iPad News & Tablet PC Reviews

On Monday, MuscleNerd announced their successful jailbreak of the iPad and iPhone 3G devices called Spirit.  A jailbreak is a way that developers actually “hack” into the operating system of the iPad tablet pc and remove the protection that forces owners to only go through the App Store for their software.

A device that has a jailbreak applied will then be allowed to have their own software or bootleg songs and software without going through iTunes or Apple’s store.  It also allows a device to be “unlocked” and usable outside of the mandatory AT&T carrier service.

Jailbreaks are nothing new to the iPhone OS, the first version of the OS was cracked within a month.  However, the fact that a new product like the iPad runs on the same operating system as the iPhone made it easier.  In late March, George Hotz claimed to have a jailbreak that would work on the tablet at iPad Launch, but that never materialized or at least has not been promoted as complete.

MuscleNerd, a well reputed iPhone and iPad Jailbreaker produced a video to demonstrate how anyone at home can crack and add software to their iPad.  The iPad runs OS 3.2 and will upgrade to OS 4.0 when that is released for the iPhone.  It is also speculated that the iPad 3G will be vulnerable to this jailbreak.

For average users, there’s no fear that someone else will hack into your phone or iPad unless you give it to them and they actually apply/hack into it, so don’t worry.  But for the higher-end developer users, we’re all aware of how cool it is to actually get to the “root” of your device and muck around in the operating system.

While iPhone users can rely on jailbreaking to unlock their handset for use with unauthorized carriers, the 3G-capable version of the iPad, scheduled to arrive in late April, ships unlocked by default. However, its 3G frequencies are only compatible with AT&T in the U.S.

But the warranty-voiding jailbreak process can also allow users to run software Apple does not allow. Hackers have created their own custom applications that allow features, like multitasking, which not currently permitted within the iPhone OS.

Story by: Neil Hughes | Original Published Date: 4/6/2010
Original Title: iPad 'jailbreak' demoed, compatible with iPhone 3GS, iPod touch
Source: Apple Insider

Filed under: iPad News · Tags: App Store, iPad Jailbreak, iPad Launch