Change Settings, Launch Apps And Dial Friends Through Notification Center, No Jailbreak Required

There’s a lot to like about iOS 5’s Notification Center, but unfortunately, it’s not nearly as configurable as it could (and perhaps should) be.

If you want to wring more power out of your Notification Center, though, we’ve got good news: there’s a really simple way to turn Notification Center into a quick launch bar for all your favorite settings and contacts. Even better? Unlike many Notification Center tweaks, there’s no jailbreak required.

The app is called App Switcher, and what it does is allow you to quickly and easily launch your favorite tasks right from the Notification Center.

Here’s how it works. All you do is set up a task as a Quick Launch, which allows you to access it by pulling down the Notification Center bar and tapping the appropriate task. For example, you can set up a Quick Task to call your wife, send a text to your brother, turn off Bluetooth, open an app or even load a webpage.

Once you’ve set up your Quick Tasks, they will always show up as notifications in Notification Center, with no limit to the number of quick tasks you can set up.

The result? Notification Center can now function as an infinitely long quick task launcher, helping you supplement the limited space in your iOS dock. Brilliant.

App Switcher is available now from iTunes, and costs just $0.99.

John Brownlee

John Brownlee is a writer for Fast Company, and a contributing writer here at CoM. He has also written for Wired, Playboy, Boing Boing, Popular Mechanics, VentureBeat, and Gizmodo. He lives in Boston with his wife and two parakeets. You can follow him here on Twitter.