JailbreakMe.com for iOS4 (and 3.2) devices

The iPhone Dev Team has announced that jailbreakme.com is now live offering a Safari based jailbreak for iOS4 devices, as well as iPads running 3.2.1. Their blog post states the site will jailbreak iPhones, iPod Touches and iPads so it may work with older software versions but details are a little scarce at the moment.

The screenshots above and below show the simple jailbreaking process on my 3.2.1 iPad which now has Cydia installed as well as the marvelous iFile.

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iOS 4 thoughts

An Engadget post yesterday revealed the gold build issued at WWDC works on any compatible iPod/iPhone without the device being registered for development. A quick search of the usual places such things are found turned up the latest beta of iTunes 9.2 required for the restore process, as well as the ipsw packages for the iPhone 3G/S and iPod Touch 2g/3g. Since these are far from official sources everything was scanned for nasties but the clean results meant it wasn’t long before my 3GS was running iOS4.

After a day of playing with the next year’s OS the initial stand out additions are multitasking, folders and the unified Mail inbox. Multitasking, even in the current state of only being fully supported by Apple apps, is a big improvement in speed and ease of use. Opening a link in Mail takes the user straight to Safari but a quick double click of the home button and a tap on the mail icon and you’re back to where you left off in Mail. Folders means an alternative to page after page of app icons, and the unified inbox is such an improvement you just wonder why it wasn’t like this from the start. There are some problems and inconsistencies with the new additions, so read on for more details and screenshots.

Jailbreaking iPhone 3.1.2

With the release of the iPhone Dev Team’s PwnageTool 3.1.4 it is now possible to jailbreak everything but the iPod touch 3rd generation on the Macintosh. Blackra1n for Windows is available to jailbreak any 3.1.2 device including the iPod Touch 3rd generation, so your choice is governed by your platform or device.

I tested PwnageTool 3.1.4 this morning and it worked flawlessly with my 3GS. The previous 3.1.3 version for jailbreaking 3.1 had caused me big problems with the phone being unable to connect to the network after installing the modified ipsw. Luckily I had a version 3.0 ECID SHSH on file with Cydia so it was possible (if convoluted) to restore back to 3.0 and try again. Second time round upgrading to the modified 3.1 worked fine, and I have been unable to figure out what went wrong the first time.

iPod Touch 1st Gen to iPhone 3GS

For the past (almost) two years I have used my iPod Touch every day as a web browser. email client, PDA, eBook reader and even a music and video player. It’s been reliable, flexible and even better once jailbroken. As a computer user who’s experiences started with a one kilobyte ZX81 29 years ago I have never ceased to be amazed at what such a small package could do. Even after all this time I still turn it sideways and wonder how so much power can fit in such a thin case. Just like most of the iPod’s that came before it, the Touch will be remembered as a design classic.

The one thing I have missed all this time was a permanent net connection. The iPhone is an expensive proposition in the UK but I finally succumbed on Tuesday and visited the Apple store at Lakeside Thurrock intent on a 32Gb 3GS. I had initially been contemplating a pay as you go contract for an eye watering £540. This initially sounded a good deal, you put £10 a month credit on the phone and get 500 free minutes. Unfortunately these free minutes are only to other O2 phones and landlines, so it’s not quite as good as it initially sounded.

iPod Touch 1st Gen with V3 software

The new V3 iPhone/iPod software from Apple offers a lot of improvements and additions, unfortunately the amount of these changes decreases the further back the family tree you go. Probably the least blessed by the V3 update is the first generation iPod Touch, the model I use. I’ve been looking through the software I use on my iPod for a couple of days to find what’s new, so here’s a list of the changes you get for your £5.99/$9.99

Search Found to the left of the home screen, this offers similar functionality to the Mac’s Spotlight, searching most of the device’s built in applications. Icons for each application on the left identify where the match is so this is a very fast way of finding what you want. It’s also customisable from Settings>General>Home, as shown below. The home button can be assigned an action, and apps you don’t want to include can be deselected. It’s even possible to drag the apps around to change the order of the search results.

PwnageTool 3 released

Following hot on the heels of Apple’s firmware 3 for iPhone and iPod Touch is the release of PwnageTool 3 to jailbreak some of those devices. Available for Mac only at the moment, this software is capable of jailbreaking the iPhone 2G and first generation iPod Touch, as well as unlocking the iPhone 2G for any network. Support for later devices will follow soon with QuickPwn.

It’s worth mentioning that PwnageTool wiped my iPod Touch when I used it, where upgrading to firmware 3 using iTunes will leave the content on the iPod. This meant a long sync after using PwnageTool to replace all the music/video/photo’s. Not a problem, just remember to sync your iPhone/iPod using iTunes before upgrading to firmware 3 or using PwnageTool to create a custom firmware.

As ever, thanks to the iPhone Dev Team for their continued hard work bringing us the option to jailbreak and unlock our iDevices. Below is a video walkthrough, click on Read the rest of this entry for a screenshot gallery.

iPhone/iPod software 3.0 released

Apple has today released the V3 software for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Available through iTunes as a free (iPhone) or paid (iPod Touch) update, much has been written of the new features so I won’t repeat it here. My own 1st Gen iPod Touch is currently updating so there will be some update screenshots and V3 screengrabs added soon.

Update Not much new in the update process, I’m currently working through the new features to see what works on the iPod Touch 1st gen.

iPhone OS 3 due June 17th

Also just announced at the WWDC, iPhone/iPod Touch OS version 3 will be released on 17th June. As before, this is a free upgrade for iPhone users and a paid ($9.99) upgrade for iPod Touch owners. Most of the changes have been covered in depth before, but include:

• Cut, Copy, Paste and Undo across all apps
• Landscape screen support in key Apple apps
• MMS support for some carriers
• Spotlight search for anything on the iPhone
• Rent/Buy video content through iTunes
• Tethering, share the mobile connection with a computer. Not all carriers are offering this.
• Faster Safari Browser with Autofill
• More than 30 languages supported
• ‘Find my iPhone’ tracking and remote erase through Mobile Me

This update should please a lot of iPhone users complaining the lack of basic functionality, especially when the Palm Pre looks to have got a lot right with its first release.

iPhone/iPod 2.2.1 Update

Apple has released an update for the iPhone and iPod Touch to firmware 2.2.1. This looks to be a bugfix release with no new features, and the iPhone Dev Team has upgraded their QuickPwn and Pwnage tools to handle the new firmware. Read the release notes at the Dev Team Blog before upgrading as their recommendation is to NOT use QuickPwn with a 2.2 iPhone 3G if you want to continue using it unlocked.

iPhone Linux

News broke yesterday that iPhone Dev Team member planetbeing has succeeded in booting a Linux 2.6 kernel on the iPhone. A lot of the required drivers are still not available so this is not a replacement for the iPhone OS, but it is the first step on the path to a working Linux on iPhone or iPod Touch hardware.