PhoneGap Lets Web Apps Access Native App Features

With the incredible popularity of the App Store, the once blooming genre of iPhone web applications seem to have mostly been reduced to a few mobile versions of popular websites. While some pretty cool tools have since shown up for web apps, none have revitalized them. Now a group of developers is trying to breathe life into the dying art with the PhoneGap framework that offers access to new parts of the iPhone’s API.

One of the biggest complaints before App Store times was that web apps couldn’t access the same kinds of things, but PhoneGap closes the gap (no pun intended) between what native applications and what their web-based counterparts can access.

The PhoneGap framework is an Objective-C open source development tool that runs on the device and acts as a bridge between the iPhone and the web. Using PhoneGap, web apps get JavaScript access to a number of popular native features like spring board icons, background processing, push, geo location, camera, local sqlLite access and accelerometers, all through the web browser.

It works by waiting for specific JavaScript calls to come and then translates it into a command the iPhone can act on. It essentially allows a developer to wrap a web app in a native app to access native features.

Search 1.0 Adds Search Functionality To Jailbroken iPhones

The launch of the App Store eliminated a large part of the need for jailbreaking your iPhone or iPod touch, but a few good reasons still remain. Here’s a new one that was released recently. It’s called Search 1.0 for iPhone, and it’s available to jailbroken phones through Cydia.

As the name implies, Search 1.0 lets you search your iPhone’s Mail, SMS, Notes and Contacts. When you find a result and open it, search terms are highlighted in yellow. Those of you who have been waiting for a Spotlight-equivalent for the iPhone may want to give it a look.