Thanks to some hard work from a team lead by Comex, the iPhone Dev Team have released, what could possibly be, the easiest and most ingenious jailbreak for any iPhone or iPod touch running iOS4 (apart from the iOS4.1 beta). JailbreakMe.com is as simple as it sounds. Go to the site in Mobile Safari and ‘slide to jailbreak’, sit back and watch the magic, no PC or Mac needed. Cloud utility at it’s finest here folks. It’ll work for your brand new iPhone 4 along with the 3GS, 3G and iPod touch 3rd/2nd gen, but not an iPad running iOS 3.2.1 currently.

Of course jailbreaking your iDevice comes with a few caveats. It is apparently legal in the US, but will still void your warranty. Especially on the iPhone 4, there are features that are in the process of being made stable under jailbreak like FaceTime and MMS (does anyone still actually use those?), which Comex assures us is now stable according to Engadget. We recommend making a good backup before you attempt this, because you never know you might need to restore your device. And yes there is a lot of talk about ‘bricking’ your device. I want to re-iterate here what I’ve said before, it is very difficult to actually brick your iDevice. A DFU restore will sort almost anything that revolves around jailbreaking, so don’t worry, if you have a full backup the only thing you’re likely to lose is time. As of writing JailBreakMe.com is up and holding steady, but large volumes of traffic meant that it was up and down through the night, so if you don’t see it at first try again later.

Now, whether you actually want to jailbreak your iPhone 4 is another matter, since the major onus for jailbreaking – multitasking, has been implemented in some manner with iOS4. Whilst carrier unlock is not possible with this jailbreak method, you’ll have to wait for redsn0w for iPhone 4 for that, if you’re after apps that only Cydia can provide, SBSettings for instance or PDAnet, then go fourth and jailbreak dear readers!

JailBreakMe.com

[Comex, MuscleNerd]

Got an iPhone 3G, 3GS or iPod touch 2/3G? Want in on the iOS4 action right now, but you’re not a developer? Well you’re in luck! Apple’s latest iOS4 release, the Golden Master (GM), doesn’t require a developer account to activate and is ‘freely’ available for download if you know where to look. [Update: The iOS4 update that Apple released on Monday 21st is freely available and can be jailbroken using this method]

But what is the GM? Don’t I have to wait till Apple releases iOS4 on June 21st? As you already know, iOS4 has been in the works for some time now, released to developers in beta form so they could perfect their apps ahead of time, ready for the release of the new iOS. The GM is the final step in the beta process, and essentially what Apple is denoting with that moniker is that iOS4 is feature complete. It’s the same thing for instance, when a Microsoft desktop OS is said to have gone gold, or RTM, which stands for Release to Manufacturing; it’s ready for printing onto DVDs. So the GM of iOS4 is what you’re going to get if you wait until the 21st of June like everyone else, bar any unforeseen killer bugs that haven’t been ironed out in the beta process (highly unlikely).

So what do you get from iOS4 and why would you want to update? Well on the 3GS you get all the trimmings, multitasking (of some sort), home screen wallpapers, folders, Game Center (only available in the GM not the public iOS4 release), the works. On the iPhone 3G you get basically everything but multitasking and home screen wallpaper. Perhaps for a 3G user then, the emphasis to update is not as great, because let’s be honest it’s all about the home screen wallpapers right?

Well, hold your horses iPhone 3Gers. You too can get in on the funky wallpapering action, and enable multitasking, all with a simple text edit. But for that you’ll need to jailbreak iOS4 on your device, which is both possible and easy, right now.

There are two small snags before you jump the gun. This jailbreak is only available for the iPhone 3G currently, but if you’re just after a stock update to iOS4 you’re good to go with an iPhone 3GS and iPod touch. The second small snag is that you’ll need iTunes 9.2 beta to sync iOS4, which is currently only available on Mac. So for all you PC users, I’m afraid you’re going to be left out in the cold until a windows version of iTunes 9.2 comes along. now available on all platforms ready for iOS4. iTunes 9.2 is now available for both Mac and Windows, so if you’re not using Linux, you should be good to go.

