Yet another alternative (after Icy & Kryptes) of Cydia has been released. Hopefully this one wont be as big as a flop as the others where in trying to take Cydia’s throne as the most popular packaging distributors.

Screenshots:

There is no estimated time of release and some the project may actually have been dropped by the developer but it is not confirmed.

You can try out the latest beta of the program from the following repo:

apt.podulo.us

I have always had the Rock.app program on my iPhone as I am a big users of RockYourPhone’s Intelliscreen application but up until now, I haven’t really had a good look at it.

But after using it for a day, checking out all the different features, I’m starting to think that maybe Rock is actually better than Cydia. Here’s why.

We all hate the fact that Cydia keeps ‘Reloading Data’. It takes forever and is always doing. It’s a huge hasle and time waster. Rock on the other hand does not have this problem at all. Rock is smooth, fast and has many more features than Cydia does.

The great thing about Rock is that it uses the same sources as Cydia ie any sources added through Cydia will also be added onto the Rock app. This means you can get all the same apps, plus more, with Rock. What I mean by ‘plus more’ is that you can also access all the apps created by the RockYourPhone team (the team that created the Rock app) such as Intelliscreen and MyWii.

However my favorite feature is reviews and ratings. Users can write  a short review (much like in the AppStore) about every app and can also add a 5-star rating if they wish. Because of these reviews, it then has a Most Popular and Highest rated pages as well which is helpful as well.

But Remember….

…these are not the only two apps available for you to use. There is also Kryptes and Icy. Iptolage123 from iPodTouchFans has put together some pros and cons of all the different ones that are available:

Cydia-
Pros-
-More Stable than the other two
-Works better with the apt sources
Cons-
-Slower than others
-Constantly reloading data
-One bad source and you have to restore
-Doesn’t have a good back up sytem

Icy-
Pros-
-Alot cleaner and faster than Cydia but nowhere near Rock
Cons-
-Can’t have Icy at the same time as Cydia
-Not stable at all

Rock-
Pros-
-Quicker
-The Back-up system
-Mutiple downloads at once
-The option to soft reset at exit not after you install the package
-As many packages as cydia uses same sources
-Cool UI

Cons-
-Less Stable than Cydia
-Backup has put multiple idevices in ifinte loop
-Can’t install SOME paid 3rd party apps
-Reportably installs bogus adware
-Alot of the time it is hard to add a repo

Kryptes
Pros-
Alrite UI
-Don’t HAVE to actually install it (but you can)

Cons-
-Not many stuff yet
-Mainly ringotnes mixed in with themes

All I’m saying is that you should go out and see what else is available. Most people will never have used anything but Cydia and I would strongly recommend to try out Rock (and the others) and see if you like it better (I do). So, what do you use?

Kryptes an alternate application for Cydia , Icy and Installer has been announced by sleepers.net.

The App is in Sleepers’ repository (search for Sleepers in Cydia to add it). It doesn’t support Cydia and Installer sources unlike Icy. The app loads up very fast and looks very clean. But I would prefer to just use Icy because this app doesn’t support Cydia and Installer sources which means it has few apps than Cydia and Installer. But give it a try.

You can download it from Cydia. Just press search and type Kryptes.

Screenshots:

Here is a question and answer about the new app:

Q: Are you trying to compete with Cydia and Installer?
A: No, we have tried to reach out to both of the developers for each one of these handlers several times. We have been continually shot down when we asked if we could become a default repository/source. IT was as if we did not exist, when we feel we have given much to the community.

Q: So why did you produce a Application, when there are already 2 prominent applications that exist that are similiar to Kryptes?
A: We have over 600 developers in our repository, we felt to give them the most exposure in the Community we were left with no choice, but to build our own Package Handler. If we would have been accepted as a default repository with the other Package Handlers the build of Kryptes would not have happened.

Q: Are you going to stop supporting Cydia and Installer?
A: Absolutely not! We have no intention to not allow users that continue to use these applications to stop gaining access to the repository.

Q: I own a repository, can I add it to the Kryptes source?
A: Yes you can! We actually welcome you to distribute your packages through Kryptes. Simply download the package, go to Community, click add my Repo and fill out the form.

Q: If I am added will I be a default repository in Kryptes?
A: YES!!!! All repositories that are accepted will be a default source, we will treat all repo owners the same,  without the nonsense of jumping through hoops to give your developers the best possible experience. This goes back to our earlier statement as to why we built Kryptes in the first place!

Q: Once my repository is accepted do I have to make any changes to the format of my Depiction and Screen Shot pages?
A: You will have to make some changes, but again we built this with the Community in mind. If you have a Cydia repository you are 95% of the way there. We do have a few calls that we have to do do get the package downloads counts to work and the rating system, but other then that it is a pretty cut and dry operation. Each repository will have a one on one email thread to get you up and running.

Q: Will you provide me support if I run into issues?
A: Repository owners will have a one on one email thread that we will work through together on any issues that may arise. Users will be able to go to our support ticketing system to report any bugs or feature requests. Again this is the first release and there will be many upgrades to come. We have a few exciting build outs, partnerships, and features that are going to be released in the coming weeks.

Q: Are you going to control the quality of the repositories that decide to join?
A: We feel quality is a opinion that is deserving of the eyes of the beholder. Again the Jailbreak Community is one of wheich, we believe should be open. We will try to implement controls to help cut down possible duplicate packages, but this will be in the future releases.

What do you guys think? Will you download it?