Untethered iOS 5 jailbreak is out now, but A5 remains unbroken

Do you have an iOS 5.0.1 product (iPhone 3GS, iPad, iPhone 4, or 3rd/4th generation iPod) that you’re dying to jailbreak? Well, thanks to pod2g, a new method has just been released by both the iPhone Dev Team and the Chronic Dev Team that breaks iOS 5 free, so you can now use an “untethered” jailbreak on your device. The difference is up until now jailbreaking iOS 5 required your iPhone, iPad, or iPod to be connected, via USB, to your PC every time you rebooted.

The jailbreak community has been hard at work at this, and this is the first untethered jailbreak to be released since iOS 5 debuted back in October.

Jailbreaking your device allows you to install Cydia — an application that indexes applications, customizations, and system enhancements for iOS that are not allowed into Apple’s walled garden. Everything from tethering your mobile broadband to your PC to completely changing the way the application icons and layout looks is possible through Cydia.

However, it’s important to remember that jailbreaking also puts some limitations on your Apple device.

For one, you might not be able to receive firmware or iOS updates from Apple — or you’ll get the updates but lose your jailbreak when they land. You are voiding the warranty of your device by jailbreaking as well, meaning if something goes wrong Apple will not assist you in any way. Speaking of that, the applications that you can purchase and download via Cydia are at-your-own risk applications, with no oversight from anyone. Malware or worse may be bundled, and while most application developers likely just want to unlock functionality they feel Apple is lacking, you can never be sure.

Jailbreaking also forces you to run factory restores often, as updates come out. That means re-syncing your media, apps and photos to your device, which can be a tedious process to run often.

It’s a decision that can only be made by you as the owner of the device. The popularity of the Chronic Dev Team and the iPhone Dev Team and their continued work for the jailbreaking community shows that many users feel that it’s worth the risk and inconvenience, though.

What about you? If you routinely jailbreak your device, let us know in the comments, as well as your impressions of the iOS 5 untethered jailbreak.

Please note, as the device list above indicates, this jailbreak does not work with A5-powered devices, like the iPhone 4S or the iPad 2.

Source is
http://www.extremetech.com/mobile/110647-untethered-ios-5-jailbreak

iOS 5 Untethered Jailbreak: Pod2g's Jailbreak May Lose to Redsn0w

It's Christmas and the New Year is approaching fast. Time is running out for this year and there is no indication of Pod2g releasing the untethered jailbreak for Apple devices running iOS 5.

Earlier, Apple users were waiting for the untethered jailbreak to be found and now they are waiting for the jailbreak's release. In the race for the title "Jailbreaker of the Year" Pod2g will find himself way behind his iPhone Dev-team counterpart, MuscleNerd, if the French hacker does not release the recently found untethered jailbreak.

MuscleNerd released the biggest jailbreak of the year, so far, when he found a semi-tethered jailbreak for Apple's latest operating system. Within a day of the iOS 5's release, MuscleNerd came up with Redsn0w - to jailbreak all Apple devices running iOS 5, except A5 devices like the iPhone 4S and iPad 2.

The first Redsn0w was a tethered jailbreak, in which every time the user rebooted the device it had to be connected to the system in which Redsn0w was installed. MuscleNerd, after sometime, developed Redsn0w and made its latest version a semi-tethered jailbreak.

However, he could not find an untethered jailbreak.

Should the release of an untethered jailbreak go into the New Year, Pod2g may not get any vacation time as Apple is rumored to be launching two new and eagerly-awaited devices.

If reports are to be believed, the Cupertino-based tech giant will launch the iPad 2's successor in the first quarter of the year and the successor to the iPhone 4S may come in the last quarter of the year.

It is also possible Apple may introduce a new processor and operating system for these two devices. In that case, Pod2g, who is already busy, finding bootrom-level exploits in the A5 processor, will get more responsibilities. The French member of the Chronic Dev-team is already burdened with several projects and has reportedly shared some of his work with his team members.

"I gave all the details (of the untethered jailbreak) to the Chronic Dev-team so that they can finish, test, integrate and release the A4 JB ASAP. I'll put all my energy from now on onto the A5," Pod2g wrote in his blog post.

As people await the untethered jailbreak, they must be hoping it comes in 2011. If it does, and there are still six days to go, then Pod2g and his new jailbreak will definitely be remembered as "Jailbreaker" and "Jailbreak of the Year".

However, if the release goes into 2012, then MuscleNerd and Redsn0w will clinch both titles.

Source is
http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/272567/20111225/ios-5-untethered-jailbreak-pod2g-lose-redsn0w.htm

Redsn0w iOS 5 Tethered Jailbreak Released

We gave you the details this past weekend that there was an iOS 5 jailbreak in the works from Pod2g (Chronic Dev-team) and MuscleNerd from (iPhone Dev-team). Well, low and behold, today the group has released Redsn0w 0.9.9b9b, adding native support for iOS 5.0.1 but still unable to crack the iPhone 4s and iPad 2. Pod2g blogged how “The untether fails right now because I’m having processor cache issues.”

