With the flurry of third-party applications since iPhone's launch; the real estate on iPhone's home screen has become that much more precious thanks to the 16 applications limitation on iPhone's home screen.
We have seen some iPhone hacks that enable horizontal or vertical scrolling of the home screen which have been popular, but you got to check out this native iPhone application from iPhone Hacking genius NateTrue called "Dock".
I had briefly mentioned Dock when I was writing about AppSnapp, the single-click method to jailbreak the iPhone OS v1.1.1. If you have installed many third-party iPhone applications then you will find this application extremely useful.
In fact when I had reviewed Dock on 31st August, in its first incarnation, it was one of the first native iPhone application and was a program that brought scrolling to the home screen as a workaround to the 16 application limit on iPhone's home screen.
However, it still had one problem, in order to launch any application one had to go the home screen which is exactly what the latest version of the Dock has ingeniously addressed.
Dock v2.06 app was rewritten to be accessible in any application, making it great way to switch between applications (nearly all applications), thus reducing the need to go to the homescreen every time you want to switch to another application.
Please note that the reason I had mentioned nearly all applications was due to the fact that the Dock application doesn't seem to work when the iPod Music, Video or YouTube applications are running so you will not be able to switch between applications when you are using these iPhone applications.
How does it work?
Swipe your finger from the bottom right of the screen toward the center to pull up the starburst menu, you can then navigate through the iPhone apps by sliding your finger over the starburst menu of iPhone apps. As you slide your fingers you will see the icon of "selected app" on the top left corner, releasing the finger results in launching the application.
It needs some getting used to, but once you have figured it out, navigating or switching between iPhone apps or third-party apps is a fun experience.
In addition, Dock also enables you to take screenshots on your iPhone and adds them to your photos. You can access it by selecting the screenshot icon from the starburst menu.
Dock can be installed using the Installer app. The easiest way to install Installer App is to use the single-click method to JailBreak the iPhone OS v1.1.1 which also installs the Installer app. Once the Installer app is installed you will find the Dock program under System category.
You can check the YouTube video below on how Dock works on the iPhone:
I might have been a little late in writing about the updated Dock application, however if you have checked it out before reading this or after don't forget to let me know if you liked "Dock" in the comments.
[via NateTrue's blog]
You might be interested in checking out the Top 5 iPhone Hacks:
- anySIM v1.1 - Free GUI based SIM unlock tool
- Navizon's Virtual GPS
- iPhone Apps to add Custom Ringtones to your iPhone
- SummerBoard enables scrolling of iPhone's home screen
- Activate the Voicemail Button on your Unlocked iPhone
Dock is by far one of the best 3rd party application that has been developed for the iPhone. The only reason I hacked my iPhone is to install Dock. I can't understand why Apple did not do this in the first place.
So the only thing about this > Summerboard is the little scrolling thing in the bottom right? Seems like it would be quicker to just hit the home button and choose your app than scrolling through that menu (seemed like the guy in the vid was having trouble selecting the app he wanted).
Installed this app which I gotta say looks and works really nice, the only thing I have noticed since installing this app is that when viewing photos it now takes ages for the photos to view correctly (stays blurred for ages) and also when adding another page in the browser the buttons that appear bottom right of the page (near the area you touch for the dock app to work) need a more precise touch for them to work as before you could select button with your thumb you need the tip of you finger, Even so, this app will be staying on my iphone as it is AMAZING and I highly recommend it to any one who owns one, great work NateTrue Love it!!!
do u have to have a hacked iphone do do this stuff??? cuz i wanna make my iphone look cool too
This works with 1.1.3 jailbroken, but the screenshots part doesn't.
It's also kind of hard to pull up.
Otherwise, it's Awesome! Great job!
I used to have this but found it difficult to use given a thick case for the iPhone. But now that there's so much apps installed and hidden in folders created via Categories this sure becomes very handy.
how do i install this because it wont let me
i have no idea how to put your own picture in the background. Anyone help.
This application is great ..but it crashed my iphone…
any update to fix bugs ?
this looks great is it now available on app store for iphone 3G
where do i download the dock app. as the installer app does not work fr 1st junly. or if you could give me the url fr where i can download it fr the web
can anyone can make this progrem again that fit to iphone 3.x firmware?!
I think backgrounder ( http://www.ismashphone.com/2008/10/backgrounder.html ) is probably more useful and crashes less.