OK, I’m on-board, what do I need? Read On

Those with an iPhone know that one of it’s greatest strengths is also one of it’s greatest weaknesses. I’m talking about the lack of multi-tasking. How is that a strength you ask? Well it’s down to Apple being single-minded and preventing all but only a few select apps from running in the background that the iPhone is still one of the fastest and most responsive phone experiences you can get, despite being knocked off the top spot by the likes of the Nexus One with it’s 1GHz snapdragon processor. It’s rumoured that Apple will update the iPhone 3G/3GS with some sort of multi-tasking at Wednesday’s event in San Francisco, but whether Apple enables true multi-tasking that fits the bill is yet to be seen. Besides, why wait when you can have true background-multitasking right now? Read On

Another week in Tech has come and gone but what have we got to show for it? Well we’ve got the launch of the worlds first driverless taxis at London’s Heathrow Airport. We’ve talked about the tiny little automated pods that transport you from the business car park into Terminal 5 in only five minutes before, but now, if you happen to live in or around London, you too can go have a play in them. Pity they’re not in central London, maybe they would be a cheaper and safer alternative to the dodgy mini cabs on the way home from a night out.

Read On

F-secure have announced that they’re tracking a rather dangerous new variant of the iPhone worm. Unlike the rickrolling, rather friendly, self propagating worm called ikee that attacked jailbroken iPhones with default passwords, the latest worm derivative is targeted at online banking users. The worm redirects calls to ING Direct’s banking portal to a look-alike site which in turn asks for your login details. Unwitting customers then input their details which are of course logged by the nefarious characters behind this latest attack.

At the moment the worm only targets iPhones in the Netherlands but F-secure has reported that the worm has the potential to act as a botnet. Needless to say, those who jailbreak their iPhones should definitely change the default root password, which can be quickly and easily done using the free Mobile Terminal available from Cydia, especially if you have SSH installed. At the moment, the worm is geographically isolated to Holland, but there’s no guarantee it’ll stay that way, so do yourself a favour and lockup your iPhones.

You’re the proud owner of an Original or iPhone 3G, but you just can’t help but ogle your mates 3GS ever since he got it. With it’s fancy new compass, voice recognition and video recording, your Original/3G is starting to look a bit tired. Problem is, you’ve got at least another couple of months on your contract left and the networks are charging extortionate amounts for early upgrade. You could try buying a PAYG iPhone 3GS and sell your old and busted iPhone taking the hit on the difference, but that’s probably just as much as the early termination/upgrade fee O2/AT&T wants from you. So for the time being you’re stuck with an iPhone 3G.

OK, it’s not like that’s the end of the world, it’s still an incredibly capable device, plays some great games and can use almost all the apps that the 3GS can. But what about those features that set the 3GS apart? Well with a few apps and tweaks you too can get your 3G to do almost all of the new tricks the 3GS has and give your old trusty an extra burst of life. Read On

The iPhone Dev-Team have just unleashed their latest update to the custom firmware creation tool for Pwnage Tool 3.1.4. It’s now compatible with iPhone 3.1.2 and supports iPhone 2G/3G/3Gs as well as iPod touch 1G/2G but unfortunately not 3G for all you lucky enough to have the newest touch in your claws. Pwnage Tool is however Mac only and that’s the way it’s going to stay according to the Dev Team, but for all those on Windows boxes there’s always Blackra1n or a mate to help you out.

