Cydia is a big name when it comes to iPhones. Some say it is what makes Apple’s iPhone and other iOS devices as open as possible, letting people install apps from a wide range of providers. Some say it is a hack for the iPhone which lets you customize the phone according to your needs. Some say many other things about Cydia. What is Cydia? What is Cydia used for? These are some of the things that we answer here.
So what is Cydia Actually?
Cydia is much like the Installer.app for iPhone. If you have used the Installer before, or tried to configure it, you’d be somewhat familiar with Cydia too. Cydia is a third-party, independent installer for your iPhone. Much like the Apple’s iTunes App Store, Cydia brings you bucket loads of applications to download for free or for money. It is a giant repository collection – which offers apps from various community sources across the web right to your iPhone so you get much more options to choose from.
Cydia is almost your App Store – with the only exception being, it can run only on Jailbroken iPhones.
Cydia is almost your App Store – with the only exception being, it can run only on Jailbroken iPhones.
How is Cydia Different?
Apple’s iTunes App store is limiting in many aspects. In fact, many hardcore iPhone enthusiasts would find it hard to find the right kind of an app they are looking for. This is the case with many other people too who need some specific type of an app but are not able to find it on the App Store.Even though the App Store boasts of a whopping 400,000+ apps, sometimes you might not find the one you are looking for exactly. Or the one you found costs you quite a lot of money and you are not ready to shell out that much. Alternative? Cydia for iPhone or other iDevices like the iPod, iPad etc.With Cydia installed on your jailbroken iPhone, you get even more Cydia apps than you can access from App Store. Most of these are free, or dirt cheap, so you can get them right away easily through Cydia. Cydia collects all the repositories from the community sites and provides you with yet another whopping list of applications to download.
Cydia and Jailbreak – What is Cydia for iPhone?
To install and run Cydia, one needs a jailbroken iPhone. Many people refuse to install Cydia for this very reason. A jailbroken iPhone is nothing new of course. It is just a process where you grant the iPhone far more access than what is usually available through Apple.
But what is the need to jailbreak? Actually, many apps on Cydia do not conform to the Apple’s Terms and Conditions for App developers. This has made Apple not to let you install Cydia on the iPhone or other devices. This is the reason why one needs to jailbreak an iPhone before installing and being able to run Cydia.
Once installed, Cydia gives you access to something very similar to the iTunes App Store. From here, you can search, download and customize applications as you wish. But, one must remember that it can all be done only on a jailbroken iPhone. There are quite a lot of softwares like RedSnow to jailbreak iPhone without much ado.
But what is the need to jailbreak? Actually, many apps on Cydia do not conform to the Apple’s Terms and Conditions for App developers. This has made Apple not to let you install Cydia on the iPhone or other devices. This is the reason why one needs to jailbreak an iPhone before installing and being able to run Cydia.
Once installed, Cydia gives you access to something very similar to the iTunes App Store. From here, you can search, download and customize applications as you wish. But, one must remember that it can all be done only on a jailbroken iPhone. There are quite a lot of softwares like RedSnow to jailbreak iPhone without much ado.
The Cydia Advantage
What exactly does having Cydia on your iPhone mean? To begin with, the number of apps you get access to shoots up instantly. For instance, on the Apple’s iTunes App Store, you have about four-hundred thousand apps to date. On Cydia’s resources, you’d have much more which keeps on increasing. This means, you get more resources – so much more chances of finding the right app you want.
Most of the apps on Cydia’s store are free downloads. These work to customize your iPhone the way you want, or come as games, applications for productivity, improving the interface of the iPhone or changing the way your iPhone interacts. Not only this, several more serious applications are also available on Cydia’s resources.
For instance, downloading files directly to the iPhone or iPod is not allowed, but you can use Cydia to do that. Syncing over Wi-Fi, creating your own ringtones etc. are some of the things you can do with Cydia. These are otherwise not possible because Apple has restrictions on them.
