14 DAY TRIAL // With such cool add-ons for the Apple iPad, no wonder even some companies encourage users to jailbreak. Yes, someone apparently found a way to get an iPad to recognize an external hard drive, according to a 9to5mac report. The tablet was tricked into thinking it was only handling a USB camera kit. The process involved a jailbreak of the iPad itself as well.
“I’ve been an avid iPhone user for some years now, so I know that many of you can relate to how excited I was for the iPad release,” Maxwell C. Shay, a photographer, writes on his website. “Simply put, I purchased the iPad banking on the potential of the jaibreaking community. Multitasking, of course, being one of the most exciting possibilities! However, I was always excited for Apple’s camera connection kit. Having a USB port for the iPad opens up a world of possibilities for end-users and developers alike,” his post reads.
“Yesterday, I received my Camera Connection kit in the Mail,” Shay continues. “Initially, I intended to use the kit to power my iPhone running MyWi as a 3g router for my iPad. Unfortunately, I discovered that the iPad Connection Kit did not deliver enough power to charge my iPhone while broadcasting a WiFi network. Optimistically, I resolved to find a way to use the Apple Camera Kit for other purposes.” Then, after reading through an article over at TUAW, “I figured that it would not be that difficult to mount an external drive on the iPad. And ever further, to use apps to take advantage of an external drive!” Shay reveals.
He has an extensive guide on how you can get up and running with a jailbroken iPad and an external drive, as well as video of the hack in action. Those interested in hooking up an external drive to their iPad will need the storage unit formatted to either HFS or FAT32. Shay recommends using Disk Utility in Mac OS X and carefully warns that, by formatting a drive, all data will be erased from it. The second step involves installing MuscleNerd’s Spirit app and jailbreaking the iPad. Step three has users browsing Cydia for iFile and OpenSSH. The “Nano” terminal text editor is also required, Shay claims. Visit his site here for the full scoop on how to achieve this hack.
Softpedia doesn't encourage jailbreaking / unlocking the iPhone / iPod touch / iPad, or any other device. This article has a purely informational purpose and doesn't, in any way, suggest that you should hack your Apple device. Using hacks may render your device unusable, or may reduce the quality of your experience employing the respective device. If you choose to download and install jailbreak tools, you will do so at your own risk. Unlocking / jailbreaking your iPhone / iPod touch / iPad may violate your warranty or the EULA with Apple and / or your cellular-service provider.