That iPhone OS 3.0 jailbreak we saw the iPhone Dev-Team pull off earlier this week? It's out now, or at least, part of it is. Pwnage Tool is now flooding torrents, but there's lots of caveats here. Most importantly, this isn't Ultrasn0w, which means if you're wanting to use your toy on T-Mobile or another unofficial carrier, be patient -- it's also worth noting that the jailbreak doesn't jibe with yellowsn0w, so those who rely on it should stay away for the time being. No compatibility with the 3G S, or at least, it probably hasn't been tested... we wouldn't recommend anyone setting the precedent here. You'll need Mac OS X to run it, with QuickPwn for Mac and Windows coming further down the line. Ultrasn0w is also due out at some indeterminate future, so that all said, if you're just needing right now a jailbroken device with spotlight functionality, hit up the read link for all the pertinent details. It should goes without saying, but they're might a few negative side effects to it, and one of the big ones we heard is that YouTube might be fubar'd at the moment.

Read - trois, drei, три, három! (Pwnage Tool released)
Read - No YouTube On Jailbroken iPhone 3.0?

The iPhone Dev-Team (no relation) have been teasing us for a little bit now with what they've been saying is an iPhone OS 3.0-compatible version of yellowsn0w, and tonight in a video presentation they unveiled ultrasn0w, which should let you unlock any iPhone on the market, running any version of the firmware from 3.0 on down. The trick to how they're getting the jailbreak hasn't been revealed yet for fear of Apple making a fix at the eleventh hour, but if everything goes according to plan, the new hacking software should be out Friday in time for the iPhone 3G S (no guarantee it'll work on the new device). Hit up the read link to watch the magic happen right before your very own eyes.

The jailbreakers have managed to keep their speed record intact. Just one day after Apple releases an update to the iPhone OS 3.0 beta, QuickPwn updates its wares to support the new firmware. According to the related writeup, it should work with all iPhone / iPod touch models. After going through the jailbreaking process, you'll need to open icy and follow a few more steps to finish the job. As usual, download at your own risk, and for now, crack is for Windows users only.

Update: The Dev Team has chimed in with the usual list of caveats and warnings. If nothing else, you've now got tacit verification that this release of QuickPwn isn't some malicious hack.

Uh oh Apple -- it looks like even your attorneys are dirty, thieving jailbreakers. Tipster a|e§ was poring through that iPhone biometric security patent application we posted earlier and noticed that the images show a jailbroken phone, complete with Installer.app, SMBPrefs, and the iWood Realize theme from the iSpazio repository. We're guessing the fine folks at Kramer, Levin Naftalis & Frankel are going to have some 'splainin to do on Monday morning -- but at least they get to run apps in the background.

Update: To those of you saying that this is in reference to one of the claims of the patent, we're not so sure -- there's no reason for Apple to use images of a jailbroken phone to make that specific point. Remember, somebody drew this picture, they didn't have to use these specific icons or this theme to illustrate Springboard variations.

[Thanks, a|e§]

Looks like the jailbroken iPhone app scene is about to get seriously interesting -- not only is Cydia is going from package repository to full-fledged app store, a new jailbreaking service called Rock Your Phone is set to launch, and there's a planned adults-only app store. Details are light on the others, but the Cydia Store will offer developers a distribution alternative to Apple's official App Store unencumbered by that pesky SDK agreement and approval process -- are you ready for commercial fart apps with direct hardware access? Of course, users will have to jailbreak their phones for the Cydia Store or any of its wares to run, and that's slightly controversial at the moment, given Apple's opposition to the EFF's proposal to exempt jailbreaking from the DMCA. It's up in the air how the legal situation will play out, but honestly, we can't say we're surprised that devs locked out of Apple's store are finding ways to compete -- the iPhone app market is entirely too lucrative to ignore. We'll see how Apple responds when the Cydia Store and these others go live; we can't help but feel the winning move would be to relax the SDK restrictions and get all these devs playing on the same team.

[Via iLounge]

Uh oh, Ashton, it looks like Apple might have a thing or two to say about that jailbroken iPhone of yours. Every three years the Copyright Office asks for proposed exemptions to the Digital Millenium Copyright Act's rules against breaking access protections, and this time around the lovable scamps at the Electronic Frontier Foundation have asked that jailbreaking phones -- like, yes, the iPhone -- be classified as one of those exceptions. As you might have guessed, Apple's response to the EFF isn't exactly supportive of the idea: it says the proposed rule will "destroy the technological protection of Apple's key copyrighted computer programs in the iPhone device itself and of copyrighted content owned by Apple that plays on the iPhone." Both sides have filed long briefs supporting their positions with extremely detailed legal arguments, but the main takeaways are that the EFF thinks that allowing jailbreaking will result in more apps and innovation, and Apple points out that the App Store is already hugely successful and that jailbroken phones are technically running unauthorized modifications of Apple's copyrighted iPhone code that allows them to run pirated applications. Interestingly, Apple's convoluted App Store approval process is the center of a lot of discussion, and Apple is totally disengeniuous about it, saying there's no "duplication of functionality" rule and as proof claims to have allowed "multiple general web browsers... and multiple mail programs." Note to the Copyright Office: if you believe this we have a very nice bridge to sell you.

Now, let's be clear: while we're definitely hoping the EFF pulls this one out, the worst thing that can result of all this is the status quo -- Apple isn't asking for jailbreaking to specifically be ruled illegal, it's just asking that it not be specifically ruled legal. If that sounds like a fuzzy distinction, well, it is, but that's the sort of gray area that keeps everyone else out of court for the time being. We'll find out more in the spring, when the Copyright Office holds hearings -- final rulings are due in October.

