Jailbreak released for iPhone firmware 2.0

The iPhone-dev team has produced software that jailbreaks iPhones with firmware 2.0 – the iPhone 3G for example – allowing programs to be installed without using the Apple App Store. Pwnage 2.0 now lets users run applications from third parties and the open source community on the new generation of iPhones and upgraded original iPhones. Before the release of Pwnage 2.0, there were only tutorials on how to downgrade to the older firmware 1.4 which already had a jailbreak hack, but these instructions only applied to upgraded original iPhones.

There is no SIM lock hack yet for the current base-band firmware to remove the requirement to use a specific phone carrier. Given that people can only obtain the iPhone 3G with a contract at purchase in many countries, such as the UK and USA, a SIM lock hack is hardly worthwhile. That is if you can actually purchase an iPhone, as stocks in stores are very, very limited.

Previously, in the UK or the USA, you could buy an iPhone that was SIM locked to the O2 or AT&T network, but wasn't bound to a mobile-phone contract. By using a SIM lock hack before activating the iPhone, people were able to create unlocked iPhones.

In countries where the iPhone 3G is being offered without an obligatory contract, such as Belgium, the phone is already supplied unlocked, albeit at a significantly higher price than contract locked phones in other countries.

(djwm)