Apple’s iPad jailbroken shortly after release

Apple’s iPad jailbroken shortly after releaseby Steve Ragan - Apr 5 2010, 07:00

Well, that didn’t take long. While still an early work in progress, MuscleNerd, who is known for successfully jailbreaking the iPhone with the other members of the iPhone Dev Team, has posted a video of himself running unsigned code on the iPad.


The video offers proof that the Spirit jailbreak, written by Comex, was successfully ported and works on the iPad’s 3.2 OS just as well as it does on the iPhone’s 3.1.3 OS. While there is a good deal of work to be done, the ability to install or uninstall anything and make modifications to the iPad is a serious first step.

There is a good deal of excitement generated by the video within the jailbreak community, and the line of thought is that there is likely to be an official release later this month. Some expectations set the release timeline to be as little a few days.

“It will probably be in only a couple days… all of them are working on it... MuscleNerd, geohot, posixninja, planetbeing, comex... most of them have an iPad so it’s only a matter of time,” commented zoomer, a regular in the #iPhone and #iPad rooms on IRC used by the jailbreak community, in a brief chat with The Tech Herald.

“All they need to do is find the KEY and the IV for the iPad 3.2 RAM disk and then they can do the easy stuff…once they do they can release a software utility for Mac or Windows to allow users to do it with minimal intervention,” added zoomer.

The easy stuff would include a GUI for example, and other things needed so that the enthusiasts can follow step-by-step instructions to jailbreak their own devices.

Early reports and comments on the video included the obligatory piracy arguments, fueled by a Venture Beat report when they mentioned one motivation behind jailbreaking as “…getting access to pirated software.”

“It’s not known how much piracy happens as a result of jailbreaking, but it’s believed to be considerable,” the report added.

When the piracy issue was brought up in the comments of the YouTube page hosting MuscleNerd’s video, one commenter mirrored the general sentiment of the jailbreaking community by responding with, “The Dev Team is totally against pirated apps. The point of jailbreaking is to be able to use a device in the way that you want to, not just how Apple wants you to.”

The connection between piracy and jailbreaking is seen as FUD by most, as there has never been any evidence to support the fact that jailbreaking an iPhone hurts Apple’s bottom line. Commercial piracy, which results in the countless pirated copies of Photoshop available online for example, isn’t even on the same level as jailbreaking a device.

Again, jailbreaking is an option that offers total control of a device to its owner, not a ploy to distribute and pirate software. Each iPad or iPhone that is jailbroken was purchased first in a retail store, whereas someone using a pirated copy of Photoshop simply downloaded the software and installed it.

Moreover, most of those in the community who jailbreak Apple’s devices frown on pirating applications, opting instead to help the small development firms that dominate the AppStore by actually purchasing their products.

Again, there is no timeline for an official release enabling everyone to jailbreak their iPad, and while expectations are high, don’t hold your breath is the advice given to us.

Just remember, jailbreaking is an option, and it isn’t for everyone. There is a good chance you could break your new iPad if you mess with things, and as jailbreaking kills any warranty, there will be no one to turn to for help.

In addition, as was the case with jailbroken iPhones, security is a consideration, so make sure you follow all the advice offered by the Dev Team once the release is official.

[youtube] [link to www.youtube.com]