This jailbreak will allow most devices to manually load IPSWs. If you have an iPhone 3GS and old bootrooms you can create IPSW files without blobs. However, this jailbreak is still tethered.

There are also some reports of lost functionality with the jailbreak, like loss of the ability to download over-the-air operating system updates from Apple is an obvious, and some new problems with the Skype app for iOS. Mobile Support Forum has a thread going with more details and download links to the files.

Source is
http://www.mobilemag.com/2011/12/19/redsn0w-ios-5-tethered-jailbreak-released-still-no-support-for-iphone-4s-or-ipad-2/

iOS 5 Untethered Jailbreak: Why Pod2g is Delaying Its Release?

The untethered jailbreak for iOS 5, which the Apple users have been waiting for, is finally ready. But the question is - how long should people wait to run it on their Apple devices?

Pod2g, the Chronic Dev-team member who posted a video of the program on YouTube last Saturday, is still testing the program on different Apple gadgets to make sure the program runs smoothly in all the devices running on iOS 5 and its updated version iOS 5.0.1.

According to a post on his new blog, Pod2g has already tested the jailbreak on iPod 3G, iPhone 4, iPod 3 and iPod 1. The French hacker will go on testing the program on iPod 4G, iPad 1 and iPhone 3GS in the next few days. After working on these devices, he will turn to iPad 2 and recently released iPhone 4S.

As iPad 2 and iPhone 4S are running on Apple's latest processor A5, it is very hard for the hackers to find a jailbreak for iPad 2 and iPhone 4S as they could not find a bootrom-level exploit in A5 processor.

The bootrom-level exploit is a low level exploit which can only be patched by revising the hardware. No update in the operating system can patch the low level exploits.

After finding the untethered jailbreak last Saturday, Pod2g posted on his blog that he is going to work on iPad 2 and iPhone 4S after working on non-A5 devices. But the hacker may not release the present jailbreak until he finds one for A5 devices.

"Next, I'll return to the research for iPad 2 and iPhone 4S. I don't know if I gonna release first for other devices or not. I've to think about it. Feel free to give your opinion. I'll update the blog when I have news," he posted.

Fans have different opinion about his decision. Some of them are not ready to wait for even a day and some are patient enough so that it won't give any opportunity to Apple to find solution to the upcoming jailbreak.

"Release the jailbreak for all devices at once? No way man. There are some people who need untethered just right now. They can't wait for example when untethered for iPhone 4S will release...cause it needs a lot of work and time," a fan commented on Pod2g's blog post.

"Release it all at the same time. Don't want Apple to patch it before 4S owners can get a chance to upgrade," another fan commented.

However, the majority wants the hacker to release the jailbreak as soon as possible so that they can enjoy the numerous exciting applications which Apple can't give them.

Source is
http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/266325/20111213/ios-5-untethered-jailbreak-pod2g-delaying-release.htm 

Microsoft Releases Xbox App For iPhone

Microsoft surprised the tech world Wednesday when it released an Xbox app for a mobile operating system besides its own.

The My Xbox Live for iOS devices is out now, free and optimized for either iPhone/iPod Touch or iPad.

With My Xbox Live, Xbox gamers can manage and alter several facets of their accounts.

Here is the description:

Take your Xbox LIVE experience wherever you go with the My Xbox LIVE app. Track and compare your achievements, connect with your Xbox LIVE friends, and change up your 3D Avatar. Review all your recent great games you and your friends love to play and compare achievements with them. Jump into our games hub to learn about the latest LIVE games and apps. Access Xbox Spotlight feeds, get breaking news from Xbox LIVE, game tips and tricks, gamer spotlight and much more.

iOS 5: Making Your Device Speak Selected Text Aloud

I once discussed using the Services menu to add text to iTunes as a spoken track (and this should in no way be construed as a plug for a past article of mine, nope, no sir). Using that is kind of like creating your own little audiobooks to listen to as you go about your day. You can also right-click on a selected block of text in Mac OS X and choose Speech > Start Speaking to make things even easier. Similarly, you can force your iOS 5 device to recite blocks of text to you, which is especially cool if you want to hear news stories read in Siri’s voice. Hearing it from her can somehow make things seem less stressful.

So first, you’ll need to toggle the option on. It’s in Settings (naturally) under General > Accessibility > Speak Selection. Once you turn that on, you can adjust the rate of speech, too. Apple’s slider range for that is from “turtle” to “rabbit,” but if you listen to the sample that plays when you adjust the setting, it sounds more like “stoner” to “coke fiend.”

So now how do you use your new ability? Go to pretty much any app that has selectable text (I’m using MLB At Bat ’11 in my screenshots below), then tap and hold briefly to get the familiar blue text selectors to drag around. After you’ve highlighted all the text you want to hear, touch Speak.

When you grow tired of your device’s babbling, tap Pause. If you’ve accidentally deselected your text, just do the quick tap-and-hold thing again to get the menu back.

As I noted, this works almost everywhere in iOS 5, but sadly, it will not work in iBooks. Darn you, Apple, and your throttling of my dreams of free audiobooks. This feature’s still pretty great, though—I’m going to stop writing now and go make my iPhone read me my e-mails from my family. I tell you, things just sound better coming from Siri’s voice.

