In parts one and two of our series on ways to improve how you use your iPhone, we discussed jailbreaking and outlined numerous cases that can also add functionality to your device. To wrap up our series, we'll take a brief look at a few specialized apps and accessories.
The Mutator to mute everything
One nifty gadget is the Mutator, which is an accessory that fits into the iPhone's headphone jack and effectively mutes all sounds emanating from your device. Time Magazine's Doug Aamoth detailed this new accessory, noting that the mute switch located on the side of your iPhone doesn't actually completely mute the device.
“What if I told you that inserting a pair of headphones into your iPhone's headphone jack and then cutting off the earbuds would actually mute almost all of the sounds to come out of your iPhone?” Aamoth wrote. “And then what if I told you that instead of carrying around a janky, snipped pair of headphones all day, you could use something far more elegant? The Mutator aims to be that far more elegant something.”
Aamoth explained that the Mutator is a pyramid-shaped nub that users can keep plugged into the headphone jack at all times. Muting all sounds is a simple as twisting it in one direct, and unmuting simply requires a twist in the reverse direction.
Laboratory accessory to perform scientific research
Looking to change the world through scientific research? Well, one new accessory and accompanying app allows you to carry a laboratory around with you wherever you go. TechNewsDaily contributor Elizabeth Palermo recently reported that the cradle tool and app were developed by researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign to provide field researchers with a portable biosensing tool.
“This iPhone-enabled device could be used in pop-up clinics, waste management sites, refugee camps and anywhere else the mobile testing of biological materials such as blood is necessary,” Palermo wrote. She later explained, “The wedge-shaped cradle keeps the iPhone's camera aligned with a series of lenses and filaments, which are used to measure light. And at the heart of the device's biosensing capabilities is a simple microscope slide coated with a photonic material, which reflects only one wavelength of light and allows the rest of the spectrum to pass through the slide.”
These unique gadgets can help you better use your iPhone, whether providing integral medical services to others or simply more effectively muting your device so that its notifications stop annoying everyone in the room with you. And remember, should your iPhone become damaged at all, iResQ's iPhone repair services can fix it back up in no time.