[Review] LocationReminders - Set Reminders Via Location On Other Devices

[Anthony Bouchard]

The Reminders application that shipped with iOS 5 is a powerful tool for reminding yourself to do things. You can type something in and include a time, or if you don't want to use a time, you can use a location. Wherever you are. Or can you? Well, on certain devices you can. The problem with Reminders for iOS 5 is that only iDevices with region monitoring support can take advantage of location-based reminders. The only devices with support for region monitoring are the iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPad 3G model and iPad 2 3G model. The iPod touch and the Wi-Fi-only iPads do not support location-based reminders because they do not have region monitoring. The location-based reminders are also disabled on the iPhone 3GS and all iPads.



As you can see from the image above, if you attempt to set a reminder in the Reminders application with an iPhone 4/iPhone 4S beside an iPod touch 4G, the iPod touch will not enable you to set the reminder via location, but the iPhone will. This is the case with the iPhone 3GS, iPad 3G model, and iPad 2 3G model as well. A new tweak that has arrived in Cydia today called LocationReminders by iOS developer joedj attempts to enable the location-based reminders on the iPhone 3GS, iPad 3G model, and iPad 2 3G model. It will not enable location-based reminders on the iPod touch, or any Wi-Fi iPads because none of those devices support region monitoring.

Location-based reminders are useful because if you set a reminder that will remind you to do something as soon as you leave a location, you will be notified as soon as you step out of its boundaries. This is what the region monitoring does. If you don't have that, then the iDevice would never know when you leave a location to give you an alert for your reminder. This is why if you have a device that supports region monitoring but the location-based reminders have been disabled by Apple, then you're missing out on your iDevice's full spectrum of functionality possibilities.

Installing this tweak means that you can set location-based reminders on GPS devices that Apple has kept the feature disabled on. It is free in Cydia from the BigBoss repo. The developer states that this tweak has no effect on devices that already support location-based reminders like the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S. It has no options to configure and no icons are added to the home screen. LocationReminders is an open source jailbreak tweak and the source code can be viewed from this link. I definitely recommend this tweak to people who want more functionality out of their fully capable device.

Name: LocationReminders
Price: FREE
Version: 1.0-1
Repo: BigBoss
Developer: joedj
Editor's Rating:  4/5

Are you going to enable location-based reminders on your iDevice? Share in the comments.

Sources: Cydia

[emeritus]

Recommended if you want to drain your batteries in record time

[big poops]

it activates as soon as you LEAVE a location... but what about if you just ENTER a location??

[Anthony Bouchard]

Recommended if you want to drain your batteries in record time

No; it only functions while you have a standing reminder. Once it completes, location services go back to standby mode.

[Wudstock]

I can't install on my 3GS iPhone. I get "Cannot Comply, NOTE: The requested modifications cannot be applied due to required dependencies or conflicts that cannot be automatically found or fixed." Under dependencies it says: "gsc.gyroscope". So what's up with that?

[cartophenia]

I can't install on my 3GS iPhone. I get "Cannot Comply, NOTE: The requested modifications cannot be applied due to required dependencies or conflicts that cannot be automatically found or fixed." Under dependencies it says: "gsc.gyroscope". So what's up with that?

Yup, same thing is happening on my 3GS. The 3GS doesn't have a gyroscope, which must be the cause of this error... but why are location reminders dependent on a gyro?

[casrenski]

i'm curious - is the problem 3gs (inc mine) with 6.15.00 firmware (which has other gps issues)?

[cartophenia]

No, it's happening to my 3GS on 05.13.04

[Wudstock]

Same here, only I have firmware 05.16.05

[wap980]

The requested modifications cannot be applied due to required dependencies or conflicts that cannot be automatically found or fixed."