A pair of iPhone developers have released a framework for creating iPhone settings as open source code; PocketMac meanwhile has launched a new smartphone data recovery service.

Edovia and FutureTap, developers of several iPhone and iPod touch apps, have announced that the InAppSettingsKit framework is being released as open-source. The framework lets developers implement a settings menu in their own applications, instead of placing options in the system Settings app. Alternately programmers can use a hybrid option, which places settings options in both locations. The code has been released under the liberal BDS license, allowing it to be included in both free and paid apps. All the creators are said to be asking for is credit.

RecoveryMySmartphone offers to recover data from damaged phones

A new service that recovers data from damaged smartphones has been launched by PocketMac. RecoverMySmartphone offers support for more than 500 makes and models of phone. The company says it has spent several years documenting how phones work, allowing them to now support devices such as BlackBerries, iPhones and gear from Palm and Sony Ericsson.

People must ship their phones to the RecoverMySmartphone lab, and as long as a device powers up, any existing data will be recovered. Devices and data should be returned to a customer within five to seven business days, or as fast as possible with an extra fee of $50. Recovery fees start at $200, or $250 for cloning data to a new phone.