when a link is clicked or other navigational features are needed. It's no surprise that developer HASHBANG Productions has released a solution for jailbroken devices.

The Cydia tweak is called MapsOpener, and once installed the tweak will open all maps links accessed within a browser in Google Maps instead of the Apple version. iOS currently has no built-in settings that allow the user to choose which apps they prefer to use as a default. This leaves iPhone owners using stock apps for several functions where other alternatives are available.

Sharing photos from your iOS device over email is great, until you run into the built-in limitation that prevents selecting over 5 photos. This means that if you have a large number of photos to send via email, the iPhone will force you to send them in several emails with 5 attachments each.

Thanks to developer Mohamed Alaoui Mrani, iOS users can download Instamail Photos from the App Store and send unlimited photos in one message. The app is currently on sale, priced at $0.99 for a limited time. Of course, you can't go sending too many photos in a single email, because most service providers limit the size of email messages.