Source is
http://www.macobserver.com/tmo/article/ios_5_making_your_device_speak_selected_text_aloud/

Top 10 Advantages of iOS 5 Over iOS 4

Apple Inc.'s latest mobile operating system, the iOS 5, was released to developers at the San Francisco Worldwide Developers' Conference 2011, with the promise that it would be available to users by the end of the year.

It finally reached users later in the year, with 200 new features and 1,500 new APIs (Application Programming Interface).

Here is a look at 10 ways in which iOS 5 is better than its predecessor, iOS 4:

Camera Service

In iOS 4: Photos could only be taken by the "Camera" app, from the "Home" screen, with the slide-to-zoom technology. However, there were no exposure settings available and the photos could not be edited on the device itself.

In iOS 5: The camera icon is now found on the lock screen and the "volume up" button is used to take photos. Other features include pinch-to-zoom and tapping to set exposure. The photos can be edited on the device itself.

Web Navigation

In iOS 4: Here you needed to tap the screen to fill the screen with text and no "Read Later" function was available. In addition, browsing was separated into pages or windows.

In iOS 5: The new Safari reader in iOS 5 fills the screen with the text in just one click. A new "Reading List" allows articles to be bookmarked for later use and browsing can now be done on separate tabs.

Game Center

In iOS 4: The Game Center in iOS 4 allowed mobile-to-mobile gaming but there was a catch - the apps had to be purchased via the App Store.

In iOS 5: The improved Game Center in iOS 5 allows new social features such as sharing of scores, recommending friends and many more. The biggest advantage that Game Center in iOS 5 provides is that the apps can be purchased from within the Game Center.

Notifications

In iOS 4: There were pop-up notifications in iOS 4, along with separate alerts for missed calls, text messages and voice mails, as also push notifications from apps. This, however, interrupted previously running videos or games.

In iOS 5: This time there is an improved Notification Center that combines all notifications, including voice mails, missed calls and text messages and even push notifications from apps. The notification list is found at the top of the screen and doesn't interrupt gaming or videos.

Emails

In iOS 4: There were single keyboards with standard texts available and you had to type to add or change addresses. There was no option for message flagging and no dictionary.

In iOS 5: A dual-sided keyboard is now available, with rich-text formatting as well as click-and-drag addresses. You can now flag messages as unread and an in-built dictionary is available.

Twitter Integration

In iOS 4: A standard Twitter app was available. However, you had to open it first in order to tweet stories or photos from the device.

In iOS 5: A new Twitter integration called the 'Tweet Sheet' is available and you can now share stories from within Safari and tweet photos directly from the camera app with a single click.

Access to News

In iOS 4: Individual apps were required to gain access to the latest news. Each magazine or a newspaper required a separate app and had to be opened and read individually.

In iOS 5: A new Newsstand feature has been introduced with iOS 5 where several newspapers and magazine subscriptions are organized on a news stand that looks similar to the iBooks layout.

Connectivity

In iOS 4: A PC or a laptop was needed for setting up, synchronizing or updating the device.

In iOS 5: A computer-less set up is now available where you can synchronize via iCloud and there are wireless software updates available as well.

Texting

In iOS 4: Text messaging in iOS 4 was only accessible through the service provider.

In iOS 5: The new iMessage now allows device-to-device messaging which is similar to BlackBerry's BBM service.

Lists

In iOS 4: The traditional notes app allowed you to make lists but there were no synchronization capability in the offering.

In iOS 5: The new Reminder app allows you to create to-do lists and you can also synchronize it with iCloud, iCal and Outlook.

Source is
http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/261306/20111205/10-advantages-ios-5-4.htm

The Chronic Dev Team Has Already Received 10 Million Crash Reports From Jailbreak Fans

Recently, Joshua Hill, a member of Chronic Dev Team announced that they had receive above 10 million crash reports from jailbreak fans via the Chronic-Dev Crash Reporter in Twitter.

Few weeks ago, Chronic Dev Team has made a crash reporter Mac and Windows program available, which sends users’ iOS crash reports to the jailbreak team rather than to Apple. This allows the team to examine countless crash reports in search of potential exploits, which could be used to create an untethered jailbreak solution for iOS 5 (something that is not currently available).

Since the launch of the Chronic-Dev Crash Reporter, a massive 10 million crash reports have been submitted to the team.

Besides announcing the figure via Twitter, Joshua Hill also noted that the Chronic Dev Team is using MapReduce (the same technology used by Google) to run tests in mere seconds that otherwise would take days to complete. He also noted that @pod2g’s exploit (which could untether iOS 5) is indeed legitimate, but is simply being “kept highly guarded until the right time.”

Hopefully, the Chronic Dev Team will have an untethered jailbreak solution available soon. To help them out, download the Chronic-Dev Crash Reporter and send your iOS crash reports to the team.

In the meantime, you can jailbreak iOS 5 using a semi-tethered solution. It’s not ideal, but at least it works.