14 DAY TRIAL // While iPhone jailbreaking has been a much talked about subject, for the vast majority of iPhone users, it is a non-issue. These people are either perfectly content with what Apple offers out of the box, or are unwilling to take the step, either because of the technical knowledge necessary or because of the risks involved if anything goes wrong. However, jailbreaking has just taken it first steps into the mainstream, becoming both very easy and readily accessible for anyone interested.
Through a collective effort of a large number of hackers, there is now an instant, one-click jailbreaking solution for both iPhones and iPod touches. This lets anyone gain full access to the device's hard drive and also adds Installer.app making adding custom native applications easy. To make use of this new development, all one has to do is point Safari towards jailbreakme.com. Once on the site, you are presented with both instructions and warnings, at the bottom of which is an "Install AppSnapp" button. Tapping this should make Safari disappear and the iPhone return to the Home screen, then the unit will reset and after it starts up again, you will have the new Installer.app icon, and be able to use the device as you will.
The list of people credited for this is rather extensive and contains hdm/metasploit, rezn, dinopio, drudge, kroo, pumpkin, davidc, dunham, and NerveGas. Undoubtedly, these people have given Apple a monster of a headache with their site, as now anyone with an iPhone or iPod touch can be jailbroken in just a few minutes, regardless of their technical knowledge. The process is so easy that anyone can do it, and is incredibly accessible, both key factors for mainstream adoption. While some may say that this is a bit late as Apple has already announced that third party applications will be officially supported in the future, that future is still a long way off, and even then there will be restrictions similar to those placed on console developers. In the meantime, freedom now is just a website away.