Read - EFF page on the jailbreaking debate
Read - EFF's brief (PDF)
Read - Apple's reply (PDF)
Read - EFF's second brief (PDF)

There have been several efforts to bring some semblance of a clipboard to the iPhone since Apple has stubbornly, steadfastly refused to do so. So far, they've been somewhat meaningless and unhelpful (though totally well intentioned) largely because they've only worked with apps specifically designed to take advantage of them, when in reality, probably 80 percent of the stuff you want to copy from (or paste to) is in the iPhone's built-in apps. Enter Clippy, which attaches to the standard keyboard and adds true copy / paste to the out-of-the-box apps plus a smattering of third-party ones. The catch? It only works on jailbroken handsets -- this is about as far from making it to the App Store as anything you can imagine. It's still under development and bugs are still being ironed out, but for those of you who've gone ahead and pwned your phones, check Cydia for the goods.

[Thanks, Cody]

Ever since the Dev-Team kinda sorta promised that they would have a neatly packaged iPhone 3G unlock ready for release by the year's end, we've all been waiting on pins and needles, counting down the moments until freedom was in hand yet again. Now, a cryptic message on the crew's blog has been followed up with a not-at-all secretive image (shown above), which shows that whatever magic they've got going on will work with the latest (v2.2) iPhone 3G firmware. According to a related writeup at yellowsn0w, we're clearly told that the unlock tool will be made available by midnight PST at the latest, though we're hoping those guys have their AM / PM mixed up -- otherwise, you might be waiting until noontime tomorrow. At any rate, now you've more than a day off and black eyed peas to look forward to tomorrow, right?

Via yellowsn0w and MobileCrunch]

Well this has been a long time coming. It seems that the iPhone Dev-Team has finally done the impossible -- they've gone and unlocked the iPhone 3G. The hack isn't out yet (the team says they're shooting for a December 31st release), and it requires that you've got a baseband of 2.11.07 or earlier, but when it drops, the crew seems fairly confident it will result in freedom from carrier oppression. The team is packaging the app -- formerly codenamed "yellowsn0w" -- into a user-friendly app a la PwnageTool and QuickPwn. Of course, you know how this cat and mouse game goes by now, so don't be surprised when Jobs and company come calling with an update that adds toast making to the official menu, but breaks your breaks all over again.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

If you're one of those people always complaining about the iPhone keyboard (the lack of one, that is), then this is probably a vital piece of news, even if it's not totally practical. Or practical in any way, actually. Some very enterprising citizen of the world seems to be running a chunk of Ruby code on his jailbroken iPhone 3G, which allows it to recognize what appears to be a Palm / Visor external keyboard connected via a custom cable. The results of this intense bit of modification? Well -- not much, honestly, but it's still kinda cool. "Hello Keyboard," indeed. Check out the video of it in action after the break.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Still no baseband unlock, but if you've been dying to feel the marginal improvements of iPhone OS 2.0.2 while still rocking those crazy homebrew apps, the Dev Team has come through again with PwnageTool 2.0.3. A new Windows version of the QuickPwn tool is also out, with a Mac version to follow within the week -- you know the drill, if you're brave enough to update let us know how it goes in comments.

[Thanks, David]

Billed as a "compliment" to the existing PwnageTool, iphone-dev has released a working beta of what it calls QuickPwn, a utility that uses a crafty new jailbreaking method to forgo the installation of a fresh IPSW. In layman's terms, that means you can have a fully jailbroken phone running 2.0.1 (and soon 2.0.2, we'd imagine) without the mild discomfort of having to restore your precious sidearm from scratch. The tool's still being developed and is currently only available on Windows, though the team is quick to point out that because QuickPwn operates only on the iPhone's app processor, any screw-ups should be totally undoable. Be that as it may, you know the drill: keep your gloves up, protect yourselves at all times, and let's have a clean fight.

[Via Boy Genius Report]

As some of you already know, updating your iPhone to firmware 2.0.1 means that you've lost access to all your jailbroken apps. That's pretty much expected and should be rectified by the DevTeam soon enough. What's notable from an unlocking perspective, however, is that Apple's 2.0.1 release also updates the iPhone 3G baseband. This puts iPhone 3G owners in a bit of a quandary: update now via iTunes in desperate hopes of the stability and improved keyboard response we've been seeing but do so at the risk not being able to unlock your iPhone 3G in the future (if and when the DevTeam gets around to releasing it for firmware 2.0). A lot can happen in the course of a 2 year (or longer) carrier commitment. According to the DevTeam, you'll get all the benefits of Apple's 2.0.1 update (without the pesky new baseband) just as soon as they can kick out the updated PwnageTool (current version is 2.0.1) onto the Internets. Decisions, decisions.

Sure, it was already possible (if complicated) to jailbreak a first-gen iPhone running the 2.0 software under Windows, but this is the one-click tool all you crazy cats with those extra G's need if you don't have a Mac -- too bad no one's come up with a better name than "pwn" yet. Please, people. Let's do better.

PS.- As usual, you run the risk of totally destroying your phone mucking around with this stuff, so don't say we didn't warn you.

Update: winpwn.com is down already, mirrors in the comments!

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Feeling a little left out after yesterday's Mac-based Pwnage Tool festivities, Windows users? Fret not, because the ever-vigilant, ever-studious hacking community has managed to come up with a series of steps to get you back on your feet again with a fully pwned first-gen handset. The whole shebang isn't necessarily for the most casual jailbreakers -- let's just say it isn't quite as straightforward as the Mac procedure yet -- but it'll allegedly get you going if you're starting with an iPhone running 1.1.4 (there are additional steps if you jumped the gun on 2.0, you impatient son of a gun, you -- think of it as penance). As always, exercise extreme caution, understand that this could cause your iPhone to spontaneously combust into a useless pile of metal, plastic, and ash, and let us know how it goes in comments.

[Thanks, Z-]