From the team:

SUMMARY:

The iPhone 3GS is now supported out of the box in PwnageTool 3.1.4 (or if you have upgraded to 3.1.x in iTunes)

The iPod 2G is still supported in PwnageTool 3.1.4 but you must already be jailbroken (we’ll update this if there’s a big demand from non-jailbroken ipt2G owners)

The iPod touch 3G is NOT supported

DETAILS:

GOLDEN RULE: If you are using a iPhone 3G or iPhone 3G(S) with ultrasn0w and rely on ultrasn0w to obtain cellular service then you should only update your device with an .ipsw that is made with the new PwnageTool. There are no second chances with this. You need to remember that PwnageTool will provide an upgrade path to newer versions of the iPhone software in the future.

Please read all parts of this post before downloading and using these tools.

Read items 1, 2 and 3 again and again.

At the bottom of this post are the bittorrent files for the 3.1.4 capable version of PwnageTool.

PwnageTool will work for the iPhone 3GS

PwnageTool will work for the iPod touch 2G

PwnageTool WILL work for Original iPhone (1st Generation), the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3G(S) and the iPod touch (1st Generation and 2nd Generation) but NOT the iPod touch 3rd generation.

For 3G and 3G(S) users who are Pwned, PwnageTool is your key to updating in the future, just remember to never install an update directly from Apple, always use an .ipsw that has been created with PwnageTool.

There is no Windows version of PwnageTool it is a Mac OS X tool only, we are not developing a Windows version of PwnageTool.

So what are you waiting for? Head on over to the iPhone Dev-Team and go get your jailbreak/updating on.

The iPhone Dev Team is reporting that the SMS patch 3.0.1 didn’t change anything other than fix the SMS vulnerability and therefore a jailbreak in similar fashion to 3.0 is possible. An updated redsn0w will be available soon but in the mean time for those wanting to update and jailbreak should update to 3.0.1 and then run redsn0w 0.8. When it asks which IPSW to point at select 3.0 (not 3.0.1) and it will work fine leaving you with a jailbroken 3.0.1 all fixed up against those nasty haxors.

You can re-use redsn0w v0.8 we released a few weeks ago to jailbreak today’s 3.0.1 update. Just let iTunes update or restore you to official 3.0.1 then run redsn0w. The only “trick” is that when redsn0w asks you to identify the IPSW used, point it at the 3.0 IPSW instead of the 3.0.1 one. After the jailbreak, reinstall ultrasn0w 0.9 if you need the unlock.

I can confirm that the jailbreak works fine so all those holding off it’s all gravy.

[iPhone Dev Team]

So as well all know, Apple squashed the official Google voice app for the iPhone and removed GV Mobile, a 3rd party GV app from the App Store, probably due to pressure from the networks (here’s looking at you AT&T). Google said that they’ll look into creating a web app similar to the also blocked Google Latitude, Sean Kovacs however, the developer of GV Mobile, decided to jump ship and go around Apple to release GV Mobile for free on Cydia. Now available to all with a jailbroken iPhone, the app behaves identically to the App Store app and Sean has indicated that he’s going to continue to develop the app for Cydia.

So people who are sitting on the fence, another reason to jailbreak and pretty much due to the networks and not Apple. Thanks AT&T, you let us have it if you’re on a blackberry, Android handset or pretty much any other smartphone but you just hate your iPhone users enough to stop them.

Lots of sites have been buzzing about the news that Spotify has submitted an app to Apple for approval for release in the App Store. Most are reporting that this is the first Spotify app for the iPhone and while it may be the first submitted to the App Store, it’s certainly not the first Spotify app on the iPhone. That crown goes to Spot, an open source spotify client for iPhone/iPod touch available in Cydia and has been since 12th July (publicly). Spot seemingly functions in a very similar fashion to the reports of the just submitted Spotify app allowing you to stream music to your iPhone if you have a Spotify premium account (sorry free-loaders this one’s a premium service only). Using backgrounder you should also be able to run it in the background so you can get your Spotify on whilst you go about your day. So if you’re a premium Spotify user and want in on the iPhone Spotify action now, check out Spot available free in Cydia.

Hit the jump for a gallery and a video walkthrough just in case you want a peak but don’t have a jailbroken iPhone. Read On