Cydia tweaks: Customize iOS notifications and multitask using the volume keys

9to5 Staff | May 5 2011 - 7:38 am PT

Everybody knows that the iOS notification system is way overdue for a much-needed refresh. It needs to be rethought from the ground up, if fan-made concepts are an indication. In the meantime, you can customize the look and feel of of the boring blue iOS notification alert using AlertArtist, a tweak for jailbroken devices available on the Cydia store.

The program lets you customize a number of elements, such as typeface and the color of border, font and shadow. Or, you can quickly switch between one of the pre-installed templates. If you’ve been on the lookout for the ultimate multitasking tweak for your jailbroken device, look no further than Physwitch (video below)…

Physwitch, another handy Cydia tweak seen in the below video, lets you easily switch between running apps by hitting the volume up and down keys. You can set the app to activate, say, when you hit both buttons simultaneously. This lets you use the volume keys to both multitask and control the volume.

Although Apple is known to pull apps that mess with the iPhone’s hardware buttons, we’d love to see them bake a better way of multitasking into future iOS updates. Physwitch is a two bucks download and AlertArtist costs 99 cents. Both programs are found inside the BigBoss repository.