One of the coolest things about Cydia is that you can easily add many community repositories. Unlike the iTunes App Store – where all the apps are stored at a single place – Cydia is like a middle-man working to connect you and the resource directory where the apps are found. Cydia’s greatest advantage is that it is as open as it can be. Most of the jailbreaking softwares that come today give you an option to install and include Cydia automatically. People very often prefer this.
What exactly does having Cydia on your iPhone mean? To begin with, the number of apps you get access to shoots up instantly. For instance, on the Apple’s iTunes App Store, you have about four-hundred thousand apps to date. On Cydia’s resources, you’d have much more which keeps on increasing. This means, you get more resources – so much more chances of finding the right app you want.
Most of the apps on Cydia’s store are free downloads. These work to customize your iPhone the way you want, or come as games, applications for productivity, improving the interface of the iPhone or changing the way your iPhone interacts. Not only this, several more serious applications are also available on Cydia’s resources.
For instance, downloading files directly to the iPhone or iPod is not allowed, but you can use Cydia to do that. Syncing over Wi-Fi, creating your own ringtones etc. are some of the things you can do with Cydia. These are otherwise not possible because Apple has restrictions on them.
One of the coolest things about Cydia is that you can easily add many community repositories. Unlike the iTunes App Store – where all the apps are stored at a single place – Cydia is like a middle-man working to connect you and the resource directory where the apps are found. Cydia’s greatest advantage is that it is as open as it can be. Most of the jailbreaking softwares that come today give you an option to install and include Cydia automatically. People very often prefer this.
Cydia and Safety
The concern about Cydia and the apps downloaded from it rests on the safety of the app and its usage. Cydia does not vet or monitor the apps it lets through. Apple has very strict and efficient quality control. Many apps are rejected on Apple’s iTunes App Store because they do not conform to the terms or the set standards. However, on Cydia, that is not the case. Almost every app gets through. This increases the chance of malicious apps getting through too.
One must remember that Apple does not support Cydia, or the apps installed through it. In such cases where your iPhone’s down because of an app downloaded from Cydia, you won’t get Apple’s support.
The concern about Cydia and the apps downloaded from it rests on the safety of the app and its usage. Cydia does not vet or monitor the apps it lets through. Apple has very strict and efficient quality control. Many apps are rejected on Apple’s iTunes App Store because they do not conform to the terms or the set standards. However, on Cydia, that is not the case. Almost every app gets through. This increases the chance of malicious apps getting through too.
One must remember that Apple does not support Cydia, or the apps installed through it. In such cases where your iPhone’s down because of an app downloaded from Cydia, you won’t get Apple’s support.
Payments on Cydia
On the iTunes App Store, you can use your iTunes account to pay for the apps that you have downloaded. But what about Cydia? You can’t use your iTunes account here. Instead, you are given the option of Paypal, credit card or even Amazon payments. Payments on Cydia are very safe as the security concern is quite emphasized on the payment processing sites.
So now that you know what is cydia used for and what is Cydia for iPhone, what’s your say? Is it a better option to use Cydia on a jailbroken iPhone – to get a lot of features unlocked on the iPhone – or is it better to just stay in the safe zone and stick to a limited number of iTunes App Store apps?
The only risk with Cydia is that you jailbreak the phone and you are responsible for the apps you download. The benefit however is that you open a whole new world of apps for your iPhone which can be used to tweak the phone, it’s behavior and much more features in many ways.
[Via @iPhoneStuff4U]
On the iTunes App Store, you can use your iTunes account to pay for the apps that you have downloaded. But what about Cydia? You can’t use your iTunes account here. Instead, you are given the option of Paypal, credit card or even Amazon payments. Payments on Cydia are very safe as the security concern is quite emphasized on the payment processing sites.
So now that you know what is cydia used for and what is Cydia for iPhone, what’s your say? Is it a better option to use Cydia on a jailbroken iPhone – to get a lot of features unlocked on the iPhone – or is it better to just stay in the safe zone and stick to a limited number of iTunes App Store apps?
The only risk with Cydia is that you jailbreak the phone and you are responsible for the apps you download. The benefit however is that you open a whole new world of apps for your iPhone which can be used to tweak the phone, it’s behavior and much more features in many ways.
[Via @iPhoneStuff4U]
