Jailbreaking is the process of releasing an iPhone or iPad from being able only to use a SIM card from the cellular carrier that supplied the handset or tablet computer. This restriction is how most cellcos are able to offer subsidized devices.
More recently, however, jailbreaking has become more important for users, as iOS 4.3 offers the native facility of using the device as a 3G-enabled wireless router.
The release is a key one for users, Infosecurity notes, as the untethered aspect means that the iOS device does not have be hosted to an Apple Mac or PC when re-provisioned with a new version of the operating system.
It also means that the native MiFi feature – which turns the iPhone or iPad into a 3G-enabled wireless router in its own right – is no longer under the control of the cellco, almost all of whom charge for the facility.
According to the iPhone Dev Teams' technical notes, the PwnageTool 4.3 and redsn0w 0.9.6 rc9 utilities support jailbreaking on the iPhone 3GS and the iPhone 4, although the iPhone 4 is only jailbroken for GSM usage on all networks – support for 3G is limited at the moment.
The iPad 1 is also supported, but the iPad 2 is not supported, as the jailbreak requires what the team describes as a boot level exploit to operate the utilities.
It's important to note that the jailbreak is not foolproof, Infosecurity notes, as the iPhone Dev Team is warning users of iPhones and iPads that, if users see a non-functional Cydia 1.1 icon after running the jailbreak process, the procedure may need to be run again.
According to the NewsHQ portal, "this is definitely good news for all those who have doubted that a reliable software to jailbreak iPhone 3Gs, 3G and iPhone 4 will come out after the recent setbacks."
The newswire notes that iOS 4.3.1 for the iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch users brought with a number of bug fixes and enhancements.
Issues such as flickering when connecting the iOS device to a TV via a digital AV adapter have been solved with iOS 4.3.1, the newswire adds.